Bob Barratt
This name may not be familiar to you but Bob owned and ran Grasmere Music, the company for which we recorded seven of our CDs. Jim Lloyd, our manager from many years ago, put us in touch with Bob back in 1992. We kicked off with the 'Barn Dance' recording and things developed from there. Bob passed away back in February and he will be greatly missed on the music scene. When we were recording for Argo/Decca back in the 70s he was working for EMI and on his books he had groups such as The Wurzels so his connections with the West Country go back many years. He was an expert on such diverse subjects as publishing copyright and bus routes. When we had finished a recording session he would quite often hop on a local bus and have a wander through the countryside, the longer and windier the route the better. He also had a great love of The Scilly Isles and spent some holidays watching the whales off Alaska. In short, he was a very diverse and extremely intelligent character. His daughter, Jo, is running the company at the moment. Best of luck me dear, you've got a hard act to follow.
Pre-Yetminster Fair Evening, Friday 9th of July
We will be around this year so if you wish for a little light music and song and some complimentary nosebag come down to The Weavers Club, Westbury, Sherborne and join us. We don't know what's going to happen so it will be as much of a surprise to us as it will be to you. That's the way life should be sometimes. Pete has already started cooking the sausage rolls, Mac is growing the radishes and I'm in charge of the curry.
Yetminster Fair, Saturday 10th of July
Yes, we will be there again in the sunshine on Yetminster's day of days. For information on camping facilities etc. or tickets for our 8p.m. concert in the marquee contact [contact details removed]. If you wish to book accommodation in the area then Sherborne Tourist Information can help. [contact details removed].
This really is a cracking day out with loads of bargains on the stalls through the day, crafts in the marquee, childrens entertainment and, of course, the atmosphere of one of Dorset's most stunning villages to soak up.
Old Yetties LPs
My stock of these turns over at a high rate of knots and Halsway Manor Library benefits from the cash raised. If you have any you wish to pass on to good homes or would like to purchase some please [contact details removed]. At this moment in time I have copies of Keep A Runnin', In Concert, Up Market, Dorset is Beautiful, A Little Bit of Dorset, Let's Have A Party, The Yetties of Yetminster and The World of The Yetties.
Halsway Manor Weekend
We always stagger home absolutely knackered after these weekends in February. But, after a good nights rest it gradually seeps into the old brain box that what happens between Fridays dinner and Sundays cream tea is rather special. Everybody joins in with great enthusiasm. There are music workshops, talks on folk-related subjects, dances, songs, poems, a limerick competion, walks, an evening concert and late night singarounds in the bar. At our age we should know better. Funny thing though 95% of people re-book for the following year.
Memory Lane
Before we turned professional (it must have around 1965) the W.I. of Somerset decided to celebrate their 50th anniversary by singing folk songs on some the loveliest hills in the county such as Ham Hill. Bill Rutter, the local organiser for the English Folk Dance and Song Society, asked us if would help lead these sing songs and we duly obliged. What was needed though were some leaflets with the songs in them so that all could join in. Well, Mac, Bob (who left the band in 1979) and I all worked for the same printing company and we thought we would tackle this job as well. So when everyone else had cleared off home in the evening we set to work on this 'government' job. We worked on very late and then, when we'd had enough, we would unroll our sleeping bags in the boss's office (the only place in the works with a carpet on the floor) to get some kip. The trick was to wake up early enough to open the windows and let some fresh air into the office before the boss arrived next day. We produced 7,500 leaflets in this way. Naughty! Naughty!
Weymouth Summer Season
At the moment I just don't know what is happening. We have been told we will be there in The Ocean Room at the Pavilion Complex as usual on Tuesdays from the beginning of July until the end of September but maybe not on every Tuesday. This, to say the least, is a teensy weensy bit frustrating. I will update the web site as soon as I know more but if you don't have access to the web the only thing I can suggest is a phone call to the Pavilion box office [contact details removed].
Bonny