Dear Slow Sessionistas,
I cannot recommend this ceilidh band highly enough. They make dancing joy!
And free! And Open air! And in the afternoon!

Unfortunately I am organising my mother’s memorial, otherwise I would definitely definitely be there… So dance for me too and enjoy!

Saturday 9 October, 4-5.30pm, Faringdon Market Place (S6 bus from Oxford every 30 mins)

The Dirty Big Canal Dance Band (in slightly scaled-down form as the Little Big Canal Dance Band!) is playing a ceilidh, outside, for real! Jane, Colin, and the mighty Jo(h)ns; Fletcher (Magpie Lane) and Ruddock (Xogara, Rholben) are delighted to reunite with brilliant caller Jane Bird. There’ll be an emphasis on keeping things safe and joyous, and Jane B will call dances that work in small groups. And it’s free! Come and dance your socks off with us! 

This dance has been put on by the lovely people of Oxfolk Ceilidhs, in partnership with ‘Folk Weekend Oxford On Tour’, who have created a one-day mini-festival in Faringdon. There are sessions, Morris, and gigs going on all day, culminating in a concert by the incomparable Nancy Kerr and James Fagan. Details of all the events as part of the day are available here: https://www.folkweekendoxford.co.uk/9-uncategorised/449-folk-weekend-on-tour-faringdon.html

Have a great day!

Best wishes,
suke

Michael is hosting sessions every Sunday in August at the Florence Park Bandstand.

I’m planning on going along most Sundays (can’t make 29th only) and more than likely will rope in some family members too…

If a few Slow Sessionistas come along, then we can play slow session tunes. And if others turn up, then there will be some tunes we don’t know but might like to learn…

All sessions start at 3.30pm. There will not be zoom.

Hopefully this provides some opportunities to play music together in-between holidays and other commitments.

Don’t forget, Flo’s Cafe sells delicious Syrian food on Sundays (before 3pm) and cakes, teas, coffees etc until 5pm

The next Slow Session for your diary is 5th September, with the Fiery Clockface as the tune of the month.

I’ve added the Brown Coffin and the Fiery Clockface. One difficult tune and one easy one! I hope they will suit us well. I think it is reassuring to have a tune that is straightforward to learn and good too to have one that proves trickier and takes a little longer.

Hoping to see many of you at the August session (second Sunday for August) tomorrow and crossing fingers that it stays relatively dry (especially for arriving and leaving as the bandstand roof is pretty good cover when we’re there).

Michael is encouraging those who can to join him for Sunday sessions for the rest of July and beginning of August:

Dear All, 

With the July edition of the Slow Session out of the way, we now have four Sundays ahead for the more informal “anything goes” Flo sessions, namely the three remaining Sundays in July as well as August 1st. This is because the August edition of the Slow Session will be on the second Sunday, Aug. 8th. 

So do come along to Florence Park bandstand on any or all of the dates July 11, 18, 25, August 1, at 3:30 pm 

Depending on who shows up we may play French, Scandinavian, Galician, Scottish, Welsh, and/or Slow Session tunes (which are English/Irish/Scottish mostly). Just turn up and I’m sure we’ll find something to play. 

I hear there is going to be a ukulele group meeting at Florence Park this coming Sunday, but in a different corner of the park, at 2pm. Should they decide to move to the bandstand we may have to wait till they’re done or use another spot. Let’s just see how it goes. 

Weather forecast for this Sunday looks ok, 19 deg, with just a small risk of a shower. 

best, 

michael 

Michael is organising sessions at 3.30pm at the Florence Park bandstand for the next three Sundays… so do come along and pass the message along…
Best wishes, Suke 

On 9 June 2021 at 14:24:51, Michael Gross (michaelgrr@yahoo.co.uk) wrote:

Dear All, 

the weather forecast is looking glorious for this Sunday, so we could use the Florence Park bandstand for shadow rather than shelter … 

Let’s have a session from 3:30 onwards again, on the theme of anything goes, just come and share your tunes. On the Bank Holiday Monday we played Scandi, French, Galician and Slow Session tunes – the latter two can be read from sheet music I have in my bag. 

Weather permitting I am also aiming to have sessions on the remaining two Sundays in June, 20th and 27th. To save electrons and the patience of list members, I will only send out reminders for those dates to those who have taken part or expressed interest. 

best, 

michael 

Alex is organising a Bank Holiday session starting at 3pm Monday 31st May 2021 in South Parks and he’s hoping that lots of the Slow Sessionistas might be able to join. The weather forecast is good so we should make hay while the sun shines!

Alex has provided this pic of the approximate location… (and here’s in a link to the same place on Open Street Map)

Jane Griffiths (who has helped me so much from transcribing tunes and teaching me how to play them) has her first gig in over a year… and it moves!

The Owl Light Trio will be playing, courtesy of Towpath productions, on a boat up the canal. They start at 3pm on Saturday 29th May at Bridge 240 at Aristotle Lane and the weather forecast is finally improving!

The gig is free. Hope to see you there! (I’m believe they will move south, so if you’re late, text me on +447709352834 and I’ll let you know where we are)

Planxty’s version of Merrily Kissed the Quaker inspired us to learn it and play it. I hope you enjoy it too.

And if you have a chance, you might enjoy our playlist on YouTube. It hasn’t every tune, but most of them!

Hope to see you in June, either at the Bandstand (do come early) or on Zoom (link on website) and crossing fingers that it will be warmer by then!

Do come and join us. It is definitely more fun playing together in person than over zoom… but zoom will also operate too (password – if required = slow), so you can join either way. The bandstand gives good rain cover and plenty of fresh air. Do put your contact details on the Covid precautions page if you can come. We look forward to seeing you in person or on screen.

This weekend we have the Folk Weekend on in Oxford. Unsurprisingly the concerts are all online but in a variety of forms: lots for free and some paid for.

The sessions are mostly online too… except the Oxford Slow Session which is hybrid: so you can choose. You can come and join us at 2pm in the Bandstand in Florence Park or you can join the zoom session instead (password slowly), whichever suits you better.

The amazing Jane Griffiths is playing with Owl Light Trio as the opener for the Saturday afternoon concert (fortunately just after our session) and there are many other gigs to choose from. The Zoom concerts require payment although you can largely choose how much to pay. There will also be free concerts on the Folk Weekend’s Youtube channel which you can access later, and live concerts on the Folk Weekend’s Facebook page (also free).

Hope you see you this Saturday 17th April at 2pm in one form or another!