TSF Online meeting – 15th November 2026
Our next on-line meeting will consist of one paper:
MacDara Yeates
Joining the meeting
All you have to do is log in to the Zoom meeting a few minutes before the start time using this link.
Topic: TSF Online Meeting #83
Time: Nov. 15, 2026 16:00 London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://tinyurl.com/bdejw7bj
Meeting ID: 894 9117 1009
Passcode: 064322
You will then be placed in the waiting room until the meeting starts. If you arrive later, you will be admitted as soon as practical; please try to log on in good time.
Keep this e-mail safely so that you can access the link when you need it. It will also be available on the ‘Meetings’ page of the TSF website – www.tradsong.org.
We will look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Videos of Previous meetings
Videos of all the TSF Online meetings are available on the TSF YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/ty-Or2wGhkQ
TSF Online meeting 82 – 13th September 2026
Ben Lang – The Rose in June
There is evidence that the song has been repeatedly collected around the coasts of the Gulf of St Lawrence, but no evidence (so far) of it in circulation in Scotland, though the historical event described in the song clearly took place at Elie, Fife, Scotland on the night of 16th/17th December 1872.
Louis Killen is credited with bringing the song to Britain, making it the title track of his CD issued in 2001. This presentation is one result of hearing Lou sing it at Bodmin Folk Club around that time and feeling compelled not only to learn, and sing, the song but to research its history.
The local background preceding the wreck of the Rose in June, the wreck itself, and subsequent events are briefly described, along with some personal histories of the crew and their families.
A possible explanation, though purely speculative, for the song’s currency in Canada but apparent absence from Scotland is proposed.
A more complete document is available to anyone who wishes to see it, and a slightly modified version has been published by the St Monans Heritage Centre.
Acknowledgement is made to all those who have assisted in the gathering of information to enable this presentation to be made.
Ben Lang like many Cornish kids, was born into a singing family. His introduction to Folk Clubs was at the Tankards club in Falmouth in the 1960s followed shortly by a move to Sheffield for three years. Further travels via Peterborough, Gloucestershire, and Somerset followed, always accompanied by membership of local folk clubs. Ben and his wife Heather have been regular attendees at a number of traditional song weekends whenever possible since returning to Cornwall around 2000.
David Stenton – The Forth Valley Songster
David will talk about his new book.
BACKGROUND – I moved to Falkirk in 2015 and made immediate friends through the local folk club. This prompted me to investigate local songs, which most collectors (notably Hamish Henderson and James Madison Carpenter) appeared to have ignored.
CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION – I sought songs about people, places, and events in the Forth Valley (mostly Falkirk, Stirling, and Dunblane). Each song needed a tune, often a greater challenge than identifying suitable texts.
SOURCES EXAMINED – Four books proved useful: two local, two more general. But the primary source was the NLS collection of chapbooks and broadsides published in Falkirk and Stirling between 1780 and 1840. Earlier songbooks, like Orpheus Caledonius (1725 and 1733) provided tunes, as did two major contemporary collections: Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum and Smith’s Scotish Minstrel.
OTHER SPECIFIC SOURCES – The three Roberts — Fergusson, Burns, and Tannahill — all penned songs concerning the region or its characters. Ewan MacColl, though born in Salford, enjoyed a childhood filled with songs from his parents’ friends, mostly ex-pat Scots.
TOP OF THE POPS -One song I’ve included stems from Fife but appears no fewer than nine times in surviving chapbooks published in Falkirk or Stirling. That song is still popular: “Maggy Lauder”.
David Stenton – My current involvement with folk song began around twenty years ago, when a friend invited me to join him at a “songs and tunes” session. This led to a fascinating journey aided by regulars at
Oxford’s Half Moon pub. I fell in love with Scottish song through a random raffle prize, a Jack Beck CD. Several visits to Scotland resulted in firm friendships with well-known singers of traditional songs. When I retired, a permanent move to Scotland generated more friends, more exposure to traditional songs. The Forth Valley Songster is my homage to Scotland’s thriving heritage.