October 25th 2016

Good to welcome for the First time Bill Thompson, a great local singer and stalwart of the Newcastleton Traditional Music Festival over many years. Also Jed and at least three main parts of an extended family, now including twenty children, for their annual half-term visit from north-eastern, southern and western England - covering all points of the compass in fact. We appreciated Jed's fine fiddling, grand harmonies from the singers and finger picking from Louis, not to mention good company. Irene and Rick from Lancashire and another also visited, having been here earlier in the year at the festival. Steve also came and listened for a while. Always good to have an audience.
Instruments were two fiddles (Jed and Charlie) and Charlie also brought his mandolin, concertina (Dave), two sets of pipes (David's 'Anglo-French' small pipes and French pipes in G), guitars (Dave, Angus, Phil and Louis).
Let's start with tunes. David opened the evening with two pipe tunes, 'Noble Squire Dacre' and 'Go to Berwick Jonny,' from Northumberland on smallpipes and later played 'Mundess' on French pipes. Jed gave us a several Swedish tunes in a couple of sets played in evocative style on fiddle. Dave's guitar set was 'Haste to the Wedding,' 'Hogmanay Jig' and 'Lemonville Jig' and on concertina he played 'Planxty Irwin' and 'Hewlett.' Charlie began with 'St. Anne's Reel' on mandolin with accompaniment by various guitars and later on fiddle, 'Soldier's Joy' and 'De'il Among the Tailors.' He also played 'The Heroes of Longhope' on fiddle, written by Ronnie Aim of Orkney about the loss of the Longhope Lifeboat in 1969 as well as 'The Irish Washerwoman' and 'The Tenpenny Bit'.
Songs were, Dave's 'Will You Come Awa wi me My Bonnie Lassie' by David Stone and Peter McNab's, 'Where have the Years Gone Between,' and a song by the Canadian, James Keelaghan, 'Orion.' Bill gave us 'The Fairy' and a moving rendering of, 'The Fields of Athenry,' Eliza, 'The Woodcutter's Song,' 'Sir Patrick Spens' (short version) and 'Oak and Ash and Thorn' by Rudyard Kipling, arranged by Peter Bellamy, Angus, 'Bobby McGee' and a great and frenetic Tyneside medley beginning with, 'The Lambton Worm' and 'The Blaydon Races' firing up much joining in, also 'Song for Ireland' and 'The Day that Lester Died' by Claire Lynch about Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt. Phil began with a song apparently banned by the BBC when it first came out for fear it might upset children or incite them to set fires, 'The Fireman, Tim McGuire,' and followed with two songs one about the sea and the other a sailor, 'Three Score and Ten' by William Delph, a Whitby fisherman and song-maker, commemorating lives lost in a freak storm in 1889, and 'Jack Tar. Katy offered, 'The Merchant's Son' and, later, 'Nancy Whiskey' and 'Shawnee Town' originally sung by the men who worked the barges, 'flat boating' on the Ohio river.
The family group began with a duet by Louis on guitar with May and Louis on vocals for 'Emmylou' written by First Aid Kit and played for Emmylou Harris at an award ceremony. This was followed by a group consisting of Martha, Jack, Sadie, Frank and Anna, the latter on lead vocals with the others harmonising in a song learned from the Unthanks, 'Hey Canny Man Hoy a Penny Oot,' referring to the North-Eastern tradition of throwing a penny for a bridal party. Bill said that a similar tradition known as 'striving' existed in the Scottish Borders, requiring the groom and best man to throw the pennies. Cath led on 'You don't know What Love is' with, once more a fine group of harmonising children. May's second offering was 'Hero.' Thanks to all of the members of this talented troupe.
Robbie weighed in with a song penned by his good self, 'My Soulmate' and followed it later with a spirited rendering of 'A Christmas Prayer' by Billy Fury. David threw in two songs, 'The Young Trooper' and 'The Cock Fight.' Phil finished the night with 'John o' Dreams by Bill Caddick.
A good night. Thanks for coming everyone. See you next year, Jed's bunch. Next month's night will be the 22nd of November.
Eliza

September 27th 2016

Great Night. Old friends and local first timers, Lisa, Steve and Aaron. Good to have a visit from Carol and Dave from Crawcrook. (I will call him Dave of C. due to the proliferation of Daves, two of whom have the same initial.) Instruments were smallpipes (Anglo-French and hybrid), dulcimer and several guitars.
Carol and Dave of C. kicked off with the evocative song about emigrants, 'Outside Track,' words by Australian poet Henry Lawson, music by Gerry Hallom. Dave of C. sang 'Rap 'er te Bank,' the well-known Tyneside song. David continued with 'Old Fid' narrated by an old sailor reminiscing. Dave on guitar gave us 'The Rolling Hills of the Border' and the tune 'Calliope House.' I produced my fiddle for the first time and gave dismal attempted rendering of 'The Rose Tree' which has similarities to the tune of the song that followed, 'The False Knight on the Road.' However, onward and upward. Angus gave us the poignant, 'The Summer before the War,' words and music by Huw Williams.
Kevin's hybrid pipes were in good form with 'Wigh's Fancy' from the 'Peacock Manuscript' followed by a Spanish Tune.
Phil sang the wagon driver's song 'A Champion at Keeping 'em Rolling' by Ewan McColl and continuing the industrial theme, Katy sang,'The Doffing Mistress,' apparently about the children whose work was to put on and take off the spools for the spinning. The song was popular among spinners who added their own local verses.
Dave of C. gave us 'Sweet and Lovely Eileen o' Carroll' (otherwise known as 'The Fair and Charming Eileen O' Carroll') a lovely tune. Carol and Dave of C. then gave us another poignant song that the folk are so good at, John Fogerty's 'Paradise' aka, 'Mr Peabody's Coal Train' which continued the theme of industry but this time its destructive nature.
David played, 'Mr Preston's Hornpipe' on smallpipes.
Dave on guitar sang, 'My Name is Delaney.' Eliza followed with the Nortumbrian version of 'Scarborough Fair' 'Whittingham Fair' which apparently is a fragment also known as 'The Elfin Knight,' one of nineteen versions collected by Child (of ballad collection fame) and which he traced through many languages of Asia and Europe. Angus followed with 'Sally Gee.'
Kevin gave us 'Paddy Whack,' a jig from the Peacock Manuscript that goes under various names and 'Farewell...' (that's all i've got down for that one).
Phil, with 'Music of the Loom' by Danny Kyle continued the informal theme of work songs having researched them for last week's Brampton session (see 'Events' page). And why waste a song you've worked up. In a similar vein, Katy sang that touching country song, 'The Carter' and Carol, 'Byker Hill  and Walker Shore' with its reference to collier lads.
Dave of C. put in a Dulcimer tune (sorry not noted) and David followed with  'John Barleycorn is a Hero Bold.' Returning to the prevailing theme, Dave on guitar gavels Jez Lowe's 'Black Diamonds.'
Aaron leapt boldly into the fray with an improvised guitar tune in most accomplished style after only two weeks tuition with his father, Steve. Steve gave us an improvised jazz piece on guitar which added much appreciated variety and colour to the evening. Eliza joined David on pipes to provide the vocals for 'She Moved Through The Fair'. Angus was joined by Steve, both on guitar for John Mayall's blues, 'Sandy.'
Kevin's two Catalonian melodies on pipes were accompanied by Phil and Steve on guitars.
In my view you can never get enough Tyneside songs, nor indeed, enough of the same one twice and Phil, who had missed Dave of C's earlier rendering, fired up 'Rap 'er te Bank,' in his own inimitable style preceded by 'Jowl, Jowl and Listen Lads.' Katy, still at the mill, threw in 'The Dundee Weaver Lass.'
The mood changed with Dave of C's 'The Parting Glass' and Carol's 'Talk to me of Mendocino' by Anna McGarrigle, Phil's 'The Cocky Farmer' or 'Now I'm Easy' by Eric Bogle and Dave's 'Will you come away with me my bonnie lassie.'
We finished the night with a session of tunes: Dave gave us three tunes on guitar, 'Haste to the Wedding', Hogmanay Jig' and 'The Lemonville Jig,' an Irish and Scottish set. Then Aaron and Steve played together and Steve fired up a classical piece. Kevin played 'Frisky' and 'Highland Laddie' on pipes and Dave 'The March of the King of Laois' on Dulcimer. David on pipes played 'Sawney and Jockey,' 'Ham House' and 'Cherry Garden,' and Dave led tunes in G; 'Salmon Tails' and 'Jaimie Allen.'
Good to see you all. Hope to see Steve and family again, as well as all. October's date is the 25th.