E-Newsletter 10

1. NEW CLUB PROGRAMME. The next club flyer is with the printers at the moment.
   The major "theme" of the new season is top quality performers from overseas, with Martin Curtis from New Zealand, Kieron Means, Dana Robinson and Debby McClatchy from USA and Tanglefoot and James Keelaghan out of Canada. July also brings us two contrasting but equally wonderful singer/songwriters, Jez Lowe and Robb Johnson, while August has a more light-hearted feel with The Sham Rock Band and The Hot Tamales.
   The Jez Lowe evening (3 July) looks like being a very busy one. Please note that it is a PAY AT THE DOOR ONLY event - so come early! - and also that I will not be at the club myself that week as I am taking a summer holiday break. Tony Morris will be looking after the door – thanks Tony - and Chris Laurence will be MC-ing.

2. AUTUMN CONCERT SERIES. A sequence of five autumn concerts has now been arranged for our "alternative" home at The National Centre for Early Music.
   • Wednesday 10 September: The Poozies (with new member Eilidh Shaw)
   • Wednesday 8 October: June Tabor, touring to promote her new CD
   • Saturday 25 October: Simon Mayor & Hilary James, from hornpipes to Handel
   • Tuesday 25 November: Harvest Home with Coope Boyes & Simpson & others.
   • Monday 22 December: Stuff The Turkey – the Artisan Christmas Show
   
   In addition, the Early Music Centre itself is promoting The John McCusker Band on 15 December, plus some interesting World Music recitals. More details in the next E-Newsletter.

3. THE CITY OF YORK FOLK DAY. The Folk Day was universally hailed a great success. The sun shone, the singers sang, the dancers danced, the musicians did their session thing and we all drank our way into the landlord’s good books! Thanks to everyone who attended/contributed, but in particular to Chris Laurence, Pete Ward and Eddie Affleck for technical support and loan of equipment, to Chris, Eddie, Chris Barnes, Adrian Spendlow, Robin McIlroy and Tony Morris for MC work and to Ken and Mike for running the session so well.
   The question on everyone’s lips was "can we do it again next year?" I propose to convene an Open Meeting, probably in September, once the summer holidays are out of the way. We can de-brief on this year’s Folk Day and discuss the format and timing of any future event. Again, more details in the next E-Newsletter.

4. CLUB COMPUTER. Largely using the surplus from our Spring concert series, the Folk Club has now invested in a PC, proudly sitting on my office desk along with scanner and printer and being used to compose this Newsletter. The club’s venerable old Brother word-processor can at last be phased out! Until now I have been relying on public and work PCs for my computing. I still have to sign up to the Internet at home – so it’s Hotmail for a while yet! – but we are definitely getting there. Thanks to Stan Graham for making it all possible.

5. CALLING BUDDING MORRIS DANCERS & MUSICIANS. Word has reached me of moves to set up a new MIXED Morris side in the York / Ryedale area. The idea is to have a lively, open and mixed side dancing both Border and Cotswold styles. It is hoped to start practice nights in September, venue and day of the week to be decided but possibly at a village hall in one of the villages east of York. All interested volunteers – experienced dancers or raw beginners – are invited to get in touch. Musicians are also needed. Contact Gez and Juliette Pegram on York 415443 / gez@pegram68.fsnet.co.uk.

6. GOOD HOME WANTED. I am inveterate hoarder of anything which might be "useful" one day. However, reorganisation of my office to accommodate the club PC has forced me to tidy up. One thing I have by the dozen are re-usable padded postal packets – CD size and upwards. Is there anybody out there who could use some of these, e.g. to mail your own demo/promotional CDs to customers? They could be yours in return for a small donation to club funds – say 10p per packet.

7. CHRISTINA SMITH & JEAN HEWSON. Those of you who receive and read this Newsletter in time (Hotmail limits how many I can send out in one day!) please remember that we have these delightful Newfoundland musicians this Thursday, 26th June. After a full and lively month in May, June audience numbers have mostly been a tad disappointing. It would be a great shame if Christina and Jean found themselves entertaining only half a room full of people!

Thanks to the three or four of you who suggested ways (all different) around the paragraph number formatting problem which exasperated me last time I mailed one of these newsletters. Let’s see what happens this time! Keep supporting live folk music and, as I always say, do forward this newsletter to anyone else you think may be interested and urge them to join the mailing list.