2023 Reports

Choosing to run a Folk Club without a pre-set theme might seem like a liberating opportunity to sing any song of one’s choice. Then again, a couple of dissenting voices suggested that having a theme at all made choosing suitable material so much easier. The Jury is out on that one…

The 443rd Harbury Folk Club was opened by The Harvesters with their 30-year-old self-penned “Bring Out The Old Songs”. This was followed with Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More”. Rik can often be relied upon to surprise and this was no exception. He delivered three poems: “When Daddy Fell Into The Pond”, a tongue twister about Betty’s Butter and “James James Morrison’s Mother”. Michael Luntley followed with “Trespass’ based on a John Clare poem, and “When A Knight Won His Spurs”. Pete and Liz went a capella for their spot, with the skillfully rendered “Patapan” and the ‘Trunch’ standard “The Ivy And The Holly”. Dave Fry made a welcome return to the club and evoked the seasonal spirit with “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”. He followed this with the “Simple Song Of Freedom”. Bob Clucas was up next with an informative introduction to one of the more colourful members of his family, his Uncle George. The song that followed narrated George’s adventures in Birmingham. Debbie followed with the beautifully-sung “Scarlet Ribbons” and her poem “Shopping”. To close the first half, we welcomed The Somerville Gentlemen’s Band, who performed Steve Knightley’s “Exile” and completed their contribution with the Jim Reeves’ classic “He’ll Have To Go”.

The second half was opened by the Harbury Folk Club Choir with two John Kirkpatrick Christmas songs: “The Holly And The Ivy” and “Chariots”. Peter McDonald continued with Huw Williams' “Rosemary’s Sister” and Paul Metsers' “Bring It To Be”. No, that’s not a typo; the song means: make it happen. Don Arthurson was next to the floor with the expertly performed “Diddy Wah Diddy” and then his regular December contribution, “ In The Bleak Midwinter”, which he cleverly intersperses with a hint of George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun”. Pete Grassby made a quick appearance with “The Stranger” before having to leave early for family reasons. Peter Mason was up next and sang the folk club standard “Streets Of London”. Then he gave us “When Winter Comes Howling In” (most of us would, I suspect, hope it doesn’t). Keith Donnelly gave us his trademark humorous spot with “Four Minutes, Thirty-Two-And-A-Half Minutes”, a reference to when he’d apparently been threatened with legal action over copyright infringement by the lawyers of avant-garde composer, John Cage! He then recalled an anecdote of Christmas pub antics when a student a Warwick University. Bob Hodgkiss squeezed in a valedictory song, “When I Leave The World Behind”. To close an impressive evening of songs and poems, the five-piece Rumble-o performed the Nickel Creek version of “The Fox” and then an instrumental version of Jona Lewie’s Christmas anthem “Stop The Cavalry”, complete with the obligatory tuba.  

Sixteen acts provided an unforgettable evening of entertainment and all we ask each month of an audience is a £1.00 per person donation in a bucket to cover the hire of the room. Now where else can you get such great value?

The raffle raised an impressive £80.00 for Myton Hospice. Next month, on Thursday January 4th, the club will be run by Peter McDonald and he has chosen for his theme: Thanksgiving. 

Ian Hartland

If ever there was a competition for the least appropriate folk club theme, the meeting of Nov 2nd must be a strong contender.  I chose the theme of ‘The Great Outdoors’ while thinking of the wonderful holidays of this year which included walking, cycling and sailing, all in glorious sunshine.

As we gathered for the Folk Club of Nov 2nd, the weather was rather different, as Storm Ciaran battered the area with strong winds and driving rain. In view of the weather, I expected that the numbers attending would be rather depleted, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that at the start, there was an audience of about 40.

Liz and I started the evening with singing “Isle of Eigg” which is a well-known song set on the West Coast of Scotland.  It has a refrain and the audience were in fine voice and joined in with enthusiasm.  This gave rise to a warm and friendly atmosphere which continued throughout the evening.

The session included a total of 13 different acts and most of the items performed had some association with the Great Outdoors, but with varying degrees of connectivity.

On the whole, I think the standard of performance was okay.  I particularly enjoyed the items presented by The Harvesters, Peter McDonald, Michael Luntley and the very funny, self-penned monologue by Hugh.  A somewhat depleted Harbury Folk Club Choir also performed and, judging by the reaction of the audience, was well received.

Liz and I finished the evening at about 10:20pm, with “Parting Song”, as written by Dave Webber.  The members of the audience were still in fine voice and joined in the choruses with gusto.  It was a fitting end to what had been another fine evening.

The raffle raised £48.00 which was donated to the British Legion Poppy Appeal.  Thanks to all those who bought tickets. The next meeting of the club will be on December 7th, and is to be hosted by Ian Hartland. There will be no set theme.

Pete Bones

Who Sang What 

First Half

Liz and Pete: Isle of Eigg
Rik Middleton: Old Molly Metcalfe, Get the Urge for Going
Hugh (from Warwick): Avoid the Great Outdoors (monologue), Staying indoors (monologue)
Peter McDonald: Where Ravens Feed, They Never Mention the Flies
John C: The Hiring Fair, Fields of Athenry
Richard Collier: When the Snow of Winter Falls, Now the Cat’s in the Kitchen
Michael Luntley: ?, Strangers Unbidden

Second Half

Folk Club Choir: Only Remembered, Home Lads Home
Tricia: Camp Granada
Keith Donnelly: Pink Polyester Shirt, I don’t know about that
Dora (from Lillington): Barges (Ralph McTell), Erie Canal
Ian and Sue (The Harvesters): Deep River Blues, Who will watch the Home Place?
Mike (from Leamington): The Island, Feel the Sand beneath our Feet
Pete and Liz: The Parting Song (Dave Webber)

The theme chosen for the Folk Club held on 6th October was “Body Parts” and I was slightly anxious about how the theme would be interpreted.  Luckily it turned out to be a really lovely evening with excellent choices of material and nothing at all to be censored.

I started off by singing “The Female Drummer”, accompanying myself on a snare drum for a change.  Peter McDonald followed by singing “Sing me a song, Mr Bloom” and a beautiful love song written by Enda Kelly, “Heart Tattoo”.  Mike Greenhalgh followed, singing two self-penned songs, “The Runner” and “Chicken Brain”.  Ian made a rare solo performance as Sue had lost her voice.  He  sang two golden oldies, “From Me to You”, made famous by the Beatles and “Love is all around you” from the singing of the Troggs as he decided the anything older than 50 years could be classified as a folk song!  The audience joined in enthusiastically. 

On his first visit to the Folk Club, Hugh read us two of his poems, “It’s a sign you are getting older” which found resonance with many of us and “Body Blow” which he had written specially for the evening.  Rik sang two songs with many, many references to parts of the body (I think he won the prize for most different parts mentioned) in “The Hermit”, a song from 1960’s, and the children’s song, “Some things that the grown ups just won’t tell you” by Mike Harding.   Keith finished the first half by singing two beautifully haunting love songs –  “The girl on Platform 3” and “My sister and Laura and me” – which left the audience humming the tune through the break and when they got home.

I started the second half with “The Little Gypsy Girl”. John followed by singing “Big Blue” by Gordon Lightfoot and “Ride on”.  Trisha read a poem “Mary’s Ghost” written in 1826 by Thomas Hood.  It was all about body snatching; it was a perfect poem for the theme if somewhat macabre and a great first performance at Folk Club.  Bob followed that by “Transplant Calypso” by Jeremy Taylor, another perfect song for the theme!

Pete and Liz sang “You Need Skin” by Leon Rosselson  and “The Miraculous Fish”, a Graham and Eileen Pratt song about a sea monster washed up on the estuary of the Dee.   Showing that he could play the uke as well as the guitar, the very talented Don sang a Gilmore and Roberts song, “Ghost of a ring”, and “I need Your love so bad” written by Little Willie John and made famous by Fleetwood Mac 

Peter Mason sang the lovely Brian Bedford song “Wings” and the love song “When you shook your long hair down” by Tom Paxton.  It was great to welcome Dave Fry back to the Folk Club and he finished the evening off in fine style with “Mr. Cellophane” from Chicago and “With her head tucked underneath her arm”, a favourite music hall song by Weston and Leigh.

It was a particularly good evening and the raffle raised £60.00 for Cancer Research.

Next month’s Folk Club will be run by Pete Bones and the theme will be 'The Great Outdoors'.

Sue Crum

The theme for the 440th Folk Club was Bitter Sweet. The Harvesters opened with “Bitter Green” followed by “Ned of the Hill”. Mike was next with a Travis Tritt song entitled “I don’t love you anymore” followed by a song he co-wrote called “Exclusively Yours”. Dave sang a Harry Chapin song, “Cats in the Cradle”, and then the audience joined in with him singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. Maureen and Sue performed next, singing “The Deserter” and then “Our Captain cried all Hands”. Rik was next with an Edith Piaf song entitled “Lovers for a Day” and then the beautiful ABBA song, “Like an Angel passing through my Room”. Bob finished the first half singing “A Case of You” and then he described his glass of Doom Bar beer while Don and Ann got their instruments to accompany Bob’s next song “Barges”.

The Harbury Folk Club Choir started the second half with “Bright Morning Star” and “Let’s Recycle”. Next was Richard singing “Plaisir D’Amour” and then a Tom Paxton song, “I’ve got nothing but Time”. Des raised the roof singing “Sammy’s Bar” and a Keith Donnelly composition which was a shanty take on “Sally Free and Easy”. John followed with a Cat Stevens song, “Moon Shadow”, and then “Forever Autumn”. Don was next with “My Father’s Song” and an Appalachian Gospel Song with Bob and Ann joining him. Peter closed the evening with “Liberty’s Sweet Shore” and “Farewell to the Gold”.

The raffle raised £60 for Myton Hospice; thank you to everyone who contributed. Next month the theme is “Body Parts” and the hosts are Maureen, Steve and Sue.

Sue Hartland

For the 439th Folk Club, I chose ‘From Cradle to Grave’ for this month’s theme. I also chose The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC) for my charity too. The ambulance service deal with all patients from the cradle to the grave and this charity is dedicated to caring for those who are members of the UK’s ambulance community. I spent 10 years in the ambulance service and I would have benefitted from this charity in so many ways.

So to start the evening’s entertainment, I began by singing one of my favourite songs, ‘Liverpool Lullaby’. Then I introduced Robin who sang a James Taylor song, ‘Sweet Baby James’, and followed with ‘Arlington’ as in the famous cemetery in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Rik was next. He sang ‘Ploughing’ about somebody speaking to someone beyond the grave. Then he sang ‘Three Bells’ in English. This was an original 1940’s French song. I had two new faces come to the folk club. The first was Mike Greenhalgh. He performs at a lot of Dementia Cafes. His first song was by the Zac Brown Band and ‘Lance’s Song’. His second was self-penned and it was called ‘Mirror on the Wardrobe’ and it was about getting older. My next new face was John Colenso and his first song was about reincarnation called ‘John Barleycorn’ and he finished with ‘Baker Street’. Don sang a U2 song called ‘All I Want Is You’ that had the theme of the evening in the lyrics. His second offering was ‘Faithful’. To finish the first half I had The Harvesters who sang one of my favourite Johnny Cash songs ‘A Long Black Veil’ and a song by Joan Baez ‘Unquiet Grave’.

To start the second half I began with a self-penned poem called ‘Put Your Arms Around Me’ which was about someone needing comfort as they passed away. Then I had Bob from the Bianco Barbershop Quartet recite the poem ‘Sparkie’s Magic Contraceptive’ that the late Les Barker wrote. He performed this in the Les Barker Tribute Concert at Warwick Folk Festival. Then I had Dave Carvell, supported by Shirley King, and he sang ‘Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones’ and a welcome repeat of ‘Three Bells’. Another folk club regular Pete Mason sang ‘Now I’m Easy’ that mentioned births and deaths in it. His second was ‘The Dalesman’s Litany’. After Pete Mason I had Pete and Liz Bones up to perform. They sang ‘Rocking the Cradle’ about a man left in the lurch. Then they sang ‘Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day’ which was a popular 1930’s song. Then I managed my second ever Peter triptych in the history of my MC’ing at Harbury by asking Peter McDonald to almost complete the evening. His first song ‘Hard on Your Heels’, a song by Paul Metsers, was perfect for the theme. He also played the Appalachian Dulcimer beautifully. Then his second was a Joni Mitchell song ‘Circle Game’. To finally finish the evening I invited Pete and Liz Bones to sing ‘Three Score Years and Ten’.

The raffle raised £50 for the TASC and their head office is based in Coventry. The next folk club will be on 7 th September and will be hosted by Sue Hartland and the theme will be 'Bitter Sweet'.

Debbie Ellis

The theme for the 438th session of Harbury Folk Club on July 6th was “Pleasant and Delightful” just because I liked the sound of those two words together.  It turned out to be quite a challenge for many of the performers but most of them ingeniously related their songs to the subject.  In a month when I might have expected to be short of performers, in fact I had 15 acts to fit in so it was quite a long evening – and very good value for just £1 entry!

I started the evening with ‘The Appalachian Front Porch Song’ which imagines the happy gatherings that might have taken place when Cecil Sharp visited the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1917 to collect songs and tunes.  Norman thought that the theme was quite tricky but still managed to find two suitable songs – ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off her’ and the self-penned ‘In the Sky’.  Rik chose the Hebridean ‘The Spinning Wheel’ and, with his granddaughter in mind, Billy Joel’s ‘Lullaby - Goodnight, My Angel’.  In an evening where female performers were heavily outnumbered by the men, it was good to see Sue & Maureen singing together with ‘The Leavetaking’ followed by a folk club favourite, ‘Come By The Hills’.

Bob gave us Neil Young’s plaintive song ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ and then an original song about village life.  Michael was up next with ‘I’m Waiting for You’ (from The Detectorists) followed by the traditional ballad ‘Lord Franklin’.  Pete Grassby made a flying visit to the Club with two contrasting unaccompanied songs – the ballad ‘Up the Noran Water’ and then his own composition ‘Guilty Sleeps’ (which struck a chord with many in the audience or, at least, those who were still awake!).  The Harvesters finished the first half with two lively bluegrass-flavoured numbers, both featuring Sue’s banjo – ‘Keep on the Sunny Side’ and ‘The Cuckoo’.

In their usual spot in the evening, the Folk Club Choir started the second half with the a cappella song ‘O Makunde’ (adapted from the Cirque du Soleil show, ‘Ka’) followed by the up-tempo ‘Diamonds on the Water’, one of the Oyster Band’s greatest hits.  My second song was ‘Come Walk With Me’ (by Liz Weston) where a parent encourages their offspring to appreciate nature in its many pleasant and delightful forms.  Dave C gave us two well-known songs that we could sing along to – Donovan’s ‘Yellow is the Colour’ and ‘Messing About on the River’ – then our resident poet, Debbie, read two of her own poems, including ‘Mobility Morris’ (will it catch on in Harbury?).  Peter Mason also chose two great sing-along songs – the traditional ‘Whisky in the Jar’ and then Steve Tilston’s ‘Slip Jigs and Reels’.  

Don is always finding interesting songs and this month was no exception – he sang Hannah Rarity’s beautiful song ‘Neath the Gloamin’ Star of E’en’ followed by the intriguing ‘Love that makes a cup of tea’, on which he was accompanied by Bob and Ann.  Des was on good form as he led us through the classic ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ and then the mournful ‘Disaster at Sea’, only to discover it was a spoof tale about a cargo of woodpeckers in a timber ship!  Pete Bones was missing Liz but breezed through a couple of fine songs on his own – ‘Bonny Maid of Fife’ and ‘Fiddlers’ Green’, with its great chorus.  Then it was left to the Choir to return to the stage and finish the evening in harmony with the traditional ‘Pleasant and Delightful’; the audience were in fine voice too.

The charity raffle raised £78 for Cancer Research UK.  The next Folk Club will be at 8pm on August 3rd, in the Village Club as usual, when Debbie will be the host and her theme will be “From Cradle to Grave”.

Peter McDonald

“Repent Ye Sinners’ they shouted. But to no avail. Eleven acts all performed material in praise of the Seven Deadly Sins, the theme for Folk Club number 437 on June 1st.

The evening opened with The Harvesters singing “Lazy John” (Sloth), followed by “Lily Of The West” (variously featuring Wrath, Lust and Envy). To follow, Rik gave us “Three Drunken Maidens” (Gluttony) and a revised version of a Jake Thackray song, renamed “The Harbury Ladies’ Magic Circle” (Pride?).  Robin and Sally were next to the stage with The Small Faces’ “Lazy Sunday Afternoon” (more Sloth), and then John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” (Envy, obviously). We were delighted to see Norman Wheatley back at the Folk Club and he commenced his set with “Life Gets Tee-jus, Don’t It?” (Sloth), and then Jesse Winchester’s lovely song “No Pride At All” (Pride). Debbie was next reading a couple of her self-penned poems – the first “Under The Radar” (Wrath), and then “Forbidden Fruit” (Lust and probably Gluttony). The first half was brought to a fine conclusion by Peter McDonald with Tom Paxton’s “I Thought You Were An Arab” about an FBI ‘sting’ operation (Greed), and he performed “The Trunch Temperance Rallying Song” which asks: “Are you dry?” (Gluttony, most likely).

The second half began after a relaxed break as we had only five more acts to feature. Don kicked off proceedings with Gretchen Peters’ “When All You’ve Got Is A Hammer” (Wrath), and the appropriately-named Fairport Convention song “Sloth”. Des commenced his set with what he described as a ‘Stevedore Shanty’, “Fire Marengo” (Lust), and followed that with “Rolling Back The Welfare State” (Wrath, Greed and Gluttony). Dave was next to entertain us and commenced with one of the shortest Beatle’s songs of all, ”Her Majesty” (sin not identified). He then sang Harry Champion’s Music Hall favourite “I’m Henery The Eighth I Am” (probably all SEVEN sins accounted for in that monarch’s lifetime!). Keith Donnelly followed and may have veered away from the theme a smidgeon with his “Invisible Bob” and then his technology-assisted “What Use Is A Loop Pedal”, proving that with just four repeated chords you could sing a seemingly endless medley of hit songs. To complete a thoroughly enjoyable evening, Pete Grassby provided an unaccompanied Scottish song detailing how a group of unarmed women defeated a small army (almost certainly Lust). To close the evening he sang “It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie” (a hit for ’The Ink Spots’, amongst others) which wrapped up the evening’s theme nicely.

The raffle raised £52.00 for Myton Hospice. Thanks must go again to Harbury Club for providing such an ideal venue for live music which is, after all, what a Folk Club is all about. Next month’s Club will be on Thursday 6th July when Peter McDonald will host proceedings with the theme of “Pleasant And Delightful”. 

Ian Hartland

It was the 4th May and it had to be said “May the 4th be with You”! The Coronation of Charles III was just 39 hours away as the Folk Club commenced the evening to the theme of “A Right Royal Occasion”.

Sue and Maureen opened the evening with Lavenders Blue, a song from 1670 which contained the words “When I am King, dilly dilly, you shall be Queen”, “Camilla, Camilla” didn’t quite fit the music. They followed this with an Artisan song written by Brian Bedford, “Left Right, Right Left”, with reference to “All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men”.

Sally and Robin came prepared and sang the Lumineers song, “Charlie Boy”, and then “The Skye Boat Song” which tells a tale of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s journey from Benbecula to Skye. Next came Immanuel’s Ground West Gallery Quire making their debut with two harmonious songs, “Glorious Apollo” and a local song “Brailes”, which was a unique Warwickshire sound. Rik had everyone laughing with the humorous song about Isobel who was a passionate lady and enjoyed the pleasures of her men in both Westminster Abbey and the Royal Albert Hall and followed this with Jake Thackray’s “King Arthur”. The first half closed with the riotous return of The Daft Dames who were wearing their Sou’westers and sang reprises of their recent performance in the Village Hall of Thomasz Shaffenaker (yes, the BBC weather forecaster) and seamlessly went into “It’s raining Svens” which at one point involved tossing plastic figures into the audience. Loud applause with the odd cheer came from the audience.

The Folk Club Choir opened the second half with the appropriate “May Song” followed enthusiastically by “Queen of Waters” and then the injured and debilitated Peter McDonald played his piano and emotionally sang Carole King’s “Will You Love me Tomorrow” and then read Les Barker’s very funny poem “Voicemail” which was well received. Pete Mason recited a self-penned poem/story about Mary Temple, Charles I and II, and the Indemnity and Oblivion Act of 1660. Pete had done a lot of historical research to produce it which everyone was fascinated by. Immanuel’s Ground returned to perform a wonderful shape-note style song, “Jerusalem”, written by Isaac Watts. Ian and Sue sang a traditional song, “Fair are the Flowers in the Valley”, and paid tribute to Gordon Lightfoot who had just passed away by singing his song “Gypsy”. The evening closed with the brilliant Rumble-o band who firstly performed “Golden Vanity”, which was a fictitious ship from the 16th century, think Mary Rose, and which was scuttled in battle and finished with the Proclaimers’ “I’m on My Way” – they really were good!

Steve looked at the clock and there was still plenty of time for another performance so, to finish the evening for a second time and involve the audience, Peter and Graham got together for another reprise from the recent village hall concert of Les Barker’s infamous “'Ere we Go”, well actually it’s “Earwig O”. Everyone joined in, hands in the air waving from side to side in unison, loudly singing along the chorus.

It was another great evening of entertainment; every performer was on form and we all went home with smiles on our faces.

The raffle raised £80 for Cancer Research.  Next month’s Folk Club will be run by Ian Hartland with the theme of “The Seven Deadly Sins”.

Stephen and Maureen Darby, Sue Crum

The only thing one can be sure about a meeting of the Harbury Folk Club is that it is never predictable.  This was never more so than on April 6th when we held our 435th meeting of the Folk Club in Harbury Village Club.

Being spring, the chosen theme for the evening was ‘Growth and Growing’.  After Liz and I opened with the well-known Robbie Burns song, “Green Grow the Rushes”, it became apparent that the audience was in fine voice, and eager and willing to join in with any chorus songs.  This enthusiasm continued as there followed a number of excellent performers, and when their items included choruses or refrains to join in with, the response was very good.  Perhaps the best example of this was Peter McDonald singing the beautiful Dougie MacLean song, “Wild and Windy Night”.

Although there was a good number in the audience, we had fewer than usual performers, so it was a case of quality rather than quantity.  As the evening’s entertainment was coming to a close, Keith Donnelly was doing his usual fusion of music and comedy, when he was interrupted by a chap who appeared to have come straight from a building site and was probably not used to a Folk Club environment.  In a somewhat over-enthusiastic manner, he requested the singing of “Streets of London”.

Keith, in his usual professional style, turned this situation into one of good natured humour, and we all finished the evening aching with laughter, including our unexpected visitor.  This brought an end to what had been another very good evening.  Thanks to all who took part. 

Thanks also to those who supported the raffle which raised £68.00 for the Salvation Army

The next meeting of the club will be on May 4th and hosted by Sue Crum and Maureen & Steve Darby.  Being near the time of the Coronation, the theme is to be “A Right Royal Occasion”.

Pete Bones

Who Sang What 

First Half

Liz and Pete: Green Grow the Rushes
Bob Clucas: Miller Song (from Bagpuss), Fergus the Frog
Peter Mason: John Barleycorn, Girl from the Hiring Fair
Maureen and Sue: On an April Morning, The Dragon Song
Richard Collier: Bangs of Grane, My Grey Hawk
Michael: Humility Purpose and Grace, We Should have Built You Palaces
Peter McDonald: Don’t Slay That Potato, Wild and Windy Night

Second Half

Folk Club Choir: Follow the Heron, All Fools Day
Ian and Sue  (Harvesters): Some Day Soon, What Have They Done to the Rain?
Don Arthurson: Growing Apart, Going Wild
Bob Clucas: Carpenter on a Tree
Keith Donnelly: Green Grow the Issues O
Pete and Liz: Celtic Blessing

The 434th Folk Club took place at the Harbury Village Club on 2nd March and the theme was ‘Movement’. I chose this theme as I have a family friend who has been diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease. I have raised funds for the Stroke Association before where people find that they cannot move. This time I wanted to raise funds for those people who cannot stop moving.

In the first half, Bob Clucas opened the proceedings with a Ralph McTell song ‘Kenny the Kangaroo’ and then, accompanied by Ann & Don, he performed a Vin Garbutt song, ‘When the Tide Turns’. Maureen & Sue sang ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ which is one of my favourites and finished with the Bernard Cribbins song ‘Right Said Fred’. Another folk club regular, Peter Mason, sang an English folk song ‘Joseph Baker’ and we found ourselves circling around the sun by Chris While. Sue Harris sang ‘My Old Man Said Follow the Van’ and ‘Ten Cents a Dance’.

The Harvesters sang about the great depression in the USA with ‘Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor’ and ‘Rock Me Mama (Wagon Wheel)’ a Bob Dylan song. Rik sang a traditional song ‘Stanton Drew and ‘Song For A Seagull’ by Joni Mitchell. Pete Grassby sang ‘Stable Lad’ by Peter Cape and ‘Home Lads Home’ and the Harbury Chorus Engine joined in too.

In the second half, Don started with ‘Rhythms of Your Grace’, a self-penned song, and followed that with the ‘Eyes of Ida Lewis’ by Reg Meuross. Don stayed on along with Sally & Robin to sing ‘Monmouth’ a song written by Robin and ‘As the Tide Rushes in’ by the Moody Blues. Peter McDonald did two beautiful offerings with ‘Riversong’ by Peter Metsers and ‘River Run’ by James Keelaghan.

Rumble-o performed the sea shanty ‘Keep Hauling’ and the ‘Detectorists’ by Johnny Flynn. Dez sang a song by Ron Shuttleworth which was all about bodily movements and a song by the late Les Barker about breaking wind suddenly! Pete & Liz Bones found a sub theme and sang ‘Two Coats Colder’ about whales migrating around the Pacific Rim and followed that with an Edna McKay song ‘Wind and Tides Permitting’. Keith Donnelly finished the evening with ‘Only When the Moon’. The impressive total of £113.00 was raised for Huntington’s Disease and this included £35 for the sale of an 18” bodhran that my Mum donated. The next folk club will be on 6th April and it will be with your host Peter Bones and the theme is ‘Growth & Growing’.

Debbie Ellis

The theme for the 433rd Folk Club was ‘Romance’ and we were treated to a fine selection of romantic songs.

The Harvesters opened with ‘A Cut Above’, a song written by Ian about a romantic trip on the Birmingham Canals.  This was followed by the well known standard ‘Till There Was You’.  Sue Harris followed with ‘Devoted to You’ and ‘Love Will You Walk With Me?’  Dennis was next with ‘The Streets of Love’ and ‘One Last Love Song’.  Maureen & Sue performed ‘Sally Gardens’ and ‘The Punch and Judy Man’.  Rik continued with ‘Time in a Bottle’ and ‘Outward Bound’.  Debbie recited 2 of her self penned love poems and Peter McDonald closed the first half with ‘Lord Franklin’ and ‘Dipsticks and Seals’ in memory of Les Barker.

The Choir kicked off the second half singing ‘A little Bit of Love’ and ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’.  Keith recited a poem entitled ‘Love in a Real World’ and sang ‘Bones’.  Des followed with ‘Fakenham Fair’ and the lovely ‘Sammy’s Bar’ which has a great chorus we all joined in with.  David sang ‘He’ll have to go’ and ‘I’ll be your Baby Tonight’.  Bob followed with ‘Song of the Ancient Brits’ and ‘How Can I tell You?’.  Don continued with ‘Since you’ve been gone’ and ‘Next Friday Night’.  Peter Mason closed the evening singing ‘Annie Munroe’ and ‘Nana’s Song’. 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the raffle which raised £76 for the British Heart Foundation.

The next Folk Club will be on 2nd March when Debbie will be the host and she has chosen ‘Movement’ as the theme.

Sue Hartland

January 5th 2023 was the 432nd meeting of the Club and the theme chosen was “Times Of The Day”. It seemed as though all of the performers had made New Year Resolutions to provide ideal material for the evening and we were treated to two halves of excellent entertainment. 

The Harvesters kicked off the evening with a couple of traditional American songs, “Lazy John” and “Railroad Bill”. Peter Mason followed with Jez Lowe’s “Cursed Be The Caller” and then “The Wisdom Of Standing Still”. Rik sang Joni Mitchell’s “Our House” (better known for being one of Crosby Stills & Nash’s more famous hits) and then the classic “Stardust”. Pete and Liz were next to perform, playing The Strawbs’ song “Another Day” followed by a Trunch Wassail song. Bob Clucas then sang Cat Stevens’ “The Blackness Of The Night” and then an early Paul Simon song, “Red Rubber Ball”. Michael Luntley was in form with a single offering, his self-penned “Devon Tide” which he performed a capella. Dennis is a relative newcomer to the club but is growing in confidence and sang “Four Things In One Day” (I think) and then Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith’s “Because The Night”. Right Side Of The Grass (Robin, Sally and Sue Harris) treated us to a “Cold, Haily, Rainy Night” and “When Tomorrow Comes”. The first half was rounded off in fine style by Peter McDonald with his excellent version of “Pillowcase Blues” and Tom Paxton’s “I Give You The Morning” 

The second half was opened in his inimitable way by the ever-popular Keith Donnelly. “My Sister and Laura And Me” is a sweet little song and he followed that with his “The Salmon Are Back In The Coaly Tyne Again”. Richard had the challenge of following that but did so splendidly with a Bill Meek song about a fisherman’s life. He then sang a familiar love song from the North East, “Sally Wheatley”. Dave Carvell was up next with Burl Ives’ popular song “Big Rock Candy Mountain” and then gave us Buddy Holly’s “Words Of Love”. Pete Grassby took to the floor next with John Denver’s “Goodbye Again”, followed by the traditional song “The Painful Plough”. Des can always be relied upon to find an ideal choice of material and his song of the Three Kings celebrated the approach of Epiphany. (There is some debate as to which of the 5th or the 6th January is Twelfth Night). He followed that with a humorous Wassailing song from the fictitious village of Trunch, home of the fabled Kipper Family. Peter Mason was happy to perform another song and sang the appropriate “January Man”. Right Side Of The Grass sang a delightful song called “Innocent New Year”. The evening was completed by The Harvesters with “Four Strong Winds” by way of commemoration of the passing of its songwriter, Ian Tyson, at the end of 2022.  

The raffle raised an impressive £80.00, which has been donated to Myton Hospice. Looking for seasonal chocolates for a raffle prize wasn’t easy so I had to settle for Easter eggs instead. Oh well….

Sue is running next month’s club and her chosen theme for the evening is “Romance”, and we meet in Harbury Village Club on Thursday 2nd February 2023, starting 8:00pm. Make it a date in your diary to come along and hear some excellent music and support your local Social Club. 

Ian Hartland