caller's blog

November Treats

2006-11-29T08:41:00.002Z

Once again, time has been at a premium this month, and I haven't been able to log any activities since the 1st!

Tim van Eyken

We went to hear Van Eyken at the Ent Shed in Bedford on the 3rd. Wow! The CD is good, but the live show is even better! Tim's voice just improves every time I hear him, and the band (Oliver Knight, Nancy Kerr, Pete Flood and Colin Fletcher) were just magnificent. Great arrangements, well-chosen songs, good sound. Stagecraft needs improvement, in my opinion (too many gaps/silences/tuning sessions). It is just me, or do other people think that a lot of modern artists on the Folk Scene have lost the plot when it comes to presentation? Personally, I hate a gap when I'm performing, and I always want to keep the pace up.

Many of the younger group of performers seem quite happy to let the audience wait in embarrassed silence (or - worse - start chatting to each other) while they tune, remember what the next tune or song was to be, have a drink, exchange pleasantries with the rest of the band. Not good enough, say I!! Take a look at seasoned professionals like John Tams, Vin Gartbutt, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, John Kirkpatrick and see how to really engage an audience.

Blueharts fireworks were spectacular this year in Hitchin - there were certainly some colours and shapes I haven't seen before! Always a very enjoyable evening around November 5th.

Tried some French dancing at the new DanseHerts session in Ickleford. Quite a few musicians turned up, and lots of dancers (many from Kent, where the style has plenty of devotees). A good session, with a workshop to start the dancing off, and a musicians' session as well.

Cosi fan Tutti - Glyndebourne Opera

Glyndebourne on Tour were at Milton Keynes Theatre this month. We went to Cosi fan Tutte and The Turn of the Screw. Cosi was a lovely production, beautifully sung and staged, and quite edgy in its treatment of the opera's central theme of fickleness/betrayal. The Turn of the Screw was new to both of us, and we absolutely lapped it up! A superb set, combined with fine singing and acting, made Britten's score jump off thepage. The audience were riveted to the action and story right from the beginning. Definitely one to watch!

The band had a wonderful gig for a group called the Lairds of Caledonia at Cuffley Outdoor Centre. The room was cold and damp, condensation dripped from the ceiling, the floor was muddy, the dancers were dressed mostly as Scottish warriors (with the occasional animal, zombie, ghoul) - and we had a great time!! The occasion was a role-playing weekend, and the dancers were probably the most intelligent, attentive group I've called for in a long while (despite the amount of alcohol that had obviously been consumed prior to the event!!). The Lairds belong to an organisation called The Lorien Trust. Looks like a lot of fun, if you've got the time to devote to it as a hobby.

Life & Times did a floor-spot at St. Neots Folk Club. It's a long while since we were last there, and good to see a real traditional-style club still running, with plenty of room for floor-singers, and an attentive audience for the guest. Well done, Roger and Patti, for continuing to keep live music happening!

We were invited to join a coach-party to see Evita at the Adelphi Theatre in London last week. What a great show! Formidable singing and acting brought this production to life, and we left feeling we had been properly entertained (as well as learning something about Peron and Argentina).

John Tams & Barry Coope

Finally, a really excellent evening at Hitchin Folk Club with John Tams and Barry Coope. Some fine new material, lots of great songs from the repertoire, unusually good singing from the Hitchin audience (such that Tammy actually had an emotional moment at the end of All Clouds the Sky). Great stuff!

Winter Days

2006-11-08T11:42:00.000Z

Graeme and I performed the new Life and Times school show, Winter Days, at Sandye Place Middle School last week, to a very receptive and appreciative audience. Although this was a "dry run", the show was a pretty slick presentation, and the interactive bits with the children worked very well. The audience of 180 Year 5 and 6 pupils (and one Year 8 group) sang and participated well, and we were very pleased with the result, especially as we had put the show together in only four weeks, during one of which I was in New York!

As with our other show, Hats Off to History, the "dry run" showed that we had prepared too much material, so we're now dropping a complete song from the presentation - still, better to have too much than too little! We had some very encouraging comments from staff, including one teacher who said, "The children were really excited before they went in as they remembered how much fun they had last time. And they were not disappointed. They loved it."

So we're all ready to perform Winter Days at any school that wants us! We already have six bookings at the end of term, but could really do with some more - here's hoping!

New York, New York

2006-11-01T16:12:00.000Z

New York skyline from the
Empire State Building

Just back from a great week in New York - it was our first time there and certainly not the last! We ticked off a lot of icons on this trip - Central Park, The Empire State Building, Tiffany's, Bloomingdales, The Rockefeller Centre, the Harbour Lights cruise (where we saw the Statue of Liberty up close).

Central Park

As is our custom, we made sure that we visited plenty of museums and galleries during our stay. The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) was situated just across the street from where we were staying (The Warwick) so we were able to have a long visit there and not have to worry about rushing to get back to the hotel. The collection is utterly mind-blowing - every modern artist you can name is represented there, it seems, and some of the paintings are absolute blockbusters - milestones in the history of art, no less, such as Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans and Van Gogh's The Starry Night. And you can take photos of the pictures for yourself!

The Guiggenheim Museum

We also went to the Guggenheim museum - a wonderful building by Frank Lloyd Wright, containing a super collection of late-19th and 20th century art (Cezanne, Gaugin, Picasso, Matisse, Braque) and a huge number of Kandinskys. The main exhibition was of the career and works of London-based architect Zaha Hadid - not someone we knew about before the visit, but we learned a lot about her while we were there! Works by Lucio Fontana were also featured. We saw some of his work at MOMA and I must say I enjoyed the sheer audacity of it! See more about him here.

The Guggenheim Museum

These two galleries were part of the City Pass, which saved us nearly $60 each on entrance fees, and also included admission to the Empire State Building observation platform, the Harbour Lights cruise and the American Museum of Natural History, where we saw a very good Planetarium show called Cosmic Collisions.

The highlight gallery, however, was the Frick Collection on Central Park East. Pictures like Holbien's Sir Thomas More, El Greco's Purification of the Temple, Turner's The Harbour of Dieppe and Cologne: The Arrival of a Packet Boat: Evening, and Vermeer's Mistress and Maid stand out in an amazingly impressive collection, which shows just what money can do (Frick was a millionaire by the age of 30 and spent his money on these wonderful works of art, and the building to house them in).

What else did we do? There was the New York City Opera at the Lincoln Center ( La Boheme) and Mama Mia at the Cadillac Winter Garden Theater on Broadway. Very different, but both very enjoyable experiences. The New York State Theater in the Lincoln Center is a lovely auditorium, with lots of foyer space, and a rather unpretentious atmosphere (unlike the Met. across the plaza!). A well-played, well-sung and interestingly conceived production of the opera - set in World War2 - which certainly didn't disappoint. Abba's music fits so well with the plot of Mama Mia that the tunes could have all been written for the show. Some were original, but most come from the immense canon of 70's - 80's pop produced by the Super Swedes, and really help the story along. A lovely, fun-filled, happy show that played to a packed house on Saturday night.

Walks in Central Park which took us round the Ramble, across to Strawberry Fields, to the Wollman Ice Rink, Bevedere Castle (where we saw Bill Oddie filming), Cleopatra's Needle (yes, they have one as well!), and the statues to Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Anderson (looking a lot like Danny Kaye!); explorations of 5th Avenue, Madison, Lexington and Park Avenues; wandering around Greenwich Village and SoHo; a street market on 4th as we were leaving on Sunday, and a tour of the United Nations Headquarters Building made for an unforgettable holiday.

The UN Headquarters ....... and ............The UN Security Council Chamber

We loved New York, its people and places, and can't wait to go back again and explore the city even further!

Heritage

2006-10-18T08:58:00.000Z

What a great week! Graeme and I recorded Graeme's song The Bedfordshire Clanger on Wednesday at Steve's (our guitarist in Time of Your Life). With mics in the front room, multicore down the stairs and Steve in the "control room" upstairs, we made a successful recording (eventually!) and the post-production results are very good. We recorded it because a company called Five Feet Films is making a film called The Bedfordshire Clanger and they want to use the song as part of the action. They're also supposed to be filming Redbornstoke Morris this coming weekend, so more of that next time!

The music session at The Fox in Pirton last Wednesday was not as well supported as in the past. I went with Taz, and there were a few of the usual suspects there, but the atmosphere was not as highly-charged as it has been, and there was talk of the session folding soon. Still, there are two more sessions before Christmas, and the Guizers will be there on December 13th to perform the play as always.

I called at Friday Folk last week - an interesting and, I have to say, enjoyable experience. Although I was apprehensive about the evening, because I was concerned that my dances would not be challenging enough for the experienced dancers there, it seemed to go well. Certainly, the personal comments I've received from people who were there seem to suggest that they enjoyed the evening, and even that I may get a return booking!

Life & Times

And so to Saturday and the Leighton Buzzard Herita ge Day. The theme this year was "The 50s" and we, as Life and Times were asked to perform in the street and in the church, singing our songs about Bedfordshire, but more specifically about the Brickworks of the county, as they employed a large number of Italian workers, and the diversity of the local workforce was one of the aspects of the 1950s the Heritage Day was focussing on. On the whole, it was quite a successful day out - we sold some CDs, met some old friends and made some new ones, and managed a pint of Young's Special in the Black Lion!

I rushed off to Ampthill to the Pie Festival, but missed the judging. Still, a pint of "Mrs. Miggins" with Dave made up for it wonderfully!

The evening was taken up with a ceilidh fo the ever-youthful Cardiac Friends in Hitchin. This is an annual event and, despite the history of heart-trouble amongst the organisation, they dance all evening and always seem to enjoy the event.

John Spiers and JonBoden

On Sunday, Life & Times played to a full Hitchin Folk Club, supporting the wonderful John Spiers and Jon Boden. It's always good to play to a full house, even when some of the material is being performed for the first time in public! The gig went well, and we had some really positive feedback from people there, especially about one of the new songs, Holes and Homes. The two Johns were very good - Graeme hadn't seen them before and was impressed! I bought the new Bellowhead CD, Masquerade. It's a fabulous production, even before you listen to it, as it's made to look like a book, with hard covers, lots of photos and excellent liner-notes. The set on the CD is mainly the one heard at live gigs this year - very left-field in places, but totally rooted in the Tradition. The range and blend of instruments in the band is exploited brilliantly, in places sounding like Brass Monkey, in others like the Dolly Collins arrangements on The Transports, but mostly just sounding like Bellowhead. A band with a future!!

Bellowhead

Catching Up

2006-10-11T15:14:00.000Z

It's been far too long since I lasted posted - I can't believe the last one was on 4th September! Since I stopped doing the day job, life has become very busy with all the things I never had time to do before, so here I am, trying to catch up on the last month's highlights.

The band has had loads of gigs since the beginning of September. A brilliant 18th birthday party, followed by a school family ceilidh (in the open air), a wedding where we got a bigger dancing crowd than the disco, a charity dance in the most wonderful barn (with stage and full lighting rig), and last Saturday back at Wing Village Hall, where we had a huge number of bookings in the early days of the band.

Rockhopper at Woodstock

I played for the Rockhopper Morris day of dance at Blenheim Palace and Woodstock on September 16th. Guests were New Esperance Morris from London and Elephant Up A Pole from Coventry. A very convivial day, with a contrast of styles and a good smattering of old friends! On the way home we dropped in to a ceilidh organised by some friends of mine who were starting a new band. The dance was at Brackley Town Hall, the band is called Amber Willow and the caller was a member of Brackley Morris Men whom I haven't seen for about 20 years! Good fun, and talked to some people I've seen around at ceilidhs & morris do's for ages but never really chatted with before.

I also played for Rockhopper at an excellent Unicorn Ceilidh with Tickled Pink and Gordon Potts presiding. A great first night of the new season... it's Laughing Gravy and Malcolm North on 27th October, then Florida with Gordon again on November 24th.

Grenoside Sword Dancers at Sheffield

We went to the Morris Federation AGM at the end of September. It was hosted by Triskele Sword in Sheffield, and turned out to be one of the best! Great sides to dance with, a good selection of pubs & beers over the weekend, substantial well-prepared food and a super ceilidh on the Saturday night with Hekety, who were almost the "House Band" as at least two-fifths of the band is involved with local Morris team Pecsaetan. The caller was the very accomplished Jenny Reid , who had some interesting dances and judged the mood and pace of the evening extremely well. Triskele performed a display that showed just how much they've been influenced by teams like Black Swan and Stone Monkey - real commitment to every figure, and no prisoners taken! Grenoside Sword Dancers came along to dance at the massed stand on Saturday afternoon - a rare treat as I haven't seen them for some years now. The ritual of their dance is full of mystery, and I find it quite a mesmerising show.

Life & Times Hats Off to History

Life& Times have now started presenting their school shows to enthusiastic audiences of children and teachers. Hats Off to History had two "dry runs" at Sandye Place Middle School and Watchlytes Primary School, and has had a few bookings for this term and the next, while the Winter/Christmas show, Winter Days has a full end-of-term diary, and is still taking bookings for the run-up to Christmas. We're really pleased with the way the show has gone, and just need more people to know about it and book us at their schools. For the last few weeks I've been delivering publicity to local schools on my bike! Life & Times have also been busy playing at the Woodworks Festival at Marsdon Vale Community Forest, and at the St. Albans Folk Music "Second Sunday" session at the Rose & Crown in St. Albans.

Off to a session tonight and then the Ampthill Pie Festival on Saturday. The next post should be a good 'un (when I get round to writing it)!

Festival Season

2006-09-04T07:56:00.000Z

Since I last posted we've had a very hectic three weeks of festivals, starting with Whitby, where Redbornstoke were dancing as a booked team as well as giving workshops based on our own Morris Dancing tradition. I find Whitby to be quite an odd festival, in that it's very spread out, using small venues, and is very much a "hands on" event, with participation high on the agenda. It doesn't have the "big stage" feeling of festivals like Towersey, Chippenham and Cheltenham, but there is a charm about the Whitby style which we found grew on us, just as it did last time we were there (in 2002), by about the third day, and there's no doubt that it's a friendly, comfortable place to be.

The team did well, performing a very popular ceilidh spot on the Sunday, and being interviewed and photographed for the BBC North web pages. We met a lot of old dancing friends, and made plenty of new ones. Concerts were good, with plenty of new faces among the more familiar names, and the food and drink was all you would expect in that part of Yorkshire - plenty of fresh fish and some very decent beer!

Next to Towersey Festival, where I was MC for a number of concerts. We saw some great acts, notably Martin Simpson, Blue Murder, Genticorum, Lau, The Maerlock and the biggest hit of the festival, The Spooky Men's Chorale. These guys have to be seen to be believed, but their website gives a fair impression of what to expect! It was nice to see The Maerlock there, as they were perticipants in the New Roots competition this year, and the Towersey gig was one of their prizes.

The new Festival Dance House was a good venue, making room for a full three major events every evening, as well as being a good spot for performances, such as Lark Rise, or "specials", like the Whap Party on Bank Holiday Monday (some of the best dancing I've been part of for ages!).

Whapweasel at Towersey

The Morris Offspri ng/English Acoustic Collective show, On English Ground was, overall, a good spectacle, and should be given as much exposure to the general public of England as possible - it really does show what English traditional dance is about, and where it could go in the future. Despite a rather slow, over-serious beginning, the show gathered pace and warmth as it progressed, and ended to rapturous and well-deserved applause from the capacity audience in the arena.

Altogether a great weekend (and the weather was kind, too!). We were expecting very inclement weather the next weekend, when Rockhopper were dancing at the Wallingford Bunkfest, but as it turned out the rain stayed away, and, although windy, we enjoyed dry, warm weather for our display spots. The standard of our company was not inspiring, and we hardly rose to the occasion, but it was nice to get together again, and touch base before our Day of Dance in a couple of weeks' time.

Highlight of the Festival for us was The Big Caper, featuring The Outside Capering Crew and Berkshire Bedla m, repeating the show they produced for the Ka-Dans Festival at Torhout, Oost Vlanderen, Belgium. The show contained all the high-energy showmanship associated with the Capering Crew, and the very best of BB's highly imaginative, breathtaking dance creations. Seen in a performance setting such as this, the sheer spectacle of Morris and the way it can be developed into an engaging, joyous, even riveting spectacle is plain for anyone to see. Between them, On English Ground and The Big Caper could do more for the image of Morris in this country and abroad, than any number of "going-through-the- motions", flowery-hatted teams dancing outside your local pub on a Thursday night. The Morris is alive and kicking in the hands (and feet) of people like Simon Pipe (TOCC) and Jameson Wooders (BB), and the wonderful dancers they work with.

The Outside Capering Crew and Barkshire Bedlam - the Big Caper at Wallingford

The Woodpecker Band played for the evening Ceilidh on Saturday, with Pete Rees calling. Despite poor acoustics in the room, the band and caller did well, and we had a good evening, with more room on the dance floor than we had expected, considering the size of the room and the number of people. The dances were well-chosen, and the band was blisteringly rocky, inspiring the dance out of tired legs and bodies.

Good on you, Wallingford - this is a great community festival that deserves to grow and grow.

Canal Festival

2006-08-13T19:21:00.000Z

Graeme and I, as Life and Times, performed at the Leighton Linslade Canal Festival on July 29th. The occasion gave us a chance to try out the new mixer and headset mics, which worked really well through the band's speakers.
We had a pretty good audience and went down well at each of our two main spots - sold a couple of CDs and created some interest, with people coming up to ask questions and generally chat with us after each performance. We also played some tunes, unamplified, elsewhere on the site (outside the Barefoot Cafe, in fact).
The event also allowed us the opportunity to debut a new song, The Ivel Navigation, and to revive The Life of a Boatie Man. Unusually, we finished with a song composed by someone other than ourselves - the ever-popular Finest of Them All by the late Dave Ritchie. We had a good day, and hope to be able to do similar events in the future.

A Change of Course

2006-07-28T09:00:00.000Z

The usual end-of-term rush has now happened - school concerts, open evening, leavers' disco, final assemblies all went off well, and I attended two retirement parties, one for a colleague who was leaving her headship in Welwyn Garden City for complete retirement, and another that the band played for, who was leaving her school after 34 years as a teacher! More of retirement later...

Redbornstoke had a pleasant lunchtime session at the Globe, Linslade, together with Towersey Morris, though the weather was very hot. That finished in time for me to get back to Hitchin for Rhythms of the World, the free world-music festival that happens in Hitchin every year. I'd seen quite a lot on Saturday, before leaving for the gig in Letchworth (retirement party - see above), but Sunday had the best act I've ever witnessed at this event - a Korean Drumming group called Dulsori. For an hour they entranced the audience with their skill, passion and sheer enjoyment of what they were doing. Being right in front of the stage probably helped in terms of atmosphere!!

With those sounds ringing in my ears, I headed to St. Albans for a support gig with Life and Times. The main act was Tom O akes a marvellous flute-player who I met at New Roots earlier this year. He played a solo set, then a lovely extended set with Gillian Tolfrey of Witches of Elswick. Watch out for him - he's very good.

Redbornstoke's annual Toddington Tour was a great success, with guests Windsor Morris, Letchworth Morris Men, Grand Union Rapper, Offley Morris Men, and a representation from Whitchurch Morris Men. The seven pubs were danced as always, and the session was very convivial in the Sow & Pigs at the end. We sang The Toddington Tour by Graeme Meek, and Redbornstoke danced The Motley Cap, our dance in honour of absent friends, in memory of Roger, the late and legendary landlord of the pub.

Then on Friday 22nd July, I finally retired from teaching! A lovely assembly, orchestrated by my boss, John and his wife, Alison, celebrated not just my contribution to the school, but also Jane's, who was also retiring after 32 years of teaching (the same time as me). We had a party at my house in the evening, to which almost all the staff came, and it really felt like a milestone!

On Monday Graeme and I set up the new PA, the backcloth, the projector, and started rehearsing for the school show that will be my new project (no, not a retirement, more a change of direction!). The show is called Hats Off to History and will be available from September. Read more about it HERE.

The band played for a wedding at Eversholt on Saturday - very hot again, so not a lot of dancing, but a good practice of the tunes in our repertoire!

Finally, a lovely day on Wednesday, when we went to London with Gill's mum, visited the Handel House in Brook Street (a very good visit, with extremely informative volunteers), and a Prom at the Royal Albert Hall (Webern, Shostakovich and Brahms). We met Jenny and James for the Prom, which made it a very special and memorable occasion, celebrating our wedding anniversary (32 years) the next day.

So, a very busy, exciting, exhausting couple of weeks, and a lot to look forward to. Off on Holiday now, so will post on return.

Morris and Ceilidhs

2006-07-17T12:38:00.000Z

Photos: 1) Old Palace Clog dancing at Butlers Wharf 2) Bedfordshire Lace dancing at St. Katherine's Dock

It's ages since I last wrote, and lots has happened. Went to London for a great day out with Old Palace Clog on 17th June. A very hot day, the teams were Old Palace, Meanads and Beds. Lace. We danced (I played!) at Hayes Galleria, The Dolphin Statue by Tower Bridge, St. Katherine's Dock, Tower Hill, St. Paul's, The Globe Theatre and The Anchor on Bankside. A very welcome pint of Young's was had at the Founder's Arms by the Tate Modern, following the St. Paul's stand, and the whole day was a great success, especially as Jenny and James showed up for the last bit of dancing, then entertained us in the evening at James' flat. Gill and I went for a walk to Little Venice on Sunday and found a great pub (The Bridge House), right on the canal near Paddington, with a theatre, good food and excellent beer choices!. As it was Jenny's birthday weekend, we were really glad to be with her.

My own Morris Team, Redbornstoke, are 30 years old this season, and to celebrate we invited some other 30-year-old sides to our party! Oyster Morris, Sheffield City Morris and the Ironmen came to Ampthill on the weekend of 23 -25 June, camping at the Rugby Club, dancing in Bedford, at Woburn Abbey, in Ampthill Town Centre and at the Ampthill Gala. The standard of dancing throughout the weekend was exceptionally high, and the quality of the food (mostly by our own "chef", Andrew Hogg) was also magnificent. Evening frolics included silly songs, a blow-football World Cup and beer-mat Olympics. Everyone agreed that it was a weekend that would not easily be forgotten!

Photos: 1)Blow Football World Cup 2) Redbornstoke dancing in Ampthill

I called with Grand Union the next Friday (30th June) at a Unicorn Ceilidh in Hitchin Town Hall. Another hot night, the audience was not large, but they were enthusiastic and we all had a good time. It was nice to see the band again, as we hadn't worked together since Towersey Festival last year.

On the Saturday, it was the Herts. Summer Festival, with several hundred children, a live band (Jump the Vortex) and me calling. Again it was hot, but the children managed well. We did about 14 dances in the three hours from 11:00 to 2:00, interspersed with spots from the excellent Tom Moore, a young and hugely talented fiddler from Norfolk; Morris dances from Pirton and Codicote schools, and a display of Maypole dancing from nine schools, filling the arena with colour and movement. On to St. Albans for a Ceilidh as part of St. Albans Folk at the Festival weekend, dancing (for the third time in a month) to Stomp with Andrew Swaine. Andrew has some super dances (I especially like The Linton Rocket and that waltz-time couple dance) and the band sound better every time. Bought the CD this time and I'm loving it for its variety and sheer cheek!

Next morning, I led a melodeon workshop for beginners. Always a hard one to call, the participants seemed to make some progress, and I made some new friends in the melodeon-playing world!

Still in St. Albans, the annual St. Michael's Folk Evening on Wednesday 5th July was a very friendly, relaxed affair. Gill was dancing with English Miscellany, and I met up with lots of friends, listened to some music and drank some beer!

A dance-out with Rockhopper at the Olde Leathern Bottle in Lewknor (with guests Jabberwocky) on Sunday 9th July was hot and friendly, and the journey to and from the gig was very pleasant, driving through the lovely Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire countryside.

This is such a busy (and enjoyable) time of the year. More to come in the next post!

Kirtlington Lamb Ale

2006-06-14T09:44:00.000Z

Kirtlington Morris

To Kirtlington this weekend with Rockhopper Morris - a beautiful sunny day in this gorgeous Oxfordshire village for the Kirtlington Lamb Ale, which has a long history going back to the early 1600s, and was revived in 1979 by Kirtlington Morris. More information about the event and its history can be found on their website.

Apart from Rockhopper (out in force, though short on men this time - Geoff was the "token male"!), the other sides present were: Kirtlington (of course), Adderbury (dancing very well indeed, with superb playing by Steve Wass, and Mikey Radford making his mark as always in the dancing), Mr. Hemmings (the "other" Abingdon team), Ducklington and Aynho Apricots, all from the locality. Sides from further away included Leominster (a border side from traditional border country, revived in 1983), BasingClog, Berkshire Bedlam and Silhill.

Kirtlington Village is taken over by the Morris on Sunday - a procession to the church, then another from the church to the school, dancing at the two pubs in the village, the Village Hall and the school, and then a massed display by all the teams, again at the school, to finish the day's dancing. On the Saturday, the "weekend" teams danced at Woodstock and Blenheim Palace, and there was a lamb roast and ceilidh in the evening.

Rockhopper danced well, and the standard was pretty high throughout the day, despite the rather excellent beer available (and Nigel's own "Lamb Ale" - a bit too gingery for me!). I was very impressed by Adderbury, who dance slowly and with a real sense of style. Berkshire Bedlam adapted well to the circumstance of having only five dancers (squire had got sunburnt on Saturday, apparently!), and looked as showy as ever, while Kirtlington themselves seem to go from strength to strength every time I see them.

An absolute joy to be there! Teams tend not to be invited year on year, so I don't suppose I'll be along next year unless Redbornstoke get and invitation. I'll just have to go along as a punter instead!!

Shrewsbury Morris Weekend

2006-06-10T09:15:00.000Z

We all went to Shrewsbury last weekend (2nd - 4th June). It made a change to have both Bedfordshire Lace and Redbornstoke away at the same weekend of dance, and a jolly fine do it was too!
The weather, for a start, was magnificent - the first bit of sun we'd seen for ages, and warming up all weekend. The school where we stayed was well-appointed, and we all had plenty of space for indoor camping. Organisation was superb, probably something to do with the main organiser being Assistant Head of the school!
Friday evening was the usual meet-and-greet session, with a very welcome and well-prepared meal (by Bull & Pump Morris' resident chef), plenty of excellent local beer, and, of course, the Redbornstoke tradition of passing Tommee Tippee around!
On Saturday we danced in Shrewsbury, moving between venues with our "mini-tour", which for Redbornstoke was Old Meg and Hexhamshire Lasses, and all having a turn at the Market Place with our Hosts, Shrewsbury Lasses and Bull & Pump Morris. It was really good to meet with Old Meg again, as we had quite a close dancing relationship with them some years ago. Hexhamshire Lasses are just lovely dancers, and I could listen to their musician all day (in fact I did!). Pleasant spots to dance in were the Quarry and outside St. Mary's Church, a redundant, but very attractive parish church in the centre of town. The Market Place was nicely central with a good crowd, but the Riverside Shopping Centre was rather unpleasant, and a bit too crowded. Redbornstoke put on a good show throughout, and the general standard of dancing, as seen by us, was high. Other teams involved were Ryknild Rabble, Hexham Morris Men, Carlisle Morris and Sword and Mockbeggar Morris.
In the evening, the dinner and ceilidh had as "S" theme (for "Shrewsbury", presumably), and quite a few participants entered into the spirit . Bedfordshire Lace had decided to go "Silver", especially as this is their 25th year of dancing, and looked fantastic in their silver "Cleopatra" wigs (someone said they reminded him of Amanda Barry in Carry On Cleo!)
and silver accessories. Redbornstoke came at the theme obliquely, as always, and chose "Sand" as the basis for their costumes. Each member of the team then interpreted their own word in their own way, and we handed out questionnaires for the rest of the party to guess what we were supposed to be. John's "Marks and Spencer" and Andrew's "Sandpiper" were probably the hardest to get! Much jollity was created by this little entertainment, and a very valuable egg-timer was presented to the winning team.
The ceilidh had Stomp and Andrew Swaine as music and caller, and they were again excellent, just as at Chippenham last week. There were rather more inexperienced dancers in the hall than Andrew, the band, or most of the Morris Dancers had imagined, as the general public had been invited, and, I suspect, a few family friends had been enticed along. A good time was had by all, however, and the Shrewsbury Morris prixes for the "most sexy", "most silly", "most sophisticated", etc. costume went mostly to Stuart, the sax player from This Way Up band, who came as a "Swimmer" - just trunks, swimming hat and towel!!
Tommee Tippee was empty, but Gill's hip flask sustained the Redbornstokers (and Gill), and we were the last to turn in at about 1:30 on Sunday morning.
After breakfast and packing up on Sunday, we travelled to Church Stretton, where the survivors from Saturday (Redbornstoke, Beds. Lace, Carlisle, Hexham, Hexhamshire Lasses and, of course, Shrewsbury) were joined by the marvellous Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden's Tuppeny Dish. We danced for a good hour and a half in the closed-off marketplace in this very attractive village, watched the air-ambulance collect someone who had collapsed in the church (serve them right!), and had a convivial sandwich lunch in the Buck's Head, while consuming an Archer's beer called "Wet Dream"! (though probably only in that pub!). Finally, we had to leave, and return to the reality that is work on Monday, but not before serenading the three members of Redbornstoke who had decided to wimp out of indoor camping and stay in a B&B for the weekend. The version of the D-Day Dodgers now entitled the B&B Softies will be recorded for posterity! We bade a fond farewell to our hosts, and left with memories of a superb weekend, good comradeship, excellent weather, and the knowledge that being involved with the Morris really is about having a huge family all over the country and, indeed, the world.

Pictures: Bull & Pump Morris; Shrewsbury Lasses (Top)
Beds. Lace; Amanda Barry; "Marks & Spencer"; "Sandpiper" (Middle)
Shropshire Bedlams; Redbornstoke; Beds. Lace (Below)

Chippenham 06

2006-06-01T13:18:00.000Z

It's been ages since I last posted. Too much to do and not enough time to get thoughts together. The band had some gigs (an especially good one in Hatfield for a Morris dancing friend's 60th birthday), and Life and Times have done a little work, too.
Last weekend was Chippenham Folk Festival. I got away from work early on Friday, we left by 3:30 p.m. and made good time until we got stuck in a traffic jam on the A40 just outside Oxford. That kept us an hour! Still, we arrived at the campsite at a sensible time (7:30) and enjoyed a BBQ with friends from English Miscellany, with whom Gill was dancing at the weekend.
The evening ceilidh was with Twm Tup, who I hadn't seen before, but were very danceable. Gordon Potts was calling and a good time was had by all!
Photo: Crucible
On Saturday I compered the afternoon concert with Crucible as one of the early acts. They have really got it together now - great singing and playing and a lovely attitude too! The John Dipper Band topped the bill - lovely music, beautifully put together.
Danced to Random in the evening, and spent some time in the concert where Crucible were top of the bill, and the highly amusing His Worship and the Pig did the Aardvark song again.
Sunday gave me an opportunity to join the English Music Session for the first time (I'm usually dancing or performing somewhere else!). A very enjoyable couple of hours playing a super selection of tunes. Gill was dancing around the town while I introduced Crucible again, this time at the Cause at a "Meet the Band" session. Then it was off to the Olympiad Centre for the Evening Concert, which I compered. Johnny Collins and Jim Mageean were absolutely lovely, Jeff Warner was a revelation - I'd really like to see more of him - and the show was topped by Chris Wood.

Monday saw me introducing a fabulous concert at a full house in the Cause, with James Fagan and Nancy Kerr. One of my all-time favourite duos, they delivered superbly. The evening brought a ceilidh with Stomp and Andrew Swaine, and the final concert, with Nancy and James heading the bill once again.
A great weekend, despite the wet and rather cold weather. Put your name down for next year!

Photo: James Fagan & Nancy Kerr

IVFDF Morris Tour

2006-02-26T10:38:00.009Z

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, though very cold - so two out of three conditions for performing Cotswold Morris! Unseasonal though February is, my friends at Rockhopper Morris will dance anywhere, anytime if they are invited to do so. Composed as they are of about twenty dancers, all of whom dance with other Morris sides (otherwise known as "a bunch of tarts"), opportunities for regular dancing do not exist, so we have to dance when we can.
The Intervarsity Folk Dance Festival was at Cambridge this year, they asked us to join in the Morris tour, so that's where I headed on this beautiful, sunny morning. The event, known in the dance world as IVFDF (or "IVDIV"), is an annual coming-together of folk dancers from the universities of the UK, in a weekend of workshops, dances, sessions and general sharing of friendships and experiences. I've never been before, so really enjoyed being a small part of it.
The Morris tour was organised by Emma Darby, who is a member of Gog Magog Molly, and also of Oyster Morris, from Canterbury. She did a great job - the bus was on time to take us to the town centre, there were plenty of people to watch, and we had a decent lunch break - enough time to get food and beer in a very crowded tourist city on market day!
We were teamed up with some very good sides, including the phenomenal Black Swan Rapper (dancing as well as I've seen them, considering the open air, and the cold), Berkshire Bedlam , Pecsaetan and the aforementioned Oyster Men and Women. It's a real pleasure to dance with these teams, who take their performance seriously and continually strive to ensure that their standard of dancing is as high as it can possibly be. Attention to detail is the secret - how to enter the dancing arena, ensuring consistency of movement within the dances, maintaining contact between music and dance, always keeping a focus on the performance while dancing, believing in what you do and communicating this to an audience.
Unfortunately, some of the sides we met were, as is often the case, not in this league at all. They are the teams that I regard as "social clubs who do a bit of dancing as an excuse for meeting once a week". They're mostly women's North West sides; Border sides trying to look like the Shropshire Bedlams, and failing miserably; mixed sides who "do it for fun"; or people that just like dressing up. Most of these outfits really haven't got a clue about what modern Morris is all about, can't be bothered to look at the history of the dance-form, and, worst of all, dance for themselves, not for the audience. The exception is the "dressers-up", who collect a large audience because of how they look, then deliver severely sub-standard dancing that gives the whole movement a bad name. Time for some serious weeding-out of the dross, say I! There's a job for the Morris Federation!!
Still, it was a good day - we had twelve dancers, so were able to put two sets up for Brighton Camp and Framer's Boy, and it was really good to spend a day with these lovely people, meet friends from other teams, and see a few others that I haven't met for a while, back at the IVFDF base, which was a school on the outskirts of Cambridge.
The evening dances looked interesting, but I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and headed home after some post-dance refreshments. On reflection, Cotswold dancing in the winter isn't all that bad!

Win some, lose some!

2006-02-20T16:38:00.000Z

Very pleasant gig on Friday - calling with Laughing Gravy (above) for my friend Jim's 50th birthday party. The dance was at Hitchin Town Hall, and involved lots of Morris dancers and a contingent of Jim's family. Most people danced, the food was good, lots of friends there, so a good evening had by all.
While at the Town Hall, I was approached by members of the band, who are also part of the organising committee for the Unicorn Ceilidhs, asking if I'd call at the New Year's Eve Ceilidh this year. Delighted, of course, and they've asked RANDOM to be the band. Excellent!
Unfortunately, the gig at Ashwell next week for the Theatre Club has been cancelled - too many people on holiday (retirees getting some summer sun, I'll be bound!). Disappointing, but it happens...at least there's a cancellation fee.
I can now stay on in Cambridge on Saturday for the evening dance at IVFDF, where I'm playing for Rockhopper Morris during the day. IVFDF is the Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival, and will be packed with very enthusiastic, energetic students giving it all at some high-quality ceilidhs.
Next gig will be a scratch band on March 4th, for another birthday party.
Morris practice tonight - I'll see if I can get the hang of the new slow capers in our "Scouthall" tradition.

Summer in February

2006-02-15T20:54:00.000Z

The Cheltenham Folk Festival was just wonderful! We managed to arrive just after 7:00 on Friday evening, despite the traffic holdup to the west of Oxford, which meant I could do the introductions at the opening concert in the Everyman Theatre. Roy Bailey, John Kirkpatrick and Martin Simpson were performing material from their Sit Down and Sing CD to a very appreciative audience. Having enjoyed that one, we went back to the town hall for a masterful set from Pete Coe (what a versatile and tireless performer!!).

Our B&B was as welcoming as ever (top), and, after a huge breakfast, Gill went to a Cornish Dance workshop, and I headed for the town to play for Redbornstoke (left) and Rockhopper (above). The weather was just about perfect - blue sky, sunshine and just cold enough to let us know it was February. Both teams danced well, Redbornstoke creating a lot of interest in the Marston dances and winter kit, while Rockhopper, who were out in force, danced better than I've seen them for some time.

Back to the Town Hall again for Martin Carthy and Martin Simpson - a magical hour of stunning guitar and vocals from two of the great exponents. Shivers down the spine! After that, I was introducing a show called Tales of Otherness featuring Craig, Morgan Robson. This show explored the "twilight zone of deception and masquerade, trickery and betrayal, transformation and enchantment". The songs were well-chosen and nicely sung, though the stories suffered from being ad-libbed somewhat, as the group had left the script at home!

A fabulous Committee Band ceilidh in the evening rounded off a super day. The new material is being bedded-in well, and the sound was probably the best I've heard in the Concert Hall - well done Spadger Sound and Sam Skey! Nick Walden (calling) did a good job, with the usual eclectic mix of dances, though there were one or two moments when he wasn't communicating as well with the dancers as we have come to expect. Never mind - great dance, and tired legs tottered back to the B&B for a well-earned rest.

Sunday began with the Martin Graeb interview, this year with Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy. Much of interest was unearthed, and some interesting strands were explored, including the proposition that one of the reasons for the demise of folk songs in the early 20th Century was the desire of many of the owners of the songs to rise up socially in the world, leading to them suppressing their knowledge of the songs, which would have been considered too "working class". As theories go, it holds water as well as any of the others, like the growing urbanisation of the population; the importing of American culture superceding the English, or British; and the spread of electronic forms of entertainment (radio, films, television) removing the need to provide one's own. Martin Graeb is such a ponderous interviewer, we could have heard so much more if he'd really paced the session and asked more incicive questions. Still, it was time well spent (and we had three songs thrown in as well!).

My last compering gig was the following concert, a four-hour marathon with Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer, Brian Peters and Gordon Tyrall, The Devil's Interval, Trio Threlfall and Tom Napper & Tom Bliss. Everyone performed very well - I hadn't met Vicki and Jonny, or the two Toms before, and really enjoyed what they did. The Devil's Interval just get better and better - I'm so glad they did their "Two Magicians" with verses made up by children at a workshop at Sidmouth last year, because it's really funny! Brian and Gordon produce such good music between them, and Trio Threlfall, despite doing mostly well-known material, never fail to please. Tom Bliss described the festival as being like Summer - meeting all the people you would expect to see at a festival in May, June, July, August in the middle of Winter. Hence the headline to this posting. A good finish for me, as we started late and finished on time - every MC's dream!

Finally, a packed Concert Hall enjoyed the last concert of the festival, with a very on-form Pete Coe, a new discovery for me in The Wailin' Jennys, from Canada (living up to their reputation for interesting self-penned songs and multi-instrumentalism), and, topping the bill, BELLOWhead, who are just so much better than they were a year ago at Cheltenham, having thrown away the music stands, got on with the jazz, and produced some very avant-garde arrangements, especially for Rigs of the Time. Dancers danced in the space at the front of the hall, the band gave every ounce of energy they possessed, and were rewarded with two encores. A totally fab finish to a stonking weekend.

By the way, the Spiers and Boden website contains a brilliant animation by 12-year-old Oliver Hayes for the song, Prickle-Eye Bush - take a look here.

Fifteen years on

2006-02-05T14:23:00.000Z

The band played for the Priory School Barn Dance in Hitchin last night. I think it's the fifteenth one we've done, making it by far the longest unbroken run of return gigs in our history.

Always great sound in the hall, the set-up and sound check was one of the easiest for ages, and although both Graeme and Steve were feeling very unwell with shocking colds, we had a really great evening. It was good to have Howard on drums again (we missed him at the last gig), and Debbie's fiddle playing just gets better and better. The band sounded dynamic, and the new tunes are starting to take on a life of their own now. As I usually try to do at this gig, I tried out some new dances last night, which seemed to go well, though the longways (Flirtation Reel) needs some extra instruction about what to do when you reach the end of the set!

The dance was sold-out, with a good smattering of old friends, work colleagues and some of the local folk fraternity, as well as a lot of parents from the school, and some of the students, too. They didn't seem too fazed by the complexity of some of the dances, they all danced, and they all stayed to the end. What more can anyone ask?

It was also especially good, having got home and stowed the equipment, to watch the excellent Coppersongs programme again on BBC 4 (another part of the Folk Britannia season). This very touching picture of the Sussex singing family, the Coppers, was made in 2004, and ends with the poignant series of events which started as Bob discovered he was to receive and MBE for services to Folk Music, and ended at his funeral service, following his sad death just four days after recieving his award. The film showed just how intelligent and lucid Bob was, right up to the time of his death, and how very popular he was, not only with his family, but also with the people of his locality, his country, and the world. The family continues to sing the old songs handed down through the generations, and it was great to hear Ben Copper explaining how he felt the songs had real relevance to life in the 21st century, just as his grandad had so eloquently pointed out at another point in the programme.

Daughters of Albion

2006-02-04T14:19:00.000Z

Went to the Daughters of Albion concert at the Barbican last night (see post of 28/01/06). Totally brilliant evening - the band was superb, including Martin Carthy, Tim van Eyken and Neill McColl, while the "daughters" produced a constant magic throughout the concert (good value at 3 hours, too!).

Eliza Carthy proved herself to be a great media person and MC, introducing and linking the acts, and her mum, Norma Waterson showed just what a great voice and stage-personality she posesses - a real "folk diva". June Tabor was in top form, accompanied with enormous subtlety and empathy by Huw Warren: I've never heard "Lily Marlene" sung like June did it last night, with such intensity. Kathryn Williams, Sheila Chandra and Lou Rhodes, of Lamb were also right up for it in a packed Barbican Hall, providing a concert of variety, passion and astonishing talent. Very special mention should go to Kate St. John for the sympathetic musical arrangements, incorporating a range of instruments not often seen together in the same band, with such skill and effectiveness.

The concert was first given at Cork 2005, with a slightly different line-up, and was originally intended as something of a rebuff to the prevailing obsession with all things Celtic. What it has become is a celebration of these fine English singers, and of the English tradition of songs and songwriting, shining a light on women's experience and their lot.

It's part of the Folk Britannia series, and will be shown on March 3rd on BBC 4. Not a programme to miss!!

Small World

2006-01-30T17:20:00.000Z

What an interesting day! I went on a day's training about Leading ICT in Teaching and Learning within the Curriculum (what a mouthful!) and met up with a Headteacher I used to work for. While conversing with her, a teacher sitting at my table looked up, exclaimed, "I recognise that voice!" and introduced herself as one of my ex-pupils. She's been teaching six years, so my feelings were mixed: pride that she'd become a teacher too, and a touch of horror in realising just how old I'm becoming!

Not only that, but yesterday, while trawling through some weblogs, I found one that related to a series of melodeon workshops given by my friend Paul Scourfield on Radio Britfolk! The world continues to grow smaller...

Work-Life Balance

2006-01-29T13:00:00.000Z

After discussing this very subject over breakfast with Gill, I discover a news item on the BBCi website entitled Many Parents "taking work home" . It seems that children have noticed that their mums and dads are spending more time working at home than talking to, or playing with, their children. There is an expectation among children that they, too, will have to work long hours when they leave school, probably longer than their parents do now. Scary!

It all goes to prove what I've said for a long time, which is that while new technology makes a lot of jobs easier to do, it also put a lot of pressure on the users to get jobs done immediately. There isn't the luxury any more of saying "I'll do that after the weekend, when I can get in touch with them", or "That's a job for tomorrow, when I get back to my desk/typewriter/computer". We're all on call now, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and even on holiday and at Christmas. And, if someone calls you on your mobile phone, or emails you to get a job done, they expect an instant response.

Good bosses don't call their staff at the weekend, or in the evening, even if they want to. Taking the time to think before sending the email, text message or phone call can help to reduce the stress of the person at the other end. Let them live their lives without you interrupting with something that can wait till tomorrow, or Monday, or whenever. Goodness knows, computers, mobile phones, faxes, blackberries and such like are fantastic to have, but people are still more important!!

Folk Britannia

2006-01-28T18:06:00.000Z

I've just been looking at the BBC Folk Britannia webpage. It's a new three-part series about "the evolution of folk music from the end of World War II up to the scene's latter-day revival". Looks as if there's a whole month of folk music on the Beeb, including some concerts from the Barbican. I'm going to one of these - Daughters of Albion on Friday - it certainly should be an interesting evening. The rest of the featured programmes look fascinating - Coppersongs, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Pentangle, Dick Gaughan, Eliza Carthy, stuff from the BBC's folk archive...it all seems a bit too good to be true! The whole lot is listed on a separate BBC 4 page - well worth looking at.

Only one complaint (without actually watching the programmes, of course) and that's about the strictly song content - there doesn't appear to be any input on instrumental music or dance in the series - what a shame!

Sheena and the Unicorns

2006-01-25T20:52:00.000Z

Looking forward to this Friday's Unicorn Ceilidh at Hitchin Town Hall. It's a regular ceilidh series, running from September to June every year on the last Friday of the month, in one of the best rooms I've ever come across for dancing - with a genuine adjustable sprung floor!!

This Friday the band is Laughing Gravy, with Sheena Masson calling. Sheena's a lovely caller - interesting dances, easy manner, and a real dancer and musician too (she plays with Stomp). Laughing Gravy are the House Band at Unicorn Ceilidhs - they play there more than most! Rooted in the English tradition, but with tunes from Scotland, Ireland, France, the USA as well, they are always good to dance to.

There's always a real ale bar, and the evening lasts from 8.00 to 11.30, so it's great value. One of my favourite nights out, as I can walk there and back from home!!

Bye Bye Bismarks

2006-01-24T21:30:00.000Z

I heard today that the wonderful Bismarks will be calling it a day at the end of this year. Ed Rennie, Gareth Kiddier and Nina Hansell have been playing together for 10 years now, and have produced a sound that is quite unique in English Ceilidh. Driving tunes on Nina's fiddle and Ed's melodeon, underpinned by Gareth's hallmark keyboards, have made them the band that all dancers want to dance to, and their tempo is never short of perfect. They have that swing that just makes your feet fly!

So, a whole year to savour their dance music, then it's off to other projects, no doubt, as well as making some time for family life. Their final gig will be at Godalming on 2nd December. Meanwhile - enjoy!!

Emperors and Elephants

2006-01-20T17:22:00.000Z

Well, a very busy week work-wise is nearly over. No gigs this weekend, but I'm looking forward to a visit to the Three Emperors Exhibition at the Royal Academy, courtesy of my lovely daughter, who is giving it to me as a birthday present.

Then on Sunday, the annual visit to Coventry for the Elephant-up-a-Pole Wassail. This takes place at Ryton Gardens, near Coventry, where the local Morris Side have an apple tree in the Henry Doubleday Research Centre, which they Wassail every year at about this time. Much Morris dancing happens at a local pub in Wolston, with plenty of teams from the area turning up, as well as some from further away like my own Redbornstoke, and Baldock Midnight Morris, also from round our way.

Finally, the tree is danced around, a poem is said to it, pieces of cider-soaked toast are hung in its branches, and a gun is fired. We then drink some of last year's cider (an acquired taste!), and return to the pub for some lunch and beer (or more cider).

First Gig of the New Year

2006-01-15T19:55:00.000Z

Playing for Charity

Good gig last night - playing for a charity barn dance in Aldenham, Herts. Lots of nice people, good food and accoustics to die for! Though we were drummer-less, the tempo was rock-steady, largely due to great on-stage sound as well (using the drummer's foldback for bass player). Looking forward to the return gig now!!

The picture comes from our New Year's Eve gig at Hitchin Town Hall - enormous fun, with Fee Lock sharing the calling with me and 200 people having a whale of a time!!