Monday, July 16, 2012

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.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

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'?

Saturday, July 7, 2012

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 ...


    Friday, July 6, 2012

    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.