Sunday, May 31, 2009

Being the Twenty-ninth of May 2009...


Lynda, Colin and Ken listen with rapt attention to a recording of Colin and Bill 1:1's unique rendition of 'Spanish Ladies'...

So, that was the last night at the Regnum...
We now enter the 'Week of Transition' with it's programme of ritual bathing, intoning of portentous incantations and sky-clad whirling ecstasies (watch out for link to YouTube upload)

This is how we said goodbye...

It Was a Lover and His Lass: David
Spanish Ladies: Colin/Bill 1:1
Lord Franklin: Ken
The Honeysuckle and the Bee: Mave
My Young Man: Jane
John Riley: Anthony
What Have They Done to the Rain?: Bill 1:2
Sea of Heartbreak: Berry
Where Do You Go To My Lovely?: Mike P.
Ladies Won't You Marry: Bill 1:1
Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye: Jenny
The Rose of Allendale: Ray
Seven Days: Anne
The Water is Wide: Margaret
Swing Low Sweet Chariot: Maggie
Untitled Guitar Based Rhythmic Improvisation: Daniel
Haul Away For Rosie: Paul
Lullaby of Birdland: Lucy
Here Comes My Baby: David
1000's or More: Colin
Good Company: Ken
The Boy In the Gallery: Mave
Down In the Valley to Pray: Jane
Columbus Stockade Blues: Anthony
My Old Man: Bill 1:2
This Time: Berry
Mr. Tambourine Man: Mike P.
When I Fall in Love: Jenny
The Happy Wanderer: Ray
Isle of Hope. Isle of Tears: Anne
Another You: Margaret
Fever: Maggie
All I Have To Do Is Dream: Lucy/Paul
Goodnight: Bill 1:1

You may experience the following series of emotions (based on the Kübler-Ross model) following our departure from the Regnum:
01) Denial
02) Anger
03) Bargaining
04) Depression
05)Acceptance

On the other hand you may just be breathing a sigh of relief..

9 comments:

London Apprentice and Special Bitter said...

People are won't to forget what made them into who they are. The Regnum Club has spawned success for the very unlikely because it has special but invisible qualities that make such a huge contribution to all musical endeavours. This will not be appreciated until it is gone.

People are frequently in denial about the real truth that lies beyond what you see. That loving support. The special food. The choice of dress. Material to be performed. The echoes of the applause. The smell of the greasepaint. These things will have to be rekindled in the new venue which may yet prove to be lacking in every respect.

All the ghosts will now be lost on Friday nights. They will not find us.

I have reached number 4 in the list. I will never ACCEPT it. So you will still find me alone at The Regnum Club, with my ghosts. Laugh if you want to. Alas I cannot.

OutaSpaceMan said...

When you say 'invisible qualities' I assume you refer to the cold and the smell...

The City Folk Club said...

There is no denial. The Richmond Room really was a cold and uninviting place located in a building that newcomers found inaccessible. Ladies were frightened to enter the powder room.

Anger? OK, some of us don’t handle change well. In the face of continuing uncertainty, this became inevitable.

We have a bargain at the new venue, even though we must increase our weekly contributions.

Depression? Nothing new here. I will increase my tricyclic medication.
That will enable my sublime acceptance of this relocation.

There we are then; I have successfully traversed the weed-choked path of those five stages of bereavement!

Musically Bent said...

There you have it. Money! How much do you think I'm prepared to spend promoting myself? Did I make you suffer my art in vain? Be reflective. It's the joint loos that are at the bottom of this - so to speak!

OutaSpaceMan said...

Anybody caught smoking joints in the lavatories will have them confiscated for further examination and evaluation by the Uni-cycling Troop of Monkey Acolytes...

Oh! Look...!
A squirrell...

The City Folk Club said...

That was NOT 'Lord Franklin' that Ken performed, even though his accomplished guitar playing bore some resemblance to the tune I recognise.

My dictionary gives one definition of parody as '... a poor attempt at something; a mockery or travesty ...'.

You asked for that, Ken!

London Apprentice and Special Bitter said...

One of my many points Outerspacemen. The cold generates a natural tremor or shiver in our bodies that generates heat and prevents damage.

An offshoot to this discomfort is the tremelo effect when we sing, and indeed involuntary finger movements when we play a stringed instrument.

The smell causes involuntary twitching of the nostrills, which fact adds a trill to our breathing process and enunciation of the vocal. Indeed we NEED to suffer for our art.

As an aside St Anley, I think by your definition some would say that everything we do could be considered a parody.

The City Folk Club said...

And I thought Berry was on MY side in this!

Musically Bent said...

I can tell you, having known him all my life, that Berry is only on the side of himself. He's like Michael Parkinson, who accepted a knighthood for trading off the celebrity of other people, and did so after being paid handsomely for having done so, the so & so. He has gone from strength to strength and is now threatening to sue his cousin for defamation of his DEAD father. So he knows the law then!