Sidmouth on BBC Four

Subject: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 07:04 AM

There's a programme on this year's Sidmouth Festival on BBC Four TV (not to be consuded with BBC Radio Four or Channel Four) on Friday 27th August, 9-10 pm (And there's another on Saturday night/Sunday morning, 1-2 am - probably a repeat.)

A chance to see what you missed, or see it again, if you were there and they pick out the bits you saw. They're bound to leave out the best stuff, but it should be worth looking in. Though one hour is a bit paltry.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 07:05 AM

There's a programme on this year's Sidmouth Festival on BBC Four TV (not to be confused with BBC Radio Four or Channel Four) on Friday 27th August, 9-10 pm (And there's another on Saturday night/Sunday morning, 1-2 am - probably a repeat.)

A chance to see what you missed, or see it again, if you were there and they pick out the bits you saw. They're bound to leave out the best stuff, but it should be worth looking in. Though one hour is a bit paltry.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 07:12 AM

Must be a repeat!

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 07:33 AM

*Smiles*

I wonder how many BBC presenters will be needed and how much of our precious hour will spent with them talking each other?

The TV coverage of the proms is good. They have the introductory waffle then they just show the music.....

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: s6k
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 08:17 AM

whos playing

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 12:10 PM

Watch it and see. Or check up with the BBC website. (Though they'll probabaly leave out half the performers.)

Basic rule with festivals anyway, I've always found, is that the people who impress me most tend to be people I've never beeen aware of before.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST,Pasher
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 12:20 PM

I was sitting on the front at Sidmouth, playing my accordeon with a couple of others, and the BBC film crew stopped for a second, then saw some kids playing drums a bit further on, and went to film them instead. Another missed opportunity ;-)
I'll be watching anyway - they may have filmed me when I wasn;t looking hahahaha

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Merina
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 01:15 PM

From the BBC4 Web site, verbatim:

50 Years of Sidmouth Folk
Established folk icons and the rising stars of the folk scene gather to celebrate 50 years of the Sidmouth International Folk Festival.

Kate Rusby, John McCusker, The Waterson Family, Danu, Steeleye Span and Spiers and Boden perform against the beautiful backdrop of the Devon Coast.

Presented by Eliza Carthy

(It's repeated at 1 am the same night, and again on Sunday evening)

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: English Jon
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 01:24 PM

Pasher - they did that to us! We were desperately trying to drum up some cash (although not with drums) - Line up was H Gurdy, English pipes, Fiddle, Melodeon, Clarinet, Whistles and a friendly appalachian dancer! They stopped for a bit and then went off to hunt didgeridoos....

Bah!

Cheers

Jon

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 01:57 PM

Presented by Eliza Carthy

Well no BBC presenters at all then........Too good to be true - there is bound to be a catch!

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 04:10 PM

Its on now.
Eliza is a BBC presenter, she recently did a short radio series on folk music, and is doing some more soon.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: English Jon
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 04:18 PM

any good? I don't have a telly!

cheers,
Jon

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: s6k
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 05:11 PM

that was a good programme.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST,rafflesbear
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 05:20 PM

Jon you have til sunday 7.00 pm to get one

ok if you treat it as walking your way round the festival stopping off from time to time to listen - coming in after the beginning and leaving before the end - liked interviews - I wonder if John McCusker would have made a good footballer ?

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: RolyH
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 05:49 PM

It wasn't a bad program, but I think they tried a bit too hard to capture the atmosphere of the festival to the detriment of the music.

Spiers and Boden were good though.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 06:12 PM

Spiers and Boden were excellent. Not too bad a programme, just that they tried to fit too much into too short a time. I enjoyed it though.
Giok

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 06:31 PM

I haven't seen it yet because (a) I wasn't in and (b) I don't have BBC93 or anything else digital. I thing it's worth pointing out however that Eliza Carthy isn't a BBC presenter. She's been hired in by Smooth Operations who "produce" (I use the word loosely) things like Anglicana, Mark Radcliffe and of course, notoriously, Mark Harding, for the BBC who cannot be bothered, in this accountancy-driven age, to actually do any public service broadcasting themselves.

Smooth Operations used to be an independent production company run by John Leonard and Nick Barraclough but no more. It's been taken over by UBC, a conglomerate provider of MOR pap across the networks. Wait and see just how worse it can get...

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 08:56 PM

What a load of bollox. Seemed to be more about BBC cameraman getting arty shots of people in aqua blue trainers, feeding ice cream to their dogs and lolling about on the beach . It was more like 'Wish You Were Here'. I expected Judith Chalmers to appear any minute any minute and take part in Morris dancing.
I appreciate they were trying to show the Sidmouths diversity, but where was the music. Eliza, looking like a refugee from eastern europe, playing on the patio of an Old Folks Home, drowning her vocals with a melodian didnt do it for me. Nor did KR singing with a brass band. I was reminded of Peter Skellern.
Perhaps I missed the point, but coverage of Cambridge FF wasnt brilliant either.
BBC.......Nil Point!

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 09:28 PM

Only saw the last half, because I was in late. But I'm looking forward to seeing it in full in the repeat. I couildn't dfuisagree more with that last comment from "GUEST, Nil Point".

From what I saw, I think it was quite remarkably good - I totally disgree with "I think they tried a bit too hard to capture the atmosphere of the festival to the detriment of the music". There were some lovely performances even in the half I saw - John McClusker was a knock-out, just for one - but I think what matters in a short programme like that is to give a feeling of the whole event, more especially with it being the 50th, and in grave danger of being the last.

True enough, there's the material there for a whole series of great concert programmes, but a one hour programme couldn't do anything significant in that way, and I think it succeeded extraordinarily well in getting aross what Sidmouth has been about, and why it matters.

And the reason I leap in here when I've only seen half the programme, rather than wait till I've had a chance to see the whole programme, is , I want to encourage anyone who can to make a point of getting to see the repeat, or get a mate to tape it for you.

It was streets better than the Cambridge one, in just about every respect - including the way the shots of the performances were done in an intelligent way, rather than having those random cuts between arbitrarily chosen close ups and distance shots that made such as nonsense of much of the Cambridge programmes.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 10:03 PM

I was impressed overall, think it captured the mood and diversity of the fest well, and managed not to focus on the big names and ignore all the British folk music like the BBC normally does. Would have liked full songs and less interviews rather than all this cutting in halfway through and then leaving before the end (especially bad in narrative songs like Kate Rusby's 'Cobbler's Daughter'). Also whilst I had no problem with it because it was a wonderful gig, three cuts from Kate Rusby & John McCusker seemed a bit disproportionate. Still glad they got it in there, alongside the amazing Waterson Family Special (albeit briefly). Glad Spiers and Boden got a well deserved look in too, but a shame they didn't film their amazing turn with BELLOWhead. Also, the short clip of the Seven Champions Molly doing Byker Hill didn't do justice to an incredible performance. And who knew Eliza Carthy could play the melodeon?

PS My mate Will was one of the 'kids' playing drums, confound him!

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 02:05 AM

I throught that it did bring accross most of what makes Sidmouth Festivals special and allow the music to say most of it. - Marks out of ten - 8!

The only down side for me was the BBC comment at the end. The film did rather make the point that everyone thought it to be a great success - the current 'oganisers' were wonderful but that they were pulling out.

The BBC comment was to the effect that there was however GOOD NEWS! This GOOD NEWS was that a new management team were being put together to for this fine institution whose run over 50 years was being celebrated and that there would be another festival in 2006!!!!!

The GOOD NEWS is that this wonderful tradition, successful and much needed boost boost to the local economy is being allowed to lapse, for even one year???????? What's the BAD NEWS then?

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 04:22 AM

On refelection - I think the bad news was that guy trying to play slide guitar in that band, I think the band was called Tiger Moth.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Merina
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 06:12 AM



Disgusting, shouldn't have been allowed. Must have paid the organisers to get on. What does he know about music anyway? You could tell from the empty tent that everybody hated the band. They were all old too. Call that folk music? Why, I remember when Southern Rag used to . . . blah blah blah (see page 97)

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 06:52 AM

Oh I liked the band! *Smiles*

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Merina
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 07:51 AM

Actually, it was a pretty good film, very much in the nice tradition established by those Souvenirs Of Sidmouth programmes put out when TV last went there about 20 or 25 years ago (anybody remember them?). My only real complaint was what they missed - younger performers like Jim Causley, Shooting Roots, the young dance sides like Morris Offspring, and at the other end of the age range the truly bizarre (meant in the nicest way) Bacup, and any traditional song and music performers. Not to mention some of my musical highlights, Bellowhead, Kepa Junkera and Banditaliana. But it really did capture the atmosphere, and given that it was only allocated an hour (compared to Cambridge's 2) there must have been lots of difficult choices for the producers to make. Well done BBC for even THINKING of doing it, yet alone following it through, and acknowledging there is life beyond Cambridge and Celtic Connections. Let's hope it leads somewhere, and was watched by all those Sidmouth council jobsworths.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 08:38 AM

And the repeat on BBC Four TV is Sunday 29th at 7pm. Same time as the Olympic Closing Ceremony on some other channel. Perhaps some time they'll stick it in around midnight on BBC One or Two, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Scooby Doo
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 08:56 AM

I remember those"SOUVENIRS OF SIDMOUTH"great momento of the Beach Hut and the old drill hill.I except that for a programme that lasted an hour you would not get everything that peeps would like to see,its called life,but what they showed gave jo public a good view of what Sidmouth is all about i think.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Gray D
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 09:02 AM

And what about the morris side that came on with the GOLD hankies at the anarchic, Sid Kipper compared show? I thought that was a great touch. How did that get left out of a golden anniversary film.

I liked the programme but the cutaways from the live performances, most of which I attended, were d@mned irritating. We sure didn't get the real impact of many of the performances. You didn't get any sense of the crowd reaction (they went mental) to Danu or Squiers'n'Boden, for example.

I shall refrain from comment on the guest who complained about the the uncut version of Kate Rusby singing "My Young Man" . . . other than to say "IDIOT".

Gray D

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 07:43 PM

Ok. I guess I went over the top a bit with comments last night. I was just disappointed. I dont have the time or money to go to festivals, so when I see theyre showing on TV (BBC4), I look forward to seeing my fav singers /players. I was hoping to hear /see Norma and the Carthys. Maybe see and hear a new band. From last years coverage, I discovered the Waifs.
Anyway , I would have preferred to have seen coverage of the performers in a highlights style thing...if you see what I mean.
Oh...and KRs Young Man was pretty good!
Mal, realising I am a guest again.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Gray D
Date: 28 Aug 04 - 08:38 PM

It was better than "pretty good". In the words of Max Boyce "I know, 'cos I was there" (supply your own South Wales accent). But I understand the disappointment. The programme wasn't what I was expecting either.

Let's see now, Glastonbury gets two to three days of cover on the Beeb of, mostly, commercial bands, Cambridge gets several hours of cover on the Beeb of, mostly, commercial artists, Sidmouth gets one hour of, mostly, "under the radar" (© Chris Smither, on the programme) artists.

Hmmm, no prejudice on the part of the programmers there, then. Nice to see them doing their bit for the music business, as opposed to music.

Gray D

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 29 Aug 04 - 08:41 PM

I've just seen the whole film, and I think it was even better than I did from just seeing the last bit.   The way they used Kate Rusby and John McCusker at both ends, I felt, rounded it most effecively. And the Kate Rusby's "My Young Man" with the brass accompaniment had an elegiac quality which fed into the dowsing of the flame, and matched the feeling that this wasn't just the end of this year's festival, but very likely much more final than that. The new festival may find its way to being a great festival, but we've lost something precious.

My only complaint was, that chirpy little not-to-worry voiceover at the end, which Shambles noted with disapproval - and to add injury to insult, it came in and drowned out a lovely ending song by the Watersons. It really jarred.

If I'd made that film, and I'd been watching on TV, I'd have been throwing things at the wall at that point, and they'd have had to be restraining me from going round and strangling whoever was responsible for that bit of butchery. (Maybe they do that kind of thing to encourage people to buy the tape or DVD, rather than rely on home-taping. If they ever get round to issuing it. Anyway, I've got it taped.)

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 29 Aug 04 - 09:03 PM

And here is the link to the message board on the BBC site, the thread for making comments about the film.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: ard mhacha
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 05:49 AM

I have had a look at it this morning, arty farty, flat as a pancake.
I have heard more music at a an orange drumming contest.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 11:52 AM

I agree with some, a bit much of Rusby and McCusker, much as I love them, not enough of Steeleye Span, but glad to see a wee bit of Danu as they were on at the same time as Steeleye. Difficult to know how to cram everyone into a one hour programme. Also nice to see the Bedford sessions got a look-in, but where were the Middle Bar Singers or other singarounds, and not very much of the foreign teams? (OK, OK, I know MBS aren't official festival, but it was their 25th anniversary this year!)
Tattie B

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 12:03 PM

BTW Guest, the original Eurovision phrase is "NUL POINTS" (NO/none/zilch/nothing) from le francais a la Katie Boyle.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 12:45 PM

"Difficult to know how to cram everyone into a one hour programme"

Not difficult, impossible. It can't possibly be done, and it would have been a serious mistake to try to do so. I was pleased the programme didn't try to do that, and that it set out to give us a taste of the festival, directly and thtrough the eyes of some of those involved, rather than just concert performance highlights. Inevitably there were aspects missed out.

Maybe if people got on that BBC website I gave a link to, and nagged them to give us some concert performances as well, we might get to see some of the material they've undoubtedly got on tape.

Tastes differ. I'm inclined to think that, if you didn't like the film, you probably wouldn't like the festival. Fair enough.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: ard mhacha
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 01:31 PM

What a pity most of you don`t have access to RTE, I have a good few Videos of the various Fleadhs over the past years and the talk is kept to a minimum, what you have is a programme which is practically music all the way.
The trouble with this Sidmouth programme it tried to cram two programmes into one, leave the tourist guide to Judith Chalmers and lets have the music

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 02:04 PM

But festivals aren't just music, there's the stuff that happens in between the music. Folk music, more than most music, is imbedded in a context, and the context matters.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: ard mhacha
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 02:54 PM

McGrath, This was a bloody awful production, pathetic would be doing it justice.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 05:24 PM

That is an opinion to which you are welcome to express but others are still entitled to express a different one.

The problem is one of expectations. Given the rare nature of things like this on the BBC (up until fairly recently) the latest showings are much, much better than we have come to expect. You appear to be lucky and the programmes you describe do sound good - so your expectation of this one is different to ours. Our reaction must be a puzzle to you. Just this summer I had experience of RTE and there is a different approach in Ireland to the presentation of all types of music.

It is nice for us, to even to have things like this appearing at all, if only to just enable us all to pick holes in them. At the same time I think that we should make a point of writing and thanking those at the BBC for making the effort. Constructive criticism made to them, will also enable these programmes to improve and be more generally satisfying to the (main) intended audience.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 05:30 PM

Well, we already know we disagree about that.   But then I'm judging it from the perspective of somebody who has spent a great many highly enjoyable weeks there over the years, including the week shown here, and seeing the film as a record of something that won't be back again.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Barden of England
Date: 30 Aug 04 - 07:32 PM

My word I enjoyed that. Of course I'm prejudice in that the Bedford session was on there (good to see you Marco, Dan, John & Bill by the way), and sure, there should have been more of all the sessions in Sidmouth that make it what it is, but I thought that for people who probably haven't been to Sidmouth before they made a pretty fair go of it. It would be nice to see the out-takes though. Maybe we could ask for that. They left Mike Harding well alone. Bit of a pity if you ask me as he does try his best.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: ard mhacha
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 04:02 AM

Without doubt everyone is entitled to an opinion Shambles,at least you can see what I am getting at as you have had a look in on RTE and its sister station TG4.
It is a good few years ago but I can recall many a good folk programme produced by the BBC and without the travelogue.
Since when has bowls been featured in a folk programme?, why did they show those Morris dancers?, those fat assed prancers walloping about slapping their sticks leaves anyone connected with folk in England open to derision.
If that`s your taste your entitled to it.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: The Shambles
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:42 AM

Sidmouth is a wide church that over 50 years has caterered for and has tolerated all tastes. This was its magic - the film reflected this very well.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:44 AM

shambles is bloddy moan to much.
[like a moany old bingo woman.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:48 AM

On that BBC message board I linked to, someone compared this with the classic documentary "Jazz on a Summer's Day", about a long ago Jazz Festival in Newport, back in 1959.

A review of of it, in this link, is full of phrases that could have been about the Sidmouth programme:

"Part concert documentary, part pop-cultural time capsule... with an approach as deceptively relaxed, even impulsive, as the music itself... sidesteps more formal documentary conventions such as narrative voiceovers to wander purposefully from festival stage to boarding-house jam sessions...rich color footage of the performances and the celebratory mood of the concertgoers. In the process, he documents... a notably golden moment in its development."

And as the review indicates, a lot of people were pissed off at the way lots of good music and great musicians were squeezed out by the "irrelevant" stuff. Nothing really changes...

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: AggieD
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 06:35 AM

Just come back & watched the video. I was very disappointed that there was so little variety of the main singers. It was, as I knew it would be, mainly about the 'big names' & really missed a lot of the whole point of this particular festival about the across the generations thing, where was all the 'Shooting Roots'. Despite loving KR & JM, they did rather get an unfortunate number of minutes. I would have loved to see more of the 'real' concerts in the Ham, Arts centre etc. as well as some of bands from the various dance tents, rather than crappy pictures of people playing bowls & croquet, who are probably the very people who want rid of the festival.

I hated that they put on so few Morris teams, & those they did put on were, as someone said, the ones that really did little to encourage new people to come into the tradition. Where was Morris Offspring? Or for that matter Great Western, & Hammersmith, although the shot of the Hammersmith man's legs as he snoozed was great. Despite being involved with an 'ageing' team, I didn't want to see us & those like us, but wanted to see the teams that can actually get off the ground when dancing & there were any number of them around.

Interestingly, talking to the compere of the Steeleye Span concert, the only bit they filmed was the warm up, they then packed up the camers & went off without filming the whole thing. Strange or what?

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: MikeofNorthumbria
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 08:03 AM

OK, OK, so the programme was not ideal...
Agreed, agreed, most of the objections to it posted above have some validity ...
Yes, yes, it should have been much longer (in serial form if necessary).
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it - a lot.

The programme could so easily have been much, much worse - and indeed, it's a minor miracle that it happened at all. We should be delighted that the Beeb, after years of ignoring or ridiculing the traditional arts, is finally making an effort to present a fairer picture of them. Our verdict on it may be "Could do Better" - but let's keep on asking for more. Half a pint is better than no ale.

Wassail!

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Gray D
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 09:47 AM

I've suggested, on the Beeb2 folk messageboard, that they should get the necessary permissions and then stick out the performances that they didn't include in their whirl around the great week. After all, they must have a LOT of left over footage.

I wonder if anything will come out of that idea?

Gray D

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 12:57 PM

They'll be more likely to do that if other people suggest the same.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Gray D
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 01:37 PM

Go on then, 'Catters. I've started it, you follow it up.

It's on the "Sidmouth film on BBC4" thread here, but you have to register and log in to post there.

Gray D

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Gray D
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 01:43 PM

Oh, but they close at 22:00 BST - 'cos of budget restrictions - sheesh!

Gray D

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Seaking
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 04:35 PM

Watched the programme when we got back from Towersey. They used a three second close-up of my daughter Rosanna playing her fiddle in the Bedford - but edited it into a tune she's never heard or played.

Liked the programme generally but would have liked to have seen something of the many singarounds, workshops or Middle Bar sessions - or even the MBS Thursday 'singing in the sea' event. Not sure what they would have made of Wimmin's night....

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 04:39 PM

Sidmouth runs not because of the MBS there is the theatre bar,bedford which was shown,etc.etc.Why does all the MBS think they have to be shown on tv??????

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:09 PM

The BBC Four message board stays open to midnight, and that's where most of the Sudmouth posts are, it appears. (The Mudcat makes these BBC websites look like they are worked by rubber bands...Clunky!)

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Seaking
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:49 PM

Guest with no name, I never for a minute thought or suggested that Sidmouth runs around the Middle Bar, that is something you've obviously concluded yourself and reacted to rather exitedly . It was precisely the Theatre Bar singaround (and the York singaround too ) I was thinking of when I posted, also I repeat, the huge number of workshops covering everything from Morris dancing, bohdran, guitar, harmony singing (sorry), etc etc - all of which I would EQUALLY have liked to have seen.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:59 PM

You could make 20 documentaries about Sidmouth, and there'd still be stuff left out that deserved to be in there.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 06:09 PM

Well I enjoyed the programme, despite what I said earlier about bits being left out.
I agree with others that we should be grateful that the BBC are at last waking up to Folk music, even if it's so far on a channel that not everyone can get, but maybe they'll repeat it as BBC4 on 2 as they have with some other programmes. The same thing happened when the Scottish Hogmanay programmes started to include more traditional music - the whingers were at it straight away, whereas to others it was a sign of a long-awaited breakthrough.
Yes, and it could have done with being longer: after all, we get several programmes out of T in the Park, Glastonbury, etc each year, and the TV cameras were around all week.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: vectis
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 06:27 PM

I live in an area without digital broadcasts or even Channel 5 so couldn't watch it at all. Pity, because I would know 'cos I WAS there...

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: mouldy
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 03:06 AM

I watched it with some friends who were visiting, and at the scene of the torchlight procession near the end, a yell went up from one of them: "That's Kettlebridge! THERE'S THE BANNER I MADE!!!!" (It was worth it just to see her face).

I agree that it was a bit fragmented, but how do you cram something with the size and scope of Sidmouth into an hour? At least they are putting a programme on about it, and maybe this is merely the first small step on a long road.

BBC4 seems to be what BBC2 set out originally to be, many years ago.

Andrea

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 17 Oct 04 - 07:29 PM

While I enjoyed the Eliza Carthy concert that preceded the Sidmouth program and even thought one tune where 3 fiddles were together was as good as I've ever heard, I am afraid I'm going to be the miserable sod on this one.

There have been some good clips of music but I'm not finding any meaning in the program. I guess if I'd ever been to Sidmouth, I'd relate to things strongly but for me it is not working in the sense of why I might (assuming it does continue) want to go there in terms of being something exceptionally special.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: John Routledge
Date: 17 Oct 04 - 08:22 PM

A one hour programme can only ever give the briefest of snatches of a one week festival.

That said I thought the programme did give an insight into the atmosphere which prevailed in Sidmouth festival up to 2004.

The Eliza Carthy concert which preceeded it was excellent.The Coppersongs which preceeded that was utterly magical and uplifting.

I knew of Bob Copper and family by reputation only and now feel that I know them as people. To acheive this in one hour is great programme making!!

More please BBC.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Oct 04 - 09:14 PM

Well, I can't agree with Jon there, as is pretty obvious to anyone who's read this thread. But it's horses for courses, and maybe some of us are donkeys - and there's a donkey sanctuary at Sidmouth, so I suppose it's fitting that we should like the place so much.

Anyway, I hope people can make a point of letting BBCFour know we appreciate what they are doing. They've been very unfairly attacked this last week, and they deserve our thanks and encouragement. Here's a link for sending it - http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/contact.shtml

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 18 Oct 04 - 05:07 AM

Well I wouldn't excpect anyone to agree with me there - it was just how I found the documentary which I appreciate was enjoyed by many and I was not saying the approach was wrong - just it didn't work for me.

Whatever, I do hope everyone here agrees with all of McGrath's last paragraph. Although it would be nice at any time, I think giving them thanks at the moment particularly important.

Subject: RE: Sidmouth on BBC Four
From: Fee
Date: 18 Oct 04 - 07:02 AM

I thought the Eliza Carthy Session was brilliant, especially for 'The Bonny Fisher Boy', which I'd never heard her sing 'live' before. and the Sidmouth documentary (although obviously too short!) equally good, am still confused as to why Spiers and Boden were playing in a wood in a gale though...!.