After a lovely Sunday roast cooked by the talented Sally and served by the very kind Andy at the Orsett Cock with Claudine, Margaret, Mike and Paul, we started settling the décor of the FaB Club: instruments, flowers, sweets and Paul Downes’s music in the background, and it feels like home…

            It was nearly 3:00 pm and I could see the regular performers Gerry, Bill, Tim arriving and new faces in the audience as well, that’s promising!

            Today Tim Almond was the compere and I was in charge of the review, so here’s the point of view of a French little girl watching an unforgettable venue.

            Tim opened the show with “the squire and the maid”, a “traditional English folk song about sex and class.” Monsieur Almond went on with a song which chorus kept on annoying me, I don’t know why… it says:

♫ I am English, English and English is best! ♫

Don’t take it literally Tim’s songs are full of irony and wit that’s why we could not help smiling and laughing!

            Then Jo blessed us with her a cappella performance, “a simple sad, sad song” and a song that should be sung every 10 years. It was amazing many people sung with this very agreeable lady whose smile you won’t see on the website because as she nicely said, she prefers to be aware of other people’s presence than hers, that’s why she is so generous on stage. Anyway if you come to the FaB club you may see a beautiful smile!

            Next Bill stood up in front of us and charmed the audience so much that everybody sung

♫ They danced and the dresses spin around…♫

Then he seduced the female audience with his romantic mood and

♫ it won’t be long, Love, till our wedding day… ♫

The female audience was quite lucky today because after Tim’s spirituality and Bill’s softness we enjoyed Paul Ballantyne’s romantic melancholy. He even managed to make the “Behind blue eyes” song swing which was a delight!

            It’s a complete change of mood with Jane there was some kind of out of time and sacred atmosphere that filled into the air, it was

♫ A praising for singing ♫

That everyone was breathing.

            Mark Reed followed, when listening to his first song I closed my eyes and I was on the road having     ♫ a sunset vision ♫

He went on performing Irish melodies that were so brisk that we could not help stomping our feet and clapping our hands …

            Gerry started his first song armed with a guitar and a harmonica as a human music box he made us all sing

♫ Flow, Sweet River, flow ♫

It was an impressive performance! Then we listened to his “Ordinary Man” song. And I thought that afternoon that we were ordinary men sharing a very special moment.

This was on that kind of feeling that the 1^st part ended…

Back to the spot, the 2^nd part of the venue was opened by a very special duo...

                 Either Of Us

Our host and our compere performed the “where are you” song. Claudine sung like a bird and Tim played like a bard, the combination of those 2 made me feel an inner peacefulness. “The Calling” added to this inner feeling, I travelled through Britain with Claudine’s words and voice. I thought what she sung about              ♫ always wanting to meet your people ♫, materialised in this very place she created all by herself!

By the way, If you want to hear more of this harmonious duo, then go to Romford Folk Club on 25^th May…

            After that, Tony performed two love them songs with two different moods a cappella. In the first one he claimed

♫ I’ll find you no matter where you may go… ♫

In the 2^nd one he gently warned

♫ I’ll put the trigger and shoot you dead… ♫

How can you resist such a declaration of love!

            Then it was time for Margaret to make us feel as if we were ♫ Up the west ♫  in a saloon with her banjo, even with her dodgy shoulder she is always full of joie de vivre and still shines!

            Mike Parrott sung a song about an old sailor going back to the place of his childhood, followed by “my kind of girl” song. You see those men who performed today were in quiet a romantic mood to our great pleasure. But Mike has more than one string to his bow, he may, one day, come to the FaB Club and entertain us with some electronic music! I can’t wait to hear that maybe on Mike’s FaB Club birthday on 15^th May.

            Dennis entertained us with what he calls “modern folky songs”. All I have to say is AMAZING!

            Another duo came on the spot Mick and Nora, this is a lovely pair! Mick playing the guitar and singing and Nora with her flute and voice enchanted us all the made us sing in unison “Blowing in the Wind”…

To close the show, Mark Reed ended with a blues song and we were ♫ on the road again ♫

This afternoon was full of spirituality and conviviality, and I am really happy to be involved in such an artistic whirl!

THANK YOU SO MUCH CLAUDINE!

Ps: excuse myFrench…       

                                                                          Laetitia Minien