July 2010 - Special guest - Ken Wilson

I’ve seen and heard Ken sing many times with the other members of his family, but never before have I had the opportunity to witness him singing solo. Many of the audience were in a similar position, so there was a good deal of anticipation leading up to this evening. Ken certainly did not disappoint, giving us an entertaining programme of traditional song and contemporary songs written/performed in traditional style.

Many of the songs were well known (“The Larks They Sang Melodious,” “Twas on One April Morning,” “Salisbury Plain,” etc), but they were delivered with an engaging integrity and honesty; on this occasion, familiarity certainly bred content as the audience responded warmly to Ken’s performance. There were songs of the mines and of the open seas, a few political numbers and, of course, plenty of choruses. Ken was relaxed and under-stated between numbers, perfect for an intimate setting such as the Gaol.

The respect in which a guest is held can often be measured by the standard of the floor performers who turn up to listen, and we had a bumper crop tonight. Keith was in hospital ( I understand he didn’t do this deliberately to avoid Ken), but we still had spots from Sylvia, Chris, Rob Bostock, John Bentham, Sheila Bentham, Cat and Freya, Rowan, Phil Green, Julie, Dave Walters, Rob and Ann Watson, Stevie Lone Star, Christine Wilson, Bill Wilkes, Pete Burnham, Karen Harris, and Barry and Ingrid Temple.

This was a fantastic evening’s entertainment, rounded off with a phone call to Keith so that he could hear the final couple of songs from his hospital bed. Clearly it did him no harm, as he was up and about by the weekend.

Chris

June 2010 - Pets in Song

Thanks Keith for providing us with such an intriguing theme for tonight’s meeting. In the event the Gaol faithful rose to the occasion and managed to stick pretty closely to the theme, some showing a fair bit of ingenuity in doing so, some providing the usual tenuous links to justify their choice of material.

So, what did we get? Lots of dogs, including Sylvia’s “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow-wow,” Notts Alliance’s “Lilly,” Phil Green’s self-penned “Julie’s Dog” and Julie’s “Fred the Dog.” Plenty of birds, including Allie’s “She’s Like the Swallow” and Rob & Ann’s “Cock a-doodle Doo.” Cat cheated by claiming her name validated anything she sang, but also managed to include an aardvark, whilst Toby performed “The Lambton Worm.” Notts Alliance presented songs about a vulture and a ferret, Rob Bostock gave us Bill Caddick’s “Unicorns”, whilst Keith sang “The Camel Corps” and forced everyone to join in with the round “Whose Pigs are These?”

There were some instrumental items as well. Dave Ingledew played some lovely waltzes and polkas, whilst Nick and Kate supplied “Horse’s Bransle” and “The Goat in the Green”, the latter reputedly learned at his nanny’s knee – no kidding!

Here’s my hopefully definitive list of the “pets” that appeared during the evening: bird, dog, cat, butterfly, vulture, lamb, ferret, cockerel, eagle, wolf, raven, goat, horse, aardvark, worm, duck, camel, pig, fox, goldfish, cow, lark, crow, linnet, swallow, hen and unicorn. Apologies for any I might have missed.

The performers were Keith, Sylvia, Rob Bostock, Dave Ingldew, Rob and Ann Watson, Allie Wood, Graham (stories from Norse mythology, I think!), Julie, Phil Green, Nick & Kate, Cat, Toby, Stevie Lone Star (poems and stories), Lesley and Notts Alliance. All in all, this was a splendid evening with some excellent entertainment and some creative programming from the usual suspects.

Chris