Derek - it was a Derek Scholes that recently joined the historical society, sorry about that!

Thanks for the ideas, i've messaged will noble, and of course the brass bands might well know.

I grew up at Austerlands, it's part of Saddleworth. Our house overlooked the car-park where the Royal Tiger once was.


Jim:

"In the mid-sixties MacColl had a file of ms versions of all the songs collected for The Ballad Hunters, with tune annotations.
They, like all the songs on file, were made available to anybody who requested them
I got Becket's The Mowing Match and Drinking from the file and have been singing them for years."

Do you know how I can get copies of these please? is the ms versions you refer to the musical score?

I'd be thrilled to hear your version of Mowing Match, i've started doing it myself lately. Have you any recordings, or do you know when and where you might next do it?

Intrigued by the Drinking song too, i have no info on that one whatsoever

Thanks of you can help

Also, i've found a copy of "Bonnie Grenfilt" which is held at The British Library.

Of course, I could easily get a copy.

Why this stuff is always under lock and key I don't know, very frustrating. Talk about killing our connection with our roots.