Folk Radio UK

Folk Radio UK plays non-stop Folk, Roots, Indie and Alternative music. It's completely free to listen , although the station relies on the good-will of listeners to make voluntary donations which provide the main source of funding.

Regatta Christmas Ceilidh

OK, it's still only October, but it's always a good thing to look ahead. Especially as the busy Christmas season marches inexorably towards us.

So here's advance notice of this year's Christmas Ceilidh at the MICA on Saturday 10th December, featuring The Regatta Ceilidh Band - aka Liz, Tom, Ian, Gary, Adrian, Barry and Greg, with John doing the honours as caller.

If you went along last year you'll know how much festive fun is on offer - not just the liveliest dancing and music on the island, but a fantastic hot supper and as many mince pies with cream as you can eat. This year's Christmas Ceilidh promises to be even bigger and better. So put the date in your diary NOW. Tickets will be on sale at the MICA soon.

Shanty Night - Thursday 18th August 2011

Only two weeks to go until Shanty Night!

Resounding success though last year's was generally considered to be, this year it will be EVEN BETTER!

To avoid the space and access issues we experienced in 2010, this year's Shanty Night will be held in a marquee in the Coast Inn car park.

There will be ample space for musicians, and amplification for individual solo items, while retaining an authentic aucoustic ambience for the community-singing numbers.  Hopefully everyone who wants to join in with and listen to the music will be able to find a seat in or around the marquee from which they can enjoy the evening, and access to the bar will be easier, too.

Absolutely everyone is welcome to come along and join in.

Entry is, of course, FREE, but word-sheets will be available for £2 - all proceeds to the RNLI.

Posters and fliers will be available at the Session tonight and next Thursday - do please take some and help to publicise this special Mersea Session event.

Regatta Song and Dance update

Great response to last week's call for musicians to take the stage at Regatta Song and Dance on 20th August - thanks all, your enthusiasm, time and talents are very much appreciated.

There's going to be a really rich variety of high quality entertainment for everyone at the Coast Road car park all afternoon - not just music, but storytelling and drama too, maybe even a fire-eater!

Still a few places left, though, so please do drop me an email if you're at all interested.

STOP PRESS: exciting news - One-Drum  have agreed to start the whole proceedings off with - quite literally - a BANG! This will be a brilliant way to kick off Song and Dance 2011. They'll probably be starting at noon, but watch this space for definite info soon.


One Drum Music and Dance from one drum on Vimeo.

Calling all musicians . . .

Saturday 20th August is West Mersea Town Regatta Day and last year the first ever 'Regatta Song and Dance' event was held on the Coast Road car park, providing free, family-friendly, land-based entertainment between the end of the Watersports and the start of the prizegiving and subsequent firework display.

The brainchild of Regatta Commodore Chrissie Westgate, Song and Dance 2010 was a huge success, with Coast Inn Session musicians joining forces to create 'The Regatta Ceilidh Band' for the Ceilidh.

To further enhance what will already be a much upgraded 'experience' for the punters this year (more local crafts and nautically-themed stalls, more sideshows, more purveyors of food and drink, etc) we are looking for musicians, solo or in groups, who fancy taking the stage (and it will be a real stage this time) for an informal half-hour (or even 15 minute) acoustic slot.

Very light amplification will be OK, so long as the basic overall effect is acoustic (we have promised the Regatta Committee that the afternoon's entertainment will not clash or compete with the Watersports commentary - they were there first, we are the new kids, so must fit in around the existing arrangements).

The Song and Dance proper kicks off with the children's dancing display at 5 pm, followed by the Ceilidh at 5.30.  So we're looking for people to fill informal half-hour slots from midday onwards.

I have a timetable and a few slots are already booked but there are still plenty to spare (despite what you may have read in Mersea Life Magazine). So if you would like to have a go, or know anyone else locally who would, please drop me an email, or see me at the Session.

Any genre of singing and playing is welcome. Or dancing. Or juggling. Or magic. Or fire-eating. Or indeed any other kind of entertainment. It doesn't have to be nautically themed and you don't have to dress up as a pirate (unless you want to!) The only stipulation is that it must be strictly 'family friendly', so no post-watershed or otherwise 'inappropriate' lyrics please.

Regatta Song and Dance is a 100% community event, by the community for the community. No-one gets paid - it's all done for fun and love and in celebration of our island's unique ambiance. Do come and join in.

Look forward to being overwhelmed by volunteers very soon!

Juliet

PS - the Session email list is looking rather out of date. If you are a regular or occasional Session musician and didn't receive an email about this, please drop me a line with your contact details and I'll add you to the list.



Food, Drink and Leisure Festival 2011

The third Mersea Island Food, Drink and Leisure Festival was a huge success, with an estimated 6,000 visitors over the two days. The crowds were particularly in evidence on the Sunday, when, just like last year, the weather was much kinder than on the Saturday - the sun shone, and people packed the lawns, eating ice-creams, drinking Mersea beer and enjoying the entertainments on both the main stage on the top arena and in the 'acoustic tent' on the lower lawn. Members of the Coast Inn's Thursday Session and Moondance Club contributed to much of the weekend's music-making, with Liz doing a fantastic job organising sound for the whole event, as well as performing with Blackwaterside.

Here are some pics of musicians at the Festival by Chrissie Westgate, with ten of mine tagged on at the end (have finally found my camera, previously believed lost in the move - hooray!):

Regatta Song and Dance - 20th August

Further to the news of this event listed in the last but one post, here's the flier which has just been produced today (click on image to enlarge).

Many thanks to Leafy for the lovely illustrations.

Copies will be available at the Food, Drink and Leisure Festival  this weekend to give Song and Dance a bit of advance publicity, and then, nearer the time, it will be delivered to thousands of homes on the island and in surrounding villages, as well as being displayed on lamp-posts and in shop windows, etc etc. 

If you would like copies to distribute at a local event, club or workplace, do please drop me a line.

Back online!

Greetings from your Webmistress - and apologies for this site having been moribund for such a long time. My excuses include pressure of work, moving house and office and, more recently, the lack of a resident babysitter on Thursday nights, so I haven't been down to the Coast Inn to enjoy the music for months and months. 

(Whatever excuses your Session attending Webmaster might muster for not having left the odd post here during my absence remain to be seen . . . but he too has been busy at work and moving house, not to mention writing a regular column in Coast Road's esteemed free magazine, Mersea Life , editing the newsletter of a sailing club the name of which is best not so much as whispered on this island, as well as helping to organise Mersea Week  . . . so we'd better let him off, I guess.)

Attendance on Thursday nights has been thin at times in recent months, but nil desperandum - it's not the only local session to experience a bit of a dropping off of late, and some are putting this down to the recession, others to winter blues, yet others to the fact that one simply has to keep reinventing and re-publicising these things on a regular basis in order to keep people's interest from waning.

So let's look forward, not back, and get on with imparting some news of upcoming events:



MERSEA FOOD, DRINK AND LEISURE FESTIVAL - 28TH/29TH MAY

If you haven't been to the Food, Drink and Leisure Festival before, then do put the dates in your diary and go along next weekend - it offers two really great family days out, and a celebration of the best of our island life. In addition to showcasing local food and drink producers, there's a wealth of stalls, displays and demonstrations covering every aspect of Mersea's rich past and present. You can see the full range of attractions on the Festival's website.

A major part of the weekend's enjoyment is provided by the singers, musicians and dancers who perform throughout event on both days. Many Session regulars will be appearing on the main stage (see below for listings) - indeed if you live on Mersea you will probably have noticed (how could you avoid it?!) the delightful visages of our very own beloved Ian, Tom and Greg gracing every telegraph pole and shop window.

This year, in addition to the music on the main stage on the top lawn, on the Sunday there will be an 'Acoustic Tent' on the lower lawn. All musicians are invited to come along and play/sing for as long as they wish - just as on a normal Thursday night at the Coast Inn. So whether you're a Session regular or not, if you plan to visit the Festival on the Sunday, then do take along your instrument (or voice) and give the Acoustic Tent a whirl. It may be that the event attracts audience and musicians who haven't experienced the Mersea Session before and will be inspired to come along on a Thursday night.  For more information about the Acoustic Tent, speak to John Leyland, or contact the organiser of the Festival, Bev Perkins, on info@mersea-fdl-festival.com or 07912 582030.

Here's the list of who's playing what on the main stage (all times are approximate):

Saturday 28th
11.00-14.00  Blackwaterside, Moondance, Arran, Josh Wilson and Guests
14.00-14.30  Mersea Dance (30 mins)
14.30-15.30  John Leyland (30 mins) and Guests (30 mins)
15.30-15.50  Alimah Dance (20 mins)
15.50-17.00  Al and Tony

Sunday 29th

11.00-14.00  Blackwaterside, Moondance, Lantern Band and Guests
14.00-14.30  Zumba, Carol Irvine (30 mins)
14.30-14.50  Hymns Singalong (with Greg on midi accordion) (20 mins)
14.50-15.30  Paul Kiff (40 mins)
15.30-16.00  Ellie Scrivener (30 mins)
16.00-16.20  Alimah Dance (20 mins)
16.20-17.00  Verão (40 mins)

FRIENDS OF WEST MERSEA PARISH CHURCH - LAUNCH EVENT 18TH JUNE

The beautiful, historic Church of St Peter and St Paul has stood in the West Mersea village centre for many centuries and is a well-loved landmark for the local community and visitors. The cost in both time and money to preserve, maintain and develop this ancient Grade1 Listed Building is high and it is no longer possible for the congregation alone to fund.

The Friends of West Mersea Parish Church  is a group of interested people from the wider community - from all denominations and none - who wish to support and maintain this wonderful, ancient Mersea building.
FWMPC are holding a Launch Event on Saturday 18th June which starts at 2.30 in the afternoon and carries on into the evening. Admission to all parts of the day is free - details on their website  and on the poster here . John Leyland and Greg are among those taking part in the 'Entertainment' at 7.30, which also includes some Morris Dancing and a talk on the history of shanty singing.


SHANTY NIGHT - THURSDAY 18TH AUGUST

Last year's Shanty Night at the Coast Inn  happened on a wing and a prayer, and was held indoors owing to weather too inclement and draughty to allow for al fresco musicmaking.  It attracted far more people than we'd ever anticipated and as a result, despite being jolly lively, highly memorable and ultimately quite exhausting, it was at times too much of a squish for musicians and audience alike, and there were  moments when general rowdiness and a clash of interests between musicians and drinkers threatened to get a little bit out of hand. Luckily it was on balance considered a great success, but lessons were learned and plans for big improvements this year are under way.

These plans include a marquee for performers and dedicated music-loving audience and an outdoor bar (leaving the indoor bar free for dedicated musically indifferent drinkers); more amplification for performers; audience song-sheets with the words of popular shanties and sea-songs; and using the event as a fundraiser for the RNLI, those stalwart volunteers from the Mersea community on whom so many rely.

Updates on all details and plans will be posted here as soon as finalised. But please be reassured - if your playing was drowned out last year, if you wanted to join in but didn't know the words, if you didn't have enough room to breathe, or if, indeed, you couldn't get into the Coast Inn at all . . . . then don't despair! It will all be better organised this year and better geared to the needs of all those attending.

So stand by for an evening of nautically-themed music making to remember!

TOWN REGATTA SONG AND DANCE - SATURDAY 20TH AUGUST

Last year's Regatta Song and Dance was in many ways experimental - there had been those who said 'it'll never work' and those who said it would prove unpopular or even a health-and-safety hazard, and those who simply weren't at all keen on the idea of a non-boaty event at the Regatta for people who don't wish to, or are unable to, join in with the sailing and watersports that are central to the day. But, in the face of at times seemingly insurmountable setbacks - some almost at the last minute - Commodore Chrissie made it happen- and, as the photos prove , it was a rip-roaring success enjoyed by all who took part.

Post-match analysis by a group of those involved in the organisation and production of the event revealed that a steep learning curve had already been scaled but that our collective experiences, together with feedback from others who took part and watched (both locals and visitors from afar) highlighted some areas which needed improving for 2011 and others which were so successful that they needed expanding and enhancing for Song and Dance's second year.

Because the Watersports are the central waterfront attraction of the afternoon and include some entertaining (and often quite noisy) amplified commentary, the main musical events - children's dancing display, the ceilidh and the set by Blackwaterside - can't officially kick off until the Greasy Pole Competition - the grand finale of the Watersports - has finished, which will be at around 5 o'clock.

However, from noon onward, the car park on Coast Road will be full of interesting stalls, refreshments and attractions (this year with a very much more local flavour - featuring island charities, organisations, craftspeople, traders and purveyors of delicious food and drink) and the stage will be set up, so it's been decided that acoustic musicians should be invited to 'busk' on the stage to entertain those whose attention is not turned towards what's happening on the water. 

This will have to be on strictly acoustic basis (or very nearly so), as it must not interfere with or override the Watersports commentary (otherwise we'll be in trouble with the Powers That Be on the Regatta Committee Boat).  Obviously this does not offer 100% ideal conditions for music-making, but Ellie Scrivener played in the afternoon on an informal basis last year, which went down very well, so if you're interested but unsure, do speak to her about it. We do think it could work well for the right kind of performers, or we wouldn't be suggesting it!

This year, although it will be nice to give the appearance that everything is very casual and informal, we're taking bookings for half-hour slots between 1 and 4 pm. So that's seven half-hour slots up for grabs. All kinds of music welcome - it doesn't have to be nautically themed at all, although if it is, then it will make the intriguing Mermaid on Stilts  feel at home!  If you're interested, please drop me a line to discuss and/or book a time to play. 

And it goes without saying that the more people of all ages who turn out to support Regatta Song & Dance, the merrier.  It really is a terrific afternoon's fun. 

The children of MIYPs will be showing off their hornpipe-dancing skills to some well-known maritime tunes, as well as performing a routine to music from 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.  The popular Eighteenth Century Pirates will be gathered once more, joining in with the Ceilidh and generally lending a bit of nautical 'heritage' to the proceedings. 'Blackwaterside' will be rounding off the early evening with all our favourite tunes from the Session - from Rolling in My Sweet Baby's Arms to Wild Rover.

And then after the prizegiving for the day's sailing races and watersports, there will of course be the traditional and very spectacular firework display.

****************

I think that's everything for now. Please get in touch if there's anything you'd like to publicise here and I'll do my very best to oblige.

Visit again soon for updates on all the above - and more.

CHRISTMAS CEILIDH

Get your tickets for the fabulous Christmas Ceilidh now!

If you enjoyed the Regatta Song and Dance  back in the distant warm days of summer, then you'll LOVE Mersea's Christmas Ceilidh on Saturday 11th December.

And if you didn't catch the singing and dancing in Mersea Week, then come along and see what you missed!

The Regatta Ceilidh Band (aka the Session's very own Liz, Greg, Tom, Rick and Adrian) will be providing the foot-stomping music, with John Leyland calling. And Ellie Scrivener will be offering a 'musical interlude' while everyone eats, drinks and gets their breath back for the second half of the evening's dancing.

Ticket price includes a hot supper and mince pies. There will be a bar and a raffle too. And we're hoping that Father Christmas might even put in an appearance. Altogether a festive, fun and family-friendly evening's entertainment at a very reasonable price.

All proceeds will go towards making next year's Regatta Song and Dance even bigger and better, with more singing and more dancing, as well as the popular 18th-century pirates, plus children's activities, stalls for Mersea artists, craftspeople and charities, and nautically-themed sideshows.

Tickets £6 adult, £3 children or £15 family (2+2) include a delicious hot supper and mince pies, are available at the MICA, or from Juliet or Chrissie Westgate.

Please tell your families and friends - and BOOK NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!

Ceilidh Club at Langenhoe Village Hall

John Leyland has asked us to let everyone know about the Ceilidh Club held at Langenhoe Village Hall on the second Friday of each month.  The next one will be this Friday, 8th October.

It runs from 8.00pm - 11.30 pm. Tickets cost £8.00, including food. There's always live music to dance to and the caller is, more often than not, Mr Leyland himself!  All are very welcome.

Future Ceilidh Club meetings will be listed on the news page here and also on the Mersea Island Live Music  website.

Tickets . . .

. . . for the Mayor's Fundraising Session on 11th November are selling out VERY FAST.  If you need audience tickets (£4 each), please see me at this week's Thursday Session - it may be your very last chance to get into this sell-out special Session!


. . . for the Christmas Ceilidh at the MICA Centre on Saturday 11th December, with the 'Regatta Ceilidh Band' (aka Liz, Greg, Tom, Rick and Adrian)', and John Leyland (caller) are now available. I'll be bringing them along to Thursday Sessions every week, and they'll soon be on sale at the MICA Centre or from Chrissie Gamble. Adults £6, children £3, family ticket £15. Ticket price includes a hot supper, three hours of lively dancing, and a musical interlude with Ellie Scrivener. There will be a bar and a raffle, and all profits will be going towards making next year's Regatta Song & Dance even bigger and better.

Roman River Festival 2010

Quick plug for the eleventh Roman River Festival, with ten concerts of music old and new by world-class musicans in churches and village halls along the Roman River - starting with Bach at St Stephen's, Great Wigborough and ending with a Tango Evening in Fingringhoe Village Hall. There's also a family concert featuring Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf at Abberton & Langenhoe Village Hall and a morning of Baroque violin and harpsichord at East Mersea Church.  Full details of all events in the Festival are over on the Mersea Island Live Music  website.

Coming soon to a town not far from Mersea . . .

Colchester Free Festival 2010 is a one-day music and arts festival in Castle Park from 11am to 7pm on Saturday 18th September and forms the finale of "Colchester!" - a week-long "grassroots celebration", with events taking place throughout the town, from Monday 13th September to Saturday 18th September. See the Free Festival website for full details of all the events and bands.

West Mersea Town Regatta Song & Dance 2010 - more photos

More Regatta Song & Dance photos just in.  This one's of the Grand Finale -  'Wild Rover' - sent by Catherine, a visitor from Berkshire:

And a couple from Regatta Commodore, Chrissie:

There's a good write-up of the singing and dancing, as well as lots of pics of the watersports etc, on the Regatta website .

And, if you haven't already seen them, there are lots more Singing & Dancing pics here.

Acoustic City, Colchester

Bit of a plug, if I may, for Acoustic City at Colchester's Headgate Theatre. (click on poster to enlarge)

Claire Thomas - Feel My Love

We miss you, Claire. Come back soon!

Mersea Island Live Music

The new Mersea Island Live Music website now has the easier-to-remember address:

www.merseaislandlivemusic.com

Please use it, please tell people about it, please send us news and updates of live music events on and around the island of any kind at all.

New Live Music Listings Website

Well, after less than a fortnight floating around in cyberspace, this little website is doing rather nicely, thankyou. We're getting up to 80 hits a day, and our nifty 'statcounter' tells us that some of these are coming via the numerous websites who've kindly added links (they're listed down there on the left-hand side); some from Facebook (if you're on Facebook, please don't forget to 'like' us!); and quite a surprising number from people Googling the words 'Music' and 'Mersea' together.

The discovery that so many people are searching for 'music on Mersea' has inspired me to set up a completely separate listings site for ALL live music happening on and around the island. Simply because there is no other single, reliable, up-to-date, online source of information for anyone wanting to know what's on.

Of course, a large sector of the island's population still gleans information in the time-honoured fashion - by looking in the Post Office window, on community notice boards and in the local press. But this can be rather a haphazard method, and if events aren't advertised further afield than the corner shop, then their potential audience is severely curtailed.

A recent concert at the MICA Centre by three world-class guitarists (for which I had myself eagerly bought tickets) was cancelled through - I'm reliably informed - 'lack of interest'.  Well, I'm not convinced it's interest that's lacking round here, but awareness. Mersea is bursting not only with musicians but also with lovers of every kind of live music.

Here's the the new site - Mersea Island Live Music . 

Please contact me with details of anything which ought to be listed but isn't. And please spread the word.

Other local sessions

Sessions have markedly different characters, some are tune, some are song, some are both and some are different. It is the lifeblood of the aural tradition that songs and tunes are performed and copied, adapted and just plain changed, and the more occasions and locations that celebrate live acoustic music, the better for the music, and those who love making and hearing it.

So, I thought I'd have a stab at listing some other sessions.

Sadly, the Essex Folk Newssession listing hasn't been updated for over a year, so here's a current snapshot of sessions in mid-Essex, at least those that I am aware of. As Esther used to say, 'unless you know different', so please post any I have missed on this site. Sessions can die quite quickly, some endure quietly, and some run and run.

Firstly, I list the sessions organised by fellow Tollesbrarian, Fred Field. Fred is unmistakable, sporting a leather stetson, a real ale pewter tankard and big hair, so if you see him, buy him a pint.

First Friday of the month: Station Arms Southminster

Second Friday: Viper Mill Green, nr Ingatestone

Third Friday: Wheatsheaf, Writtle

Fourth Friday: King's Head, Tollesbury

Fifth Friday (if there is one): Queen's Head, Coggeshall (A120)

Last Sunday: Queen's Head, Burnham

Every Tuesday: United Brethren, New Writtle Street, Chelmsford

Coast Inn regular, Roy Nicholls, runs his own splendid sessions at:

1st Sunday, Blue Boar, Maldon

Other local sessions include:

2nd Sunday (at 5pm): Woolpack, Mildmay Road, Chelmsford (Irish tunes)

3rd Thursday: Ye Olde Swan, High Street, Brightlingsea

3rd Thursday: Rose and Crown, Great Waltham

3rd Thursday: s/b 'Gladys', Benfleet Creek

Mersea Food, Drink & Leisure Festival 2010

The second annual Food, Drink and Leisure Festival was held at Mersea Island Vineyard on 29/30 May. This year it offered a showcase for an even more extensive range of our fabulous local food and drink, as well as displays featuring Mersea’s coastal heritage and wildlife, and stalls promoting local charities and organisations.

A two-day programme of music and dance included displays by Mersea Dance and Mersea Island Young Players, sea shanties from Mersea Island Players, belly dancing with Alimah Dance, and music from John Leyland and the Lantern Band, Cross Stitch and Blackwaterside. Following a knock-out performance with the Chrissie Lee Trio at the Peldon May Festival the previous evening, Helen Abbey came along to sing on the Saturday, accompanied by Ian Jewitt, but but they were unfortunately defeated in the end by the increasingly torrential rain and howling wind. Mercifully, the weather improved considerably in time for Sunday’s events, and the crowds turned out to enjoy the Festival to the full on a beautifully sunny afternoon.

There are some nice pictures of musicians taken over the weekend by Chrissie Gamble on the Gallery page, along with some frankly atrocious snaps captured from the video clips I took which turned out to be too long and too poor in quality to disseminate to a wider audience either here, on YouTube, or anywhere else.