Worthing Local Group Report - (belated from) Thursday January 4th 2024

We welcomed some new faces in the happy band of 29 singers opening our new year at the Barn.  With the waining festive season and current Wassails in mind, Emily set the scene and we began with a favourite, “Pentonville", before moving on to a selection of wassail songs - for the pleasure of singing them, and to confirm choices for our contribution to the Tarring Village Wassail with Sompting Morris the following evening.  Selected verses from the "Gloucestershire Wassail” were sung with gusto before the “Apple Tree Wassail”, "Sugar Wassail”, “Here We Come a-Wassailing” and the “Silver Wassail”.  Last but not least, before a well earned break, was the round “Wassail All Your Apple Trees”, in two then in three parts.

The second half of the evening gave us a chance to sing some more favourites plus a few of our newer songs from this Christmas season's repertoire, before future sessions take us forward into the spring and through the rest of the year.  “Ideo”; "Boar’s Head Carol”; “Gaudete”; “Sweet Chiming Bells”; “Holly Bears a Berry”; “Hark the Herald Angels”  and “The Holly and The Ivy” each had their enjoyable turn, as did another lovely round which began our look forward to the return of spring: “I Heard a Bird Sing”.

To end this seasonal session on a South Downs note, we concluded with a rousing rendition of the “Sussex Carol" - and, with new year resolution, we confirmed plans for the Tarring Wassail on January 5th and to gathering again at the Barn for our next Worthing session on February 1st.  (Feb 2nd. is "Candlemas", by which date, as tradition has it, any remnants of Christmas greenery in our homes should be removed - and  there is even a Candlemas song, perhaps we'll have a chance to hear or sing it).

H.