FolkWorkshop's Newsletter: June 2011

Dear Supporters,

Many thanks to all those who made it to the recent FolkWorkshops Session. Jim Neale greatly enjoyed the evening and he tells us that there will be others wanting to visit in the future from the general direction of the Black Swan in Much Dewchurch. Everyone enjoyed his songs, music and stories. Many thanks Jim, and please come again. The softer lighting and refreshments seem to have been appreciated and as usual thanks go to all those who helped set the room up, provided snacks, and most importantly, did the washing up. The surprise appearance of a spider dangling above the singers heads during the performance of the Wreck of the Old ’97 also added to the general mirth caused by the ensemble of guitars, banjo, bass guitar, harmonica and the percussion provided by Sue. Thanks also to all of you who gave so generously towards the cost of the evening and to Jim’s Cambodia fund.

There seems to be a lot of live folk music just at the moment. The Pete Coe Concert in Leominster was an inspiring evening and the trip to the Festival Hall Singing Festival to hear the Village Quire, the Martin Carthy 70th Birthday Interview and many other choirs, was well worth the effort. Please see the attached photo of a new recruit to the Village Quire who joined them in the Roof Garden of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Needless to say the Village Quire were on top form in front of large and appreciative audiences.

The Norma Waterson benefit organised by The Village Quire raised £1400. It was a great evening and a local discovery was Anne Lister, a singer and song writer from Pontypool. Dave Swarbrick performed a wide range of pieces including works recently discovered among forgotten manuscripts at the British Museum. This seems to be a growing trend as while we were at Cecil Sharp House earlier in the year the librarian told us that they have been working on a new collection from among their own archive.

With news that the Shrewsbury Folk Festival ( August26th/29th) is now sold out, if you are thinking of going to a local festival this year make sure you don’t miss the boat. The Bromyard Festival is being held on 9th/11th September.

News and Events Update


Foxwhelp Morris: Alison has just told me that the Foxwhelp Morris appearance at the Angel at Grosmont for this coming Tuesday the 31st May has had to be cancelled. This comes as a timely reminder that they will be dancing at the Crown, Longtown on Tuesday 19th July. Other bookings near us are The Harp, Glasbury on Tuesday 7th June 2011 The Pandy Inn, Dorstone on Tuesday 5th July 2011 and at The Yew Tree, Preston-on-Wye on Tuesday 26th July 2011.

Garway Folk Festival: Day tickets are now on sale. We are off there with our caravan on Friday morning whether its emptied of junk or not. Might see you there. http://www.learningobjectivity.com/garwayfolkweekend/tickets.html
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Mid-Summer Singing Workshop Brecon Beacons Saturday 18th June: An all day event. Please see the earlier e-mail of 17th May but note you could still get to the Ceilidh advertised below.

Ceilidh for Cambodia|: The Courtyard Hereford: Saturday 18th June: This is Jim Neale’s event so why not try some mutual support!Tickets are now available from the Courtyard ticket office. A good evening for £7.50 with concessions.


Help the Heroes Fundraiser: Peterchurch Fire Station 25th June: We have been given a 15 minute slot and rehearsals start at the Griggs, Wednesday 1st June

10 Years of Fund Raising at the Griggs: A Celebration: John Biggs writes ‘At 6 p.m. on Tuesday 12th July, we shall shut the gate on the last National Garden Scheme visitor after 10 years of garden visits for charity. Over the last 9 yrs we have sent off in excess of £7,500 to nominated charities. If FolkWorkshop’s supporters consider this worthy of celebration, then we would suggest the following evening, Wednesday July 13th, for a sing in the garden and hopefully a B.B.Q.’ Many thanks John and Bridget. This is a great idea and many thanks to John and Bridget for the invitation. I am sure there will be quite a few who would like to accept this invitation.

Longtown Show: Saturday 20th August: general publicity presence with some musical instruments, English Folk Dance and Song Society literature and shelter from the heat or rain in the caravan and possibly a CD or two being given a spin.

Longtown W.I. FolkWorkshop event:Tuesday 18th October: This has now been confirmed and should prove to be an enjoyable evening of song. We hope to do as many chorus songs as possible as well as say a bit about folk music generally. Please think of suggestions for songs and we can run some chorus words off.

Village Quire Workshop and Concert Sept and October 1st: as last year there will be a singing workshop on the Wednesday 28th at St.John’s Newton and the concert on the Saturday 1st October in St. Margaret’s Church. On the Sunday it will be St. Margaret’s Church Harvest Festival at 11. am followed by a Harvest Lunch. It will be a busy weekend so volunteers in all departments will be welcome. More detail in early September.

Spreading the Song: Can we repeat the plea that you forward this e-mail to those who you think will be interested in joining in with FolkWorkshops activities. Because we are neither a Folk Club, nor a choir or even a music teaching organisation an explanation of this ‘umbrella’ organisation is often needed. Hence the Longtown Show stall and our delight in being invited by the Longtown W.I. for an evening of song. FolkWorkshops can be whatever supporters want to be. If there are enough to form workshops for individual instruments where skills and ideas can be swapped then that can happen. If funds permit we can ask experienced players or singers to give classes. We are also acutely aware that there are many younger people who would like to sing but somehow are not sure what to do about it. If you can tactfully encourage them and explain the possibilities then they might turn out to play or sing folk music. A quote which we recently heard at the Martin Carthy Interview is well worth keeping in mind, ‘The only harm you can do to a folk song is not to sing it’.

Best wishes from all at FolkWorkshops and our singers, Black Hill Folk