November 2010 - All at Sea

This evening gave us the return of a popular (and easy!) theme, giving an opportunity to dust off the shanties and songs of wanderlust to keep us all warm on a cold and frosty night. We were indeed treated to a number of shanties – “General Taylor”, “John Cherokee”, “Haul Away for Rosie”, “Shallow Brown”, “Fire Marengo”, “South Australia”, “Billy O’Shea” – and a house cleaning “shanty” from Sylvia. There were a number of similarly upbeat songs in similar vein, such as “Whip Jamboree”, “The Coast of High Barbary”, “Yarmouth Town” and “The Big 5 Gallon Jar”, but also several more sensitive items to give the evening some light and shade.

Performers were Keith, Sylvia, Chris, Liz Dyer, Stevie, Rob Bostock, The Ram Shanty Crew (Paul Slater, Tim Burkinshaw and Dave Barnes), Lesley, Rob and Anne, Ellen, Sid, Linda, Alan Squires, Nick Wray and Notts Alliance. National heroes such as Nelson and General Wolfe made guest appearances. It was a splendid evening, enjoyed by all (I think!)

Chris.

September 2010 - Ghosts and Ghouls

The new season kicked off with a very appropriate theme night, given our setting. Not surprisingly most of the “artists” managed to perform relevant material, though Cat in particular stretched credibility by singing “Whiskey in the Jar” as it was about spirits…

There was a good mix of the familiar alongside less well-known material. Two versions of “The Grey Cock” were performed, as well as “The Wife of Usher’s Well”, “Polly Vaughan” and a variant of “The Two Sisters.” There were a couple of Mick Ryan songs, including the gruesome “King Kaley”, a poem from Geoff Deighton and stories from Stevie Lone Star. Richard Felix also gave us a couple of ghost stories, including one from personal experience that took place in the Derby Gaol itself. And Allie sang in Welsh, though as my command of that language is less than fluent I can’t comment on whether any ghosts or ghouls were present.

As always at the DHTMC there were many interesting and entertaining performances; this month’s perpetrators were Keith, Sylvia, Rob & Ann, Cat and Freya (individually and collectively), Stevie, Rob Bostock, Penny Bun, Phil Green, Julie, Chris, Liz, Allie, and Richard Felix. A delightful evening and just the way to begin the new term.

Chris.