We are planning that lessons with Daniel will continue over the summer – which is great news!

We are also going to try recording some of our own versions of the tunes Daniel has bee teaching and upload them to the website. We are planning to use tools such as BandLab to do this. If you would like to get involved please let us know – if you don’t volunteer or we might come chasing you!

Hi.  Are we in for a long hot summer? It seemed that way last week, but today it is cold, wet and windy.  Either way, BFG is very likely to carry on with Friday Evening Sessions.  It is just possible that we might be able to do an outdoor event later on –  providing we all keep our distance –  and Dan will be doing lessons until the holidays.

If you have suggestions for music to share or virtual events we might like to join, then please send your suggestions to BFG email and we’ll keep others posted.

In the meantime – make and record your own music and we can share it.

From the Wild Rose Whistle Quartet

All weekend 1-3 May –  workshops and concerts.  Click the image below for details.

No Facebook account required.

Virtual Fèis Weekend

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)