I Can See for Miles and Miles...

Aletsch Glacier (Photo:Simon Meeds)

The Substitute Scribe was on duty again and declared he could see no more obvious topic for the 31st Jan 2020 than to celebrate Dick Miles' 69th birthday, performing our favourite songs learnt from Dick. Derek therefore sang Bogie's Bonny Belle (Roud 2155), Farewell to the Monty (Johnny Handle), Tommy's Lot (Dominic Williams) and Lord Bateman (Roud 40 Child 53), as well as his own Flatlands, the first verse of which was inspired by Dick's Sugartown (a Suffolk nickname for Bury St Edmunds). No-one else chose to contribute a song to this, but Mike told a number of amusing anecdotes attesting to Dick's maladroitness with technology.

Yet another musical miscellany

The Mary Rose in a battle with seven Algerine corsairs
(an engraving by Wenceslas Hollar
who was on the ship at the time)

There was no theme for last week's session so we were free to come up with clusters of songs around various topics.

Colin was the MC and Mike kicked us off with the topical The Twenty Fourth of February (Roud 951) (sorry I couldn't find a recording in English), although he sang "twenty third". Apparently it describes a battle which took place on 29 December 1669 where Captain John Kempthorne on the fifth Mary Rose saved a convoy from attack by seven ships of Algerine pirates. He was knighted for this action.

Tunes help you breathe more easily

With your regular scribe away on the road to Gallivant, I find myself thrown off the comfortable subs' bench to report the pre-Easter meeting of the Dragon Club. [With notes like this from the regular scribe]

The unfortunate incapacity of Maggie, who broke her wrist in a dog-walking-related incident, meant that Indie (apparently not suffering any Maggie-walking-related injuries) arrived accompanied only by Mike. Mike surveyed the book to count the shell holes put into his repertoire during last week's Mikeless free-for-all, but had no difficulty in beginning with a couple of Keith Marsden songs – Idlers and Skivers and The Drovers.

We welcomed our old friend Joe, accompanied by his chauffeuse [Josci], on their first visit to the new site. Although he had not brought any song texts with him, he took the lead in singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot, eked out by other verses contributed by assorted (probably) ex-rugby players. This was enough to qualify him as one of 8 performers among the ten people present.