Mining disasters and yet more May

Shirley and Dolly Collins

The May theme continued this week for some people, joined with some mining disasters following the news this week of the disaster at the Soma mine in Turkey.

Mike started us off with Cape Cod girls, which I have also seen called the Codfish Shanty.

The mining disaster theme was taken up by Derek with The Blantyre explosion. This song is about the Blantyre mining disaster, which happened on the morning of 22 October 1877. At Blantyre Colliery, William Dixon's pit, numbers 1 and 2 were both blasted, killing 207 miners of which the youngest victim was a boy of only 11. The accident left 92 widows and 250 fatherless children.

Cohen and Sands

Leonard Cohen

This week Maggie was absent, apparently packing for a holiday with Mike in nearby Somerset. Mike was around for the first half but left early, declaring that next week should be the now customary "sing Mike's songs" evening, and will be led by Richard, who ably managed the last part of this week's session.

This week's unfamiliar face was Paul, who has visited several times in the last few months, and before that turned up at the club about twenty years ago. Paul played some of his own guitar instrumental compositions: Peppermint Nile, recalling a holiday on the river where stewards had a ready supply of peppermint to combat stomach problems, and an unnamed tune which, when Richard asked what it was called, was quickly named "Richard's question".