Welcome to the October 2022 HarmonicaUK Newsletter
I must begin this newsletter with an urgent request for help from you, as a valued member of HarmonicaUK, that should take only a minute or two of your time.
The most pressing task for all our Trustees this month is to prepare for our AGM. Currently our constitution requires that to pass any resolutions and vote for new committee members, 10% of our membership must vote. The AGM is being held at our festival in a few weeks, and unfortunately we won’t achieve this with in-person votes.
Therefore, we ask that you email our secretary at [email protected] and give your permission for the Chair to cast a vote on your behalf. If you prefer you can view all the AGM documents and fill out a proxy voting form, and return the form to the secretary by email. But for those short of time, please:
- Create a new email to [email protected]
- Enter the email subject "AGM 2022 Proxy Vote"
- Copy and paste or type the following into the body of the email:
I, being a member of HarmonicaUK charity, appoint the chair of the 2022 AGM as my proxy to exercise all or any of my rights to attend, speak and vote on my behalf at the Annual General Meeting of the charity and at any adjourned meeting. *your name and date*
- Send the email
We really appreciate any and all proxy votes sent in. If we don't have enough votes at this AGM, then we will need to schedule another AGM in a couple of months time, so you can see why we are keen to get as many proxy votes in as possible now.
Please send in your proxy vote form or email as soon as possible, and by the 19th October 2022 at the latest.
Many thanks for your help with this. Enjoy the rest of the October Newsletter.
With thanks,
Barry
Barry Elms
Vice-Chair, HarmonicaUK
P.S. If you were looking for the crossword clues in the latest issue of Harmonica World magazine, due to the complications of the upcoming AGM and festival (and associated multiple "Stop-Presses" sent from the committee to our editor), the clues were missed out of the magazine. You can find them here. Apologies from the committee for this mistake.
Hello everyone and a very warm welcome from an exciting newsletter covering October.
As always, may I gently guide you to our website where you will find information on gigs from artists such as Alan Glenn and Aidan Sheehan, tasters of album releases from Jimmy Hall, and more.
I’m particularly interested in the work being done by Chris Startup and his Harmonica for Health program. He is doing amazing work with huge health benefits, and having had the privilege of going to one of his classes, I can confirm it's great fun in a supportive and professional environment. All details on our website for you to take a look at at your leisure.
Well then! Let’s get on to our 2022 October Festival! I have to say, the festival this year is definitely second to none, including artists like Antonio Serano, Rachelle Plas, Mick Kinsella, as well as Shima Kobayashi and our very own Sam Spranger and his band The Bad Day! As if that isn’t enough, we also have Jim Hughes playing what he says will most likely be his last public performance.
There will be a huge number of workshops catering for all styles of harmonica, and for absolute beginners to advanced players. All of our featured artists above will be running workshops for us, plus some additional fantastic harmonica teachers such as Patrick Byrne, Ben Hewlett and Dave Colclough (our very own Harmonica World editor).
I could harp on for ages about the festival this year, but let me invite you to enter our virtual harmonica competition. The competition is adjudicated by the experienced and trusted David Beer, who gives us professional, kind and constructive feedback on our entry. All are welcome to enter from absolute beginner to experienced player, and all styles are covered. You can find all the details needed to enter on our website; and you don't need to be attending the festival to enter!
There’s many more surprises being announced during the festival, so please don’t delay and book today!! I’m off to polish my Harmonica for the opportunity to play during the delegates section of the weekend. Those who are lucky enough to come, take care travelling and look forward to seeing you there.
Best wishes everyone,
Suzy
Suzy Colclough
Communications Manager, HarmonicaUK
Newsdesk brings you a selection of items from the HarmonicaUK Newsdesk this month. Click "Read more..." to read the full news item.
HarmonicaUK’s October Festival in Birmingham
The festival is being held on 21st to 23rd October at the Hillscourt Hotel in Rednal near Birmingham. It is looking to be an exciting festival so tickets are selling fast. For our featured artists' biographies click on their name. We have Sam Spranger, Shima Kobayashi, Mick Kinsella, Rachelle Plas and Antonio Serrano, as well as some surprise guests. Read more...
HarmonicaUK Festival competition
This year’s competition will be an online competition (as was last years). The closing date for entries is 9th October. For rules and details of how to enter, read more...
Sarah Saputri releases new single and video
Indonesian harmonica sensation and friend of HarmonicaUK newest single, called "Brown Eyes", you can listen and watch on YouTube. Read more...
Jimmy Hall releases new single and video
Ex Wet Willie harmonica player and vocalist has released a new single called Risin’ Up which is taken from his latest album. Read more...
Alan Glen gig dates in October and November
Alan Glen has several dates in the home counties in October and November. He is a British Blues harp player who has played with several well-known bands as well as his own bands. Read more...
Other News
- Second Tuesday Club in Cardiff
- Coffee Morning Catchups
- Chromatic players wanted in the West Midlands
- Harmonica for health
- Understanding blues chords and arpeggios lesson
Read about these items and more on our Newsdesk page...
Events this month - Read more and Zoom links on our Events Page
Friday Coffee Morning – 7th October 11am
Join us on Zoom for a chat about harmonicas, music and more!
Meeting ID: 999 3719 8697 and Passcode: 178801
Friday Coffee Morning – 14th October 11am
Join us on Zoom for a chat about harmonicas, music and more!
Meeting ID: 999 3719 8697 and Passcode: 178801
Ben Hewlett’s Open Mic – 15th October 5pm
Everybody is welcome – all abilities, all styles, all types of harmonica
https://playharmonica.teachable.com/p/workshops
Friday Coffee Morning – 21st October
Cancelled due to HarmonicaUK October Festival – hope to see you there instead
HarmonicaUK October Festival
21-23 October 2022 at Hillscourt near Birmingham.
See the Festival Event Page for details and bookings.
Friday Coffee Morning – 4th November 11am
Join us on Zoom for a chat about harmonicas, music and more!
Meeting ID: 999 3719 8697 and Passcode: 178801
Saturday Sessions Open Mic - 5th November 5pm
Meeting ID: 935 1770 9842 and Passcode: 123666
Have you got a harmonica story? Upcoming gigs? Single or album release?
Newsdesk can help spread the word for you with our members
Please contact us at [email protected]
HarmonicaUK - Registered Charity no. 1131484 (England & Wales)
