Wed 4 Green and Matthew’s Midwinter Revels at Quay Arts, Newport, 19.30 for 20.00. £12 in advance, £15 on door
Sun 15 Quay Folk Club Christmas Special with Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer and The Cabal in support, 19.00. Christmas jumpers compulsory!!
After approximately 12 years of sterling service for the benefit of the Isle of Wight folk world, Debbie has decided to pass folkonwight to a new custodian -see below.
Debbie set up the site to help publicise our folk sessions and so that the many IoW folk music fans who are not on facebook could keep up to date. I am sure you would all like to thank Debbie and her assistant John Bentley for the time and expertise they have given on behalf of us all. They are both still admins for the Folk Music on the Isle of Wight facebook group and Debbie has kindly agreed to help me with emails.
I have decided to adopt a pen name -‘K’, for reasons which I am sure some of you will appreciate. I don’t promise to do updates as speedily as before, so send in information in good time, please.
I have been making some mainly cosmetic changes while learning about the site, I hope you like them.
Sat 2 The Annual Playford Ball, East Cowes Town Hall, 14.00-17.00 . £8 on the door. Tea/coffee/squash provided, bring anything else. Wear what you like, period costume or modern posh is ideal. They walk through all the dances
Thur 7 An evening with Brighstone Barnacles at the Sun Inn, Hulverstone, 19.00 start
Thur 7 Have fun learning to dance the morris with Men of Wight (women welcome) at Newport Methodist Hall, Sea Street, Newport, 20.15 to 21:45. Contact bagman@menofwight.org.uk
Fri 8 to Sun 10 Wight Walk and Fiddle Weekend, Northcourt House, Shorwell. Details bobhuxtable@btinternet.com
Sat 9 and Sun 10 Donal O’Riain with JC on guitar and Tom Ferguson on bodhran, Monkton Arts, 19.00. £15 http://ww.monktonarts.co.uk
Sat 16 Heidi Talbot and Boo Hewardine at Quay Arts Centre, 20.00. £16
Sun 17 Medina Tattoo -The Crew are taking part
Sun 17 Quay Folk Club at Quay Arts, Newport. Guests: Hunter Muskett. 19.00 Donations
Stan Boyd (Stan the Man) sadly passed away this week. Stan was always a popular performer at The Dairyman’s Folk Session . His Irish lilt and humour made many a song special. Stan was to be found in a number of folk bands, too, alongside Den Hillier and Andy Gibbs. He was part of ‘Well Oiled’, ‘Andy’s All Stars’ and ‘Withyskinners’.
Want to keep fit this winter? Don’t want to pay gym fees and get all sweaty?
Try dancing, or more to the point try Morris dancing!
Dancing has been recommend by the British Medical Association for many years. Morris is great fun, a very social and is a quite gentle, balanced form of exercise that stimulates not only your body but your mind as well.
The Men of Wight Morris practice once a week, Thursday evenings – come and have a go. (Don’t be put off by the “Men” title, we are both sexes).
We welcome anyone over the age of 18, no previous experience of any kind of dance is needed, we give all the tuition you need.
Send us an email to get more details or just pop along to see what we are up to. Practices start 17th October, Newport Methodist Hall, Sea Street, Newport, 8:15 to 9:45.
bagman@menofwight.org.uk
The funeral for Brian Reeves will be on Friday the 4th October, at 1.30pm at Newport Crematorium. If you are able to attend then please be there by 1.15pm.
This will be followed by a wake at GG’s, down Staplers Road, 2 till 5.30 to dance, drink, sing and to celebrate Brian’s life.
Thur 12 Shackleton Trio at the Medina Bookshop, Cowes. 19.00 Booking essential info@medinabookshop.com/ 01983 300044
Fri 13 to Sun 15 Waverley Park Beer, Music, Poetry Festival Fri Red Sqwrl 19.00, Sat Run with the Pineapple 18.00, Sun 13.30 Phil Washington, 14.30 East Cowes Shanty
Fri 13 2nd Time Around at Braai, New Farm, West Lane, Brading, 19.00
Sun 15 The Hooleys at Adgestone Vineyard, 13.00 to 15.00
Fri 20 to Sun 21 Isle of Wight Steampunk Festival, Ryde https://www.iowsteampunkfestival.co.uk/
Fri 20 The Crew at Star Coffee and Alehouse, Ryde, 20.00
Sat 21 Mr Baker’s Dozen celebrate their 25th birthday with other morris sides. Dancing around Newport from 11.00
We say a sad goodbye to Brian Reeves, a leading light in the folk singing, folk dance and morris dance community. His knowledge of folk traditions was extensive. Brian’s book, Folk on Wight, is a treasure trove of information about the folk revival here. As a singer, he performed solo and with many bands, most recently The Watch. Brian called for numerous barn dances and ceilidhs and danced with Men of Wight, Guith Morris and Whitgar. He will be much missed but the memories of good times with singing and dancing will live on. Deepest condolences go to all Brian’s family and friends.
Condolences also go to Glenn and Michelle Koppany and their family and friends on the tragic loss of their son, Chris. Chris was multi-talented. As well as being an artist and prose writer, he performed his own poetry to rapt audiences at folk clubs. One Christmas, he took a leading part in the Isle of Wight mummers play. He was an excellent actor who dealt well with the dialect and made the stage come alive during the fight scenes .
Another post with September’s highlights will follow in a few days.
Some highlights
Big Figgy Gig is at Jubilee Field, Moa Place, Freshwater on Saturday 10th, starting at 12.30., or enjoy Irish music from The Hooleys at Adgestone Vineyard from 1pm
On Saturday 17th, 2nd Time Around (3pm), Sea Gels Shanty Band and Eric and Alan of The Watch (6.30) shiver a few timbers at The Spyglass Inn as part of Ventnor Pirate Festival, See Events for updates.
On the afternoon of Sun 18 The Crew entertain at Dell Cafe , Puckpool
2nd Time Around play at the Havenstreet Steam Fair on Friday 23 and Saturday 24th
Sat 31 Lucid at Brown’s Golf Course, Sandown, 15.00 to 17.00. Bring chairs, blankets etc. Refreshments available at Brown’s Cafe. Donations welcome.
The Isle of Wight folk music community has lost two much-loved performers this month.
Maureen Shaw
Maureen had many talents. She wrote and performed poetry, especially traditional Irish poetry. Her style was lively and engaging. She loved dancing, performing her Sailor’s Hornpipe before large audiences at the close of each Yarmouth Sea Songs and Shanties Festival. She enjoyed singing with Shalfleet Shanty Singers. Maureen, with her husband Malcolm, regularly supported several folk nights, folk clubs and numerous other events. She was always quick to welcome newcomers and make them feel at home. Her kind encouragement of performers was appreciated by so many.
Maureen’ s happy smile will be so sadly missed. Our deepest condolences go to Malcolm and to all her family.
David A. Ballard
David sadly lost his battle with Parkinson’s this week. He was a keen performer and writer, as recently as the end of June he took part in a show at Quay Arts. David wrote some lovely gentle, thoughtful, introspective songs. He also wrote many funny and down-to earth songs and poems for children. Excerpts from his book ‘ Grandma’s Roller Skates and Other Silly Poems’ always went down very well with children of all ages at folk gatherings!
It is so sad to think that such a talent is now lost. Again, deepest condolences to Hazel and to all David’s family.
Lots to look forward to this month!
All the Ventnor Fringe events are bookable through the Fringe box office, except for free events.
Friday 19 2nd Time Around -House of Cards Ventnor Fringe- at Flowerbrook Inn, 16.00. Tickets £7.50 to £10 https://ventnorexchange.littleboxoffice.com/events/74938?showItems=1https://ventnorexchange.littleboxoffice.com/events/74938?showItems=1
Monday 22 Steve Love and Sea Gels Shanty Band perform at Carnaby’s, opposite to Ventnor main town car park. A FREE Ventnor Fringe event.
From Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 Andy Roberts presents Boulevard Days at the Pier St. Playhouse, 13.00 to 14.00. Tickets £8-10 from Ventnor Fringe Box Office https://bit.ly/3Wz0pxe
On Friday 26 July, Steve Love is at the Pier Street Playhouse with his Isle of Wight Tour, 13.00 to 14.00 £6 https://ventnorexchange.littleboxoffice.com/events/76549?showItems=1
Sat 27 and Sun 28 ‘Ventnor Vagabonds’ pop up shanty session for Ventnor Fringe, 10.00 to 11.00 in the nest tent in the park, free.
Storytelling – see tistales.org.uk
Also
Medieval Tales – Stories with Harp is at Babushka Books, Shanklin, with storyteller Monty, on Thursday 4th at 7pm. £7, booking essential. 07511 220038/01983 652880
A special event for Pride takes place on Sunday 14. Merry and Gay Folk Club, Bar 74, Union St. Ryde, 17.00 to 19.00. Song and spoken word plus A History of Queer Folk Song. Audience and performers welcome.
And lots more on the Events page.
folkonwight 