Chichester Local Group Report - Thursday December 21st 2023

On near enough the shortest day of the year a goodly crowd of South Downs Folk Singers came together for a festive sing at a busy "Chichester Inn” (this included two new faces, one being very like another already in the Chichester gang!).  Welcome all!  

Against the challenging soundscape of a popular pub in the week before Christmas, we valiantly and cheerily sang our way through over 20 songs, with a mix of other enjoyable ‘party pieces’ offered in addition.  All met with a good-natured mix of attention and inattention from the various social groups of other customers seated nearby - with occasional moments of appreciation and applause before their chattering resumed as we sang on!

Our choice of songs for any who listened (and could hear them!) began with “Masters in This Hall”, "Good King Wenceslas”, “Hark the herald Angels” and the “Gloucester Wassail” .  Steve A then read to us “The Ruined Maid”, a poem and commentary by Thomas Hardy, its observations and wit giving rise to a wry smile or two…   Singing resumed with "O Little Town of Bethlehem”, before Julia presented for us the lyrics she has written for a winter song featuring a woodland battle between the oak and the holly - we look forward to hearing the tune to complete it (still a work in progress). “Wassail the Silver Apple”, came next - new to some but already on the SDFS Blog and recently revived at the last Worthing local group session.   (Alan proposed the version on the Blog be re-structured to feature the chorus after 2 not 3 verses).  Gordon then gave us his witty song featuring the 12 themes (and also the 12 tunes needed to illustrate them) most commonly used on Christmas cards - a musical challenge indeed!   And Chris continued the entertainment with the ’tale’ of “Spot of the Antarctic” which successfully paused some of the nearby chattering as other pub customers listened - and even joined in!   “Gaudete” and “The Boar’s Head Carol” took our singing to the midway break and some well earned refreshment. 

Les opened the second half with his rendition of “The Christmas Tree Fairy” (credited to Stanley Holloway) - leading to more wry smiles …. after which our singing resumed, firstly to wish Amaryllis a “Happy Birthday” and 'the best of health on her day of birth’, then on to another seasonal choice, “Pentonville”.  Alan took a quieter moment to recite for us an old favourite, “Eddie’s Service” by Rudyard Kipling.  A couple of wassails followed, “Here We Come A-Wassailing” and the “Apple Tree Wassailing Song”, before the gentle tones of “In the Bleak Midwinter” and the brightness of the “Sussex Carol”.  Chris introduced and led the ‘alternative’ version of “Grandma We Love You”, with our voices joining in the chorus, before, by popular demand, Alan sang for us the "Field Mouse Carol” (from 'The Wind in the Willows’). This is also on the Blog on the 'Other Songs to Try' page - and we hope will get more use next year. 

Alan provided instrumental accompaniment to many of the songs during the evening, including the 'Christmas Calypso' which he offered and led, with others who knew it joining in, before we all sang “Sweet Chiming Bells” together, followed by “Now Chritmas is Come”, “Angel Gabriel”, “Holly and the Ivy” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”.  These brought us near to the close of the session, an appropriate moment for joining hands and voices in “Auld Lang Syne” and last but not least -“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to finish!

With Seasonal Good Wishes shared and plentiful thanks conveyed to everyone who'd contributed, especially to Alan for his genial facilitation of the session and his expert musical accompaniment (with added 'get well soon' messages for him to take back to Anne) - we concluded our farewells with a nod towards gathering again at the Chichester Inn for our next session in January 2024 - Happy New Year!  

Lewes Local Group Report – Tuesday 19th December 2023

A small but enthusiastic group came out to the King’s Head all set to tackle some winter, Christmas and Wassailing songs to see out 2023. We had known that several regulars would be at Brighton Pub Carols and other events but had agreed in November that we would go ahead tonight with whoever could make it.

However,…having arrived in good time and while awaiting the others I received a text saying somebody with whom I had been in close proximity a few days before had now tested positive for Covid. As a result, I stopped singers as soon as they arrived and informed them of the situation from a safe distance. Since two have vulnerable relatives, we decided to take no chances and not to proceed with the session and bade sad goodbyes and festive greetings as we headed home.

Nick usually gets the award for travelling the furthest distance (from Bexhill) but tonight that accolade went to Ted, an American visitor who had come down from London specially to listen to us, having emailed the previous day to check we would be there. He has our original CD which he bought 10 years ago and plays at his parties in Massachusetts and being here on one of his twice-yearly trips to the UK he wanted to hear English folk sung in an English pub. Unfortunately, he was flying back the following day, or we would have suggested he try the Chichester session on Thursday 21st. It was lovely to meet him, albeit briefly, and hopefully he will be able to catch us on a future visit.

Seasonal greetings to all and we look forward to seeing anyone who can join us when we resume on Tuesday 16th January.

Tina

Season's Greetings and Festive Cheer!

       Here are some photos of our Sing at the Weald and Downland Living Museum’s Advent Market - some singers on their way to the event and the whole gang (with Steve behind the camera) preparing to sing in the Market Square.  It was a rather damp and chilly day, but singing lifted our voices, although sadly not the clouds, and helped to keep us warm. 

A week later we sang again in the courtyard of a beautifully decorated Petworth House, on an even chillier but at least drier winter’s day. (we hope some more photos from there will follow soon) - and last weekend we contributed to the festive fun at Rustington Museum’s Christmas event.

We were, as ever, glad to support and contribute to these lovely festive events - so many thanks to our hosts for their hospitality and to the visitors who stopped and listened.  And many thanks to our leads Tina, Alan and Emily, and of course to our Singers, for their energy and commitment to singing and sharing our songs. 

We still have one Yuletide event to go before the 25th - we’ll be singing in Worthing Town centre (near the Guildbourne centre) at 12.00 noon on Saturday December 23rd.  Then the fun continues at our first event of the New Year singing in support of the Sompting Morris Wassail celebrations in Tarring in the evening of January 5th - so why not bring your voices to join with ours in The Vine’s pub garden to toast the apple trees. 

Our SDFS local group sessions across Sussex are still there to enjoy through December and into 2024 - and more public events are being planned - so plenty to choose from to come and hear us, or even join us!  (More details are on our "Diary Dates" page and the “Welcome" page of this Blog.)

Worthing Local Group Report - Thursday December 7th 2023

The festive season and mood shaped our December session at the Barn - helped along by some mince-pies kindly brought by Gillian and enjoyed in the break (many thanks Gillian!).

After a brief notice to confirm plans for the remaining seasonal events on our performance calendar, with Emily's capable and joyful leadership our voices and spirits lifted with “Hark the Herald Angels”, “Sweet Chiming Bels” and “The Holly and the Ivy”.  “Ideo” came next, sung at a bright pace, followed by one of the songs added to our seasonal mix this year, “Now Christmas is Come”.  We returned to more familiar territory in “Deck the Halls” before the first of three rounds sung during the session - “Hey Ho Winter Snow’"- which built up to a successful 5 part rendition, and very lovely it sounded too!  'While Shepherds Watched' to the “Pentonville" melody gave a pause before another round - the lovely "I heard a Bird Sing”, the gentle sweetness of which benefitted from a simpler arrangement in fewer parts. 

After our break (with mince-pies and time for chat) we resumed with some debate about the length of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and considered trying a chorus after every two verses to reduce it a little.  In the event it wasn’t sung but time was given instead to another round, “Child of Light”, provoking general comment on how enjoyable and beautiful singing in the round can be.  We moved on to the "Sans Day Carol" - another 'holly' song full of the symbolic meaning this evergreen has at Christmas.  With careful rhythm we sang the lovely “The Angel Gabriel”, followed by one we have not often sung although liked by many, the “Boar’s Head Carol”.  This inspired us to give “Gaudete” a try, a popular song heard elsewhere by most of our singers.  Alan and David did an excellent job on the latin verses - with the rest of us managing to join in with the simpler latin choruses.  It is definitely one we enjoyed singing and would like to improve for next year’s festivities.  

With an eye then turning to the new year - and in anticipation of wassailing with the Sompting Morris side in Tarring village on January 5th - we dusted off “Here We Come a-Wassailing”, the “Apple Tree Wassail” and the “Sugar Wassail”.  Then the one we most often sing, the “Gloucestershire Wassail”, which like folk songs do has travelled across many regions, including Sussex!  We closed the evening with a rather last minute suggestion to try another one heard but not yet sung by everyone, so led by Alan and Emily with a strong driving rhythm liked by all, we sang “Wassail the Silver Apple”- which we hope to revisit post-Christmas at our next Barn session in the New Year.

So with Seasons Greetings exchanged our last Worthing group session of 2023 concluded - and now we look forward to our first Barn session of 2024 on Thursday January 4th!