Midgebite Ceilidh Band in action, Saturday 2nd March

It's always great fun to play with Midgebites: the band has fun - therefore the audience has fun....and the whole thing escalates until we reach critical mass..

What's not to like?

This was Saturday's ceilidh in Stretford, a young lady's birthday celebration.

L>R: Bill, Brian, Emma, JW, JJ

I let a young lady member of our audience take a few photos with my Lumix TZ70....she did a far better job than I could have.

 

The band in action (inaction?)

All very great fun - I can't wait for the next one!

The Pitmen Poets, Monday 13th February 2017

I went to see The Pitmen Poets last night, they were performing at Crewe’s Lyceum Theatre….this was AFTER the Curry Walk of course.

This was a tremendously powerful and evocative performance at a beautiful venue. There's still chance to see them: Melksham, London, Bury Met, Bathgate, Hexham, and the Sage Gateshead between now and 19th February.

https://youtu.be/NJmF2uXKBbc

The concert is a mix, mainly songs but plenty of stories and some poetry. It's entertaining - quite funny at times, interspersed with the tales of hardship and tragedy.

Some of the material is traditional, some self-penned (Jez Lowe being the master!), other material is gleaned from the writing of Tommy Armstrong and others.

https://youtu.be/_3spqmde7Gw

It's all really excellent. It's a must-see show if you're remotely interested in the history (and exploitation) of coal miners and coal mining, especially in the North East.
Even if the subject matter doesn't interest you I'm sure you'll enjoy the high standard of performance of Bob Fox, Billy Mitchell, Jez Lowe and Benny Graham...... although southerners may struggle with some of the dialect stuff!

Images nicked from the Pitmen Poets website….I’m sure the guys won’t mind!

21st January 2017, Fundraising for Syria Relief

Marmalade in action, raising funds for Syria Relief - we helped raise around £2000 last night, playing a ceilidh at St Peter’s Assembly Rooms in Hale.

 

The event was very well supported, in fact it was a sell-out.

Photograph by Brian, our very excellent caller for the evening.

31st December 2014, New Year’s Eve in Mobberley

Edited: New photographs added*

The Plan was to put a New Year’s Eve Ceilidh together for 2013 but it was left far too late for A Plan to be formulated and implemented. The organising of an event like this doesn’t happen overnight, but in 2014 it DID happen:
A lot of work went into making this happen. It took me a couple of days to recover from playing all evening, but it was a huge success. There’ll be one in 2015 – the hall has already been hired.

 Just part of the band: L>R:  Marian, The Snowman, John McN, me

Karen, one of our drummers

Rob – a very fine caller

A very enthusiastic audience danced the night away until midnight when proceeding were halted for The Big Ben Bongs…..then the dancing started all over again.

Gill, busy calling the dances in fine style

And being as wot it was a Bollin Morris event it would be rude not to include a photograph or two of the side in action at stupid o’clock that evening….or was it the morning?

All the photographs were taken by Rob or his very tolerant wife, Mrs Rob. Rob was a busy lad that night. When he wasn’t calling dances he was either playing his box in the band, taking photographs, or somehow managing to spend some fleeting moments with Mrs Rob. We apologise loads to Mrs Rob for keeping her husband from her for most of the evening – but he did a splendid job!
We had a brill evening.

*the added photographs were taken by Paul Middlehurst

Saturday 7th September, Thelwall

Thelwall Morris are a fine bunch of lads, always up for a bit of fun and a leap around. Every year they invite a few Morris sides to Warrington to join in the fun and leaping around. This year was my first Thelwall Day of Dance – and what a cracking day out it was. A bus was commandeered hired for the day which provided transport around the various venues. This was a good plan….most of these venues seemed to provide lots of rather good beer.
Just some pics from the day….and more pics here.

 

  A grand day out Grommit!

Tuesday 23rd April, St George’s Day in Altrincham

What better way to celebrate St George’s Day than by having a leap around outside Costello’s, the Dunham Brewery Tap, in Altrincham. This little gathering in Goose Green, one of the oldest parts of Altrincham, is now a permanent fixture in the calendars of both Bollin and Thelwall Morris sides.

Thelwall and Bollin Morris join forces

The continued success of this annual gathering surely can’t have anything to do with the venue….can it?

The long-suffering Rick, more usually spotted clad in walking boots (and other stuff too)

 Showing how it’s done

No fingers were broken in the performance of this dance

A view that has only recently been revealed with the demolishing of some vacant shops

Unfortunately the view above will again disappear once the new hospital is built.

Anyway, it was good. The dancing and the company were excellent, the Dunham beers were as good as ever. Roll on St George’s Day 2014…..mind you, we’ve got May Day to come yet!

 

Ireland, Scotland and Wales all celebrate their traditions with huge amounts of enthusiasm – the English just seem to be embarrassed by their own heritage.

Some more pitchers here.

3rd January 2013, The Belvedere, Liverpool

Yvonne is one of my bestest mates, we go back a long way. She has perhaps the finest singing voice I’ve ever heard. When she mentioned that a weekly afternoon singaround at a pub in Liverpool might be up my street I didn’t need any persuasion.
Getting the train to Liverpool was favourite, so at around 1.20pm I left Liverpool Lime Street in search of The Belvedere….which isn’t this pub:
A rather strikingly attractive pub across the road from Liverpool Lime Street. A Cain’s Brewery van is in the foreground.
The Walkers brewery is sadly no more. It was bought out by Tetley (in the 1960s or 1970s?) and continued brewing, but as Tetley-Walker. Tetley’s then decided to shut the Walkers brewery and concentrate on their Leeds brewery. There beer wasn’t a patch on Walkers.  

A wet Thursday afternoon in Liverpool

Anyway, to the main reason for this expedition, The Belvedere singaround.
I had the address of the pub, I even had a street map. Liverpool Highways have decided that it would be a real wheeze if they removed many of the street signs in this part of the city. Hilarious it was.

Half an hour later I found the pub, and what a fine establishment it is.

That half hour wasn’t wasted. I wandered around the city and marvelled at the wealth that built this city. Although Liverpool has been through hard times, this part of the city has a wonderfully regal feel to it. Many of the buildings are graceful and serene. Street names (where the signs existed!) echoed the city’s connections with the sea. Liverpool was a very important sea port, sadly much of the trade was human: the slave trade.

I’ll be returning with more time to spare, this city has to be explored at a more leisurely pace.

Anyroadup. The Belvedere sing. And beer.

Both very excellent indeed. The beer I chose was Liverpool Organic Brewery’s Cascade Bitter, 3.7% abv, excellent session beer. I knew there was a reason to travel by train.

The pub is an unspoilt haven: good beer, pickled eggs, good company. Proper, if you know what I mean. 

The singing was as good as it gets, a dozen or so singers in attendance - eleven were very good......well I had a sing too.
Colin, who instigated this singaround, has much to be proud of with his weekly get-together. It attracts some of the very best....apart from me of course. There are no airs and graces to this event, it's just a very enjoyable singaround. There’s not much more to say – other than I’ll be back sooner rather than later.

     

At 4pm I had to leg it back to the station to catch my train home – I wasn’t in too much of a hurry though:

I shouldn’t REALLY have gone today, I couldn’t really spare the time - I’ve got loads of stuff to do. But I'm very glad I did make the effort, Yvonne's introduced me to something really special.

Anyway, a break is good for a chap.

Isn’t it?

29th December, A little out of sync…

Lots of stuff has gone on of late, but yesterday evening I went over to Mark’s in Holmes Chapel to enjoy his excellent hospitality and the good company that is always guaranteed at his ‘At Home’ gatherings.

Music, singing and good conversation in the best of company, fuelled by Mark and Alison’s very competent culinary efforts, were enjoyed until late. Although Holmes Chapel is only around 18 miles from Timperley, at this time of year it’s just too far to cycle there and back in the evening. The only practical way of getting there is to drive. Ho hum.

Music in Mark’s little conservatory

I was delighted to find Emma & Jon in attendance, they’re both excellent company. Emma is the fiddler in the Midgebite Ceilidh Band that I play with, and Jon is a very experienced lightweight backpacker and is a mine of information on the subject.

I had heard from Emma that they had both taken up playing the ukelele. Judging from the sound they were making, they’re both learning fast.

Challenge and cycling matters were discussed at length with Jon, who will be on his 3rd Challenge in 2013.

 Emma and Jon

Challenge matters included discussing the possibilities of carrying musical instruments across the Scottish Highlands. Ukeleles and melodeons were deemed to be just too heavy. Whistles and harmonicas are okay, but when you’re carrying your house on your back you become very aware of every ounce in your pack.

Today has been a busy day dealing with family stuff. I was going to walk with friend John from Bramhall, he had a nice 20 miler lined up. I’m afraid to say I wimped out because of the appallingly wet weather. After such a day there was really only one way to wind down:

Riggwelter is the northern word used to describe a sheep that has fallen on it’s back and can’t get back up. The beer’s good.

The weather forecast for tomorrow isn’t too bad so I’m going for a walk. It will be local – straight from my front door, but with all the awful weather we’ve endured of late I really need to get out.

1st-10th November, Souling in Warburton

The Warburton Souling Gang ready to hit the road

The Warburton Souling Play is a traditional play performed at this time of the year (All Souls) in pubs in the towns and villages in the area.

It’s both fun and interesting. and if my liver is up to it, the last performance of the year will take place this evening at the Saracen’s Head, Warburton, a small town near Lymm, Cheshire.

The year’s final performance is always a good do, attracting an audience from all over the region. The post-Play party is now a firm fixture in the diaries of many singers and musicians – the session doesn’t usually finish until the early hours of Sunday morning. I usually cancel Sunday. 

Turkish Champion in action

One way of getting a free beer!

Such an ugly bunch I’ve never seen before!

Beelzebub ignoring the dress code

Out to scare the kids

Added 12th November 2012: Photos from the 2012 season

The last week or so

My mate Chris used to live in nearby Sale, but the last few years he’s been all over the show - everywhere from working for the British Antarctic Survey in both Cambridge and on Rothera, travelling in South America, and now he’s going to move to Australia. On a rare return visit to Sale last week he took the opportunity to call in to demand coffee with menaces.
He though he’d wind me up by rolling up on his rather nice Laverda Jota. He succeeded.
I used to like Chris a lot.

A rare example of a classic bike that isn’t kept in a glass cabinet

That evening it was ceilidh time again. I told you all about the ceilidh and I’m pleased to say that some of you rolled up – you seemed to have enjoyed it.