Hello again !! Herewith the RogBlog Mk IV, or thereabouts. Apologies for late posting.

Last Wednesday's gathering at (again) The Prince Albert,saw MBAC gathered snugly for a fairly nautical evening, bearing in mind the solemnity of the occasion, it being the anniversary of not only the death of Lord Nelson, but also the anniversary of the terrible events at Aberfan in Wales, all those years ago.

A fair gathering of regulars,including Roger & Karen-Steve-Jennifer- Roger Rowe-Gerry-Rosie & Alan, Dave & Norma-Terry Silver-Stuart & Delia-Dick-Andy & Richard managed once more to cram into the space available after some nifty furniture-moving by Karen & Terry. Dick started the proceedings with the relatively un-nautical "She Loved A Portuguese" -(Man of War ??), whereafter Andy & Richard entered into the spirit of things with the tunes "Lord Nelson's Hornpipe" and "Admiral Nelson's" ---stirring stuff!

Stuart & Delia, Oh ! Delia, then riposted with "Lord Nelson's Hornpipe no 2" and "Penny On The Water".-I spent a penny on the water once : under the Forth Bridge, actually, from a liberty-boat,in 1968 ! Andy & Richard,by now thoroughly fired up, then launched into "Lowlands of Holland".

Now then-----The highlight of the entire evening HAD to be Delia's rendering of "Nelson's Death And Victory", with the aid of her I-Pod, complete with pauses........Unforgettable and, albeit unintentionally, hilarious !!

Terry Silver then brought us back to reality with a vengeance with a stunningly good performance of a song about the Aberfan Disaster by Bernie Lamb.

Dave's "The Sea" brought us swiftly on to Roger
Rowe's "Spanish Ladies", with which we all joined in lustily.

Then, one of the great (and pleasurable) surprises of the evening was Gerry's "Trafalgar", a lovely,melodic piece by the Brothers Gibb. Alan & Rosie then played two hornpipes and sang Billy Bragg's "Looking for a New England".

I then played for Karen to sing "Here In California" (Kate Wolf), after which I sang, as best I could, "On Board Of The Victory", as performed by The Boys Of The Lough on their "Wish You Were Here" album from about 1970 !!

Perched at the bar,Dave Sanderson, making a welcome appearance, led us all in "Liverpool Judies", with Dick following up with a sombre "All Things Are Quite Silent". Andy & Richard's "See How The Winds Do Blow" ( A Norfolk song,hence the Nelson connotation !) was followed by a spine -tingling "Bonny Light Horseman" (it was that good !) and Stuart's "14th of November", after which Delia Oh Delia sang "Blow The Wind Southerly".

By now, everyone was on top form, and Terry gave us "October Song" ( Inc. String Band, Dave H sang his own "Trafalgar Day"; Roger Rowe offered "Landlubbers",Gerry did "Human" ( The Killers), Alan played some Mandolin tunes & Rosie sang "The Weakness In Me ( Joan Armour-Plating). Our John, late again but welcome, gave us the "Little Bantam Emperor": I assayed "Up to the Rigs of London Town", Dave Sanderson sang "On Board of a Man of War", and Dick finished off with "Lusty Smith".
Then we all went home.
RVM