March 2015 Folk Night

They came through hail, they came through snaw from Northumberland, Westmoreland, Cumbria and Roxburghshire. What a great night last night was. Arrived to find the place packed to the gills with singers and musicians who came with Paul from Rock UK to check us out. We went around the room widdershins as I didn’t want to put them on the spot first off. Most snuck out before we arrived at them. Thanks for coming lads. Hope you’ll bring songs and instruments and stick it out next time. It was great that Paul, Peter and Josh of the marvellous voice stayed.


Last night was also memorable for the song Robbie has been promising this last year – a grand rendering of ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’ with voices raised in chorus. As well as voices there were three sets of pipes, uilleann and smallpipes, Northumbrian and English (like Scottish only a different fingering – the more you learn about the pipes, the more extraordinary the old goat gets) and guitars of steel and gut. Colin joined us from near Penrith but his goatskin bodhran sat in state all night as Colin claimed he was enjoying listening too much to play. Mike started us off with, ‘Eagle’s Whistle’ on uilleann pipes and later played ‘Lament for Ewan Ruar’, Garrett Barry’s jig and ‘The Gold Ring’ as a set and later, ‘The Stray Away Child.’ Bruce followed with a tune on guitar, ‘Hamish's Tune’ and later with a foot-tapping ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ and ‘Dark Island.’


A theme developed among the singers initiated by Angus with the College Valley Hunt and followed by Chris and Mike with ‘Bright Phoebus’ and another rousing foxhunting one with a ‘Tally-Ho’ chorus from Chris. David sang ‘The Parting,’ Cicely Fox-Smith, a great songwriter who knew how to stir the emotions. The song is narrated someone who brings up hounds for the pack at the moment they have to part when the hound is ready. Angus subverted the hunting theme he had started with, ‘I won’t go a-hunting.’ As everyone was in fine voice there were some other rousing choruses as well as lyrical numbers among what followed.


Steve gave us ‘The Blue Cockade’ – similar to ‘The White Cockade’ about a man who takes the King’s shilling, enlisting in a regiment abroad, arranged for guitar accompaniment . It refers to a cockade of a different, probably European regiment as British wore black or white feathers in their caps. Steve later sang, ‘The Galway Shawl’ with harmonising chorus and ‘Only our Rivers Run Free.’ David followed with ‘Tuppence on the Rope,’ about the cheap beds at the workhouse where you swung, arms over a rope alongside your compatriots for two pence. And Katy sang a rollicking, ‘Fathom the Bowl’ and later, ‘The Cotswold Shepherd’ and later, rounding off the animal strand one from way back in her early life, the excellent, ‘The Kirkcudbright Centipede.’Kevin’s tunes on Northumbrian pipes were from the Peacock and the Bewick manuscripts respectively; ‘I’m too Young to Marry Yet,’ ‘Bonny Lad' and 'Welcome to the Town Again’ from the former and John Fenwick’s from the latter. Kevin also played a Northumbrian pit medley with singing by Eliza; ‘The Bonny Pit Laddie,’ ‘Byker Hill,’ and ‘Small Coals and Little Money.’ Eliza later sang, ‘An Oulandish Knight,’ the ballad offering of the evening as well as ‘The Hexhamshire Lass.’ Kevin and David played their own arrangement of ‘Buy Broom Besoms and ‘The Bonny Miller.’


Josh sang a superb, ‘Danny Boy’ and later, ‘October’ with a voice that has evidently been honed in worlds other than the folk singaround and Phil gave us that haunting ‘Franklin’ and later, Terry Conway (a deservedly famed Northumbrian singer-songwriter)’s ‘Fareweel Regality.’ Peter sang ‘In my Liverpool Home.’ Phil was prompted by the earlier Fox-Smith rendering to offer, ‘Home Lads Home,’ this one with a grand chorus. Chris lifted the roof with, ‘Dublin in the Rare Old Times,’ obviously close to her heart.


Kevin recorded the evening. We won’t do this too often, just at odd times to give a sense of what is going on and we will ask those present at the beginning rather than the end whether it is okay (apologies Chris). There will be a link/s to the icloud where this will appear when we have edited the tape (as the recorder was next to the bar some noises off dominated some parts).     


Thanks to all who came. As everyone agreed it was a lively mixture with Angus’ polly joke for good measure.       

Come again. New arrivals always welcome. 

Eliza