Chichester Local Group Report - Thursday February 19th 2026

12 singers attended the February 26 Chichester Inn SDFS singing session, led by Alan. 

At this session, the group would be considering some of the new material that was being proposed by Steve A for the 2027 bid to take part in the Chichester Fringe.  All being based on lesser-known material collected in the Chithurst area by Dorothy Marshall and Clive Carey. 

To start, Alan led the rousing England for Me (Dave Toye) which, with slight adjustments to the chorus, went pretty well.  Steve W agreed to adjust the words on the website to ensure that it matched what had been agreed.  This was followed by "Rambling Comber" with Alan reminding the group of the various harmonies available.  Stephen A then introduced the first of the potential Fringe material "The Young Recruit", following line by line practice, the whole song was worked out and sung.  Alan suggested it be introduced to the Worthing sessions as well.

There was discussion at this point about the necessity of attempting to keep all three groups of the SDFS (Worthing, Chichester and Lewes) singing the same versions of the SDFS songs and where possible working along similar practice lines for each session.  Tina from Lewes had sent Alan her proposed practice list and Alan undertook to do the same for Chichester.  Henny also agreed to let the Worthing group know in advance of the sessions, which songs, decided by Emily, Alan and Amaryllis, were to be practised or learned, so they could, if necessary, listen to the recordings on the SDFS blog before the practice

With this in mind, Alan then led the group in "Love and the Ball" which had been practised at Lewes but not much at other sessions.

The second half of the evening started with another of the potential Fringe songs, "Stedham Oyster Man’s Donkey".  Stephen A again demonstrated this (which is apparently a true tale from Stedham!)  There was some discussion about the length of the song and the importance of hearing the words. The group felt that it would be good to perhaps have different individuals or pairs of singers for each verse, the whole group to join in the choruses and the last verse.  Following a quick try, this idea was confirmed and also the thought that an instrument to accompany it would ensure the key was maintained!

The last part of the evening was devoted to requests.  Dave G suggested "Loyal Lover" which the group tried and then again with just the ladies who were encouraged by Alan to keep the rhythm going.  "Our Captain Cried All Hands" followed – as a song not often sung and in view of the season "When Spring Comes In" was the penultimate song of the evening before a rousing "Rolling Home" to finish. 

As a footnote to the Chichester Fringe material, Steve W is creating a new page on the blog called “The Chithurst Songs”, where lyrics and recordings will gradually be assembled. 

Anne Sartain

There's Something New on the Miscellaneous Page ...

Lyn F has let us know about a ticketed event due to be held in Goring on May 30th. 

Have a look at the Miscellaneous Page and use the link there to find out more.

Worthing Local Group Report - Thursday February 5th 2026

Although the miserably wet weather on a winter evening again probably deterred some folks, we still mustered 21 singers for our February gathering.  We began with notices about possible dates for a SDFS social evening at The Barn in April or May - then a summary of the public events likely to be on our calendar this year - and last but not least, ideas for managing our song repertoire to help keep more in circulation, for our pleasure in singing them and to be ready to share them with others at our public performances.

With Emily's support and guidance we began our singing with a few songs from those chosen by Tina (our lead in Lewes) for a lunchtime performance in Brighton some of us would be singing at the next day.  Foremost was  "The Brave Eleven", which uses a traditional folk tune and the words of a poem commemorating a shipwreck off Worthing a hundred years ago.  It is regularly sung by Tina with the Lewes Group but is not known by many in the Worthing Group.  However, most of the singers due to contribute to the Brighton event knew the song from their singing sessions with our 'cousin' group the 'Secret Shore Singers', where it features as a sea song.  So for some we polished off the rust to get the tune and pace right, and for newcomers it was an introduction to the song - and maybe it will be used more often at future sessions at the Barn.

From there we returned to more familiar territory with a few more songs also on the set list for Brighton: "Home Lads Home", "Hard Times" and "Where Stormy Winds Do Blow" - all were revisited and refreshed in readiness.  After a refreshment break, the collection of dues and yet more time to chat, "Three Drunken Maidens" enabled us to make a definite move away from the sombre or wintery songs we had opened with.  Our thoughts also turned towards brighter days ahead with "When Spring Comes In".  A mixture of requests filled the rest of the evening - "Life of a Man", "England for Me", "Old Adam" and "The Lark in the Morning" (the latter, by popular demand, using the words Alan gave us when first introducing the song).  These took us towards "The Parting Song" and the close of the session.

March now beckons, with clocks going forward, longer daylight and, we hope, better weather!  We'll be at the Barn again for our next sing there on March 5th - hope you can join us then.

H.