AnnC

Old Music hall tunes always go down well,they bring a smile to peoples faces and they'll start humming or singing along. The 'Captain Pugwash' tune ( Trumpet Hornpipe ) is another tune to raise a smile Apart from that look clean, dress smartly and beam happily at the passers-by even if they don't put money in the hat..... sometimes they come back and give after a few minutes. If you treat it as an opertunity to practice and meet new people with any money raised as a bonus then you won't be dissapointed.

I used the Neatsfoot oil on the advice of a friend who works leather for a living, knows the weather conditions I play in ( anything the English summer can throw at you, not just indoors playing)and had seen the bellows on my concertina. Nothing's come apart yet

Are your bellows all leather or just the corner folds? Mine are all leather and I use Neatsfoot oil applied very lightly with a fine artists brush twice a year, just a smear brushed on and wiped over with a soft cloth. It is absorbed quickly into the leather without leaving any stickiness and keeps the leather supple and waterproof. I play in the open air quite a lot, sometimes in less than ideal conditions and this treatment has worked for the last 15 years. I bought the neatsfoot oil from a Farmers store, but any equestrian suppliers would have some, you don't need a lot, a bottle lasts for ages.

Here's a link to the Guest List page. http://www.whitbyfolk.co.uk/guests.html According to this Alistair Anderson, John Kirkpatrick and Jody Kruskal will be amongst those present.

Will do, I'll pass the word around the local musicians just incase they're offered any ''bargains''

A comfy ( and child friendly) place to gather would be the 'Shambles Bar' on the East side market. It has lots of real ale as well as tea and coffee, or perhaps the Tap & Spile (soon to go back to it's old name of 'The Station' ) which is now under new management and has been thoroughly scrubbed and re-painted. Both places welcome musicians and morrismen during Folk week.

If you can get to Whitby for the 'Moor & Coast' do in May you can have a go before the bouncing bundle arrives to take over your spare time.

Here is the Press release the new organisers have sent out giving a taster of people and groups expected ........... Press Release – 13 December 2006 Whitby Folk Week 18th - 24th August 2007 'business as usual' 2007 is a transitional year for the ever-popular Whitby Folk Week as a new team takes the helm following the retirement of Malcolm Storey. During 25 successful years in charge Malcolm developed the festival into one of the country's foremost folk events with a firm emphasis on the traditional music of the British Isles and associated cultures. The new, enthusiastic and experienced team, dedicated to continuing the festival's unique ethos, comprises John Howson as artistic director and Barry Evans as social dance director. Finance director, Chris Stephenson, works alongside treasurer Ann Clancy with Val Marsden in charge of ticket sales and Kate Atkinson managing artists' accommodation. Martin Bull is marketing director and the team is co-ordinated by Graham Pirt. The team is assisted by many other Whitby devotees. Great news is that Eliza Carthy has agreed to be Whitby Folk Week's patron and she's indicated that she wants to have a really hands-on involvement with the festival. Plans for the next year's event are well advanced and the initial guest list includes festival stalwarts Sara Grey & Kieron Means, Ed Rennie, Dan Quinn & Will Duke, Johnny Handle, Sheila Stewart, Bob Lewis, Devil's Interval, Peta Webb & Ken Hall, Alistair Anderson, Craig, Morgan & Robson and John Kirkpatrick. Returning and new guests include John Spiers & Jon Boden, The Four Star Trio (from Cork), Mark Bazeley, Jason Rice & Rob Murch, Louis Killen with Mike Waterson, Simon Ritchie, Brian Peters and Tom McConville, Claire Mann & Aaron Jones. Dance bands and teams include 422, Peeping Tom, Bursledon Village Band, Steamchicken, Shropshire Bedlams & Martha Rhodens Tuppeny Dish, Instep, Chinewrde North West Morris, North British Sword and Thrales Rapper. This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg and many more guests, old and new, will be added to the line-up in the coming months. Watch this space! Contact details for Whitby Folk Week 2007 General Enquiries: Whitby Folk Week, PO Box 44, Selby, YO8 9YP Ticket Sales: Whitby Folk Week, PO Box 137, Queensbury, Bradford, BD13 1WS Email: enquiries@whitbyfolk.co.uk Telephone: 01757 608600 www.whitbyfolkweek.co.uk Sounds fun

As an incentive to visiting ( arrival of baby permiting ) you can have a go on my Dipper

Hoorah! Lots of us in one place. As soon as a programme is available I'll post the concertina related items. If the camp sites are the same as last year (Rugby Club and Stakesby School ) they're on the same circular bus route and I'll get the timetable posted too to help planning.

I Know it's early in the year to be asking but will anyone be going to Whitby Folk week this coming August? We could all meet up for a pot of tea ( or pint of something stronger ) and a session if there are a few of us about

This site http://www.scotlandsmusic.com/index.htm is for a music publishing house in Scotland but they also have Irish music. I've found their fiddle tune books excellent for finding tunes no-one else seems to publish, the only problem is not spending a fortune as they have CD's too. Definitely worth a look

I read the 'North East ' and 'Sunderland' and thought ....Whoopee!! Something within striking distance .... then re-read and saw 'Massachusetts '. Oh the disapointment I'll just have to read all the reports on this site while going green with envy. Have fun, it sounds like a lovely do.

''Interesting name.......'' In England 'fr***in' is also used instead of saying 'fu**ing' and 'jerk'= 'idiot' ........ not a name to call oneself lightly, although it may have a totaly different meaning across the pond Anyway, back to the topic.... generally if you sight read a lot then the English system may be easier and if you generally play by ear then possibly the Anglo would be better

Not under this government we're not even allowed to put that we're English on any official forms and while I am a subject of Her Britanic Majesty ( Britain encompassing Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland) I am certainly not Irish or Welsh and only a quarter Scottish from my mothers side of the family.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_y.../6207970.stm?ls Anyone else having this kind of problem? Yes....... our local event was threatened by reams of politically correct ' risk assesment' legislation,equal oppertunities, minority access twaddle and bumph so the commitee disbanded so that there was no 'official' do and the whole thing just happened anyway. Individuals did things in their own houses and gardens( there's no law yet stopping people inviting passers by to step inside for a mince pie and sing song), and nearly all the events that would have been planned occured as an 'ahem' spontaneous do. I just happened to be there dressed in Victorian costume idly practicing seasonal tunes in the open air. We weren't going to let Blair's Big Brother State stop our local fun.

Or that lovely one with the chorus..... Ta Ra Ra BOOM de ay, Ta Ra Ra Boom de ay......

Visions of groups of guerilla concertina players smuggling gunpowder into the Houses of Parliament then fleeing into the night playing 'revolutionary' tunes as the place explodes

I shall be out this coming weekend playing carols and other jolly tunes at a local 'Victorian' weekend. I've found that if I play the tunes in C or thereabouts most people can join in and sing. Often if I play while the general public are just strolling past they carry on singing down the street, if I'm playing a waltz they end up dancing past which looks lovely when they're in Victorian costume. If the weather is inclement I shall retreat to the shelter of the local pubs ( in the plural ) and start impromtu sing songs, as long as it's carols we shouldn't fall foul of this governments draconian licensing laws ( morris dancing, the music for same and traditional carols being exempt from the terms of the Act) Who would think that just playing the wrong tunes on a concertina in public and having people join in to sing could have me branded a subversive criminal by comrade Blair's Big Brother State, Silent Night is allowed but not Jingle bells as it's a 'comercial' tune

Recently while playing for a morris side a young Chinese lady visiting England got into conversation about my concertina, we got around the language problems with lots of smiles, although she hadn't seen a concertina before she was interested because her Mum plays accordian and she thought that a concertina would be easier for her Mum to manage, being a more compact instrument. She was pleased to hear that concertinas were being made in China. It would be great fun to have a 'cultural visit' to China with massed concertinas

I disagree. I have been known to go to the local session with my concertina and then just not feel like playing when I got there. If I'm not in the mood, I'm not going to play, and if I think I'm going to be coerced because I've brought a box which I might want to play, then I'll simply stop taking the box and therefore stop appearing altogether .... Samantha I agree with Samantha, sometimes it's nice just to listen to others for a while, I might have set out to a session intending to play but not felt like diving in and performing straight away, prefering to 'get in the mood ' first. Don't you always find that it's the people who can't play or sing who seem to think you are there purely for their personal benefit and demand that you entertain them. It wouldn't be so bad if they offered payment ( musicians union rates would be good) but it's always at free sessions. My husband and I once went to a free open session, we were there early and met two other musicians we'd not seen for ages and got into a good gossip catching up on all the news, instuments still firmly in their cases, when we were very rudely interupted by a non-musician/singer with ' Isn't it about time the musicians started playing as there are people here waiting to be entertained!' AAAaaargh!!! Cheers Ann

I used to have a tune book 'Chippendales Cheery Chunes', not seen it for years now, I'll have to go and search the box room to see if it's slumbering under the pile of old sheet music I keep meaning to sort out. There were some lovely tunes in it

Would it be camping only or are there B&Bs nearby? While I'm able to sleep like a log under canvas hubby's health isn't up to it anymore

That helps my memory, my old concertina was a Saxon, a 30 key C/G bought 2nd hand in the mid 1980's and played daily for about 7 years. I still have fond memories of it, lots of Morris tours, Ceildahs and sessions before it was replaced by the Dipper.