Monthly Archives: October 2012

Annie Dearman and Steve Harrison, Artists at Frittenden, Barn dance, English traditional music, Rosie Davis, Singers

Harvest Hop Barndance at the Bell & Jorrocks, 24th November

Get ready for the Harvest Hop Barndance at the Bell & Jorrocks pub at 8pm on the 24th November, featuring our favourite dances, party games, surprise entertainments, raffle, and a great candle-lit atmosphere, with our own Rosie Davis calling, music from the Horsmonden Traditional Music Class and friends, and Frittenden favourites Annie Dearman and Steve Harrison adding to the general jollity.

Tickets are £6 and £4 (concs), with all funds raised going to help fund the Frittenden Old Fashioned Night Out day scheduled for the 6th April. Call Gavin on 07985 522734 to reserve your tickets now!

If you play English traditional music and would like to join the band for a few tunes, you’re very welcome.

We’re planning to have a list for the night, so if you’re not too confident about some of them, you’ll know when to dip in and play, and when to drop out and dance with your partner or go to the bar! Among the tunes we plan to use are the following:

  • The Hundred Pipers (march)
  • Cock of the North (jig)
  • Haste to the Wedding (jig)
  • Rig a Jig Jig (jig, natch)
  • Strike the Bell (32-bar step hop)
  • Off to California (32-bar step hop)
  • The Sloe (polka)
  • The Girl with the Blue Dress On (polka)
  • Oh Joe the Boat is Going Over (polka)
  • Donkey Riding (polka)
  • Three Around Three (polka)
  • Shave the Donkey (waltz)
  • Sussex Cotillion (incidental tune, but I guess it must be a cotillion!)
  • From Night til Morn (polka)
  • The Famous Fiery Clockface (jig)

Classic session and barndance tunes, every one of them, and they’re all either on the class pages, or this YouTube page.

PS – Here’s a video showing what a great time we had!

PPS – And here’s another, this time from Annie and Steve’s YouTube.

Alvar Smith, English traditional music, Singers, Traditional and old fashioned songs, dances and tunes in mid-Kent

Alvar Smith joins us at the Bell & Jorrocks, Frittenden, Sunday 28th October

Photo by Susan Bell

Proper old-fashioned Suffolk singer Alvar Smith is to be our visiting performer at the Frittenden session on the 28th October.

Both of his grandfathers were well known for their singing at the legendary Blaxhall Ship singing pub in years gone by (see a movie including both Charlie Smith and Bob Scarce here), and he still sings many of his family songs.

With Alvar as well as our regulars, we’re expecting a splendid, entertaining evening!

If you’re wondering what you missed – here’s a sample to be going on with until Alvar’s next visit: