FolkWorkshops May/ June Newsletter

We get together to sing folk songs & play instruments in a tolerant & relaxed atmosphere of mutual encouragement and support.

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@FolkWorkshops

A word of explanation is probably overdue for new readers of this e-Newsletter regarding what FolkWorkshops is about and what it is. The answer may seem rather unfocussed to some because it really can be all things to all people. If you want it to be no more than a way of keeping in touch with other folk music enthusiasts along the Welsh Marches and beyond, then that’s what it is. If you want it to be a way of getting a group of singers or musicians together for an informal session then it can be that as well. If you want to find a group of people with a particular musical interest then this could be the starting point for your search. We could go on but suffice it to say if you have an idea you want to develop you just might find some fellow spirits here. Or, you might like to come along to one of our Folk Club Nights or give group singing a go with Black Hill Folk. We have no membership, and no committee, but through our collective efforts we all have a musical future.

Support Your Local Music Shops: Living a good few miles from large towns the Internet with all its tempting content is a great resource for singers and musicians. However, we can’t help feeling guilty when buying on-line when local record shops and music shops are closing, so one or two of us try to share out our modest expenditures between net and neighbour, so to speak. We also avoid a long round trip of up to 30 miles, but, Hannah’s Music Shop in Abergavenny closed earlier this year, so we should not take the existence of specialist shops for granted. We do of course still have the excellent Davron Music in Abergavenny Market Hall every Tuesday and Saturday, and three music shops in Hereford.

Without local shops there would be no personal service and advice or trying or reading the goods before you buy. Having visited all the music and independent record shops in the area from time to time we are very lucky to have them. We are therefore very pleased to tell you one of them, Nilam Music, in Aubrey Street, Hereford (sales@nilammusic.co.uk), now receives this e-Newsletter. Please let us know if you find any other music retailers or individuals who would like to be added to the list. All you have to do is ask & if they don’t like it we can easily take them off the list.

Things Past: We have had so many enjoyable evenings recently at the Crown Inn Longtown and at the church and chapel rooms in Newton and St. Margarets it is difficult to know where to start. To cut a long report short there were two highlights. Firstly the visit of Rapsquillian complete with a mini-workshop and a good bit of singing from them and from Black Hill Folk. Black Hill Folk learnt a lot from the evening and are now thinking of what’s next in their development. A return visit by Rapsquillian is being planned so watch this space.

The other highlight was May Day. John Biggs was a true FolkWorkshops hero and joined the intrepid Foxwhelp Morris at Arthur’s Stone on Dorstone Hill for what was rumoured to be a sunrise somewhere among the horizontal rain causing floods in the Golden Valley below.

By the evening a fine collection of folk had assembled at the Upper Maes Chapel Room in St.Margarets for a May Day Sing Around. Many thanks to all those who travelled from far and wide through some terrible driving conditions and who made the evening such a success. If we had a prizes for the longest travelled supporter the contestants would be Susie Stockton-Link from Builth, Sally Stamford from Almeley and Sue from Abergavenny. Perhaps we should set such a prize up for special occasions.

Many thanks to all for all the appreciative e-mails and messages on Facebook. As John Biggs commented, ‘We must be doing something right’.

Things Future: The festival season is now well and truly under way. Should you need to keep up with all that is going on, Colin Mathews @folkorbit is an excellent source of information. In our own part of the world those wanting to develop their singing and have a bit of a change should investigate:

• Hereford Harmony Singing Camp in Tenbury Wells on 15th to 18th June see www.hereforshireharmony.org.uk  Adult ticket £110, Child £40, Non-camping £80 
• Rise Up Singing, Dartmoor July 21st-29th: This covers a wide range of singing and covers all sorts of things from writing songs through to performance led by experienced teachers. Full details on www.riseupsinging.co.uk

Black Hill Folk: singing practice continues regularly at the Griggs. Full details on 0191 510629. If weather allows practices will be in the garden. All at 8pm. Please bring a donation towards funds.

Singing Practices will be held on 26th June, 10th July, and  31st July. 

Folk Club Nights at Newton Church Room and Upper Maes Coed Chapel Room:
Please bring a donation towards funds/ hire of the hall.

• 22nd June  (Friday) Summer Solstice Sing Around, in the garden at The Griggs (Upper Maescoed Chapel Room if wet)
• 3rd July     Folk Club Night,  Newton Church Room. 8.pm
• 7th  August  Folk Club Night, Newton Church Room. 8 pm

Folk Nights at the Crown Inn, Longtown: Every third Tuesday in the month: Next sessions 15th May, 19th June and 17th July. Starting at 8pm. NB, 24th June below

Foxwhelp Morris at the Crown Inn, Longtown:  24th July Starting at 7.30. See http://foxwhelpmorris.wordpress.com/dancing-out-2/ for a full list of fixtures.

Things Instrumental:

Lessons and Workshops: Jim Neale is now available to give lessons in guitar, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and bass guitar. For more details ring him on his mobile 07909524171.

Please get in touch if you are able to offer singing or instrumental lessons.

Folk Music Tune Club
If you’d like to learn new tunes, improve your skills, and have fun playing music with others. Please come along to the new Tune Club on:

Thursday 31 May at 2 pm at Upper Maescoed Chapel Room, St.Margarets.

All abilities welcome. Cost £2 (to cover the cost of hiring the room)
(MP3 files and sheet music for 3 simple Welsh tunes can be sent to you beforehand)

Thinking of taking up a Folk Instrument (or starting again):

Introductions to Folk Instruments: We can arrange short introductions as to what is involved, where to buy and what problems are common with a particular instrument. We have several instruments available to try during the session. All ages welcome but juniors to bring a parent. The costs is £3 towards FolkWorkshops funds. These sessions can happen subject to mutual convenience and again might be something to do on a evening or afternoon.

Jam Sessions? Those of musicians who are interested in playing instruments together for a change and personal development, rather than conventional sing arounds or club singing,  might be inspired by the Tune Club above to start some occasional instrumental sessions, whether folk, blues, or anything else. We seem to be gradually collecting a list of venues where you could get together and they need only be occasional to start with. We are already doing our bit in supporting two local halls and a pub, but there is always room for more types of event and venue. Prime mover needed.

Country Dancing? Anyone with the enthusiasm, knowledge is invited to make use of our network to get this started on occasional evenings during the winter. There is a convenient venue off the B4348 which might do for this or even a Ceilidh, although a supporting team would be need to get this organised. Prime mover needed.

Got something to say? Why not write something for our blog. A short series on Memories of  Pubs before the ‘Improvements’ is being prepared so if you have a story about such places and venues send an e-mail to us with it attached. A folk music connection is not essential as many of these old houses have already passed into the folk memory. All submissions welcome.

Got an event you would like mentioned? This came to us from Cas of the brilliant Gigs Guide. See attachment above. Anyone feel like doing one for this side of the Border, or is there one already and we have missed it?

Harp Songs HARPSONGS
Join us for a regular informal singaround at The Harp Inn, Glasbury near Hay on Wye
3rd Saturday each month at 8.30 p.m. Admission free. Bring your own songs, join in or just listen. Acoustic instruments welcome.

FolkWorkshops August Newsletter

Dear Supporter,

Let’s start by welcoming all of you who have just joined the mailing list. We hope you will be able to come along to some of the events mentioned here and that you might have an instrument you would like to play or a voice to get into condition. If you have neither then as always come along to develop you’re listening skills, your knowledge of folk music, and have a pleasant evening or two out. As always, if at any time anyone wants to be taken off the list then please let us know. Equally if you know of anyone who might like to be on the list then get them to send in an e-mail request.

Let’s end by thanking all of those who turned up and sang at the Songs and Poems Among the Flowers evening at St. Margaret’s Church on July 18th. This was very much an experiment but very favourable feedback has come in and it looks as though another evening for early November is planned with the provisional theme of Memories and Remembrance. A big thank you goes to our singers, Black Hill Folk for doing such a good job. Don’t be surprised if we get asked to do a few more things at St .Margaret’s. Thanks also go to Jim Neale for singing songs which were just right. I think he had better consider organising a fan club up here in the hills.
We are just about to go off on a trip to the Somerset, Devon and Cornwall in search of some Folk Clubs to sing at so see you later in the month. In the meantime should any of you feel like buying the Bridge Inn at Michaelchurch we are sure that FolkWorkshops supporters will be only too pleased to boost your sales.

Keeping the dream alive,

Regards from all @FolkWorkshops

Events:

Wednesday 17th August: Newton Church Room 7.30 pm: Turn up and Sing Evening. John Biggs has a new song we might like so he will bring along a CD player to get us started. Dont forget to bring your song files with you. New members should not be put off by this as we can always find some lyrics for you.

Saturday 20th August: Longtown Show: FolkWorkshops Stall & Caravan: Look out for the sign and drop in for a chat and a drink. We will have various promotional leaflets from the English Folk Dance and Song Society, a display of musical instruments, and literature. A CD player playing folk music will provide the background music. Depending on who turns up, occasional outbursts of song and strumming on the hour from 2pm, will occur.
If you have any promotional material you would like to add to our collection then get it to us by Friday 19th or on the day of the show. Flyers, posters, and cards can all be found a place. Old books on music or artists you no longer want can also go on display for sale on your terms. If you have any old musical instruments you would like to sell or just bring along to add to the display, feel free. If it’s raining we will take shelter in the caravan! If it’s also blowing a gale we will see at the Crown Inn later getting warm and sampling the Butty Bach. It is August after all. If you have any ideas we have missed for the stall please let us know. We have no idea what to expect but we are looking forward to it!

Wednesday 28th September: Newton Church and Room 7.30 pm: Singing Workshop with the Village Quire: Your chance to try out part singing. Absolute beginners and above welcome. This is an evening which can really convince you that it is worth giving your vocal chords an outing. Tickets £5. All proceeds of this event as well as the concert below will be shared between the two churches.

Saturday 1st October: St.Margarets Church 7.30: Concert by the Village Quire High days and Holidays Along the Welsh Border Marches if you come to nothing else during the next twelve months this is the event not to miss. You can read a review of this concert on our tag link below. Heard in the setting of St. Margaret’s Church in sight of the Cat’s Back as it forms the sky line from Hay Bluff, via Black Hill and Red Darren to Hatterall Hill, we cannot imagine a better setting. Tickets £10. Combine it with the Workshop ticket and pay £13. To reserve any ticket either send your request to john.baxter87@virgin.net or telephone John on either 019812510388 or 01981 510629

Saturday 15th October John Kirkpatrick presents

The Victorian Farmer’s Year in Song
Songs about farmers, and songs sung by farmers; songs about the work on the farm, and songs to make that work easier; songs celebrating particular days in the country calendar, and songs celebrating the daily miracle of life, death, and renewal. And the world we are shown here is not a romantic pastoral idyll viewed through rose-tinted spectacles—this is a world full of sweat and muck, a world with dirt under the fingernails, a world full of snorting, and grunting and heaving. And then there’s the animals ...

John Kirkpatrick, winner of the ‘Musician of the Year’ award at the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In the popular TV series Victorian Farm John popped up now and again contributing folk songs, squeezebox tunes, dances and snippets of information about folklore and traditional customs.
Saturday 15th October, 7.30 pm at Gwernyfed School Drama Studio, Three Cocks, Nr Hay on Wye LD3 0SG. Cost £7.50

Folk Harmony Singing Workshop - John will also be running a vocal workshop from 2 - 5 pm at the school. Suitable for anyone who likes a good sing and can hold a tune! 'Dots' will be available if needed, but the afternoon will be suitable for those who prefer to learn 'by ear'. Cost £10 or combined workshop / concert ticket just £15. Workshop places must be booked in advance.
Tickets and further details from 01497 847676 or any member of the Village Quire / www.villagequire.org.uk

FolkWorkshops Newsletter

Dear FolkWorkshops Supporter,

A great deal of things seem to be going on. A quick look at Broad Sheep says it all. Supporters are gradually increasing on this e-mail list and so by the time the dark winter evenings arrive there should be a few more of us. Our Twitter followers are also steadily increasing but, ironically, not from among our own supporters. Since there seems to be a lot of people out there who are interested in what we do we shall continue to run the account as well as the FolkWorkshops tag for the Blackhilltales Blog which gets about a hundred visits a month. Since a major insurance company I know of only gets 900 visits a month with the aid of a vast advertising budget this tag connection seems to do very well with just the aid of the @FolkWorkshops account. If you would like to send in a review or article for publication then please e-mail it to us. This newsletter is always posted on the FolkWorkshops tag. ( see signature bit below if you were wondering what it was) Equally if you hear of an event which is worth publicising then that can be easily posted on Twitter if you let us know.

We will continue to have evenings at Newton Church Room. If we can have one or two sessions like the Wednesday 11th May evening then the winter months will soon pass by. Many thanks to Jim Neale once again and he sends his thanks to all of you who have supported the various events to fund his sons trip to Cambodia to do some teaching. We have also been made very welcome at the Crown Inn, Longtown, and so look out for announcements of regular sessions there as well.

Our singers who went to the Help the Heroes event in Peterchurch did exceptionally well. One of our group was in the audience and will give us some constructive feedback which will be useful for the next time we do this sort of thing. The general feedback from the organisers and members of the audience was very positive. As most singers had not performed before up on a stage with microphones, among all the cable, drums and amps, I think they should all be highly commended for that alone. Although at times the evening was a bit daunting in prospect it was one of those experiences which was well worth it. We have made a few more friends as a result and we have been invited back for next year. At the last count they had raised about £900.

Foxwhelp Morris: Now the light evenings are with us you may be looking for an outing. Why not combine support of a local hostelry with watching a bit of Morris Dancing. Here is Foxwhelps itinerary for places nearby. Full details can be found at: http://foxwhelpmorris.wordpress.com However, just a reminder that they will be at The Crown, Longtown this Tues 19th July from 7.30 pm and at The Yew Tree, Preston-on-Wye on 26th July.

Village Quire Visit: Make sure you put these dates in your diary. Workshop and Concert at St. John’s Newton and St.Margarets Church on September 28th and October 1st. This is a jint effort between FolkWorkshops and the two PCC’s so all offers of help welcome.

There are lots more events coming up in the Autumn and we hope to get most of this information to you in due course. In the meantime the August Newsletter may be delayed. Jane and I will be visiting a few folk clubs this August and a festival or two but we will be in back for our FolkWorkshops stand at the Longtown Show on the 20th August. We are then off again as our great niece is singing at Canterbury Cathedral and rather more mundanely we will be joining the sing around at Faversham Folk Club. It’s a long story but suffice it to say we were in Faversham, Kent, earlier this month buying another banjo and we were made very welcome at the local club when we made contact via e-mail in advance. It must have been reasonable as they have asked us back!

Finally, by visiting other singers and venues we have learnt quite a few things about developing our activities. Sing Arounds are a good way for individual singers and duos or quartets etc to develop their confidence and ability; whether singing or instrumental. There is nothing wrong in getting together separately to rehearse such contributions but such efforts should be given room to perform at the sing arounds without a group expectation that everyone should be able to join in with the whole piece. If there is a chorus, then all well and good, but individual performers need room to build their confidence and thereby add to the group experience. Equally, instrumental sessions, if run properly, can allow the beginners and improvers to learn from the more experienced in a way which allows them to learn from their mistakes without embarrassment. Several of the clubs we have come across make such sessions a regular event, separate from the main ‘club night’. This was the case with us in Faversham but as we were travelling back to our caravan in Walton-on-Thames that night via the M2, M20, M26 and M25 the invitation to try the new banjo out in the main bar with half a dozen instrumentalists the following night had to be declined! Consequently any players who are beginners or improvers should keep a look out for any instrumental workshop sessions which may be organised by individual supporters in the coming months.

If you can drop in at a local club when you are on your travels it can be quite a worthwhile experience, and in any case, you can always leave early.

Its Ceilidh Time Again

FOXWHELP MORRIS


ARE HOLDING A CEILIDH IN PRESTON-ON-WYE VILLAGE HALL, HEREFORDSHIRE, ON 9TH JULY 2011 WITH THE BAND “SUCKLING RUNT”


TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM ANY MEMBER OF THE SIDE OR CALL JOHN ON 01544 340780

This is our very own own local Welsh Marches Team who will probably be appearing at pub near you soon and showing you what good Morris Dancing can be. Details of their tour of Herefordshire and Welsh venues are in be in FolkWorkshops Newsletter available here.


But why not get your own dancing shoes on and come along to their Ceilidh? Having seen them perform and knowing how they can make a great evening, you should not miss this evening. I know that quite a few FolkWorkshop supporters will be making their way through the lanes to Preston-on-Wye.

Dacier

FolkWorkshops Newsletter; 5th May 2011

Dear Supporter,

What an Easter we have had. It is comparatively restful now but you will be pleased to hear we had some very favourable comments re our singing at the Mountain Mayhem Fete. One such person was very well qualified to express an opinion. Say no more.

Just a brief update. Our next session will be at Newton Church Room this coming Wednesday 11th at 7.30. Jim Neale for the Black Swan is hoping to come along. He plays the guitar and violin and has a wide range of songs as is happy to play along with whatever is going on. There seems to be rather a lot going on with events coming thick and fast. This week alone there have been four events. We have succumbed to two. The Courtyard tonight with Belshazzar's Feast, thus missing the Black Swan, and Pete Coe at the Lion Ballroom Leominster on Friday, thus missing the Martin Harley band at the Courtyard.

Village Quire News: our friends will be singing at various points around the Festival Hall next Saturday 14th May. The highlight should be The Main Foyer after Martin Carthy has been interviewed for TV as part of his 70th Birthday celebrations and while the audience is coming in. It is all part of the celebrations marking the Festival of Britain 1951.

Foxwhelp Morris: Now the light evenings are with us you may be looking for an outing. Why not combine support of a local hostelry with watching a bit of Morris Dancing. Here is Foxwhelps itinerary for places nearby. Full details can be found at: http://foxwhelpmorris.wordpress.com

Tue 10th May 2011 Black Swan, Much Dewchurch, Tue 31st May 2011 The Angel, Grosmont, Tue 7th June 2011 The Harp, Glasbury, Tue 19th July 2011 The Crown, Longtown Tue 26th July 2011 The Yew Tree, Preston-on-Wye.

Garway Folk Weekend: 3rd to 5th June: After some boring thoughts about travelling back and forth we have decided to take our caravan for the full weekend. Hope to see some of you there. For full details visit: http://www.learningobjectivity.com/garwayfolkweekend/

More news will have arrived by our session next week so look forward to seeing you then.

Keep on singing!


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