The Beehive

Fortnightly starting 2nd Nov, beginner friendly Scottish session.

We are open from business from 7pm; the intent is to operate in tune-teaching mode from 7-8.30 or so and then play tunes for the rest of the night. The aim is to be newbie-friendly, but there’s the potential to go weekly and alternate beginners and more advanced sessions each week.

I will try to keep an up to date webpage with recordings of the common repertoire at

http://callingthetune.co.uk/?Slow_Sessions

We also do social media, with a page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/superslowsession/

Somewhat confusingly, the Beehive is actually on Penrose Street, at the point it joins Carter Street.

The nearest tube stop is Kennington, and Elephant and Castle is also a close walk. It’s also about twenty minute’s walk from Vauxhall.

Buses: 133, 155, 333, 415 run up Kennington Park Road. On Walworth Road, we have 12, 40, 68, 176, and 468.

There’s also the P5 which has possibly the most inexplicable bus route I’ve ever seen: https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/p5/ but it does run right past the Beehive every twenty minutes or so right up to close.

There’s also a mailing list which you may or may not find useful…

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/slowsessionslondon

You should be able to add yourself to it if you have a Google account, or I can always add you manually.

There will be a session on the 14th December - next Monday - but none on the 28th December as I and most of the stalwarts are away. Back on the 11th January.

Session tonight, as long as the pub hasn’t blown away by this evening…all welcome, as ever.

Here’s dates for the next year or two - no doubt posting this will mean we’ll fall out with the landlady next week, but never mind! We don’t do a “first and third” type schedule, it’s just every fortnight, and if we cancel one we just miss it out (for example, we’ll probably cancel the ones that fall on Christmas and Boxing Day!)

2 May 2016, 16 May 2016, 30 May 2016, 13 Jun 2016, 27 Jun 2016, 11 Jul 2016, 25 Jul 2016, 8 Aug 2016, 22 Aug 2016, 5 Sep 2016, 19 Sep 2016, 3 Oct 2016, 17 Oct 2016, 31 Oct 2016, 14 Nov 2016, 28 Nov 2016, 12 Dec 2016, 26 Dec 2016, 9 Jan 2017, 23 Jan 2017, 6 Feb 2017, 20 Feb 2017, 6 Mar 2017, 20 Mar 2017, 3 Apr 2017, 17 Apr 2017, 1 May 2017, 15 May 2017, 29 May 2017, 12 Jun 2017, 26 Jun 2017, 10 Jul 2017, 24 Jul 2017, 7 Aug 2017, 21 Aug 2017, 4 Sep 2017, 18 Sep 2017, 2 Oct 2017, 16 Oct 2017, 30 Oct 2017, 13 Nov 2017, 27 Nov 2017, 11 Dec 2017

The bank holiday in a fortnight will be going ahead - a few regulars are out of town so it might be a good time to pop in as we’ll have lots of time to go over stuff we already know.

No session this evening as none of the regulars are about - back to normal on the 22nd.

Last session of 2016 tonight; our next will be 9th January 2017 (2017! Already!)

This session continues to roll on with a nice little core of regulars and a solid little common repertoire, more tunes and players are always welcome.

As an added incentive the pub are due to start putting on food on a Monday night from some time this month, I believe.

Sadly, the Beehive have decided that burgers draw in more revenue than music, so last night’s was the last at this venue. We’ll be searching out a new venue ASAP but the next session, on 1st May, will be held at a private venue in Camberwell - if you’d like to come along, feel free to PM me for details.

I’ll put a note up here when we find another venue.

We are going to try out the East Dulwich Tavern on Monday 1st May - the landlord is much more enthusiastic about music and it sounds like a decent setup. We’ll have a trial run on Monday and see how we get on.

Address is 1 Lordship Lane, SE22 8EW. Nearest station is East Dulwich (which runs direct to London Bridge) or Peckham Rye/Denmark Hill are 15 minutes walk.

I won’t make it official on here until it becomes clear whether it’s a workable venue, but it sounds promising.

Wow - if that’s deffo I might give it a try. More details Calum when you’re ready sir.
BTW we used to have a session there years ago, Yours Truly, plus Kane O‘Rourke (Daniel O’Donnell band fiddle player), Brian Montague (fiddle, played with Mairead and Frankie, the original Altan) Pat Power (amazing flute player, from a rich tradition of Kilkenny pipers and flute players) and John Gaughan (guitar, Hungry Grass, the nicest guy and best guitar player you’d ever have the priviledge to meet)
That kept going for about a year or so. Maybe about 1995. The pub has improved enormously since then. Donno if my playing has improved though 🙂
Regards
Danny

Would be great to have you Danny. I am told the landlord is keen to have music so might well be enthusiasm for an Irish session as well (I’ve toyed with the thought that this session could alternate weekly with a beginner/intermediate Irish session, but I don’t have the knowledge of ITM to run it).

Definitely on for Monday - first one at this venue so we’ll see how it goes but it sounds promising. We’ve a small core of 4/5 regulars who I think are all coming down.

Calum - that was a bit of me bigging myself up on the shoulders of giants. I’m a not a bad flute player, but not a star, like the other lads I mentioned - but even so we had some great tunes back then. Will look forward to Monday, and going by what you say it’s deffo happening. If I can’t make it this time I’m up for future Mondays.

Have just put the listing up for the new venue at the East Dulwich Tavern:

https://thesession.org/sessions/6269

Superseded by: https://thesession.org/sessions/7329