The last piece was written specially by Claire for the occasion.

Syd ably made up the baritone section – but next time, we need more baritones! Thanks for everyone who attended and made the event the success it was.
by Richard Lane

National Easter Meet of the
Folk Song and Dance Group of the
Camping and Caravanning Club

Several members of the WCCP went to Sawston Village College near Cambridge to sing, dance, play, paint and learn crafts etc.

Some of us knew we were going and others of us met whilst there. Of the many highlights, laughter and ‘serious’ hard work there were some of our members playing very seriously in the KAZOO orchestra in very large bow ties made out of black plastic bags and some also joined the 50 or so strong skiffle band. Much laughter and merriment for a whole weekend and the weather wasn’t too bad either.
by Mal Derricott

Bampton 2009

On Bampton Fair Day (29th October 2009), Ruishton Band were well received when they visited two nursing homes and entertained the residents for an hour in the morning. Everyone had the opportunity to enjoy all the Fun of the fair before we provided entertainment on the street. We finished off the day with a fabulous Cream Tea and played more of our favourite tunes in Blackberries Restaurant. We're invited back next year if anyone is interested in doing it again!!

You can see some photos in the WCCP Galleries.

“LET THERE BE MUSIC!”
Sunday 18th July at 3pm

Wiveliscombe Community Choir proudly presents AND warmly invites you to its FIRST concert in The Silver Street Center, Wiveliscombe with guest performers “Junction 25” Taunton’s Concertina Band.

There will be a Champagne Raffle in aid of Wivey Link.

Tickets £5, including Afternoon Tea, are available from Wiveliscombe House, The Larder and Square Cut(and if there are any left, on the door).

Contact: Claire Wren wren658@btinternet.com

Kilve October 2009 - A Beginner's View

Mike Stevens, one of our attendees at the October 2009 Kilve Weekend, wrote to us with a beginner's view of the event.

We are in the paper!

There was a nice review of the forthcoming Bampton Fair by Richard Wevill in the Tiverton Gazette of 20th October. There is a mention of the West Country Concertina Players contribution in the centre paragraph. See here for a scan of the article.

Bursaries Now Available!

FOR UNDER 16’S TO ATTEND RESIDENTIAL WEEKENDS

A bursary is now available towards the cost of tuition at the Kilve Residential Weekends shall be offered to young people up to the age of 16 years who show promise and commitment in concertina playing. You can get an application form on our Downloads Page

Devon Squeezebox Foundation

Devon Squeezebox Foundation is gearing up to go full steam ahead into this Autumn’s workshop season which starts in October. The workshops, which are group learning, are on weekday evenings and are open to musicians from 12 years old upwards. So what’s on?

The Workshops

ENGLISH CONCERTINAS

Excitingly, this season sees the launch of a brand new workshop series for the English Concertina starting 13th October 2009. The location for the workshops is Harpford Village Hall, which is between Newton Poppleford and Sidmouth The tutor is Jill Shepherd. Through the generosity of the West Country Concertina Players we have a number of instruments for hire for use with the course.

MELODEON

Now in it’s 4th year, the Devon Melodeon Project has workshops for all levels at 4 locations in the county, Great Torrington in the North, Harpford nr Newton Poppleford in the East, South Brent in the South Hams and South Tawton in the West. The twice monthly workshops are run by Ed Rennie.

PIANO ACCORDION

The Squeeze Keys Piano Accordion workshops are now in their 3rd year and have a new location, Cheriton Bishop Village Hall. These are also for all levels and they are twice monthly. Jason Rice is once again the tutor.

Full details of these workshops, other activities and fundraising events at www.devonsqueezebox.co.uk

Or Ring Ed Rennie on 01363 774426

Update

The Kilve Spring and Autumn residential weekends have been absolutely superb this year so congratulations and many thanks to all those involved with planning and running these events.

Thanks too, of course, to all participants who made each event a great success.

Opportunities

Are you interested in becoming the Secretary of the Group? Mal is hoping that someone will take over from her at the AGM in September.

Having been Treasurer since 2005, Fiona would also like to step down from this role and give someone else the chance to run the finances.

If anyone would like to take on either of these roles, please contact WCCP Chairman.

A Gift To Wren Music

For the past two years, WCCP have loaned 2 Anglo Concertinas to Wren Music, based in Okehampton. These instruments have been in continual use four or five days a week – mostly in the hands of children and adults who have really enjoyed playing them.

This year, when the Loan Agreement came up for renewal, WCCP decided to donate these instruments to Wren Music as a gift so that they can be used until they wear out.

Our thanks to Wren Music for enabling young people to experience playing the Concertina and hopefully we will attract more youngsters to join WCCP in the future.

SqueezEast 2009

SUNDAY 14th. JUNE, At STAMFORD, Lincolnshire. Anyone interested in finding out more contact David Nind by Email: david@lomil.co.uk

WCCP is to host the International Concertina Association AGM at  Ruishton Village Hall on November 1st 2008

25th Anniversary Weekend 

This Kilve meeting (March 14th to 16th) had a special theme, the 25th Anniversary of  WCCP. What a great weekend!!  The anniversary theme started with each participant receiving a commemorative box sticker announcing ’25 Years of Music’ and that tradition was continued with a weekend of playing and listening. As well as the music, the birthday atmosphere was helped along by a special celebratory dinner on the Saturday night, attended by many of the founder members of WCCP, as well as birthday cake in the shape of a concertina and a display of photographs from WCCP’s history.  

Throughout the weekend we had brilliant tuition form Claire Wren (band), Mick Bramich (Anglo), Sandra Kerr (English), Iris Bishop (Duet), Brian Hayden (Duet) and Rollo Woods (tunes for Ceilidh). Colin and Rosalie Dipper gave generously, as always, of their time and expertise on a range of topics relating to instruments and their problems from ‘First Aid’ to ‘Concertina tampering for the timid’.  

After a full day of workshops, the tutor’s concert on the Saturday night was a display of virtuoso playing to inspire all of us, whatever our personal preference in musical genre. We heard Mick’s Irish styles of Anglo playing, Iris and Sandra combining in impromptu duets of delicate and emotive airs, and the debut performance by Claire Wren’s band, ‘Junction 25’ whose rousing final piece, a rendition of the brass-band classic ‘Old Kentucky Home’ gave us band music at its most impressive.  

Although Sunday saw fewer people in the dining room for breakfast after the usual hard-to-leave late night/early morning session in the bar, most of us staggered off to various workshops to learn more during the morning. The finale to all this was the usual showcase of workshops that demonstrated, yet again, how diverse our musical learning’s had been. Mention must be made here of Sandra Kerr’s intriguing ‘Knit your own Tunes’ group, who produced a catchy celebratory tune called ‘In Kilve Jubilo’, a tune which had started life as the national anthem!  

Claire’s Intermediate band gave us a terrific rendition of ‘Pastime with Good Company’, with added percussion and a scratch choir. Then it was time for a quick cream tea, for those with sufficient appetite after a weekend of generous portions and excellent food, followed by goodbyes to old friends and new.  

Thanks to all concerned in the organisation and running of an excellent weekend, the tutors, the staff at Kilve, all participants and helpers, but especially to John and Mal Derricott for all the hard work and brilliant organisation which ensured that this Anniversary Kilve weekend was a weekend to remember! 

John Adey (English Player) 

Kilve Residential Weekend – Anglo Concertina Playing ‘The Irish Way’ with Mick Bramich

The Anglo concertina players, attending Mick Bramich’s tutorials, do not normally play Irish tunes in the ‘Irish Way’ found that they were to start learning to play again.  Mick had a lot of patience to deliver the tunes, as did the group, who proved to themselves that with dedicated practice they could play in a different way to that they had been used to.  The weekend proved to be a rare opportunity to explore the Irish method of playing, giving an open door to explore the many tunes in the Irish tradition.       

Thank you Mick. 

Mike Long  (Anglo Player) 

Kilve March 2008 – a Duettist's view, by Paul McCann

The days when 2 or 3 duet players gathered darkly and mysteriously in a smoke-filled room are long gone, so the first evening of the WCCP's 25^th Spring weekend found a dozen or so of us being given our Friday night workout by the dark and mysterious Iris Bishop. 

I had looked through the weekend's music book and thought "this doesn't look too bad".  Of course, I should have guessed!  Iris had brought along a whole other book specifically for the duet players, full of challenging music by all sorts of people from Souza to Dave Brubeck, to Charlie Chaplin, A.Non, and T.Rad.  All of the parts with all of the notes!  But, as is the way with Iris, somehow, we just seemed to find the notes, even when they weren't really there.  Well, some of us did!

An enjoyable bar session, ably hosted by Geoff Thorp, finished uncharacteristically early (i.e. we didn't even make 2 o'clock!), which had the advantage of leaving everyone fresher for Saturday, and the duet players more able to cope with the temperature fluctuations in the "tune room" (or 1960's temporary prefab room, as we like to call it).  PLEASE can we not always be banished out there – we ARE house-trained, you know.

After a lot of hard work, we broke for Saturday dinner and a lovely concert from the tutors, Sandra Kerr, Iris, and Mick Bramich, plus a delightful spot from the "Junction 25" concertina band under Claire Wren (well, not literally, obviously).  Then another great (and somewhat later) session, and all too suddenly it was Sunday, time for showcases, cream teas, and tearful farewells (O.K - I exaggerate slightly, but not about the cream teas).

Highlights?  I've been coming to Kilve for 15 years now, and I still get goose-bumps of anticipation when I come over the hill on the A39 and see the place for the first time; Iris's easy assumption that somehow we'd just pick up all these tunes (actually we did better than we could ever have expected, thanks to her teaching and encouragement); the favourite songs and tunes in the sessions, and young Cat behind the bar "doing battle with the prawn"; the food, especially the chicken curry; the cakes, the company etc   May the next 25 years be as much fun!
Paul McCann

The weekend was organised by Esther Venn (general organisation—in other words everything except music and tutors) and Beryl Whitehead (all matters to do with music and tutoring). We should be very grateful for this and rememberthat Esther and Beryl and all other committee members do this work voluntarily.

It was as usual a great weekend and if you have never been to a Kilve Weekend, you are definitely missing a great experience!