Christmas 2022

Last minute Christmas shopping (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Those who didn't make the Dragon Folk Club's Christmas session last Friday missed a good sing... and some mince pies. As might be expected, most of the songs were more or less Christmas themed.

Colin as MC kicked us off with The Kipper Family's Good King Whence the Last, which you will understand is a parody of Good King Wenceslas.

We had a great variety of songs. Songs about wars like Christmas 1914 (Mike Harding) and Stop the cavalry (Jona Lewie), carols such as Gaudete (From Piæ Cantiones - Finland, 1582) and I saw three ships (William Sandys), the standard The Christmas Song (Robert Wells, Mel Tormé), songs from around the world like The Huron Carol (Jean de Brébeuf) and Mon Beau Sapin (Ernst Anschütz, Laurent Delcasso), and more comedy pieces such as Merry Christmas you suckers (Paddy Roberts) and Sam Small's Christmas pudding (Marriott Edgar).

I think that will do for this report. Please remember we are having a two week Christmas break this year and the next Dragon session will be in the usual place at the usual time on 6 January 2023. See you there!

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

(Number of people present - 2 of whom 2 performed)

Christmas 2017

The Nativity, from a 14th-century Missal

Thank you to everyone who turned up last Friday and made our Christmas session a great success. The numbers at the bottom of this article speak for themselves. With festive preparations and professional panics weighing heavy I can only skim the surface of the festivities. Not only did we have lots of fun singing songs of yule and not-so-yule but we enjoyed a well-deserved half time buffet, with thanks to all those present for their edible donations.

Geoff gets the award for man of the match, bringing half his family with him; I hope they enjoyed themselves and may even grace us with their presence in the future, and perhaps even sing us a song or tell us a story. My ringing, and emailing and texting brought forth fruit in the presence of Chris, Roger and Phil, Tom, Steve G and Keith G (no relation as far as I know). We were also joined for the second time by visitors to the area from Yorkshire, Malcolm and his lady, whose name I'm afraid I didn't catch. We couldn't have asked for much better.