Well, here we are at the end of March. Looking forward to April and that massive St George’s Day celebration and Bank Holiday. Wait… no that bit is still fantasy. Somebody got upset that we adopted a Turkish knight. No matter that the others are a tad bogus too. St Patrick was actually Welsh (Maewin). St Andrew was THE St Andrew of Galilee. St David seems authentic though. Does it matter who we adopt then? I thought not. Should we have another Bank Holiday and a day of English celebration? I think so.

What about the sessions? Still going although there is a story to be told. Firstly the Startled Stoat on a Wednesday. Going strong with the regulars and recently, some audience of the old George have rediscovered us. The Sunday spin-offs are still going and the Mythical Beast (Bekesbourne) is the more enjoyable of the two for some reason although the Mythical Beast (Faversham) is a fair do. At the last one, there was much hilarity at the mishearing of the tune name ‘William Durette’s Clog’ leading to the postulation of a Tourette’s Jig – with words, an Alzheimer’s Reel (no one remembers how it all goes) and an OCD Waltz – which never ends. Ho hum. The things the sessioneers dream up.

Meanwhile at the Melodeon Worriers Arms, a sudden change of venue was announced. Despite the pub staying open until July before a refurb. closure and the previous tenants not returning, the session has moved to the same place as the Folk Club except in the front bar. Now I’ve never set foot in there – just heard lots of scary stories. Is this a wise move? I must summon courage and don the bright armour of Sessiondom and sally forth this week. I hear it went well with some luminaries including somebody I now know is known affectionately as ‘Mad Edith’. Never knew that before. Before the move, there was a hiatus so the session nearly didn’t happen. However some enterprising rounding up by one of the regulars produced a stunningly good session all the better for being unexpected.

I was promised elsewhere (where the Wife of Bath would have gone possibly) so I had to miss the inaugural session at the new venue anyway. That is a nice session with some good musicians although there are distractions. One week a rather drunken person took over a guitar and ruined the entire session but luckily quite late on in the proceedings. Still with musicians of high calibre nearly always in attendance, it is an enjoyable evening. You just have to help fill the coffers of Canterbury City Council with parking geld. At least some varied and interesting tunes come up, the landlord likes us and gives us drinks and the pub usually fills up with appreciative listeners. A little cramped at times and a little warm (if wedged between the real fire and the radiator) but a good atmosphere.

Roll on this weeks sessions!

I hope everyone has survived the Northern Hemisphere’s syncretic winter festival. I don’t know what the Southern Hemisphere does but as so much of our tradition relies on the days getting shorter up to the Solstice and then longer again afterwards, many of them won’t make sense if you live near the equator.

The fortunate timing of the Christmas holidays means that the regular Wednesday and Thursday sessions aren’t affected so there is relief for all the sessioneers from the forced proximity of family for extended periods of time.

It is good to see the traditions being upheld, particularly in Faversham where Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the Nativity scene above the shoe shop which includes a polar bear. This year brought a new tradition to the town centre. Above the bank, the lit up message has a few problems with its lights and position, so that when viewed from some angles, it wishes everyone ‘Season’s Cretins’. I wish I weren’t cynical.

I hope everybody got to see ‘Strictly Clog Dancing’ culminating in a flash clog dance in Newcastle at the Grey’s Monument (yes, Earl Grey, for it is he. The monument is for the Reform Act, not the tea). The Newcastle Kingsmen featured a Rapper Dance and the sharp eyed might have spotted Pip and Jo.

Now, will the new year bring us new sessions? Will it invigorate those that exist? We shall have to wait and see but there is definitely a ground swell for a really good pure English Session (yes, we can debate pure and English for a long time).

Hope to see some or all of you at the Startled Stoat and Well Intent for some tunes.

Whither Sessions? There are sessions happening all around us it seems but some are unfeasibly far away (Sheffield!) or I think Lewes is probably  a tad far especially at this time of year although some hardy souls will travel great distances to sessions and God bless them. The local sessions are really a bit of an oddity and definitely have ‘flavours’ or shades. Much like the protestant church, all believe in ostensibly the same thing but like to do it their way. You can imagine the Methodist sessioneers with fire and brimstone hurling damnation on those who stray from the straight and narrow through to the evangelists sessioneers – the happy clappy brigade who bring cheer to every gathering and are more likely to be accompanied by dogs on string and some avant garde approaches to what we might call music.  I prefer to claim agnosticism.

Just as with the church, there is a definite polarisation to these prayer meetings so that the crossover is not great except at the great synods of Broadstairs or Sidmouth and a little occasional community work in between. Note to self. Must get out more.

There was a definite news embargo from the Shackled Yak (or Well Intent) for a while. From the Hops festival until now really. The press secretary asked for a cloak of secrecy while the Watershed Band caterpillar went into a chrysalis and emerged as ….. the caterpillar Abbey Capers. Without Six String Shelagh from what I gather. Also, I am forbidden to mention in these humble pages when they who must not be named will be away as it apparently might attract burglars. Of course that includes any Thursday night as everyone knows. Doh! I’ve given the game away.

The Bear Cubs go from strength to strength and the Conyer Session (at Teynham) on a Tuesday is well received and attended. There is a bit of a flux with some of the sessioneers and part of that may be the format, although I have to say that those who have started coming recently like Pip and Jo, regard it as a proper session so are not gurt afear’d to dive in with a set of gorgeous tunes when the fancy takes them. Once that happens, others follow suit.

The Festival Band has done couple of Charity Evenings recently which have been good fun. Burmese Orphans at St Margaret at Cliff and Help for Heroes at the QE School. I really enjoy the big band sound with Bass, drum and Lead guitar. Thanks to Larry Klatzko for introducing me to the Mackie SM150 personal monitor / active speaker. Now I can hear myself whatever the mix on the foldback is doing!

What of the Irish sessions? Well, they continue to hang on by their fingertips and refuse to give up. The regular George at Molash (The Startled Stoat) is precariously balanced, depending as it does on people who live some distance away. The Sunday sessions are strange though. By far the nicest of them is the Unicorn at Bekesbourne. Very relaxed but some good music especially when Andy Renshaw and Fred Holden come along which is quite often at the moment. The Phoenix is Ok but hasn’t really got any take off yet and of course the Well Known Spoonerism is as we know due to shut again quite soon so I doubt there will be another session there. They vary by locale and who can make it on a Sunday night so each one is different.

A lot of sessions have happened in recent weeks because of that well known phenomenon, the warp in Folk Space caused by the summer folk festivals. Inevitably there are sessions.

This year did not see the serpent, nor dogs, nor huge numbers of Morris musicians. There were characters of course. Such as the gentleman who slipped into a spot at the table in the Bear recently vacated by a musician on a refill mission. His only weapon was a pair of teaspoons which he insisted on using as drumsticks on the table itself! I asked him very politely if he could modify the intensity of the strike and he promptly upped and left without a word.

There was an Irish session at Bekesbourne which from an unpromising start of 3 became a very enjoyable session of 5. Unusual as well because of the mix of instruments which sounded just fantastic together to wit: one fiddle, one mandola, one mandolin, one whistle and one guitar. Nice sometimes not to have to play something loud to be heard alongside the reed section.

A very full session at the Bear on a regular Thursday was excellent bordering on chaos at times but with over 20 musicians oddly dispersed, it is difficult rein it in.  Some solo performances – very good but not really session fodder. Some quite odd people whose looks were out of place with the melodeons they carried and worried from time to time. Good to see Pip and Jo again though and some excellent tunes as you’d expect. Pip says don’t forget Hobgoblin is now open on Lower Bridge Street in Canterbury. 

Of course the Festival Band was out in full on the Sunday. Setting up as we went and playing initially to 1 man and his dog it soon livened up. I do enjoy playing with a bass and rhythm section. And thanks to Andy for lending me the prototype Oberon Electric Banjo to use. A frightening thought for some of you I know – an electric banjo. An instrument of mass destruction but fun!

This afternoon is a marathon 4 hour session in the Green Berry at Deal as part of the Deal Maritime Folk Festival – another casualty of short sighted councils like Faversham Hops Festival.

And so to session.

Alright! It’s been a month I know but I’ve been busy …… being retired. You have no idea how busy your life can get if you’re in that nice cossetted world of gainful employment.

Strangely, not everyone saw the ‘Old George’ through the same rose tinted beer glasses as I (I refer readers to the previous post). I had of course forgotten about the odd Morris men who strayed in and the sometimes large number of instrument worriers who joined in. But I didn’t mind that. I didn’t mind the snare drum. There was a camaraderie and a sense of belonging that was lost. Still, the sound and quality of music has definitely continued to improve from those humble beginnings.

Whilst musing on the future of the Mixed Lumpy Session that is currently assailing the Thursday night topers at the Bear, I was struck by two thoughts. One, that it’s rare to have two thoughts … oh, alright, three thoughts. The second was ‘Where do I or don’t I want to play?’ and third, ‘What do I or don’t I want to play?’

The choice of venue is important. Although a wide-ish range of accommodation is tolerable (one must suffer a little for ones art), cold upstairs function rooms with no bar and no audience is definitely out. We don’t ask much we sessioneers but it is infinitely preferable to go to a place that wants you to play rather than tolerates you playing.

As for what –  in an ideal world, I would like a nice English music session to complement the Irish. OK. It can be a little mixed and eclectic. I’m rather fond of some Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, French, Scottish, Shetland American and Welsh tunes (not to mention other places – like Spain. Damn. I said I wouldn’t mention it). Many tunes from these places and a few Irish too have passed into the corpus of ‘English’. Is that controversial? But for a session it must have No Songs. Not that I dislike songs or singers, I’d just like a session for musicians.

Are session leaders important? The Irish session functions quite well without one and the English session – well it’s complicated. But generally it does have one. I don’t think it would work very well without one but a lot depends on the players.

Time for tea and then out to the ‘New George’ (which began in the reign of Henry VIII I believe!).

I have been preoccupied. Firstly with Facebook and secondly with organising my escape plan from Stalag Luft 18. Many of the sessioneers who feature in this diary are also on Facebook and it provides a more immediate kind of communication and response. There are a couple of pages especially for followers of the antics of the sessioneers: Friends of “The George” Irish Session and Fans of the Bear Sessions.

The first of course refers to the fact that the nomadic session / workshop / lament that takes place on a Wednesday evening started off in the excellent George on Stone Street. It was in the middle of nowhere. It was in a dip which flooded every time it thought about raining and when the rest of Kent, even Capel Le Ferne was enjoying a crystal clear evening, Stone Street would be foggy. And still we went every week. East Kent Morris practised in the back on the same night. The Hooden Horse visited at Christmas (well one of them did). Drew served chips and french bread at half time and the real fire roared away with logs of wood. The bar had a jar which said ‘Musician’s Fund’ and every so often, there would be enough in it (donated by a kindly audience) to buy us all a drink. Many musicians of all calibres would congregate there and some of the evenings were truly memorable. There was even a Bank Holiday Celtic Folk Festival held there.

Then it closed.

I remember the evening when we all arrived to find the pub in darkness and standing around in the misty car park deciding what to do. Those of us who were there decided to go to the Hop Pocket in Bossingham where we played the first of our nomadic sessions in their conservatory. After that we roamed East Kent looking to regain that “George” feel without success. We tried the Chequers at Selsted, the Beverley in Canterbury and even the George on Stone Street after it changed hands to the unfriendliest landlord yet encountered. But the spiritual retreat for the music was for a long time at the Well Known Spoonerism. Regular readers will know where that is. And now it is at another George – this time at Molash where we practice safe sets. I hope the crowds return.

The Bear Session started as an Irish Session before the George Session but morphed into an English one by the time I joined it. And that suited me fine. Irish on Wednesday, English on Thursday. And that’s pretty much how it still is today. Back then, the musicians always got a free drink from the landlord. Strangely this session has stayed put firmly through many landlords (although it did move out to the Three Tuns  for a while while waiting for a friendlier tennant who turned out to be the landlord of the Three Tuns). The pub is usually full of all sorts of interesting people, some of them are musicians, some are audience.

So, a little history of the two main sessions that feature in this diary and a Facebook page or two to join if you’ve a mind to.

And the retirement? Well, after a long and mostly enjoyable career mostly in education, I have the chance to stop working but maintain (more or less) the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed thanks to the Universities Pension Scheme. I started as a Secondary Science Teacher and it was at college that I became converted to Folk. It’s a one way conversion – there is no going back. Playing through the Book of English Penguins with  ‘ a yard of German plywood and a capo’ in the common room. Morris teams were springing up (I joined Green Oak and then started Cheswold and later Luton. Yes, Luton) and some great folk clubs put on acts which would now be far too expensive to even comtemplate.

Anyway, working my way through the education system and keeping ahead of the sheer lunacy that trailed behind me (imposed by successive governments I must add) I moved though Further Education to Higher Education. They’ve all been ruined now. There is no academic freedom just commercial gain. Targets and league tables have killed the spirit of education and what little was left has been mopped up by Health and Safety and the ever present risk of litigation.

Thank God for Folk Music!

Two extremes last week. The regular Irish Session in the Well Known Spoonerism ….. didn’t happen. One of the sessioneers was poorly. They give a lift to another. A third sessioneer was at choir practice and three regulars are hors de combat or disenfranchised by virtue of distance or illness. I do hope this week that we can play some Irish tunes. The session is still too small for a real session with that take-off feeling but what can you do? Maybe the bottom has dropped out of the Irish Session market, or the Riverdance bubble has burst. Paradoxically, English and mixed sessions are springing up all over.  Still, it’s all we’ve got.

Liz Davenport (long story, more later) suggested I could make a lot of noise on my own but somehow, it just isn’t the same.

By contrast, the Thursday session at the Unchained Melody was excellent. Really good. No, really really good. Everone enjoyed it, everyone contributed and two hours flew by. At one point there were 5 fiddles! 

This week will be a St George’s entertainment event with roast beef and possibly wenches and definitely ale and a lot of Merrie England. Huzzar!

After a long time of thinking social networking sites were for very pale adolescents with join-the-dot complexions and a fear of real human contact, I found that Facebook can be a most rewarding place. Not only have I discovered many musicians and friends from around Kent (and hence discovered their names!) I have also found another folky from Derby called … Paul Slater.

I also discovered my old Morris squire and his wife who many of you might know as they tour folk clubs and festivals – Paul and Liz Davenport. Small world.

If anybody would like to join Fans of the Bear Session or Friends of “The George” Irish Session on Facebook, please do!

I will now wait for the proof reader to send me the corrections I need to make.

Well here we are safely on the other side of St Patrick’s night. It’s a bit like the proverbial bus. Some years there are none and then the next year two come along at once.

That’s what happened this year. Both the regular sessions held a St Patrick’s night ‘do’. Both with Irish Stew (yes, fill in the joke to which this is part of the punchline. All together now…). So it was a traditional Irish night at the Startled Stoat – and the last for it hath movéd – back to the Unfortunate Spoonerism in Ingham where it hath been these two weeks since. Not entirely sure that this was a good move as we’ve now lost John the flute as well as Ian the piper (while he’s studying) and Andy the banjo (hopefully only temporarily – get well soon and come back playing!).

The session in the Well Intent (or Shackled Yak) was a different beast. More Irish music than I imagined coutesy of Chris, Graham, Shelagh, Barbara, George and myself (sorry if I missed anyone) and accompanied by the other regulars. More songs this time too which is fine for a Paddy’s night entertainment. 

Well, numbers are still low at the Irish session whether it be the regular Wednesday evening or one of the two Sunday slots (2nd Sunday Unicorn at Bekesbourne, last Sunday Ship at Ospringe) but it keeps going defiantly.

If anybody is interested, for a bit of social fun, there is a facebook page – Fans of the Bear Sessions. Please join and say hi. Add a photo, tune, comment – whatever.

Interesting times in the snug of the Startled Stoat of late. Some of the stalwarts have been hors de combat for a while another is being trained in far off parts and the weather have all conspired to make the Wednesday night sessions a little irregular and sparsely populated. The few extras that we attracted for a while have drifted off again leaving a core of enthusiasts.

Nevertheless the sessioneers have fought on bravely and played some decent sets of tunes. We completely skipped over St David’s day as we don’t do anything remotely Welsh and we are hurtling headlong into the festival of blondes in black skirts* – probably dyed green for the night.

There’s been Bekesbourne (Sunday) and Molash (Wednesday) and Ospringe (Sunday) and back to Molash (Wednesday) this week and the Spoonerism at Wingham on Sunday coming because although it’s the first Sunday they were expecting us last Sunday but we were where we usually are in the last Sunday which is Ospringe. I hope that’s clear.

By the way, The other venue where we play mixed music – The  Shackled Yak is to regain its leaders this Thursday when they return from Foreign climes. The composition of the session will change at this time back to the normal band of  sessioneers.

*Guinness. Not what you were thinking.

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Is it twenty-ten or two thousand and ten? We got used to saying the eighteen whatevers and nineteen whatevers so logically it is twenty whatevers. Anyway Happy New Year to you all.

The Irish Session was badly hit by both the holidays and the weather so it was a month or so before we met again. This is one of the drawbacks of a session in a country idyll. Climate and season are no respecters of idylls. The Bear seemed to continue without a break ignoring the fact that it was Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the snow was up to a Great Dane’s most prized bits. Benefit of a town venue. One all.

Unexpectedly this week, the normal first Sunday in the month venue (Ship, Ospringe) had to cancel because of a party and we found ourselves before a log fire in a revamped Anchor at Wingham. Very nice it was too. However, before everyone gets all misty eyed and nostalgic, there is some serious debate going on about using it more regularly as a venue. Ranging from one of the Sunday sessions to the regular weekly Wednesday session. There are two camps. The old romantics and the been-there cautionaries. If you would like to post your comments here, I’d be happy to host them as always.

Just to mention, a very enjoyable Burn’s Night at the Bear and thanks to Mike & Ruth and all the others involved for organizing the evening which included haggis neaps tatties and whiskey for all and a real Scotsman!