Year 20 No 4 – Dec 95 / Jan 96
Where? I hear you say. Bromley is a town of some 80,000 inhabitants, although the borough of the same name has a population of some three times this figure. It is situated in north-west Kent, about 12 moles from the centre of London There are a number of Scottish dance clubs in the area but only one Scottish Dance Band. There are, however, a surprising number of Scottish and Irish musicians and because of this I felt that there was the potential for an Accordion and Fiddle Club.
October 95
In October this year we held our inaugural meeting and were delighted with an attendance of 42. This comprised some 21 accordionists, 3 fiddlers, a pianist, two drummers and a guitarist, together with some listening enthusiasts. We also received apologies for absence from six other musicians who hope to join us later in the season.
Initially it was proposed to arrange for about 2/3 of the meetings to be similar to those found in Scotland i.e. contributions from the members followed by a guest artiste or group. The other 1/3 to be general playing evenings where everybody has a chance to be a bandleader for five minutes, on the lines of the evenings run by Jimmy Shand in Letham. Discussion during the evening, however, proved that the majority present would rather play than listen, so the balance will have to be tilted very much in the other direction. Also about half the experienced players present were not Scottish but Irish so there will be a much higher Irish input than first expected.
The evening opened with the ‘home team’, Robin Ellis and his Band setting the mood with selections of reels, jigs, and strathspeys. This was followed by Ritchie Ahearne playing some real finger-busting music from the Emerald Isle on his three row. Then came one of our fiddlers, Graham Hetherington who took us on a musical trip to the Isle of Man, Norway and New England. Alastair Cameron, from the Thameside Accordion Club then brought us back to Scotland with some traditional reels and jigs.
After the interval and discussion about future plans the second half started with Robin, Catherine, Eric and Tom playing some more Scottish dance music to set the feet a-tapping. Then followed a pleasant diversion from Judy Brown, John Brown, Kathleen Michel and Betty Moriaty who played a selection of French and German numbers. Donald Stewart then produced his fiddle and accompanied by Chris Boland on guitar reminded us of the music of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Ireland. As we had a few moments in hand, a request for volunteers from the floor was made and we were delighted to welcome Tom MacElroy who entertained us with some real country Irish music. The evening finished with the traditional stramash and if volume is anything to go by the Club should prosper!
What the future holds we have yet to see but at least we have got off to a good start.
Robin Ellis
Where? I hear you say. Bromley is a town of some 80,000 inhabitants, although the borough of the same name has a population of some three times this figure. It is situated in north-west Kent, about 12 moles from the centre of London There are a number of Scottish dance clubs in the area but only one Scottish Dance Band. There are, however, a surprising number of Scottish and Irish musicians and because of this I felt that there was the potential for an Accordion and Fiddle Club.
October 95
In October this year we held our inaugural meeting and were delighted with an attendance of 42. This comprised some 21 accordionists, 3 fiddlers, a pianist, two drummers and a guitarist, together with some listening enthusiasts. We also received apologies for absence from six other musicians who hope to join us later in the season.
Initially it was proposed to arrange for about 2/3 of the meetings to be similar to those found in Scotland i.e. contributions from the members followed by a guest artiste or group. The other 1/3 to be general playing evenings where everybody has a chance to be a bandleader for five minutes, on the lines of the evenings run by Jimmy Shand in Letham. Discussion during the evening, however, proved that the majority present would rather play than listen, so the balance will have to be tilted very much in the other direction. Also about half the experienced players present were not Scottish but Irish so there will be a much higher Irish input than first expected.
The evening opened with the ‘home team’, Robin Ellis and his Band setting the mood with selections of reels, jigs, and strathspeys. This was followed by Ritchie Ahearne playing some real finger-busting music from the Emerald Isle on his three row. Then came one of our fiddlers, Graham Hetherington who took us on a musical trip to the Isle of Man, Norway and New England. Alastair Cameron, from the Thameside Accordion Club then brought us back to Scotland with some traditional reels and jigs.
After the interval and discussion about future plans the second half started with Robin, Catherine, Eric and Tom playing some more Scottish dance music to set the feet a-tapping. Then followed a pleasant diversion from Judy Brown, John Brown, Kathleen Michel and Betty Moriaty who played a selection of French and German numbers. Donald Stewart then produced his fiddle and accompanied by Chris Boland on guitar reminded us of the music of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Ireland. As we had a few moments in hand, a request for volunteers from the floor was made and we were delighted to welcome Tom MacElroy who entertained us with some real country Irish music. The evening finished with the traditional stramash and if volume is anything to go by the Club should prosper!
What the future holds we have yet to see but at least we have got off to a good start.
Robin Ellis