Evidently there were no other survivors. I just got back and had a great time.

The Barry Finn Remembrance was well organized by the Gloucester gang and Justine and it was a delight to hear Barry's songs brought back to life. I was invited up to lead the "Yangtse River Shanty." I think some of the choruses were certainly loud enough to reach Barry.

I really don't know a whole lot of the regulars who attend NEFFA. I think the last Festival I attended was at the previous location five or so years ago. The Mansfield location works out reasonably well but there is no bar, and no where to sing after hours (that I could find). But I certainly had fun sitting in on a variety of workshops from Appalachian ballads, to parlor songs, to shanties and forebitters.

The C. Fox Smith workshop that I shared with Mike Kennedy had about 30 people attending and seemed to go well. No one threw any bottles at us! I was finally able to use my visual aids of cotton bales in introducing "Mobile Bay," a set of miniature bales from an HO gauge railroad layout; people seemed very impressed with what a screw-press could do. I'm always impressed with the musical settings that Mike comes up with for CFS poems and I'm hoping that he'll really commit himself this summer with Judy and I for a CD recording project.

I'm a little too fried to talk much about the other workshops this evening but I definitely plan to attend next year.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble