Local Group Report – Chichester – Thursday 19th July 2018

Fifteen singers and two very well-behaved dogs pitched up to our monthly sing at the Chichester Inn on Thursday evening. Our voices blended beautifully and we enjoyed singing through many of the songs on the set list for our concert at Bateman’s next month. This 17th-century house in Burwash, East Sussex was once the home of Rudyard Kipling and this year is celebrating the centenary of the end of the First World War. So we sang songs pertaining to Kipling and military service, notably Oak, Ash & Thorn, Follow Me ’Ome, All Things are Quite Silent, Home Lads Home, The Ladies go Dancing at Whitsun, The Nightingale and Ha’nacker Mill.

After a break to refill our glasses, Gordon taught us to sing his very amusing self-penned song The Three Moles, Anne and Alan gave us a lovely winter song entitled The Fields Lie Silent Now which has a very nice chorus, and Dave (acting on recent suggestions that we perhaps need a couple more Great War songs in our armoury) led the group in singing an easy medley of Keep the Home Fires Burning / Long Way to Tipperary / Pack up Your Troubles and a rousing version of Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire, all of which went down really well, especially when we split into parts and tried singing the three medley songs all at the same time! We finished the evening by singing Sussex by the Sea and then some of the ladies broke into We’ll Meet Again as we packed up. Well we will indeed meet again next month at 8pm at the Chichester Inn on Thursday 16th August. Hope you can join us!

Local Group Report – Lewes – Tuesday 17th July 2018

For various summer-related reasons, only eleven of us arrived at The John Harvey Tavern. Jan had brought her friend Maggie, who recognised several of our songs, and Adrian and Jane managed to come over from Seaford. With only two male voices, we made a goodly sound. Tina had brought the set list for Bateman’s which was hot off the SDFS website, so we sang through all twenty one songs on the list (including My Boy Jack) and for good measure, East Sussex Drinking Song and Thousands or More – mind you, we didn’t clear away our glasses until 10.45!

Bateman’s: WW1 Final Defeat of Germany / Armistice Remembrance

Sunday 5th August 2018

As we did last year there will be two song sets, one before lunch and one in the afternoon, led by Emily. Please be on site by 11.00am.

If precipitation is forecast a gazebo will be put up in the Mulberry Garden outside the Cafe to shelter us.

We have been offered free teas and coffees and an ice cream this year.

Please wear an item of blue, green, cream apparel if possible and a B.L. poppy if you still have one.

The number of Singers participating is limited to 30 this year on a first-come first-served basis, with a reserve list if necessary. Free entry is by this list. Email me to volunteer: southdownsfolksingers@gmail.com

Please car share if possible and let me know the car's registration number (unless you have already provided this for me at an event earlier in the year), to enable free parking. If you are a National Trust member then you will already have a parking sticker.

Fingers crossed for good weather again.

John C

First Set:

1. Oak, Ash & Thorn E
2. The Nightingale A
3. All Things Are Quite Silent B
4. Pleasant & Delightful A
5. Dancing At Whitsun B
6. The Bee-Boy’s Song G
7. Follow Me ’Ome B-G#
8. Ale, Glorious Ale E
9. Rosebuds In June B
10. Country Life Eb-Ab
11. Jolly Good Song

Second Set:

1. West/East Sussex Drinking Song F
2. The Magpie B
3. Home Lads, Home B
4. On Sussex Hills A
5. Life Of A Man B
6. My Boy Jack C
7. Hard Times Of Old England F
8. Ha’nacker Mill E
9. A Smuggler’s Song C#
10. Sussex By The Sea Ab
11. Jolly Good Song

Local Group Report – Worthing – Wednesday 4th July 2018

By popular vote our songs this month focussed mainly on the theme of the event we are due to do at Batemans in August. On an already hot summer evening we warmed up with Thousands or More before turning our attention to working on the wartime songs in our repertoire – Follow Me 'Ome; Ha'nacker Mill; The Ladies Go Dancing at Whitsun; All Things Are Quite Silent and Home, Lads, Home. After the break we discussed My Boy Jack and ways in which we could use it at Bateman's, but since it was not known by many of the singers present this was deferred to a separate session for a smaller group to prepare and perform within the set on the day. We continued with some other requests for other songs in need of a polish – Where Stormy Winds Do Blow and Old Adam. So with some enjoyable singing and quenching of thirsts in good company, our evening was done.