Singing for the Arcade Knitters in Littlehampton

Update 14th December 2018: Unfortunately the planned social get-together after the singing cannot now take place, but please be assured the singing for the Arcade Knitters will still go ahead as previously arranged.

Update 5th December 2018: Here is the set list.

1. Sweet Bells
2. Sussex Carol
3. Sussex Mummers' Carol (Righteous Joseph)
4. The Holly And The Ivy
5. Deck The Hall
6. Here We Come A Wassailing
7. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Saturday 15th December, afternoon event about 2.45pm

Parkside Evangelical Church, 1 St Floras Road, Littlehampton, BN17 6BD (map)

The Arcade Knitters have asked us to entertain them at their Christmas event.

They meet to knit together and are involved in a number of charity projects, e.g. making wool hats for those who lose hair following chemotherapy and knitting poppies for a display in Littlehampton parish church. Their weekly meeting is between 2.00 and 4.00pm and we would sing for perhaps 25 minutes around 2.45pm. Suitable festive refreshments will be provided and we are sure of a warm welcome.

We will choose songs from the ones we practise for the other Christmas events and I will post a final list nearer the time.

Please email southdownsfolksingers@gmail.com to let me know if you will be able to come. I do not think that Emily will be able to come, so would be grateful if one of our song leaders is able to do so. If not we will just do our best (and jolly fine that will be).

Michael

Local Group Report – Chichester – Thursday 18th October 2018

Last night’s Chichester session took place with 15 singers all told with Alan leading. After a few notices reminding singers of the upcoming events we made a start on some seasonal songs, as we only have two sessions at Chichester before the said events are upon us. We started off with the Sussex Carol and worked our way through The Coppers’ Christmas Song, The Falmer Carol with the addition of the extra verses, the Sans Day Carol, Pentonville which sounded great, and the Sugar Wassail. We reminded ourselves that The Moon Shone Bright is sung by the women with the men humming at the end of the verses. We also ran through The Sussex Mummers’ Carol and Sweet Chiming Bells followed by the new seasonal song Fields Lie Silent, which we all enjoyed. After our break Alan led us with a round of Stir Up We Beseech Thee, which after getting the timing right was good fun.  We finished the evening with a non-Christmassy Valiant’s All at Alan’s request as we hadn’t sung it for a while.

Local Group Report – Lewes – Tuesday 16th October 2018

Sixteen singers made quite a noise at The John Harvey Tavern. Two girls sang with us for the first half as they sipped their wine and three young men having finished a meal, sat at another table and sang along with the help of borrowed words. It seems that English was probably not their first language; what must they have thought of the strange words and grammar!

“I’d rather rest on my true love’s breast

Than any other where.”

And they only met in the first verse!

Tina managed to start us singing soon after 7.30pm with a rousing Fathom The Bowl before looking at another fifteen songs from our winter season songs together with several harmonies. Poor Froze Out Gardeners, Angel Gabriel, The Coppers’ Christmas Song, Shepherd of The Downs, The Fields Lie Silent Now, Searching For Lambs, Where Stormy Winds Do Blow and also our very own Caburn Hill which Dawn had climbed in the morning and new boy, Nick, that afternoon. After a break for refills and chat, we resumed with On Sussex Hills, The Seasons Turn, The Falmer Carol, “Pentonville”, Sussex Wedding Song, finishing with Pleasant And Delightful and Thousands Or More.

Several of us will be singing at the Brunswick, West Hove & Portslade U3A meeting on Wednesday 21st November at Ralli Hall from 2.30pm which Emily has kindly agreed to lead and we hope some of the Worthing group will be joining us.

Next month, the Napier Quire start their weekly rehearsals for the Brighton Pub Carols so Tina has arranged to move our SDFS practice nights to Wednesday 21st November, 7.30pm start, and Wednesday 19th December; that is the day after we would have been meeting. So it looks as if 21st November is a day/night to remember!

New SDFS Performance Opportunities

For the attention of all our singers – some new singing events for November and December have been added to our Diary Dates page.

Local Group Report – Worthing – Wednesday 3rd October 2018

Thanks to all those who attended and contributed to the AGM which preceded our singing. After a short break to revive ourselves the West Sussex Drinking Song got the singing started. Other requests followed – Jim the Carter Lad and Where Stormy Winds Do Blow – with repeated encouragement from Emily to exercise our memories and sing without printed words. Hares on the Mountain (yet to be adopted across all three of our local groups) was sung and fine tuned a little to improve the balance between male and female voices, and The Fields Lie Silent Now (the winter song brought to us last month by Alan and Emily) was tried again – another test for our memories! Steve from the Chichester group then prompted us to sing The Stedham Oysterman’s Song in its entirety – followed by another well-earned break. We resumed with Life of a Man before staring work on the autumnal All Among the Barley (another possible for our seasonal collection). After this we finished a busy evening with Thousands or More and Rolling Home.

Extra Singing Session on 14th November – to herald the winter season

Calling all South Downs Folk Singers who want to perform at the seasonal events we have planned for November and December….

Come and join us for some extra time at “Ye Olde House at Home” pub in Worthing on Wednesday 14th November, to brush-up our repertoire of winter songs.

It’ll be another merry evening of song and we hope to see you there at 7.30p.m. to be singing by 8.00!

Featuring One Of Our Singers...

Please Take Your Feet From Off Our Necks!
An Anthology of Women post WW1 and WW2

Sunday 14 October 5.30-7.30pm
Ropetackle Arts Centre
Tickets £8

The times are slowly changing on the rough and rocky road to equality for women. In Amaryllis Gunn’s new Anthology we hear the voices of the women, and men too, who from WWI & WW2 onwards have made us think, laugh, cry and helped us on our way.

Performed by Amaryllis Gunn, Libby Longhurst and Lucinda Cox.

Tickets from www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk Tel 01273 464440
or go to: www.shorehamwordfest.com