Notes from the adventure
The last few days, I’ve been gallivanting about, and you’ve been seeing blog posts I set up at the start of the week. It’s been quite an experience, so, here’s some of what I’ve been up to, and a few reflections along the way.
On Wednesday we went to the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s a huge, Victorian venue, and it was sold out. We saw Bellowhead, Full English, Martin and Eliza Carthy, Fisherman’s Friends, Clanad, Susan Vega, Peggy Seeger and others. I’ve spent my whole life in and out of folk things, and this enthusiastic celebration of the modern folk scene is lovely in the extreme. What really struck me was the little acceptance speeches from winners of various awards – warm, measured, not self indulgent at all. Every single one gave a sense of a person rooted in the community and the tradition. What makes folk go is not the big and famous names, but the many, barely heard of people who pass on songs and tunes, run clubs, sing floor spots and show up as an audience.
Folk is very much a grass roots thing, and even as the awards celebrated the big names, there was a real consciousness that they are the flowering of something that is much, much bigger. We could use a bit more of that in mainstream culture, both in terms of the grass roots spaces where new creative folk can flourish, and in reducing the massive egos that tend to dominate celebrity culture.
Thursday saw an expedition to Brighton, to see the sea, and the gothic skeleton of the old pier. It was also an opportunity to hang out with Professor Elemental and plot good things – Tom and I have been working with the Professor for some time now, and there’s a lot more of that to come. I was very taken with Brighten – a colourful place with lots of unique shops and a really vibrant atmosphere. So many high streets are turning into clones with near identical collections of chain stores, so it’s great to go somewhere with diversity and character.
Friday saw us travelling back, a journey on which we spotted half a dozen red kites. These beautiful birds had all but vanished from the UK when I was a child, so their comeback is something to be really encouraged by.
As I type this, we’ve just learned that comics journalist Bill Baker has died, suddenly and of natural causes. We never got to meet Bill in person, but he championed our work, and his energy and enthusiasm helped us, both in terms of raising our profile, and also in terms of morale. A kind and generous chap, he will be sorely missed.
It’s been a strange few days, much of it good, the last bit not at all so. Treasure the lovely people and the good stuff, there is no knowing how long you have with anything. Life is short and precious.
