Back to the top Last updated: 04 Jan 2008
| December 2004 | 'Faith, Hope & Charity' | Peter M | 241 |
| November 2004 | 'Autumn' | Doug & Janny | 240 |
| October 2004 | 'Something new' | Steve & Maureen | 239 |
| September 2004 | 'Old Favourites' | Sue | 238 |
| August 2004 | 'Animals' | Pete B | 237 |
| July 2004 | 'Rest' | Ian | 236 |
| June 2004 | 'Battle' | Des | 235 |
| May 2004 | 'Freedom' | Peter M | 234 |
| April 2004 | 'April Fools' | Doug & Janny | 233 |
| March 2004 | 'The Elements' | Bob | 232 |
| February 2004 | 'Hearts and Flowers' | Sue | 231 |
| January 2004 | 'Colour' | Pete B | 230 |
By 8:30pm on December 2nd, the Garden Room at the Shakespeare was full, ready for a prompt start for the December session of the Folk Club. Over half of those in the room, 26 to be precise, were performers waiting patiently for their turns to take the ‘stage’. The theme for the evening was Faith, Hope and Charity.
Admittedly, 12 of those performers got up from their chairs together to start the second half as the Folk Club Choir. We sang two of our ‘greatest hits’, My Dancing Day and Giving Song as a taster for the concert we gave in the Tom Hauley Room later in the month. The theme was embraced rather well by most singers – at least by those who knew about it in advance.
Ron read us an alternative account of the birth of Jesus, Rik sang about Hard Times (come again no more), Sue and Sally went Down to the water while Pete & Liz sang Come love carolling. Pete closed the first half on his own with the hilarious story of Underwood’s Milk! There were three more Petes in the second half – I sang From a Distance, then Pete Grassby performed the Rounding of Cape Horn (spare a thought for Ellen MacArthur) while Pete Mason chose the Eric Bogle song Rosie.
Des selected two carols, the Cherry Tree Carol and Noel Nouvelet, followed by the Harvesters who were Searching for Lambs. In the third half, Tim and Jo from Earlswood made their debut with Donegal Danny and Bonny Maid of Fife then Stuart sang a song telling the story of no-man’s land in the trenches on Christmas Eve 1914. Dave and Keith had to wait for nearly three hours for their turn to sing but they still managed to perform Richard Thompson’s Don’t sit on my Jimmy Shands with considerable energy.
The raffle raised £38.50 for Ovacome, a support group for ovarian cancer sufferers. Ian Hartland is running the next session on Thursday, January 6th, at 8:30pm in the Shakespeare Inn, and the theme will be ‘Numbers’. Happy New Year!
Peter McDonald
After a long ‘absence’, the Band of Folk warmed up the evening with a tune called The Bonfire, the theme being autumn. Martin gave us a lullaby, and then a song about a 1951 Mining Disaster. Steve Darby proved not to be too old to make his debut on guitar, played a couple of folk classics by Oasis and changed the theme to “in search of E7”. Pete and Liz made it clear in one of their songs that the cares of tomorrow can wait ‘til this day is done. Rick played a wonderful tune on his guitar and gave us autumn leaves. Barbara closed the first half, and explained about the charity for the evening which was to help raise money for a PET cancer scan machine at Birmingham Heartlands hospital.
After everybody had a chance to get refreshments and have a chat, the second half proved to be variants on Steve’s E7 theme. There were many performers to fit in and we heard from Janny and Maureen, the Joy family in fine form, Sean Cannon (a welcome return visitor with some lightening fast lyrics), and Pete Grassby with French autumn leaves. Peter McDonald sang about a scythe and four strong winds, Ian and Sue gave us a Moth to a Flame and Thistle and Rose, and finally the Band of Folk played Rosemary’s notable Birthday Braeside tune.
We declared that we had saved the best for the third half, and the performers did not let us down. Stewart and John gave us Autumn of my Life, and if we are not mistaken a Dylan number! Ron was in fine form with a Jovial Huntsman and explained how Lassie had to go and went. Des had the audience spellbound with a wonderful rendition of Eric Bogle’s anti war song The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. We admired Pete Mason for singing through the background pub music – the speakers somehow had switched back on, and Sue gave us a couple of fine songs. Pete G, with Pete B and Peter McD, closed the evening in rousing style as the audience went Rolling Home.
The audience had been entertained by 18 performers who performed 36 songs or tunes. The raffle raised £40, and yet again we were made to feel very welcome in The Shakespeare. The next Folk Club will be on 2nd December, led by Peter McDonald and the theme is Faith, Hope & Charity.
Doug & Janny
In complete contrast to September's theme of Old Favourites, the theme for October was Something New with the evening being hosted for the first time by Steve and Maureen.
A packed Shakespeare pub saw some 15 acts performing songs (and dance) from all over the world and to give the evening a truly international flavour, Graham and Joyce Jorgensen had flown all the way from Australia to join us - to make them feel at home, it was surprising how many songs had a colonial 'slant'.
The evening began with the Harvest at Harbury group playing Bread and Fishes with a full rendition from the audience. Pete Mason had just returned from the USA and sang a Tom Paxton number followed by Jez Lowe's Idle Time - he competed admirably with the pub sound system, which decided to join in. Ron reminded us it was national English poet week and dedicated Racing Yacht Australia to our visitors from the colonies. The Harvesters sang us a cheerful song about jealousy and murder from West Virginia and then Moon in a Bottle. Rik created some "nicely crafted imagery" with Old Brown's Daughter and Who Knows Where The Time Goes. Harriet and Ruth on keyboard and cello performed a beautifully sounding Ashokan Farewell. The first half closed with Renee and Renate or was it Steve and Sue fighting over a fish and whose plate it should be on - with Les Barker's comical O Sole Mio!
The second half opened with, Maureen, Celia, Janny, Margaret and Ruth who performed South Winds and then Maureen and Janny accompanied by Ian on guitar and Sue, who Appalachian danced, sang a tune in harmony from O Brother Where Art Thou. Pete Grassby was next with a Sydney Carter song dedicated to Chartres Cathedral and then played us a tune on his new melodeon. Barbara played some richly sounding tunes on her piano accordion, were we in Paris or at a fairground? The audience bobbed up and down to the Peddler Tune, she followed this with Eye Level, and we were suddenly all in Amsterdam. Martin sang Americana and then amused us with the Old Bazaar in Cairo (we finally got to the African continent). Peter McDonald put a lump in our throats with the Huw Williams song We Stayed Awake, followed by The Boatbuilders where we ended up in New Zealand. The half drew to a close with some wonderful four part harmonies from Ninepenny Marl who took us back home with the 1950's theme from Z Cars followed by the Carrion Crow.
The third half saw Double Up entertain us with Anderson's Coast, a story of 3 Australian convicts who steal a boat (no offence to our visitors). John and Stuart sang Battle of New Orleans and then presented the Harvesters with a rare record of theirs found in an Oxfam shop in Winchester - we were all highly amused! Barbara, Peter Grassby and Ninepenny Marl all made further contributions to what was a very full evening of great music and good humour.
The raffle raised £38, which was given to Ruth Guy in support of her participation in the Great South Run for Cancer Research.
Steve and Maureen Darby
September marked the 20th birthday of Harbury Folk Club. Old Favourites was the theme and true to form, The Harvesters opened the evening with 2 new songs!
Pete, Liz and Daniel performed 2 of their old favourites, The Bonny Ship the Diamond and Crazy Man Michael. Des had us all singing with Away with Rum and New York Mining Disaster 1941 and then we sang along with Farewell to Nova Scotia and Queen of Argyle being performed by Danansooz. The first half was brought to a close by Double Up singing a new song for them entitled Anderson's Coast followed by an old one, Play it all again.
The second half saw contributions from Pete Mason followed by Rick, then Celia played us a Morris medley on her 'old' melodeon and we all sang along and did Morris actions! Stuart, without John but with dolls, sang Whiskey on a Sunday and a counting song just to prove he could! Ron was next with a rousing Goodbye and a truly old favourite, Joan the Leather Queen. Ruth closed with Martha's Harbour and then Country Roads.
The third half saw further contributions from Des and Ruth. Peter McDonald sang favourites Naomi and Feel so near. Pete Bones proved even at this late hour he still remembered the Alphabet and the evening was brought to a close with the audience singing Wild Mountain Thyme led by The Harvesters.
The raffle raised £37.00 towards John Hancock's mammoth bike ride for Asthma. Finally, thank you to all the artists for performing and to the audience who make it all such a fun evening.
Sue Hartland
Not wishing to sound unwelcoming, but one of the nice things about the meeting of the folk club on August 5th was that there were only about 30 people in attendance compared with usual 40 to 60-ish. This drop in attendance was probably the result of many of the regulars being at Sidmouth Folk Festival or on holiday elsewhere.
The subject for the evening was "animals" and with having a smaller than usual group, the evening took the form of an informal singaround and music session. This meant that everyone was invited to contribute, either by performing or making a request. Once again the performers rose to the occasion well and we were treated to many varied songs and poems about animals. These ranged from a sad poem of a bereaved polar bear whose family had been on the iceberg which collided with Titanic, to the tale of the well-known insect footballer, "Earwig O".
It was good to hear contributions from two of our regulars who have not performed on many previous occasions. One being Sharon Hancock who recited a poem on the subject of the less pleasant by-product of dogs, and someone whose name escapes me, who presented a wonderful monologue on the story of Noah.
To be in keeping with the subject, the charity for the raffle was "Guide Dogs for the Blind", and the sum of £28.00 was raised. Many thanks to those who bought raffle tickets, to everyone who took part, and to Andrew and Carole of the Shakespeare for their warm welcome and good beer.
The folk club continues to meet on the first Thursday of each month in the Garden Room of the Shakespeare Inn, and starts at 8:30pm. Everyone is welcome, either as audience and/or performer. There is no admission charge though there is usually a raffle for a nominated charity.
Peter Bones
With the holiday season almost upon us, the theme of the 236th Folk Club was "Rest" and almost everyone who made a contribution kept as close to the theme as possible. Once more the club welcomed first-time as well as regular contributors and the standard was predictably high. Dave and Brenda Bennett appeared at Harbury for their first time, although Dave has been playing superb guitar around the folk scene for many years. Together they gave us some blistering guitar work and some excellent singing and also completed the evening with the "Teddy Bears' Picnic". Their "And So Do I", a setting of a Thomas Hardy poem, was one of many high spots in the evening. Also appearing were Bob Brooker and Maggie Coleman, two members of "Newbold". However, this time they sang solo with Bob giving us a couple of songs about the sea and Maggie singing a night visiting song and the lovely "Linden Lea". We were also fortunate to have the services of Keith Donnelly, always a popular and unpredictable performer, who is extremely busy during the summer with Festival commitments. He chose two pensive and quiet songs, including "Lullaby-bye-bye", which assisted the rest process still further.
Contributions from Des are always welcome and he too chose a more maritime direction for his songs. Peter McDonald chose two Tom Paxton songs, which are always popular at Harbury, and "Take Me Down to Forest Lawn", about a cemetery in the US, is as good an interpretation of the theme as any. Ron always puts on a good spot and we were treated to his humorous "Death to the Traitor", about the French Revolution. Peter Mason circled around the sun and then performed Stan Rodger's excellent "Mary Ellen Carter" about a sunken ship denied rest. Maureen and Janny had worked hard on two lovely songs "Cupid's Garden" and "The Loyal Lover", bringing their rich harmonies into effective play. These occasional groupings are always welcome and show the diversity and versatility of club members who often prefer to remain in the audience. We were also treated to a couple of songs, and comically extended introductions, from John Kemsley and his friend Stuart from Yelvertoft. I may be biased but I really liked the first song, which was one of Stuart's original creations linking as many Harvesters' song titles as possible into the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
As so often, the large and appreciative audience gave generously to the raffle, whose prizes included the traditional bottle of wine and, appropriately, a plastic model of a Portuguese footballer. We raised a total of £34.00 which all went to Myton Hospice, one of the most popular Folk Club causes. The Folk Club meets every month on the first Thursday in the Garden Room of The Shakespeare and it is always wise to arrive a little before 8:30 if you intend to be seated. Singers, instrumentalists, dancers, poets, acrobats, story-tellers are always welcome and the club is noted for giving debut performers a fair and enthusiastic hearing. So what are you waiting for?
Ian Hartland
The June session had the theme of “Battle”. I had thought that this might bring out some of the more jingoistic tendencies in the folk tradition as well as the more sombre reflections on bits of people being blown off, but in the event most contributors went for the latter. This fitted perfectly with the charity adopted for the raffle “Adopt A Minefield”.
The club was well attended and, as always, packed with talent. Apart from myself, there were contributions from Ron, Peter McDonald, Peter Mason, Rick, Maureen and Janny, Janny and friends playing their instruments (and here we did get “British Grenadiers”), Martin, Tommy Dempsey, Brian Sutton, Paula and Stuart Tindall, Jayne, Barbara and Brian Rodgers who rounded off the evening for us with “The Warwickshire RHA” and “Jarvis Bay”. We also had the talents of Newbold who tell me they normally practise on a Thursday night. It was good to see them and I hope they will return in the future.
There are several people within this list new or comparatively new to the club and it’s good to see the club continuing to attract such talented acts. The steer on battle took some unusual turns with one interpretation being on “Diets” (the battle of the bulge). Most though took the view that war is nasty, brutish and with little to commend it.
The raffle took much the same line and £44 was raised for the charity “Adopt A Minefield”. This charity works to clear minefields and also to help those victims of mines who have lost limbs to rebuild their lives. I’ve included in this report a link to their website for anyone who wants to know more.
http://www.landmines.org.uk/About+us
Des Patalong
At the Folk Club session on May 6th, the theme was 'Freedom'. While some of the performers chose songs to embrace the theme, others decided to demonstrate freedom by ignoring it!
On this occasion, in addition to many familiar faces, we were treated to a visit from Irish traditional singer, Tommy Dempsey. Although having lived in Birmingham for most of his adult life, he has lost none of his 'Irish-ness'. These days, he sings with his group, Dempsey's Lot, but in the past he has been with bands such as Drowsy Maggie and Slip Jig. His patter is hilarious and he sings with a twinkle in his eye, usually accompanying himself very skilfully with cheeky rhythms on the bodhran. My personal favourite was his first song, 'The Drummer and the Lady'. I just had to invite him back for a second spot to finish the evening for us. For his last song, he dispensed with the jokes and the percussion and sang the traditional ballad 'Black Waterside'. Ian Hartland was co-opted to provide some accompaniments on the cittern and Tommy's travelling companions from Birmingham, Bill O'Neill and Brian Sutton, also sang two songs each, in very different styles.
But our local regulars are, of course, the foundation of our Folk Club. In another very full evening, we had songs from Rik, Martin, the Harvesters, Des, Ron, John & Stuart, Pete Grassby, Gilly and me. By way of a contrast, the five-piece band 'Cats and Concertinas' (consisting of Janny, Rosie and me on concertinas, Margaret on fiddle and Ruth making her debut on cello) played some folk tunes with a bit of a 'classical' feel to the arrangements.
It was another evening of quality music with more than a touch of humour. The charity raffle raised £43 for Cancer Research, boosting the total raised by the Harbury team at the 'Race for Life' in Stratford on May 16th. Des will host the next Folk Club on June 3rd and the theme will be 'Battle'.
Peter McDonald
The theme for the April Folk Club was April Fools, and we had an unprecedented 21 acts featuring 29 artists. We somehow managed to fit all the acts into the three longer than normal halves, and still had time for the audience to replenish their glasses.
Janny & Maureen opened the first half with April Morning. They were followed by Ron who acknowledged St George, Ian & Sue with Blacksmith and Bonny Boys, Bob (a friend of Mike Putnam from Stroud) with Old Man from Leigh, Susie (who was Danless) with Barley and Rye, and Brian with some Playford tunes. The first half was wound up in great style by Nine Penny Marl featuring Des and three other fine singers.
Janny and Maureen "trotted" out another song to start the second half. Pete & Liz included that Crazy Man Michael. Rik gave us Jake Thackray's Sister Josephine, and then Mike Houston was a welcome return as a performer with a couple of great songs (notes are getting a bit vague at this stage). Mike Putnam (another returning Mike) included that Jake Thackray classic Leopold Alcocks. Ian wooed us with Mrs Jones, and finally Johnny, Alison & ex-Teenagers brought the second half to a close.
Nine Penny Marl came back to start the third half by popular demand. Pete Mason sang a song for his Dad, and Martin gave us a Schwarzenegger tribute and a poem. Then the home straight with Barbara, Brian (a friend of Ron from Canada), Summer, and finally John & Stewart.
The performances were all excellent, unlike our notes of the proceedings, with a wide variety of songs and tunes. Some acts followed the theme, some didn't, others just bent the theme to suit their selection.
It is almost impossible to single out any one artist, but we would like to thank John and Stewart for their patience and endurance being the final artists of the evening. They entertained the audience with great style at that end of a long but very enjoyable evening at the Shakespeare.
The raffle raised a wonderful £40 for TOFS. The next Folk Club will be on 6th May, led by Peter McDonald and the theme is Freedom.
Doug & Janny Freeman
The monthly Folk Club was on us again and I had chosen 'The Elements' for my theme on March 4th. When it's my turn to be MC, I like to get there nice and early so I can relax and gather my thoughts, speak to people as they arrive and formulate a running order for at least the first half so that I can sit down and enjoy it without too much pressure. Unfortunately, I was delayed at a quartet rehearsal and arrived at about 8:25 to find the place packed, so no time for all that careful planning! I rushed around frantically scribbling down names (some were visiting for the first time so, if you are reading this, please be assured it is not usually as hectic as this!).
My attempts to get the audience 'Singing in the Rain' failed miserably due mainly to the fact that we didn't know the words well enough so I quickly abandoned the idea and got the Harvesters to bail me out by singing a couple of songs. It's always nice to get a variety of items and tonight was no exception with Summer (first time at Harbury) giving us a couple fo self-penned tunes on one of her own handcrafted instruments, Martin singing about the cold winds and relating a story of Polar Exploration (Les Barker style) and Brian with a couple of tunes on the violin, amongst others.
The first interval soon arrived and the obligatory raffle tickets were eagerly sold in order to raise money for my chosen charity, Cancer Research. Whilst everyone else replenished their drinks (I hadn't had my first one yet!), I was still flustered from my late arrival and was busy trying to remember which name went with which face so I could at least give them an idea of when they would be required.
With own quartet unable to sing, I had invited a ladies' Barbershop quartet by the name of Saffron and they opened the next half with 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' and 'Georgia' - both of which were very well received. Another first-time performer, Ian, gave us a song followed by some very nifty guitar playing and we also had all the regulars performing to their usual high standard. Before I knew it, we were into the third half and finishing the evening with Pete Grassby, accompanied by Ian Hartland, leading us in a song about 'Five Foot Flirts'.
Considering the hectic start, I don't think it went too badly. The raffle raised £45 and a good time seemed to be had by all. Next month, the Club meets on April 1st so you can probably guess the theme but, if not, why not come along and find out. Take a tip from me, don't leave it until 8:25 to get there, as you won't get a seat!
Bob Hodgkiss
Romance was in the air at the 231st Harbury Folk Club. The theme was Hearts & Flowers and the Harvesters matched the theme precisely with their opening song written especially for the evening. Peter Mason, who has become a regular at the club, followed with 2 songs entitled 'Rosie' and 'Annie Munroe'. Janny & Maureen got together and gave us a beautiful version of 'Let the cold wind blow' and then Ian joined them for 'Bye, Bye Love', nothing like a bit of Rock & Roll to get the audience joining in! Des sang 'To the Maypole Haste' and then his fine version of 'Will you walk with me?' Brian played 2 tunes, 'Peg o' my Heart' and 'The Flowers of Edinburgh' and Pete & Liz brought the first half to a close with Pete in fine form singing 'The Bonnie Maid of Fife' and then Liz joined him for the very apt 'Valentine Song'.
Martin opened the second half with 'The Kiss' and 'Reg the lonely Gloworm' followed by newcomers to the club, Linda & John who gave us 'Cobweb of Dreams' and 'Shift and Spin'. Rick was truly romantic with 'The Seeds of Love' and 'Time in a Bottle' and then those up and coming stars Danansooz sang 'Nana's Song' and 'Flesh & Blood'. Peter McDonald, who always seems to pick some of my very favourite songs, sang 'The Rose & the Briar' and 'The Lover's Heart' and then Jane who sang 'My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose'. Ron was on form with 'Strawberry Fair' and 'Soldier, Soldier' then the barbers shop quartet, Bianco finished the half with 'Don't Blame Me' and 'I'll be Seeing You'.
Contributions in the 3rd half came from Brian, Des, followed by Jonathan who sang 'Heart of Gold' and Pete Grassby sang 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. As the evening was drawing to a close it took on a more lighthearted approach with Ron singing 'Goodbye', Pete Bones sang 'Blooming Heather' and Martin closed the proceedings in fine style.
The raffle raised £38.00 for MacMillan Nurses and I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the evening's entertainment, especially the audience who made it all worthwhile.
Sue Hartland
With all the parties and social events likely to have taken place in around the New Year, it was predicted that not many people would be inspired, or have the energy, to come the Folk Club planned for January 1st. I therefore decided to have a singaround session with people sitting in a large circle instead of having the more formal stage area.
I must admit that I was pleased to be wrong on this occasion. From very early in the evening we had nearly forty people packed into the Garden Room of the Shakespeare, and not only did we have quantity, we had quality as well.
I always associate January with being a miserable grey month. The weather is usually as uninspiring as the compulsory resolutions we have made in response to our over-indulgences over the Christmas period. As an antidote to this I chose "colour" as the theme and many people had put on bright coloured clothing in response.
During the evening it was evident that most people present were recovering from the previous night's revelries so the atmosphere was not quite as riotous as some meetings. However most songs and tunes either were specifically about colour or at least mentioned a colour, were well performed and they contributed to another pleasant and successful evening.
Many thanks to all who took part. I won't list them all but I will mention how nice it was to see and hear Ruth Fortey again after many months of absence. It was also good that two regulars who rarely perform made contributions. John Hancock recited three poems, literally ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous and Doug Freeman led us very competently in the singing of "Raining in my Heart".
Pete McDonald ended the organised singaround with the Paul Metsers Song "Farewell to the Gold" - always a favourite of mine, before the totally unexpected arrival of plates of hot mince pies. These were kindly provided by Andrew and Carole, and these, with a short impromptu music session, brought the evening to a festive close.
The raffle was in aid of "The Friends of Quetta Hospital" and raised about £40.00. Once again many thanks to Carole and Andrew for the mince pies, and for making us so very welcome throughout 2003.
The next Folk Club will be Thursday 5th February starting at 8:30pm in the Garden Room of the Shakespeare. It will be led by Sue Hartland. and the theme will be "Hearts and Flowers".
Pete Bones