The Bedford new decor was very bland (grey and white), and while it looked otherwise very smart, the "opening up" effect on the room made it much more noisy (from those by the bar!) for those of us trying to play, or especially, sing, at the session end of the room. I therefore went there much less often than I used to. I really enjoyed Rosie's sessions at the York and Faulkner, which I went to most night after concerts: a wide variety of songs and tunes with a listening audience, but no shortage of fun and banter!
Mornings were for workshops: John Kirkpatrick's and Nick and Mary Barber's both being excellent, lunchtimes for the Middle Bar singing - and yes, that music in the Anchor Gardens is FAR TOO LOUD! (and not just because it interrupts our singing). Hope they issue the dancers with ear plugs if they don't want to sustain noise damage to their ears!
Enjoyed all the concerts I went to: didn't buy a season ticket this year as we had to go home on the Thurs, but between concerts and workshops probably spent nearly as much.
I'd like to commend the support acts, who were really excellent: Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin, The Voice Squad (tho' for me, this concert with Dervish was a double header), and The Finest Kind were all superb. Anyone who didn't bother to arrive until the break missed a real treat.
As usual, there were some difficult choices to make, and sorry if I did not go and see most of my Scottish friends, as I can see them easily enough nearer home. There was one lovely moment in the Bedford when I was playing "Barnyards of Delgaty" on my box, and both Geordie Murison and Joe Aitken walked through - Geordie's face appeared around a pillar, grinning from ear to ear!
And the other surreal moment was coming down to the Anchor ground floor to find ahe usual Irishy session going on right under a huge TV screen where Andy Murray was in the process of beating Federer - tunes went on regardless (shades of the Titanic, except that there was no disaster this time!?)