Harvest 2023

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

There was a great turn-out for our 2023 Harvest themed session at the Dragon Folk Club. Our traditional spread of food was supplied with great thanks to Sara, our late friend Geoff's daughter, who arranged to leave the left-overs from his wake for us. Four of our number had attended the funeral and wake earlier in the day.

We welcomed occasional visitors Carrie and Stuart as well as a good complement of eight of our regulars.

This week's session will once again have a theme. This time it is Halloween.

Colin was MC, but it was Carrie and Stuart who stared off the evening with Come all you fair and tender ladies (* roud 451). I'll mark songs new to the Dragon database with an asterisk (*) and songs on the theme with an at sign (@).

Carrie and Stuart being a duo were, as usual, required to contribute two songs per rotation and their second was Yellow (* Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, Will Champion).

Colin was first on theme with All of a row (@ roud 1474). Sue hit the target with Fields of gold (@ Sting).

Bob, self-declaring as "miserable as usual", gave us Livin' with the blues (Brownie McGhee).

Paul referred us to the upcoming 218th anniversary of Admiral Lord Nelson's demise by singing The death of Nelson (roud 18837).

We'll give Denny credit for her Good English ale (@ roud 1512) on the basis it mentions various types of produce.

Chris gave us a very sweetly sung rendition of The Eriskay love lilt and Roger seemed to be Doin' what comes natur'lly (* Irving Berlin).

Simon returned to the theme, taking a leaf out of our friend Mike's songbook with John Barleycorn (roud 164) to the tune Wir pflügen (We plough the fields and scatter).

And so the first marathon rotation came to an end.

I will list the further songs which hit the theme (sorry for any I miss) together with a few others which didn't:

• Carrie and Stuart - Ghost (* Kate Rusby)
• Colin - Man in green (@ Steve Knightley)
• Bob and Sue - Tina Louise (* Kevin "Blackie" Farrell)
• Paul - Country life (@ roud 1752)
• Denny - Hey John Barleycorn (@ roud 2141)
• Simon - Buttercup Joe (@ roud 1635)
• Carrie - Autumn Leaves (@ Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer)
• Colin - All the good things are dead and gone (* Bonny Sartin) - The only song of the evening not in the linked "a selection" playlist
• Paul - The farmer's toast (@ roud 1603)
• Denny - I can hew boys (@ Dave Dodds) - Denny claimed it was about a "mineral harvest".
• Simon - Windmills (@ Alan Bell)

Colin finished the evening with Flying high, flying free (@ Leon Rosselson)

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 10 of whom 10 performed)

Harvest 2022

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had our annual Harvest theme. The theme is no longer compulsory as it once was and wasn't this year accompanied by a feast and a vegetable auction, but harvest and autumn songs were in evidence from at least two of our singers.

Colin, MC as usual, started us off with All of a row (roud 1474). Geoff declared himself off-topic and sang Keith's hit song, 98.6 (George Fischoff, Tony Powers). Simon followed that with Alan Bell's Windmills.

We had at least three songs from the singing of The Yetties: Colin sang Dorset is Beautiful (Bob Gale) and All the good things (Bonny Sartin), and Simon sang Buttercup Joe (roud 1635).

Simon pointed out that the closest Geoff came to a harvest song may have been Golden Brown (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black), which is about heroin (not cocaine as suggested on the night).

By that time Simon himself had moved temporarily into the "harvest of the sea" with The Candlelight fisherman (roud 1852) and The Bergen (Jez Lowe).

Colin sang two versions of John Barleycorn: Steeleye Span's version of (roud 164) and later roud 2141.

It seemed that Simon had peaked too early, singing his usual finishing-off song When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford), but he kept one in the bag for the end of the evening: Wild mountain thyme (Francis McPeake - roud 541).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 3 of whom 3 performed)

Harvest 2018

(Photo: Herry Lawford)

It was a disappointment that we could only muster six people for our annual charity Harvest session; six is enough to make a lively musical evening but not to make a fortune in money raised for the BBC Radio Bristol Alive Appeal. It was however to good to see a brace of Terries (C and H).

MC Colin sang the first song, All Of A Row (Roud 1474). Derek asked whether this was in fact the Suffolk Harvest Home but it seems not, because that is apparently a version of Roud 310 ("Here's a health unto our master... drink, boys, drink").

A touch agricultural

(Photo: администрация Волгоградской области)

For those of us who remember the halcyon days of Dragon Harvest Night with tables groaning under the weight of freshly grown or at least freshly purchased comestibles, and the assembled masses groaning under the weight of fines from Mike for breathing out of tune (or just for breathing), it was very sad to see the tiny turnout for this week’s charity evening – 5 performers, and one visitor  who sat through one complete round before deciding she had left her life elsewhere and went off to look for it.

But we are the Tradition, and the Tradition goes on in lean times in the hope they will again lean the other way. So there will be a small donation going the way of Shelter; precise details of the amount will appear here next week.