Filling The Old Ship above the Plimsoll Line

22:39

There were 8 or 10 of us when we first starting meeting at The Old Ship, and we fitted comfortably into the dining area. Our increasing numbers make it something of a squeeze these days. This was particularly so this week, with 19 of us present. The Marlow Bottom contingent was late arriving, so Karen wasn’t even around to move the furniture.

We also had space problems for our Richard Thomson evening at the Prince Albert last week, so moved into the side room. As usual, John arrived midway through the evening, but promptly left because we weren’t in the main bar, assuming he had got the wrong pub. So, we had to survive without his version of Beeswing. He made up for it this week.

Lester and Alison joined us for the first time for a while. We enjoyed both Lester’s subtle melodeon playing on Chris Woods’ Mrs Saggs and Brian Peters’ Blossom In The Rain, and Alison’s singing of The Old Figurehead Carver and The Kipper’s Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy Boy.

Both Stuart and Delia are making progress with their concertinas. Stuart played the Shetland tune Da Stockit Light and Delia played an intro and outro for her rendition of The Vicar of Bray. Stuart also sang the Devon song Bellringing.

Martin was with us for the last week before returning to university and impressed everyone with his finger-style guitar playing on Opeth’s Beknighted. In louder mode, he later played Top Yourself by the The Raconteurs (his parents were lucky enough to see them in 2008).

I’d not heard Tom Paxton’s Jesus Christ SRO and enjoyed Terry’s version. His second song was Towrope Girls, adapted from the poetry of Cicely Fox Smith, as was Limehouse Reach, usually sung by Dick.


Other songs and tunes were:

Dick: Let Union Be, Twas On One April Morning
Dave H: his own Plough and Sow and Nova Scotia
Bob: No Words, Little Bowl (also his own I think)
Rosie and Alan: So Far Away (Carole King), White Petticoat/Out On The Ocean, Grandad (Jake Thackray)
Alan: My Darling Asleep
Karen and Roger: Bells of Norwich (Sydney Carter), King of Bohemia (Richard Thompson)
Karen and Steve: My Man (The Eagles)
Roger: Upton Stick Dance, Two Sisters
Alison: one song in French that might have been called Chant A Ma Moulin and one in English that may have been Flow You Tired Old River
Dave F & Alison: Marseille Waltz
Simon, Dave F & Alison: A Calling On Song, Come All Ye Rolling Minstrels

We’re at The Pegasus on 22nd. It’s the week of St George’s Day, so English songs and tunes would be appropriate but aren't compulsory.

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