The Reluctant Blogger and 24th Feb Folk Club Night

Oh lawks, why am I blogging on a folk night instead of just being there and letting it all happen? Am I being dragged into this new culture of putting it all out there. The idea of course is that the odd other person might read it and think of calling in to one of our nights (Grapes, Newcastleton, 4th Tuesday). Who is it for? Singers and musicians don’t have time to read blogs. They are too busy with families and lives and don’t want yet another thing to ‘follow’ or ‘like’.

It’s partly nostalgia for the Newcastleton Festival of old; 84-98 in my case but for Charlie the fabulous fiddler who came to the club last night, it was ’74-’83 so we cover some ground between us. Having returned to it in 2013, I can report that, it is still great festival and practically the only one that doesn’t book artists apart from a band for the dance, is founded on competitions to give a platform to people who sing and play as part of their lives – some of whom have grown up singing and playing – and is a ‘Traditional Music Festival.’ I would love to listen again to more of those fantastic Scottish ballad singers I used to hear upstairs in the Unionist Club between 11pm and 5am in the morning. And to welcome back more traditional musicians.

So the idea is that perhaps the Folk Club and the site might remind more people about the festival and maybe they might traipse up or down here now and then or call in at the club as they are passing through and then they’ll remember that the festival is still that elusive place where strains of song steal into the dark – if we provide the spaces and hang onto them. In the end, though, people have to make it for themselves.

There are other things I loathe about the whole website thing; the public versus relatively private nature of it. On the other hand it can put people in touch. And Kevin our ethnomusicologist friend and bellows piper extraordinaire says what people are singing and playing should be documented. So I’m noting down what people play and sing to report below. Perhaps we’ll do some recording sometime.

But the photographs. We’re not going to be taking photographs all the time for the website, maybe just the odd one now and then. It’s going to put people off. The last thing people want when they’re mid-flow are flashes going off. And people might want to be in the corner and not in public when they go out. And I want to relax and listen. So we’ll leave the camera at home for a few months. And thanks to all the people who didn’t mind being snapped to start things off.

So there are mixed feelings about this whole blogging bit. But I suppose if anyone actually does read this I am saying, okay Newcastleton might be slightly off the beaten track but we have had some really good evenings – which is easy for us to say when we only have to walk round the corner – and we do appreciate you coming when you can and bringing your fabulous tunes and music. And to people who have never been before we’ll make you welcome and it would be great to have more Scottish singers and players and for it to be a mixture of songs and tunes and not too formally run. And there should be time for chat.

So anyway… last night 24th February

Apologies if I miss something out. I tend to get involved at times and forget about the noting down. I have grouped it more or less into tunes and songs for ease, but we go round with break-outs for tunes.

Charlie has been playing fiddle again over the last year-and-a-half after a long break and is coming out with all sorts of tunes he has had up his sleeve and that have lain dormant for so long as well as new ones. He started with ‘Ashokan Farewell’ and later in the evening, ‘Old Joe Clark’ and ‘St Ann’s Reel’ and later still, a strathspey, ‘Gloomy Winter’s Night’ and also ‘High Road to Linton’ and then, ‘New York Girls’ accompanied by fiddle and guitars.

David on small pipes was joined by Bruce on guitar and Charlie on fiddle for Noble Squire Dacre, Go to Berwick Johnny, and Lads of Alnwick. He also played ‘Little Wee Winking Thing’ and, on Anglo-French pipes, Muzurka de Servant.’ Bruce, great exponent of many genres played variously ‘Grousin’ Old man and Grumblin’ Old Woman,’ ‘Jaqueline Waltz,’ ‘Harry Lime’s Theme’ and ‘The Women of Ireland.’

David started off the singing with ‘Tarry Wool,’ and later sang ‘The Labouring Man’ accompanying himself on pipes, then ‘The Cock Fight’ and ‘I Went to Market…’ Phil stayed tenaciously with the mining disaster and other mining songs: Donibristle Mining Disaster, Jowl Jowl and Listen, Rap Her to Bank, Jez Lowe’s ‘Black Diamonds’ and ‘Miner’s Alphabet’. Angus contributed a Phil Ochs song, ‘When I’m Gone,’ Dick McCormack’s ‘Waltzing Around in the Nude,’ Chris de Burgh, ‘Broken Wings’ and ‘Five Ways to Kill a Man’ by Edwin Brock, adapted by Ian MacKintosh. Charlie and Eliza simultaneously did two different versions of ‘Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son’ to off-kilter effect (as opposed to actually having arranged the two) and Charlie accompanied himself on mandolin with ‘John o’ Dreams’ while Eliza also did ‘The Lowlands of Holland’ and ‘The Herring.’

Peter on teaching practice at the local school left his prep. for a while and joined us with a fantastic tongue-twisting song (and when singing this is some feat) and I realise I didn’t write down its title. Good luck at the next stage, Peter!

We finished up with all the instrumentalists led by Angus on guitar and Charlie on fiddle playing Winster Gallop, Jimmy Allen, Salmon Tails, Egan’s Polka and John Ryan’s and a couple of other tunes. It was another great night for us and we hope those who tramped the fells to get here enjoyed it too.


Eliza, February 2015

Newcastleton Festival 2015, Small-pipe Workshop Update

Blog update By Kevin Tilbury on his small pipes Workshop to take place at the Newcastleton Folk Festival, 2015 (see 'Festival Chat'). Kevin will be giving a beginners session on the Northumbrian and Scottish Small-pipes and providing a limited number of sets to the total beginner to get the student started. 

The progress is slow but sure, I have 6 bellows at the moment, some have been donated (one by David, the organizer of the Newcastleton Folk Club, many thanks to him) and others I have made; so there will be at least 6 sets of pipes on the day for beginners to use.

I would also like people who already have a set of small-pipes but do not play them/can't play them, but wish to do so to come along also, it is all about getting you started, sorting out the beginners problems that we have all gone through. So if you know of someone who has given up trying to play or has a set in the box at home which have been put away in frustration ! encourage them to come to the workshop.

Players who have Northumbrian sets we will be using the big drone at first (the D/C drone) this will be compatible with the sets I am making in D. Scottish Small-pipers are generally in A or D so a harmony can be achieved... all this can be sorted out, the workshop is about bellows technique, bag pressure, keeping the instrument stable, getting all parts in harmony, and obtaining a scale in tune, and if there is time left a tune!

If you wish to contact me regarding the workshop or anything to do with piping can do so at tilbsuk@yahoo.com or can see my web page at http://ethnopiper.blogspot.com

2015 January Folk Club Night

The night was chill and wet. At the Grapes the room was warm and cosy. They came from far. They came from near. From Settlingstones (where the river carves set stones for sharpening your sword) and other such outrigger spots near Haydon Bridge where witherite and lead were mined; from Brampton, Carlisle, even St. Bees and from Newcastleton itself, they came. As well as regulars, Neil was in fine voice and playing anglo concertina, Angus recited, sang and played harmonica and Peter, currently teaching in Newcastleton and a fine exponent of the guitar, joined us. There were small pipes and uilleann pipes, concertinas, English and anglo, guitar, harmonica, voices and knitting needles to boot.

Some fine tunes were played through the evening including Chris' 'O' Carolan's Draught' on English concertina with pipe and anglo accompaniment; Neil’s ‘The Road to McMurray’ on anglo concertina; by Mike on uillean pipes, ‘By the River of Gems,’ and later, 'The Humours of Ballyloughlin,’ ‘The King of the Pipers’ and ‘The Hag at the Churn’; by David on smallpipes, ‘The Old Drops of Brandy’ and ‘The New Drops of Brandy’ and by Angus on harmonica, ‘Summertime.’In no particular order, songs included Ken’s rendering of the locally set, ‘Copshawholme Butcher’ by Harvey Nicholson and later, ‘A Sailor and his True Love.’ Angus brought us Ivor Cutler’s ‘Gruts For Tea’ and ‘The Route to Morpeth.’ After Neil gave us 'The Gilsland Hunt Ball', David threw in 'The Horn of the Hunter,' and was, after a time, answered with Neil's 'The Kielder Hunt' (after Willie Scott from 'The Shepherd's Song') which made the bar tremble with hark aways.

Having two bell ringers at one session, and one a knitter, too, is always an opportunity not to be missed and Katy gave us a fine rendering of, 'The North Lew Bell Ringing.' Our guitarists were also in fine form: Phil gave us two songs on work, ‘The Shipyard Apprentice’ from Norman Buchan’s 101 Scottish Songs and the Hydro-Electric Dam song (‘The West Winds Come to Cushiville’) and Steve, ‘The Valley of Strathmore’ and ‘Magdalena McGilvory’ and Peter, in a change of mood, ‘The Old Crow Medicine Show’ and Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’.


It being the night after the night after Burns night, we couldn't let it pass without Katy offering Burns’ warning 'O Leave Novels' and Eliza's 'Dainty Davie' (bawdy version). Chris gave us, 'Tak your Buckles' and another brilliant one which I haven’t noted down, I was so involved (shame – let me know Chris). Ballads were ‘The Earl of Errol’ and 'Down by the Greenwood Sidey.' David gave us ‘The Plains of Waterloo’ and Phil rounded off the night with ‘Adieu to Tarwathy’ and ‘The Old Armchair’.

The next Folk Club night will be Tuesday 24th February. That week will be a bumper one as there will also be a traditional music concert in the village hall on the 27th (see poster on Home Page of this site and under Festival Chat) where you can hear some grand music from stalwarts of the summer Newcastleton Traditional Music Festival (3rd to 5th July). This concert will also raise funds for the Festival. With snow outside as I write, it seems far away but the Festival will be a good one if you all come. There are plans afoot to make sure there is space for the quieter sessions of old. So put it in your diary.

Eliza

Bellows Piping in Newcastleton

Bellows Piping at Newcastleton Folk Club

A post from piper Kevin Tilbury

(see Kevin's blog at http://ethnopiper.blogspot.com/)

Newcastleton Folk Club Night, 23rd December 2014

It is only the 2nd time I have attended the Newcastleton Folk Club, but the piping there is increasing each time, last Tuesday evening there was Irish bellows-blown pipes and 2 sets of Scottish Small pipes. I feel it is important to include the titles of the tunes as we do not often record what we play and this can be of interest to future researchers.

Each person played or sang in turn, when it was my turn I played “Frisky” and later I played a Minuet, both pieces were from the Peacock manuscript, which is a manuscript written especially for the Northumbrian small pipes, dated 1800.


As my time came around again I did a duet with David (who was also playing bellows small pipes) the tune was called “Noble Squire Dacre” with 6 variations and this was followed by the Scottish version of “Buy Broom Besoms” from the manuscript “O’er the Hills and Far Away”, a compilation of tunes from the Scottish Borders. Later I played “Green Bracken” a melody with 3 parts, and later again I played “Kelso Lasses” next to “The Wedding O’Blyth” both tunes are from the “O’er the Hills and Far Away” manuscript.

David played pipes and sang which is something I love to hear. The labouring man' was the pipe song, and he also played Mr. Prestons hornpipe. the Irish piper, Mike, played some beautiful Airs and reels, some I knew but I do not know the titles.

Kevin


NOTE: Eliza will note down titles so that she can post them in future from the next club night on Tuesday 27th January 2015.

Newcastleton Folk Club: first year

Newcastleton Folk Club started in April of this year, 2014, at the Grapes Hotel on the fourth Tuesday of the month where we are hosted in grand fashion by landlord, Peter Atkinson. We decided it was about time there was a folk club in a village which has held a unique annual Music Festival(of which more in a later blog) for decades.
I'll be posting here each month after the club night, with news and pictures (only of those who don’t mind) as well as festival news and links to the festival website.

A few introductions: core members are David on lowland pipes (Scottish small pipes) and singing with the occasional whistle tune, Eliza who sings and Bruce who picks a mean guitar in various styles.
In our first year, while being small and intimate, we have played host to some great singers and instrumentalists from the Brampton, Bewcastle and Carlisle area (many often also to be found at the Brampton Folk Club at the Howard Arms on the third Tuesday of the month).



These include: Katy, Miriam and John, who provide interesting background information to their great repertoire of songs, ballads, carols and whatever suits the occasion, John throwing in an occasional Gaelic piece; Ruth who delves into all manner of publications to find unusual and striking pieces for recitation and singing; Phil and Steve, guitarists, each with a wide repertoire of mainly traditional and mainly contemporary songs respectively; Kevin with tunes from the borders and other far-flung corners of Europe on various smallpipes including Scottish and Northumbrian; Frank and Corrie on diatonic accordion and various smallpipes also with a great knowledge of wonderful tunes, Chris and Mike with some great songs and singing as well as haunting uilleann pipe tunes and Maddy with great songs and singing.
We were visited by three musical families who stayed in the village at various times over the summer. Talented family members included young fiddlers, a whistle player, singers and ukulele players. Thanks for the great playing and songs and we hope to see you again.

Thanks to everyone who turned up in our first year of finding our feet. We will continue to be in the small room on the left as you go into the Grapes for the time being but might transfer to the larger separate room upstairs at some stage. We hope to welcome more of you from the Scottish as well as the English borders and further afield as we go on.

Hope to see you on the 27th January, 2015. More soon.

Eliza.