WYDYAMISTHIS Review Page 8

Friday 20th February- singaround..... the review is dedicated to Robin who is feeling a l ittle unwell at present.... he is a keen  reader of this page.

We arrived a little later than usual. The hall was nevertheless dark and empty. Before we could ger out of the car, Chris and Mo had also arrived and began to set up. We set out the customary circleand waited, not long, as it happpens, for more people to arrive. We had some new audience members plus Graham Hood, who hadn't been to the club for thirteen years, he reckons! The evening was most enjoyable and we got through 34 songs and a poem.Many of the songs were traditional, and very singable.The performers were: TDL, Graham, Keith, Frank,Peter, Chris, Mo ,Ploughman's Lunch, and Mark.

FridaY February 27th  Claudine Le Moal... As Liz Ryder had cancelled, Claudine volunteered to step into her shoes. She brought along Steve O'Kane and Fiona McBain, old friends of the club since the early nineties. Steve accompanied Claudine on several of her songs, which was most enjoyable. Host for  the evening was Ralph who opened with a song of Anne Lister's which she had set to a Breton Folk tune. He then paid tribute to the late John Martin with "Fisherman's Dream". Tone Deaf Leopard were next, we played one of Claud's favourites "No Baguettes", bringing forth lots of laughter from the audience!

Claudine's first set began with a Breton folk song then lots of her own compositions, many written whilst in the States. Every song had an interesting tale behind it, and some were enhanced by the playing of Steve O'Kane. Many of the numbers are on her new CD which is on sale now.

There was a shortish break after which we drew the raffle (4 prizes). Performers in the second half were:Robin, Ben, Steve, and Steve and Fiona. Claud's seco nd set consisted of more of her own songs, plus a request, Pete Morton's "Another Train".

Friday March 6th Sand Dragon.

The full four piece ensemble plus one guest player turned up for the first full gig from good friends  Maggie and Mark, who we first met at this club last March, on that mega Good Friday!  Our MC was Andy Smythe who opened with one of his new songs about the new America. T D L followed on with a new song "In My Time of Dying", a bluesy gospel song from the 1920s, followed by our homage to The Stones and A.A. Milne, "Halfway Down The Stairs". The guests had to follow that, which proved no handicap. They introduced their guest member, Steve, who played a variety of unusual wind instruments, including a euphonium ! The lineup included a hurdy-gurdy, bellows harmonium, turkish drums, guitar, bazouki, recorders, and a selection of other strange items. I hope to have some photos of them soon. We were treated to some wonderful songs and tunes, largely traditional English numbers. Resident performers took the floor in the shape of Andy, Peter, and Robin, before the 5 prize raffle draw. Then a second brilliant set from Sand Dragon brought a fab evening to a close.

Friday March 13th ... John Breeze... chaos reigned  in Station Road, though lots of you found your way to the club forecourt. I was told that  the other side of the road would be open. Not the case at all. Despite the noise from the heavy plant doing whatever outside, we made enough noise to drown them out. Our host was Chris, who handled the situation with aplomb ! John opened with a Jez Lowe song,  and drew on many more fine songwriters for his entertaining as ever evening. He is one of life's rarities, an unassuming, even humble man, with a great, great voice. He should be up at the top of the tree, but seems to prefer small and intimate venues, and singarounds.  John brought with him once again "Moses and The Ref" a  male/female duo who are great, and have been booked for 2010.

Floor spots from Mo, Robin, Ben, Chris, Moses and The Ref, and TDL..

 Friday March 20th ,Resident Andy Smythe brings his band to guest at OFF. Well why DID you miss this fantastic evening.? Two lively sets, with amazing effects from Barry Targett on violin, electric violin,electric guitar, and a debut, resonator! Les Elvin on electric bass, and Andy on acoustic guitar and piano keyboard. Great arrangements chaps! Floor singers were Peter, Robin, and TDL.

Friday, March 27th - Drohne- As In  said before, you wait years for a hurdy gurdy, then two come along in one month. The audience for Drohne gets better every time, and so it should. Phil and Geoff are seasoned entertainers. They took us around the world with wonderful tunes and songs, superbly performed on many different instruments. Phil's singing voice has always put me in mind of Jaques Brel, and  last night I discovered that he was a great influence on Phil Martin, who later performed a great version of "Amsterdam". Tonight's singers wre : Mo, TDL, Paul Steele, Chris, Robin, and Peter.April 3rd... Phil Hare... A very small audience tonight...great pity as Phil is such a good singer and guitarist. unfortunately he was delayed on the M25, but arrived just in time. It was the Woodcraft Folk's camp this weekend, and organisers, Marie and andy joined us for the first half. Marie is half of Rosa's Dauighters, and gave us two lovely songs before Phil's first set. Phil had a different guitar, smaller than his usual one. There is a new Cd in production, and we were treated to some of the new songs from it, plus some of our old favourites, both written by Phil, or by other contemporary writers.Robin started the second half, then introduced Tone Deaf Leopard and Peter, before Phil's second, and very professional second set. There was of course, the "instant song", a little more serious than normal. All in all, a first class evening !

Good Friday, April 10th.... Ten down on last year, but a no less entertaining evening, as 11 of the 13 actually sung. mo brought her sister-in-law, who was over from New Zealand. Performing tonight were; Mo, Chris, Ben, TDL, Frank, Peter, Mark, Robin, Doug,,Keith, and Paul.

"Next week, you have the chance to miss George Wilson! AKA Juan Phatt B'Stard."

You didn't need to take this remark so seriously folks ! Those of you that weren't around missed a real treat. At one time we had George, daughter Jenny, and Ron Trueman-Border all on stage together!Ralph got hit by the bus cancelled blues, so we started without him. Halfway through the first song, he arrived, and took the reins after our second number. Ralph sang one song before introducing George Wilson. Daughter Jenny was here too, and joined George on several songs in both sets. She also sang solo "The Lark In THe Clear Air", which was stunning. After a short break, Ralph sang his second song, then there were two from Robin, and one from Ron before the raffle. Just 2 prizes and no wine. The second set was terrific, more great songs from George plus Jenny, and joined also by RTB on" Peter Green" and "Angel of Mercy". We should have had Paul Sirman too, but the dreaded lurgy has struck Linda and Paul with a vengeance.

Friday, April 24th,  Tom and Barbara Brown

It's such a shame that more of the purists don't tun out in support of Tom and Barbara, because they are truly two of the country's finest folk performers. They don't just sing two sets, they put on a show! The Browns can engage an audience, and have them nailed to their seats. Tom plays a variety of instruments which he uses widely to accompany him and Barbara, as well as singing a'capella. It's the one night that we can guarantee that Brian Cope will attend, and we are usually treateted to a couple of songs from him. This night was no exception. Other floor singers were: Chris ,Mo ,TDl,Andy,Robin,and Ben. Singaround next week

May 1st .Robin reports that the club was abandoned due to only a handful of people turning up, and Chris not feeling well.

May 8th Free Spirit. The Band might not have been quite what you had been expecting. I had not expected a three-piece, but never let it be said that we are stuck in a rut at Friday Folk. Their sheer enthusiasm, and the mandolin players showmanship won everyone over, and Ralph was seen tapping his hand on the table. Andy smythe was hosting and coped well with the big number of floor singers, who were, Ralph, Robin, Peter, TDL, Ben,Robert Brown, Suzanne Sear,and himself.

May 15th.. Andy Caven

A very good crowd turned out for Andy, who hadn't played here for ten yesrs. It was great to have him back. Apart from needing to sit down for most of the songs, Andy has lost none of his energy and enthusiasm. The voice is as great as ever, and he can still remember the words. During the first half, Andy sang his version of RTB's "Whatever Floats your Boat". (It's probably a little known fact that Andy is Ron's publisher.) Hosts for the event were TDL, and the singers from the floor were, Robin, Peter,Doug, and a new singer to us, Alan who broke our record for not seeing Andy Caven by some 15 years! Alan played an electrc lute and sang a couple of excellent traditional s style songs,one of which, The Green Man, was his own composition. Alan credits  Andy as being his inspiration, and ihe will be the guest at  Nellie's in early August.

May 22nd and 29th will be SingaroundsMay 22nd. Small but perfect. Hope for more people next Friday.

Here is Robin's report on Friday 29th May:

Considering that the Pig's Ear event was on this weekend, and hence no TDL, the Singaround was very well attended. Apart from the host, Mo, there were Chris, Peter (and Marion), myself, Dick, Paul Steele (and Helen), Mark and Keith. In addition we had Jackie (with a friend), who did songs and a poem, "Loose Change" - who are a two-males-and-one-female trio from Kent - and a harmonium-playing Lancastrian called John Kelly. And what a varied and enjoyable evening we had! We all had three songs each and Mo got us finished just after 11 o'clock (Mo always seems to manage that!). One of the "Loose Change" men borrowed my guitar and adjusted the tuning; Chris announced to one and all that it was the first time he had ever my guitar being played in tune. I must admit I was relieved to hear him say this as it really unnerves me when (as last week) he pays me compliments!

June 5th Ralph Henning. We had a sizeable audience for Ralph's Resident's gig, including several resident performers and guest floor singers. Peter was our host and, taking the lead from Robin perhaps, had clipboard at hand to organise us all. TDL were first up, performing "Roadkill Cafe" and one other. Then ,two songs from Andy before Ralph took the floor. He announced that he only had one new song for us. We didn't mind as all of Ralph's songs are strong, and well performed. His first set flew by, as did the break. Second half entertainment started with songs from Jan Henning, Robin, Rosa's Daughters and Doug. The second half was as good as the first, and soon it was time to leave. I'm really looking forward to next Friday with Mike Nicholson.. it's going to be great!

June 12th... Mike Nicholson. We arrived at the club to find Mike and Barbara waiting in their car. The club was open though, and we were first to arrive. Next was Maureen. It's usually a sign of a good attendance when Maureen turns up. All in all, the numbers were disappointing, though we did see some faces that had not been for ages. Ralph was our host, delaying the start to 8.50, as there were few singers too. After two excellent songs from Ralph, Mike took the stage, giving us a great selection of contemporary folk songs, from several respected writers, including Stan Rodgers. The second half saw two songs each from Ralph, Robin, and TDL before Mike's return. Amongst the great songs in the second set were ones by Leonard Cohen, Stan Rogers,and our own Ron Trueman-Border. Great to see so many artists singing Ron's songs these days. There was one traditional song from the collection of Vaughan Williams, and those two songs that we most associate with Mike, Stone By Stone, and Cornish Lads. An excellent evening. Thanks Mike.

June 19th Singers Night Report from Robin

This was a Resident-rich, Everyone-Else-poor session. When I arrived at just before 8:30, Ralph was already present, as was Andy, with his keyboard system set up. Peter and Marion came in just after me. Mark was also present, so we decided to make a start. The only other arrivals were John (who said he couldn't participate as he'd been practising "Bohemian Rhapsody" for three hours the previous evening!) and, at just after 10:00, Keith. We rather lost track of how many songs we each did!

I got a good report from Peter on Monday. Sounds as though it was a good evening. Liz Simcock next week. Sue

June 26th Liz Simcock. TDL had to fill in as hosts as Andy had got a last minute booking. Liz had brought Ian and Warwick along, so I upped the door charge to £5,00. Nobody minded. We started with two "Eric Clapton Songs" given the TDL treatment of course. Firstly "Can't Be Arsed", then the new song, for which we enlisted the boys, "Leysdown Sally." Ralph then sang one of the two songs that he had prepared, before The Liz simcock Trio took the floor. Much was made of the abscence of her super-fan Delboy, who couldn't get time off work. There were twenty others in the audience, (fans that is, not Delboys). The first set was very enjoyable and time flew. Bit low on floor singers this week as Robin was playing down the road at St Mary Ctay Festival, as was Ben, and Paul Steele. Trevor started the second half with  a gospel song, "John the Revelator."

Two more songs from Ralph, and three from Petercompleted the floorspots, the raffle seemed to go on for ever, before Liz's second set. Still, everyone enjoyed the evening, and Liz sold a few cds.

July 3rd Dave Ellis and Boo Howard...This duo have become firm favourites at our little club, and can be relied on to give us a great night. Robin took over the hosting from us Lepps as we had covered for Andy last week. We were very grateful as we were kept busy on the door with close on twenty people braving the heat. Dave and Boo gave us two very enjoyable sets with old and new songs, and of course they must include "Amber" For Ever. (Literary pun intended.) Floor singers were TDL, Paul Steele, Ben Little, and Peter Twydle.

Robin's Report.

Unlike a few weeks ago, when there were lots of Residents and very few others, at this event there were just three Residents (myself, the host Ralph, and Peter - the Leopards were out visiting a monkey!), but well in excess of twenty people who had come to see Doug and Kim, which made for an excellent atmosphere.  Peter and Dick stepped into the gap left by TDL to take the entrance money and sell raffle tickets. As a significant number wanted a Floor Spot, Ralph started proceedings early, followed by Bob Cash before Doug and Kim did their first set - and very enjoyable it was too. After the break, Ralph had to shoe-horn in me, John Hare, Buttons and Les Elvin. Quite a variety of styles and material!  All of this meant that we ran a bit late, but no-one seemed to mind. Doug and Kim's second set was every bit as enjoyable as the first and we all went home happy - if rather warm!

Friday July 17th Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer

Robin looked relieved to be passing the basket back to me tonight. I found that they had had a very sucsesful evening last week, and tonight was  already looking promising. TDL took on the job of hosting the evening for which we had not only a good audience, but several excellent floor singers. We put Peter and Robin on before the guests. The first set from Vicki and Jonny was most enjoyable. It's always nice to have some really traditional instruments as well as songs. Childe ballads featured heavily. The second half featured spots from Ralph, Ben, and Phil and Jeanne Revnell, who were a delight as ever. The rest of the evening flew by as we enjoyed several more excellent songs and tunes from our guests. They sold several c d s too!

Friday 24th July.. Robin Slater.... Sadly there were very few people to witness Robin's finest hour at OFF. Shall we blame school holidays or swine flu? Even the support from the other residents was poor. Never mind, the more discerning of our members, having nowt else on that night were treated to two very well put together sets, which were slotted in between a lot of good humour from or genial host, the inimitable C Spindlow Esq. Floor spots came from TDL, Chris, and Doug.

Friday31st July- Fran McGillivray and Mike Burke

Held over from the snowy conditions in February, I was sure of a good turnout for tonight's guests. Sadly, it was not to be. The meagre audience was, however, treated to a superb evening with the guests giving their all, despite lack of numbers. Peter was our host, and kicked off with a Tom Paxton song. TDL followed, performing  Dylan's "Leopardskin Pill Box Hat," and, in honour of Andy from Folkmob, "Mr Soundman."  Mo followed us. Then it was time for the first set from Fran and Mike, and it was great, blues, soul, some jazz, sprinkled with some of their own gorgeous songs. Time for a break before Chris, not feeling well, managed to give us a Cyril Tawney song, then Ron, not well at all was persuaded to borrow Peter's guitar performed three, two of which Fran and Mike jammed to. Sheer brilliance - shame you missed it folks, but you weren't there. Another short but oh so sweet set from Fran and Mike sent our tiny gathering away very happy. A great ending to our 08/09 season!