FOLK SESSION – Howard Arms, Brampton

The autumn evenings are drawing in, the 20^th was a dark and drizzly night, so thank you to the eighteen people who joined us to sing and make music to the theme of ‘Food’.

Under the heading of raw materials (or ‘food in its natural state’), we’ll start with herbs: Sweet Thyme (with a mention of parsley and rosemary) by Ron; parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme at Scarborough Fair (Linda); Martha the Watercress Girl (Geoff and Kath); and Wild Mountain Thyme (Kath). Fish and meat were well-represented, (sorry, vegetarians!) – a ‘fishy on a little dishy’ in Chris’s Dance to Your Daddy; the seven little pigs who were turned into bacon (Susannah’s a Funicle Man – Adrian); the wild ducks trapped and roasted by Nanabush in Chris’s story; and the grey goose caught and eaten by Daddy Fox (Kath and Geoff). Grain (surprisingly?) didn’t get as many mentions, but Sally praised the Ripe and Bearded Barley and John G on mouth organ played the reel, Field of Oats. Ron’s Jolly Farmer is almost entirely self-sufficient, from meat to fruit; while John L found not only Peppers and Tomatoes but beans, potatoes, cabbages and onions in Ralph McTell’s haunting song. Other culinary odds and ends included symbolic honeycomb (Sally Free and Easy – Anne); and even more symbolic nuts (The Nutting Girl – John L).

Prepared foods in a wide variety whetted our appetites, with Charles’ box of chocolates (Everybody Knows) and Phil’s parody Shelves of Herring. Sally invited us to ‘cakes in the oven and cheese on the shelf’ (When I Was Single); and Adrian and Phil produced a fine array of The Cheeses of Cheshire and The Hard Cheese of Old England. Sweet flavourings were not forgotten, with Coulter’s Candy (Linda) and Emma’s Liquorice Boats (John G on mouth organ). Sometimes it became a little surreal, with the jelly-roll in Jane’s Some Old Salty and the modern ‘take’ on Aiken Drum and his edible wardrobe (Charles). On a minatory note, Some Little Bug (Katy) warned of what happens when food is imperfectly prepared!

Hospitality and shared meals featured from the outset, when Richard told us If I’d Known You Were Coming, I’d Have Baked a Cake; Ron and Linda looked forward to partying on the bayou with Jambalaya; while Geoff, in more homely fashion, rejoiced in a week of family meals (Today’s Monday). Anne’s poem, on the other hand, described how Being Bright At Breakfast Time led to the professional downfall of a bishop! The timid lover in Richard’s I Followed Her Into the West finds his beloved ‘standing there with food for me’, and the narrator of Bread and Fishes is invited to share the meal of the Holy Family. Steve’s Missing You Now mentions ‘going out for lunch’ and Gerda’s Walking Boots Song suggests stopping to eat when the walkers are hungry. Alan found himself ‘living on hot dogs and meatballs’ in the late Sam Millington’s Lost in IKEA.

Gerda and John G both described the role of food in poverty and struggle, Gerda as a mother eking out inadequate supplies for a family of five in The Old Cook Pot, and John G reflecting with fury on the miserable provision of Soup for the unemployed. Jane’s Banquet comments on the disparity of provision in society  - some are well-fed, some have nothing.

We next meet on Tuesday 17^th November at 8pm in the Howard Arms, Brampton. Our theme will be ‘Parts of the Body’ (rosy cheeks, broken hearts and taking people by the hand, not just what you are thinking!) ALL WELCOME!