NEWSLETTER 20 (26 October 2015)

Hiya XXXX -- how are you doing?

As winter chills begin to sting, how about hot jazz with a gypsy zing? This cure for all woes will warm you to your toes... and whether you are north, south, west or east, for you we have a FiddleBop feast! (For the ears, that is...)

OK, first we go east (south-east, to be precise). This Sunday, 1 November, is the day after Halloween. And what better way is there to blow away spooky cobwebby glooms, to get yourself de-ghosted and un-bewitched, than to come along to London's Le QuecumBar for some joyous and happy hot FiddleBop? We are playing at "The World's Premier Django Reinhardt Gypsy Swing Venue" from 8 pm. The address is 42-44 Battersea High Street, London SW11 3HX, and tickets are £8 in advance or £10 on the door. Treat yourself! How about some great food and drink and even greater music in this unique 1930’s Parisien style live music brasserie, this cross between a Montmarte drinking den straight out of Moulin Rouge and a New Orleans jazz club, where Marlene Dietrich meets the Palm Court hotel, where live music, great food and hospitality meld in a setting as alluring as a coquette’s boudoir...? (OK... It's a fair cop. I nicked all that from Le Que's website. I confess that I know nothing of coquettes' boudoirs. And not much more re. Montmartre drinking dens. But hifalutin praise aside: Le Que is a really amazing and unique venue...) We've Mike Bennett on bass for this gig. And we've a Special Guest!!! So see you there on Sunday? Hope so!

Then the next weekend FiddleBop go north (well, kind of) to Ardley, near Bicester. Why? For some Manor Farm Music Frivolities, that's why! From 7.30 pm on Saturday 7 November 2015, it's your chance to get up close with FiddleBop at our first-ever Ardley Parlour Concert! It's at Manor Farm, Somerton Road, Ardley, Bicester OX27 7NS, and you can request an invitation here. This is a great place to play! Acoustically excellent, the Parlour Music Room was once the milking parlour of a working farm: it is now the setting for Ardley Parlour Concerts. These are 'house concerts' which "offer an exceptional opportunity to see talented musicians perform in a small and intimate venue". We have Roger Davis on bass for this one. So if you like your hot jazz swing so close that you can toast your bread on it, then how about Ardley on 7 November?

South next! To Oxford, on Saturday 14 November. This is a fundraising gig for Net vir Pret, a township children's project in South Africa, on behalf of Education for Democracy in South Africa (EDSA). The venue is West Oxford Community Association (WOCA), Botley Road, Oxford OX2 0BT and tickets re available, for a suggested donation of £12, from jude.lockbrown@gmail.com, or else for £15 on the door. And this one will be different! Martin-lightning-fingers-Crowder is, sadly, unable to do this gig with FiddleBop. But we have the masterful Jez Cook joining us on guitar. Cor! And with our 'emeritus bassist' Roger Davis playing too, this'll be a night to remember! And all for a good cause. Dare you miss it?

And west it is, for FiddleBop's final gig in November! And what better way to round off our November quartet of gigs than to return to the wonderfully-named Greedy Goose (Salford Hill, Chastleton, Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos GL56 0SP)? We are there from 8.30 pm on Saturday 21 November at this "perfect retreat for anyone wanting to enjoy good quality food and drink". We can vouch for the restaurant! So how about coming along for some fine food, some great beer or wine, and lashings of superb hot jazz swing from FiddleBop?

That's all for now! We've plenty more FiddleBop gigs lined up for 2016, including several new (for us) venues. See our gig list for the latest news. But now it's time to go... I'm running out of steam. To bed, perchance to dream.

All the best, and hopefully see you soon!

Dave

Future FiddleBop gigs!

This list is correct at the time of writing, but the list of gigs on our website is always up to date. And for the latest and greatest, most up-to-the-second info on FiddleBop's small doings (do you really want to know?), see https://www.facebook.com/FiddleBop.

All the best!

The 2015 FiddleBoppers (Dave, Jo, Martin, and Roger-or-Esther-or-Mike on double bass)

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