Sunday 25th May 1008

Just a quick post to say that the last-Sunday-in-the-month Irish Session has moved from the Olde Beverlie where last time we had to compete with the Jukebox, to The Chequers at Challock - from 8:00. We all hope that this will prove a more satisfactory venue.

Tuesday 20th May

Well, after the hottest May since God was a boy, it has turned back into its usual English May state of rain and cold winds which we expect to continue until October, when after a brief and unseasonal Indian Summer, it will be winter again. So now is the season for Summer Fetes, Garden Parties and traditional English Activities including of course that annual celebration of European Love-thy-Neighbour to show just how integrated and European we really are - the Eurovision Song Contest. No, nobody understands how Ukraine or Israel or many of the other countries can be truly European, but maybe it's more conceptual than actual. Would that the contest were I hear some of you cry. (Good subjunctive there John!)

So what would happen if there were a Eurovision Folk Song Contest? (and another!) Would we all be terribly nice to each other and be embarrassed about winning? I'd like to think so. I can't imagine Finland dressing in their new national costume of Death-Metal-Mythology-Fantasy and then playing nice polskas but I can imagine the Irish Turkey playing the Bodhran. This could be a rich seam. Unlikely combinations of genres - the more bizarre the better.

The borders of Folk music are becoming very blurred which is probably a good thing and phrases like 'Thrash Ceilidh' or 'Acid Croft' are often used to describe a band these days. Is this new? Not at all. Go back to 1969 to a band called Spirogyra (started in Bolton but really got going in Canterbury and well known for their tribute to the patron saint of car parks - St Radigund) who were back then leading exponents of Progressive Acid Folk Rock. Add Tiger Moth (or Super Moth International) and you get all sorts of world rhythms underpinning harmless English tunes and a friend who is famous for breaking into 'Daddy was a Bank Robber' at barn dances and who perpetrated the Glorishers Tango.

So what of the sessions? Well the highlight of the session scene recently was the annual visit of an American Music School to England who always take in a session and apparently it is the highlight of their tour - over Canterbury Cathedral Choir and Kings College Choir and all the other stuff they see and hear. We hold it at Simple Simon's in Canterbury which has long been a music friendly pub. This year was a mixture of English, Irish and Songs so there were representatives from both the Wednesday Irish and the Thursday Mixed Lumpy sessions. Most of them know each other and rub along quite well. Some even play in both sessions. What a scandal.

The Americans sang us some songs in return for our songs and tunes. I wasn't sure how traditional it wasn't singing 'Sweet Baby James' to them and there was a dodgy moment when Ken sang 'Shallow Brown' about slavery and a slave been sold to 'some damn yankee' but I think we got away with it. I hope we got away with it. They're nice people.

The other thing that happened was the regular Ypres trip which takes place over a weekend and seems to be a bit like the 1960s. If you can remember it, you weren't really there. Basically a handful of musicians and the clientele of the Bear in Faversham hire a charabanc and head for Europe (Belgium), play in (or listen to) a massive session, do a few spots, drink too much, stay up late, go shopping and sightseeing and have a good time. And then take a week to recover. I admire them.

May Day

An important day for the Folk world. Of course everyone knows that it marks Beltane - the start of the Summer. It brings out the Morris teams and the school children dancing the maypole - unless 'elf 'n safety have stopped them which is quite likely. There should be Queens of the May elected and Garlands and Well Dressing and of course if you want an even more beautiful complexion you'd have washed in the May morning dew. So lots going on then.

But what, I hear you ask, is happening in the seedy underworld of the session? Well, last week good, this week different. Not a great turnout at the Irish session but enjoyable nonetheless. We did have the Last-Sunday-of-the-month session at the Old Bev where we had to compete with the canned music until they were kind enough to switch it off. As someone remarked - It makes you feel really welcome.

Favourite joke of the moment which I'll pass on:

A friend has started drinking brake fluid and he's become addicted. But he says it's Ok - he can stop whenever he likes.

I believe that it will be the Rochester Sweeps Festival this weekend and there will be sessions in the back bar of the Bull as usual plus all the normal attractions.

The whatever-it-is do in the Bear tonight (which has of late been a very nice little session - yes, a session) otherwise, for now, That's All Folks.

St George's Day

Happy St George's Day! I hope many of you are going out to celebrate with just as much gusto as we all celebrate St Patrick's night. So That'll be a quiet night in the snug and a dragon artistically arranged in relief on the head of your pint of bitter.
Bizarrely, we will be going to the usual Irish Session tonight although in the past an English Tune or two has been played in honour of England's Patron Saint.
If anyone knows how England came to get a Turkish Soldier in the Roman Army as our Patron Saint I'd like to hear the story. He is Patron Saint of a lot of other places as well so he was obviously a popular chap. I expect Mummers and Morris, singarounds and sessions throughout England at the very least to celebrate and it should be declared a Bank Holiday! Let's campaign for it. Real Ale for all and Jerusalem as an anthem.

Now, you know the trouble we've had identifying what sort of event Thursday night at the Bear is don't you? Well as luck would have it (reminds me of an Adrian O' story), last Friday I was attending an Investors in People workshop at Eastwell Manor. I must explain that this was an enforced attendance of my alter ego and not something I chose to do although the compensation is that the lunches are fabulous. Anyway, having finished early I decided to drop into fellow sessioneer and banjo miner, Andy Perkins at the Banjo Works in Faversham to say hello. Unbeknown to me, while I was playing a fabulous John Abbott Monarch Tenor banjo which had been recently restored, there was some discussion in the other room of this very Diary....

When I joined them, I explained the quandary over classifying the event on Thursday as it seemed to be an Open Mic (err, without a Mic) crossed with Mike Wheeler and Friends Entertain whereupon a suggestion was made that it should be called an 'Open Mike' session. Brilliant!

Thursday, 10th April 2008

Well it's been a funny couple of weeks. Full of ups and downs like a roller coaster ride (actually better not mention that at the moment since the Grade 2 listed Scenic Railway at Margate burnt down) but lets have a look at what we had:

Last Wednesday's Irish Session had a grand turn out of 4 who with heroic effort overcame the lack of critical mass and played all evening. They say it's good for the soul. I'm not sure if anyone went this week (yesterday) because nearly all the players were otherwise engaged so it seemed best to call it off. I hope it gets back on track soon.

On the other hand, last week at the Mixed Lumpy and Fre-lgian gathering there was a staggering turn out. A quick run down of the 17 or so musicians who were there included 3 members of Wheeler Street (Pete, Toby and Sophy) , Dave Bolton and wife Marion (pipes & harp), Roy Gill and Jack, Ken Latham and many of the regulars. It was a mixture of concert turns, songs and a few join-in tunes for the musicians. It really seems sometimes to be a rival to the Chimney Boy Folk Club but the overall aim I think is to entertain the chums and it usually succeeds.

It was remarked to me that sessions don't get much better. I felt moved to point out that enjoyable though it was and appreciated as it was by the audience (well those few who could squeeze in because of all the musicians) and entertaining as it was for said audience it was not a session. If it continues as entertainment rather than session, I rather think that we ought to get paid!

Friday, 11th April

I felt moved to write a postscript after last night's mixed lumpy session. While our thoughts are with Mike and his family, the gathering actually was a session and enjoyed by musicians and audience alike. It was a mixed gathering of seasoned sessioneers (Shelagh, Barbara and yours truly) with Lizzie and Colin who are becoming seasoned and a German girl who I think is Geisler and a chap who may be Martin. Apologies to either if the names are wrong. As a result of the session, 'Dark girl dressed in Blue' has now become 'Girl with no knickers on'. Ask Barbara.
We played old classics, simple tunes and strange tunes for example: Jaimie Allen / Brighton Camp / Rakes of Marlow and Curly Headed Ploughboy / Bonny Kate / Girl with no Knickers On plus some mazurkas from Colin, that strange Swedish Mazurka which does Judy's head in with the timing, the Golden Valley Quadrille and Chinese Breakdown. Some nice waltzes with the Crystal Wedding, Clogue and Man in the Moon. There were no songs. We did invite Richard but his voice was out of action so he declined.

Sunday 23rd March 2008

Easter Sunday. The festival of Eostre. Everywhere else calls it some variation of the Passion (Pasch) but we call it after the Pagan celebration for the Goddess Eostre which the church 'merged' into Easter in a bit of clever early PR.

I don't think that there are that many traditional celebrations happening now (like lifting) but there may still be Pace Egging, Egg rolling and Church Clipping if you look out for it.

St Patrick's Night was interesting I gather, not least because of the confusion of when it was. It's on March 17th, right? Well no, not always. As Easter Day is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, it can be as early as the 22nd March. This year it is the 23rd and that means that St Patrick's Day falls inside Holy Week. By the Catholic Hierarchy, Jesus ranks higher than St Patrick, so the Religious celebration for St Pat was moved by Papal decree to Saturday 15th March instead. The secular celebrations were not affected by this but it did mean that Paddy's celebrations went on a bit this time - From Saturday to Monday.

Back to sessions though. The Irish Session on Wednesdays at Wingham continues in an established way irrespective of who attends. There have been some newcomers recently but it remains a core of dedicated musicians who keep it going.

Some of us have reached the conclusion that Thursday at Faversham is not a session so therefore shouldn't feature in the Session Diary. There may be passing references in the future to the 'Pals Gala Evenings' some of which can be very enjoyable, but we'd only get cross if we thought of them as sessions. Occasionally it may turn into one, so I'll let you know when it does.

Thursday, 6th March 2008

Pausing only to consider which wombat posted the diversion route off the Adisham Road that gave me an entertaining tour of the Kent Countryside, this intrepid reporter once again embarked on an in-depth sociological study of those strangest of creatures - the sessioneers.

Their natural habitat is unknown, but they gather at a watering hole known as an 'Inn' or 'Pub' where they make their way from the surrounding area. Once inside, they display mild territorial behaviour and need to be settled in just the right place with refreshments to hand before they begin their ritual calling. Only taking place after the hours of darkness, this ancient custom attracts local wildlife, some of whom enter the 'session-place' and soon begin to imitate the sessioneers while others, perhaps too timid to enter, peer through the windows at the scene within.

A close inspection over many nights reveals that not all 'sessions' are in fact the same. Some are quite clearly running to some unwritten lore which all the participants know while others are structureless and without obvious rules as to conduct. Curiously, it doesn't seem to matter whether there is a leader or not amongst the 'pack'. The well behaved session can be leaderless and run along what seems to mere humans to be absolutely democratic lines whilst the most anarchic of sessions can have a clearly identified leader or 'Alpha Sessioneer'.

The behaviour of the Alphas is interesting. An Alpha may be dominant in one session but submissive in another. A Session might contain several Alphas who, if they perceive themselves to be on neutral territory are not actually threatened by each other's presence. There is though sometimes a territorial imperative at play when an Alpha sessioneer appears to belong to the 'session-place' and therefore all sessioneers who enter must pay homage, but that is a relatively rare occurrence in this reporter's experience. It is notable that Alphas can be of either sex and there are no signs of discrimination amongst sessioneers in any respect.

Of course sessioneers are free to enter or leave a 'session-place' at any time and it is very rare indeed that sessioneers will drive one of their own out. Only a serious breech of session-lore or etiquette will alert the pack to the need to expel the transgressor. It is indeed a difficult skill to acquire as the lores of sessions vary and what is acceptable in one is not acceptable in another. Acquiring this intricate knowledge takes a long apprenticeship which is why presumably all sessioneers appear to be mature. Occasionally young will be admitted but are mostly supervised by elders.

Once in a while, sessioneers will be lured in to what the researchers call 'pseudo-sessions' or open-mics or folk-clubs and the signs of distress are immediately apparent. Instead of instrumental musical calling, voices are used and the sessioneer becomes fretful and restless at this strange and unnatural activity.