“Gone But Not Forgotten”
The Bromley Accordion & Fiddle Club
by Robin Ellis
B&F February 2014
Readers of long standing may remember that in 1995 I was somewhat disappointed to find that the nearest Scottish style Accordion and Fiddle Club was some 350 miles north of my home in Kent. It seemed that the only solution was to form my own Club in Bromley. This I duly did and it ran quite successfully for some 12 years, after which it became obvious that it could not continue. The main reason being a diminishing number of available guest performers and local players due to the general ageing of all concerned.
Meeting some of the Club supporters at local Scottish dances, a number voiced the opinion that it would be a pity to lose touch with all the friends we had made and so it was decided to meet up twice a year at a local hotel for lunch and enjoy a jolly good chat. This was a great success but again there was a cry’ “There is no music!” As most of us were retired the idea of the ‘Tea Ceilidh’ was born. The format was simple. We meet twice a year in the afternoon. The first hour is playing, mainly fiddle and accordion music but as it is a ceilidh anything goes. We have pianists, singers, poets, the odd quiz and, of course, Scottish music. Then we have tea and as you might guess plenty of concersation. Did you know that all Scottish musicians seem to love sausage rolls – we never seem to have enough – we might as well forget sandwiches and cakes. The last hour is more entertainment ending up with the traditional stramash.
We are not, I am afraid, a real accordion and fiddle Club and never will be, but we are, I hope, keeping some of the original spirit alive. We have learnt that one must adapt to fit the circumstances of the times. Hopefully we shall keep going for a few more years until we are all too old to play. One thing seems to be a fact – old musicians never give up, they just get more and more ‘pianissimo’ until they eventually become ‘tacit’.
Meeting some of the Club supporters at local Scottish dances, a number voiced the opinion that it would be a pity to lose touch with all the friends we had made and so it was decided to meet up twice a year at a local hotel for lunch and enjoy a jolly good chat. This was a great success but again there was a cry’ “There is no music!” As most of us were retired the idea of the ‘Tea Ceilidh’ was born. The format was simple. We meet twice a year in the afternoon. The first hour is playing, mainly fiddle and accordion music but as it is a ceilidh anything goes. We have pianists, singers, poets, the odd quiz and, of course, Scottish music. Then we have tea and as you might guess plenty of concersation. Did you know that all Scottish musicians seem to love sausage rolls – we never seem to have enough – we might as well forget sandwiches and cakes. The last hour is more entertainment ending up with the traditional stramash.
We are not, I am afraid, a real accordion and fiddle Club and never will be, but we are, I hope, keeping some of the original spirit alive. We have learnt that one must adapt to fit the circumstances of the times. Hopefully we shall keep going for a few more years until we are all too old to play. One thing seems to be a fact – old musicians never give up, they just get more and more ‘pianissimo’ until they eventually become ‘tacit’.