Welwyn Garden City Music Club, 25th March 2007

Given that 1st April at the Reading Folk Club is our first full booking, we could not have hoped for a better 'dress rehearsal' than this. In the quiet suburbs of Welwyn Garden City, on Sunday afternoons, making use of a Quaker Friends Meeting House, there is a music club. The town of Welwyn seems unusually well provided with classical musicians of the highest order, and most weeks they have a classical recital. However, through connections that Rob has, an invitation had been made to us and to a Parisian Swing band to do the honours. We had originally planned to do around 45 minutes worth of material, but just before the day arrived we heard that the other band had lost a member through illness, and were asked to do an hour's worth. Given our preparations for Reading, we had more than hour's material we could do, and were happy to rise to the challenge.

But, probably what surprised us most was the scale of the audience. There must have been at least 75 people in the 'meeting room', which was a square shaped, high-domed, and (for the benefit of ageing Quakers) acoustically improved. We had a fair few friends come over from St Albans to support us, but by far and away the vast bulk of the attendees were local. They ranged from the very old to the very young, with musical tastes to match.

The organisers were unbelievably friendly and accommodating. Rob's acquaintance was very encouraging; he and a local teacher were actively setting up when we arrived, laying out the stage area. The teacher, who very kindly invited us back, with others, to his place for a drink afterwards, was also kind enough to record the session for us. But special thanks go out to Mary - (I'm sorry Mary, I didn't catch your first name). Mary was there when we first arrived. She was a very sprightly 80 year old who had been brought up in Ireland. Ours was her kind of music and she had been looking forward to seeing us, after hearing our CD. She knew her folk music well and, when younger had known and often went to see the great Ewan MacColl and A L Lloyd. But, more than all of this, she presented Rob and I with two songs that she had personally translated from Gaelic. Her modesty in doing so was very touching and, when we get past the Reading, Letchworth and Herga Folk Club commitments, I am very keen to try the songs out and, if nothing at all comes from it, try and make a recording of the songs for Mary - who looked after us so wonderfully all afternoon and evening.

In some ways, given the emphasis that we put on musicality, this was a very natural audience for us. They seemed very much to enjoy the results of the time that Rob has lavished on getting the arrangements for the songs just so. We had rehearsed hard the week before and we were ready. Conscious of the varied audience we played across the full spectrum of our repetoire. Modern material like You Came To Me in Sunshine, was juxtaposed with traditional songs like 'When I was a Fair Maid'. We did all three of the French songs in our current repetoire (although there are at least half a dozen bubbling under). In the (mistaken belief) that Welwyn shared one thing with Middlesbrough, namely ICI, I also did a rendition of The Chemical Worker's Song, popular in the Boro clubs of my youth - a Ron Angel song I think. Sadly, ICI in Welwyn has now closed. How could I have missed that, especially when my former next door neightbour used to work there!

When we finished, everyone broke for tea and biscuits (well you're not going to get a pint there are you!) and I am pleased to say the feedback was excellent. We sold a few CDs and lots of people wanted to engage with us on different topics - the Benjamin Britten variations on French Folk tunes, the Christy Moore song, Viva La Quinta Brigada. All very animated.

The everyone returned to listen to the Parisian Swing band, who were really excellent. If this was them with a 'man down', they must be astonishing fully fledged. With a double bass, guitar and fiddle, doing Django Rheinhart and Stephane Grappelli material, they were a wow for 30 minutes. At the soiree afterwards, it was clear that they knew the local folk scene well and, I think, promised to put a word in for us at the Bishop Stortford Folk Club.

So, our attention turns to Reading. Rob is overseas with work all week, so it 'Home Alone' rehearsal for me. Not a bad idea though - it might knock a few of these lyrics into my thick bonce.