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02 Jul 11 - 02:25 PM (#3180284) Subject: Sheringham Potty Festival- Excellent! From: GUEST,Eliza Have just got home from Sheringham (Norfolk, UK). It's their 18th Potty Festival and there were over 30 sides, all types of Morris, from far and wide, including the Witchmen and Kemp's Men. Sheringham Shantymen sang during the lunch break. Hot sunny day, lovely spot right beside the sea, crowds of happy folk having a great time. Sheer heaven! |
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02 Jul 11 - 04:22 PM (#3180361) Subject: RE: Review: Sheringham Potty Festival- Excellent! From: GUEST,Jon I'd had tried to get there if I'd known about it. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it. |
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02 Jul 11 - 06:20 PM (#3180428) Subject: RE: Review: Sheringham Potty Festival- Excellent! From: GUEST,Eliza Thank you Jon. It's on again tomorrow until about 2pm if you can get there. Not only was the Morris dancing wonderful, but (as you know) Sheringham is a delightful little town on a human scale, with small shops, all the old type of butchers, greengrocers, ironmongers etc. The Saturday market was on too and there are lots of little pubs and cafes, I thoroughly recommend the Potty Festival. Sadly my husband has just got over chickenpox (!), so didn't feel strong enough to go to the singalong sessions in the pubs this evening, but the sea air did him good. |
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02 Jul 11 - 06:40 PM (#3180439) Subject: RE: Review: Sheringham Potty Festival- Excellent! From: GUEST,Jon Thanks Eliza. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to do Norwich tomorrow night (At best I could only do one or other and I've a strong leaning towards an Irish session) so I think I'm in with a good chance of getting to Sheringham for the afternoon do. If some informal tune thing happens in one of the pubs and you see a participant armed with a very battered Hohner Erica melodeon missing its front grill and a mandola/octave mandolin, it will probably be me. I quite like Sheringham and have used Blyth and Wright... Hope your husband is back up to full strength soon. |
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03 Jul 11 - 12:45 PM (#3180741) Subject: RE: Review: Sheringham Potty Festival- Excellent! From: GUEST,Jon OK got there today although only for an hour, He's not had one for maybe 5 years but my father had what what we believe to be an attack caused by post stroke epilepsy rather than a stroke this morning. Either way, temp loss of coordination, and of clear speech and an involuntary leg movement are going to worry you even if its passed before without further problems. Anyway, that aside I approached the little part of the event I could get to with the backround of having once belonged to both Conwy and very briefly all Fools Morris in North Wales but having left the morris in favour of Irish sessions as I was more interested in tunes (which yes, I know belong to dance) and at that point, wanted amongst other things "harder music" (compared to what I knew then). What I did find was probably (I'd imagine - it's weird when your own brain sees tunes attached to dancers, even happy dancers in your own head as the music pulls up but not the dance in the same way as the dancers on the floor might) good dancing and some nice music played. On the other hand, I do remember Chester Day of Dance, going to Rochadale Rush Cart etc. and as a then would be Morris musician that got bored and used to look for other "stragglers" to get some tunes with other "lost souls" and sometimes finding it, I might consider this one having trecked the town and listening at several pub doorways non existent. (although for example Abbot ale at the session pub in Norwich I use being £2.90 and exactly the same in the Oyster Pot in Sheringham being being 55p a pint more may have contributed) Asking morris dancers, didn;t seem to help matters either. All in all, not finding a way to fit in may to some degree or other have been due to me being an outsider and uniformed and having reasons for moving on may give reasons for personal bias (I am displaying it above) but my personal feeling would point to a good weekend of dance for those involved rather than an excellent (town wide) festival. |
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03 Jul 11 - 03:16 PM (#3180837) Subject: RE: Review: Sheringham Potty Festival- Excellent! From: GUEST,Eliza I am so sorry your father had this episode of illness, and hope he's now feeling better, it must have been very worrying in the light of his previous health problems. I think Saturday is a better day to go to the Potty Festival. There were certainly crowds of people watching the dancing, and singing along with the Shantymen. In past years I've stayed on into Saturday evening and there were always lots of musicians and singers performing together spontaneously in the various pubs. I prefer Adnam's beer myself, but I don't drink nowadays. Can well understand your love of Irish music, the tunes are so much more complex and haunting. I'm half Irish myself. |