It was the end of an era at the Old Ship and a small group of the usual suspects turned up to bid a fond farewell. A few of the crew performed nautically flavoured pieces to mark the occasion. Dave gave us Ship of Fools by the Grateful Dead before Alan played Ships in Full Sail on his mandolin, accompanied by Richard on the low whistle. Roger followed with one of his excellent guitar solos, The Full Rigged Ship, and Richard sang I Drew My Ship Into a Harbour. Alison sang Health To The Company followed by Delia with They Built The Ship Titanic, a choice forced upon her after Richard had usurped her original “ship” song.

Other performances for the evening were:

Dick – General Taylor, Daddy Fox

Richard played My Lady Cullen’s Delight and Lusty Gallant on the low whistle and Wilsons Wild and Dick’s Maggott on the recorder.

Alison sang My Love and Angels on Sunday, the latter by Dave Walter

Dave gave us another gem from his eclectic repertoire, The Consul at Sunset by Jack Bruce

Delia and Stuart displayed their ever-developing concertina skills with Astley’s Ride and The Greenwood Tree. Stuart performed Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar while Delia proved her multitasking skills by reading, singing and hitting her frog through Marie’s Wedding.

Gerry – Down Too Deep (Dougie Maclean), Outdoor Type (The Lemonheads) and Fire and Rain (James Taylor)

Alan played The Cronin’s Hornpipe and Alexander’s Hornpipe after which Rosie sang Almaz by Randy Crawford. Later she gazed at Alan throughout I Only Have Eyes For You (Dublin/Warren). There’s no accounting for taste.

John – Entertained us with Anathea (Neil Roth /Lydia Wood) and a song about his namesake, Big Bad John

Karen performed This Love Will Carry by Dougie Maclean and Heart Like a Wheel by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, accompanied by Roger on guitar.

Roger - Three Around Three (Accompanied by Rosie and Richard)

Till next week at the Pegasus.