Update for Arundel Festival, Monday 31st August 2015

Here's the latest news from John for meeting before we sing:

If the weather is wet as predicted then we will not have a warm up down Mill Road but will congregate in the foyer of the Arundel Museum at 12.00hrs, as it is just adjacent to the performance venue. If the heavy rain has cleared then we will meet at the original site for a couple of songs.

The original details for our singing are here.

Harmony Workshop Recordings

Those who went to our recent harmony workshop held in the Beechwood Hall Hotel in Worthing (and perhaps some others who didn't go) may like to refer to recordings of the songs. These are available for download as mp3 files here. Thanks to Julie T for recording these and also of course to Emily for presenting the workshop.

If your interest is in the men's bass parts, please contact Tina via southdownsfolksingers@gmail.com for more recordings.

Coastal Fair and Beach Clean Event on Saturday 19th September

Our participation at this event has been proposed by Barbara S and you can read more about this on the Proposed Events page. If you would like to support this event, please respond as requested on that page.

This is our first proposed event to go on the Proposed Events page, following the procedure described in this post.

SDFS at Arundel Festival, Monday 31st August 2015

Update Sunday 30th August:

If the weather is wet as predicted then we will not have a warm up down Mill Road but will congregate in the foyer of the Arundel Museum at 12.00hrs, as it is just adjacent to the performance venue. If the heavy rain has cleared then we will meet at the original site for a couple of songs.

[These original instructions are now superseded by the notice above. To enable us to have a few songs 'Warm Up' prior to appearing on the River Stage and avoid standing outside on a very crowded pavement for any length of time, we will meet at 11.30 hrs a bit further down Mill Road from the Castle Gates, on the wide grass verge adjacent to the Pitch & Putt. If the weather forecast is poor check the website the previous day to see if arrangements have altered, but we will stick to the arrangement if at all possible and be ready to enter the holding area of the stage at 12.00hrs.]

Dave G will introduce each song briefly, and we will decide before we go on stage which songs can be dropped because of time considerations. I have confirmed that the actual slot is 12.15 to 13.00 hrs.

Parking will be even tighter on Bank Holiday Monday. As usual I will be parking on the other side of the A27 off Ford Road, up Torton Hill Road which is a leisurely 10 minute stroll to our meeting place via the footpath under the A27 road bridge, and then through to Tarrant Street.

My mobile on the day is 07902 475620, look forward to seeing you there.

John C

Song List

1. Twankey Dillo
2. On Sussex Hills
3. Green Grow The Laurel
4. Hard Times Of Old England
5. Fathom The Bowl
6. Gooches Beer
7. Eileen Aroon
8. Life Of A Man
9. West Sussex Drinking Song
10. Old Adam
11. Glorious Ale
12. Country Life
13. Rosebuds In June
14. The Nightingale Song
15. Thousands Or More
16. Sussex By The Sea
17. Half A Pint Of Burtons

John Lamb and Gaynor Gilbert at Lewes Saturday Folk Club

John Lamb and Gaynor Gilbert are being featured on 22nd August at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club (their Saturdays in August are always Come All Ye sessions).

For more information see this Facebook page.

Bateman's – 2nd August 2015

Here's a comment on the day from Emily (originally posted on this page):

What a lovely day! Singing in such a beautiful place under a warm sun and a blue sky. We sang through a fairly long set with undiminished feeling and gusto much to the delight of the gathered listeners. Jonny tells me we could be heard clear as bells down by the mill! It was great to hear all three groups singing together, a rich sound indeed, especially with a few more harmonies emerging, practiced or spontaneous!
Many thanks to John for arranging our participation in the day, so great to be able to sing there and to have the chance to look all around the delightful garden and the house, one of the many riches of being a part of the SDFS!
And thanks to you all for your wonderful voices, moving, delightful and rousing in equal measure. I look forward to next time!
Emily

Angela B

John C

John C

John C

Keith D

Margo

Margo

Margo

Margo

My Boy Jack

Kipling's poem My Boy Jack is often thought to be about the loss of his son, but there is some debate about this.

In one of the rooms at Bateman's these notes (click on the image to see it enlarged) are displayed about extracts from Kipling's writing read by Ralph Fiennes. Number 7 reads:

"My Boy Jack, Kipling's heart-breaking poem often mistakenly assumed to be about the loss of his son, who was always known as John. Nevertheless the emotion reflected must stem from his grief."

This page on the Kipling Society website throws further light on this. Scroll down the page to the section headed "The ‘Jack’/John confusion" to read more.

A couple of very old recordings on YouTube of My Boy Jack set to music may be of interest:

sung by Clara Butt
sung by Louise Kirkby-Lunn