2018 Reports

We chose a theme of “Traditions” and the performers delighted the audience with festive carols, traditional songs, poetry, and of course the odd risqué item. The Club was full to overflowing at 8pm and extra chairs were needed at the back of the room.

On the previous day, Sinterklaas had travelled across the Netherlands with his Zwarte Piet assistants who climbed down chimneys to deliver presents to the children.  We were very fortunate that Sinterklaas found time to visit the good children of Harbury Folk Club on his return journey to Spain. Margaret McDonald was selected as having been very good this year, and her treat was to sit on Sinterklaas’ lap. The two somewhat naughty Zwarte Pieten handed out Speculaas biscuits to the audience, and then they were allowed to sing a traditional Sinterklaas song in both Dutch and English.

Rik followed our surprise visitors with a song requesting the return of his turkey, followed by “Old Sam's Christmas Pudding”.  Ragged Edge revived a 70’s number “The Free Electric Band”, and then the 16th century “Coventry Carol”. Poacher's Pocket sang about Canada Hill on the Isle of Bute, before reminding us of the problems of Christmas trees shredding their needles. Don explained how saying grace was a tradition in his family and sang about another Grace. He then gave the “Sorry I Haven't a Clue” musical treatment of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” to another tune. Pete & Liz performed a beautiful number from Roger Jones’ musical “The Inn Crowd”, and then Pete went solo with “The Ivy 'n' The Holly” from the Trunch songbook.

The Harbury Folk Club choir started the second half with two fine carols from their back catalogue, “In Bethlehem City” and “Tonight”. You can hear their selected carols for this year at Harbury Church on Christmas Eve. Peter McDonald selected two songs from the singing of Jon Boden, one about a sailor’s fate and the other “Prickly Bush”. Martin Day sang about the “Hard Working Boatman”, followed by “The National Anthem of the Ancient Britons” better known as “Woad”. Ian & Sue gave us “The Broom of The Cowdenknowes”, followed by “A Begging I Will Go”. Pete Grassby reminisced about “Picking Blackberries Down Flecknoe”, and was then joined by Peter McDonald on piano for the Carole King song “Goin’ Back”. The Daft Dames, all dressed in festive costumes, brought the half to a close, singing about the dietary problems of preparing Christmas Dinner.

Debs started the final half and read two of her poems, one about a make-believe panto, and the other about her footsies. To save her blushes, we have not documented her bodily and shoes/feet references. Pete Mason suggested that there should be a thesis written about the many versions of “John Barleycorn”, and followed that with Lindisfarne’s “Winter Song”. Keith Donnelly told us about his recent visit to China, including performing alongside an astronaut and a jazz mime dance artist, and the bemused Chinese girl in the audience who thought he was the astronaut. He then read a surreal Christmas story that he had written some years before whilst abroad. Des brought the evening to a terrific close with the audience joining in the “Holly and the Ivy”, before departing with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

A wonderful traditional and seasonal evening of entertainment, and our thanks go to all the performers, audience, and Village Club staff. The charity raffle raised the amazing sum of £180 which has been donated to support the homeless charity Crisis and their Crisis at Christmas appeal. Next month’s club is hosted by Debbie on Thursday 3rd January when the theme will be “Family & Friends”.

Doug & Janny

With a noticeable change in our weather, my mind went to thoughts of temperature when setting a theme for the November meeting of the Folk Club.  I chose the theme “Hot and Cold” and, of course, the singers interpreted this in many different ways.

I opened the evening with Allan Taylor’s ‘Lady Take Your Time’ and then vacated the ‘stage’ for Janny & Maureen.  Their first song was ‘Horncastle Fair’ then, for their second, they were joined by Margaret for ‘Minnie Sherva’s Cradle Song’, beautifully sung in close harmony in a rather strange dialect.  The band known as ‘Ragged Round the Edges’ (alias Sue, Sally & Robin) were next up with the traditional ‘Cold, Haily, Windy Night’ and then ‘Ladies in Waiting’ by the late Maartin Allcock.  Poacher’s Pocket (Campbell and Colin) went on next featuring Campbell’s banjo on ‘Wind will still blow’ and his accordion on ‘Looking for some loving tonight’.  Keith Donnelly made a rare appearance in the early part of the evening as he finished the first half with two self-penned songs, ‘Only when the moon’ (with an impossibly complicated time signature) and ‘Freemantle Sand’.

The Folk Club Choir started the second half with two songs related to the First World War – ‘Only Remembered’ (as adapted by John Tams for the stage production of ‘War Horse’) and ‘Home, Lads, Home’ where the writer dreams of the return of both men and horses from the war.  I followed with ‘Some People Cry’ which draws attention to the cold weather endured by these who have to sleep on the streets.  Sue Crum, accompanied by Ted, sang ‘Punch and Judy Man’ (before anyone else could), recalling the seaside entertainer in warmer seasons, while Ted followed with ‘Wife of the Soldier’, an unusual Bertolt Brecht song with an original accompaniment on melodeon.  Also demonstrating instrumental skills was Rik who played concertina for Joni Mitchell’s ‘Urge for Going’ after giving us ‘Butter and Cheese and All’.  Martin sang ‘Cold Winds’ then followed with ‘Everything Glows’, a Les Barker spoof (on a Cole Porter ballad) which imagines the possible consequences of living too near to Sellafield.  Ian & Sue, playing guitar and banjo respectively, brought the second half to a close with two American songs, ‘Willy Moore’ and ‘Hand me down my walking cane’, both including the obligatory temperature words.

There was still plenty of music to go and a large proportion of the audience made the wise decision to stay for the third half.  Pete Bones got the ball rolling with two funny songs.  He was obviously pleased that the Kipper Family’s ‘Rusty Cold Farmer’ had one of the theme words in its title and also included some classic lines like “I don’t say a lot but I thinks it”.  He followed that with the ‘Bundling Song’ about the challenges of developing a romantic relationship tied up in a sack.  John Zetterstrom was up next with two of his own novelty songs, ‘I’ve got a song’ and ‘Mosquitoes’.  Once again, Don demonstrated his considerable guitar skill with The Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’, followed by the somewhat older standard, ‘Cry Me a River’.  Peter Mason chose a great James Taylor number, ‘Frozen Man’, and then Fred Wedlock’s hilarious song, ‘Early One Evening’, about a traveller who misguidedly hopes to enjoy some traditional pub hospitality. It was left to Dave Fry to close the evening for us, first with ‘Cinderella Shoes’ and then ‘The Rose of Allandale’, a great chorus song which allowed the rest of us to join in and raise the roof.  Hopefully the Village Club suffered no serious structural damage.

Our charity raffle raised a magnificent £101 which was split between Cancer Research UK and Ovacome, a charity which funds research and supports people affected by ovarian cancer.  The next Folk Club, at 8pm on December 6th, will be led by Doug and Janny with the theme of “Traditions”.

Peter McDonald

October’s Folk Club should have been hosted by Sue and Ted Crum who chose the evening’s theme of “Clothes”. Unfortunately, Ted was not well and could not attend so Steve and Maureen were asked to take on the running of the evening’s performances. In keeping with the theme, Steve’s attire was that worn at a traditional Nigerian wedding party, brightly coloured and the hat correctly flattened to one side. It was going to be a packed evening with 16 performers to be squeezed in over the three halves.

Maureen and Janny opened the first half with “Two Brothers” followed by the Threlfall Sisters’ “Gown of Green”. Poacher’s Pocket (comprising Colin and Campbell) produced some lovely harmonies when they sang for the first time a soldier’s love song called “Hold You” followed by “Bevin Boy”. Colin recalled that his father was called up during WW2 to work underground as a Bevin Boy digging for coal to support the war production industries and, unbelievably, he had to supply his own pick and shovel at his own expense. Rik sang Carol King’s “Tapestry” and then a very humorous song about a hermit who had the knack of donning his hat in a very embarrassing but strategic position. Don played his ukulele and sang “White Dress”, a number possibly written by Dave Swarbrick or Ralf McTell, followed by “Diddy Wah Diddy”. What did it mean he asked? Evidently it related to a lady sitting on her hat whilst in Church. Ragged around the Edges sang a traditional song “Ramble Away” which included references to denim, shoes, leather waistcoats and dresses. Then they gave us their rendition of Traffic’s “Hole in My Shoe” which reminded Steve of his Sixth Form Common Room days. Norman said he had turned up to escape this insane world and so closed the first half with Jake Thackray’s “Family Tree” and Bing Crosby’s “Swinging on a Star” which does give shoes a mention.

Pete and Liz opened the second half with “Yellow Handkerchief” which made references to stockings, shoes, jackets and, of course, the handkerchief. They followed with “I’m a Lady Policeman”, a quite suggestive song as she does like to draw her truncheon. Pete Mason performed “The Setting” and “January Man”. Martin played his steel ukulele and sang “Funeral Blues” which makes mention of a Stetson hat and then recited a poem about wanting his international folk festival back including the traditional wear of saris, cardigans and thongs. Pete Grassby was in fine voice as he beautifully sang “Pat McNab” all about a man saving up for a suit and then “Galway Shawl” referencing a bonnet and ribbons in the lyrics. Sue Harris just had to sing Sandra Kerr’s “Big Knicker Blues”. Ian and Sue sang “Goodbye Liza Jane” and “Boots of Spanish Leather”. Keith Donnelly closed the second half and amazed us as he played didgeridoo and guitar at the same time with “Redback in my Hat” and then sang a song about tolerance, “Happiness is a Sad Song”.

Des opened the third half with “Singing the Travels” and everyone joined in with the chorus of “Sailor’s Prayer”. Bill Bates had us in hysterics as he performed “Martha”, about a woman who lied about her size and weight on a dating site, as did the man she met. She then decided never to date online again due to lack of trust. The loudest audience laughter of the evening was saved for his song dedicated to Steve Knightley – “I wanna be Steve Knightley” – a man who never writes a bad song, don’t you know. Peter McDonald closed the evening with John Kirkpatrick’s “Laundro Loverette” where the entanglement of a man’s and woman’s clothes in the dryer was quite romantic. Peter brought the evening to a finale as he recounted his visit to eastern Tennessee where all the houses had front porches so it was appropriate that he sang Ashley Hutching’s “Appalachian Front Porch Game”.

It was yet another great evening at Harbury Folk Club, well supported by both the number of performers and a welcoming audience. With the news of the devastation caused by the Indonesian tsunami, everyone felt it was appropriate that the raffle monies should be donated to help with the aid needed to support those families in a desperate position. The audience and performers rallied to the cause and we raised a magnificent £156.

Next month’s Folk Club will be hosted by Peter McDonald and his theme for the evening will be “Hot and Cold”.

Steve Darby

The theme for 406th edition of Harbury Folk Club was ‘The Garden’. We had fewer performers than usual, but it was still a very varied and enjoyable evening.

Ian & Sue opened the evening with ‘Let the Mystery Be’ and ‘Down by the Willow Garden’. Don continued the theme with ‘The Garden of the Dead’ and ‘The Banks of the Roses’. Rik sang ‘Secret Gardens of the Heart’ and ‘Chickens in the Garden’. Ragged Round the Edges (same band, different name) performed ‘Who’s Garden Was This?’ and ‘Flowers in the Rain’. Margaret, accompanied by Peter on piano, sang beautifully about ‘A Proper Sort of Garden’ and Peter followed with one of my favourites  ‘The Lover’s Heart’. Norman closed the first half and had us all in hysterics with ‘In the Garden’ (how does your garden grown/groan?) and ‘Everything is Fresh Today’; he was assisted by Viv, complete with the appropriate visual aids!

Sue & Ian started the second half with ‘Garden Party’ and Martin followed with ‘Tortoises’ and a very funny Les Barker song called ‘Compost Bin’. Rik continued with the popular ‘The Seeds of Love’ and then Sue C demonstrated ‘One Potato, Two Potato’ and Ted sang ‘The Wanton Seed’. Next we were treated to very accomplished versions of ‘Summertime’ and ‘The Water is Wide’ from Lynne Briggs, a visitor to the Club from Australia. Peter performed ‘Garden Valley’ and then Poacher’s Pocket closed the evening with ‘The Last Tree Standing’ and ‘Weary Winter’.

The raffle raised £70 for Cancer Research UK which is the charity Ian chose for his recent Great North Run half marathon, so thank you for adding so generously to his sponsor money.

Next month it is Ted and Sue’s turn to host the evening and the theme will be ‘Clothes’.

Sue Hartland

The expression “the sky’s the limit” could have been coined especially for the 405th Harbury Folk Club on August 2nd. The theme was indeed “The Sky” and sixteen separate, talented and distinctive acts took to the floor with their interpretations of the theme.

First up, The Harvesters duo opened with The Beatles’ classic “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and followed it with “You Are My Sunshine”. Dave Fry was next to the floor, giving an early performance to allow his granddaughter to see him. He gave us “One Sky, One Moon, One Love” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain”. Pete and Liz gave us “Another Day Begins” and “The Wild Geese Calling” to O’Carolan’s familiar tune Planxty Irwin. Rik followed with “The Lark In The Clear Air” and “The Spinning Song”. Ted and Sue were next to the floor and sang John Denver’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane” and the traditional “Bitter Withy”, a song that relates how Jesus allegedly punished the Withy tree for being used to beat him by his mother. Norman provided “A Song About An Eagle”, a self-penned number with some wonderfully contrived rhymes. His lovely song “In The Sky” provided a participatory chorus with which the audience could join in. Don was shoe-horned into the next spot as we were running ahead of time at this point. He sang a Sister Rosetta Tharpe song “Above My Head” and followed that with T-Rex’s “Ride A White Swan”. The first half was brought to a resounding conclusion by Martin Day with “The Cuckoo”, with which he gave us a medley of both the British and American versions, and a hilarious song bemoaning “modern art” that is too often insubstantial and just plain daft!

The second half was opened by Des with the song my notes have recorded as “Blessed Quiet” and then his own song: “Rolling Back The Welfare State”, which had the audience enthusiastically accompanying. Mary and her mother Claire were next to the stage with cello, bodhran and clarinet. Mary sang “Magpie” and “City Of Stars” from the film “La La Land”. Robin was next to perform with a song about the Zulus, written by Huw Williams, and then Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “The Moon And St Christopher”. Debbie, our resident poet, read us her poems “Giving Me The Wings” and “Zona Nudista”, about a nudist beach. Peter Mason performed “We Circle Around The Sun” and Sandy Denny’s plaintive song “Who Knows Where The Times Goes?”. Campbell Perry and Colin Squire are jointly “Poacher’s Pocket” and they gave us “The Skylark” and Campbell’s own composition “When Billie Sang The Blues”, a song dedicated to the late, great Billie Holiday. Peter McDonald followed on after them with another Huw Williams’ song “Making Choices” and “Walk The Road”, written by Kate Rusby. The final act of the evening was the ever-popular Somerville Gentlemen’s Band. They started with “A Life That Is Good” and then a Music Hall song revived by the legendary Cosmotheka “Up Went My Little Umbrella”. The response to their performance earned them a well-deserved encore and they closed the evening with their own humorous song “The Country Banker”. 

A great evening was had by all and the raffle raised a magnificent £110.00 for Cancer Research UK, and I will be running for that charity in September’s iconic Great North Run. You can also donate through my JustGiving web site at:  www.justgiving.com/Ian-Hartland1

The next Folk Club will meet on Thursday 6th September at the Harbury Club, commencing 8:00pm, when Sue will lead the night with the theme: The Garden.

Ian Hartland

On the evening of July 5th, about 50 regulars and visitors arrived at the Village Club to take part on the 404th meeting of Harbury Folk Club.  In spite of the sun now sinking in the north western sky, the air temperature outside was still in the mid 20s so it was pleasant to enter the relative coolness of the Function Room.

With fine weather and summer holidays in mind, the theme for the evening was “Songs of the Sea”, so for 3 hours we indulged in escapism as songs about “wind in the rigging” and “good rolling seas” were enjoyed by the audience, who once again, were in fine voice for the choruses.

After Liz and I started, we were treated to programme presented by a total of 12 acts, the subject matter of which covered a wide variety of aspects to do with the sea. The line up included two duos who performed at the club for the first time.  These were the “Melancholy Brothers” and “Poacher’s Pocket”.  It was good to welcome both duos and I feel their respective contributions to the evening were well delivered and enjoyed by the audience.  I hope both duos visit the club again in the not too distant future.

Although most performances were to a high standard, I think my favourites of the evening were Janny and Maureens’ singing of the old favourite “Grey Funnel Line” and Norman Wheatley’s song entitled “Songs of the Sea” which he wrote specifically for the evening.

With having only 12 acts to fit in, it was possible to squeeze in a “third half”, though by now the audience had reduced to about 15.  Nonetheless it provided an informal and relaxing end to what had been another good evening for Harbury Folk Club.

Many thanks to all who contributed, whether as a performer or a member of the audience.  hanks also to those who contributed to the raffle which raised £106.00 which was handed over to the Harbury Village Club, who are always very welcoming and helpful. The next meeting of the club will be on August 2nd and will be hosted by Ian Hartland.  The theme is to be “Sky”.

Who Did What

First Half

Pete & Liz: Fiddlers’ Green

Rik Middleton: Dreamed with the Seagulls, Sunbathing

Janny and Maureen: Grey Funnel Line, Whitby Maid

Poacher’s Pocket: Old Whitby Harbour, The Golden Vanity

Peter Mason: Mary Ellen Carter, The Island (Ralph McTell)

Sue and Robin: You are the Ocean Wave, The Mermaid

Norman Wheatley: Retired Writer in the Sun (Donovan), Songs of the Sea

Second Half

Pete & Liz: King’s Navy

Daft Dames: Day we went to Bangor

Des: Drunken Sailor: Roll the Old Chariot Along

Martin Day: Down by the Dock, The Great Fish Fingering Disaster

Ian and Sue (Harvesters): The Blacksmith, Bonny Ship the Diamond

Melancholy Brothers: Wait ‘til the Sun goes down, Skimming Stones

Peter McDonald: I Once Was a Fisherman, Tall Ships

Third Half

Robin: Whip Jamboree

Poachers’  Pocket: Roseville Fair

Des: Boney was a Warrior

Peter McDonald: Riversong

Pete and Liz: Celtic Blessing

Peter Bones

Several regular performers were missing so there were only two halves to the evening’s entertainment. The theme for the evening was “All Creatures Great and Small”. There was no sign of Siegfried Farnon, Tristan, James, Helen, or any dogs, but there were enough performers to make the evening thoroughly enjoyable.

Maureen and Janny opened the first half with the Threlfall Sisters’ “Searching for Lambs” followed by Les Barker’s adaptation of the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, “My Husband’s got no Porridge in him”; there was a reference to a bidet being blocked by porridge, how messy that must have been! Ric sang a whaling song then told us how a grey-brown bird migrated 5,000 miles each year during January and February before breaking out with “A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square”. Sue and Ted had everyone joining in with the chorus of “The Larks they sing Melodious” and then made us all laugh as Ted played and sang to the Steeleye Span tune “All around my Hat” – “I’m going to Drown my Cat”; apparently, there was a problem in 1975 with a widdling cat that needed to be got rid of. Robin sang Ralph McTell’s “Bright and Beautiful Things” which contained references to spiders, birds, and Little Miss Muffet’s predicament. Sally joined Robin and they sang a sea shanty in the style of Kate Rusby, “The Wild Goose”. Norman told us the story of his placement at Radio Leicester in 1970 and how going through archive tapes he discovered the Incredible String Band’s “The Hedgehog Song” and then sang a self-penned song, “The Carnivore Song”, where he described 15 animals who are all going to die as “Mankind will eat them all”. Steve closed the first half with a recitation of “Guy of Warwick and the Old Dun Cow”. The audience joined in by making various animal sounds as each one cropped up including horse’s hooves, birds tweeting, sheep bleating, pigs squealing and oak trees barking.

The Folk Club Choir opened the second half with two apt songs – “All God’s Creatures got a Place in the Choir” and “Ca’ the Yowes” (a Scottish song about sheep).  Don played a guitar piece named after a dog, “Teddy’s walk”, and followed it with a very jazzy “Pretty Polly”. Sue and Sally performed “Tit Willow”, a piece from the Mikado, and then Robin joined them as they sang a Roy Bailey children’s song which described how different animals run, hop and walk.  Des told us the story of Gomez the randy Mexican Chihuahua, commenced his song and had us join in with a chorus of “Yes, we have no Chihuahuas” followed by “Windmill in Old Amsterdam” when someone shouted they had seen a mouse! “Where?” came the response, yes, you’ve guessed it, right there under the stair. Pete and Liz sang about two very big creatures –  firstly the story of the migration of whales from Mexico to the north coast of Alaska (a 6,000 mile journey) and secondly a mid-19th century song about a monstrous mammal washed up in Deeside which had incredibly large body parts. Peter McDonald closed the evening with a Copper Family song, “Innocent Hare”, a story of how the victim managed to escape from the pack of hounds, and then a sad song of “Jumbo the Elephant” who could dance and perform tricks under the abuse of the local Mayor. The Elephant turned wild and eventually sat on the Mayor with the inevitable consequence.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the evening, every performer played and sang well and managed to take into account the theme.  The raffle raised a generous £85 for TOFS, a charity that supports families whose child was born with no or only part of an oesophagus.

Next month’s Folk Club will be hosted by Peter Bones when the theme will be, “Songs of the Sea”.

Steve & Maureen

This month's theme was "Wild and Wonderful", and the performers entertained us with a wonderful choice of material. Doug’s notes though were not so wonderful, and apologies to the performers as they may be wildly inaccurate.

The evening was opened by the new duo of Janny and Lynne, and they played a beautiful slow Irish air followed by a song about a cross-dressing sailor. Rik gave us a couple of numbers about hares, one of which was wildly inappropriate before the watershed. Ted accompanied Sue’s delightful singing about a Dragon, before he risked a tale about a Bantam Cock. Debbie, our wild lady of poetry, was dressed in a onesie and read two of her fine poems; one about a rioter and the other Morris dancing on disability scooters. Peter McDonald, taking a break from his world tour, first sang about feeling so near and then warned us about flies in Australia. Don set himself the solo challenge of covering a six-piece Celtic rock band’s Mighty Atlantic, before retiring to the quiet of a country garden with nettle wine.

Janny and Lynne started the second half by playing two lovely traditional French tunes. Keith sang about our wonderful world, before amazing us with his newly composed rework of Wild Mountain Thyme in the new-to-us “Filk Music” genre. Martin sang about an American dam builder/sailor/railway man, before reading a mining disaster parody about a folk club. Ian and Sue beguiled us with the wild rose of the mountain before keeping on the sunny side. Pete Mason sang about faithful Nancy and wild seas, and then old England. Norman brought the second half to a close with images of the wilds of Africa and wildebeests, and then a self-penned number to a bewildered or was it a wildered audience?

The third half started with Andrew, who we believe was new to the club. He went back to the wild side, before asking us not to forsake his darling. Ragged Edge, Robin and Sue, gave us darkness their old friend, before welcoming to the world a new baby. Ray and Anne sang about shoals of herrings, before addressing all no-hopers, jokers and rogues. Pete Grassby closed the evening with two fine numbers, one about a wild mermaid, and then he rightly declared that it was a sin to tell a lie.

A wonderful and wild evening of entertainment and our thanks go to all the performers, audience, and Village Club’s staff. The charity raffle raised £75 which has been donated to Harbury e-wheels. Next month’s club is hosted by Steve and Maureen on Thursday 7th June when the theme will be “All creatures great and small”.

Doug & Janny

As well as being the 401st Folk Club, it was also the end of an era. Tonight this was to be Des’s last night at Harbury Folk Club as one of our MC’s. I can remember being asked if I could help Des with selling some raffle tickets at a Folk Club one night and it was not long before he asked me to introduce a few of the performers too. Also, on many occasions, I had read the Folk Club reports in the Harbury & Ladbroke News and, through Des, I became one of those contributors too. And here is the latest report.

Tonight’s theme was Foolish Behaviour and, once again, the performers did not disappoint. Des began the frivolities with ‘Landlord Fill the Flowing Bowl’ and this warmed up the audience with ‘tomorrow we’ll be sober’. His second offering was a Peter Seeger song, ‘We Shall Overcome’, and this was to mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Maureen and Janny were up next with a beautiful song, ‘What Will Become of Me/Sorry the Day’ by the Threlfalls, about a young girl being led to the altar in suspicious circumstances. They followed this with ‘Silly Old Fool’ a song by Artisan. This song was not about Steve or Doug, they told us. Rik, with a sore throat, sang ‘Falling of the Rain’ whilst playing his concertina. His second was about a sailor getting into all sorts of trouble on land when he met a young lady in ‘Barrack Street’.

Ray and Anne were up next. They sang ‘Martin Said to His Man’ about ‘who’s the fool now?’ and then performed the short and sweet lullaby, ‘Cherry Riddle’. Then along came Norman Wheatley. He sang a song all about ‘Wilbur’ who went parachuting even though he was rather accident prone! Norman is full of one-liners and tonight’s best was “If at first you don’t succeed, parachuting is not for you!”. Sometimes performers at Harbury Folk Club have problems with the theme. One of which is when someone performs the song that you were going to sing before you. The other is when a performer shoehorns their song into the evening’s entertainment whether it fits the theme or not. (I am guilty of this.) Then there is theme ‘creep’ where a performer carries unperformed songs forward from previous themes. And tonight Norman sang ‘Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose’ which was from Ted and Sue’s Folk Club in February! Pete and Liz Bones sang ‘Crazy Man Michael’ about a man being haunted by Satan! Then they did a Ralph McTell song, ‘Clown’, who ‘hangs up his smile by the door’.

The second half was started by Deb with her poem, ‘Make Believe’, all about the ups and downs in the world of fairy tales and followed this with ‘Down by the Sally Gardens’ about being young and foolish. Then the Daft Dames arrived, in costume, to sing ‘There is Nothing Like a Dame’. They are an experience to be witnessed. I am blessed to call them my friends. Ted and Sue sang ‘On One April Morning’ and then a Nic Jones song ‘Crockery Ware’. Dave Fry entertained us with ‘Act Naturally’ and then a song about a foolish animal who wanted to be a man with ‘I Wanna Be Like You’.

Our next performers were Rough (or were they ragged?) Around The Edges! They sang a Canadian song called ‘Foolish You’ and then they donned anoraks to sing ‘Walking in the Rain’. Peter McDonald sang a Huw Williams song, ‘The Days Before’, about being young and foolish and then ‘England Green and England Grey’.

Our traditional third half was begun by Pete Mason. His first offering was ‘The Bookkeeper’, where a chap falls for the chief accountant’s clerk. His second was about the ‘Wisdom of Standing Still’. Martin Day performed ‘Jackie Smith and her Spliff’ and then treated us all to some of Les Barker’s wonderful one-liners. The Harvesters were up next with ‘Lazy John’ about someone not pulling their weight on the plantations and then ‘Waiting at the Church’ about someone being dumped at the altar. Don Arthurson sang a song about a young girl’s stupidity in ‘Claudy Banks’ and then ‘Hear That Train A-coming’ about a son who doesn’t listen to his Mum’s advice.

The inimitable Keith Donnelly sang ‘Fools in Love’ and ‘Fools Fall in Love Too’. Both of these fitting the theme perfectly. Des finished off the evening with ‘When we First Met’ and that was the perfect end to his last folk club as MC. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Des very much as it was through him that I began my ‘career’ as an MC and I will be continuing to MC at Harbury Folk Club. I may ask for help with selling raffle tickets though.

We raised £77 for Age UK from the proceeds of the raffle so thank you again. Next month’s theme is: ‘Wild and Wonderful’ and your hosts are Janny and Doug.

Debbie

I had expected that the 400th session of Harbury Folk Club on March 1st would be a massive music party – perhaps a reunion of far too many performers to fit into the evening.  I’d heard from so many people who were planning to come but, alas, it wasn’t to be.  Strong winds, ice and severe drifting snow made it so difficult to move about, even on foot in the village, that a great many stayed at home.  Even a relatively local journey from Leamington was a challenge.  In the circumstances, the evening might appear to have been doomed but it was nothing of the sort.  Instead, the 15 singers and musicians who braved the elements presented a superb evening of quality music to an audience of about the same number.

Perhaps I was tempting fate but my theme for this special evening was ‘Magic Moments’.  I started the first half recalling a personal magic moment, singing the song that I used to start Folk Club number 1 on September 6th, 1984 – Alan Taylor’s “It’s good to see you”.  Janny and Maureen once again demonstrated their ability to sing in perfect unaccompanied harmony with two of their greatest hits, “Two Brothers” and “Cupid’s Garden”.  Pete and Liz Bones, who had also been at the very first session in 1984, interpreted the theme by performing “Puff, the Magic Dragon” and then, to balance the emotions, “Number Two Top Seam” about a mining disaster.  Keith Donnelly had bravely struggled from Leamington specially so that he could perform some real (?) magic – yes, like a proper magician, with a proper multi-coloured coat!  We had scarves of many colours appearing from nowhere and Keith even managed to produce a hat from out of a rabbit!  He followed this dazzling display of sleight-of-hand with a song, “The magic goes away”.  To take us up to the interval, Sue and Ted sang a favourite, “Come by the hills”, then Ted obliged with Flanders & Swann’s “Song of the weather” which seemed appropriate, to put it mildly.

Despite the grim weather, most of the Folk Club Choir were present to start the second half, singing another relevant song, Brian Bedford’s “The Weather Man Says”, which suggests that we put our complete trust in his every word.  Our second choir song was the popular “You raise me up” which nicely describes the effect that the Choir has on me.  I indulged myself a bit more by singing one of my all-time favourite songs, “Farewell to the Gold”, which relates a sad tale of fruitless panning for gold in New Zealand which ends in tragedy.  Then it was time for a rare appearance by the Daft Dames (alias Janny, Maureen, Sue, Celia & Lynne) with one of the first songs they ever inflicted on a defenceless audience – a rewrite of “My Favourite Things” for seniors!  Keith returned to the stage for one more song, the philosophical “Overlapping Stories” (“… we are just stories and songs …”) and he was followed by the Harvesters with two great numbers, Iris Dement’s “Let the Mystery Be” and one of their own songs, “One Step Forward”.

On this wintry night, we were very fortunate to be joined by that fine trio, the Somerville Gents, especially as  Phil had travelled from Stratford and Jem from Daventry.  They sang two songs as a trio – “If I had wings” and their original, hilarious “Crassanova” – and then, for a finale, they were joined by Ian, Sue and Sue to form the super-group, Gentle Heart.  As a six-piece band, they finished the evening in fine style with “Hallelujah”, “Goodbye Liza Jane” and a particularly fine version of “Parting Glass”.

It didn’t seem appropriate to extend the evening with our traditional ‘third half’ so we finished a little earlier than usual, reflecting on an evening of such good music.  So, it was a memorable evening after all, but perhaps not in the way we were expecting.

The raffle raised a terrific £116 (boosted by a donation from the Folk Club Orchestra) for Cancer Research.  I must thank everyone, performers and audience alike, for coming out on such an evening and the staff at the Club for ensuring that we were well looked after.  The next Folk Club session will be at 8pm on April 5th when the hosts will be Des and Debbie with their theme, ‘Foolish Behaviour’.

Peter McDonald

This being the 399th Harbury Folk Club meeting, much was said in anticipation of next month’s milestone.  However, it didn’t deter anyone from the music on a chilly night since we were as always warm, well lubricated and in thoroughly good company.

This month’s theme was “Some you win, some you lose”.  February 1st being Candlemas Eve, when all the church congregations would bring their year’s supply of candles to church to be blessed, Sue Crum started the ball rolling with her version of Kate Rusby’s “Candlemas Eve”.  Don followed with the Bob Dylan favourite, “Is your love in vain”, and “The Blacksmith” from the singing of Shirley Collins.  Mention should be made of his super guitar technique.  Andrew, friend of Martin Day and newcomer to Harbury, sang “City of New Orleans” and the Ricky Skagg’s number “I’m crying my heart out over you”.  Next up was the threesome, Right side of the Grass, who sang a song recollecting travel on the Gulf Coast highway, and the 1930’s torch song “Stormy Weather”.  Following them was Rik, who reckons he only sings love songs in February, so Billy Joel’s “She’s got a way” and Jim Croce’s “Time in a bottle” fitted both the theme and Rik’s February resolution.  Peter McDonald sang Les Barker’s take on “Lord Franklin” and “Pack up your sorrows”, a song he told us he learned at school.  Maureen and Janny finished the first half in their usual charming style with Brian Bedford’s “Snakes and Ladders”, and were joined by Ian Hartland on guitar for “Ballad of the shape of things”.

We recently enjoyed the annual Harbury Concert in the Village Hall and the act who opened the second half of the concert were persuaded to do the same for the Folk Club.  On they came, four suspiciously familiar ladies dressed in what appeared to be their grannies’ bathing costumes, and launched headlong into “Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor”.  Ably assisted by Sven, the inflatable man (don’t ask!), a set of marginally musical kazoos, and a crate of cider, they rendered we the audience weak with laughter.  Phil followed with “Leaving of Liverpool” and “Frankie and Johnny”, followed by Pete and Liz who sang “Heads you win, tails you lose” and “Three score and ten” about a night in 1889 when seventy fishermen out of Grimsby were drowned during a storm.  An almost unprecedented delight next: Celia (who is a member of the Folk Club Choir and the Orchestra) took the stage solo to give us dramatic renditions of two poems, Pam Ayres’ “The cunning vending machine” and Les Barker’s “Odd sock”.  Ian and Sue sang “A man of constant sorrow” and the Louvin Brothers’ “I don’t believe you’ve met my baby”.  Martin closed the second half playing A GUITAR(!!!).  A first for him at Harbury, and he sang “I got no love today”, following it with a poignant monologue from Cockersdale, “Tortoises always come last”.

We entered the third half with another debut performance, this time from Margaret, another member of the Folk Club Choir and Orchestra, who, ably assisted by her best husband, produced a lovely version of Joni Mitchell’s “Both sides now”.  To send us home happy, Keith sang “That’s alright by me” and finished with “Talking folk club blues”.

Another super night of music and fun, and our lovely audience donated £81.00 which has gone to the MND (the motor neurone disease charity).  Don’t forget our next Folk Club (the 400th!!) will be on March 1st at the village club, and the theme will be “Magic Moments”.

Ted Crum

The theme for 398th edition of Harbury Folk Club was ‘Points of the Compass’. We had fewer performers than usual, but it was still a very varied and enjoyable evening. Sue & Ian opened the first half with ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee’ [which mentions west] followed by ‘Sweet Sunny South’. Rik sang ‘ The Spanish Lady’ [north and south] and a Music Hall favourite, ‘If it wasn’t for the ‘ouses in Between’. Next to perform were three familiar faces with a new name, ‘The Right Side of the Grass’, who gave us ‘Lord Franklin’ and ‘Word of Mouth’. Don treated us to some excellent guitar playing with ‘Gift of a Brand New Day’ and ‘Andrew’s Rag’. Pete Grassby followed with a rousing ‘Fosse Way Shanty’ that had us all singing along and then in contrast he sang a beautiful Maori song. Ted & Sue finished the first half with ‘Bold Riley’ and ‘A Transport of Delight’.

The Harbury Folk Choir started the second half with the two carols they had sung in Church on Christmas Eve, ‘Mary Came to Jesus’ and ‘In Bethlehem City’. Peter McDonald continued with ‘ Boots of Spanish Leather’ [western] and ‘My Wagon Keeps on Rolling’. The Right Side of The Grass performed a lovely song called ‘Going to the West’ and then Rik sang ‘The Oak & the Ash’ followed by ‘The Ballad of Bethnal Green’. Pete Grassby returned and sang ‘Turn the Glasses Over’ and then Ian joined him to play two tunes ‘Sex Tour’ [a Scandinavian tune] and ‘Morgan Rattler’. Sue & Ted continued with a seasonal Wassailing Song and Keith closed the evening singing ‘You are my Lodestone’ and ‘Bonzo the Dog-Faced Boy’

The raffle raised £90 for The British Heart Foundation; thank you all for contributing. Ted & Sue are your hosts for next month when the theme will be ‘You win some, you lose some’.

Sue Hartland