I hope it ok for me to make public the following details, as the day is open to the public after lunch, for a donation - It should be a very good and interesting day.

Tim Radford

Traditional Song Forum Meeting - 17th March 2007


We have now got the final details of the special 'George Gardiner Day' that
Carolyn Robson and Bob Askew have been putting together for us.

Traditional Song Forum Meeting

Amery Hill School Hall, Alton, Hampshire GU34 2BZ, Saturday 17th March 2007

Note later than usual start time!

11:00 Welcome
11:05 Informal reports on activities
* Our usual informal review, going round the room sharing
progress and problems, seeking and sharing knowledge and advice
12:30 TSF Business:
* How to carry forward Steve Gardham's suggestions (made at
the last meeting) for the future of TSF
* Subscriptions
13:00 Lunch

Now The PUBLIC EVENT:
14:00 Forum Focus - 'George Gardiner in Hampshire'
To celebrate the centenary of George Gardiner's first foray into Hampshire
in 1906 the Gardiner Appreciation Group created a programme of events to
mark the occasion. Bob Askew gave a number of illustrated talks, assisted
by his daughters Emily and Hazel who sang a number of the songs. Sarah
Morgan, Carolyn Robson, Paul Sartin and Freya Tabbush brought together a
group of about 150 singers from community choirs in Hampshire to perform the
songs collected in their home county. A series of concerts, in which the
songs were interspersed with readings from Gardiner's letters selected and
read by Steve Jordan. Today, in a session organised by Carolyn and Bob, we
will get a flavour of their work
14:00 Bob Askew - 'George Gardiner and the Folk Songs of Hampshire'
George Gardiner collected songs in a number of areas of Southern
England but is most closely associated with Hampshire. Bob will talk about
the life of George Gardiner and about his work as a song collector
14:55 Steve Jordan - 'No Ordinary Working Man'
Steve will share his research into the life and times of Richard
Hall, a great character and one of the sources from whom Dr. George Gardiner
collected songs at the turn of the century. The talk will be illustrated
with slides of the Hall family and of the area in Hampshire in which they
lived. A fascinating piece of research that demonstrates the value of
following up the lives of source singers
15:50 The Songs of Hampshire, as collected by George Gardiner.
Carolyn Robson has created a programme of songs to illustrate
Gardiner's work featuring songs by her and Sara Morgan, Tim Radford and a
choir drawn from the locality.
16:45 Close of meeting (leave School by 17:00)

1730 to 19:30 Sing-Around
for those that want to stay on for a bit of a sing. (Venue tbc - will be
a pub near the day's venue)

Amery Hill School is within a short walk of Alton station, which is on the
main line from Waterloo with a regular and rapid train service. The meeting
has been organised by Carolyn Robson , with help from Bob Askew. If you
would like help with finding local accommodation they would be happy to
offer advice.
The plan for the day does not allow for a great deal of flexibility. The
school is close to the town centre and a number of places where you could
obtain a snack for lunch. We would suggest, though (based on recent
experience) that it is probably not possible to get a full lunch served in
the time available. Out of courtesy to the speakers we will not delay the
start of the meeting. We would suggest that you think about bringing
sandwiches.
There will be a selection of traditional music books on sale during the
lunch break from Dave Eyre and other sellers and the lunch break would be a
good time to complete your purchases.
Queries to Carolyn [carolyn.robson@...] or myself
[martin.graebe@...]