Sorry I missed you, Micca.

Managed to reach Scarborough in time for most of Finn & Haddie's first set Saturday morning. Swapped CDs with Barry who promised to sing me the CW9 Convoy song posted on the Merchant Navy Songs thread a few weeks back. Down to the West Pier then to say hallo to Ken & Jan at the Chantey Cabin and check out the open-air concert platform (always seemed to have a good crowd throughout the day) and the beer-tent (tasty selection of real ales).

Caught Barry and Ken a couple more times at different venues round the town. At the Merchant they were followed by Dick Miles, who himself seemed to have been followed in by a strolling hen party in full flight. As soon as he'd finished "Sailortown" (one of my favourite arrangements of Cicely Fox-Smith's poems) he was assailed by requests - "Can you sing Molly Malone? It was my mother's favourite song." and "Do you know any Irish songs?" Of course he could - and he did - and had them in the palm of his hand for the rest of the set - masterly! Monkey's Fist I haven't seen before - a good strong set from this four-man group, mostly unaccompanied shanties, occasional guitar and duet concertina.

Debra Cowan had less luck in the Lancaster later on, where a loud crowd of visitors made singing or listening impossible. Even the landlady apologised, but was powerless to quiet them. Odd spells of relative peace allowed a few songs to suggest that this woman is worth a serious listen - confirmed later at the Sub-Aqua Club where she was joined by Helen Pitt, when they alternated and occasionally harmonised on ballads and songs.

There they followed Hughie Jones, in great form, and great to see him again after last year's health problems. Surrounded by ships' bells, brass plates and binnacles, the trophies of the Sub-Aqua Clubs expeditions to wreck sites round the British Isles and beyond (some great photographs too), he was in his element, relaxed and humourous.

At the end of the evening, a firework display brought everybody back to the beach by the pier for the grand finale, and after that (don't go, there's more!) the open-air concert continued. Managed to find Barry and Ken before we left, and as promised, he sang the CW9 song into my digital camera (just discovered, third year I've had it, that it has a video facility). Now on my to-do list, along with "Sailortown".


Extremely tired on the way back, but really had a great day. Sorry I couldn't stay for Sunday, when Richard Grainger's musical play The Moorland Whalers, with music by Chris Parkinson, was to be premiered. Any reports?