I think this event has potential if people help James at the pub out - he is not a folkie, even if he is a tree-hugging hippie, and he does not know our little ways. I gather the pub sold shedloads of beer Saturday night so it might repeat the event.

I found that if I sat down and made a nuisance of myself playing and singing when there was no music on other than the pub's background electric stuff (an interestingly wide range, from Nina Simone, Robert Johnson to Ewan MacColl to the White Stripes (and Jack White's new band) and rather a lot of modern electric stuff, but not too much "boom-chick") the speakers would get turned off and some people would listen. This made quite a nice Sunday afternoon. This approach could be played up bigtimee next year if there is a next year.

So James needs nagging to go himself (he plays) to all the local folk clubs and invite them in person (a free beer for every three songs sung, and maybe a contribution to club funds might be a suitable bribe).

He needs nagging to get some Morris sides along - there is a pedestrian route alongside - a blocked off road, ideal to dance in - which would seed the singing (and some diddling) too.

He needs to get people designated to start the singing/playing in appropriate places (with drinking songs) when the open mic stuff ends.

He might well actually be nagged to book and pay for one or two good pro or semi-pro folk singers or musicians to do transition slots into or out of the "open mic" stuff.

Maybe he should audition those wanting to play open mic and prune some (I hate to say so but there was one who drove me out of the pub to walk round the block).

He could buy a stock of tankards at second-hand shops and hire them out to drinkers, with stick-on beards, to make the locals look like folkies....

A "real barbecue" would be good - the "barbecue" was (nice) kitchen food and not cheap although not radically expensive.

Publicity in the local folk mags might help.

Don't let this event die!


I got invited up to the Hotel Deux in Sherwood Rise which has an open mic every Sunday - and again I was the only folkie (there was a good blues player called Doc something with a Martin D-35 - but the rest was some almost jazz, some singer songwhiner followed by bad pop, and quite a lot of country (some country/cum-rock'n'roll).   That too could do with invading by folk rentamob: a range of real beers alas served too cold, and a nice clean PA rig sound.