Hosted by Heather

​“Songs of War & Peace”
So we come to sing so many songs
And read poems that make the heart bleed
So we take comfort in laughter and light
And in the face of such tragedy this is our need
 
So we make peace in the face of such adversity
And the poems they still fell any sword
So we are human after all and simply carry on
And this is for you and whoever is your Lord . . .
 
Jason, Poet

The Mad Hatters of Chiddingly:
A Tale of Great Musicianship and a “Best Hat of the Night” Competition

The length of this blog title is matched by the length, depth, and breadth of music: 18 separate acts! That’s not counting the announcement of who won the “Mad Hatters of Chiddingly Prize 2024”. But I’m getting a-hat of myself here – all in good time.

Opening this intriguing night, Host Helga played a tuneful, classical flute piece (Eric Satie’s Gymnopedie Nr 1), in order to calm down the bubbling excitement over what the hell this hat thing was about. Those in the know had read the email, inviting musicians and audience alike to come wearing a hat. Others had no idea (yet!) how best to fit in, whereas real pros – like Terry Lees – just smiled and nipped out to the carpark: he always carries a spare hat in his car!

Rounding out the opening, Hosts Lisa (tut tut, no hat) and Helga were beautifully accompanied by Jason’s electric guitar in their interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love”.

Then Lance hit the floor, not just with one, but with two thumps. His self-penned “Chicken Song” - a radical expose of the barbarism entailed in eating chicken meat – and the brand new “Patches of Wet” - a hyper-realistic account of the sexual trials of a middle-aged couple – left the audience gasping. “I think I’ll go vegetarian and practice celibacy” one audience member summed up the impact of Lance’s songs. Maybe his non-street-cred cap shouting “Vote Trump” was meant to be ironic? But then, is a cap a hat?

On with the music. Kat on keyboard followed, with two beautiful love songs which she had composed, and was playing to an audience for the very first time. “On my Own” was particularly moving. She literally pulled her hat out of a brown paper bag, creatively decorated with coloured pencil markings and a pair of neon-green sunglasses. She deservedly, later, received the “Mad Hatters of Chiddingly Prize 2024 Runner-Up".

Songwriter Chris hoped to win the Mad Hatter Prize by pointing out that his colourful woolly hat had been knitted by Host Helga. His rendition of “Xeroxed” was masterful. Manus’s beautifully jazzy interpretations of well-known tunes came out best in “Trouble in Mind”. Kat Black and Mr White (wearing a hastily knotted-at-the-corners white serviette on his head) got everybody to their feet with a roaring rendition of the Sex Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant”, with much roaring of “I’m vacant” along with them. Very lively number!

Heather’s approach to showcasing her wide-brimmed hat, lined beautifully with fragrant roses from her garden, was to invite everybody in the audience to smell her headware. Interesting. Everybody liked her slow rendition of “Every Move You Make”. Nelson’s foot-tapping contributions were enhanced by his Wyatt Earp hat, which – however – was upstaged by Susan’s floppy cat-sitting-on-her-head, legs and tail attractively dangling around her face.

​Lisa and Jason were joined by Simon on washboard (!) and Tambourine Laura, with the sparkliest hat of them all. Lisa’s kazoo innovation strengthened the percussive impact of “San Franciso Bay”. The Steelyard Hobos did a great Americana job on “Why Worry” and “To Go to the Sea Once More”. The first of the night’s Three Terrys, Terry O’Brien, delighted the audience with “Bulldozer Blues”.

Frank goes to Chiddingly was ably supported by Tambourine Laura and Flautist Helga – making a great hat duo – in “Live & Local” and “Walk on By”. Neil’s heart-breaking rendition of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” had everybody singing with him. He was then joined by Jim on Fiddle, and Simon. Simon then gave us a lovely interpretation of Tom Petty’s “Walls”. The second of the Three Terrys, hat pro Terry Lees delighted us all with Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice”, followed by a beautiful Celtic instrumental. “People Get Ready” rounded out the incredible line-up of the evening, performed by the last of the Three Terries, Terry Daly, and Becky.

So, who won the “Mad Hatters” prize? Adding drama to the nail-biting moment of announcing the winners, it turned out that the two frontrunners – Susan’s fluffy cat and Heather fragrant roses – were in a tie! But all’s well that ends well! Neither of them drinks alcohol, so they decided to donate the winner’s bottle of wine to the next raffle to support the Folk and Blues Club. What a night!