Uncategorized

Isn’t it great that things a gradually getting back to normal?

Last Thursday evening saw our first post-pandemic guest spot in the form of the lovely An Croenen and her side-kick Frank Hives.

The duo, who hail from Chester and Helsby, performed a delightful 45-minute, mid-evening showcase, or “big spot”, call it what you will.

The logistics worked out well, with our regulars each performing a two-song floor spot to open and close the evening. This is a format we shall certainly use in the future.

Their performance was nothing short of magical, with a mixture of originals and covers that had the audience joining in the choruses. Frank’s laid-back guitar style complimented An’s sweet, mellifluous vocals. Their finale song, Scarborough Fair, complete with the harmonious Canticle, was the best version I have ever heard.

We knew it would be a great little gig, having heard them first from their videos on our online shows during the lockdown.  How fabulous it was to see and hear them in 3D and stereo!

Not to be missed, this Thursday (May 5th) we are delighted to present Frank Hives and An Croenen.

This delightful duo from Helsby will be performing a 45 minute “Big Spot” after the usual round of floor spots from our regulars.

The evening will start at 7.45pm, so please turn up early to claim your favourite seats and get your name down for a floor spot if you want. Entry is the usual £2 on the door, which includes a raffle ticket.

Many of you will remember the songs they performed during our online Lockdown Shows, such as this lovely rendition of The Maid of Culmore

There were a few people away and one or two in bed with a hot toddy, so the function room at The Feathers was only two thirds full.

Nevertheless, it was another fine night of music that began with Richard Ruthin and came to a close with a lovely ballad from Helen Jukes Hughes.

There was a total of fourteen musicians in all, providing a wide range of songs and styles, including some hilarious monologues from Geoff Skellon.

Jim Cole treated us to the Ukraine National Anthem and then for balance, he played the Russian anthem after announcing that he (nor we for that matter) have no gripe with the Russian people, only their half baked leader.

I’m just waiting for Mr Spreckley to write a protest song about Putin!

It’s funny how things have a way of working out. As club night was approaching, it seemed like our regulars were “dropping like flies”. Four away visiting family, three poorly, two tied into rehearsals, and one on last-minute babysitting duties. To top it all off, I was just getting over a cold and was certain my voice wouldn’t hold up, so with a dozen of us effectively out of action, it looked like we were heading for a very quiet night.

In the event, it was far from that. Our five remaining regulars were joined by our old friend Jeff Jones, by one of the Rhyl club members, Geoff Skellon, and by Skeet and Debs, aka Jackson Williams.

Compare the Compare.com
I decided to give my voice a complete rest and so the task of comparing the evening was shared by Joe Lyon and Penni Neale – and what a fine job they made of it. Some of their jokes were even… ahem… almost as good/bad as mine. 😎

Steve Jukes-Hughes got the evening started in fine style and what followed was rich and varied. Joe Lyon and Jeff Jones gave us some Mersey sounds, Peter Leslie transported us to sunnier climes with songs he’d written about his favourite Greek islands, Penni escorted us up the Stairway to Heaven, and Neil Martin shared both covers and self-penned songs in his own inimitable style.

And speaking of inimitable styles, Geoff Skellon treated us to a selection of his hilarious monologues, on what was his Ruthin AllStyles debut.

Skeet and Debs were on top form as usual and because their second spot was the finale, we managed to squeeze a fifth song out of them. What a great song-writing duo they are – and it’s good to learn that their gigs diary is starting to fill up again, post-pandemic, including a show next month in the magical setting at the Woodland Skills Centre in Bodfari.

Fund Raiser
With the dreadful situation over in Ukraine, we had decided that the evening’s door money would be donated to the charity RENEW who are sending out vital supplies to help refugees fleeing the war zone. Topped up by your generous donations, we were able to send Care UK RENEW a donation of £105. Thank you to everyone who donated. You did us proud.

T’was another fine evening of music and frivolity at The Feathers on Thursday, when sixteen minstrels entertained a gathering of almost thirty.

Our booking-in system appears to be working well, with the core regulars able to reserve their floor spot at any time up to six days in advance, using a password to access the form.  Then on Wednesday at around noon, anyone can log on to reserve a spot.

It means there is always a spot for our regular members each week (unless they forget and leave it too late!) and we always get to welcome back some of our less frequent members and first-time visitors too.

Sixteen floor spots seem to be the optimum number that we can accommodate during the three hours without rushing or overrunning, eighteen at a push.  We love welcoming new faces, as always, but this way we avoid those situations when we had to restrict some performers to one song.  It also helps to cap the number of people in the room to thirty whilst we are all getting slowly used to mixing at such gatherings, post-pandemic.

This week, we were able to welcome back Paul and Vicki Riley, and Carol Roberts, plus Carol’s daughter Sally who was over from Yorkshire.

So now we look forward to next Thursday. Reserve your floor spot here.

Paul Riley

Vicki Riley

It was one of those nights when the stars were aligned, and no one was put off by the Full Moon nor by the lurking Storm Dudley.

It was a night when our loyal bunch of core regulars were all on top form. A night that began with Tom, Dick and Harry doing what they do best, and ended with outstanding performances from two very welcome visitors, John Williams and Gary Edward Jones.

John’s set included More

On Friday the 13th of March 2020, we made the decision to suspend club nights “for a couple of weeks”, just until we knew more about the strange virus that everybody was talking about.

Little did we know, as we’d walked out of The Feathers after a somewhat quiet Singers’ Night the previous evening, that it would be 23 months before we would be back there. More