The Wyre Piddle Blues

I've been asked for the words to the Wyre Piddle blues by many of you. Not because you liked them, but because you couldn't hear what Peter was singing.

Well - here they are - First sung at Piesse of Pidele on Friday 13th December 2013

Listen everybody, I'm gonna sing you the blues
Bout livin' near the river, and it ain't all good news
Since Squire put the trees there, it's ruined all the fun
Boats used to sail here, now there isn't one
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

We used to have a sailing club, but now the club is done
We used to have a view, but now the view is gone
Now let me tell you out there about what we could see
We used to see Bredon, but now it's only tree
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

A village in the making, was what we had right here
Lorries used to pass thru, thousands every year
Bypassed now they're all gone, people power has won
But now they're building Keytech Two and the country's nearly gone
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

The Anchor was the place to go, for good food and a beer
But alas the owner changes, nearly every year
Just when it's doing well, it's time to say goodbye
But Ian and Andrea newly here, again we're on a high
(Originally: Cos Enterprise just pulled the plug, and once again we're dry)
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

I'll finish on an upbeat, the folks all here are great
FOG proves there's an afterlife, they're past their sell-by date
Carrie keeps us on the go, Graham's real laid back
WYRE wins all the local games, we're right along the track
So why am I singin' you, singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues?

Other verse added from time to time:

At Piesse on 24 October 2014

We've heard about Ebola and how they're a coming our way
We've had the Poles and  Latvians, Lafarge is quick to say
Just send them back to Europe,we don't want Ebolans here
And give us our two billion back, then we in Wyre will cheer
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

And Rosier's surprised us all with the strangest request you'll hear
He's telling everybody and he's talking christmas cheer
A hedgehog's what he's after and that's for Christmas day
The rest of us want turkey, but John he say's "no way"
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

At Tony Peachey's 70th Birthday Party on 26 July 2014

So Peachey's hit the seven- oh, and got his friends around
His garden's full, it' s overflowed, that is what we've found
And Dorset Lady's sitting there, ignoring all the noise
Calling "it's cooler in the river here, come on and jump in boys"
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

And Smithy's taken himself a huff to home he does revert
"A meal is not the same" he says "without the right desert
Fruit and cheese doesn't do for me, I need my choccy fix
At home my fridge is full of it be back in a couple of ticks"
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

At the Wyre Summer Fete on 15 June 2014

The Squire's up to tricks again, this time he's at the mill
A generator now he wants, and we're all payin' the bill
He's taking all the water, there's none there for canoes
Once more he's killin' fun, and the kids again will lose
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

In May 2014

All being over fifty, we note SAGA is to float
We thought they always did so, but in an ocean going boat
FOG, we do our cruising on the river Avon here
Stuff fancy food and dancing, all we want is beer
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

There's problems at the Co-Op which is the latest news
Don't bother us with banking, unless you want our views
There's not a single shop here, so we have no use for cash
Just chuck em in the river, let's enjoy the splash
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

In August 2014

The Russkies have invaded, were all worried about Ukraine
The Scots are soon to vote about taking the last train
But this in Piddle passes by, like the A fourty-four
Cos too much talk of politics to us is just a bore
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin' you, the Wyre Piddle Blues

(c) Copyright Peter Gardner, 2013 and 2014
You may use this material, especially for campaigning for the
restoration of the river at Wyre Piddle to its original beautiful
openness. Please acknowledge this source.

FOG charity work floats

Maybe you've read that stuff at the top of the page about FOG doing Gigs for Charity. Well, an new twist was when we played at a Golden Wedding on September 13th up at Cropthorne Village Hall.

As well as keeping these old geezers in Beer and a fantastic Hog Roast, the audience were just great, and the hosts very kindly gave us £150 (no - no to shut up!), but as a thanks for playing.

£50 went to the Hawthorns care home, and £50 to the Pershore Riverside Youth Centre.
Makes all the practice worthwhile.

What do you mean? You don't believe we practice because we make such a dreadful racket! Well you should hear us when we haven't practiced!

Great Night at Piesse of Pidele

What a fantastic night on Friday 24th October - we played for nearly three hours to the most fantastic audience. They sang along with us and cheered us on. What a fantastic bunch - Thanks Wyre Piddle, and well done to the Skittles team that won and helped with the superb atmosphere.

Don't we scrub up well

Fantastic evening at Dumbleton Hall - which was a posh black-tie job, so your favourite band had to tart ourselves up - and the WAGs looked pretty good too.

The audience loved the Defford Railway Blues, written specially for them by Peter.

Listen everybody, I'm a singin' you the blues
Presidents bash is on tonight, and here is all the news
Since JR quit as HON SEc, and Chris took up the post
Minutes will never be as prompt, JR's proudest boast
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin you, the "Defford Railway" Blues

John Angood's on the go once more, he's on the path again
Be careful you don't walk that path, it's sure to cause you pain
Sharing it with John and Anne, he'll sting you for a grand
But what the heck, it's all for sight, and in a foreign land
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin you, the "Defford Railway" Blues

The Christmas tree will soon be lit, in Pershore's busy street
For PC Easy it's a bore, for others it's a treat
For us old guys, once more again in wind and rain and snow
We're rattling cans, collecting cash, to Acorns it will go
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin you, the "Defford Railway" Blues

Old Grumpy's chasing us to play another round or two
For "Kids Out" is what he claims, we're not sure that is true
'Cos Mark's team wins near all the prizes, almost every year
And Mark is Grumpy's son you know, he holds him very dear
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin you, the "Defford Railway" Blues

Chris did a SOLO HARMONICA here

Now here's the worry for us all, Malcolm's new top man
And everywhere he's worked before has gone all down the pan
One thing we can be sure of though, the meetings will start late
Or even on another day, 'Cos Malc's screwed up the date
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin you, the "Defford Railway" Blues

The Railway is a second home, Rotarians are the Gentry
Even though there's a Scot or two and Past Presidents a-plenty
Steven keeps us Holy and Guido keeps us fed
FOG proves there's an afterlife, but it's time we were in bed
That's why I'm singin' you, I'm singin you, the "Defford Railway" Blues

President Elect Plays at Dumbleton Hall

Mad fools Rotary Club of Pershore have made two big mistakes this year. First is to persuade FOG lead guitarist Malcolm to be President. Second is to ask FOG to play at the outgoing presidents evening at Dumbleton Hall.

Malcolm took over the Presidency on Wednesday (see photo). Chris is Hon Sec of the club, and Peter is Hon Treasurer.

The outgoing President of Pershore Rotary said:

"The new Club President is Malcolm Haden who, prior to his retirement in 2007, had a working career spanning 45 years, starting with an engineering apprenticeship at Needle Industries of Studley, when 20 million needles were produced every week, through to 35 years spent in Garden Tool Manufacture.

A music career over a similar period started with singing Beatles songs with the Sunday School choir and a short spell in a blues band, followed by a 45 year rest before joining local band Four Old Geezers (FOG), consisting of 2 fellow Rotarians and one proper musician. FOG are booked to play at the annual President’s evening at Dumbleton Hall where they aim to prove that ‘Rotary Rocks’.

Malcolm thanked Alan for a brilliant year and for ensuring that being part of Pershore Rotary Club was a real pleasure.

Fund raising for local and international causes will continue to be our main aim, while having fun as a club with speakers, outings and social events during the year.

This year we also aim to reach out to people who share the Rotary ethos, but who do not have the time to join us at our weekly meetings.

If you care about your local community and the problems of the wider world and would like to help us in an informal way, do please check out the Pershore Rotary Club website at http://www.pershore.rotary1100.org/

FOG hits the newspapers!

Brilliant couple of days out at the Cropthorne Walkabout, where we played on Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May (Bank Holiday Weekend). Highpoint for us has got to be the coverage in the Evesham Observer.

FOG have nine GIGs lined up!

We are playing at the Cropthorne Walkabout (twice), the Wyre Piddle Village Fete (as always), the Pershore Rotary Club Presidents Dinner at Dumbleton Hall, the Fladbury Walkabout (twice) and Peachey's Party at the Piesse of Pidele. Just added is a gig at Upton (not the Jazz fest), and Bondy's Wake. We've also been approached to play at the Upton Jazz Festival and Jardine Motors VW Evesham but one or another of the band couldn't do it.

Please don't crash the parties just to hear us, but you have no excuse not to hear us somewhere in the next few months now!

At Piesse of Pidele on 7th February

John again armed with Camera

Piesse of Pidele on 13th December

Liz joins us and sings "These Boots were made for Walking"

Wow have we been busy.

We played at Ecgwins Club in Evesham on 9th December for the Evesham Photographic Society Christmas bash and quiz night. We came second in the photographic quiz!

Anyway - John Kellett took these great photos for our album.

Note the waistcoat - my Christmas Present from Liz.