Lewes Local Group Report – from Monday December 15th 2025

Several singers were sick or dancing out with Ouse Valley Morris in Newhaven so in the end there were eight of us present at the Lewes Arms this month - six men and two women, which meant our harmonies were not as even as usual. 

I’d planned to spend the first hour upstairs going through the set list for the Brighton Unitarian Church lunchtime concert in February, before going down to lead some carol and wassail singing in the pub itself. In the event, only three of us who will be singing at BUC were there tonight, and some of the other singers were less familiar with the seasonal items, in particular the newer ones, so we shifted the main focus to running through the carols and wassailing songs instead.

When we moved downstairs we found some confusion about which group of carol singers we were and about the best place from which to sing. There were a few drinkers keen to join in who took word sheets and sang along but they were spread between the three separate bar areas, and there were also large festive groups from the Chess Club and the Film Group who were more keen on chatting than singing. So it was quite a logistical feat to agree which songs to sing and to conduct our singers plus the drinkers scattered around the pub to keep everyone in time. I thought wistfully of the Brighton Pub Carol singers who are accompanied by loud musicians and a conductor who stands on a table to get everyone’s attention! But it was all good fun and we sang for around an hour before having an early night. 

The song which got the biggest cheer - as is often the case - was when the audience listened while we sang as an encore “Thousands or More” in four part harmony to round off the evening.
Between the two parts of the evening we sang the following, in some cases twice:
“Angel Gabriel”, “Brave Eleven”, “Coppers’ Christmas Song”, “Deck the Hall”, “Ditchling Carol”, “Falmer Carol”, “Field Mouse Carol”, “Friendly Beasts”, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (the new tune)”, “Here We Come A-Wassailing”, “Holly & the Ivy” (the folkie tune), “In the Bleak Mid-Winter”, “Moon Shone Bright”, “My Downland Remembered”, “Stir Up” (the round), “Sussex Carol”, “Thousands or More”, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, “When it’s Christmas Time” and “While Shepherds Watched” (to the Pentonville tune). 
Our next session will be on Monday January 19th. New members are always welcome. Email us if you want to know more or just turn up on the night with your voice and your enthusiasm.
 Tina