Meeting Sunday 15th June 2025

At today’s meeting, we had eight members present – Phil, Helen, Ruth W. Russ, Steve, Carolyn, Chris N. & Graham, several apologies – Ruth F. Rhona, Adrian, Chris M. & Jackie– and two prospective new members – Peter Simmonds , who has been a couple of times now and David Reynard who was with us for the first time today.

As Ruth W is also a relatively new member, this was an auspicious occasion for the Club to have several new & newish attenders – welcome again Ruth and welcome Peter & David. We do hope today’s experience was more inspiring than daunting!
For David, as the membership Year is over half-way through, we agreed to leave membership fee payment - £25.00pa - until the AGM in November.

Carolyn started the day as usual with the ‘Band’ session & gave out new music:

‘Ave Maria’; ‘It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie’; ‘Old Comrades’ & ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’.

Carolyn was pleased with how we managed with sight-reading them and all are ‘possibles’ for World Concertina Day, Feb 2026, in the bar downstairs.

After lunch, Graham took a few moments to remember Jenny Cox who died very recently. Jenny was not a YCC Member – she lived in Bristol – but she was absolutely central to the major revival, over recent decades, of the Concertina Band movement. She was an inspiration & encouragement to many of us personally and she will be very sadly missed.

We noted there is a meeting in July (Sun 20th) but several people will be at Banding Together & a few on holiday so it may be a small gathering. We don’t meet in August and for September’s meeting (Sun 21st) we will have the redoubtable English player Michael Jary.

Graham omitted to mention it at the meeting, but - we mustn’t forget that we are invited to the North East Concertina Players’ meeting at Sedgefield, on the Second Sunday in September, starting at 10.00am

Graham asked if anyone wanted to play a solo piece – no takers, but the slot is always available if anyone wishes and any offers will always be warmly received.

Russ then handed out a sheet with two Jeremy Handley tunes:
‘Foster Charlton’ & his Cat & ‘Rowley Burn’, which engendered discussion about style of interpreting these tunes

Graham gave out:
‘Wee Kerry’s Welcome to the Dene’;’ Neil Taylor’s Jig’ & ‘The Keelman Ower Land’.

By coincidence, all five tunes were from the North-East & some were Northumbrian Pipe Tunes.

We finished off with a request from Russ from the YCC Tune-book – Swaledale composed by John Willis & several French Tunes, also from the Tune Book, that had been suggested by Jane Edwards when she ran the Club – ‘Mazurka Limousin’; ‘Ciapa Rousa’; ‘Robin’s Waltz’ & ‘Sans Nom’.

Graham Heffernan – Chair, YCC