Cambridge Folk Club, 29th May 2009

We were honoured by another terrific night at the Cambridge Folk Club. We shared the bill with the extremely talented Richard Brown and Carl Hogsden, and the Marina Florance band. Marina played with four others and delivered a very beautiful, entertaining and upbeat session.

I am very pleased to report that our 50 minute set was very well received and there were strong calls for an encore at the end. We introduced two new songs into the set. The first was Broken in the Past - a homage to the suffering of refugees now and through the ages, which uses the tune from the traditional French Canadian song Le Vieux Cheval, first heard by the magnificent Le Vent du Nord, but with words penned by myself. The second was Nellie Torrence and Jeannie Waldie - a tale of the first known true body snatchers in Edinburgh, which is a na-mara original. Having remembered the words (! - through a lot of private rehearsal), both songs seemed to go down well.

We played some of our better known song, including When I Took my Horse to Water, and even had some in the audience singing it along with us - a great feeling.

We had a lot of very good feedback at the end of the night and were still talking as the last of the chairs were being cleared away. We were also very pleased to hear that Cambridge will be offering us a full booking in 2010. This is very generous - they have supported and encouraged us all the way through from when we turned up a long time ago to do two songs, then to do 20 minutes, then a couple of showcases, then to share the bill last night and, now, to give us a full slot! And, of course, they have asked us to play the Folk Club tent at the Cambridge Folk Festival which we are over the moon about.

The drive home flew by and, not drinking before we play, and the bar being shut by the time we had finished, I had a self-congratulatory bottle of beer when I got in. But, I was still home before my daughter, who came in and we had a nice long chat while I quaffed my Innes & Gunn beer (highly recommended!!)

Watford Folk Club, The Pump House, Watford, 1st May 2009

What can I say! This was an incredibly welcoming and friendly club. Carrie had liaised with Rob over a full gig for us - and, despite being from a neighbouring town we were a new act for them.

From the very first moment, club members were happy to come up and talk guitars, guest and musical preferences. We played in a small hall next to the Pump Rooms and it was very cosily laid out for a fairly rudimentary hall - soon to be given a facelift. The bar served excellent beer and, by the time we were due to go on, there was around 40+ in the audience. We heard some excellent floor singers and had everything from an excellent I am a Wee Weaver (from one of the member of the excellent Warp and Weft), through to a super Aria from Handel and wonderful renditions of a David Bowie and a Matt Maginn song. We were boosted as our friends Ruth and Dave arrived to support us.

If I say so myself, we played really well. We were focused, we were really enjoying playing and this clearly transferred to the audience who were extremely appreciative throughout. We were brave enough to through Les Larmes Aux Yeux in in a second half set, and probably did our best ever performance of Billy Don't You Weep for Me and the Asturian danzas. Very pleasingly, we were asked to do a double encore.

We were overwhelmed by the kind words after the show and sold a considerable number of CDs. When someone compliments you on taking them on 'a musical and educational journey', it really means a lot. We work hard to get things right, and to have listeners compliment the musicality is so rewarding.

Naturally, we were buzzing by the time we left and, on getting home, needed a decent bottle of Innes and Gunn beer before settling down for bed.

We very much hope the Watford Folk Club thrives - it certainly deserves to with such friendly and dedicated people - and are as keen as mustard to return.

Dartford Folk Club, April 28th 2009

This was a voyage of discovery outside our normal 'catchment'. We had long wanted to visit Dartford Folk Club and contacted them to see if we could do a singers spot. It was a long way to go to play a couple of numbers - but it was a good night out.

Home from work, quick munch of a sarnie or two and off round the M25. We arrived in good time to hear a Welsh band Bare Bones, who were very good. Then we did the Breton sea shanty, Three Matelots, followed by The Flower of Magherally. We played well, but tuning was a slight issue, and then the main act, Harvey Andrews, came on.

With a 6.00am getting up for work the next morning looming, Rob and I humbly made our excuses in the break and left before the second half began. A number of people were very complimentary about our playing, as we made our way out - which was very nice.

Then homeski with a can of Polish lager (ZUBR) for me in the passenger seat! (Rob naturally kept his can of WARKA for when he got home.)

We found Dartford a very friendly and welcoming club and it was obvious why they had won Folk Club of the Year 2008 - very well organised and wonderfully supported. We certainly aim to keep in contact and hope they might find a longer slot for us some time in the future.