Visiting the UK in May 2010

Subject: Visiting he UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 28 Nov 08 - 03:59 PM

Greetings:

This is a very early heads-up. Having just returned from our delightful October whirlwind tour, Anne Price and I are talking about returning to the UK for two weeks during the month of May 2010. Once our plans are a little more firm, we will get in contact with the folks who hosted us last month. Meanwhile, if there are any other folk club organizers or house concert sponsors who would consider booking us, please get in touch with me by e-mail by clicking here. Anne and I would be happy to send you a press kit and a sample CD.

We still have our Oyster Cards, our UK mobile phones, and a very small cache of £5 and £10 banknotes, and there's not much we can do with any of that stuff in the USA. Please help us out. I can taste the chicken tikka masala already.

--- Steve Suffet

Subject: RE: Visiting he UK in May 2010
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Nov 08 - 07:37 PM

Hey, could someone please change the title of this thread to "Visiting the UK in May 2010"? Joe? Joe clone? Jeff? Max? Anybody?

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Mr Red
Date: 29 Nov 08 - 06:34 AM

have a look at cresby.com > Folk Clubs for ideas in the Mid West. Some book artists and some don't - use their website links to enquire.
And there are festivals about that time too

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 18 Jan 09 - 12:16 PM

Greetings from a snow New York City!

Anne Price and I apparently have one gig lined up for either 9th or 16th of May 2010, but we are still looking for more. I recently set up a joint webpage to introduce us. Please click here to see it. If you would like me to send you a press kit, including a sample CD, please contact me by e-mail and provide your postal address.

Meanwhile, you can click here to see videos of me performing before live audiences. Sorry, but I don't have a video of Anne at the moment. I'll put one up as soon as I do.

Thanks.

--- Steve Suffet

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 16 Feb 09 - 09:52 AM

Greetings again from New York City!

Our plans for May 2010 are now a little more definite. Anne Price and I will be in the UK from May 7 to 18, plus or minus a day or two, and we will spend most of our time in and around the London area. We are already booked as featured guest performer at one club for Friday, May 14, and we are tentatively booked at another club for Sunday, May 16. We are just awaiting confirmation of that second booking.

If there are any club organizers [Yank spelling!] or house concert hosts who would like to put us on for any of the other days, please contact me by e-mail right away. Do not us Mudcat PM, as I do not log onto Mudcat every day. Upon request, I can send you a press kit which, among other things, contains a sample CD which includes live performances as well as studio tracks.

Meanwhile, I have set up a webpage which serves as an introduction to Anne and me. Just click here to see it. From there you are welcome to follow the links for additional information.

We had a fabulous time last October, and we are really looking forward to this return visit.

--- Steve Suffet

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 01 Oct 09 - 03:53 PM

Greetings from New York City on a cold and gray autumn afternoon!

Anne Price and I, along with our respective spouses, now have our plane reservations for this coming spring when we return to the UK for two weeks. Once again we will be making fraternal visits as goodwill ambassadors from the New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club. Here are our appearances so far:

Sunday, May 9, 2010, 7:30 PM
Walthamstow Folk Club
Plough Inn
173 Wood Street
Walthamstow, London

Friday, May 14, 2010, 8:30 PM
Orpington Friday Folk
Liberal Club
7 Station Road
Orpington, Kent

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 2:30 PM
FAB Club
White Hart Pub
Argent Street
Grays, Essex

Monday, May 17, 2010, 8:30 PM
Waltham Abbey Folk Club
Royal British Legion
Brooker Road
Waltham Abbey, Essex


We plan to fill in our other dates with visits to other clubs, floor spots, dinner with my cousin Alisha, a night or two at the theatre, and perhaps a musical house party if LtS or someone is willing to organize it. Since one of my hobbies is postal history, I also plan to spend at least two or three days at the London 2010 International Philatelic Exhibition at the International Design Centre in Islington.

While we have a very busy schedule, we can probably fit in one more appearance, particularly on Wednesday, May 12. Anne and I welcome suggestions or offers.

Thanks.

--- Steve Suffet

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 01:44 AM

A not-entirely drift —

When, and how, did chicken tikka marsala become our national dish?

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Anglo
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 01:56 AM

Well, I eat chicken tikka masala quite often here in the US. And one of the finest Indian groceries I've ever been in is in Jackson Heights, NYC, not too far from Suffet's natural habitat.

(Michael, I think you'll find that chicken marsala, with an "r," is a quite different Italian dish based on marsala wine.)

(Not intended to sound snotty, I'm just an old pedant.)

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 02:05 AM

That's OK — I certainly should have known better: just a slip of the typing finger. I bet I could out-pedant you any day of the week! But your post makes me wonder why the OP mentioned this particular dish as something he [by implication] was so looking forward to being reacquainted with when he arrived again on these shores if it is indeed so well established Over There.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Marje
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 03:42 AM

I was under the impression that chicken tikka masala had been invented specifically for the British palette and had no authentic Indian/Pakistani credentials (don't some versions of it use tinned tomato soup as an ingredient?). Maybe it has reached the shores of the US via travellers or immigrants from the UK rather than directly from the Indian sub-continent?

Marje

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 04:01 AM

Pedantry coming up — just to show Anglo that I can: one tastes with one's palate; a palette is for mixing paint. Sorry, Marje: I wouldn't be so rude normally, but a challenge is a challenge

Yes, I knew that: invented in Birmingham, I believe — in, mind you, an Indian restaurant, adapted to what they perceived as our take on their cooking; so a certain measure of 'Indian/Pakistani credentials', one might argue. But when, & why, did our national palate become so orientalised as to have taken it, even in this modified form, to our culinary bosom with quite such instant enthusiasm, I ask myself?

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 07:16 AM

Anglo is right about my proximity to Jackson Heights, the commercial, cultural, and gastronomic heart of New York City's Indian-Pakistani-Bangladeshi community. One of my favorite [Yank spelling!] haunts is the Jackson Diner, one of the local Indian restaurants which features an all-you-can eat buffet luncheon for less than $10. And, yes, they often serve chicken tikka masala among their many other fine dishes.

Was CTM created for the British palate? I don't know for certain, but like many dishes it was undoubtedly adjusted for both British and American clientele. And even with all the CTM available here in NYC, I still look forward to sampling the London variety.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: GREEN WELLIES
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 07:27 AM

Chicken Tikka was alegedly invented on Ladypool Road, part of the famous Balti Triangle in Birmingham !!!!! or so they would have us believe.

Nothing to do with the thread really, but enjoy your visit - and your meal.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Zen
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 07:30 AM

CTM - Yes, I knew that: invented in Birmingham, I believe — in, mind you, an Indian restaurant

Claimed to be invented by Ahmed Aslam Ali in Glasgow. Voted the favourite UK dish in several surveys.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 07:47 AM

Not quite true, it is really a matter of rebranding.
Indian restaurants used to serve a dish called Murgh Massalam, pieces of chicken in a red tomato sauce with fragrant spices, notably cardamom.
An essentially similar, though usually blander, dish has been given an anglicised name ( Murgh=chicken),had the irrelevant description 'Tikka added, and been heavily promoted.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 11:05 AM

Here's a true story that happened at the Empire of India restaurant, now closed, in Sunnyside, Queens, where Marilyn and I live. A 30ish man and woman, apparently on a date, were seated at the table beside our own.

Man-on-Date (to waiter): We'll have ... [among several other dishes] ... the chicken vindaloo, and please make it hot.

Waiter: Do you want that Indian hot or American hot?

Man-on-Date: Indian hot.

Marilyn (to me): They're not going to like it.

Marilyn was right. Woman-on-Date took one bite, spit it out, and gulped down a glass of water followed by some yoghurt and then more water. Man-on-Date, too proud to admit his error, suffered through the meal, finishing the chicken vindaloo himself while his companion ate only the milder foods.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: GUEST,Anne Price
Date: 03 Oct 09 - 12:32 PM

So, the thread about our UK trip has turned to a discussion of Indian food. Yes, there's plenty of it available here in New York too, especially Queens, where Steve lives. London has a similarly wide variety of ethnic foods available. It felt like New York in many ways - its size and complexity and vitality. But different enough to be exciting and interesting. Can't wait to go back.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 03 Oct 09 - 01:53 PM

Sorry about that — I started it. Just couldn't help wondering why you mentioned the chicken tikka as one of the inducements to come back here when I assumed you must be able to get it Over There anyhow, even if it was an Anglo-Asian invention originally.

I tend to go on about food on threads: look at the bit about toast on the thread about my own version of Upon A Tree A Cuckoo; which has led to a correspondence by email to another [Oz] poster about best way to serve eggs. Don't know what Dr Freud might have made of this...

So, to get back to music: Have just visited refreshed thread about Run ====== Run, & greatly admired your singing about the padderollers. And do most sincerely wish you a pleasant visit here and very successful tour.

Michael

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 01:17 AM

Michael,

Come hear us at one of our stops and we will be certain to sing Run, Children, Run for you.

Kindest regards and good eating!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 01:26 AM

Thank you, Steve. I live in Cambridgeshire, between Cambridge & Ely — Fen Country. Please let me know [- [e-mail][dot]uk -] if you are going to be anywhere nearby.

Best Of Traditional Greetings    Michael

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 04:43 AM

I'm still up for organising a session/party in a pub local to me, just let me know when you're going to be in London!

LTS

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: stallion
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 05:32 AM

Funny, when we stayed with Joy in Queens there were two indian resteraunts within staggering distance of the appartment, we didn't actually sample them......to me it seems just like the Anglers in Haverthwaite, Cumbria, which has it's main beers the full range of York brewery beers!
Oh yes Anne, see what you mean..........................Have a good trip, drop us a line if you head Norf
pete

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 07:31 AM

Liz,

Thank you. We will arrive in London the evening of Thursday, May 6, and return to New York on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 19. Anne and I will e-mail with the details of our visit, but it looks like either Saturday, May 8 or May 15, will work.


Michael and Pete,

We are confining ourselves to London and its environs this time around. Even a trip to Cambridgeshire is beyond our practical limits, and York -- as much as we love it -- is out of contention. Sorry.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 03:48 PM

Oh, good, that will be between the 2 May Monday bank holidays, so hopefully you'll make it to Herga!

Kitty

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: bubblyrat
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 04:35 PM

Is that Soo-Fay, or Suff-it ? I am still undecided about Jimmy Buffet...is it Boo-Fay,or Buff-it ?
         Vindaloo is not Pukka Indian either,or so I have been informed...I gather it was "invented " by Portuguese adventurers/merchants in Goa , yes ??
    Anyway,have a nice time,and hurry back before your £5 & £10 notes are totally worthless !

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Oct 09 - 09:07 PM

Kitty,

Anne and I look forward to visiting Herga if we get the chance. It will have to be on Monday, May 10, since we have been booked to perform at the Waltham Abbey Folk Club the following Monday, May 17. Will May 10 be a singers' night or is that the evening Herga is hosting Dan McKinnon? Even if it is the latter, perhaps you can hold a floor spot for each of us?


Bubblyrat,

The American branch of the family pronounces Suffet as suh-fit. The name is probably derived from or related to the Hebrew title Shofit, which was a judge or non-heriditary rule. The Phoenician equivalent is actually Suffet, and that's the title that both Hannibal and his father Hamilcar Barca held at various times.

We do have distant relatives in France who probably say soo-fay.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 02:27 AM

We're expecting Dan on 24 May. Look forward to seeing you on the 10th!

Kitty

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 07:55 AM

Sounds fantastic! We'll make the session/party in the East London Pub!

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 09:15 AM

Kitty,

Thanks. As I said, we will try our best to make it there that evening. Meanwhile please give our best regards to Mike, George, and the rest of the regulars.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Mr Happy
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 09:16 AM

MtheGM

.........so I guess a paint tray with a split'd be a cleft palette?? 8-)


'Oh, lay me a palett on your flaw?....'

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: GUEST,Anne Price
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 06:12 PM

So nice to hear from so many of you in the UK. Hope to see as many of you as possible in May.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 07:57 PM

Pullet, anyone? Are we back to discussing chicken tikka masala? :-)

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 05 Oct 09 - 09:53 PM

Meanwhile you can get a preview of Anne and me playing guitar for some guy with a banjo we met in Central Park. Just click here.

:-)

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: breezy
Date: 06 Oct 09 - 04:49 AM

That was a treat, thanks.

Pete's appearances at the London Palladium back in the 60's on Sunday night T V has much to answer for

Rock My Soul

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Tim Leaning
Date: 06 Oct 09 - 06:02 AM

Buffet is what you eat Buffet is what happens to you if you take too long deciding what you want from the buffet.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Mr Happy
Date: 06 Oct 09 - 06:34 AM

A bloke in Manchester is visiting Rusholme's curry mile.

He goes in a place at random & sits down.

The waiter comes to take his order.

Bloke, 'I'd like a Chicken Tarka, please'

Waiter 'Sir, Don't you mean a Chicken Tikka?'

Bloke 'No, a Chicken Tarka - it's like a Chicken Tikka, but a little 'otter!' 8-)

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 08 Dec 09 - 09:42 AM

Greetings from a sunny but chilly New York City!:

Please click here for a video of Anne Price singing Woody Guthrie's Pretty Boy Floyd at the Bowery Poetry Club this past July. That's Robin Greenstein on the banjo, Carlos Vazquez in the background on the bass, and me visible beneath the headstock of Anne's guitar on the harmonica.

Enjoy this preview, and we'll see our friends in the UK in just six short months.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 08 Dec 09 - 10:32 AM

Suffet, you might find it worthwhile keeping an eye on the new 'Catters London singaround, hosted by 'Hamish' and attended by a number of 'Catters.
See here: Central London commuters' singaround - permathread
And there's regular events at Cecil Sharp House that might be worth looking at too: Cecil Sharp House

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 08 Dec 09 - 10:52 AM

Further to curry being the err 'national dish' MtheGM, I adore Anglo-Indian hybrid food myself, which as Suffit rightly implies has been taken home to the very heart of British folk. And indeed has a longstanding place in classic British food, heralding right back to the days of the old Empire.

Think of Mulligatawny soup, Coronation Chicken, Kedgeree and even that quintessentially British cupboard staple Worcestershire Sauce! In fact I have simply the best vegetable Mulligatawny Soup recipe by food writer Elizabeth David, if you ever need to use up an allotment's worth of marrow..

I watched 'Britain's Best Dish' with great interest this year, especially for the amount of international cuisine that was showcased from home cooking enthusiasts, much of it was - again, as to be expected - drawn from what were once the old colonies with whom these Isles have a longstanding connection historically & culturally.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Dec 09 - 01:03 PM

I can recommend the club at Waltham Abbey,I had a great gig there,floor singers included Lynn Heraud, Colin and Banjo Cater, Alan Francis.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 08 Dec 09 - 07:01 PM

Greetings again from New York!

Thank you for the recommendations.

Good Soldier Schweik, great minds must think alike, because Anne and I are already booked for a gig at Waltham Abbey Folk Club. We will be the featured guest performers on Monday, May 17. Maybe we will see you there?

Crow Sister, we have been following Hamish's thread about the Central London singaround. Unfortunately, we have commitments for our only two Mondays in London. In addition to our performance on May 17, we hope to pay a call on Herga Folk Club for singer's night on May 10. Please see earlier exchanges with Kitty. We do hope to visit Sharps Folk Club at Cecil Sharp House on May 11, May 18, or perhaps both evenings. Anne and I each did floor spots there in October 2008, and I did the same in 1999 and 2006.

In advance of our return, Marilyn (my wife; Anne is my singing partner) had the buffet lunch this afternoon at the Jackson Diner in Jackson Heights, Queens, one of New York City's best known Indian restaurants. We hold international barbecue (BBQ in Yank) competitions here in the USA. Maybe it's time for the First Transatlantic Tandoori Tournament?

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Girl Friday
Date: 09 Dec 09 - 10:51 AM

Hi Steve. You two will love Waltham Abbey. We went there 1n November. Our Ben was the featured guest. There's no ceremony there, you just sit in the circle and sing.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 09 Dec 09 - 10:58 AM

Sue,

Yes, that's what we heard. Our friend Jerry Epstein performed there as a guest earlier this year and he loved it.

Thanks.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: GUEST,Anne Price
Date: 09 Dec 09 - 06:53 PM

Waltham Abbey sounds great. Can't wait.

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: bubblyrat
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 06:52 AM

Try not to eat a Suh-fit of Buh-fit ,if there is one !

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: stallion
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 10:13 AM

commin' up norf old son we do have a bed!
Pete

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 09:10 PM

Peter,

Marilyn is standing over my shoulder as I type saying, "I really like York. I like the city. I like being there." I agree with her.

Thanks for the offer, and we wish we could take you up on it, but unfortunately this time we are confining ourselves to London and its environs. In fact, nearly every hour of our waking time is accounted for. In addition to music, various members of our party -- which will be six this time -- have plans to visit the theatre, Kew, the Greenwich Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, and a once in a decade international stamp show. We also need to pay a call on my cousin Alisha and her boyfriend, and still find time for our four performances, a visit to Herga, one or two visits to Sharps, and the pub session that Liz the Squeak is organizing.

Catch you next time.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: stallion
Date: 11 Dec 09 - 07:36 PM

Steve
Ok maybe i could drag the boyz down, we seem to only do transatlantic travel! Sharps one night could be interesting, I'll work on it, the beer is really cheap one can get slaughtered for a tenner. love to marilyn
Pete

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 11 Dec 09 - 10:28 PM

Peter,

If you're going to make the trip south, why not come to one of our featured performances? Maybe Orpington Friday Folk on May 14? THen you will have the whole weekend to either (A) recover, or (b) get even more wasted.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there a time when a tenner was a 10 shilling note?

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Visiting the UK in May 2010
From: Suffet
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 10:04 AM

Greetings from New York City on a sunny but cold morning!

With both the People's Music Network Winter Gathering (Jan. 29-31) and the New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club Winter Weekend (Feb. 5-7) behind us, Anne Price and I can now begin to rehearse in earnest for for our Awesome English Adventure in May. Once again here is our gig schedule.

Sunday, May 9, 2010, 7:30 PM
Walthamstow Folk Club
Plough Inn
173 Wood Street
Walthamstow, London

Friday, May 14, 2010, 8:30 PM
Orpington Friday Folk
Liberal Club
7 Station Road
Orpington, Kent

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 2:30 PM
FAB Club
White Hart Pub
Argent Street
Grays, Essex

Monday, May 17, 2010, 8:30 PM
Waltham Abbey Folk Club
Royal British Legion
Brooker Road
Waltham Abbey, Essex

In each instance we will be acting as Goodwill Ambassadors on behalf of New York Pinewoods, our home club. So please come and say hello, sign up for a floor spot where available, and feel free to sing along on the choruses and refrains, of which there will be many.

Meanwhile, if LtS is reading this, the best night for a pub get-together appears to be Saturday, May 15, although the previous Saturday, May 8, could also work. I'll contact you by e-mail.

Anything else? Oh, if you're visiting New York City be sure to give us a holler. There are three fellows from York who can attest to New York Pinewoods hospitality.

Thanks.

--- Steve Suffet