One of the nicest things about visiting different places to play folk music is the people you meet.
I decided to visit the Pennymoor Singaround session in North Devon, UK. They describe themselves as:
a welcoming and friendly folk club centred in mid Devon [holding] regular monthly sessions, as well as a number of occasional events. Its aims are to encourage participation in folk Arts, music and culture through singing, instrument playing, story telling, dance and folk theatre at all levels of ability.
I just know them as a nice bunch of people who like playing folk music tunes to really good standard who meet at a really nice pub called the Cruwys Arms. The pub has old beams, inglenooks and a really friendly landlord who often provides chips and sausages for the musicians and always gives them a good welcome.
The session started well and as the lunchtime progressed more and more people arrived and joined in despite the really bad windy and rainy weather outside. The tunes were traditional folk music played on violins, piano accordions, melodeons, concertinas, whistles, guitars and, of course, my Yamaha flute and Yanagisawa saxophone.
On my right, in between playing his Irish whistle, there was a really interesting guy who explained that he was a specialist manufacturer of Celtic country furniture from his Somerset workshop. Apparently, the Celtic regions of the British Isles, especially Ireland, have produced some unique and striking traditional furniture and he is keeping up the tradition.
At the heart of his small business, and I suspect his own, are his Sugan Chairs.
Apparently, Sugan Chairs were made over the course of several centuries in the Celtic regions of the British Isles. Some authorities take the origins of these chairs back to the fourteenth century, making them one of the earliest types of furniture found in these islands. Although examples were made in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland, the stronghold of the chair is in Ireland. Indeed, the name Sugan is the Irish Gaelic Word for straw or straw rope, and they are commonly called ‘Irish Rope Chairs’.
The structure of the Sugan Chair is simple yet extremely strong and robust. The legs are square or rectangular in cross-section, and are drilled to accept the turned or shaped rails making up the frame of the chair. The front of the chair is wider than the back, giving the seat a trapezium shape.
An important design detail of the Sugan Chair is that the front and back rails making up the seat, are slightly lower than the two side rails. This enables all the rails to be joined right through the chair legs, maximising the strength of the joints, and allowing the attractive end grain of the rails to be seen. Compared to conventional rush seated chairs, where all the seat rails are the same height, this design detail not only gives Sugan Chairs extra strength but also increases the comfort of the seat. The armchairs have taller front legs, with the arms socketed or jointed between the front and back legs. They are deeper and wider than the side chairs, with an extra side rail for additional strength.
To go with the Sugan Chairs, John also makes a Crofters Table. This is a simple yet very strong and robust table which traditionally accompanied the Sugan Chairs. The table had four legs, strengthened by stretchers just above floor height, with an apron surrounding the table just below the table top. One or more drawers can be incorporated in the apron for storing cutlery etc.
I found John’s description of this authentic Sugan Celtic country furniture fascinating. To see the range of traditional furniture John makes, visit his Sugan Chairs Web site.
On my left, at this music session, I discovered somebody who normally plays Bluegrass country music on his guitar. This is a type of folk music of which I haven’t had any previous experience so I’ve now put a note in my diary to visit him at his regular session at the Bell Inn, Devon.
Playing traditional folk music at lots of different pub sessions certainly is a great way to meet new people from a fascinatingly wider range of interests as well as giving acoustic musicians the chance to play lots of great music.
Bye for now
Rob
