So here we go - well it all began on 27th January 2005 when Gill and I walked into a room full of strangers at Parkgate Folk Club - upstairs at the Boathouse, Parkgate. We had seen the posters a few times, but we had never before managed to get ourselves out of the house and see what it was all about. So our first (in this era anyway) Folk Club set was none other than the inimitable Eddie Morris who had us all in pleats with his quips and his songs. Eddie and wife Joyce are two of the stalwart volunteers who keep the local clubs running, and they all deserve medals.
Once Eddie had warmed us up, the main act was the previously unkown (to us) James Fagan & Nancy Kerr. What a great start to our Folking About career! "Famous" Fagan and Nancy Kerr played a stormer and we were so impressed that we bought a CD and got them to sign it.... thus setting a precedent that has cost us a few quid in 2005! But there was even more in store for us that night, because into sight hove an old friend - Mal Lowe. I have known Mal for far too many years to count, and it was great to see him again after a long break, and before we you could say "I'll have a Guinness", Mal had turned into our social secretary, introducing us firstly to Fiddlestone, who we saw at a special night in the Bridge Inn, Port Sunlight, and thence to Bromborough Folk Club at the same venue.
Our first night at Bromborough was March 16th 2005 - the night before St Patrick's Day and our new friend Shay's first go at compering the club, and being Irish, we got the full St Patrick's experience. By the time we had left the building we were well and truely hooked, and when we soon later visited the West Cheshire Sailing Club session in New Brighton, there was no hope for us. We made so many friends in such a short space of time and we went on to have a ball of a year, so thank you to everybody who made, and continue to make us feel very welcome in the local clubs.
That's the creeping done with - now to the music - it was only two days after Shay's Irish Spectacular that we saw The Doghouse for the first time at Capenhurst - see our review here - and it was in April that we started to have to keep a diary of future events so we could keep up with everything going on. April also found us in Doghouse groupie mode as we caught them in Backford and Martland near Knutsford. We went on to visit Helsby Ex-Servicemen's Club for the first time to see the Plank Dynasty in action, and that led us to Rhuddlan for a mini Bluegrass Festival where we saw Cousin Pearl, John Dowling and the Coastline Bluegrass Band who blew us away. April closed with Brass Tacks and Dave Mallett at Parkgate.
May saw the Birth of the Blog (this one anyway) and Fairport Convention at Birkenhead Pacific Road. We went to Holland, came back, saw E.S.T. twice in two days!!!! It was wanting to write these two gigs up that started this blog off - and that gets me out of writing any more because its all in the remainder of the articles, so if you haven't already, go and read them now!
2005 was a fine year, we made, as I feel I keep saying, many friends. It is with sadness then, that we record here the loss of one such friend - Mary Gray had been a regular smiling face to us at Parkgate until she was taken away from us shortly before Christmas. Mary also camped with us at Bridgnorth, sharing in the music, the cricket and the tea making. She is much missed and Brass Tacks' rendition of "Over My Mountain" at her funeral was so very moving, bravely done all of you. Mary loved the mountains and it will make "Meet on the Ledge" even more meaningful next year.
2006 has already started and we have a couple of exciting plans regarding this blog and music in general - well we're excited anyway - lets hope its a good one!
Thanks everybody for reading.
Thanks to Gill for the encouragement.
John
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