OUR Next Meeting – Thursday 26th September
Shepherdswell Village Hall @ 7.30pm
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Kentish Folksong with Geoff Doel
Kent has been richly endowed with folk traditions, but was rather overlooked by the early collectors of folk song.
However in the mid c20 collectors such as Francis Collinson and Ken Stubbs found a rich and distinctive harvest of ballads, sea songs, hop picking and farming songs which have been preserved by a fine array of singers.
The songs illustrate the legendary, historical and traditional culture of Kent.
Dr Geoff Doel hails from Sussex, but has lived for forty seven years in Kent, worked for both the Canterbury Universities, published, with his wife Fran, many books on Kent folklore and run and performed at folk clubs in Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Canterbury.
Geoff will introduce us to a rich Kentish folk tradition with songs such as The Oyster Girl, The Dark Eyed Sailor, Petition off the Pigs in Kent, Love is Pleasing, Hopping Down in Kent and many more.
There may well be a chance to join in a sing-along!
Thursday 31st October
- Open Evening.
Exploring and researching local history: topics to be announced nearer the date.
Thursday 28th November
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Special Event – The award-winning documentary film producer, Peter Williams MBE, presents his film: A Century of Coal, a unique history of the Kent coal field.
Peter’s film outlines how miners were recruited from all over industrial Britain, to dig coal, discovered by accident in the Garden of England. They brought with them traditions of brass bands, choral singing and whippet racing. But like other migrants, they were strangers in an established community – largely one of folk who lived off the land rather than eaking out a living beneath it.
A Century of Coal is a story of love and hate, great triumphs and crushing disappointments, team spirit and laughter.
Peter Williams has produced documentaries for the BBC, ITV and Channel Four and won awards at Television Festivals across the world. A Kent Ambassador and former president of the Canterbury Festival, he was awarded his MBE in 2007 for services to the arts and television.