Worthing Local Group “At Home” Session – Wednesday 7th October 2020

October has arrived and usually this month our Worthing session would be hosting the SDFS Annual General Meeting at “Ye Olde House at Home”. This year that cannot be and the AGM will have to wait. The Committee will continue in the interim, and upon request the accounts, meeting minutes and SDFS constitution can all be emailed to any singers wishing to read these. To obtain these, and also if you have any SDFS related questions or issues to raise, please contact us via the SDFS email.

Sadly we must also warn that our annual social, the “Winter Revels”, will probably have to wait too, circumstances being too uncertain to take this forward yet. We hope instead for maybe a Spring or Summer Revels in 2021, which will also serve as a celebration of our grand reunion! In similar positive spirit, our Events Organiser John has outlined a possible programme of performances for next year (see below and on our Diary Dates Page). Thank you John for all your work.

Singers across the land are beginning to venture out into the 'live’ world again and the SDFS is watching developments (albeit against a still very uncertain background of Covid-19 cases on the rise again) – so keep watching this space. For now though, in the absence yet of other plans, below are some ideas for your Sing at Home this month.

Looking back at October 2019, we'd begun to use some of our winter and Christmas songs already – but I’ll avoid too many of them yet and instead hang on to the autumnal mood and lingering memories of summer.

Let’s start with Pleasant and Delightful as we did to get the singing going on 2nd Oct last year, before doing the lovely Fields Lie Silent to quieten the mood.

Then The Woodcutter's Song and Oak, Ash and Thorn for obvious woodland and fireside reasons at this time of year.

Getting chillier by the minute, how about Poor Froze-Out Gardeners, Hard Times of Old England and Ha’nacker Mill.

Cheering things up Jim the Carter Lad and the energetic Brisk Young Ploughboy, both no doubt given to the occasional Lark in the Morning.

Rosebuds in June never goes amiss and Hares on the Mountain hasn’t been in these set lists for a while.

And for the finale, good old Country Life for its positive gallop through all the seasons with a sense of joy, before (even though at home) Rolling Home.

Happy Singing!

Henny

The Message from John:

Provisional SDFS Event Participation Update For 2021

Dear All,

Here is the list of 2021 dates that organisers have confirmed with me, or will probably be on similar weekends next year. Circumstances may affect events depending on the next 6 months' developments.

Any Wassails and New Year events are problematic, as is the Worthing Seed Swap in February which will be at the height of the annual Flu pressure on the NHS.

The W&DLMuseum has nothing definitely planned at the moment, whereas normally by now the staff would have formed the outline plan for the whole of the following year.

16-18 April: Garden Show Firle Place. The two remaining shows in 2020 have been rescheduled and to date are still on, subject to being pulled if the local authority deems it wise. So assuming no hiccups, all three shows will be on next year.

11-13 June: Stansted Garden Show.

27 June: NT Saddlescombe Open Day.

July-August: One date at NT Standen.

23-25 July: Loseley Park Garden Show.

16-29 August: Arundel Festival with SSS; a virtual festival was arranged this year with individual or bubble performances on line.

12 September: Fernhurst Forge Weekend.

18 September: Southdowns Folk Festival with SSS.

19 September: Brighton Apple Day, Falmer.

October: Possible event at Saddlescombe.

20 November: W&DLM Christmas Market.

John

Please note that all events above are subject to confirmation. As plans change, the list above will not be updated. For an up-to-date event list see the Diary Dates page.