After a fantastic response to the online “Lockdown lessons” with Daniel Thorpe, we are continuing the sessions and extending the lessons to all members (adults and second childhoods too!). If you would like a lesson then please contact Andrew Peacock. Three-way sessions have also been working very well, so this might be a good opportunity to have some virtual social contact at the same time! If you would like to do a session with another group member just let Andrew know.

PS: We have uploaded teaching materials from the Lockdown lessons on the the music area of the member’s pages.

I imagine it will come as no surprise to hear that the AGM has been postponed due to the Coronavirus lockdown. The committee felt that a virtual AGM would not suffice (and would deny us the excuse to eat cake). The AGM will be held as soon as practical once the Friday sessions resume.

The good news is that this gives you more time to volunteer to join next year’s committee!

As well as roles such as our Secretary and our Treasurer, the committee organises events such as the Kids; Away weekend, Adult away weekend, everybody gigs….  If you would like to join the BFG committee then just ask a committee member or email the secretary for more information.  If you are not sure whether the committee is for you then remember it is better for you that you volunteer before we resort to blackmail and threats.

It was lovely to see some of you on Friday night via Zoom. We’ll aim to do the same each Friday so just feel free to join us (an invitation link will be sent in advance).

Meanwhile, the Fiddle Group has arranged for some fiddle lessons for under 18 members from the fantastic Daniel Thorpe. There will be no charge for this. Lessons will be up to half an hour long and delivered over Zoom (phone, PC or tablet).  If you are under 18 please get your parent to read this and to contact us. If you have child who would like to have a lesson (or two), then please get an send an email or text to Andrew Peacock.  If you don’t have them then you can get his contact details from the Secretary, or you can send a contact form from the web page.  Andrew P will coordinate with you and Daniel to arrange a time and can help with any technical questions.

If your child would like to play along with a friend then then we may be able to arrange this through a 3-way conference call. If your child plays guitar and would like to play accompaniment, please let us know also and we will try to arrange this.

We will have a short form for Child Protection that we will send out to participating families.

There is also a new video lesson on the members’ page.  (Same contact above if you need login details.)

COVID-19 (Corona virus)

As you know, all BFG events are suspended until further notice. Members will receive emails inviting them to online sessions and online lessons.  If you want to know more you can use the contact page.  Keep safe.

Hi folks.  The Members’ Area has been taken down as it had a security glitch.  We need to fix that so that we can add video lessons and other stuff to help you through the current isolation period.  We will email once the problem is fixed. Keep well and keep safe.

Update. Problem solved! Not got a username and password? Members can get these from the secretary.

It is with some regret that the club committee feels that it is most responsible to cancel our sessions until the situation with Coronavirus improves.

We shall look for ways to stay in touch and to share music and tunes from a safe distance.

In the mean time we wish all our members the very best, and we look forward to celebrating the return of Friday sessions as soon as possible,

– Andrew P (on behalf of the BFG Committee)

The Coronavirus is having a significant effect across our community and unfortunately BFG is not exempt.

The committee met on Friday to discuss how we should respond. Having listened to current government advice we are continuing to run Friday evenings and workshops (including the Adult Away weekend this weekend and the Kids Workshop on Friday 20th March), but we are cancelling all gigs where there are vulnerable people (for example care homes) until we hear that it is safe for these to resume.

We are taking additional precautions on Friday evenings and asking everyone to wash their hands with soap and water before joining the Friday sessions. We shall also be cleaning door handles and push plates at intervals through the evening.  We are also asking that if you have any symptoms of Coronavirus then please do not attend our sessions until you have recovered. We are also recommending that you don’t borrow other people’s instruments during the evening.

We shall continue to listen for updates to government advice and if this changes then we may need to cancel Friday Sessions and other events, or take other precautions. In particular, the committee felt that if the schools are advised to close then we should also cancel Friday sessions. If we do need to cancel, we shall post this on this website.

We have a diverse membership with primary school children through to retired adults, and we note that some groups may be more vulnerable to the virus than others. We are not proposing to segregate our small community as the interaction between age groups is a big part of what makes our club, but we note that as the younger players leave around 8:00 so we shall clean door handles etc around 8:15 and any  adults wishing to reduce contact for the time being may choose to join the session then.

We wish everyone in the club all the best health at this difficult time.

Andrew P (on behalf of the Committee)

We are running an extra (free) workshop with Daniel Thorpe this coming Friday from 4.30 onwards (and into the usual evening 7-8 session) aimed at kids (anyone under 18 counts!). It will take place in the Moray Institute as usual, and there will be food provided (pizza, hot dogs, sausage rolls etc). We look forward to seeing you/your offspring! (Adults also welcome as usual for the evening session!!). Please try to let us know if you are coming to give us an idea of numbers.

Thanks to Stuart we have a very full schedule of everybody gigs coming up! These really are for Everyone, so you are very welcome – especially if you have not played at one before. Even if you you only know one tune – or less than one tune – we will ensure that you get to play it! Please check the calendar for details of dates/venues and times, and please let Stuart know for numbers.

There is no hall session this Friday (3rd Jan) – back to normal from next week (10th). If you are feeling withdrawal symptoms or just want to show off the fiddle that you got for Christmas, then there is a session in Dunning on Sunday night from 7:30!