Lancaster Maritime Festival

Subject: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Skipper Jack
Date: 02 Apr 05 - 06:26 AM

What!! Has no one anything to say on what was possibly the last Lancaster Maritime Festival?

I was only there on the Friday and Saturday, and once again David, Val and crew have to be comgratulated on yet another excellent festival.

Which of the performers impressed you most?

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Guest Ian
Date: 02 Apr 05 - 03:14 PM

Once again Dave, too many putting in good performances to be choosing from my point of view. As a performer it was certainly good to have the Doncaster crew back amongst us!
The future of the festival now needs some momentum form all and sundry to inform the council of its importance.
Once again there were people from many parts of Britain and some from the continent there praising both the festival and the region.
The decision seems so short sighted.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Alio
Date: 03 Apr 05 - 07:46 AM

It was fantastic - and you're right Guest Ian, now we need to write to the council to make sure it happens again next year. How can they let the biggest gathering of maritime singers not happen?

My personal favourites were Tom Lewis, the various shanty crews, and Johnny Collins, but I was really impressed with Red Duster's The Fate of Franklin presentation - if they taught history like that in schools I think young people would be more interested in it.

Ali

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Emma B
Date: 03 Apr 05 - 09:47 AM

A wonderful weekend of great singing by all including some of our own mudcatters.
My thanks to Dave and Val, to Menolly for her hospitality and to the new folks at the George and Dragon for their service and good food and beer.
Please please what can be done to keep this fantastic weekend alive and kicking?

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Hater of Shanties
Date: 03 Apr 05 - 06:53 PM

Bet they still all sang in the same key without harmonies bunch of twats how can you tel anyone's better thananyone else

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Blowzabella
Date: 03 Apr 05 - 07:00 PM

Oh 'Hater of Shanties' - how little you know....

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Hater of Shanties
Date: 03 Apr 05 - 07:10 PM

I Think in fact i thunk i now more than thee.. and at least i can sing a decent harmony unlike you shanty lot

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Lancastrian
Date: 03 Apr 05 - 07:34 PM

Maybe it's because the council have woken-up to the reality of shanty-singing that they've scrapped the festival grant and decided to spend the money more wisely elsewhere.

The maritime festival never brought much to the town anyway except for a bunch of middle-aged men with beer bellies, woolly pullovers, pewter tankards and fingers stuck firmly in ears.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Skipper Jack
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 03:56 AM

Well maybe GUEST Lancastrian, you should make an effort to spend a day at the festival? You might well change your opinion.

"Hater of Shanties" Would you care to make a wager? There are some fine harmony groups on the shanty scene and shanties are just part of the music programme.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Mr Blobby
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 04:15 AM

Right on Lancastrian! - I wouldn't be seen dead in a woolley pullover

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: s&r
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 04:41 AM

The Festival was great. What we found depressing was the lack of interest from Lancaster in catering for the visitor. Except for an Office stationery shop, the whole of Lancaster centre was closed and deserted on Sunday and Monday. Perhaps it is the intention of Lancaster and Morecambe Council to divert all available funds and visitors to Morecambe.

Stu

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 04:44 AM

Ahhhh - I understand now. Guest (Hater of shanties, Lancastrian) has given the game away with his last nom de plume - Mr Blobby. He is non other than Noel Edmunds! Sorry your fun fair at Morcombe went bust Noel but that's no reason to take it out on the Maritime festival. OK, ok, I know if Lancaster council had more to spend they may have bailed you out but it's too late now. Let it go man!

BTW - I partly agree with your original sentiments about harmonies. I once saw a review of an album by one of our local bands, Jolly Jack. They were not, despite the name, a shanty band although they included shanties in their repetoire. They were a bunch of brilliant musicians and fabulous harmony singers. The review was by a member of a well know 'shanty crew' who slated it as being an incorrect and inaccurate portrayal of shanties. I then had the misfortune to listen to an album by this guys band. It was a dire, boring album. Fortunately I was reviewing it for a local folk magazine. Guess how the review turned out? ;-)

Back on tack (nautical term intended). I was there on Good Friday in my alter ego, Hector from the Abram pace egg play. Thoroughly enjoyed it as usual. Got kidnapped by the press gang. Felt sorry for the young man our lot held hostage for my return. He was returned covered in black face paint and mustard! If anyone knows him tell him it did wash out of my hanky!

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 08:21 AM

Out of interest, Stu, Easter Sunday is one of the 2 days in the year that big stores have to close! Christmas day is the other. See the DTI fact sheet for confirmation. So, it isn't realy Lancaster traders fault. I agree it's still miserable all the same:-( Dunno why they were shut on Monday.

Odd story - When the pub all day opening hours were being discussed a few years ago it was found a loophole meant that bars could open all day Sunday before they could open all day on other days. Good Friday was always Sunday hours so it meant that Good Friday and Easter Sunday in Lancaster were two of the first festival days with all day opening! Who says British laws are strange? ;-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Ian
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 04:08 PM

Oh Self Important 'Hater'.
I'm with Skipper Jack. There were numerous singers there who could most likely knock you into a cocked hat as far as harmony singing is concerned. Spread your wings son and open your mind.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Still Hater of Shanties
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 07:20 PM

First shanties are ok just need to have harmonies and I have been to at least one shanty festival and I tell you I was sick of hearing 'John Kananaka' for the fifth or maybe sixth time sung exactly the same but just by different people.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: s&r
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 07:40 PM

Thanks Dave - nice to know there is a reason. Ten yards of bunting or a poster wouldn't have gone amiss.

Stu

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Lancastrian
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 08:54 PM

'Fraid you're right that the council here don't want the Maritime Festival. They're putting all their funding into a limited number of other arts festivals and Morecambe does indeed seem to be getting a better deal than Lancaster.

It's the same in Sidmouth where the council there has axed it's £60,000 grant to the folk festival and is now threatening to refuse licences for marquees and other outdoor concert venues.

The Sidmouth Folk Week organisers try bravely to convince everyone that all is well just as the Maritime Festival organisers have attempted to do but when you try swimming against the tide you eventually sink.

Seems some local councillors just don't like folk music.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Another Lancasterian
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 09:04 PM

To be fair to the Maritime Festival organisers, I don't think they have ever tried to say things were better than they were - see previous threads on the subject (which I don't know how to do, I'm afraid)

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Skipper Jack
Date: 05 Apr 05 - 06:13 AM

"Hater of Shanties"I have to agree with you on the subject of hearing the same shanties sung over and over by different groups over the weekend.
Our group endeavours to prepare a different set for each performance and include several sea songs in the repertoire and maintain a balance between serious and humourous material.
However, it is almost impossible with so many performers, not to have shanties repeated several times.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Jim Hancock
Date: 05 Apr 05 - 07:10 AM

(The maritime festival never brought much to the town anyway except for a bunch of middle-aged men with beer bellies, woolly pullovers, pewter tankards and fingers stuck firmly in ears. )

Dear Lancastrian

A spot of maths may help clear things.

The Shanty Festival brings in around 1000 extra people into the town per day. If they each spend a fiver on parking, entry to the museum etc. thats £20.000 over the weekend direct into the council's pocket. About what the council spends. Unfortunately it doesn't go into the same fund as the arts and events budget it came out of so it's difficult for the council to see it as profit.

If each of those people spends £50 a day on food, beer, accommodation, petrol(a conservative estimate)that's £200,000 coming into the town.
The bulk of that money is going into the service industries where the major cost is wages, for example most of the food consumed originates from Brake Brothers (one of the towns major employers).
It all generates overtime and bonuses or creates a part time job that didn't exist.
Whatever your job that money is coming back to you in one way or another. The waitress uses the overtime to buy that pair of shoes she wanted, the taxi driver buys that new carpet for the front room. The barman gets the house repairs done or has the car serviced.

You may not like folk music or indeed folk singers, fair enough, but when the people of Lancaster are spending there bigger than average pay cheques at the end of April bear in mind where it came from.

All the best

Jim Hancock

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 05 Apr 05 - 02:59 PM

I enjoyed Lancaster the years I went, on account of there being good harmony singers (eg the Keelers, with Wilsons).

It's not true that East Devon District Council have threatened to withold licences for the Sidmouth festival. They are co-operating with this year's festival organisers.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: radriano
Date: 05 Apr 05 - 06:59 PM

Dear Hater of Shanties:

You sound like something of a twat yourself!

Don't like shanties? Don't go to a shanty festival!

Actually, my feeling is that some harmony is good in shanty singing but too much harmony is even worse. But, really, they all sang in the same key?

What a twat!

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Hater of Shanties
Date: 06 Apr 05 - 06:46 AM

..oh dear I've touched a nerve and I'm being called a pregnant goldfish. Suppose tho when you have a finite resource of a limited amount of songs they will be repeated perhaps Shanty Festivals are the SKY UK Gold part of the folk scene.

Subject: RE: Lancaster Maritime Festival
From: GUEST,Me
Date: 06 Apr 05 - 06:51 PM

Oh hater you unknowledgable one - and a big one at that