Ay up me ducks! It’s the Christmas party on the horizon. So.....why not ransack your wardrobes and see if you can arrive on the 19th as sparkly as possible!!! Oh! And don’t forget – He’s making a list and checking it twice – so be good !

Christmas Party Arrangements Hi Everyone, Let’s Have A Christmas Party! Arrangements are well underway for our Christmas party and it will take place on Tuesday the 19th

December at Goldenhill Club. We'll be starting the evening at 7.30 pm in our usual fashion with some

carol singing, so please bring your accordions and singing voices to join in. We're having an excellent

buffet, as usual, and our guest act this year is Kiss the Blarney (pictured below left). They are new to our

club but they come well recommended and I’m sure that they will help to make this Christmas party a

night to remember.

There will also be members’ spots during the evening –

instruments other than the accordion are welcome. If you would

like to take part please let Steve Hughes know.

Our accommodation at Goldenhill is very spacious, so please

invite your families and friends along to join in the festivities. If

you haven't obtained your tickets yet,

please get them from Steve. We need to

firm up the numbers soon so that we can advise our caterers accordingly.

Steve's contact details are as follows:

Tel: 01782 787935 mobile:07939362294 email: steveg0@gmail.com

Hopefully, we'll see you at our Christmas party but if not, I'd like to take this

opportunity of wishing you a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mike Richards.

October Clubnite – Players’ Night Our theme for the evening was ‘music from films’ and our players had all been encouraged to select and

practise suitable music, so we were all ‘raring to go’ at our new start time of 7.30 pm.

NNoorrtthh SSttaaffffssAAccccoorrddiioonnCClluubb

NNeewwsslleetttteerr NNoovveemmbbeerr//DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001177

NNoo 447733

Our Monday players started the evening (I can't call them the ‘Beginners Group’ any more) and their

selection included the following tunes: Oom Pah Pah, People Will Say We’re in Love, Secret Love,

Hello Young Lovers, Some Enchanted Evening, Summer Time and Edelweiss.

Another very enjoyable part of our evening was the sing-a-long organised by John

Plumb (below) - If I Was a Rich Man and Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof.

John came armed with song sheets and we all thoroughly enjoyed this somewhat

impromptu event - let's do it again!

During the interval we had nibbles. These had been provided by Helen Brown and

Margaret Slater and they were really tasty, so they've definitely got the job. Thank you

ladies! We had our usual raffle with lots of prizes and Moira Hague's name was drawn

for the attendant member's award. Unfortunately Moira wasn't able to be with us on the

night, consequently next month our award will be the princely sum of

£20.

The second half of our evening started with a playing circle. Ken Marek had selected

our music and his list consisted of the following tunes: On the Sunny Side of the

Street, Over the Rainbow, Blue Skys, I Love Paris, Button Up Your Overcoat, It Had

to Be You, I Can't Give You Anything but Love, I’m Sitting on Top of the World,

The Last Time I Saw Paris, I Could Have Danced All Night, Que Sera Sera and

Summer Holiday. Thank you Ken!

Other individual players and duos

included Richard playing High Noon

and Smile, Tony with Lara’s Theme,

Geoff Capewell with Bernadine, Lily

and Lee (top right) playing Hello

Dolly and Ann and Greta with The

Good, the Bad and the Ugly (very

dramatic) and finally Jeff Burndrett,

Derek Wilton, on the harmonica, and Paul Hobbs all played lovely selections.

I thoroughly enjoyed our players’ night and I'd like to thank each and every one of our participants for

their contribution.

Best wishes, Mike.

John Kirkpatrick Concert - Tuesday 21st November Our attendance figures for the John Kirkpatrick concert in

November were boosted by people from far and wide. In fact, one

couple told Barbara that they had travelled from Ashby-de-la-

Zouch, which is 50 miles away. It was great to see so many new

faces and hopefully we'll see many of them

again.

Paul and I started the evening by playing a

few duets and our first medley included some

Foster and Allen favourites - After All These Years, A Bunch of Time and

Maggie. Then we went on to play Blue Moon, Cotton-Eyed Joe and Under Paris

Skies and we finished our spot with a medley that included The Song of the Clyde

and Margaret's Waltz.

Over the course of the evening John did two spots and everyone was very

impressed by his sheer professionalism, singing and musicianship - folk fans or

not.

John played the three-row British Chromatic button accordion (above left), a one-row melodeon in D

(below right), and a forty-key Anglo concertina in C and G. The accordion has normal Stradella basses,

everything else, including the accordion right hand side, is ‘push and pull’.

During the interval we had our raffle - 17 prizes, mostly donated by our very

generous club members - and our attendant member’s award. The winner of the

attendant member’s award, Phil Hodges, wasn't present, so the prize has been

carried over to our Christmas party where the winner, assuming that he or she is

present, will receive the princely sum of £30.

Our playing circle started our second half with a good old sing-along and our

audience was soon singing Danny Boy, Harbour Lights, Dark Island, Blowing in

the Wind, Fields of Athenry, Ashokan Farewell and Highland Cathedral. Song

sheets were provided, so everyone had an opportunity to exercise their vocal

chords prior to John's last spot.

John's programme included the following songs:

Kerlebbeddy’s Hat-Trick / The Pineapple Patch - two of his own compositions

Princess Royal - traditional morris dance tune

Arthur McBride - traditional folk song

Here’s to Coalport China (own composition) / Ironbridge Hornpipe - traditional

My Soul is Drowned in Sorrow - John's version of an old Icelandic hymn

Trip to the Cottage / Hunt the Squirrel - traditional tunes

On the Quarterdeck - military march by Kenneth Alford

Forget-me-not Lane / They Can’t Black Out the Moon /

When They Sound the Last All-Clear - songs from the Second World War

The Dance of the Demon Daffodils - own composition

The Green Mossy Banks of the Lee - traditional song

Fain I Would - sixteenth century country dance tune - this is the one where John swung the concertina

around his head

That Great Christmas Pud - own composition

You Should See Me Dance the Polka

Thanks to John, a great night was had by all and I hope that you're all enthused and looking forward to

our Christmas party in December.

Mike

p.s. One visitor and one member remarked that our price for the JK concert was a bargain at £5. This

looks like being the case in that a concert in Litchfield Guildhall on the 3rd of December featuring John is

being advertised at £15. Not bad eh.

A Footnote from Marianne

Thank you very much to Mike Richards and Paul Hobbs for the exciting duet to open this excellent night

of accordion music. I hope that we’ll hear a lot more of the same in future! This was followed by the very

talented John Kirkpatrick – also very enjoyable. It was lovely to see a good number of supporters at this

event. This was a night to be remembered.

From accordion fan Marianne Reutter

Another Great January Jazz Night Make the 23rd of January 2018 (4

th Tuesday in

January) a special night for your calendar and

help us see out the Christmas season with what

seems to be becoming an annual event – a great

night of music and merriment with Harry

Hussey and Lily’s Weepers – again at the larger

venue of Goldenhill Workingmen’s Club.

There will again be lots of well known jazz and

show tunes and plenty of fun (not to mention the

fantastic Christmas cake, mince pies and sherry). Harry takes on the clarinet role again on the front row as

he did last year, revelling in being part of the band. There will also be guests joining the band and of

course Terry’s wacky jazz quiz. We are offering all this at the wonderful bargain price of £5.00!

Tickets are now out and are available from Steve Hughes on 01782 787935 or 07939 362294 or they can

be purchased at the Christmas party.

Midlands Accordion Festival Dudley 3-5 Nov 2017 Birthday weekend came again and my wife Denise and I decided on a trip to The Midlands Accordion

Festival in Dudley. Denise, not being a fan of the accordion, left me at the foyer of the Quality Hotel

where the festival was accommodated on Saturday morning, while she went sightseeing…in Dudley! As

a day visitor to the event I paid my dues and started to look at the desk in front of me where there were

sign-up lists for workshops and one-2-one lessons with people of the ilk of Harry Hussey (more on this in

a moment). From there I hurried on down to join in my first workshop.

I arrived too late to join in the first two workshops, Elementary and Intermediate Orchestra, but, luckily

for me, I joined the Scottish and Vintage Orchestra. Barry Smith the event organiser loaned me an

accordion suitable for Vintage, so I was set. These sessions were run by Jean Hanger, Rosemary Wright

and Tracy Middleton and it was a good experience to be able to play under

different band leaders, each bringing their own style and expertise.

Getting on for lunch, I met Harry Hussey and we sat down for a private

lesson. We spoke about the type of music I wished to play and quickly I

replied, “Songs like Unchained Melody”, so he played it straight off the

cuff!

We discussed chords, left hand playing and playing by ear. An easy

person to talk to, encouraging and patient, I could have spent longer

listening to his advice. It left me with a slightly broader outlook and new

ideas to explore.

Later that day accomplished players took to the stage. Malachy Cairns (a

personal favourite of mine) and a softly spoken Irishman, played requests,

providing easy to listen to old favourites. Others playing were Helen Rich, Rosemary Wright, The Master

Butchers Band and Valerio Russo (the current World Champion) to name a few. I do feel that most of

these artists have performed at the North Staffs club in recent years.

Valerio Russo played for an hour and from the first note you knew you were witnessing something

special. A young man (22) from Italy, played with a style, energy and passion that just left you

wondering, “How did he do that?” Composing himself before each number and delivering tunes such as

Figaro, Roma Tango, Puzzle and many more (all all featuring on his CD). I could almost hear Greta and

Steve in my mind saying, “Now that’s how to play the rests and dynamics.”

His accordion was a Serenellini Imperator, undoubtedly top of the range, which would have a

specification and capability I do not fully appreciate. However, Valerio left this box metaphorically

wheezing and breathless leaving none of its capability in his gig bag. This young man is truly peerless…

‘The World Champion.’

I acquired one of his CDs, ‘ACCORDION PUZZLE’, and stood beside him for a photo (above), standing

as close as I could hoping that some of his talent would just rub off on to me - well just maybe. Denise

turned to me and commented, “We are in the presence of someone special.”

That ended my day and as I drifted off to sleep I was reflecting on the day’s events and one question kept

coming back to me… “Would I come again?”………Hell yes, now where’s my 2018 calendar?

Stuart Simpkin

February Clubnite The February clubnite will be a ‘players’ night’ and the challenge this month is for players to

come up with pieces that we have NEVER heard them play before at the club. Quite a task

as we all have our favourite party pieces and are often tempted to give things a second outing.

It would be a real challenge if that request could be extended to pieces that you think no one

has played before – but that might be a tall order.

Reminder of Stockport Fundraiser Stockport Accordion Club’s big annual charity fund raising concert, organised by John Jones MBE, takes

place on Friday, 8th

December, 7.45pm, at the Broken Cross Club in Macclesfield. This year’s line-up

includes the Stockport AC Band, Accordion Spice, Scottish Quartet, Helen Rich, and the fabulous

and inimitable Pearl Fawcett-Adriano.

The Broken Cross evening has become a sort of Wembley FA Cup Final equivalent for us, and is an

occasion we make a special effort for. We have been doing this concert since 1999 and it’s always a lot of

fun for us and our audience. Yet another brilliant evening of accordion music is in prospect, finishing

with a grand Christmas finale. All the proceeds are in aid of the East Cheshire Hospice. The tickets are £8

each, and are available from John Jones on 07871 767708. All are welcome.

Rob Howard

Turning on the Newcastle Christmas lights On Saturday, the 18th November, members of the club band and the 'Monday nighters’ played a selection

of band pieces and carols for the festivities organised for the turning on of the Christmas lights in

Newcastle town centre.

The event programme included a number of organisations, each having a 15 minute set-up followed by a

35 minute spot. This continued up to 6.00pm, when Wayne Woodward, finalist from Britain’s Got Talent

2016, switched on the

Christmas lights and

fireworks were set off.

With a spot at lunchtime,

and dressed in Christmas

jumpers, we followed a

dancing troupe of young

girls who had a big

crowd of onlookers;

parents, grandparents and

probably loads of

neighbours cheering

them on. With the biting wind the 35 minute spot was long enough, perhaps too long. My fingers couldn't

feel the bass button markings, but, with Steve Houghton making wild gestures with the baton (was that to

keep warm or was it to warm us up?) we kept going - 'if the young girls in the troupe can put up with it....

so can we'. Most of us having no parents and none of us except Scarlette having grandparents, the crowd

was slightly smaller, but they persevered and kept warm by applauding on cue.

When we finished this spot we then packed up and dragged our trolleys down to our next location, the

'The Square' mall, which contains the Vue cinema, Pizza Hut, Subway and a few others. It was good to

be out of the wind and we enjoyed ourselves playing to our spouse fans and passersby. Quite a few

showed an interest in the instrument and our stock of recruitment leaflets was seriously depleted.

I think the players enjoyed this spot because we must have played for about 90 minutes. (He's a hard

taskmaster).

Steve Hughes

'Time to Sing' a date for your diary An accordion charity event in support the Alzheimer's Society

featuring Karen Street, Karen Tweed and others

Marthall Village Hall,

Knutsford, WA16 7SB

Sunday 13th

May 2018

(picture by Karen Tweed)

WHY KNUTSFORD? The idea of having a joint accordion event in a location central to the Chester, Stockport and North Staffs

accordion clubs has been mooted in the past. Knutsford seems to be an ideal spot. Another catalyst was a

recent event organised by Karen Street and Karen Tweed in Rolleston on Dove, near Burton-on-Trent,

vividly described in excellent articles by Vivienne Cowie and Lee Slater in our July/August newsletter. This

was so enjoyable that we came up with a suggestion to use a similar programme in the joint event idea.

THE OBJECTIVES

To kindle closer ties with fellow accordionists from our 'local' clubs.

To meet up with 'old' friends and make new ones.

The Rolleston event was thoroughly enjoyed by those who attended, players and non-players alike,

and it is expected that this event will have a similar response.

We have the opportunity to have two superb accordion players and an internationally renowned

teacher and accordion workshop leader to run the event.

To support the Alzheimer's Society and to encourage accordion playing in care homes, this being

close to the heart of the reason the two Karens started these events.

To improve our knowledge, and to have an enjoyable day out.

To celebrate World Accordion Day (6th

May).

KAREN & KAREN?

Karen Tweed and Karen Tweed (honest, and not related!) one of whom goes by her maiden name, Street,

which reduces confusion.

Karen Tweed, Now living in Ireland, is an internationally acclaimed player, composer, teacher and workshop leader with

an extensive range of recordings to her name, favouring folk music from around the world, especially

Scandinavia. She is also a prolific blogger and artist, designing her own album covers.

Karen Street Brought up in the Burton-on-Trent area she now lives in Wells. An ex British Virtuoso Champion, she is

now a freelance accordionist and saxophonist and again has an extensive list of recordings showing her

range of genres from classical to jazz. She also has a number of compositions to her name and has

arranged music for Boosey and Hawkes. Karen has appeared as a guest in our club, though many years

ago.

WHAT IS IT?

The intention is to have a joint workshop/concert event along the lines of the one held at Rolleston.

The players will take part in a workshop between 11 am and 1 pm using sing-along music and a band

arrangement provided in advance. A concert will be held for non-players and the public between 2 and 4

pm with the players accompanying the sing-along and playing the band piece, and featuring Karen and

Karen and other invited guests.

HOW MUCH?

Tickets at £12 for players and £3 for audience/chorus (spouses and locals?) will be available in the New

Year but estimates of those interested would be appreciated as soon as possible.

We hope to run a raffle to help pay for the event. Any surplus funds will go to the Alzheimer's Society.

We would like as many of our members as possible to join in, and would greatly appreciate one or two

non-playing volunteers to help in the kitchen, door duties etc.

More information is available on our website.

Reserve your place through Steve Hughes, 01782 787935

or email stevehg0@gmail.com (0=zero).

Steve Hughes

Middleport Pottery lights and Carols Middleport Pottery, where the Great Pottery Throw Down TV show is filmed, a restored and working

Victorian Pottery based in Burslem, was the band’s venue on Saturday evening, 2 December. They had

requested a few band members to accompany their volunteer choir at the switch on of their Christmas

lights. Ten of us that turned up on a cold and drizzly wet evening.

I think you could say, at best that the conditions were trying. The gazebo hardly held us all; we were

cramped and deprived of electricity until the switching on ceremony had happened, so we had neither

amplified bass nor much light. However, being the professional lot that we are, we ploughed on

regardless with only a few hiccups. It is at times like this that you appreciate how valuable a conductor

and a bass player are.

There was time in the short interval for us to look around

the place and grab a coffee to warm ourselves. For the

second half their choir appeared, we had electricity and

light and we swung into action accompanying their choir

and redeemed ourselves. All the volunteers looked

magnificent in their Victorian dress and many said what a

difference it had made having us there. They also said they

were surprised at how many visitors turned up for the

event compared to last year.

It was a great opportunity for us all to bond as a team and

also to advertise our club. Thank you to everyone who

turned up – you really are the bees knees. They have asked

us back for the 17th

but this time we will be indoors with

electricity … the Victorians did without it … didn’t they?

Ann Millward

Editor: Thanks to Ann who got down and wrote this report before even thawing herself out last night to

get it to the presses before they rolled. Also thanks to our conductor Steve’s daughter, Bethan, who

braved the cold and briskly provided the picture.

Finally I would like to thank all other contributors to this newsletter, both with articles and pictures. All

offerings are most welcome.

MMeerrrryy CChhrriissttmmaass aanndd aa HHaappppyy NNeeww YYeeaarr

Diary

Members’ Adverts

Accordion Tuition. Pauline Hardwick Tel 01782 347298 accordion and/or piano

Stefan Andrusyschyn Tel 07958261024 accordion and/or piano

Mike Gibson Tel 01782 660865 piano

John Romero Tel 01606 270148 accordion

For Sale

A Roland Cube CM-30 monitor portable mixer for sale at £85. As new. Used only a dozen times. Ring Geoff Millward on

01782 626874

Mondays 6.00pm – 7.00 pm Practice

Band . except day before clubnite

Practice Band at the Holditch. Class for those

wishing to join the club band.

Mondays 7.30 p.m. except day before

clubnite

Beginners’/Improvers’ night at the Holditch

Tuesdays other than 3rd

8.00pm Band rehearsal at Bradwell Workingmen’s Club

Every 3rd Tuesday of month 7.30pm Clubnite at Goldenhill Workingmen’s Club 2nd Thursday of month 1 p.m. Solo and Group Session, Bradwell Workingmen’s Club

December 19th Xmas Party – ‘Kiss the Blarney’

January 23rd

2018 Harry Hussey with Lily’s Weepers

February 20th

2018 Clubnite – Players’ Night

March 20th

2018 Stockport Accordion Club and Band visit

President Steve Houghton 01270 768178

Committee

Chairman Mike Richards 01782 642101

Secretary Steve Hughes 01782 787935

Treasurer Mike Richards (acting) 01782 642101

Tony Britton, Norman Brown, Helen Brown, Paul Hobbs, Lily Lynch,

Greta Moseley and Margaret Slater

Web address - www.northstaffsaccordionclub.co.uk

Editor Lily Lynch email - accordions@northstaffsaccordionclub.co.uk