TSF Meeting at Wilberforce House, Hull, HU1 1NQ
Saturday, 21 November, 2015
The late Autumn meeting of the Traditional Song Forum will be held in the historic city of Kingston upon Hull, which will be the UK City of Culture in 2017. We will be meeting in Education Room at Wilberforce House (Birthplace of the campaigner against slavery), High St. Hull, HU1 1NQ. The Forum Focus session in the afternoon brings together speakers from the surrounding area with, of course, a particular focus on Hull. The meeting has been organised by Steve Gardham and Paul Davenport with the support of Hull City Council.
Meeting Programme [Content and timings may, of course, change]
09:30 / Tea/Coffee available10:00 / Welcome / Steve Gardham, Paul Davenport
10:05 / TSF Business
Future meetings, Finances etc. / Steve Gardham
10:15 / Networking session
TSF Members and guests share progress on personal projects, share ideas, seek help, etc. / Steve Gardham
12:15 / Lunch (and informal discussion)
13:30 – 14:30 / Forum Focus: Music and Song performance in the East Riding and North Lincolnshire / Paul Davenport
13:30 / Hull Traditional Folk Songs, their origins and evolution. / Steve Gardham
14:05 / “The Elephant on the Wolds” – a look at the musical origins and performance practices of the ‘Ploughlads’ dances. / Paul Davenport
14:40 / The life and songs of George Wray, one of Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire singers. / Ruairidh Greig
15:15 / Tea
15:30 / If Mick sings another dead animal song ... I'm going home!’ - The Hull Folk Scene in the 60s, some memories / Jill Pidd
16:05 / The songs of Billy Harrison / Jim Eldon
16:40 / Meeting closes
Supporting Events
Saturday Evening
There will be a sing-around, featuring local singers on Saturday evening at the Minerva, ‘one of Hull’s iconic pubs, steeped in history’ (on the pier overlooking the Humber, 10 Nelson Street, HU1 1XE) starting at 7pm. Food will be available.
Sunday Morning
Paul Davenport will lead a walk around historic Hull. We will meet at the Wilberforce Monument in Queens Gardens at 10.30 and Paul will conduct what he describes as a ‘song infested tour of the Old Town of Hull; the secret city never mentioned by name in momentous times in history - as shall be revealed! We will finish on Monument Bridge (there is no bridge) near the Maritime Museum around 12.00 noon
Sunday afternoon
Anyone remaining on Sunday afternoon and who hasn’t heard enough songs might like to drop into the Minerva, where they will be having their regular Sunday afternoon sing
Presentation Outlines
Hull Traditional Folk Songs, their origins and evolution, Steve Gardham
Steve will be looking at the history of 4 songs associated with Hull: ‘The Merchant's Son and Beggar Wench’, ‘The Wreck of the Industry’, ‘The Effects of Love’, and ‘Hedon Road Gaol’.
“The Elephant on the Wolds” – a look at the musical origins and performance practices of the East Yorkshire ‘Ploughlads’ dances., Paul Davenport
There are features in the performances of the traditional dances of East Yorkshire which are disquieting to some modern sensitivities. The paper will look at why this is the case and will examine the songs and tunes in their context to show some links with popular music in the current day.
The life and songs of George Wray, one of Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire singers. Ruairidh Greig
One of Percy Grainger’s four main singers, George Wray lived just over the river in Barton on Humber. Ruairidh will play some of his recordings and tell us more about this interesting character and his family, including his brother Cuthbert, an infamous poacher from Cottingham.
‘If Mick sings another dead animal song ... I'm going home’, Jill Pidd
An illustrated talk by Jill Pidd on Hull's folk club scene in the 1960s and early 70s. Jill and her brother Jules founded and ran the successful [notorious!] Rugby Hotel Folk club with residents Mike Waterson and Ian Manuel – highly thought of by audience and performers alike.
The songs of Billy Harrison, Jim Eldon
Jim Eldon will talk about his meetings with the Yorkshire singer, Billy Harrison. Jim is a participant-observer par excellence and has a very distinctive take on the position of the collector.
Catering:
Tea and Coffee will all be available in the meeting room.
Lunch will be in a nearby pub, the 'Three John Scotts' (Wetherspoons), less than 5 mins walk from the meeting venue. Lunch orders will be taken at the beginning of the meeting to speed things up. We’ll try to get copies of the menu available at the meeting and take orders down towards the end of the morning session.
Parking:
The venue is near the city centre and there are a number of public car parks nearby. Parking is, for example, available for £7 all day round the corner at a multi-storey on Market Place or free all day at Sykes Street about 10 mins away
Accommodation:
Accommodation is plentiful in Hull and the official site for identifying possibilities is www.visithullandeastyorkshire.com/places-to-stay/. Otherwise sites such as www.laterooms.com or www.tripadvisor.co.uk will be pleased to help you
Book sales
There will be a table for the sale of new and second-hand folk song books. If you are bringing books for sale, please ensure that you identify them with a post-it note with your name and the price.
Contacts:
If you have any questions not answered above, then please contact Steve Gardham (), Paul Davenport (), or Martin Graebe ().