-Although it wasn't, last night, as it happened. Because Hurricane St Jude hadn't even turned up by the time I set off across the North Warks Moors. Perhaps because of the predicted Stormageddon (which never actually materialised), the musicians and audience numbers were a little thinner on the ground than usual when festivities got under way at The Bell in Monks Kirby. Mysteriously, as each song in the initial first of three (!!) halves got under way, a new audience member arrived. Perhaps they were all just very shy initially, and had been hiding in the other room, just waiting for us to begin. Perhaps a fallen acorn or a confused rabbit had blocked the road, delaying their efforts to join us. Anyway, even before the first interval, the place was almost becoming busy as usual and the chorus singing had risen towards its usual high standard.
The Sly Old Dogs and Friends were befriended last night by myself, Sue Sanders and Jan Richardson. It was a first MK appearance from Jan and a very welcome one. She started with a version of "Steal Away" (not that one) which was enchanting. Not to be outdone, Sue Sanders demonstrated her versatility by putting the fiddle aside, picking up a guitar, and singing. a spooky song about Pendle Hill. Later this pre-Halloween theme would be developed by Pete Willow, who sang a Weston and Lee song made famous by Stanley Holloway. As a kid I used to love singing the line containing " She walks The Bloody Tower," as I could swear without getting told off for it.
I launched my contribution by having a second public bash at "On Raglan Road-"a song I am still working on. I think I've got the tune-but I'm still struggling a little with memorising the lines in the third verse. There were only a few people there to hear me try it out, which is perhaps just as well-though I was quite pleased with it, as it happens. I was invited by Pete to conclude the first half with "something noisy we can all sing along to." Two songs in a first half? I wasn't prepared for that. But I chucked in an old Brinklow favourite- "The Old Barbed Wire." A rapidly-growing audience sang along with it. right noisily A few were unfamiliar with the clever little punch line at the end of the song, so it got a louder laugh than usual. That General-he's a naughty boy, isn't he?
The Lincolnshire Lark, Bob Brooker, took another Barnsley Nightingale song and cooed it out most touchingly. He goes all misty-eyed when doing Kate Rusby, Bob does. But then.... what red-blooded man wouldn't? Bob also revisited the Remembrance theme with a touching version of "Willie McBride". Much table pounding there. We were getting wistful and nostalgic, so although I'd intended to test out "Between The Wars," I sang "Peggy Gordon", instead. With the SODs accompanying me rather nicely.
Martin Bushnell regaled us with a haunting traditional wedding song, and Colin Squire led a rousing rendition of "Yarmouth Town." The Orchestra treated us all to traditional favourites such as "Leaving of Liverpool" and "Jock Stewart" aka " A Man you don't meet every day." Jan gave us several more songs including the Coffee One, and those three halves were suddenly rattling away like no person's business.The joint was really rocking by the time Sue Sanders got her Shakers out. It would have been stupid of me not to have done "Black Velvet Band", by this time. With no Sean Cannon in the room, and an audience who evidently wanted to sing chorus songs., it would have been rude not to. All to soon we were bellowing " Go Lassie Go" and then bidding farewell. Even if there had been a storm-we wouldn't have heard it.
