Six Wassailing Songs

Revised lyrics for four wassailing songs have now been issued and can be downloaded using this link. These incorporate the changes to previously issued lyrics which were discussed at our last Beechwood singing session. Two new songs are also included.

Local Group Report – Lewes Tuesday 20th December 2016

So near to Christmas and the shortest day, but five of us made a lot of noise in the snug at The John Harvey Tavern. At least six of our number were making even more noise with the Napier Quire in Brighton Pubs.

We started with Ha’nacker Mill and then worked on harmonies to several songs such as Poor Froze out Gardeners and Where Stormy Winds Do Blow. In Seasons Turn we repeated verses to get our way around the words. Continuing with The Woodcutter’s Song, Copper’s Christmas Song, Christmas Now Is Drawing Near at Hand at a determined pace, Sweet Chiming Bells and “Pentonville” at which point we had the attention of a talented young folk musician, Jack, who was pleased to hear us singing folkie versions of Hark The Herald Angels Sing (with lots of Alleluias) and The Holly and The Ivy, too. He is with Ditchling Morris and was keen to invite us to the village on Boxing Day when Mummers and the Morris will be performing. Tina managed to get us back on track and singing Pleasant and Delightful, Farmer’s Toast, finishing with Thousands Or More.

We are delighted to know that our colourful young singer Cat has given birth to a beautiful boy, Rhion Marvin, so congratulations to Cat and Matt, and also to Adrian who has got engaged to Jane. Lots to sing about over the dark winter holidays.

A bit more information from Margo: Might suggest that folk look up their local Morris side's website. On 1st January 2017 Sompting Village Morris are at The Richard Cobden (behind The Beechwood Hall Hotel, at 12 noon. And on Thursday, 5th January they are in Tarring High Street at 8pm.

Brighton Morris Men are at the Pump House, 12 - 3pm on 1st January 2017.

Local Group Report – Easebourne Thursday 15th December 2016

A goodly crowd of us (18 to be precise) were back again at The Chichester Inn in West Street, Chichester on Thursday night to socialise, imbibe a few drinks and sing all our favourite carols and wassailing songs. It was a fun night and we had a really good sing too. Nick the landlord welcomed our singing and a couple of folk even came in from the lounge bar to tell us how nice it sounded through there. We persuaded them to stay and join us in singing the West Sussex Drinking Song together.

It is generally agreed that this pub is easier to get to (and park at) than the Three Moles in Selham, so if it’s convenient, we may well make the Chichester Inn our regular venue in 2017. And we may have to change our name from the Easebourne Group to the Chichester Group... Watch this space!

Our Christmas Carol on the BBC

At our practice session at the Beechwood on 23rd November 2016 we recorded the Pentonville tune version of "While Shepherds Watched" and if you would like to listen to this you can download one of the .mp3 files below. The larger files are higher audio quality.

2016-11-23 SDFS Pentonville 128kbps.mp3  3.3MB
2016-11-23 SDFS Pentonville 256kbps.mp3  6.7MB
2016-11-23 SDFS Pentonville 320kbps.mp3  8.3MB

This recording is scheduled for broadcast on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey on Friday 23 December at about 10.50am. Full details are in the email below from the BBC.

Your Christmas Carols on the BBC!

Dear all

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has submitted a recording of a Christmas carol or a song.

A number of contributors asked me when the recordings would be aired, so that you could alert all involved to listen. Please find below a list of some of the choirs that we will be featuring in the next couple of weeks. You may well feature more than once in the next few days, but we just wanted to make sure that you had at least one confirmed “appointment to listen”. Suffice to say, if you are a new listener, we hope you like what you hear and will stay with us! Do tune in, but also use social media to tell your friends and family.

BBC Sussex broadcasts on 104.5/104.8 and on 95.3FM (Brighton). We are now also on DAB Digital Radio, and online at www.bbc.co.uk/sussex. Social media: Twitter - @bbcsussex www.facebook.com/bbcsussex

BBC Surrey broadcasts on 104 (East Surrey/North Sussex) and 104.6FM (West Surrey/NE Hampshire), on DAB and online at www.bbc.co.uk/surrey. Social media: Twitter -@bbcsurrey www.facebook.com/bbcsurrey

We have scheduled carols to run at the following (approximate) times:

MONDAY 12 DECEMBER
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Burstow Primary School - Smallfield Winter Wonderland
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Rainbow Chorus - Jingle Bells
1050 Mid-Morning - Bramber Primary School - Winter Wonderland
1335 Afternoon - Milton Mount School - Midnight
1755 Sussex Drive - Rainbow Chorus - Jingle Bells
1755 Surrey Drive - Burstow Primary School - Smallfield Winter Wonderland

Tuesday 13 December
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Sir William Perkins School - Christmas Lullaby
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Bourne Chorus - Most Wonderful Time of The Year/Let It Snow
1050 Mid-Morning - Warbleton Church Community Choir (aka Warblings) - Hark The Herald Angels Sing
1335 Afternoon - Sussex Gruffs - Rise Up Shepherd And Foller
1755 Sussex Drive - Pop Up Singers - Listen To The Bells
1755 Surrey Drive - Sir William Perkins School - Christmas Lullaby

Wednesday 14 December
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Caterham School - Madonna & Child
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Weald School Choir - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
1050 Mid-Morning - Angel Voices Children's Choir - Diamond Bright
1335 Afternoon - Sompting Village Primary School. - The Christmas Song (also known as "Chestnuts Roasting")
1755 Sussex Drive - Weald School Choir - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
1755 Surrey Drive - Caterham School - Madonna & Child

Thursday 15th December
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Farnham Youth Choir - Carol of The Bells
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Heron's Dale Primary School - We Wish You a Merry Christmas
1050 Mid-Morning - InChoir - O Holy Night
1335 Afternoon Upper Beading Primary School, Horsham - Tell Me a Story
1755 Sussex Drive - Heron's Dale Primary School - We Wish You a Merry Christmas
1755 Surrey Drive - Farnham Youth Choir - Carol of The Bells

Friday 16th December
0825 Surrey Breakfast - St Catherine's Prep School, Bramley - In The Bleak Midwinter
0755 Sussex Breakfast- Blackthorns Community Primary Academy - He's The King
1050 Mid-Morning - Concentus  - Christmas Time
1335 Afternoon - Brighton and Hove Rotary Choir a.k.a The Loose Cannons - Bright Morning Star
1755 Sussex Drive - Blackthorns Community Primary Academy - He's The King
1755 Surrey Drive St Catherine's Prep School, Bramley - In The Bleak Midwinter

Saturday 17th December
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Upper Beading Primary School, Horsham
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Bramber Primary School - Winter Wonderland
1050 Mid-Morning - Milton Mount School - Midnight

Sunday 18th December
0735 Breakfast - Warbleton Church Community Choir (aka Warblings) - Hark The Herald Angels Sing
1050 Mid-Morning - Angel Voices Children's Choir - Diamond Bright

Monday 19 Dec
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Onslow Infant School - It Was On a Starry Night
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Southover Primary School - White Christmas
1050 Mid-Morning - St Peters Community Primary School in Portslade - 'Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant'
1335 Afternoon - Eastbrook Primary School, West Sussex - Once In Royal David's City
1755 Sussex Drive -  Southover Primary School - White Christmas
1755 Surrey Drive - Onslow Infant School - It Was On a Starry Night

Tuesday 20 Dec
0825 Surrey Breakfast - St Barts Primary School, Haslemere - She Owns The World
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Burgess Hill Girls School - Winter Wonderland   
1050 Mid-Morning - Harlands Primary School in Haywards Heath, West Sussex - One Bright Star
1335 Afternoon - Jessie Younghusband School, Chichester - I Saw Three Ships
1755 Sussex Drive - River Beach Primary School, Littlehampton - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
1755 Surrey Drive - St Barts Primary School, Haslemere,- She Owns The World

Wednesday 21 Dec
0825 Surrey Breakfast -  The Merry Mary Men - Little Bag of Hot Chestnuts         
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Northolmes Junior School in Horsham - Bethlehem Is Near
1050 Mid-Morning - Liz Cass - Merry Christmas Darling (written/produced D'Artagnan Arbuah)
1335 Afternoon - Fishersgate Community Choir - Gaudete
1755 Sussex Drive - Northolmes Junior School in Horsham - Bethlehem Is Near
1755 Surrey Drive - The Merry Mary Men SY - Little Bag of Hot Chestnuts     

Thurs 22 Dec
0825 Surrey Breakfast - St Edmund's School, Hindhead - Star Carol
0755 Sussex Breakfast - Plaistow and Kirdford Primary School, Billingshurst - In the Bleak Midwinter
1050 Mid-Morning - Sound Waves Community Choir, Hastings - The Boar's Head Carol
1335 Afternoon - West Dene Primary School, Brighton - Snow Song
1755 Sussex Drive - Plaistow and Kirdford Primary School, Billingshurst - In the Bleak Midwinter
1755 Surrey Drive - St Edmund's School, Hindhead - Star Carol

Friday 23 Dec
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Earlswood Junior School, Redhill,- O Little Town of Bethlehem
0755 Sussex Breakfast - William Penn Primary School, Horsham - Winter Carol
1050 Mid-Morning - South Downs Folk Singers - While Shepherds Watched.
1335 Afternoon - Handcross Park School, Haywards Heath - Star Carol
1755 Sussex Drive - William Penn Primary School, Horsham - Winter Carol
1755 Surrey Drive - Earlswood Junior School, Redhill - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Saturday 24th December
0825 Surrey Breakfast - Northolmes Junior School in Horsham
0755 Sussex Breakfast - St Peters Community Primary School in Portslade, 'Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant'
1050 Mid-Morning - Harlands Primary School in Haywards Heath - One Bright Star

Christmas Day
0835 Breakfast - The Merry Mary Men - Little Bag of Hot Chestnuts         
1050 Mid-Morning - Fishersgate Community Choir - Gaudete
1340 West Dene Primary School, Brighton - Snow Song

Finally, on behalf of all of us at BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey, thanks again for taking part and we would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Best wishes
...

South Downs Folk Singers Wassail!

We will soon be welcoming the new year with our “Wassail” gathering from 7.30 – 10.00pm on Saturday 21st January 2017 at a new venue:

St. John’s the Divine Church Hall, on the corner of Ripley Road and Elm Grove in west Worthing, BN11 5LD.

South Downs Folk Singers, plus family and friends, are invited join us for this festive frolic – bringing food, drink and songs to share with all for a merry time.

Tickets are £2.50 each. Numbers are limited so get in quickly and secure your tickets NOW by contacting Margo, via the South Downs Folk Singers email.

(Tickets / ticket ordering will also be available at our local singing sessions in December and early January – but don't delay, confirm today!)

“Wassail”!

Local Group Report – Beechwood Wednesday 7th December 2016

Over 30 of us gathered at the Beechwood Hall Hotel for our December Sing. David led the singing and we practised our wassailing songs for the Slindon Wassail on Saturday 14th January. We sang the four wassailing songs that we know, namely: The Gloucester Wassail, The Sugar Wassail, Here we come a-wassailing and The Apple Tree Wassailing Song. Then David introduced two more songs in this genre: The Jacobstowe Wassail and The Gower (or Somerset) Wassail, which we agreed might be fun to learn for another year.
We’re hoping that the words for all six wassail songs will soon be added to our lyrics page on the website.
We then sang a post-Christmas version of the Coppers Christmas Song – the last verse will now go: Now Christmas is gone and our song is almost done, for we now have seen the turn of the year...
After an interval we invited individuals or tables to suggest or perform a song of their choice, which resulted in a jolly selection of seasonal songs from Dark December and The Old Woman from Ryde to Jennifer’s Rabbit and a Carol from New Zealand! We finished the evening singing the Falmer Carol, Pentonville, Sweet Chiming Bells, the Sans Day Carol and Pity the Poor Gardeners. Finally we sang We Wish you a Merry Christmas, on which note we do indeed wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope to see you soon again in 2017!