Our new singing venue, The King’s Head in Lewes, is proving popular, and thirteen of us gathered there on November 21st, completely filling the top tier of the pub. As our numbers expand we’ll have to accept Dec’s kind offer to use the larger middle tier in order to accommodate everyone.
We were pleased to welcome our newest member Celia from Lewes, returning members Ruth and Steve from Henfield, and of course all our trusty regulars. After a brief introduction from everyone Tina opened the evening explaining that she’d selected the evening’s songs to link in with Remembrance Day, winter and of course looking ahead to Christmas. We started with the “West Sussex Drinking Song” and moved into winter with the “Fields Lie Silent”.
Tina’s reminder that no-one should sing anything with which they feel at all uncomfortable was pertinent as we went on to sing “Home, Lads Home”, “The Ladies Go Dancing at Whitsun” and “My Boy Jack”, all of which commemorate those tragically lost in war.
Everyone was in fine voice and we headed towards Christmas with the new to us “Boar’s Head Carol” which Tina taught as a suggestion for next year and everybody picked up quickly, and the more familiar “Falmer Carol”. “Stir-up Sunday”, a round written by Alan from our Chichester group, was particularly topical as this year the day for traditionally starting the Christmas pudding falls this week on 26th. The “Woodcutter’s Song”, ”Gather Round the Fire” (another round) and “Where Stormy Winds Do Blow” kept up the seasonal theme before we returned to carols with “Ideo” (another new try out ahead of next year which was also well received). “Old Adam” made an appearance before we finished with a rousing rendition of “Thousands or More”.
In the break Tina mentioned the Weald and Downland Living Museum event this Sunday and there was some enthusiasm for the idea of arranging a Wassail event for 2025 as there’s not time to try and arrange a public event for January 2024.
Jan
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