15th October 2008: Ely Folk Club

An early escape from work, this one - St Albans to Ely to be there for an 8.00pm! However, the night itself made it well worth munching a soggy Morrisons sarnie in the car on the way over. Rob and I had met Ruthie, who is one of the people running the Ely Folk Club, when she was calling for us and our friends from Tam Lin at a recent ceilidh. Very kindly, after hearing our CD, she invited us over and provided us with a wonderful support slot – namely supporting the wonderful Mawkin-Causley.
It is clear that Mawkin Causley are going from strength to strength and, I have to confess, prior to the evening, we were unfamiliar with their work – but class will out, and they were superb that evening. Our abiding memory is of a satisfaction that such a young and skilful band is there to carry on the tradition going forward. There was an excellent attendance of 50-60 to watch and, to our satisfaction, they were very much a listening audience.
We acquitted ourselves well and, unusually for professional bands with a growing reputation, it was nice to see (Gentleman) Jim Causley come in towards the end of our set and have a listen. Naturally, at the end of the evening, Jim was surrounded by well-wishers, but he still took the time to congratulate us a good set and wish us well for the future and a safe journey home. Since that time, Rob and I have heard more and more about the band, and we similarly wish them well.
A definite petrol station pee stop and a bar of Cadbury’s to keep us awake going home – getting up at 6.00am the next morning wasn’t too much fun.