Folk Club Bonn # 130 December 02.12.22 John Hurd's report on 3SongsBonn

https://3songsbonn.com/2022/12/15/folk-club-dec-2022/ I fully concur John! Can one have too much of a good thing? If the particular thing is Simon Kempston's eleventh consecutive December "Special Guest " visit to Bonn folk club, the answer is a clear "No!" from all concerned. Simon himself on the best form I've ever seen him, and with Blodwyn accompanying him with her delicate fiddle infills and harmonious vocals. Life doesn't get much better than this and quite rightly so too!

The only thing missing was Steve Perry, but dear Erich Frehse, kindly and convincingly reminded us that Steve was here with us after all:

All in all, it felt very safe thanks to thorough ventilation, provided by Elena Giovio, and in terms of numbers of attendees we are slowly, but surely, returning to what can almost be remembered as pre-COVID levels, so fingers crossed.

As usual Jock Stewart sang us on our way at the end of the evening:

Don't forget to check out the Photo Gallery here: "http://johnno.jalbum.net/Folk%20Club%20Bonn%20Dec%202022/">http://johnno.jalbum.net/Folk%20Club%20Bonn%20Dec%202022/ and admire some more of John Hurd's stunning photos of the evening. Thanks very much John for all of your wonderful support!

Sabines Fotos from FCB # 130 02.12.22

John Harrison

John Harrison und Christoph Thiebes

Hans Ihnen - The Family Tree Will Always Grow

John Hay - Herencia Latina

Gert Müller - Die Weihnachtsgeschichte op Bönnsch Plaat

White Maze

Mathias Mogge

Ralf Engel

Katharina Brosch

Gero Harder

Simon Kempston

Bronwyn Claire Asha

John Harisson zeigt ein Bild des Im November verstorbenen Steve Perry

Good King Wenceslas

Elena und Detlef unterstützen John

Shay McVeigh

Jock Stewart

Frohe Weihnachten!

 

Simon Kempston & Bronwyn Claire Asha are still on the road. If you happen to miss them, it is entirely your own faults! Thank you both for such a wonderful evening in Bonn folk club, and espcially to you Simon for producing a new CD each year in order to retain your perennial December slot in FCB. Thank you for fully complying over the last decade. Now you perhaps have a new condition, but quite in very dear late, great, Steve Perry's tradition, you have now also have to try to bring bring a Canadian performer along with you, at least of the calibre of Bronwyn. (sorry to keep continually "upping the ante" Simon!) It was such a wonderful "call and responce" between your own subtle guitar picking and Bronwyn's delightful unintrusive violin infills this evening. Your vocal interactions together were similarly very well honed. Thank you both for such a wonderful Bonn Folk Club Evening, at FCB # 130, the closest that we have gotten yet to almost post-COVID new "normality" Long may such wonderful traditions continue to exist and indeed veritably thrive. Thank you both, and you particuarly Simon, for your inimitable contribution, in making FCB (Folk Club Bonn) the best folk club outside of Scotland! We could never have managed that without YOUR constant support and unyielding tenacious and passionate efforts! Thanks again Simon! For anyone who missed out but still wishes to have Simon & Brodwyn's new CD it can be ordered here: https://simonkempston.co.uk/ and you will be guaranteed a pre-Christmas delivery if you order now. (Even if you already are in possession of one yourself, you can always take the stress out of last minute Christmas shopping by accruing a further copy for any of your numerous friends and relatives!)

FCB # 130 December 2022 Simon Kempston a very welcome guest once again

 John Hurd lit the lighthouse and torched the bonfires atop the British mountains first this time to make everyone aware of Simon Kempston's eleventh visit as a Special Guest in December to Bonn Folk Club.

https://3songsbonn.com/2022/12/01/its-december-and-that-means-kempston-time-at-dottys/

I was waiting, in vain, as it turned out, for Detlef to post his report on FCB # 129 in November, before posting the next event. 

It is understandable, one's reluctance, as it means moving on from Steve Perry's recent funeral. 

It's something we all have to do, especially Regine who notices this great loss on a daily basis much more acutely than anyone else of us. 

So, Christmas comes around towards the end of each December every year, just as Simon Kempston does on the first Friday of each December in Bonn folk club. Simon is not Santa Claus, but actually each and every year he brings a new recording of his own works with him, both for your perusal and also as your Christmas "Get out of Jail card!" 

Don't just buy one, buy perhaps even two, or even three and put at least one in your December bottom drawer, and then you do not have to run around like a headless chicken before Christmas Eve, searching frantically in vain at the last moment, for a Christmas present for the dear person that you somehow forgot to buy a gift in time for. Actually, thinking about it, why not buy three and give the additional two, to people you really like and appreciate, and NOT just one, to whoever was at the very bottom of your Christmas gift shipping list. That would surely make more sense I think?

Everyone has suffered during C-19, the folk club in Bonn certainly has, but the touring musicians even more so, and as in Simon's case, those touring musicians based in the UK who have also had to suffer BREXIT complications on top of everything else, have an additional cross to bear. His tenacity and perseverance and endurance as a professional musician and troubadour are certainly without a doubt, and if you are in a position to do so, despite the extra costs of living increases that everyone has to currently endure and bear, please try and reward him with your presence and listening abilities.

This time Simon is bringing the Canadian Bronwyn Claire Asha along with him, who will accompany him on the fiddle on his own songs, but also as a revered folk artist in her own right, and will also be performing solo on the evening. So you will all be getting twice as much for the "money" that you have not paid in admission! This is yet another reason why, if your circumstances at all permit, one should consider the alternative route of having a reserved Xmas present, ready and waiting, in your bottom drawers, "just in case!"

So, I,  as we all are, very sad about the great and severe loss of Steve, and I, as one who most, fortunately, knew him very well, am convinced that his personal wish is that the folk club and all of its "traditions", of which Simon Kempston's traditional December visit is a most integral part, continue to flourish and continue to preserve the tradition of live acoustic music in Bonn. 

Thank you so very much, Steve!

We can never possibly thank you enough, but we are all most grateful and enriched by having known you and your wit and repartee and graceful most knowledgeable presence in such a modern and often sometimes frequently changing and often disturbing world.

Dear Folkies,

This  Friday, December 02, there will be another Folk-Club evening. 

Traditionally in December and therefore also this time too, we shall welcome as a Special Guest  Simon Kempston from Edinburgh in Scotland.

Simon will perform songs from his latest album "You Can't Win Every Time".  

Details can be found on his website:

https://simonkempston.co.uk/.

Simon comes this time accompanied by singer/violinist/guitarist/banjo player Bronwyn Claire Asha from Canada, who plays some songs together with Simon, but also has solo pieces in her luggage. She also has a website where you can get a taste of her music: 

https://bronwynclaireasha.bandcamp.com/.

As usual, the program will be framed by performances from our local artists, including Bonn-based musician from Ireland Shay McVeigh.
We look forward with you to the upcoming Folk Club evening, which will have the theme 

"Music from the British Isles and far beyond".

Date: December 02, 2022

Start: 19.00 clock until probably 22.00 clock.

Place: Dotty's Sports Bar and Restaurant (Public clubhouse of the Bonner Tennis- und Hockey-Verein - BTHV), Christian-Miesen-Straße, 53129 Bonn (Dottendorf)

Covid 19: There are no restrictions, but of course, it is up to everyone to wear a mask. We will provide plenty of ventilation in the hall throughout the evening.

Furthermore,  as always, admission is free.


And one more thing: During the Advent weekends, the "Little Britain Inn" in Vettelschoß (https://thelittlebritaininn.com/) in the heights above Linz organizes a "British Christmas Market". John Harrison performs there with his music on the coming Advent Saturdays and Sundays at 12, 14 and 16 o'clock. On weekends, a private small train runs between Linz and Vettelschoß, so that the town can be reached without a car.

https://www.zugtouren.de/Kasbachtalbahn/Fahrplan/

An additional information for all who want to perform at the Folk Club and secure a date:

Please use for your registrations only the address playrequestfolkclubbonn AT gmail dot com (of course correctly spelled with @ and .). Please do not just press "reply" to this mail you are reading now. Such an Email unfortunately ends up in a rat tail attached to the original mail and runs the greatest risk of being overlooked. This is unfortunately an unpleasant feature of Gmail. If you use the special mail address for performance requests, this does not happen.

Liebe Folk-Club-Freunde,

am kommenden Freitag, den 02. Dezember gibt es wieder einen Folk-Club-Abend. Traditionell im Dezember und somit auch diesmal dürfen wir als besonderen Gast

Simon Kempston aus Edinburgh in Schottland

begrüßen. Simon wird u.a. Lieder aus seinem neuesten Album „You Can’t Win Every Time“ vorstellen. Details findet Ihr auf seiner Website https://simonkempston.co.uk/.

Simon kommt diesmal in Begleitung der Sängerin/Geigerin/Gitarristin/Banjospielerin Bronwyn Claire Asha aus Kanada, die einige Lieder mit Simon gemeinsam spielt, aber auch Solostücke im Gepäck hat. Auch sie hat eine Website, auf der man sich schon einmal einen Vorgeschmack auf ihre Musik holen kann: https://bronwynclaireasha.bandcamp.com/

Wie üblich wird das Programm umrahmt von Darbietungen unserer lokalen Künstler, darunter der in Bonn beheimatete Musiker aus Irland Shay McVeigh.

Wir freuen uns mit euch auf den kommenden Folk-Club-Abend, der unter dem Thema steht „Musik von den Britischen Inseln und darüber hinaus".

 

Datum: 02. Dezember 2022

Beginn: 19.00 Uhr bis voraussichtlich 22.00 Uhr.

Ort: Dotty’s Sports Bar und Restaurant (Öffentliches Vereinshaus des Bonner Tennis- und Hockey-Vereins – BTHV), Christian-Miesen-Straße, 53129 Bonn (Dottendorf)

Covid 19: Es gibt keine Restriktionen, aber es ist natürlich jedem anheimgestellt, eine Maske zu tragen. Wir werden den gesamten Abend über für reichlich Lüftung im Saal sorgen.

Ferner das „Allerwichtigste“: wie immer Eintritt frei 

 

Und noch etwas: An den Adventswochenenden veranstaltet der „Little Britain Inn“ in Vettelschoß (https://thelittlebritaininn.com/) in den Höhen oberhalb von Linz einen „Britischen Weihnachtsmarkt“. John Harrison tritt dort mit seiner Musik an den kommenden Advents-Samstagen und -Sonntagen jeweils um 12, 14 und 16 Uhr auf. An Wochenenden verkehrt zwischen Linz und Vettelschoß eine private Kleinbahn, so dass der Ort auch ohne Auto erreichbar ist.

 

Eine Information für alle, die im Folk Club auftreten und sich einen Termin sichern wollen:

Bitte nutzt für eure Anmeldungen ausschließlich die Adresse playrequestfolkclubbonn AT gmail Punkt com (natürlich korrekt geschrieben mit @ und .). Bitte drückt nicht bei dieser Mail, die Ihr jetzt lest, nur auf „Antworten“. Eine solche Mail landet leider in einem Rattenschwanz an die Ursprungsmail angehängt und läuft größte Gefahr, übersehen zu werden. Das ist leider eine unangenehme Eigenschaft von Googlemail. Wenn Ihr die spezielle Mailadresse für Auftrittsanfragen benutzt, passiert das nicht.

Sabines Bilder vom FCB # 129 in November

John Harrison eröffnet den Abend

Hans Ihnen - After The Gold Rush

Felix Tilemann - Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair

Tomke Winterboer und John Harrison

Tomke Winterboer und Gerd Schinkel - "Gracias a la vida"

Stephan Weidt - "Hat der Brecht recht?"

Volker Lindner - Instrumental "Irish Maiden"

"Jock Stewart" - Die Folk-Club-Hymne zum Schluss

 

Steve Perry's funeral in the Luther Church in Bonn 12:00 Hrs Saturday 19.11.22

 (Photos courtesy of John Hurd of 3Songs Bonn)

Steve played a figurative blinder to a full house before departing on his final journey. Thanks for more than a decade of altruistic dedication to the Bonn folk club Steve.

We could not have asked for more. Fare thee well dear Steve.

Whatever you do don't forget your hat when you go up on t'moor!

For those of you who did not manage to attend the funeral or to send Steve flowers while he was still alive, well it is too late now, but as an alternative there is the possibility to send a donation to the German Leukemia and Lymphoma Aid Foundation (Stiftung Deutsche Leukämie- und Lymphom-Hilfe) 

https://stiftung-dlh.de/mit-einer-spende/

(Photos courtesy of Uta Schäfer)