December Shanty Session Report
As I was away for this session I asked for a member of the group to write this month session report. Many thanks to Leigh.

Chris Hare came along for the evening which was a nice surprise.  He talked to us about he song he has recently learnt which has many verses. He sang a few of them for us 'Goodbye, Fare Thee Well'.



Emily taught us a new round 'To Portsmouth!' from Ravenscroft's Pammelia 1609

To Portsmouth, to Portsmouth, it is a gallant town!

And there we will have a quart of wine,

With a nutmeg brown diddle down.

The gallant ship the Mermaid, the Lion hanging stout,

Will make us to spend there our sixteen pence all out!

 I passed round the marlinspike for everyone to hold. It is surprisingly heavy and would be handy for repelling all boarders as well as splicing rope. I waved it aloft at the appropriate moment of the chorus when we sang Old Fid.

 As we are so near to Christmas the evening ended with some carols  - Sweet Chiming Bells, Pentonville and Hark the Herald. As we had sung our two different versions of While Shepherds Watched, I suggested we also sang the "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at" version. To our surprise Emily had never heard of 'On Ilkley Moor' - she must be too young! - so we sang a her a bit of that too and the evening ended in jollity and disarray.

SEA SHANTY CONCERT, ST MARY DE HAURA CHURCH, SHOREHAM-BY-SEA
Saturday 25th January 2020

This unique event at the wonderful St Mary de Haura Church in Shoreham-by-Sea, with its great acoustics, showcases three key Sea Shanty Groups from West Sussex, seen for the first time at the same venue. Admission is free! The performers are: The Secret Shore Singers, The Duck Pond Sailors, and The Wellington Wailers! The event is not only an opportunity to raise your voices and raise the roof of this iconic building, it also provides an opportunity to collect for two very fine and worthy charities: ‘Olly’s Future’, A charity supporting suicide prevention initiatives and training and The R N L I Lifeboats! There is also a ‘possibility’ that more informal singing may ‘breakout’ after the formal event, as the groups take refreshment in one or two of the fine hostelries in Shoreham-by-Sea!

2020 Shanty Session Dates

First two of 2020 Shanty Sessions programmed into the diary. January is on 21st and February is on the 11th. Dates added to the diary. Both sessions are at the Ye Olde House at Home commencing at 8pm.

Portsmouth Dockyard Victorian Christmas Festival

Portsmouth Dockyard Victorian Christmas Festival 30th November
A great day out at Portsmouth Victorian Christmas for Secret Shore Singers. The day was bright and chilly but it did not let the singing spirits drop. 3 performances took place onboard HMS Warrior in the Rope Deck from 11:15 to 14:20 with intervals between to ensure the festive spirit happening around the Dockyard. The final set of the day took place in the Queen Victoria Pub; a pop up pub is the shadows of HMS Victory. A quick adjustment on the selection of songs to ensure the large audience(150+) could lose themselves in the wonderful sound coming from the stage. A great day out enjoyed by singers and punters alike.

Extra October Shanty Session

Extra October Shanty Session 26th October
This evening we concentrated on perfecting the shanties we will be singing at the Portsmouth Dockyard Victorian Christmas Festival this Saturday.

First up was Roll the Old Chariots sung with our usual gusto but a bit quicker.  Next was Randy Dandy-o with special emphasis on getting the harmonies right. Then we moved on to the Mermaid which we will all sing on Saturday rather than solo men on the verses. Before the break we did Mollymawk, Here’s a Health and Bonny Ship the Diamond.

After the break we stormed through Haul Away Joe and Spanish Ladies. Then slightly adapted Sweet Ladies of Plymouth, renamed Sweet Ladies of Portsmouth and somewhat abridged for Saturday’s performance, was run through.  We finished off, as we seem now always to do, with Time to Go Now.