June Meeting and Federation Guitar Societies Massive 'Pluck n Strum!!'

Ah, Dear Fellow P and S (Plucker and Strummers- far and wide)

June has arrived- our nemesis month  in a way as it means that the FGS day will shortly follow ( as night follows day...and so it turned out to be!!).

Unfortunately your correspondent missed the June meeting due to pressing issues on the old domestic front.  Now here's a riddle for you- Which comes first- The High Road or the Low Road? Your wife's birthday or the FGS weekend? One of those moral dilemmas which bedevils us from time to time.

As you can see,  I decided to take the High Road....but that doesn't mean that a lack of interest in the BGS members welfare so, thanks to our favourite well worn piece of furniture- the 'Chair', we have a few witterings to add for your enjoyment

JUNE MEETING
 
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the June meeting was attended exclusively by most of the Members who were due to play the following day at FGS Day.
 
The meeting got under way at about 6:45 pm:  we had a coffee break at about 8:00 pm, followed by Members’ contributions, then further rehearsal of Nota Bene until an early conclusion, by mutual consent, shortly after 9:00 pm. We all worked very hard, as did John Mann, and John’s direction of our ensemble was excellent throughout.
 
Members’ contributions were:-
 
Marion Davis                        Landler                                            Mertz
 
Tessa Protheroe                   Tombeau                                          Weiss
 
Vince Chittenden                Prelude in E Minor                          Weiss
 
Lesley Starey                        Ballada                                            Tesar
 
John Mann                           Gaelic Songs 1 & 2                         Nuttall
                                             Danza Brasilera                               Morel
 
 

The stalwart Trevor served us with coffee and home-made cakes at the interval, for which we were most grateful.

FGS DAY
 
Enfield Guitar Society kindly hosted this event at Holtwhite Sports and Social Club, a new venue set in very pleasant surroundings and blessed with lovely sunshine for the whole day.
 
Peter Nuttall ran a truly excellent and enjoyable ensemble and made us work very hard to attain his usual uncompromisingly high standards. We had several rehearsals leading to the final performance, which was very much to Peter’s liking. He approved of the “first take” and that is the one now posted on YouTube.
 
Our Society was well-represented and had the largest turn-out. John Mann led us through Nota Bene, which was well-received and favourably commented upon by many of the audience. Some expressed an interest in learning it themselves and Peter Nuttall was impressed with John’s choice of a quite difficult piece.
 
Enfield and Oxford Guitar Societies also played, as did the North Bucks.Guitar Club.
Details of FGS Day and the performances are now posted on the FGS site and YouTube.
 
Thanks are due to Ray Butcher and Enfield GS for yet another fine hosting of this annual event. The refreshments were plentiful and excellently prepared and served by a most charming and dedicated team. As always, a good and fun day out.



Great effort by all the members and a special thanks to John Mann who worked so hard on getting this piece together for us.

Thanks to Ray Butcher for the video. For other highlights please click here.

See you in July!