Jack In The Green, Catalyst Club, and Mark Thomas: 3 Brighton Folk Choir gigs in one week

Ours is a seasonal choir, in which we learn old songs with a sense of time and place. Sometimes this can be bittersweet, especially when sing of trees and birds that are now rare or under threat, but it helps reconnect one with the cyclical nature of existence, and the importance of community, ritual, and renewal. One day again I hope it will be safe for us to bathe in the morning dew without worrying about pesticides.

Last week was a busy one for us, as befits the start of May. First was the Jack In The Green festival – much soggier than last year, and with lots of issues in Hastings due to the collapsing privatised water and sewage infrastructure.

Mercifully, and thanks to the hard work of the event organisers, the event took place, and we were able to parade around town in the rain and even sing to appreciative staff and a few Italian tourists in the independent cinema.

It was a long old day. I was up by six, and was the recipient of a very lovely early morning lift from Worthing to get to Brighton station in time. From here I met my pals, and the day’s gentle anarchy and dressing up like mysterious trickster animals was ready to begin.

Lucy and Steve came down from London, just as they did last year, and it was lovely to go for a beer with them after singing on the West Hill stage.

Second gig: The Catalyst Club, in Horatio’s bar at the end of Brighton Pier. This has been considerably swanked up since I last visited (to do karaoke, in 2009), and the event was one loosely based around the local rivers and waterways, and we were there to sing with the Duck Pond Sailors and listen to some excellent and some very boring talks from guest speakers.

Vera Zakharov, was my favourite of the speakers, and she’s inspired me to resurrect my Beverley Brook project.

Third gig: The Diggers, Mark Thomas, Victoria Melody, and all written up here.