Opinion

Chris Ingham previews the best jazz gigs around the eastern region this week (October 16-23).

As Autumn in Bury arrives, our skies are imbued with a familiar vegetal and burned toffee aroma which emanates from the sugar beet factory as their yearly campaign gets underway. It is a timely and important reminder that despite the growing urban amenties we all benefit from, our town’s engine has a rural heart and none of us could live as we do without the efforts of our rural food producers.

Last week London hosted another protest. But this time wasn’t against austerity, greedy international banks or overpriced tuition fees. This was an attack on a place most us will never have seen or heard of.

In his Republic, Plato considers three forms of government, and finds fault with them all. Tyranny is cruel and barbaric. Oligarchy, where power rests with a rich elite, is corrupt and unjust. And democracy? Nothing more than a fancy name for mob rule.

The new movie Suffragette reminds us, people once gave their lives for the right to vote. So why, over a century later, did 43%of our 18-24 year olds turn up at the polling station at May’s general election? Why are more young people apparently interested in Facebook than in registering to to vote? Can this apparent political apathy be helped ?

Saturday is International Languages Day. So which is the most commonly spoken language in the world? If you guessed English, you’re wrong. Spanish? No. French? Try again. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by over one billion people and is the most commonly spoken language worldwide.

wolf folk club: At our last meeting there were two autoharps in the room, a relatively unusual occurrence and a fact which made me think. They don’t figure largely in the British folk music canon. The received wisdom of the folk music world these days sees them as an American instrument with no place in British folk. But the Autoharp used to have an important place in British music making way back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was invented in Germany by K. A. Gutter and patented in Britain in 1883. There was around that time a big interest in creating new musical instruments from which the concertina, melodeon, harmonium and mouth organ first saw the light of day. Around the same time it seemed almost every house had a banjo as a result of the popularity of minstrel shows. The Victorians made huge reforms in church music, phasing out old village band sounds and bringing in the organ. But lots of smaller churches could not afford posh organs and opted for the less expensive harmoniums to accompany hymn singing. Those who couldn’t afford that expense opted for autoharps or Angel Harps, as they were called. You can still find old autoharps in auctions or antique shops from time to time and they used to be quite common. There must have been thousands of them and their related chord harps and zithers variants in churches and households years ago. The British folk revival of the 1950s was largely driven by the American recording industry and the guitar was king in that period. Lots of old folk instruments were pushed aside but managed to creep back in later as folk got a bit wiser. The fiddle, concertina, harp, hammered dulcimer, smallpipes, and many other folk instruments made it back into favour but the autoharp has remained relatively neglected. But then, not many people are too keen on the demands of tuning an instrument which has about 36 strings. And finally, I had a leaflet from Hands on Music who run weekend traditional music courses for folkies at Henry Box School, Witney, Oxon. Concertina September 25-27, strings October 23-25, melodeons November 13-15. Full course details and online booking at www.handsonmusic.org.uk. Roger runs the Wolf Folk Club at the Wolverton Social Club in North Norfolk. Contact youngroger235@gmail.com.

According to Mark Twain, experience is an author’s most valuable asset, “It’s the thing that puts the muscle, breath and warm blood into the book” he said. I know I love reading books although I’m less convinced that I have a book IN me but I have been thinking about what inspired my fondness for landscape writing and the natural world.

Although I don’t see anyone hanging out the bunting or composing a special fanfare, it was thirty years ago this month that I started my career as a teacher. Frankly, I was as surprised as anyone, since I had vowed from the depths of my adolescence that teaching was the one career path I wouldn’t be following.

Four months ago, a gaunt-looking man who had spent his 32 years in Parliament firing rhetorical questions at Conservatives suddenly appeared in the contest to decide the next leader of his party. No one seemed more surprised than him.

One of the reasons I began to play guitar and sing folksongs is James Taylor. His brilliant composition, interesting melodies and virtuoso guitar work captivated me in the 70s... well, the great news is that he is back!

phoenix folk: The group started as the St James Middle School Folk Group and Guitar Club over 30 years ago. Having retired after 40 years of teaching, Ricky continued the Folk Group (renamed Phoenix Folk), at the request of parents and Folk Group members.

The Folk Community in Bury St Edmunds continues to spread its endeavours to different events to encourage people to join in and hear the music, and hopefully find a new friend in folk. One example of this is happening on September 10, hosted by Oakes Barn, St Andrew’s Street South. The Bury Folk Collective are holding a Charity Casino and Music Night in aid of Suffolk Rape Crisis. The charity was founded in 2010 and offer specialist support to girls and women from Suffolk who are survivors of sexual violence. They offer face to face counselling in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft, and also provide telephone support. This year Suffolk Rape Crisis expect to assist over 300 women and girls. They know they could help many more, however they are restricted due to funding. The charity offers a way for survivors to start to become more positive and in control of their situation, to be able to feel they can make decisions about their future. When the Folk Community was approached by a nurse who realised the charity was so underfunded to organise the event, we were quick to agree. Music is a way of bringing people together and a chance to have a flutter at the gambling tables knowing that it’s all for a good cause, well there’s no better way of spending a Thursday evening! Kelly and Woolley are headlining the event; they are an acoustic duo that never disappoint. Their music is upbeat and uplifting. Their talent is really quite a treat to the ears and we think will impress anybody regardless if they thought they ‘weren’t into folk’! Also Compass are playing, another very special band who will do nothing but add to a very special evening.

One of the aimless ways I entertain myself with is by imagining what kind of tattoo I might like if I was in the market to have one, which I am not, despite the burgeoning number of tattooists in the St Edmundsbury region. What event or thing might I commemorate via multiple dermal injections of ink? Had I offered up my tender flesh to Colchester’s Tattoo Mick as a teenager, what would I now be looking at with a frown, trying to recall what might have made me think it was a great idea.

Chris Ingham previews the best jazz gigs around the eastern region this week (August 28 - September 4).

Here we are again then – perched at the end of another examination results season. As the Bury Free Press headline declared: ‘Top marks for Bury St Edmunds schools’.

This is the first of a short series of occasional articles by Jed Stone, of Framlingham, half of the very popular duo Shadows in the Shade. There will be contributions from folkies from across the area over the next few weeks and if you would like to be involved and contribute contact address above. B.K.

Chris Ingham previews the best jazz gigs around the eastern region this week (August 7-14).

Porto’s a trendy destination right now.

Martin Bate gives his reviews of the Bury St Edmunds and Ely Folk Festivals.