Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Sunshine on a Rainy Day - Mediterranean Knees' festival appearance,

Singe rock The Folly

With an early start, a long drive and a long afternoon of performing before driving back, it would have been sensible to have a little practice and get an early night. However a text message informing Shirley that Singe were playing at The Folly meant that the early night went out of the window. That and a few of pints of Shagweaver made the six thirty a bit difficult to face.

There are two main reasons why I stopped going anywhere on August Bank Holiday. The first was the volume of traffic. Nothing was more infuriating than being sat in a massive queue breathing in exhaust fumes and getting nowhere fast. The second, was that the weather seems to have got it in for this particular weekend. Accepting the invitation to perform at The Purslow Show meant breaking the habit of many years standing. The M40 and M42 were almost empty, and the most traffic we saw was in a steady stream of cars moving into Kidderminster. Either the weather on Saturday and Sunday, which was much more typical, had put people off or they had done their travelling already.

The preparation for The Purslow show was a bit more thorough than previous events, with a bit more attention paid to the set list. I still managed to take more things than I really needed. The van was loaded the day before, packed with everything except the guitar. When that was squeezed in, along with Shirley and the dog, it was agreed that I needed a bigger van.

Early arrival on site meant I got to put up my own gazebo, and the one for the puppeteer. I was sandwiched between a jazz band and a puppet show, and we were all sharing the same electrical supply; a generator, which hadn't arrived yet. Annie, the organiser, had made me a sandwich board, or more accurately, turned the one promoting 'Strawberries and Cream' inside out and painted it black. It was still a few hours short of its curing time, making the application of chalk a bit tricky. Still I got my name up on a board in the end.

I'll add that to my to do list in case I get invited back.

So as not to be competing with each other, Anything Goes, Mediterranean Knees and Treasure Trove Puppet and Magic Show negotiated a twenty minute set each, each hour, which was pretty well observed and meant that for the whole day, there was something taking place.

 

The jazz band, 'Anything Goes' are a long standing contributor to The Purslow Show, and having performed on some of the wettest bank holidays on record, were

deserving of respect. It was good to see them sat out from underneath their rather substantial marquee sized shelter basking in the afternoon sunshine.

I was pleased with my performance, the show song was well received and some of my songs, Under The Patio in particular, went down well, but the star of the show was Steve the puppeteer.

I wish I had some video footage of his marionette dancing to Guy Clarke's 'Baton Rouge' at the end of the show.  Steve's details www.teasuretrovepuppetsandmagic.co.uk

Narla eyes the chip and evaluates the chances

Dusk found us sat at the side of the road upon Clee Hill, looking out over the Clent and Malvern Hills, eating fish and chips. Thank goodness that here are some chip shops that never close. If you are passing through Clee Hill, do
give them a try.

Here's a bit of footage of the show song, and below are some lyrics if you want to sing along.

Purslow Show Song

Intro Full chorus

G Am G

Come along now, let's all go

G C Am

Down to the farm in old Purslow

G Am G

May the sun shine bright And cool beers flow

C D7 G

At the Purslow Gymkhana Sports and Show

It's the sixty ninth show It's the seventieth year

And the sky above is/isn't blue and/or clear

All kinds of weather have been endured

And the only year cancelled Was the one insured

Chorus

Some of the fun and variety

Have become the victims of health and safety

No more shire horse racing or archery

But there's still the dog show and agility

Chorus

For the sportingly inclined there's the famed hill race

The young, fit and hardy set the pace

You can see them in the distance approaching the crown

And they go much faster when they run down

Chorus

You can't find a needle in a stack of hay

or so the adage would have you say

But one activity that never fails

is a rummage in a bail for Lucy's Golden Nails

Bridge

D 

It's a wonderful way To make communities thrive

Am 

Keeping the skills And traditions alive

D 

A year in the making And it's over so soon

D7 

 A picture of old England in an afternoon

Chorus

G Am G

It's an annual event and a bit of a do

G C Am

It's been run through the years By just few

G Am G

Ron Mould was in charge for the very first one

C D7 G

He showed the rest How it should be done

Chorus

Harry Collins gave the reigns up to his peers

after horsing around for years and years

a job on the committee is for life it appears

No.1 Roadie

Big Jack is still at it after forty years

Chorus

Bridge

Chorus twice + repeat last lines and finish by playing out full chorus chords.

© George Houguez, 2016

Now it is time to start preparing for the birthday celebrations, starting Friday night with the Open Music Night at Kilsby, before heading back to Shropshire for a family gathering, camping weekend.

Bluegrass, Greengrass and The Blues.

Blues, Bluegrass and Greengrass

In July, I was very tempted not to have an August Open Mic Night because it would be a lot of trouble to set up the PA and lights. Especially when there was a strong possibility that I might be the only performer; it's the start of the peak holiday season after all. Right up until the last minute I was determined to say that the next one would be 'The Birthday Bash' in September, but in the end I said that it would be on, but unplugged and un-organised. I wasn't even sure if I'd be going myself, but I liked the idea of havng a chat and a pint. A few people let me know that they wouldn't be attending and so at ten to eight as I arrived I was very pleased to meet Keith and Kate in the car park.

By the time I was getting ready to start, my only official act of the evening, the room was almost full and what was expected to be a low key night and early finish turned into one of the most delightful nights of music that The George has seen in the couple of years since I started attending. The talent was professional in standard and there was a wide diversity of genre and material. There were three banjos in attendance, though I don't think they were ever played at the same time.

Don't be fooled by the emptiness at the back of the room, in front and to my left there were lots of other people. (Just in case you thought I was on my own after all) including a few audience. The harmonica only came out for one song.

Mike and John were out on their own to begin with, but later in the evening they aquired some friends, and when John sang 'Take Me Home Country Road', he wasn't just accompanied by John, with his new 12 string, but backed by percussion, double bass, violin, a couple of guitars and a host of beautiful harmonising voices. Jokingly I suggested that he might never sound so good again, but it wasn't that funny.

AKA Greengrass, or possibly Green Grass came mob handed. It required that many to carry in Keith's double bass; a beast of a bass that could be felt as well as heard. We'd seen them as Crow's Feet at The Rugby Tap on Thursday, a delightfully rowdy open music night that is well woth attending.

Peter and Shirley gave us some proper Bluegrass with harmonies and pickin' and the best joke of the night. “How do you light up a banjo player's eyes? Shine a torch in his ears.” Thank you Shirley.

Leanne, Dusty and Allan, who found us on Google while looking for something to do on a Friday night. two mandolins and a harmonica playing guitarist and some beautiful vocals and harmonies.

Martin and Andy were in blues mode, and Martin had more harmonicas on the table than I've ever seen before. The one that he wanted was in his pocket all along.

Steve Edgar. Ended the evenings individual performances with style.His unexpected Elkie Brooks was very pleasant to hear, even if it was a bit of a vocal stretch for Steve.

There was a magic to the evening and I hope that it isn't too long before we experience the likes again

We finished on a high with Greengrass leading in a shared performance of Wagon Wheel and then they continued to play Roll in my baby's arms as people made their way out with Kate getting her hands on John's pride and joy.

 

The next Open Music Night at The George, Kilsby, is Friday 2nd September when the Open Music Collective will be joining George to celebrate his 54th birthday. The PA will be set up and the lights on.