Great idea for a project, Jane. I had the pleasure of finding myself in that wonderful scene for a period 1971-72. I had been working in a record store in Milwaukee going out of business and inherited all their Topic catalog, which included the High Level Ranter's NORTHUMBERLAND FOREVER. In a flash I made a beeline across the pond, after stopping in Queens NY to enlist my fiddling pardner John Specker to join me, and in 2 days we were in the Bridge Inn parking lot, waiting for the Castle Folk Club to open.
We were two crazy American hippies, and were made welcome by so many in that scene. Ray Fisher and Stefan Sobel got us gigs all over the Northeast, and drove us to them. The Bridge was such a hot spot every Thursday night. We stayed with Stefan & Liz across the street in the Black Gate of the castle of Newcastle, and many of the famous folk who played at the Bridge that year stayed there, too. Peter Bellamy, Andy Irvine, Cyril Tawney ++++. That made me who I am today ! Riggy