Well, this is lovely isn't it! Autumn has arrived early, which is just what we all wanted! Especially those youngsters still on holiday. It's getting to be dangerous to walk down the garden. The Bramley is loaded with fruit but as you walk underneath it has a habit of unloading some of its burden. I've taken to wearing my cycle helmet. Fortunately the hedgerows have plenty of blackberries to cook up with the apples so tidn't all bad. I've just noticed the naked ladies (autumn crocus to you) have started popping their heads up in the front garden so that makes it official. The summer seems to have slipped past without consulting us, which is bit rude of it, but we have noticed before that once we start our season in Weymouth at the beginning of July the time just whips by. Our Dorset Nights in the Ocean Room have been going very well, by the way, and we will still be strutting our stuff there every Tuesday night until the end of September. We are already booked again for 2002, which is very comforting. Fortunately a great variety of work rolls in from all over the place. Concerts, Ceilidhs, Barn Dances, Family parties (for all sorts of occasions), Agricultural Shows, Caravan Rallies etc. Tis all grist to the mill. One chap rang up a couple of weeks ago wanting July 3rd 2004. Now there's confidence for you! I said we would do it is he would pay for the hire of the ambulance and the zimmer frames.
New CD 'Rolling Home to England'
The official launch date for this is the 5th of September but I already have some copies in stock. Please note that it will only be on CD. Tapes are definitely on their way out. (Just have a wander around Woolworths and see if you can find any.) We are all very pleased with the results of our recording session back in May. The studio, down on the Somerset Levels, was excellent and a very happy, relaxed atmosphere was created with a little help from Richard Helson of fiddle and mandolin and Cyril White on cornet. The songs on it are as follows: The Scarlet and the Blue, Ranter's Wharf, Windmills, The Shoals of Herring, Widecombe Fair, General Wolfe, Bread and Fishes, The Greenland Whale Fishery, Tavistock Goosey Fair, The Shepherd's Song, Three Drunken Maidens, Scarborough Fair, The Keeper, The D Day Dodgers and Rolling Home to England. Pete also sorted out some fine tunes from all over the country. They are Shrewsbury Lasses, Newcastle, Greenwich Park, Hexham Races, Canny Newcastle, Trent Waters, Cornish Quickstep, Portsmouth, Durham Rangers, The Waters of Tyne, The Bath Waltz and Farewell to Devon. I confess that I have not seen the final finished product myself yet so there's a bit of hopping up and down going on in the Sartin household.
Old Recordings
I stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest with my piece in Newsletter 67 about old Yetties LPs. I have had a lot of feedback from people who have spares and also from those looking to add to their collection. The result is that I have begun to wheel and deal in them for charity. As you know, we do a regular weekend at Halsway Manor Folk Centre in February. It is the only such centre in the country dedicated to the furtherance of folk music, song and dance. We have been associated with it since it opened in 1965 and, hopefully, we have done our bit to keep it going. Manor houses are not cheap to run so, naturally, Halsway is always on the look out for funds. I thought I could run a Yetties LP swapping scheme for £5 a go. I have already started a list of people who want particular records and I will duly try to fill their orders as time goes by. If you have spare LPs, can't play yours any more and would like them to go to a good home then bring them to one of our concerts and I will pass them on. I have raised about £200 already so my stock has been depleted but I do have some copies of 'The Yetties of Yetminster', 'Our Friends The Yetties', 'The World of The Yetties' and 'Cider and Song' in the loft. If you would like any of these please ring me [contact details removed] and we can talk about delivery. I can post them but it's better if they go from hand to hand.
Sherborne Christmas Concerts & New Years Eve Ceilidh
I've just been rabbiting on about autumn and now, in a flash, it's Christmas but, as someone has already sent me a cheque for their tickets I'd better get on with it. As usual, all three events are in The Digby Hall and start at 8p.m. (if you have problems finding the hall let me know via the PO Box and I will send you a map). The guests for the concerts on the 14th and 15th of December will be our good friends Sherborne Town band and Richard Helson. Richard will also be with us at New Year along with Phil 'Bongo' Biggs on drums. Bring your own food for the New Year Ceilidh and your portable candelabra for the table but you don't need to bother with drink because Mark and Chris Williams run a very good bar. Tickets are available from the PO Box; The Abbey Pharmacy, Cheap Street, Sherborne; The Sweeterie, Middle Street, Yeovil or [contact details removed]. For the concert they cost £6 for adults and £5 for children and senior citizens. Those for New Year are £10. Cheques payable to 'The Yetties' please.
Bonny