12th August 2008, Broadstairs, Kent and home

A virtual day at leisure - what a luxury! The chance to soak up the atmosphere, do the bookshops properly, have capuccino in Morelli's and Fish and Chips later on. Our only commitment was the Tartar Frigate for a two hour Tam Lin gig, so we had a restful festival day just doing a bit of rehearsal and messing around with a bit of new stuff at Fiona and Rhona's.

The tartar Frigate gig went well - not quite as heaving as for Ian Cutler but still a very busy, sweaty night. The big drawback was that after the gig it was a two hour trip back to St. Albans and early into work the next morning. Thankfully, we were buzzing after the gig, Rob's son Ben helped us with the gear and we were on the road by 11.00pm and home just after 1.00am Wednesday.

Both of us were then looking at holidays coming up and we talked a lot about what we were going to do to get the new material moving forward. More of which later...

August 11th 2008 Broadstairs, Kent

Monday morning and a different sort of work day ahead of us. Furnished and filled with a couple of fried eggs on toast, we began Day 2 of our Broadstairs baptism. After a bit of a stroll round, a rummage in a couple of local book shops, it was back to the house, pick up our stuff and then down to the Charles Dickens pub for a one-hour session. As with the Sunrunner in Hitchin, Alan and Sue looked after us p.a. wise again, and as at the Sunrunner and the main marquee the night before, friends from Baldock and Letchworth came along to support. On arrival, Rob and I were a bit worried that the lively and busy environment of the pub might not be the best setting for our quieter oriented music. However, over time, a folk crowd entered the pub - some of them as a result of our gig being announced in the marquee the night before - and by the time we started, there was a really nice atmosphere conducive to mid-day music playing. We got a good reception and we played well, especially given the very tight space we had to operate in. Nearby Morris rhythms weren't exactly in synch. but hey that's festival life for you - as we were coming to learn.

Then Rob and I went off with the rest of Tam Lin to support Alan with his bodhran workshop - which acted as a nice bit of extra rehearsal for the rest of us - and we could sit back and enjoy Alan hard at work.

After that, we had a little time to ourselves before Tam Lin went for a sound check down at the bandstand, where we were doing a 30-minute slot later. Sound check over, we sloped off for a beer and then returned to watch the Morris men and the other acts. Again lots of friends came down. Rob's son Ben and Rob's brother in law Ian came over from Margate to watch and in a nice boost to 'Dad's street cred', Ben witnessed a middle aged couple passing by and pointing Rob out as being 'one of the guys who'd been on the main stage the night before'. It made Rob and Ben's night. It was then a windy and p.a. problematic set but very enjoyable. Fiona and Rhona and family came down to watch which was really nice of them.

Finally, after getting the instruments home, Rob and I wandered the pubs of Broadstairs, had a few pints, watched Ian Cutler and band on at the Tartar Frigate - where Tam Lin was playing the following night, and then stayed to watch the wonderful Morris-men song rounds at one of the town centre pubs. The atmosphere was very different but brilliant in each pub. Then it was a long march home up the hill, and then up the wooden hill to bed.