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.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
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.
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.
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