Halloween 2018

Friendly zombies in Dublin (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's session was Halloween and this Friday it will be a Campire theme. You are always very welcome to join us but particularly this week if you can contribute songs, tunes, poems or stories relevant to Guy Fawkes, fireworks, bonfires, campfires or anything else that seems appropriate.

Last Friday's session started before the whistle blew and even before I arrived. I am told that a pub regular entered the room and offered to sing. He gave those present two songs which I understand to have been The Queen Of My Heart (Jimmie Rodgers) and Devil Woman (Terry Britten, Christine Holmes). We might even suggest that the latter was on theme!

The need for speed

Fiat S76, The Beast of Turin (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week was the final theme-less session until we are well into November. This week's theme is Halloween. The theme is optional but songs, tunes, stories and poems of ghosts and ghouls, witches and wizards, and of course All Saints will be very welcome along with any other tenuous links you can come up with.

So back to last Friday; Colin was MC and started the evening with If It Wasn't For The 'Ouses In Between (Edgar Bateman, George Le Brunn - Roud V35719).

EF-in saints and sinners

Glendalough (Photo: Allan Henderson)

This week's report is going to be slightly shorter than usual but you will find that a remarkable count of 34 of the 35 songs we sang have been found on YouTube, so there's plenty to listen to behind the link at the bottom of this report.

Colin was MC as usual and started off the evening with John Dory (Roud 249, Child 284).

Geoff went to the song catalogue of the Eagles for Jack Tempchin's Peaceful Easy Feeling.

CDs, rakes, doffers and marbles

Outside the pub at Tinsley Green, Sussex, 1936.
The singer George 'Pop' Maynard
is seen on the right of the picture.
(Photo from Keith Summers Collection)

It was good to welcome Geoff back into the fold last Friday after his sabbatical, so he made us quorate once again, which is always a good thing.

Colin was MC and started us off with Jordan Is A Hard Road To Travel (Dan Emmett - Roud 12153). The first two lines of the song, at least as Colin sang it, are "Rain forty nights, gonna rain forty days,
Gonna rain on the Allegheny mountains" which inspired Derek to sing the First World War song, Raining, Raining, Raining.

Geoff's first song after his recent break from the club was Far Away In Australia (Roud 25792) although I'm pretty sure that's not where he's been.

There's no B in Liverpool

Liverpool's "Three Graces" (Photo: Simon Meeds)

I'm afraid I have to keep the report fairly short this week, would you believe because I'm planning to go out and hear more music, and maybe sing a bit too. But first there are some significant parish notices.
With one exception as you will read in a moment, we meet every Friday and usually you can sing whatever you like at our sessions but sometimes we have an evening with an optional theme, and we happen to have a few of those coming up. You don't have to follow the theme with all of your songs, but it's nice if you can bring something to the party.

26 October - Halloween theme (All Saints, All Souls, ghosts, witches, etc.)
2 November - Campfire theme (camping, fires, fireworks, Guy Fawkes, etc.)
9 November - No session (if you come to the pub you may find yourself in the middle of a charity Ladies' Night)
16 November - Remembrance theme (war, anti-war, remembrance, etc.)

With that out of the way, let's get on with the report.