12th and 19th May 2007, Wedding Bells

Not our wedding bells but those of others.

Our friends from the Letchworth and Baldock Folk Club, Alan and Sue, core members of the band Tam Lin, have approached Rob and I to help out with a few of their ceilidh and social gigs. and following a rehearsal with them and their other fiddler Georgina up in Bedfordshire, we had our first outing in the charmingly named Piddling in Cambridgeshire on 12th May.

Quite a learning curve! As a band - because in the end, neither Sue nor Georgina could play - we were bolstered and led by two other professional musicians, invited from Sheffield and Colchester(Dave Shepherd - of Blowzabella!). Having the opportunity to play dance music guided by the safe hands of these other, highly experienced, folk musicians and having the chance to learn from them, was a great experience for us.

Similarly, the experience of being at a wedding that one is not personally involved in (and being sober) was also very interesting - to watch the British at play - and a very good time was had by all! Alan and I had the chance to do a few songs when the revellers needed to get their breath back.

A week later, we were playing at another wedding at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire. This time it was a definite Tam Lin and Na-Mara line up. A beautiful house, a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding - very nice to play through a set of lively tunes on a bright sunny day, while guests had pre-dinner drinks. Rob and I were able to play our new tune - including the Spanish Tune 'Danza Prima' - a real cracker. Less easy to do songs, and a bust string on my Taylor, left me strumming on my 'reserve' Baby Taylor looking rather like George Formby. But again, a great experience for us. We intend to do more of this with Tam Lin.