newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival

Subject: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 10:01 AM

Some friends are coming over from the States (they are folkies) and they are staying with me for the folk festival. One of them asked if there was a newbie guide to Sidmouth. Hmmmm i thought i havn't seen one so lets throw it open to Mudcat.
Also perhaps including a series of not to be missed things for this year.
Not long now... Cllr

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 10:07 AM

Mike - I would have thought you knew enough about it to give any pointers that were needed !

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 10:40 AM

Good idea for a thread. There are other newbs going this year too..

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 10:54 AM

leadfingers, ahh but a different perspective is always useful..

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Dave Earl
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:07 AM

Send 'em to the Box Office for info on events and tickets.

Individuals therein are the fond of all wisdom doanchano.

Dave

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:18 AM

As a virgin last year I found surely all they need is a map with the relevant pub/hotel locations and a list of what pub does what. Or do they want to sit and listen?

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:29 AM

Thats a good point Mike ,but to follow on from Richard's comment do they want to Participate or just listen , and then , what sort of thing ?
A Dancer would not want to spend all their time in he Bedford , the Newt or the Radway , and an Irish Box Player would not fit in the Radway very well either . And a Dylan fan would feel somewhat out of place in the Volunteer !

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:43 AM

Anyone mind if I jump in...?

If it were me, these are the things I wouldn't want to miss:

Cordelia's Dad reunion
In Search of Nic Jones
Andy Cutting and Friends
Roy Bailey's Peace Concert
Bagpuss (performance and workshop)
Silent Disco & Ceilidh
NuCeilidh at the Blackmore
Blowzabella
The new folk quiz, Never Mind the Bandoggs
The Anne & Frank Warner Collection, presented by Jeff Warner, special guest Tim Eriksen
The Global Local/World on Your Doorstep concerts in the Methodist Church
Tim Eriksen's Shape Note workshop
John Howson's Sidmouth Traditions concerts, especially Travelling People on Sunday (featuring the Leggs, the Orchards, Sheila Stewart and Thomas McCarthy)
Sara Grey's 70th Birthday concert
Alistair Anderson's Steel Skies workshop series
Taffy Thomas's new story cycle about Rosslyn Chapel

How's that to be going on with...?

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:46 AM

Leaving the 'Official' programme to one side here's a few 'Fringe' events that I imagine will be going on this year ! And I DONT Claim this as THE Definitive list !

The Radway - The English Tune for the whole festival , very little singing (If ANY)

The Volunteer - Leaning VERY Hard on 'The Tradition' - Lots of song and a fair few Intruments

The Bedford - Mixed session in the Main Bar , with a tendency to Morris Tunes and Melodions - Old Timey in the Other bar - All sorts of 'Good Old Boys' and variuos smaller things as well as Official events .

The Swan - Mixed Sessions , mostly in the garden if the weather is permitting !

The Newt - IF you can find it - Mixed session all week (On the programme as 'Gerry Milne and friends' I think . Dancers from York Steps lable to take refuge there if it rains !

The Faulkner - Singaround format , some tunes , all sorts of song .

The Tudor Rose - Another mixed session

The Ship - Seems to have been taken over by a lot of VERY competent younger musicians of late !

And the Yacht Club has a a varied selection of music too !

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:56 AM

That's a useful list Terry, but certainly on the opening Friday last year I as a virgin found the Bedford was only mildly squeezy.

First Saturday afternoon last year the back bar of the Swan got very Americana-contemporary-song.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 12:11 PM

"Leaving the 'Official' programme to one side"

Well, as these threads get taken over a bit by a few people whose primary interest is the fringe, thereby becoming a bit irrelevant to anyone else, I hope you'll indulge me the odd intervention... :)

Mike's friends are over from America, and I'm sure they (and anyone else coming to the festival for the first time) would want a good balance of information about both the fringe and the "official" programme.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 12:14 PM

I think you'll find that those "VERY competent young musicians" more or less abandoned The Ship to start the session at the Tudor, because the landlords offered them free beer (and possibly food) to sit and play all afternoon. Nice work if you can get it!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 12:34 PM

Thanks for that Ruth - And I was leaving the Official side to those who know - as you are aware I am ONLY a Fringe man .
There will no doubt be other sessions - It seems if two or three people go into a quiet pub in Sidmouth and ask politely they will be made welcome , if not actually plied with ale !
And any corrections to my list are welcome - Its purely my own perception of what goes on .

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 12:42 PM

I think the festival has a website somewhere ... :-) probably lots about the festival on there :-)
Derek

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Steve Hunt
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 12:45 PM

Martin Simpson Band + Nancy Kerr & James Fagan will be definitely "a good 'un," of epic proportions, and I would also advise your friends to go and see Nancy Wallace.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: John J
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 12:47 PM

Have they got festival tickets or are they doing the fringe?

JJ

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 06:09 PM

see my list of unmissable is
Middle bar pub crawl wednesday before festival starts lots of pubs ending in middle bar
opening night Friday middle bar Anchor pub
Saturday (black tot 40th anniversary) anchor TBC poss in middle bar Anchor pub
Tuesday Shanty session Middle bar Anchor and away team (see other thread)
Thursday sillier song session followed by sing in the sea starts middle bar Anchor
Thursday (cont) Doom gloom and despondancy session - not in middle bar
Friday afternoon not the ceilidh in the ford
Friday night Parade then returning to middle bar and up to LNE

hmmm i see a theme in my unmissable list...
Cllr

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 06:11 PM

The americans sing, dance- most are in a morris side from Boston, and drink scotch and some play instruments as well. not while drinking scotch though...

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 06:38 PM

lots of good dance workshops and displays this year, Mike. They might enjoy that.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Noreen
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:01 PM

I see a pattern emerging there, Mike!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: JohnB
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:15 PM

Which side are they with, I may know sowm of them if they have been to Canada.
Jack n the Green from New Hampshire are also planning to be there.
JohnB

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:28 PM

Yeh, Terry, you miserable old scroat....why leave the Middle bar out of the fringe...I've seen you there, at least at reunions. Newt should come with a 'Henry VIII' warning! I know you didn't claim to be defitive, but the Middle bar has been a fixture for longer than anything on your list.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:35 PM

How did I miss The Irish Tune in the Anchor bar ?? and there is that Rabble in the Middle bar Upstairs ! Sorry lads !!(And Lasses)

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:45 PM

The "working programme" is an essential, from which your friends should be able to find out when/where all the dancey things are on, if not any single malt tastings. It takes a lot of trawling through (usually 700+ items!) but does list things in chronological order, but I usually maage to go through it and mark things with pink asterisks!
Ruth, I can't see any ref on the website to a working programme this year: please tell me there IS going to be one!
And on the Fringe, there's the "Herbaceous Border" with daily dancing/playing on the prom, which Morrisy folk must not miss!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:49 PM

I met some of jack in the green when i was in Boston last year for lilac Sunday we were singing together in a bar on the Sunday- the folk and ale was organised by red herring morris which is the team this group belong to. I know the side was went to the London Ale in Toronto earlier this year.

Cllr

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:53 PM

Working programme is just in the finishing stages. Should be on the website next week!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: GUEST,Gadaffi
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 04:51 AM

Someone said earlier, go to the box office and ask. Good idea!

Ask for Flirby or Linda - who have been coming to the festival themselves for years as performers, stewards and punters, and who have husbands who've been heavily involved for as long a time, and they will sympathetically point you in the right direction.

If it's Morris your guests are more interested in, don't forget the marine morris which used to take place on Thursday afternoons in the sea in front of The Marine. I don't know who runs it these days!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Dave Earl
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 05:29 AM

Yes

Those ladies know what happens at Sidmouth and there are others there too if the ladies mentioned happen to be off shift when Cllr's trans-Atlantic chums call.

Ian, July, Jackie, Dave (me),or almost any member of the team really (we sometimes have newbies ourselves).

We will have the full Festival information and we have all been around Sidmouth long enough to know about the fringe things too.

Dave

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: GUEST,Phot at work
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 05:35 AM

Try and avoid the puppy known as Jack..................................................

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: mattkeen
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 08:37 AM

I think its essential to get lost and wonder into things that you didn't know you were interested in - both programmed and fridge

Nearly all of my fondest memories come from those sort of surprises at Sidmouth


Couple of years ago I didnt know that Methera were playing in the church tilled I wondered past ... it was fantastic. Then that made me go back to the church the next day and have since got really interested in West Gallery stuff

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: John J
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 10:08 AM

Again:

Have they got festival tickets or are they doing the fringe?

JJ

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 10:18 AM

we seem to have moved away slightly from what i asked for as in a newbie guide i included a line on might " INCLUDE a not to be missed list" but more to the point .The idea of a "newbie's guide" was actually along the lines of what someone who's never before been to Sidmouth should know about the festival in general. I know they can ask stewards on arrival but what preperations can they make before they leave USA, again

Think about stuff you now know that made you think, "I wish I had known that last year" when you figured it out.

as they will be doing a mixture of fringe and festival tickets they will e buying individual tickets for events.

thanks again Mike
PS they might even post to this thread to clarify what they want - hint hint

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 11:44 AM

mattkeen, i hope it is indeed warm enough to want to walk into the fridge!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 12:57 PM

this newbie would like to know what her stewarding schedule is so she can plan extra curricular activities....

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Dave Earl
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 01:03 PM

VT

I am informed by my contacts that the stewarding rotas are being worked on now and will be sent out very soon

Dave

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 02:02 PM

whoohoo! fingers crossed I can join the shanty pub crawl collecting donations for Sidmouth Lifeboat.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Girl Friday
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 03:58 PM

Thanks for this thread. There has some very useful info, specially the pub list of what happens.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: vectis
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 05:51 PM

If they want a good session of standard tunes becoming more eclectic as the evening progresses then the siling club upstairs in the evenings is THE place to be. Get there for about 7-7.30 if you want a seat.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 03:09 AM

If you're a singer and want to be sure of getting a song, you'll be very welcome in the Faulkner Bar of the Royal York and Faulkner Hotel between 10.30am and 12.30pm Sunday to Friday. Of course if you're staying at Cllr's abode you probably won't have got up by then....

Kitty

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: GUEST,Ivy
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 09:32 AM

Hi, one of the newbies in question here (and I dance with Pipe Dream Morris). I'm wondering especially about what to bring with me. For example, how much of my time should I expect to be spending indoors vs. outdoors? (If outdoors, I will plan for sun, rain, etc.) Does the indoor stuff tend to be so crowded that it gets very warm? (Obviously any dancing probably will, but what about the singing and listening stuff?) Are the dancehalls picky about the type of shoes you're wearing?

Anything else I should think about bringing, like "everyone has their own tankard"?

Thanks much.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 10:32 AM

A personal drinking vessel IS useful as you are not stuck with floppy plastic and dont have to empty a glass if you decide to move elsewhere .
The Temperature is INFINITELY variable ( Remember , this IS England) so a Light Waterproof IS a good isea , and some of the venues DO get a bit Hot and Sticky as the rain is often quite warm ! LOL

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Surreysinger
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 11:48 AM

> how much of my time should I expect to be spending indoors vs. outdoors?

That's a bit like asking "How long is a piece of string",since you haven't said what you intend to be doing Ivy - so it's difficult to make any real comment. There are usually over 700 official events, not to mention all the unofficial stuff,both indoors and outdoors, so it's really up to you how much time you spend exposed to the elements or not. It may also make a difference if you're intending to be whizzing around to different venues in the town, or staying put in one place.
Impossible to answer :-)

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 11:55 AM

there's also a big range of indoor venues, from small-scale workshops spaces holding maybe 30 people, up to 1000-seater marquees. And dance venues range from church halls to marquees. I don't think they're too fussy about footwear so long as you are comfortable and not wearing anything silly to dance in, like flip flops.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 12:48 PM

Thanks for the news about the working programme Ruth.

Don't forget your swimming costume! "Come on in, the water's lovely when you get used to it": the beach is pebbly except at Jacob's Ladder beach at low tide, so some beach shoes are useful too! There's also a nice indoor swimming pool in the town near the Box Office and main marquee at "The Ham".
If travelling transatlantic, think twice before bringing any expensive instruments, unless you're playing professionally and really must use your own (and then be well insured!). Might be cheaper to buy or borrow on arrival and then sell on/hand back when you leave!
Yes, and clothes, something to cover every eventuality that English alleged summer can throw at you!

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 05 Jul 10 - 01:42 AM

Bring plenty of currency- we use something called "beer tokens" it like normal UK money but it only tends to get spent on alcohol during folk week.

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 08:27 AM

Full festival programme now available on the festival website!

sidmouth home page

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 10:36 AM

Working Link

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: Cllr
Date: 11 Jul 10 - 08:03 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: vectis
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 07:46 AM

Thanks for the link. I can now sit with a highlighter and plan my week, including not going to events that are not happening

Subject: RE: newbie guide to Sidmouth folk festival
From: GUEST,LDT
Date: 12 Jul 10 - 11:24 AM

[quote]"I think its essential to get lost and wonder into things that you didn't know you were interested in - both programmed and fridge"[/quote]

That made me chuckle a the mental image of people having a folk fest in a fridge.