Hove Folk Club

ANNE LISTER : 6th November 2009
Report by Harriet Bolter.

Wow what a horrible night – weather wise that is! We had to sit in the car for ages before we ran for the pub. Funny that Robb chose to start the evening with a song the chorus of which went “…and it rained, and it rained, and it rained”…

Upstairs the room lay ready and waiting for what turned out to be a special evening full of beautiful voices. The usual suspects were gathered and gave us plenty to sing along with.

Some of the highlights for me were Charlotte and Spong, with concertina and fiddle who sang a thought provoking song about fishermen in the Bering Straight and the heroin addiction that can overtake them. (Check out their pages on musicfinders.co.uk)

Ruth read a poem by Laurence Binyon called The Burning of the Leaves – wonderfully topical with a call to put away all old desires and past hopes.

Mike Reinstein gets better and better each time he plays. The song about Charlton Heston was superb – cant wait to hear him on January 8th when he headlines at the Folk Club.

The headliner this month was Anne Lister who had made the journey from Pontypool through wind and rain to tell us tales and sing us songs. We heard about the fairies and Reverend Jones, the Hag of Beara, a rock that stands above the sea. Each song had a tale to tell with deeper meanings hidden in the lyrics and Anne expounded with little personal snippets that brought the whole performance to life. A personal favourite was The Hunter’s Fox and the story of the Americans who believed the Sparrow Hawk was a Kestrel. Another lovely song was Oisin about a lad taken off to the Land of Youth by a fair maiden and when he returned all those he knew were long since gone.

Finally we emptied from the pub – all a lot happier – loaded with CDs – cradling our raffle prizes and with new songs and images buzzing in our heads.

Well-done Hove Folk Club – another successful evening!

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