Harvest 2014

Pete Shutler of The Yetties

This week was our harvest session with sandwiches provided by Maggie and most present having brought produce for the raffle whose proceeds will go to St Peter's Hospice.

Speaking of the hospice, I will get an early plug in for next week's session (3 October) which will be in memory of Pat (Eades) Hyett who died there recently. Pat, together with her husband Keith, was familiar on the local folk scene and a regular visitor to the Dragon Folk Club. Please come along and bring your friends and family so that we can celebrate the life of our friend Pat in the best way possible. Any money collected will once again be donated to St Peter's Hospice.

On his second visit to the club Mike's new dog, Indy, was better behaved, spending much of the time on Mike's knee and joining in the singing only a couple of times. This left Mike unable to do his customary job of keeping the official record of what was sung (this blog is only an informal, secondary version), so that task fell to Maggie who may have a slightly less encyclopaedic knowledge of titles but was far more careful to ensure she got them right.

Mike started off the session with Ripe and bearded barley.

Derek didn't seem sure what to sing since he didn't know of any folk performers who had died this week. Simon put him right by mentioning Pete Shutler, accordion player of The Yetties and went on to sing Buttercup Joe which was on that band's Dorset is Beautiful album of 1972.

In fact Derek had a lot of fun this week He started off with Fáinne Geal an Lae, singing it partly in English and partly in Gaelic. Guessing correctly that his first song had been recorded in "the book" as "Dawning of the day", he proceeded to sing another version of Dawning of the day as his second song. It seems that this was initially recorded as "Men of Wexford" but apparently that is a different song... maybe one day Derek will continue along these lines for a whole evening. By his last song though he had turned to a different mode of fun. Given that the harvest session is always an evening of "fines", paid out for charity of course, Derek pre-paid for singing not only one of Mike's songs, but one that Maggie doesn't like! He said he had only paid for five verses but by the time he had sung five verses of Essequibo River Mike had joined in and added more free-form verses while Maggie held her head in her hands. Mike said it was fun; I think Derek got away with it.

Chris, of Chris and Roger, had to be renamed Chrissie this week because occasional visitor Chris turned up with his melodeon and whistle. He played tunes including Polygon polka, Speed the plough, Clutha hornpipe.

Chrissie spanned the popular and the traditional with Bold Fenian men, Vincent (Don McLean) and David of the white rock. Roger was more a matter of the sublime and the ridiculous (forgive me) with I leave my heart in an English garden and Alouette,

The imminent arrival of Michaelmas was marked twice: by Richard with Blackberry grove and by Mike with Jolly waggoner.

Phil came up with some unusual offerings as he often does. Bristol was represented by Adge Cutler's Virtute et industrial. He followed that up with James Stevens' Frozen logger - so we'll watch out for Phil stirring his beer with his thumb.

Chris finished us off this week with Marmalade polka and Huntsman's chorus.

Here's a selection of the songs sung during the session.

(Number of people present - 12, of which 10 performed)