Just writing up my reminiscences from my diaries for the Hull Folk Archive. I kept a very detailed diary, some would say too detailed, for most of 1969.

That would have been what, the fifth festival?

It ran from Saturday 30th August to Wednesday 3rd September, the Bank Holiday being on the 1st, so somewhat late.

My girlfriend, Pam Brown, and I got a lift there on the Friday night with Leo Lynch, one of Hull's resident Irishmen. There were large contingents from Barnsley, Liverpool, Harrogate, Hull and Leeds, in fact I noted almost twice as many people as the previous year. It was obviously the year in which song started to swamp the sedate dance side. The main singing on the Friday was going on in the Star.

The Saturday night ceilidh at The Drill Hall was absolutely crammed. Mick Robinson was out of his skull dancing on the stage. The dance teams that were there included Liverpool Sword Dancers and North Skelton Sword dancers.

Sunday singing in the Star again then when that shut more singing on the pier and then in the afternoon a football cum rugby match on the beach Hull v Leeds.

Monday was the famous bookstall at the bandstand. This was the year Jim Parkinson turned up with his fish lorry and bought 30 bob's worth of books at 5 bob a yard. We thrown out of all the pubs in the evening so we had song sessions on the bandstand then on the pier.

Having sobered up by the Tuesday Pam and I bought some tickets off Hilary Waterson and went to a lecture on mummers plays by Paul Smith.
We went to a singaround in the afternoon and then into the Star for more singing at night, followed by a late-night spot at the Drill Hall.

Wednesday morning, more sobering up with a lecture by Harry Boardman on Lancashire Dialect songs. On the last night ceilidh Pam and I sang.
After that we all went to the beach for a big bonfire party organised by Mick Robbie. Must have got me shirt and socks wet as I burnt em trying to dry em out at the campfire. Got back to the campsite at 3.30 a.m. The next day Jim Parky gave us a lift in his fish lorry to Middlesborough and from there we hitched to Northumberland, seahouse and the Farne islands with Rob Lennox.

Sad git I know! I made a list of all the people I knew who were there if anybody is interested.