Mother of all Ceilidhs

Mothering Sunday: it’s also called Laetare Sunday which means Rejoice! in Latin.

That’s obviously not our habitual reflex for Lent (more typically it’s Repent!), but we like to do things according to the book at St Thomas’ Church and so this year we pushed the pews back and put up some stage lighting and organised a party.

We put the buns on the rads and the sausages on the grill and we invited our friends to come play for us and Alison to call for us as we danced a few reels in the nave.

A station of the cross looms over the shoulder of Earwigs’ washboard player Dave Harbourd, but that doesn’t stop him singing joyously of the drowning of these wicked Egyptians in the Red Sea

O Mary don’t you weep, don’t mourn,
O Mary don’t you weep, don’t mourn,
Pharaoh’s army got drownded –
O Mary don’t you weep.

Well one of these nights bout 12 o’clock
This old world is gonna reel and rock;
Pharaoh’s army got drownded –
O Mary don’t you weep.

But it wasn’t just the sound of leather sliding around on the parquet floor you could hear or the scrape of thimble on washboard, it was also the merry noise of cash flying around in bucket as we raised over £600 towards the regeneration of the abandoned toilet block on Clapton Commons – what we’re calling the Liberty Hall project. More to follow.

Alison and Jack

The Earwigs with that Dave Harbourd on his washboard

The Cruel Mothers

The Mudlarks Ceilidh Band