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It  was a first for me, heard about them but never been to one. Off to Cocking to the Bluebell http://www.thebluebell.biz/?gclid=CMS22NDFmq4CFeontAod31LULg with a little trepidation but curiosity winning through. My first Singaround was truly an event to be remembered! I'd been invited by my friend Di and her partner Colin (Aye aye vicar!) who were to play their fiddles finely to a tune or two. I didn't have anything to play, thought the piano would be overkill for an acoustic singaround and my guitar playing frightens children, so left that at home. Just the voice for me and the Lord of the fingers and his guitar. Felt naked I did! First two songs we did, 'Black is the colour of my true love's hair' and 'Upon Cliff HIll', I literally shook from head to toe with nerves, it's been a long time since I've been that nervous but I think I got away with it! Funny how dependant we become on our props, I was especially nervous about singing without the mic, but needn't have worried as it turned out. I heard someone at the bar (there was a particularly dashing set of gentlemen there ensconsed) say 'She sounds like she's amplified!' I took that as a good thing since the words cat or frog weren't included in the sentence! 

Also in attendance at this fabulous occasion were two members of the group 'The Flying Toads.' http://www.flyingtoads.co.uk/  They were absolutely terrific, Val has the most beautiful voice and played the squeezebox (is there a proper name for one of those?) and Kieth was another lord of the fingers playing the banjo and a bazouki. The whole event had been organised by Steve Redshaw http://steveredshaw.co.uk/personal.htm who is part of the duo The Glory Boys http://steveredshaw.co.uk/music.html along with David O'Brien from the same band, who sang some of his own compositions. They were so good! I  don't know the name of it but the last song he did was truly lovely and I was singing harmonies to it all the way along. I love it when music I've not heard before touches the harmony string! There were other lovely people there to whose names I forgot to write down so that's not very helpful but they were also wonderful. From all these happy adjectives I think you can see that I had a truly splendid time and that even though Andy and I were out of our comfort zone we managed to rise to the occasion.

Ah, yes and that group of dashing and very complimentary gentlemen at the bar. I didn't know why, but I felt ashamed when one of them asked me had I heard of June Tabor and I hadn't. Even though I always say my roots are folky, I have had to have a hard think about that because only a few years ago I had never heard of Pentangle, Fairport Convention or even Sandy Denny (who is my absolute herione now!). My beginnings were based in American folk not British, so Joni Mitchell and Buffy Saint Marie were my idols as a child. I think I must have spent my life under a rock! Anyway, I have checked her out now and wow, what a wonderful voice! I am learning two of hers I think, 'No Mans land' special request from dashing gentleman, who am I to refuse!? and 'Mississippi' which she did with the Oyster band. Thank you chaps for opening another world of wonder to me! What a good night!