Being Friday the 27th of July, 2012 ...

Let’s begin with the bad news:

For reasons explained at the meeting this evening, the song-list will no longer be published on the blog. It is inappropriate to reiterate those reasons in this public domain.

This saddens me because those song-lists have been the raison d’être for this blog.

It has always been fun to give an account of ‘doings’, and I know that some of our participants have found it useful …

(Now, what did I sing last week?!)

I will continue to document performances and I will print out hard-copies on a week-by-week basis. These will be kept in a folder that will be available for perusal at the club. 

Now for the good news:

In spite of all that, 13 olympiosceptics gathered to share music in good company.

Angela confessed to having experienced a wild moment involving bells at 8.12am.

Berry excelled himself in the MC’s chair by providing some patriotic infrastructure.

Medals were presented, Berry adorned himself with bronze.

Lynda was awarded silver.

Angela mounted the podium, (wobbly chair,) to receive a well-deserved gold medal.

Now, I can’t publish a song list, so here are some images that might give some clues about our offerings:

Fireship

Storm

Casting fine shadows

Zeppelin

Balancing act

Gavotte

Mwah mwah!

Now, let me assure you that writing a proper list is considerably less tedious than uploading obscure images!

Oh, here's another obscure image:

Being Friday the 20th of July, 2012....

The room was set up in trepidation; would the tealights, not to mention all other essentials,  be in the correct configuration without the guiding influence of Dogsbody? The MC sets up tables and chairs wondering if this will be a futile exercise, given the oral intelligence that so many of our number are otherwise occupied this week.  She considers which are her longest songs and prepares to ask the potential few to exercise their lungs to an unusual degree with the many turns that may be required.  In the event the worries were needless as the room was far from empty at the habitual kick off point.

The evening seemed to generate an unplanned theme of travel.  In the words of the first song: 'We are going. Heaven knows where we are going, but we know within.  We will get there.  Heaven knows how we will get there; but we know we will'.  The most interesting mode of transport came courtesy of David H.  who took us on a splendid tram ride, accompanying his singing with a variety of most interesting bells.  Talk of spooning, mentionned in his song caused both excitement and merriment, particularly when a knowledgeable soul informed the gathered throng that thick cream at M&S is said to be 'ideal for spooning'. 

MC's thanks to Mave for having the brilliant idea of bringing Ray along.  Particular thanks to Ray too for agreeing to end our musical journey and send us off with a rousing rendition of Rolling Home.  For further detail on stops on our route, see below:

We Are Going:  Angela & Elayne
 I Am A Loser: Paul
The Seasons Round:  Roland & Angela
The Passing of a Queen:  Ken
Riding on Top of the Car:  David H
Stately as a Galleon:  Mave
All Gone Away:  Ray
Into the West:  Elayne
In My Liverpool Home:  Mike
Norwegian Wood:  Mick, Paul & Roger
For Ginny:  Roger
Gaudeamus:  Molly
School Days Over:  Nigel
Foggy Dew:  David
As Tears Go By:  Margaret
Two Sisters:  Angela
Blackbird:  Paul & Mick
Gentlemen of England:  Roland
The Galaxy Song:  Ken
Maire My Girl:  David H.
All the Little Chickens in the Garden:  Mave
All the Good Things:  Ray
Kathy's Song:  Elayne
Miss Ohio:  Mike
Cincinnati Flow Rag:  Mick
I'm Not Afraid to Die:  Roger
How Will You Go?  Molly
The Parting Glass:  Nigel
You Were Always on My Mind:  David
Goodbye:  Margaret
Rolling Home:  Ray

Being Friday the 13th of July, 2012 ...

The gathering was much better behaved this week.
Perhaps it was Mike, as MC, who had a calming influence.

We were much heartened by the good news that Fred, Molly's parrot, has returned home.
Our music covered the customary variety of seduction, love, philosophy, meteriorology, one agricultural utensil, shipwreck, tragedy and comedy (including *fowl language!) ...

If I had a Boat: Mike
Another Girl: Paul
Circle Game: Angela
One Night as I Lay on my Bed: Colin
Sand and Water: Elayne
Will You Meet me Tonight on the Shore: Ken
You Are my Honeysuckle: Mave
Lonely with You: Eddie
I Keep Forgetting: Les
Lay me Down a Pallet on your Floor: Roger
Fairground Attraction: Molly
Bermuda Triangle Exit: Mick
Rolling Home: Nigel
Love Changes Everything: David
Take You Home: Mike
Mona Come Closer: Paul
Birds were Singing of You: Angela & Paul
House Carpenter: Colin
The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song: Elayne
*Ghost Chickens in the Sky: Ken
Umbrellas: Mave
Miner's Lifeguard: Eddie
Three Wooden Crosses: Les
Hold the Past with Love: Roger
Rambling Pitchfork: Mick & Mike
Singing in the Rain: Molly
Children and the Flowers: David
Beulah Land: Angela & Colin



*Here's a ghost chicken.

Love Your Parks ...



Bishop's Palace Gardens, Chichester

I received an email from Marilyn of the Chichester Folk Song Club about a local event that may be of interest ...

I've had a request for some singers and musicians to meet and play in the
Bishop's Palace Gardens park on Wednesday 25th July during around lunchtime.
It's part of the 'Love Your Parks' initiative that we supported last year.  Very
informal and enjoyable if the weather is kind and a few of us took a picnic lunch
last year.
Before I say yes I need to check who would be available and who would enjoy
doing it, as it's a weekday.  If there's enough of us we'll accept the invitation.

Could you let Marilyn know via marilyn.campbell2@btinternet.com if you're a 'yes'?

Being Friday the 6th of July, 2012 ...

Something very strange was happening: it was as if mischievous spirits were among us ...

There was a precipitate deterioration from benign order into abject and corporate daftness that seemingly arose spontaneously from a parallel universe.

Dogsbody was hyperventilating within minutes, and, (despite his complete loss of control over the proceedings,) he managed with difficulty to document the following ‘doings’ …

The Light Dragoon: Colin
Della and the Dealer: Paul
Sailing to Philadelphia: Lynda
In Yarmouth Town: Roland
Stars: Angela
A Simple Melody: Richard
You Wish Me to Forget You: Suzanne
Motherless Child: Roger
The Best Man: Elayne
Cripple Creek: Mick
Song of Innocence and Experience: Tony
She was one of the Early Birds: Mave
[A song from the Mony Python repertoire] citation required: Ken
Mailman, Bring me no more Blues: Berry & Ken
Crantock Games: Nigel
Seminole Wind: Les
Bridge Over Troubled Water: David
Among the Leaves so Green - Oh: Tony
The Bedmaking: Colin
Doo-Wah-Diddy: Paul & Roger
Desperado: Lynda
German Clockwinder: Angela
On the Porch Medley: Richard
Weeping: Elayne
Man of the World: Roger
Khosidl: Mick
A Roving: Mave
The Hole in the Elephant's Bottom: Ken
Sweet and Innocent: Berry
Six Days on the Road: Les
River of Dreams: David
Thirty-Foot Trailer: Nigel

Then, as we wandered home, we searched unsuccessfully for Molly's lost parrot ...

Beware, there's a hacker about ...

I apologise for occupying this space but I think we all need to be vigilant in the public domain.

Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Some of you know that I have been the victim of a cyber-criminal a couple of times.

The first was devastating, even though at least one generous person tried to send me money after I’d been mugged and robbed in Madrid. (I’ve never been to Madrid!) Google picked this one up as ‘irregular activity’ and suspended my email account for 48 hours. Meanwhile, this hacker offered, via another email account, to restore my access in return for £500.

Then there were those recent emails that I know some of you received, supposedly from me, but the sender used my user-name in a format that I never use, and those messages had no subject line. I always try to put in a subject line. There were also a few spelling mistakes and inaccurate punctuation – that should give you a clue!

Today I discover that I am not the only one within our gathering who has been similarly hacked, with an email circulated by someone we might think we know that was overtly CC-d.

Unless I’m certain about third-party confidentiality I always ‘blind-copy’ to additional recipients. This hacker didn’t.

I don’t know how these people do this.

They set up some obscure email account, find your email address, successfully guess your password, hack into your on-line contact list, and then circulate a lot of nonsense to all your friends while convincingly pretending to be you. Such messages often have a link – do not hit that – leading to a website offering weight-loss aids or drugs of dubious efficacy that might otherwise enhance your life.

Now, this is the important bit ...
We at CFC have many mutual friends and contacts so I simply post this as a warning.
If you’re at all suspicious about incoming emails that appear to come from me or CFC, if it has no subject line, it probably isn’t genuine.

Comments/advice/constructive suggestions welcome.

Colin.