Cambridge Folk Club 16th March 2007

There are talented clubs and talented clubs - this is a club full of talent. Rob and I made the long journey to do just two numbers but it was worth it. First, we got to see a lot of new performers who we hadn't come across before - too many to mention but the stand out for me was a cover version of a Karine Polwart song by an exceptionally good female singer - and second, the organisers were kind enough to offer us the opportunity to return and do a 25 minute slot to finish the night off on June 29th -which is a chance we will jump at.

Such was the demand to play, that there were regular slots of 10 minutes from 8.00 - 10.30pm, with a raffle for Red Nose Day in bewteen (which Rob went and won!). Then the evening was finished off by the very talented band Tu, finishing the night off. Tu comprise Carolyn Causton (ex Shave the Monkey) and Shani Eliraz - a very talented multi-instrumentalist. It was nice to do a CD swap with Shani.

We did an old favourite of ours, 'The Maid of Culmore', and we followed this with the French sea-shanty 'Three Bonny Ships' which seemed to go down well and goes tto support the notion that our French project is really winning friends. We got some really excellent feedback afterwards, which made the unusually incident free journey back to St Albans that much more bearable. 'In flight entertainment' was the excellent French Canadian band Genticorum.

Back to fairly hard rehearsals now for our seesion in Wewun Garden City next Sunday and then for our first full booking at Reading Folk Club the Sunday afterwards. We are very excited about both opportunities.

Letchworth and Baldock Folk Club 21st February 2007

Rob and I sent Alan, who runs the Letchworth and Baldock club a copy of our CD some time ago and, very kindly, they asked us to come and do a 25 minute warm up slot to support the main act -the club's resident band Tam Lin, and what a pleasure it turned out to be. This is a really nice club. The venue, The Orange Tree in Baldock is a nice friendly pub, laid out with trestle tables and candles and a (very) small performance area.

By their own admission, it was a quiet night, but it was easy to see how great it must be when they have got a Vin Garbutt or a Martin Carthy in there and the club is buzzing.

As the second on the bill, we were straight on and did the first 25 minutes or so. It was nice to get a decent length of time to gert into the swing of things and, again, as we build our repetoire, we tried a couple of new numbers. We did a song from Triona ni Dhmonaill's repetoire - 'When I was a fair maid', and a song that Rob has composed. taking an 18th Century poem about the fate of a sailor who fought at Trafalgar and who was rapidly forgotten by the nation he fought for (sounds rather familiar really). The song is very beautiful and is called 'Who is it knocks?' Thankfully the audience was sympathetic to a few rough edges on these new tunes.

Tam Lin, percussion, guitar and two fiddles were the main act and played really well, doing a wide and varied mix of material and the third act, Malcolm Hobbs, did a great little set playing an absolutely beautiful Brooks, guitar shpaed Irish bouzouki. I would dearly love to see a longer session by him.

(Anyway, they must have liked us because they have asked us back for two more visits in 2007 and a main spot in '08. Very nice indeed, thank you)

It seems traditional that late night rides home throw a few motorway surprises, and this was no exception. Still, the long ride home gave me chance to reminisce on a few folk songs we used to sing at the Anchor Folk Club in Middlesbrough, back in the 1970s, especially a song about the Titanic sinking, that I haven't heard since and haven't been able to find amongst the many that have been written. I will keep searching.

All eyes now are on the next gigs. We have a slot at Cambridge in mid March, then a session at a more classical meeting in Welwyn the week after, followed by our first main spot at Readifolk in Reading on April 1st. I trust they weren't joking when they booked us for that date!

Barton-Le Clay 31st January 2007

It took us a long while to honour the promise we made at the Redbourn club but we finally made it up to Barton-Le Clay in Bedfordshire, and very glad we did! Organiser Ross had suggested we go and join him at one of the regular singarounds at the Barton club. Very kindly, since we had travelled the furthest distance, he let us do a few extra numbers. We took the chance to try out some new material, which was good practice for us and generally it seemed to be enjoyed.

The atmosphere was very welcoming and friendly; the music was highly varied with a wide range of styles of music. The guy who runs the blues club in Barton Le Clay at the same venue (sorry didn't catch his name) was there and played some excellent blues material. Others played an array of interesting insturments - including a base recorder. WE even had an accordian version of Imagine.

The late night trip home allowed me to play Rob my new La Chavenee album, which was just as well since motorway works, with which we are plagued, were determined to send us north from Bedforshire in order to then go southwards home. I also got the benefit of Rob's knowledge on the composer Thomas Dowland. I am always keen to hear new and preferably calming music and Dowland is one of Rob's absolute favourites (especially if Sting isn't singing). I am a convert and it regularly now soothes the furroughed brow of this London commuter.

Oxford Folk Club 19th January 2007

For me, this was a welcome return to Oxford, where I lived and worked for most of the 1980s. That said, even though I had passed it a thousand times, it was the first time I had ever been in the Port Mahon pub - and I had clearly missed out on a very friendly watering hole.

This was a fun night with a range of local singers - from Ireland and County Durham, some great unaccompanied singers and some excellent blues and traditional playing. Generally a quiet night for the club, but they were kind enough to let us finish off the evening. This is a club we would very much like to return to. The organisers were very welcoming, and guests were very complimentary about the new French material.