Beginning with an end

Humpback Whale

This week's report will be abbreviated and at least initially won't include links to YouTube. This is because I am writing this from a hotel room in Athens. No, I'm not on holiday, and not even on an exotic song-collection trip - it's all to do with my day job I'm afraid. But after a nice and impressively cheap meal I am set up to write some sort of report of last Friday's session, and I will be at the next session on Friday if KLM can get me back in time.

Some present may wonder how I counted 5 present. No the fifth wasn't the club hound, Indy, but the former landlady of The Bridge Inn, who joined us as audience for a few songs - sorry I don't remember her name, I hope she will forgive me. Someone didn't even recognise her - no names there either! ;-)

Colin was MC and started off the session with Pete Seegers' The Song Of The World's Last Whale. Derek followed that up with The Death of Queen Jane (Roud 77, Child 170), the first of six songs he sang to the same tune. Simon struggled to find the tune for Lukey's Boat (Roud 1828) but he got there in the end. This became a bit of a theme for him, and I'm allowed to say that!

Simon became a bit of theme as Mike asked permission (not that it could be withheld) to sing D-Day Dodgers (Roud 10499, Lance-Sergeant Harry Pynn), and that was followed by Colin with a different version of Three Jolly Rogues (Roud 130) called King Arthur.

After two of his regular songs, Simon said he would sing one he doesn't usually and ended up tring to sing Jones's Ale (Roud 139) to the tune of Three Jolly Rogues, before getting it right with a little help from Derek.

Another notable off-piste song was Colin with Monty Python's Galaxy Song (Eric Idle, John Du Prez).

Simon was called upon to provide a finishing song, which turned out to be When All Men Sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

Here's a selection of songs sung during this session. (no link yet - it may appear in due course)

(Number of people present - 5, of whom 4 performed)