Falkirk Folk Club

[Stephen Whiteside]

I recently had the good fortune to visit Scotland.

I was staying with a friend, Maggie Somerville, whose daughter, Gronya, was a member of the Australian Badminton Team for the Commonwealth Games (hence my Australian cap).

We were in Falkirk, a small town roughly midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We were able to visit the Falkirk Folk Club, at The Tolbooth Tavern, on two consecutive Thursday evenings. It was unseasonably hot while we were there, and the first half of the first Thursday evening was held in an outdoors courtyard. We arrived late, having no idea what to expect. There was already one bloke sitting up on the wall, so I decided to duck around the back and see if I could join him. It wasn't too difficult - just a matter of jumping up onto the rubbish skip, and climbing up from there. We retired upstairs for the second half of the evening.

We didn't get a chance to perform the first week, but did the following week. I recited some poems, and Maggie sang some songs. (We both managed to sell a bit of merch, too!)

The Falkirk Folk Club is a fabulous little organisation. It astonished me that such a small town could support such a vibrant community of musicians. Having said that, though, there were some significant differences between it and the Victorian Folk Music Club, which I attend on a regular basis. The first is that on neither of the occasions we attended did any women perform. There were plenty of women in attendance, but they were strictly audience members only. The second is that poetry is much less prominent there than it is here. For that I imagine we must thank Paterson, Lawson et al. Here in Melbourne we have developed a bit of a "Poets' Corner", which can bring the music to a grinding halt for a good fifteen minutes or so!

If any ABPA members are contemplating a visit to Scotland, send me a pm and I will be only too happy to pass on the details of the Falkirk Folk Club. I am sure they would receive a very warm welcome, just as we did.

You can find their web-site here:
http://www.falkirkfolkclub.co.uk

[Heather]

Ya got a new hat Stephen!

Sounds like it was a lot of fun.

Heather

[Stephen Whiteside]

That's right, Heather. Couldn't get my usual hat through customs.

[Bob Pacey]

Well I'll be Falkirk ---- ed.



Must be my sense of humour


Bob

[Stephen Whiteside]

Nice wall eh, Bob?