Stayed at a b&b just across the tollbridge from the festie - very handy, although being run by a loud, clueless Eastern European woman. The countryside round Shoreham is stunning, and the sunsets over Lancing College were fab - took a few photos of those as well as the music.
The lineup was maybe not as good as previous years - although McDermott's 2 Hours and David Rovics were on on the Friday, and John Otway and Bob Grover's Dates were there on the Saturday - but the bar was definitely better, with 4 serving hatches instead of 1, preventing the long long queues of yesteryear.
Friday - met up with Gail, Dave, Mike and Rosie from the Ranters (McD2H's fan messageboard) also Glyn whom we knew from Cardiff beer festival. Nick Burbridge came over to chat to us about his new album, still untitled but he's very pleased with progress so far. David Rovics came to say hello, he had recognised me from my photo on Myspace, thought that was really nice of him. At least he reads the comments on his Myspace site, unlike most bands!
David Rovics was as gritty and left-wing as ever - he's a like a cross between Woody Guthrie and Michael Stipe. He played some fab songs, 'I'm a Better Anarchist Than You' went down a treat, as did 'The St Patrick's Battallion', a song about some Irish-Americans who joined up to fight the Mexicans - till they realised they were on the wrong side, and ended up fighting the US instead!
Then McDermotts 2 Hours were on, and they were FABULOUS! Ben Paley, the violinist, was in superb form, as was multi-instrumental Matt in his stylish hat! Ben really seemed to be enjoying himself, which made all the difference. Nick sang Dicey Riley, which is my Ranter's sign-on, so sort of my tune. I'm glad he didn't do the verses about how old and ugly she is though!! They also played All Souls Night, from the new album, a superb slow dance song. A small bald bloke insisted on dancing with me to this, much to Dave's amusement! Luckily he found requited love with a pink haired lady later on ;-D The famous Dirty Davey was played, which got everyone dancing (even Bill), as well as Darkness and Sail, Fox on the Run and Move On Molloy, the fan's favourite from the new album demo. Bone's Farewell, another one of my favourites, was sung as well, a very beautiful tribute, I'm sure Bone would be proud, if listening from above.
Lastly the rather drunk Attilla the Stockbroker performed some doggerel as we went to say thanks to the band.
Saturday - in the morning had a walk around Shoreham, found the beach with some difficulty - maybe as an SSSI they don't want many people visiting? Didn't see a Childing Pink but visited the fort and had a look at the Marlipins building, the oldest building in Sussex. Very nice too. Can reccommend the food and beer at the Red Lion, Shoreham.
The spirit of the punkfest seemed to return in the afternoon session, as various people with dodgy haircuts spat out their hatred of the System, and people spontaneously chatted with total strangers. Verbal Warning were good, but Tracey Curtis was a bit disappointing - she seemed to sing out of tune, and her songs only seemed OK, the usual left-wing vegan type stuff. The John Otway lecture was very amusing, with some interesting socio-political bits about Woolies, record companies and the media. Later he played in the Hall but Otway's act is very visual, only the front row could really see what was going on, so it was a bit wasted on me at the back. The best act of Saturday in my opinion were Bob Grover (ex Pirhanas) and the Dates, tuneful, dancey punk rock with meaningful, spiky lyrics - loved it. Looked around in vain for an album to buy.
Bloody good weekend - as ever! Thanks Attilla!!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Spanish Holiday Part 3 - Galicia
Finisterre
We drove over the huge bridge at Ribadeo and into Galicia, then went down to look at Lugo, which Bill had thought was a small Roman town much like Silchester! However it's a very busy city with a small touristy area enclosed by Roman walls, making it very difficult to park. In the end we found a dodgy space on a yellow line - didn't get caught though ;-)
The walls were good to walk around, having a wide path on the top. THere was also a good museum in the town, Museo Provincial, displaying pieces on seemingly every aspect of Galician life and history.
The drive to Finisterre was fraught, as we ended up in A Coruna thanks to the awkward Spanish road-signing, but we made it to the End of the World in the end - a little drive from Finisterre town up the Cabo Fisterra brought us to our hotel, the pousada 'O Semaphoro', the old semaphore house of Finisterre, right next to the lighthouse. We watched the sun go down from the cliff edge, magnificent, and watched as various pilgrims reached their final point on the Camino de Santiago and celebrated. We had the restaurant to ourselves, but the menu del dia was excellent value and delicious, especially enjoyed the scallops and the cheesecake. We also sampled some of the local white wine, Albarino, Bill liked it even though he's not a white wine drinker!
The rooms were unfussy, pretty and full of character - ours was called Soto Vente and had gorgeous sea views, with shutter to keep the lighthouse light out. But to my dismay there was fog in the night and the foghorn from the lighthouse kept blasting out! Was completely shattered the next day!!
Finisterre town was a hardworking fishing port, much as I'd suspected, there were some posh restaurants for tourists, some down-to-earth cafe-bars for fishermen, but the food at the pousada was so good that we ate there both nights. We explored some of the towns along the Costa da Morte, most of them disappointingly over-developed but some nice things to see, like the Santuario de Nuestra Senora de la Barca in Muxia, where the Virgin Mary supposedly arrived in a stone boat. Inland, we found the medieval castle at Vimianzo, restored at the cost of millions of euros, with all the information boards in Galego - not even in Spanish!! There were also lots of local craftsmen inside - lacemakers, woodturners and leatherworkers to name but a few. Bill was tempted by a handwoven basket but how would we have got it home?
Later, we found a dolmen near Berdoyas, and took it in turns to sit on top for pictures.
Quick stop for souvenirs, Bill bought a Finisterre t-shirt with Celtic designs and I bought a necklace with a scallop-shell pendant, then we headed off on the road to Santiago!
Santiago de Compostela
Worst nightmare of hotel-finding as Bill did not have a map showing the hotel on, the name of the village it was in, or any directions! The hotel was Hotel Congreso , 3km along the Estrada road (the only address that we had, confusing as Estrada also means street in Spanish!). Hotel Congreso was a big modern hotel, catering mainly for coach parties, the food and service was fine but it was a pity the pool wasn't open till after we left. It was a fair way out of town, so Bill drove to the outskirts of Santiago and we walked into the centre.
The Cathedral of St James was everything I'd expected and more - queues of pilgrims filing behind the breathtaking golden, laquered Baroque altar to kiss the bejewelled St James (I did as well, yes I know I'm an atheist but I couldn't resisit!). The vaulted building was packed with important works of art, and deeply meaningful religious iconograpy, including (conspiracy theorists please note) a Masonic all-seeing eye in a triangle above the altar.
There were many other interesting buildings and plazas to see, all with interesting histories, so we nearly wore our shoes out around town. Cafe Casino in Rua Do Vilar did the best raciones, cakes and coffee.
Time to hand in the car, and take the plane back from Santiago to Stansted - the airport was quite big, compared with Santander, and there wer a few weary pilgrims also waiting around - a good flight with views of France, Jersey and the Isle of Wight back to Stanstead, then train journey home in the rain.
Never long enough, holidays...
We drove over the huge bridge at Ribadeo and into Galicia, then went down to look at Lugo, which Bill had thought was a small Roman town much like Silchester! However it's a very busy city with a small touristy area enclosed by Roman walls, making it very difficult to park. In the end we found a dodgy space on a yellow line - didn't get caught though ;-)
The walls were good to walk around, having a wide path on the top. THere was also a good museum in the town, Museo Provincial, displaying pieces on seemingly every aspect of Galician life and history.
The drive to Finisterre was fraught, as we ended up in A Coruna thanks to the awkward Spanish road-signing, but we made it to the End of the World in the end - a little drive from Finisterre town up the Cabo Fisterra brought us to our hotel, the pousada 'O Semaphoro', the old semaphore house of Finisterre, right next to the lighthouse. We watched the sun go down from the cliff edge, magnificent, and watched as various pilgrims reached their final point on the Camino de Santiago and celebrated. We had the restaurant to ourselves, but the menu del dia was excellent value and delicious, especially enjoyed the scallops and the cheesecake. We also sampled some of the local white wine, Albarino, Bill liked it even though he's not a white wine drinker!
The rooms were unfussy, pretty and full of character - ours was called Soto Vente and had gorgeous sea views, with shutter to keep the lighthouse light out. But to my dismay there was fog in the night and the foghorn from the lighthouse kept blasting out! Was completely shattered the next day!!
Finisterre town was a hardworking fishing port, much as I'd suspected, there were some posh restaurants for tourists, some down-to-earth cafe-bars for fishermen, but the food at the pousada was so good that we ate there both nights. We explored some of the towns along the Costa da Morte, most of them disappointingly over-developed but some nice things to see, like the Santuario de Nuestra Senora de la Barca in Muxia, where the Virgin Mary supposedly arrived in a stone boat. Inland, we found the medieval castle at Vimianzo, restored at the cost of millions of euros, with all the information boards in Galego - not even in Spanish!! There were also lots of local craftsmen inside - lacemakers, woodturners and leatherworkers to name but a few. Bill was tempted by a handwoven basket but how would we have got it home?
Later, we found a dolmen near Berdoyas, and took it in turns to sit on top for pictures.
Quick stop for souvenirs, Bill bought a Finisterre t-shirt with Celtic designs and I bought a necklace with a scallop-shell pendant, then we headed off on the road to Santiago!
Santiago de Compostela
Worst nightmare of hotel-finding as Bill did not have a map showing the hotel on, the name of the village it was in, or any directions! The hotel was Hotel Congreso , 3km along the Estrada road (the only address that we had, confusing as Estrada also means street in Spanish!). Hotel Congreso was a big modern hotel, catering mainly for coach parties, the food and service was fine but it was a pity the pool wasn't open till after we left. It was a fair way out of town, so Bill drove to the outskirts of Santiago and we walked into the centre.
The Cathedral of St James was everything I'd expected and more - queues of pilgrims filing behind the breathtaking golden, laquered Baroque altar to kiss the bejewelled St James (I did as well, yes I know I'm an atheist but I couldn't resisit!). The vaulted building was packed with important works of art, and deeply meaningful religious iconograpy, including (conspiracy theorists please note) a Masonic all-seeing eye in a triangle above the altar.
There were many other interesting buildings and plazas to see, all with interesting histories, so we nearly wore our shoes out around town. Cafe Casino in Rua Do Vilar did the best raciones, cakes and coffee.
Time to hand in the car, and take the plane back from Santiago to Stansted - the airport was quite big, compared with Santander, and there wer a few weary pilgrims also waiting around - a good flight with views of France, Jersey and the Isle of Wight back to Stanstead, then train journey home in the rain.
Never long enough, holidays...
Spanish Holiday Part 2 - Asturias
Arenas de Cabrales
The Cabrales mountains were gentler than the snow-capped Picos near Potes but still very beautiful. We found a short walk which Bill had copied out of the guidebook, along a river to a bathing pool by an ancient bridge, wonderfully cooling after the hot drive in the car. The hotel in Arenas was easy to find and very friendly, although we had to laugh at the piped 'easy listening' music in our room! The restaurant in town was very good, we sampled local veal and Cabrales cheese (Bill loved it). At a local bar we bought delicious local scrumpy (sidra) for one euro a bottle, and witnessed the Asturian pouring phenomenon. The waiter holds the bottle above his/her head and pours a little into a wide glass as far as possible below (without looking!). The customer is then expected to knock back the cider within 10 seconds, whilst the cider remains fizzy. You'd think that at 6% we'd get piised quite quickly, but attempts to pour it ourselves limited intake!
Next day we attempted the famous Ruta de Cares, from Puente Poncebos to Cain through the Cares Gorge. The path exists because of a water channel tunnelled through the mountains, and I often had to stop to splash myself with cool water from there as it was a blisteringly hot day. The path climbs up and up till there's a sheer drop of hundreds of feet down the side to the river below, but the path, by then carved into the mountainside, is so wide that you don't feel scared - unless you deliberately look over the edge. We saw that the local goats manage the steep mountainsides effortlessly. A few scary bridges across as well, not the wobbly type though, thank goodness! We made it to Cain for a well earned ice-cold lager at a bar with a shady terrace, then we went back the same way, experienceing different views.
After a good shower and night's sleep we loaded the car with cider, cheese and chorizo then set off for Oviedo and the contrasting City life...
Oviedo
Finding the Gran Hotel Espana was relatively easy but parking was a problem - we parked across the road in a public carpark whilst we checked in and ended up being charged 3 euros! Spanish lesson No. 1 - libre does not mean free!!! Ended up paying 9 euros a night to park in the hotel carpark.
We wandered around Oviedo in the evening, admiring the beautiful cathedral and the medieval palaces around it, now mostly Government buildings. Had some lovely food at El Raitan - baby squid in black bean sauce was, err, interesting! Then it was off to the sidrerias in the nearby Cider Quarter for some more tutellage on pouring technique! Great fun.
Next day we visited the Cathedral, where allegedly some of Jesus' nappies are kept. 2000 year old nappies?!!? The inside was beautifully restored, with a magnificent Baroque altar and the remains of many of the kings of Asturias in the impressive Camara Santa. The park and shops were next on the list, but try as we might we couldn't find a CD shop! Apparently they are only to be found in malls on the outskirts of town. Luckily we visited a sidreria noted for its support of Celtic folk music, and asked where we might purchase some Asturian folk music - the barman had good English and pointed us in the direction of a good souvenir shop! No Celtas Cortos but bought some Llan de Cubel and various others, all good.
Most annoying thing - long, boring walk to Los Monumentos on a hot day only to find that the visitor centre was closed! The palace is more of a folly, being built in the mid 1800s, and the ancient church heavily restored. The church, which we visited last, was open but this was unexpected, leading us to miss the bus back into town. Another long walk - bah! Still, more delicious food and cider down town soon restored my mood.
Had a walk around Aviles on the way to Luarca, well worth a look, beautiful medieval buildings and peaceful atmosphere (away from the industrial bits!).
Luarca
This was my choice to stay, as I fancied a few days by the beach. A cute little fishing town, it reminded me of Looe in Cornwall. We stayed at the Hotel Gayoso, reputedly the oldest hotel in Spain but heavily refurbished in 70s style, never mind. Bill panicked as the man on the desk took his passport - but this was returned later in the evening. Unfortunately this was when the weather started to break, so I didn't get much of a tan. Spent the morning driving around trying to find the Playa del Tauran, as reccommended in Footprints, but there's no public access from Luarca or from the campsite - update your guidebook, please!! Had to settle for the rather smelly, grey beach in Luarca. Next day we fared better, discovering the beaches to the west of Luarca towards Tapia de Casariego, but it was too cold to wear a bikini, we just settled for romantic walks by the sea.
Meal of the holiday at the Meson de Mar - a black paella (Arroz Negra) - monkfisk, prawns, calamares, crab, rice and red wine with the addition of squid ink, creating a delicious meal that looked like a pool of tar!! More cider at the Govara(?) de Po
and Galician beer at the pretty El Cambaral. A good cafe in the plaza as well, with delicious cakes!
The Cabrales mountains were gentler than the snow-capped Picos near Potes but still very beautiful. We found a short walk which Bill had copied out of the guidebook, along a river to a bathing pool by an ancient bridge, wonderfully cooling after the hot drive in the car. The hotel in Arenas was easy to find and very friendly, although we had to laugh at the piped 'easy listening' music in our room! The restaurant in town was very good, we sampled local veal and Cabrales cheese (Bill loved it). At a local bar we bought delicious local scrumpy (sidra) for one euro a bottle, and witnessed the Asturian pouring phenomenon. The waiter holds the bottle above his/her head and pours a little into a wide glass as far as possible below (without looking!). The customer is then expected to knock back the cider within 10 seconds, whilst the cider remains fizzy. You'd think that at 6% we'd get piised quite quickly, but attempts to pour it ourselves limited intake!
Next day we attempted the famous Ruta de Cares, from Puente Poncebos to Cain through the Cares Gorge. The path exists because of a water channel tunnelled through the mountains, and I often had to stop to splash myself with cool water from there as it was a blisteringly hot day. The path climbs up and up till there's a sheer drop of hundreds of feet down the side to the river below, but the path, by then carved into the mountainside, is so wide that you don't feel scared - unless you deliberately look over the edge. We saw that the local goats manage the steep mountainsides effortlessly. A few scary bridges across as well, not the wobbly type though, thank goodness! We made it to Cain for a well earned ice-cold lager at a bar with a shady terrace, then we went back the same way, experienceing different views.
After a good shower and night's sleep we loaded the car with cider, cheese and chorizo then set off for Oviedo and the contrasting City life...
Oviedo
Finding the Gran Hotel Espana was relatively easy but parking was a problem - we parked across the road in a public carpark whilst we checked in and ended up being charged 3 euros! Spanish lesson No. 1 - libre does not mean free!!! Ended up paying 9 euros a night to park in the hotel carpark.
We wandered around Oviedo in the evening, admiring the beautiful cathedral and the medieval palaces around it, now mostly Government buildings. Had some lovely food at El Raitan - baby squid in black bean sauce was, err, interesting! Then it was off to the sidrerias in the nearby Cider Quarter for some more tutellage on pouring technique! Great fun.
Next day we visited the Cathedral, where allegedly some of Jesus' nappies are kept. 2000 year old nappies?!!? The inside was beautifully restored, with a magnificent Baroque altar and the remains of many of the kings of Asturias in the impressive Camara Santa. The park and shops were next on the list, but try as we might we couldn't find a CD shop! Apparently they are only to be found in malls on the outskirts of town. Luckily we visited a sidreria noted for its support of Celtic folk music, and asked where we might purchase some Asturian folk music - the barman had good English and pointed us in the direction of a good souvenir shop! No Celtas Cortos but bought some Llan de Cubel and various others, all good.
Most annoying thing - long, boring walk to Los Monumentos on a hot day only to find that the visitor centre was closed! The palace is more of a folly, being built in the mid 1800s, and the ancient church heavily restored. The church, which we visited last, was open but this was unexpected, leading us to miss the bus back into town. Another long walk - bah! Still, more delicious food and cider down town soon restored my mood.
Had a walk around Aviles on the way to Luarca, well worth a look, beautiful medieval buildings and peaceful atmosphere (away from the industrial bits!).
Luarca
This was my choice to stay, as I fancied a few days by the beach. A cute little fishing town, it reminded me of Looe in Cornwall. We stayed at the Hotel Gayoso, reputedly the oldest hotel in Spain but heavily refurbished in 70s style, never mind. Bill panicked as the man on the desk took his passport - but this was returned later in the evening. Unfortunately this was when the weather started to break, so I didn't get much of a tan. Spent the morning driving around trying to find the Playa del Tauran, as reccommended in Footprints, but there's no public access from Luarca or from the campsite - update your guidebook, please!! Had to settle for the rather smelly, grey beach in Luarca. Next day we fared better, discovering the beaches to the west of Luarca towards Tapia de Casariego, but it was too cold to wear a bikini, we just settled for romantic walks by the sea.
Meal of the holiday at the Meson de Mar - a black paella (Arroz Negra) - monkfisk, prawns, calamares, crab, rice and red wine with the addition of squid ink, creating a delicious meal that looked like a pool of tar!! More cider at the Govara(?) de Po
and Galician beer at the pretty El Cambaral. A good cafe in the plaza as well, with delicious cakes!
Spanish Holiday Part 1 - Cantabria
Came back from hols last week, driving and walking around Northern Spain. Here's what I've been up to...
Santander
Arrived at Santander, stepped out of the little Ryanair 747 to warmth and susnshine, great!! Hubby was very stressed, we went to get the car from Hertz and they kept trying to get him to upgrade - but he insisted on the little Kia which he'd booked originally. Just as well, as it turned out later. After only a short time to get the hang of the Kia and driving on the other side of the road, we had to try and find the hotel, only a short distance from the airport but easier said than done, as it was in a side street. We found it by fluke, after getting lost, but it was a relief! After Bill had had time to chill, we headed into Santander and walked along the cliffs to the beach, which was beautiful despite development, and almost empty. Nice little park nearby as well with traditional boats diplayed, also a small zoo with seals and penguins.
In the evening we found a friendly bodega for a meal - the only tapas we had whilst in Spain! The waitress brought over free liqueurs and a map of Santander, even though she spoke no English and we spoke no Spanish - what a lovely lady.
Potes
It was a stunningly beautiful drive from Santander to Potes, up into the mountains along a breathtakingly sheer gorge. We arrived at Tama and headed up a little concrete track, much to Bill's skepticism, and arrived at Casa Gustavo, a very special guesthouse. The building is owned by an English couple, Mike and Lisa, who restored it from a wreck - it's medieval or maybe even earlier, with lots of wooden beams, wood floors and doors, and stunning views up the valley to the Picos di Eupropa mountains. The food was excellent, served at 9pm Spanish-style. It was all locally sourced and imaginitively prepared - we were on full board and ate arond the table, chatting to Mike and Lisa and the other guests. Jugs of local wine were on the table, and liqueurs to finish, ensuring we never got to bed early!
We found some really good walks, thanks to a guide book that we borrowed from another guest. The first was a cable-ride up to Fuente De, then a walk back down - as it was all downhill it really took it's toll on our legs. Fantastic views though, spotted some mountain choughs and a Chamois deer, as well as the infamous 'Blue Daffodil' ;-) The second was a walk around the Berdoya Valley - Bill was annoyed that we were accompanied most of the way by a dog from a village, but I thought it was rather sweet! I bet he does it with lots of hikers!
The only disappointing thing was the trip down to the local bar in Tama to watch the UEFA cup - Middlesborough lost 4-0 to Seville. Pants!
Santander
Arrived at Santander, stepped out of the little Ryanair 747 to warmth and susnshine, great!! Hubby was very stressed, we went to get the car from Hertz and they kept trying to get him to upgrade - but he insisted on the little Kia which he'd booked originally. Just as well, as it turned out later. After only a short time to get the hang of the Kia and driving on the other side of the road, we had to try and find the hotel, only a short distance from the airport but easier said than done, as it was in a side street. We found it by fluke, after getting lost, but it was a relief! After Bill had had time to chill, we headed into Santander and walked along the cliffs to the beach, which was beautiful despite development, and almost empty. Nice little park nearby as well with traditional boats diplayed, also a small zoo with seals and penguins.
In the evening we found a friendly bodega for a meal - the only tapas we had whilst in Spain! The waitress brought over free liqueurs and a map of Santander, even though she spoke no English and we spoke no Spanish - what a lovely lady.
Potes
It was a stunningly beautiful drive from Santander to Potes, up into the mountains along a breathtakingly sheer gorge. We arrived at Tama and headed up a little concrete track, much to Bill's skepticism, and arrived at Casa Gustavo, a very special guesthouse. The building is owned by an English couple, Mike and Lisa, who restored it from a wreck - it's medieval or maybe even earlier, with lots of wooden beams, wood floors and doors, and stunning views up the valley to the Picos di Eupropa mountains. The food was excellent, served at 9pm Spanish-style. It was all locally sourced and imaginitively prepared - we were on full board and ate arond the table, chatting to Mike and Lisa and the other guests. Jugs of local wine were on the table, and liqueurs to finish, ensuring we never got to bed early!
We found some really good walks, thanks to a guide book that we borrowed from another guest. The first was a cable-ride up to Fuente De, then a walk back down - as it was all downhill it really took it's toll on our legs. Fantastic views though, spotted some mountain choughs and a Chamois deer, as well as the infamous 'Blue Daffodil' ;-) The second was a walk around the Berdoya Valley - Bill was annoyed that we were accompanied most of the way by a dog from a village, but I thought it was rather sweet! I bet he does it with lots of hikers!
The only disappointing thing was the trip down to the local bar in Tama to watch the UEFA cup - Middlesborough lost 4-0 to Seville. Pants!
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Rare Quiet Weekend
Yesterday I made my first completely solo roast meal!! Roast pork with crackling, broccoli and leek with vegetable gravy. The roast potatoes were a bit overdone and the crackling was slightly burned, but all was edible and I felt rather proud.
I am as sick as a dog today though - can't be my cooking as Bill Badger is fine. We were planning to go and see Boo Hewardine tonight but I'll probably be too ill.
Oh well, back to bed :-(
I am as sick as a dog today though - can't be my cooking as Bill Badger is fine. We were planning to go and see Boo Hewardine tonight but I'll probably be too ill.
Oh well, back to bed :-(
Monday, May 01, 2006
Guildford Vox at the May Day Parade, Guildford
The second gig for my choir.
Well it was dry but rather cold! Was glad I bought my fleece. The dress code we'd decided on was plain black, blue and/or green. I was determined to wear my green skirt from Monsoon, so had to buy plain black top, tights and shoes to go with it!! But the fleece was light blue, bit of a clash. Mindyou some people cheated with brown coats or white trainers, so we ended up looking like a bit of a motley crew.
We patiently waited for the parade to get to the top of the high street, and watched some Morris dancing and clog dancing before we got to sing. Anna changed the set slightly, so we sang 'As I me walked out one May morning, I heard a bird sing - CUCKOO!' (a round) which went down well. However 'Puit D'Amour', a French bourree (spelling?) seemed out of place with the very English dancers, plus something seemed to go wrong, could see Anna frowning as she was conducting, and the crowd losing interest. More dancing, and we sampled the racked-bright Hogs Back TEA which the Pilgrim Morris were carrying around with them! Also Fertility Cake was on offer, very tasty too.
Next we walked down to the Castle Green where the men erected the Maypole (amidst much innuendo), and the Morris teams danced around it, although not with the ribbons. We committed a faux pas by facing away from the May King and Queen and towards the crowd, though I thought that was more sensible. We sang another couple of songs; 'Hey Ho' a folky round went down well.
Next we filed into the Star, where the Chelsea/Man Utd match was on - very loud. Luckily the noise didn't penetrate to the back room, where we squeezed in to sample more beer and a very good buffet. Disappointingly, we didn't get as long a set as we'd been promised, as all the individual Morris people seemed to want to sing (some better than others). 'Bright Morning Star' and Abba's 'The Name of the Game' went down very well, and the Zulu wedding song, 'Hamba Lulu' got a huge round of applause although some of the Morris people were clearly thinking 'WTF??' ;-D
We had to vacate the pub by 2.30pm so the Morris dancer went on to frolic by the White House, whilst I caught the train to Reading to meet Bill and our CAMRA friends at the Reading Beer Festival. Was good fun too. My beer of the festival was Twickenham Spring Ale, which has fantastic tangerine and grapefruit flavours from the American hops that are used.
Was rather hung over the next day though!
Well it was dry but rather cold! Was glad I bought my fleece. The dress code we'd decided on was plain black, blue and/or green. I was determined to wear my green skirt from Monsoon, so had to buy plain black top, tights and shoes to go with it!! But the fleece was light blue, bit of a clash. Mindyou some people cheated with brown coats or white trainers, so we ended up looking like a bit of a motley crew.
We patiently waited for the parade to get to the top of the high street, and watched some Morris dancing and clog dancing before we got to sing. Anna changed the set slightly, so we sang 'As I me walked out one May morning, I heard a bird sing - CUCKOO!' (a round) which went down well. However 'Puit D'Amour', a French bourree (spelling?) seemed out of place with the very English dancers, plus something seemed to go wrong, could see Anna frowning as she was conducting, and the crowd losing interest. More dancing, and we sampled the racked-bright Hogs Back TEA which the Pilgrim Morris were carrying around with them! Also Fertility Cake was on offer, very tasty too.
Next we walked down to the Castle Green where the men erected the Maypole (amidst much innuendo), and the Morris teams danced around it, although not with the ribbons. We committed a faux pas by facing away from the May King and Queen and towards the crowd, though I thought that was more sensible. We sang another couple of songs; 'Hey Ho' a folky round went down well.
Next we filed into the Star, where the Chelsea/Man Utd match was on - very loud. Luckily the noise didn't penetrate to the back room, where we squeezed in to sample more beer and a very good buffet. Disappointingly, we didn't get as long a set as we'd been promised, as all the individual Morris people seemed to want to sing (some better than others). 'Bright Morning Star' and Abba's 'The Name of the Game' went down very well, and the Zulu wedding song, 'Hamba Lulu' got a huge round of applause although some of the Morris people were clearly thinking 'WTF??' ;-D
We had to vacate the pub by 2.30pm so the Morris dancer went on to frolic by the White House, whilst I caught the train to Reading to meet Bill and our CAMRA friends at the Reading Beer Festival. Was good fun too. My beer of the festival was Twickenham Spring Ale, which has fantastic tangerine and grapefruit flavours from the American hops that are used.
Was rather hung over the next day though!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Val on Myspace
Hi all,
You can now visit me on Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/valtrav
Lots of cool friends!!
You can now visit me on Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/valtrav
Lots of cool friends!!
John Kirkpatrick at Guildford Institute
I hadn't seen John Kirkpatrick before and didn't know quite what to expect, thought an evening of squeezebox playing might be boring - how wrong I was. Not only was John an accomplished melodeon, concertina and accordion but an entertaining folk singer and raconteur. Excellent songs about Brunel - even making the Clifton Suspension Bridge sound interesting and 'Bright String of Pearls' which went down well as I suspect a lot of folkies are trainspotters as well :-/
THe song of St George got everyone singing along patriotically, whilst 'Arthur McBride', the anti-recruiting song from Norfolk got me all skeptical again 'The Queen wouldn't scruple to send us to France, where we would be shot in the morning' - so wise!
And a jolly time was had by all ;-D
THe song of St George got everyone singing along patriotically, whilst 'Arthur McBride', the anti-recruiting song from Norfolk got me all skeptical again 'The Queen wouldn't scruple to send us to France, where we would be shot in the morning' - so wise!
And a jolly time was had by all ;-D
Fareham and Gosport Folk Festival, Easter 2006
Better late than never, here's Val's F&GFF folk awards!
Best Performance - Dave Swarbrick, Swarb's Lazarus. Doing remarkably well considering he'd been so ill with emphysema that he'd had his obituary published in the Telegraph. The new lungs seem to have taken to him well, though there was a frightening moment when he had to pop outside for a cough. His fiddle playing was stunning, sometimes exhilaratingly fast and sometimes slow and soulful, but always faultless. His joy at playing was obvious - so good to see him back on the stage again, and I expect he feels the same way!
Best Person I hadn't heard of yet - David Ferrard, a superb singer with unusual, uplifting songs, mostly his own material.
Tip for the Future - Isambarde, a new band from Coventry.
Best band I hadn't seen before - Uiscedwr, liked their material and their performance was great as well. Micheal McGoldrick Band were very good as well, similar material to Capercaillie.
Funniest Act - Les Barker just pipping it in front of Last Night's Fun
Biggest Disappointment - Dave Newey from Arlen, not quite as good at vocals as songwriting.
Band I thought I wouldn't like but did - Saw Doctors who I didn't like last time. However the sound man did a superb job and we could hear all of the (very catchy) lyrics this time. Bought the CD as well.
Best Performance - Dave Swarbrick, Swarb's Lazarus. Doing remarkably well considering he'd been so ill with emphysema that he'd had his obituary published in the Telegraph. The new lungs seem to have taken to him well, though there was a frightening moment when he had to pop outside for a cough. His fiddle playing was stunning, sometimes exhilaratingly fast and sometimes slow and soulful, but always faultless. His joy at playing was obvious - so good to see him back on the stage again, and I expect he feels the same way!
Best Person I hadn't heard of yet - David Ferrard, a superb singer with unusual, uplifting songs, mostly his own material.
Tip for the Future - Isambarde, a new band from Coventry.
Best band I hadn't seen before - Uiscedwr, liked their material and their performance was great as well. Micheal McGoldrick Band were very good as well, similar material to Capercaillie.
Funniest Act - Les Barker just pipping it in front of Last Night's Fun
Biggest Disappointment - Dave Newey from Arlen, not quite as good at vocals as songwriting.
Band I thought I wouldn't like but did - Saw Doctors who I didn't like last time. However the sound man did a superb job and we could hear all of the (very catchy) lyrics this time. Bought the CD as well.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
The Levellers at Dorking Halls 30/03/06
I can only apologize for not posting for so long! Someone introduced me to Myspace and I've been busy trying to suss that out, also been away (more about that later).
We missed the support due to traffic problems, which was just as well as he wasn't very good. Simon Friend accompanied him but even that didn't help as he played and sang out of rhythm.
Briefly saw Neil of Chanticleer and his wife, who'd got free tickets, and Angie and Gill from the Board at the end, unfortunately Bill Badger was keen to go by then fearing more traffic jams.
The Levellers were on good form, belting out non-stop dancey sing-ey music whilst the fans down in the mosh-pit went wild, pogoing and slam-reeling ecstatically. The volume was a little loud even for me - I was in the balcony near the back, but when I left my ears were ringing as if I'd been standing next to the speakers. Mark Chadwick sent a little girl away from her front spot because she was holding her ears and saying 'ow' - I'm sure it wasn't because she hated the music!
The band didn't let the fans down and played their greatest hit and signature tune 'One Way' which had the whole hall singing. Fabulous night out!
We missed the support due to traffic problems, which was just as well as he wasn't very good. Simon Friend accompanied him but even that didn't help as he played and sang out of rhythm.
Briefly saw Neil of Chanticleer and his wife, who'd got free tickets, and Angie and Gill from the Board at the end, unfortunately Bill Badger was keen to go by then fearing more traffic jams.
The Levellers were on good form, belting out non-stop dancey sing-ey music whilst the fans down in the mosh-pit went wild, pogoing and slam-reeling ecstatically. The volume was a little loud even for me - I was in the balcony near the back, but when I left my ears were ringing as if I'd been standing next to the speakers. Mark Chadwick sent a little girl away from her front spot because she was holding her ears and saying 'ow' - I'm sure it wasn't because she hated the music!
The band didn't let the fans down and played their greatest hit and signature tune 'One Way' which had the whole hall singing. Fabulous night out!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Martha Tilston at Farnham Maltings
Bill, Other Val and I braved the cold to see Martha Tilston (Steve Tilston's daughter) at Farnham Maltings. We thought Steve Winchester would be supporting, but he was unavailable, so we were treated to a set by Andy Steadman of Sequoia, more of a Coldplay-like indie band than a folk band. However Andy's acoustic set fitted in fine with the evening, and his thoughtful songs with their catchy melodies were very well received. Darren needn't have worried about ticket sales, the little venue was crowded and more chairs had to be fetched!
When Martha came on stage I could see that she'd changed, become more confident and serious. Tim Cotterill (ex Legacy) also joined her, playing mandolin and fiddle, with the occasional accompaniment of Luke Parker on guitar.
Her new material seemed far more mature and rounded, perhaps travelling to Africa and India has helped her to grow.
She started her set with 'Cycles' - a song about doomed relationships that follow a very familiar pattern, an experience I'm sure many people can relate to. Somewhat different from the rose-tinted romanticism of her 'Mouse Tales' days. THere were still many romantic songs in her set, including 'Queen Jane' about an uncharacteristically affectionate Henry VIII mourning his wife who died in childbirth, and 'Seagulls' - a song about falling in love in Brighton. Her trademark quirkiness was evident (I'm glad to say!) with an adaption of the traditional song 'A Blacksmith Courted Me' to tell the story of an ex about to get married as 'A Surfer Courted Me' and also 'Red Riding Hood' where the wild girl from the wood tames the Wolf with the power of her love, ably assisted by all the angels in Heaven. 'Willy of Winsbury' was a traditional song that I'd remembered from previous gigs, Martha's version is about a girl who gets pregnant, her father is at first angry but when he meets her boyfriend Willy he quite fancies him himself!
A very enjoyable and uplifting set, made all the better for the occasional sad song in amongst the romance.
When Martha came on stage I could see that she'd changed, become more confident and serious. Tim Cotterill (ex Legacy) also joined her, playing mandolin and fiddle, with the occasional accompaniment of Luke Parker on guitar.
Her new material seemed far more mature and rounded, perhaps travelling to Africa and India has helped her to grow.
She started her set with 'Cycles' - a song about doomed relationships that follow a very familiar pattern, an experience I'm sure many people can relate to. Somewhat different from the rose-tinted romanticism of her 'Mouse Tales' days. THere were still many romantic songs in her set, including 'Queen Jane' about an uncharacteristically affectionate Henry VIII mourning his wife who died in childbirth, and 'Seagulls' - a song about falling in love in Brighton. Her trademark quirkiness was evident (I'm glad to say!) with an adaption of the traditional song 'A Blacksmith Courted Me' to tell the story of an ex about to get married as 'A Surfer Courted Me' and also 'Red Riding Hood' where the wild girl from the wood tames the Wolf with the power of her love, ably assisted by all the angels in Heaven. 'Willy of Winsbury' was a traditional song that I'd remembered from previous gigs, Martha's version is about a girl who gets pregnant, her father is at first angry but when he meets her boyfriend Willy he quite fancies him himself!
A very enjoyable and uplifting set, made all the better for the occasional sad song in amongst the romance.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Oysterband at Forest Folk
Hosting the Oysterband at Forest Folk was a very brave decision by Charles Gale. Forest Folk is located in a little scout-hut type building in the hamlet of Boarhunt near Bishops Waltham, with a tiny bar and pool table at the back. Charles had planned to leave some room for dancing but everyone expected chairs (nice, comfy new chairs, by the way, courtesy of the National Lottery).
Oysterband kicked off with a brand new track, 'The Generals are Born Again' which left the audience in no doubt as to their views on war and organised religion. THen they played 'Native Son' an anthemic and supremely dancey number which is a firm favourite with their fans. The cheeky drinking song 'Our Lady of the Bottles' and crazily fast '20th of April' came next. Temptation became too much for some, and a small group of people started to dance at the front, which blocked the view for the seated folkies. Poor Charles had to tell them to sit down, I felt sorry for him, caught in a no-win situation.
The Oysterband slackened off the pace a little with slower songs until half-time. However they were surprised to be interrupted mid-song with Charles thrusting a bit of paper at them with a car registration on. Apparently one of the floor-spot artists, a night-shift worker, had been wedged in by a Vauxhall and couldn't get home to bed! I think it must have been a bit of a culture shock for the band as well, JJ admitting that it had been a long time since they'd played a folk club.
The second half started off with solos by Alan Prosser and Chopper, giving them the chance to showcase their talents. Then the band returned somewhat ironically with 'Another Quiet Night in England' which it certainly wasn't! The band played more of their political songs, then to finish played the irresitibly dancey 'Blood Wedding' to which more fans leapt up to pogo to at the front. Charles was had no chance of stopping them (us!) this time, and sat disconsolately on the edge of the stage till the Oysterband played an encore and finished. They weren't given the chance of a second encore but there seemed to be no hard feelings, and the band came out afterwards to meet the fans and chat.
So many people shook hands with Charles on the way out and thanked him for a fantastic evening that perhaps he thought the Oysterband weren't so bad after all!
Oysterband kicked off with a brand new track, 'The Generals are Born Again' which left the audience in no doubt as to their views on war and organised religion. THen they played 'Native Son' an anthemic and supremely dancey number which is a firm favourite with their fans. The cheeky drinking song 'Our Lady of the Bottles' and crazily fast '20th of April' came next. Temptation became too much for some, and a small group of people started to dance at the front, which blocked the view for the seated folkies. Poor Charles had to tell them to sit down, I felt sorry for him, caught in a no-win situation.
The Oysterband slackened off the pace a little with slower songs until half-time. However they were surprised to be interrupted mid-song with Charles thrusting a bit of paper at them with a car registration on. Apparently one of the floor-spot artists, a night-shift worker, had been wedged in by a Vauxhall and couldn't get home to bed! I think it must have been a bit of a culture shock for the band as well, JJ admitting that it had been a long time since they'd played a folk club.
The second half started off with solos by Alan Prosser and Chopper, giving them the chance to showcase their talents. Then the band returned somewhat ironically with 'Another Quiet Night in England' which it certainly wasn't! The band played more of their political songs, then to finish played the irresitibly dancey 'Blood Wedding' to which more fans leapt up to pogo to at the front. Charles was had no chance of stopping them (us!) this time, and sat disconsolately on the edge of the stage till the Oysterband played an encore and finished. They weren't given the chance of a second encore but there seemed to be no hard feelings, and the band came out afterwards to meet the fans and chat.
So many people shook hands with Charles on the way out and thanked him for a fantastic evening that perhaps he thought the Oysterband weren't so bad after all!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Folk Brittannia - BBC4
Have been feeling both mentally and physically exhausted recently, so have not had time to go out much - but have watched lots of telly. So I thought I'd post about the Folk Britannia series on British folk music instead...
1: BALLADS & BLUES
Friday 3 February 9pm-10pm
From the post-war, highly politicised folk clubs to the 1950s skiffle scene that captured the imagination of the nation's youth.
This was rather boring, starting off with American folk music roots - Leadbelly, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and the like. All very well, but it's not like the Yanks invented OUR folk music!!
Why did they not start off with Britain at the time music was just starting to be written down, times of trauma when folk songs provided expression of the hopes and fears of the ordinary people - for instance pagan times, Normans v Saxons v Celts, the English Civil War, Nelson, Revenuers, highwaymen...would have been far more interesting. I bet Martin Carthy could really have gone to town.
The programme also really stuck the knife into Euan MacColl, which I thought was rather unfair. Euan MacColl did so much for the 60s folk revival, he was made out to be a real purist but he wrote many 'new' folk songs, beautiful ones too - a very unusual thing to do at the time, including surely the best love song of all time "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". He had a genuine love and understanding of the ordinary working people. There's also worse things to be than a Marxist in my opinion!
2: FOLK ROOTS, NEW ROUTES
Friday 10 February 9pm-10pm
In the 1960s the folk boom takes hold, and bands like Fairport
Convention and Pentangle bring the music into unexpected new places.
Bands experimented with crossover music - tut tut!! But then surely we are a crossover culture - Normans, Anglo-Saxons, Celts (a misnomer in itself), Danes, Jutes, and now Asians, Africans, Eastern Europeans all living here and thinking of themselves as British. June Tabor got sniffy at the drum-and-bass merchants, who are still unwelcome in most folk clubs today, but then she is often accompanied by a piano which as I've said is not really a folk instrument. People in glass houses...
This episode was far more interesting and informative. It was great to hear about Fairport, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny and the seminal 'Liege and Lief' album.
One of my earliest memories is Steeleye Span singing 'All Around My Hat' - all due credit to them for pioneering folk-rock. Maddy Prior had/has the voice of an angel!
Also to hear about Davy Graham whom Phil Beer keeps mentioning and who wrote the theme music for Folk Britannia - 'Angi'. But if you ask me, Paul Downes plays the
definitive version!!
3: BETWEEN THE WARS
Friday 17 February 9pm-10pm
Folk-rock enters the 1970s mainstream, a political edge returns to music in Thatcher's Britain and, today, two very different scenes see folk music flourishing once more.
Ah, them were't days, the late 80s/early 90s - when I first started getting into folk music without even realising it. I loved Kirsty MacColl's album Kite, I loved the Pogues (even though my sister and I used to tease each other that we fancied Shane MacGowan), and of course I was the Levellers biggest fan back in the days when they were a political band. Nice to see the Levellers getting some recognition for a change.
Wasn't really into Billy Bragg but knew he was a top bloke. If only I'd discovered Christy Moore back then - love his work now, of course. But then folk was a 4-letter word back then.
Laughed at Jim Moray's reception at the BBC Folk Awards - I can well imagine it from them museum-pieces in the audience!! I agreed that certain folk clubs need to be more inclusive - next cold snap they will lose all their old-fogey members!! Folk music is far broader than the finger-in-ear purists think. It is OUR music, the people's music, after all, not exclusively Martin Carthy's or Fairport's style of music. That said, some folk clubs are better than others, and some festivals have a broader scope than others.
Comments/discussion welcome, as always!
1: BALLADS & BLUES
Friday 3 February 9pm-10pm
From the post-war, highly politicised folk clubs to the 1950s skiffle scene that captured the imagination of the nation's youth.
This was rather boring, starting off with American folk music roots - Leadbelly, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and the like. All very well, but it's not like the Yanks invented OUR folk music!!
Why did they not start off with Britain at the time music was just starting to be written down, times of trauma when folk songs provided expression of the hopes and fears of the ordinary people - for instance pagan times, Normans v Saxons v Celts, the English Civil War, Nelson, Revenuers, highwaymen...would have been far more interesting. I bet Martin Carthy could really have gone to town.
The programme also really stuck the knife into Euan MacColl, which I thought was rather unfair. Euan MacColl did so much for the 60s folk revival, he was made out to be a real purist but he wrote many 'new' folk songs, beautiful ones too - a very unusual thing to do at the time, including surely the best love song of all time "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". He had a genuine love and understanding of the ordinary working people. There's also worse things to be than a Marxist in my opinion!
2: FOLK ROOTS, NEW ROUTES
Friday 10 February 9pm-10pm
In the 1960s the folk boom takes hold, and bands like Fairport
Convention and Pentangle bring the music into unexpected new places.
Bands experimented with crossover music - tut tut!! But then surely we are a crossover culture - Normans, Anglo-Saxons, Celts (a misnomer in itself), Danes, Jutes, and now Asians, Africans, Eastern Europeans all living here and thinking of themselves as British. June Tabor got sniffy at the drum-and-bass merchants, who are still unwelcome in most folk clubs today, but then she is often accompanied by a piano which as I've said is not really a folk instrument. People in glass houses...
This episode was far more interesting and informative. It was great to hear about Fairport, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny and the seminal 'Liege and Lief' album.
One of my earliest memories is Steeleye Span singing 'All Around My Hat' - all due credit to them for pioneering folk-rock. Maddy Prior had/has the voice of an angel!
Also to hear about Davy Graham whom Phil Beer keeps mentioning and who wrote the theme music for Folk Britannia - 'Angi'. But if you ask me, Paul Downes plays the
definitive version!!
3: BETWEEN THE WARS
Friday 17 February 9pm-10pm
Folk-rock enters the 1970s mainstream, a political edge returns to music in Thatcher's Britain and, today, two very different scenes see folk music flourishing once more.
Ah, them were't days, the late 80s/early 90s - when I first started getting into folk music without even realising it. I loved Kirsty MacColl's album Kite, I loved the Pogues (even though my sister and I used to tease each other that we fancied Shane MacGowan), and of course I was the Levellers biggest fan back in the days when they were a political band. Nice to see the Levellers getting some recognition for a change.
Wasn't really into Billy Bragg but knew he was a top bloke. If only I'd discovered Christy Moore back then - love his work now, of course. But then folk was a 4-letter word back then.
Laughed at Jim Moray's reception at the BBC Folk Awards - I can well imagine it from them museum-pieces in the audience!! I agreed that certain folk clubs need to be more inclusive - next cold snap they will lose all their old-fogey members!! Folk music is far broader than the finger-in-ear purists think. It is OUR music, the people's music, after all, not exclusively Martin Carthy's or Fairport's style of music. That said, some folk clubs are better than others, and some festivals have a broader scope than others.
Comments/discussion welcome, as always!
Saturday, February 04, 2006
'Daughters of Albion' at the Barbican
What a horrible venue! A concrete and plastic monstrosity in the middle of an urban jungle. Not a good setting for folk music, you might think, and the sell out crowd of hippies young and old didn't look very comfortable. Bill and I hadn't eaten, but there was a queue for the cafe and a bouncer on the door.
However the seats were nice and confortable, and we had a good view despite being in the cheap seats, on the far left at the front. We could see the artists arriving on stage, and as the BBC were recording, were being filmed each time clapping in the background.
The Daughters of Albion were June Tabor, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, Kathryn Williams, Sheila Chandra & Lou Rhodes, with a surprise appearance from Vashti Bunyan. Far from being enslav'd and weeping as in the Blake poem, the ladies were feisty and romantic, performing a variety of songs, some from women composers such as Lal Waterson, Kirsty MacColl and PJ Harvey, some written themselves, and some anonymous traditional songs from the women's perspective. Eliza Carthy was an excellent compere and my favourite of the seven - she has such a powerful, expressive voice and cheerful stage presence. Hadn't seen Sheila Chandra before - she used to be in a band called Monsoon whom I'd vaguely heard of - but was very impressed with her version of Reynardine. Kathryn Williams was very heavily pregnant, and did a rather breathy version of 'This Woman's Work' which is apparently about childbirth. Lucky her waters DIDN'T break on stage - that would have been embarrassing!!
June Tabor sang accompanied by the piano, which I don't quite agree with - it's not a folk instrument, not unless it's a badly-tuned pub joanna! But enjoyed her version of Lili Marlene. Norma Warterson was very good as well, although Eliza did tend to drown her out during their duets. Lou Rodes has a lovely deep voice, think she should have put her shoes on, there's a lot of discarded takeaways and dog poo on the streets of London! Vashti Bunyan was a bit disappointing, she only had a weak voice and she made a mistake during her song, coming in too early on one line. Perhaps she was just nervous though.
The concert had a great atmosphere - you could see that the performers liked and supported each other - and it was nice to feel the sisterly vibes coming from the audience as well.
The ladies got a standing ovation at the end, well deserved too!
However the seats were nice and confortable, and we had a good view despite being in the cheap seats, on the far left at the front. We could see the artists arriving on stage, and as the BBC were recording, were being filmed each time clapping in the background.
The Daughters of Albion were June Tabor, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, Kathryn Williams, Sheila Chandra & Lou Rhodes, with a surprise appearance from Vashti Bunyan. Far from being enslav'd and weeping as in the Blake poem, the ladies were feisty and romantic, performing a variety of songs, some from women composers such as Lal Waterson, Kirsty MacColl and PJ Harvey, some written themselves, and some anonymous traditional songs from the women's perspective. Eliza Carthy was an excellent compere and my favourite of the seven - she has such a powerful, expressive voice and cheerful stage presence. Hadn't seen Sheila Chandra before - she used to be in a band called Monsoon whom I'd vaguely heard of - but was very impressed with her version of Reynardine. Kathryn Williams was very heavily pregnant, and did a rather breathy version of 'This Woman's Work' which is apparently about childbirth. Lucky her waters DIDN'T break on stage - that would have been embarrassing!!
June Tabor sang accompanied by the piano, which I don't quite agree with - it's not a folk instrument, not unless it's a badly-tuned pub joanna! But enjoyed her version of Lili Marlene. Norma Warterson was very good as well, although Eliza did tend to drown her out during their duets. Lou Rodes has a lovely deep voice, think she should have put her shoes on, there's a lot of discarded takeaways and dog poo on the streets of London! Vashti Bunyan was a bit disappointing, she only had a weak voice and she made a mistake during her song, coming in too early on one line. Perhaps she was just nervous though.
The concert had a great atmosphere - you could see that the performers liked and supported each other - and it was nice to feel the sisterly vibes coming from the audience as well.
The ladies got a standing ovation at the end, well deserved too!
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Richard Thompson at the Anvil, Basingstoke
Some trauma getting there. Just as I was on the train to Ash, my mate Mike Whittall whom I hadn't seen in ages texted me to say he'd meet me in the Squirrel. However I'd already asked Simon and Jane for a lift to the Anvil from Ash, where they live.
I'd told Simon that I wanted to be picked up either at Ash station or the Dovers Arms. So I texted back to say 'meet me in the Dover's instead' which he duly did. But then I hadn't realised that while Simon was picking me up from the station, Helen was driving us all from Simon and Jane's house! So in the end I had about 2 minutes in the pub with Mike and his work colleague before dashing out to meet a rather annoyed Simon.
Then, just as we were heading up past Frimley, Jane realised she'd left the tickets at home, so we had to drive all the way back. Helen seemed more annoyed with Simon though, for being so unhelpful!
Whilst Other Val and Bill Badger were in the Cricketers, Simon, Jane and myself found our seats and listened to the support act, Jeb. He played blues, it was a bit samey but OK, not as awful as some support acts can be.
We met Bill and Other Val, then shuffled in for Richard Thompson at 8pm, and he played right through to 11pm - great!
Richard has an amazing stage presence - you can tell straight away that he's a superstar. And his playing! Astounding! I'd love to see a guitar-off between him and Martin Simpson. The songs he'd written were all top quality. He played Vincent Black Lightning and Beeswing which are amongst my favourites of his. Didn't like the jazzy stuff so much, but as least I could watch his skilled fingers on the guitar. The double-bassist he had accompanying him (also called Thompson!) was very good as well.
A great night out, well worth £19.50!!
I'd told Simon that I wanted to be picked up either at Ash station or the Dovers Arms. So I texted back to say 'meet me in the Dover's instead' which he duly did. But then I hadn't realised that while Simon was picking me up from the station, Helen was driving us all from Simon and Jane's house! So in the end I had about 2 minutes in the pub with Mike and his work colleague before dashing out to meet a rather annoyed Simon.
Then, just as we were heading up past Frimley, Jane realised she'd left the tickets at home, so we had to drive all the way back. Helen seemed more annoyed with Simon though, for being so unhelpful!
Whilst Other Val and Bill Badger were in the Cricketers, Simon, Jane and myself found our seats and listened to the support act, Jeb. He played blues, it was a bit samey but OK, not as awful as some support acts can be.
We met Bill and Other Val, then shuffled in for Richard Thompson at 8pm, and he played right through to 11pm - great!
Richard has an amazing stage presence - you can tell straight away that he's a superstar. And his playing! Astounding! I'd love to see a guitar-off between him and Martin Simpson. The songs he'd written were all top quality. He played Vincent Black Lightning and Beeswing which are amongst my favourites of his. Didn't like the jazzy stuff so much, but as least I could watch his skilled fingers on the guitar. The double-bassist he had accompanying him (also called Thompson!) was very good as well.
A great night out, well worth £19.50!!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Last Night's Fun at Electric Theatre, Guildford
Bill Badger and I had seen Last Night's Fun at Fareham and Gosport Folk Festival before, but he wasn't that keen on them, although I thought they were a hoot. So I persuaded him to get 2 tickets for the gig, and was glad I did.
A few years ago Last Night's Fun just did jigs and reels, they were really an Irish pub session band, except better musicians than most. Now they do a balance of songs and Irish dance music, with ample opportunity to show off Denny Bartley's and Nick Scott's undoubted talent, as well as Chris Sherburn's dry Yorkshire humour! So Hubby enjoyed himself after all. Chris is rather easy on the eye as well, I have to say ;-)
Denny's slowed-down ballad version of 'Whisky in the Jar' was masterful, but Nick Scott did a breathtaking solo on the Uillean pipes, which was the highlight of the evening for me.
Cheered me up on a dark Winter's day!
A few years ago Last Night's Fun just did jigs and reels, they were really an Irish pub session band, except better musicians than most. Now they do a balance of songs and Irish dance music, with ample opportunity to show off Denny Bartley's and Nick Scott's undoubted talent, as well as Chris Sherburn's dry Yorkshire humour! So Hubby enjoyed himself after all. Chris is rather easy on the eye as well, I have to say ;-)
Denny's slowed-down ballad version of 'Whisky in the Jar' was masterful, but Nick Scott did a breathtaking solo on the Uillean pipes, which was the highlight of the evening for me.
Cheered me up on a dark Winter's day!
Boo Hewerdine at West End Centre, Aldershot
Kev and I went to see Boo Hewerdine (ex The Bible and collaborator with Eddi Reader and kd lang, amongst others) by bike and train - brr chilly!
It's debatable as to whether Boo's music is folk or blues, but I'd say don't worry about labels - just go and enjoy. He is a genius at acoustic guitar, a pleasure to listen to. Songs of his that I recognised were 'Bell, Book and Candle' (apparently featured on Emmerdale) and 'Try The Patience Of Angels'. Boo is pretty successful - it's great that he still plays at little places like the West End Centre. His stage banter is very entertaining as well, he's got a very dry sense of humour and is pretty good at one-liners. Didn't fancy winning a CD by dancing to his danciest song though, and nobody else did!
It's debatable as to whether Boo's music is folk or blues, but I'd say don't worry about labels - just go and enjoy. He is a genius at acoustic guitar, a pleasure to listen to. Songs of his that I recognised were 'Bell, Book and Candle' (apparently featured on Emmerdale) and 'Try The Patience Of Angels'. Boo is pretty successful - it's great that he still plays at little places like the West End Centre. His stage banter is very entertaining as well, he's got a very dry sense of humour and is pretty good at one-liners. Didn't fancy winning a CD by dancing to his danciest song though, and nobody else did!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Tom Robinson's Castaway Party, Clapham
Always good fun, the Castaway parties. Tom started doing these free concerts as a thankyou to his fans, but now since he's become a Radio 6 DJ these are the only concerts he does. He often invites old friends such as Raphael Doyle to join in his music, also Tom invites young, relatively unknown artists that he likes to showcase their talents. Some of these I also like!! This year there weren't any guest acts I disliked, and I really enjoyed Tom Robinson Band as well. Guests included Chris T-T who had an excellent song/poem about the Countryside Commission (not very complimentary ;-) ), Stoney (a rock band from Sheffield) and the lovely Lee Griffiths, who is a bit of a regular.
Other Val travelled down with us, and joined us for Sunday Lunch in the Priory Arms, Stockwell before the Party and for drinkees at the White Horse (Sloany Pony?!), Parsons Green afterwards. Met Magnus and June from CAMRA there, as well as regular attendees Len and Sue, who are also big Bluehorses fans.
Bill Badger took lots of photos, although we couldn't find anyone famous to pose with the News and Ale. I'll put them in the gallery when he gets around to downloading them ;-)
Other Val travelled down with us, and joined us for Sunday Lunch in the Priory Arms, Stockwell before the Party and for drinkees at the White Horse (Sloany Pony?!), Parsons Green afterwards. Met Magnus and June from CAMRA there, as well as regular attendees Len and Sue, who are also big Bluehorses fans.
Bill Badger took lots of photos, although we couldn't find anyone famous to pose with the News and Ale. I'll put them in the gallery when he gets around to downloading them ;-)
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Tabbush Sisters at Cranleigh
Went to see the Tabbush Sisters at Cranleigh Arts Centre, since Anna sold the gig to us so well (not too heavily, mind you!). I don't normally like unaccopmanied a capella type singing but the Tabbush Sisters (Anna, Freya and Nonny) did far more interesting songs than most, and sang rounds etc rather than non-stop barbershop type stuff. They sang everything from Elvis to Cyril Tawney to Tracy Chapman, with a few of their parent's (Carolyn Robson and Paul Tabbush's) favourite trad. folk songs as well. Didn't think Anna looked like her sisters, but Freya and Nonny (Veronica) were very much alike. Anna refused to say how old they were, only that they had a combined age of 70. A lot of people from my choir (and Anna's other choirs and Freya's choir!) were there - Nonny may have to give in and start one in Cardiff, she said!
After the gig, met up with Darren Beech who happens to be a good friend of Nick Burbridge. I hope Darren can persuade McDermott's 2 Hours to come to Farnham Maltings, that would be ace! Also put in a good word for the fellas with Laurence of Electric Voices (as did Darren).
Very good concert - I just hope Anna is not going to teach us any of her more difficult songs!
After the gig, met up with Darren Beech who happens to be a good friend of Nick Burbridge. I hope Darren can persuade McDermott's 2 Hours to come to Farnham Maltings, that would be ace! Also put in a good word for the fellas with Laurence of Electric Voices (as did Darren).
Very good concert - I just hope Anna is not going to teach us any of her more difficult songs!
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Ceilidh at Godalming
Bill and I decided to see the New Year in with a ceilidh, rather than our usual fancy-dress evening down at the Prince of Wales. The band was Bursledon Village Band, who were very good, and had made lots of effort with sparkly waistcoats, flashing hats, Bridge Violin etc! We could bring our own booze, which worked out much cheaper, and there was a nice buffet in one of the back rooms. The time flew with something to do, other than sit in the pub drinking beer.
The caller was not as good as one's we've previously experienced - he seemed rather too serious, and missed the midnight moment because he was determined to teach us 2 more dances. Somehow did my back in, not used to being pushed around on the dance floor I guess. Still, we had a great time and met some nice people.
The caller was not as good as one's we've previously experienced - he seemed rather too serious, and missed the midnight moment because he was determined to teach us 2 more dances. Somehow did my back in, not used to being pushed around on the dance floor I guess. Still, we had a great time and met some nice people.
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