Local Group Report – Chichester – Thursday 16th January 2020

There were just nine singers present at the Chichester Inn for our first sing of the new decade, but it was an excellent evening expertly led by Alan and we managed to sing nearly 20 songs! We started off with three wassailing songs – the Sugar Wassail, the Apple Tree Wassailing Song and Here We Come a-Wassailing, before launching into The Fields Lie Silent (which needs a touch more syncopation!) and the Ebernoe Horn Fair Song. After letting our hair down and being silly singing Batter Your Sole (a hilarious parody of Fathom the Bowl) we sang the Saucy Sailor, Brighton Camp, Stormy Winds and The Lark in the Morning. We were all very relaxed and Alan was feeling quite adventurous, so after singing us a version of Carter’s Pints, he led us in singing the White Cockade, The Cuckoo and A Sailor’s Life.

After the interval Dave suggested we sing In an English Country Garden, When Spring Comes In, and the Worthing Grower – all possible songs for the Worthing Seed Swap Event on Saturday 8th February. We continued with Drink Me Brave Boys, Eileen Aroon and the Constant Lovers before we finally brought the evening to a close with a look forward to the summer by singing Dave Webber’s May Song.

Thanks to Alan for leading us and to everyone for singing so well. It was great fun. We’ll do it all again next month on Thursday 20th February. Hope to see you then!

Local Group Report – Lewes – Wednesday 18th December 2019

Another wet winter evening, so we were surprised to find that The John Harvey Tavern was very full and noisy with Christmas trade and customers were tucking into festive fare in our usual meeting place. One can hardly make a fuss when the Tavern allow us to use their dining area for free but, fortunately, Sandria has recently moved from Peacehaven to the other end of Cliffe High Street about 200 yards away and she offered us shelter away from the Inn. The boys went to the supermarket to purchase bottled beers and it wasn’t long before eleven singers sat around the large kitchen table and launched into a request time of winter songs: Sweet Chiming Bells, The Fields Lie Silent Now, On Sussex Hills, The Magpie, Where Stormy Winds Do Blow, Masters in This Hall, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Copper’s Christmas Song and Angel Gabriel.

In the break, Sandria made teas and coffees for us and we discussed our singing possibilities spreading further into East Sussex. Adrian announced that he is going to take some of our Sussex songs as far as Timperley, Greater Manchester, in the New Year and no doubt others will be taking songs to festivals during 2020. We then resumed singing with Apple Tree Wassailing Song, Wassail, Wassail All Over The Town, Sugar Wassail, Here We Go A-wassailing, followed by Adrian’s East Sussex Drinking Song, Poor Froze-Out Gardeners, As Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (Pentonville) and The Sussex Mummers Carol (Righteous Joseph) before closing the evening with Thousands or More. Thank you to Sandria for saving the evening and inviting us into her home, it proved a pretty near-perfect evening.

Next time we will be back to our usual Tuesday evening, starting on 21st January, at The John Harvey Tavern. In the meantime, enjoy seeing in the new decade, 2020 has a good ring to it.

Editor's note: apologies for the late appearance on our website of this report, which I received several weeks ago.

Local Group Report – Worthing – Wednesday 15th January 2020

We started our 2020 sessions with a packed house of 44 lifting their voices in song. The evening comprised a mix of songs from our repertoire by request, plus a couple of novelties. On Sussex Hills then Pleasant and Delightful got us going, followed by The Farmer's Toast and Rosebuds in June. Alan then presented a round for the Wassailing season which enabled us to sing to the health and fruitfulness of apple trees (and apple pies) – with the accompanying advice to keep and, at the end of the year, burn the pruned wood from the tree to use the ashes to feed the tree for the next year’s crop. Alan handed out apple twigs for this purpose! We continued with The Magpie, Thousands or More, The Turnip Hoer, Drink Me Brave Boys, The Lark in the Morning and Ebernoe Horn Fair. After a break we resumed with a local area song from Petworth, originally brought to us by Leigh when looking at local May Day songs at one of our springtime sessions last year. It was written in the 1890s in honour of the Earl of Egremont. Emily taught us the tune and with words supplied we sang it through. A Smuggler's Song came next, before another newish-to-many-of-us song which is being considered by all three local groups for our performance repertoire, When Spring Comes In. Our penultimate song was The Moon Shone Bright, requested for the New Year good wishes in its last verse, then we closed the evening with Rolling Home.

At our February session we will resume assembly on the first Wednesday of each month as normally billed – so hope to see you there on 5th February.

TTW Seed Swap & Spring Fair 2020

Update 21st January 2020: Set lists have been added below.

Saturday 8th February 2020, 12.30 – 4.00pm
Oak Grove College, The Boulevard, Worthing, BN13 1JX

As in previous years we will be singing on the stairs, so numbers will be limited to around 20.

This year two 15-minute song sets are requested, in between lecture slots, at 1.45pm & 2.45pm.

Please email me at southdownsfolksingers@gmail.com by 2nd February cut-off date if you can make it, so that your name is on the list of Singers and you don't pay the £3 entry fee.

John C.


First Set 1.45pm

1. Oak, Ash & Thorn [E]
2. Pleasant & Delightful [A]
3. The Magpie [B]
4. The Fields Lie Silent [F]
5. The Woodcutter’s Song [A]

Second Set 2.45pm

1. On Sussex Hills [A]
2. Hard Times of Old England [F]
3. The Bee-Boy’s Song [G]
4. Life of a Man [B]
5. West Sussex Drinking Song [F]

SDFS on tour (well, Adrian anyway!)

Whilst visiting family in South Manchester and holidaying in Whitby recently, Adrian F took the opportunity to visit a couple of sessions and share some Sussex and South Downs songs. Last Friday (3rd January) he turned up at Timperley Folk Club's sixth anniversary bash and joined in their singaround. First up was the West Sussex Drinking Song (all four verses) and later, a heartfelt rendition of Follow Me 'Ome.  The following Tuesday (7th) saw him bob into the Elsinore pub in Whitby where a jam session was underway.  "This is not a singaround" he was told, "you'll have to jump in where there's a gap!"  Accordingly, in between some lovely dance tunes and ballads, Adrian sang a few of our favourites (with support from Jane!): East Sussex Drinking Song, On Sussex Hills, A Smuggler's Song, Turnip Hoer and Sussex By The Sea.  A great time was had by all – we'll be back!