Dear All,
STOP PRESS: FolkWorkshop this coming Wednesday April 13th at Newton Church Room at 7.30
Please spread the word!!!
A week is a long time in politics and so it would seem it is the same in the world of FolkWorkshops and the Black Hill Folk. Having had a great time at our Ceilidh it has taken a bit of time to recover but I am pleased to say we are not only re-covered personally but that we recovered our costs and made a modest profit for our events fund.
Many thanks to all those who helped with the various tasks to set the whole thing up, but a big thank you has to go to all of you who turned up to dance. Without you it would not have been the great family occasion which has convinced our group that we will try and organise another one during the early winter. We had visitors from the Village Quire members and supporters’ from hay and beyond and several people responded to our Villager News entry in the Hereford Times and made the journey from Hereford City.
Many thanks to the Silver Branch Ceilidh Band who kept us on our toes and to our Black Hill Folk singers, joined by Village Quire members, who started the second half.
So why is a week a long time? Well, with a bit of ale going off in the barrel the ceilidh organising crew had to have an emergency meeting to decide what to do about the potential waste of beer and to sort out who was owed what. This was soon resolved and as result we had a planning session and few songs. The result was the following.
Firstly, we must return to our original home at Newton Church Room. The first will be on THIS COMING WEDNESDAY 13th April at 7.30. We will also be having another one in mid-May once all the bank holidays have passed. At the moment Wednesday the 11th or 18th May is being suggested so if you have any thoughts please let me know by Wednesday 13th as that is the Newsletter deadline for advertising the session.
Please notel the Norma Waterson Benefit Gig which will betaking place on Saturaday 21st May ( see Gigs List attached). We are hoping that a few of us will go and car share could be possible.
Secondly, we have been asked to do a bit of singing at the Mountain Mayhem Fete in aid of Llanveynoe Church on Easter Bank Holiday Monday. We will have our own table and have been asked to do some songs from about 12.45 to give the place a bit of life. The more that can come along for an hour or so the better. We will have plenty of printed word sheets for those who want to join in and we will be singing many of the songs at the coming workshop on Wednesday. It will be more of a ‘sing song’ rather than a formal performance so it should be a relaxed affair. There should be a good few choruses.
Having inspected the venue it is a big one, believe me, so we will be able to blast away in the manner of the Crown at Christmas or like our experimental evening at the Bridge Inn. We have about six very strong pieces most of us know already and with one or two other impromptu sing around songs it should be a pleasant afternoon. We are not obliged to stay all afternoon but as there is a bar and hot food this might be immaterial. More details will be given on Wednesday when we will be singing several of the songs we have in mind.
See the posters and flyers for full details of the fete.
Thirdly, we have been asked to do a set at the Help the Heroes fund raiser in Peterchurch on 26th of June. This is a very flexible event and details will become clearer nearer the time
Fourthly, we will be running a stall at the Longtown Show on Saturday 20th August. This will include a display of musical instruments, a bit of singing and playing as well as lots of leaflets and publicity to do with folk music in our area as well as trying to find more musicians and singers who would like to join us. We have permission to take a caravan plus awning so if the weather turns nasty we should be quite comfortable. If you would like to take a spell at the stall have any ideas as to what can go on the stall please let us know and.
Fifthly, we will of course be involved in organising a return visit to Newton and St.Margarets Churches by the Village Quire with their new programme, High Days and Holidays in the Welsh Marches on 28th September and 1st October for a Workshop and Concert. All proceeds will be shared between the two church funds. We managed to attend the premier performance of this collection of songs and reading last week and it is something well worth looking forward to. Please see a review of the performance at http://tinyurl.com/6khate2
Finally, our experimental visit to the Bridge Inn a while back now brought new contacts and inquiries from audience members as to when we would be making a return visit. We would be very keen to do so at sometime. In the meantime look out for other appearances of Black Hill Folk at local hostelries as part of our campaign to support local facilities: ‘Keep it lively, & Keep it Local!’
While I have been writing this the grass has been growing, more bits have fallen off the cottage, and Jane has been reading Broad Sheep and finding more events to go to. At this rate it looks as though a trip to the Garway Folk Weekend in June might be difficult to fit in. But then, the grass will still be there when we get back!
Looking forward to the summer ahead,
John and Jane Baxter
PS: We are thinking of organising dedicated workshops for specific instruments. We already hold informal 'strums ins' and 'pluck ins' for banjo and guitar but we will also be doing a 'drum in' for those who want to have a go or just let off steam. We have already done twitter and folk on the internet sessions. All of these can be arranged on demand when there is enough interest.
PPS: It has just been confirmed that we will be running a Workshop at Longtown Village Hall at the invitation of Longtown WI on Tuesday 18th October. More deatils should we live that long.
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