Dulce et decorum est pro sodalitate cantare

Appalachian Dulcimer as played by John S

Last Friday's session was the last of our series of 50th anniversary celebrations for the club. With three of the regulars unable to be there and Simon exceptionally running things, Simon and Derek were sitting pondering an evening of a couple of rounds of two songs followed by a very early finish when the singers started pouring in. Well, that may be an exaggeration but for a start it was John S who walked through the door for the first time in a very long while. Patience was rewarded when Steve G arrived, quickly followed by Jo, then came a promised second appearance by Steffan. And so, we were quorate with a respectable showing of six singers! Thanks are due to all who came, and stayed, to make the evening a very enjoyable one.

While our anniversary celebrations are now over (for another fifty years maybe), the club soldiers on and we will be here every Friday from about 8:15pm unless there's a very good reason not to be. All comers, whether performers or not, are very welcome to enjoy some music and chat. Performances don't even have to be musical: stories, monologues, poems and jokes are all within our remit; anything in fact as long as it's acoustic.

Bon Voyage to Richard and Lesley

(Photo: Tim Dobson)

Last week was a farewell to our friends and Dragon Folk Club regulars for fourteen years, Richard and Lesley who as I write this report have now headed up to North Wales. We hope we will see them again at some time in the future but for now we wish them well in their new home and with working in the Welsh language!

We were also joined by Tom, Steve G and John B, and Maggie L with her canine friends Gertie and Freddie.

We heard this week that Terry C's wife has had a stroke. She is still in hospital but is apparently walking around. We wish her a speedy and satisfactory recovery.

Election Fever

Photo by Rama

It may appear since we had six at the previous week's session and the same number at this one that we have a very limited pool of talent to draw on (I use "talent" loosely, but what the heck?). "Not at all", I say, because we had replaced a whole 50% of those present last week this time with regular Mike (and his possibly faithful hound, Indy), semi-regular Steve G, and very welcome occasional visitor from as far afield as Swindon, Rose.

There was no official theme but there were some interesting threads that emerged through the evening.