michael sam wild

Hi folks. Despite a long absence I am still here. I was 80 last December. I have had a few ups and downs and we moved house to Shireoaks near Worksop . Notts. I found some good local sessions and have been to English Country Music Weekends and Whitby Folk Week. I obtained a G/D Wheatstone Anglo and a Lachenal Bb/F baritone Anglo but my main instrumental challenge has been fiddle which became feasible again after a shoulder operation in 2017 I hope to bump into friends again after the epidemic dies down . Stay safe

Hi One or two folk have asked if I am OK. yes, my shoulder healed and I took time out to get some practice on the fiddle . I will be selling some concertinas soon . I will post on the forum. I still play the anglo and got a nice baritone in Bb|F at Whitby Folk Week from Barleycorn. Thanks Mike

Do you mean G/D ?

Very sad news. One of my favourite traditional style players. I enjoyed playing along with her in sessions and last saw her in Miltown Malbay at the first Gathering a few years back RIP

It was great to meet and chat to Rollo at the English Country Music Weekend in the sessions at Bampton this summer he is still going strong and I got some nice photos

I usually sing unaccompanied songs so find the best key then do my best to accompany it in that key! Can work out costly in Anglos! But I find C G and D and F are best for me apart from Bb and Eb

Would anyone like to get together for mutually supportive workshops. Say once a month on a regular basis I envisage young and old, not in a pub and not a session initially. Helping each other learn to play Irish mainly on C/G in regular session keys. I live in Shireoaks near Worksop so would prefer a Worksop Workshop ! PM me or post here or find me on facebook

Welcome to the concertina community. I found your charts very clear and useful. Nice one ! The Merriman poem is also very well translated and interesting. yours Mike

I was talking to John Howson of Veteran at English Country Music Weekend about Reg Hall's history of Irish Music in London in the 60s and 70s . Reg did a PhD on it but has not published . There will be Topic releases of vintage recordings from that fertile scene ( when Tommy McCarthy, Bobby Casey, Jimmy Power , Danny Meehan ete etc were in their prime) with extensive sleeve notes . Should be good

A bit like all those German and Czech Strad violins! with 'genuine' labels

Cormac says on his Facebook he is going over to pipes and selling all his concertinas! . Find him on Facebook and PM him

On a C/G C along the row if you are solo , it goes a bit high but you can do Kimber Kords easily on LHS for volume or octaves as Dan says. . G in 'Irish style' with a few chords is fine. Just to be awkward I do it in F so I can sing along too. Mrs Kitty Hayes style!.

Well spotted Jim. Or it could be one of his pigeons! I am following up both the leads you mention and will eventually report back. The brass band instruments and music are still accessible so could be linked somewhere The 4th Duke of Newcastle's men had explored for coal earlier but the first sod was cut 1854 and the shaft was sunk 1861. Their was inward migration to a sleepy medieval village following the building of the turnpike , canal and the railway .So these men who look to be from their 20s to 40s would be first or second generation Shireoaks miners (boys went down the pit at 12 or even younger) and the community was already settled with a new church, chapels , bands, football teams etc etc. They were Unionised and able to mount this campaign against a lockout where owners drove wages down in hard times. The book Black Diamonds by Catherine bailey (Penguin Books) tells a fascinating story of the contrasting lives of miners and aristocratic owners mainly centred on the Fitzwilliam estate at Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham a few miles away

I'll be at ECMW and Bradfield

Nice one in D/A on eBay 1 day to go. Anybody had experience of Piccolo in sessions etc?

I found a nice photo in Bygone Shireoaks , the ex pit village in N. Notts on the N.Derbys and S.Yorks border we moved to last Christmas. It shows The Shireoaks Toppers band from the Miners Lockout in 1893. They raised awareness and funds and kept their spirits up. I am trying to find their repertoire. I thought the ones in the pic were EC and AC At the other extreme I found by chance a few weeks later a piece in the diary of the 4th Duke of Newcastle of Clumber Park who was called by one enemy 'the most hated man in England' he first sank the pit in the 1840s and his later family would have been involved in the miners' dispute . 3rd January 1848 " We resumed our evening concerts again today my 4 daughters and I. harp, piano forte, treble and bass concertinas, and violin. It terminates the evening most agreeably" He died 1851. I wonder if his concertinas had found their way to the workers 45 years after their soirees ? !.

Thanks Jim I have been thinking about a baritone for accompanying singing. I don't really use a low vamp much but might be persuaded, the recordings of Jody are nice. If I sing in C I like bits on the right side to highlight the song as my singing voice is in the left hand range on a tenor treble C/G Anglo. Any more song recordings with an ESB in C/G or D/A welcomed

All the best, nice being in contact again and keep up the music ! Since I wrote that original post I have met many young players who are over here. Many are more 'professional' than working class nowadays but they have picked up the tradition and are carrying it and it is in good hands, so I am optimistic.. Many play to a high standard and a lot too fast!. Not as many singers but that takes more experience of life I think.

Hi conc. net friends. I met an old pal who said that some people had enquired after me. I am still alive and kicking and have just been very busy with doing up and selling two houses in Sheffield UK and buying one in Shireoaks Nottingham on the edge of Sherwood Forest country, where we have family. I have kept up Facebook to keep in touch with the world but felt that I had to resist too many reasons for not doing the hard graft. I have endeavoured to keep playing and have kept it to regular practice of mainly Irish reels on Anglo C/G , and singing at a few local sessions and folk clubs. So I have seen some people around. I am going to sell some of my concertinas and melodeons and will post here. I will start contributing again as work calms down. Thanks and see you around, Mike

Thanks Wes very interesting!

Hi Bruce nice to hear from you. Yes I still see Brian but he has been really busy this year with some big exciting projects

Sadly we can't get down this Autumn as we are moving house and I can't drive because of the eye operation All he best!

I'd still like them to squeeze in a few performances by players from other countries as well as regions other than Clare but understand the approach

I've not had notification of the Milltown Malbay event next February yet. I enjoyed it very much this year and it was a nice compact gathering. There was only one bus per day from Ennis so this would be more convenient with more accommodation locally in Ennis. I think the people in MM were glad to see visitors out of season so would go again. Hope it isn't overkill or competition- the participants seem similar. I had hoped for representation from other concertina styles and countries as I am not nationalistic about music. More for non players to do in Ennis it's a nice town.

What Frank said!