Another opportunity to Sing

 There's a new item on our "Miscellaneous" page - take a look for all the details ....

Chichester Local Group Report - Thursday August 20th 2026

14 Singers and 18 songs made for a productive and sociable evening at the "Chichester Inn" this month. Singers each took a turn to suggest a song and count us in to launch it (with a a few false starts and little help from friends to achieve this!) - and we had the added treat of an extra home-grown song from Gordon. (His song "Epilogue" - to the tune of 'Jim the Carter Lad'- has been added to the 'Other Songs to Try' page on our Blog for others to enjoy it too.)  

With general agreement we began with a well tried and tested favourite - "Thousands or More".  After this confident opener came "Ale Glorious Ale", before discussion of another song learned by some during the South Downs Songs project many years ago - "Birds in the Bush" aka "Three Maidens a Milking" - but only snatches came to mind and attempts failed,  Resolution was made to listen and learn it from the Blog, and to revive it at future sessions. We returned to more familiar ground with "On Sussex Hills", before "All Among the Barley" - although the latter was pitched a little low at first, but improved by raising it for a second go. "England For Me" and "Fathom a Bowl" were the next requests, before managing "Ebernoe Horn Fair" with men and women's voices in conversation. Anecdotes were shared by Alan and Gordon aobut the local history of the Fair, which still happens on July 25th each year with a celebratory cricket match on the village green.  

The women led "Magpie" and we all joined voices for "Gooches Beer", before "Jim the Carter Lad" took us to the break - after hearing a solo version of this from Gordon, "Epilogue", which tells a less cheery tale of a weary modern-day 'carter lad'!

After refreshment, and chat about future sessions and events (looking ahead as far as Christmas!), our singing resumed with Alan's "Lammas Carol".  This was helped by his guidance on the song's pace and the pattern and emphasis of notes intended to enrich its rendition.  "One for the Rook", "Pleasant and Delightful", and a different group of maidens this time, the "Three Drunken Maidens", were all chosen and sung, before - "Searching for Lambs", "Rolling in the Dew", and "Turmut Hoers", each sung with men and women taking their turns to sing.  Last but not least - "Rolling Home" was agreed for our parting song to finish on.

Good songs, good singing and good company!  We'll be back at the "Chichester Inn" on September 17th.

A Song to Try - The Epilogue to Jim the Carter Lad

Gordon has offered a new song "The Epilogue to Jim the Carter" - a modern twist on Jim the Carter Lad, a song we're all familiar with.  You'll find it on our "Other Songs to Try' and "Songs Created by Us" pages.

Our Farewell to Emily - Singing at the Worthing Local Group Session - August 6th 2026

 Thanks to Ann Feloy for this photo

And to Leigh for this video of us singing "Turmut Hoer" 

And another one from Ann of us singing "Country Life"

Worthing Local Group Report - Thursday August 6th 2026 - Emily's Farewell

The Barn hosted 40 of us, including a mix of singers from all three of our local groups (welcome all!) for a special session this month - our last with Emily there as our lead.  Sad as this was, the evening was also a joyful exhibition of some of our favourite songs, our combined voices all but lifting the ancient rafters, and our pleasure in singing with Emily!

We began with Emily recalling her start with us as something of a raw recruit herself in the "South Downs Songs" project workshops - and with both Chris Hare (the Songs Project founder) and Ann Feloy (project song teacher) also present as very welcome guests for the evening, they all received a round of applause with due congratulation and thanks for the work they did in creating the project, running the workshops and teaching the songs; all of which provided the strong foundation from which the SDFS was built. 

Emily then cited the 'training' CDs she still had from those days, with recordings made to support the teaching and learning in the workshops - and she suggested using a mix of a songs from these, learned by some of us in those early days, plus any other favourites we would like to sing during the evening. 

Our singing started with one the earliest songs in our collection, and a much loved favourite - "Rosebuds in June", before "Shepherd of the Downs" and "Drink Me Brave Boys".  Then came the "Smugglers Song", "The Nightingale", "Hard Times" and "The Sussex Wedding Song (Come Write Me Down".   After inviting further choices, a couple of songs were proposed by singers which are favourites to some but not to others, provoking an exchange of light hearted disagreement.  The first of these was "Eileen Aroon" - a song with Irish origins but nonetheless included in the South Downs Songs project because it was a favourite of one of Sussex's notable inhabitants - Hilaire Belloc.   The other was "Cruel Mother" - a long and harrowing tale of its time describing the distress and plight of an unmarried mother and her newborns.  Whilst acknowledging the nature of its content, Chris Hare reported it had been in the project because it is a very old song and the oldest documented song from the South Downs area found in preparations for the project.  Although both of these have not been sung much by many of us since those early project workshop days, both were sung this evening - and sung well - which just shows how deeply songs and music can go in our hearts and minds and still be recalled from our memories years later. 

Before taking a break we returned to another South Downs anthem well known and much used by us - another written by Belloc  - "On Sussex Hills".  Then in the break, with some extra refreshments provided to mark the occasion - time was taken to present Emily with some farewell gifts, and to share with her our gratitude for all she has done for the SDFS over the many years she has been with us - from the project workshops onwards, including the many events across Sussex at which she has led our singing, and especially for her leadership of the Worthing local group where we have been lucky to have her and to have prospered under her leadership since the workshops concluded.  She will be a hard act to follow!  Emily's words of thanks and reflection in reply carried with them a reminder of a very important ingredient - that whatever and whenever we sing, the experience for us, the words and meaning of the song, and the rendition received by listeners, will be enriched if we sing from our hearts. Wise words indeed.

So our singing resumed in time for a few more songs before the evening concluded.  From a variety of requests made we sang, again to lift the rafters, "Country Life", "The Turmut Hoer" and "Life of a Man". Then last but by no means least, the great Copper's favourite "Thousands or More", which provided a glorious finish to a happy evening of song but also a sad farewell. Many thanks to Emily and All.

Our next evening at the Barn will be on Thursday September 3rd - with summer beginning to fade and seasons changing - and still plenty to sing about.  If you are new to us but you'd like to join us to learn our songs by listening and singing with us, you'll be welcomed but please email to let us know before you attend. 

H.

. 

Lewes Local Group Report - Monday July 20th 2026

There were nine of us again this month at the Lewes Arms, with some regulars away due to illness, holidays, Morris dancing and caring responsibilities, and including a new singer from Southease.

The weather was slightly cooler than the heatwave of the previous two weeks, but still quite warm as we switched up the seasons to start on our autumn and harvest songs. As usual we took turns to choose from the twenty I had suggested.

 

We warmed up with “Harvest Round” (to the familiar tune of Hey Ho, Winter Snow, it sounded lovely in four parts), then carried on with “Woodcutter’s Song”, “Lammas Carol” (by Alan Wheeler from our Chichester group), “On Sussex Hills” (our new singer was familiar with Hilaire Belloc so we didn’t need lengthy explanations), “Where Stormy Winds do Blow”, “One for the Rook”, “Parting Song”, (sung in the middle of the session because that’s what the next singer requested!), “Hard Times of Old England” and “All Among the Barley”.

 

During the break we discussed: Saltdean Lido (a small group took part in a short performance, plans for a larger, longer contribution possibly next year); Newhaven Fort, Brunswick Festival, Stanmer Park and Oldland Mill (all sadly cancelled for different reasons); Alfriston Clergy House (going ahead on September 26^th with autumn and harvest songs); harmony workshops (interest in doing these in both Lewes and Worthing); and a planned singing tour of “painted churches” (Nick is already looking into this, and our new singer knows the vicar at Southease so they will collaborate taking this forward).

 

With glasses replenished we continued with “Pleasant and Delightful”, “Brave Eleven”, “Fields Lie Silent”, “Seasons Turn”, “Home Lads Home” (the first early outing this year for this beautiful but tragic tale of lost lads and horses from a Hampshire village in World War I), “My Downland Remembered” (another from our own Alan Wheeler about an ancestor who was transported to Australia for the theft of unwinnowed oats), and ending as we often do with “Thousands or More” (our new singer is very aware of the Coppers too, as one of her friends sings with the Young Coppers).

 

Our next session will be on Monday August 17^th. New members are always invited to come along and try us out, with seasoned singers and complete novices being equally welcome. We’re a group who come together to learn, enjoy and share the songs rather than a formal choir with the expectations that can sometimes come with that. Come along for a free taster session any time, just bring your voice and your enthusiasm.

 

Tina