Well chuffed to be
invited back once again this weekend to The Battlefield Line for CAMRA's
RailAle Fest at Market Bosworth Railway Station. Pretty well the
centre of The Universe today, with a Traction Engine Rally and a
Farmer's Market also on in this pretty little town. http://www.battlefield-line-railway.co.uk/
On a
quintessentially English Summer's day, what better place to be than
“Bozzie”? In beautiful surroundings, on the outskirts of the town,
threading your way between the Fairground Organs and Morris Dancers? Easing by the Fodens and the Fergies and heading towards a big old LMS Goods Shed
full of Real Ale, food and Fine Music My own CAMRA branch, Hinckley and
Bosworth, were putting this Festival on, in conjunction with The
Battlefield Line. (So called because the railway meanders through countryside
where Richard III fought the Lancastrians and fell, mortally wounded).
Thanks
to Soundman Phil Benson's enthusiasm and commitment, he'd got there
proper early to set up and drive his excellent P.A. on loan from
Atherstone Folk Club.
Seriously, have you ever seen a Sound Engineer looking so relaxed? He's actually smiling! Or was this just after the moment during our set when he had leaned accidentally against a volume slider and made us all jump with White Noise/Feedback?
There was a bit of a scare when we arrived, as Phil told us glumly that the beer had all run out. There had certainly been a big hit on it last night but several of us were delighted to see that HBC had gamely driven over to Church End to rustle up an extra barrel of Goats Milk. Actually, there was loads of different beer left. Just a bit less choice, but it didn't seem to be deterring anyone much!
Aided by Mark John and John and Sylvia Meechan,
we'd planned to keep the festival goers entertained whilst they
drank, ate, and rushed out occasionally to watch a “big 'un”
thunder over the level crossing. And they don't come much bigger than
this!
The Goods Shed is
an interesting venue to play. It is under cover but not enclosed, and
so, beyond the big wide open doors you can see trains entering and
leaving the station. Whilst performing, although on an elevated stage, you sometimes have to adjust the number you are doing, as engine
drivers are required to signal the crossing as they leave the
station. As they rumble past the back wall, the stage gently
vibrates.
Outside
there are exhibitions of vintage vehicles , veteran bicycles, and
country crafts. Inside,the audiences are made up of families,
“Tickers” come to sample the beers, Railway enthusiasts (not an
anorak in sight), truck drivers and real larger-than-life Fred Dibnah
figures. And people come to eat the Ploughmans' Lunches or less
healthy fast food alternatives.
Mark
John opened, right on time, thanks to Phil's efficient sound checks.
He bounced into Folsom Prison, and covered everything from Simon and
Garfunkel to Mumford and Sons.
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| Mark John |
Mark' s set was well received, and it probably earned him a slot at
Atherstone next month.
John Meechan and his wife Elaine followed.
Singing songs about the Collieries we have lost, and Industrial
Heritage. Very apt, in this setting, with the evocative smell of steam coal drifting
in occasionally. This talented duo played Concertina, accordion and Guitar.
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| John and Elaine giving it some welly |
We followed with the first of two sets. We were in the four-man format of Mick (mandolin and mandola), Arnold,(steel guitar+12 and 6 string): Dave Parr (guitar) and myself. The first half fairly romped by, with "All Over Now" and "The Odeon" probably highlights. "If I were a Goat" our infamous Beyoncé cover was possibly a little too leftfield for an audience which included men in overalls and Greasetop hats, and several dogs. During "Lakes of Ponchartrain" I became aware of a lot of agitated tinkling and jingling coming from a table down on the floor to my left. What followed was a personal first for me. One of the Morris Dancers shook my arm, during verses four and five,whilst I was in mid-warble, and said loudly, " Can you announce that The Morris Dancing is about to start outside please."
It seemed after all my singing efforts, he had still mistaken me for just the M.C. Resisting the urge to plunge from the stage and rush out to see The Anker Morris (back-up section),I finished the song, completed one more and then announced a break. This seemed very kind, at the time. I assumed this would give them time to beat each other over the head with sticks before coming back inside to see us. Actually, I did go out and watch them. They were very good. And very hot.
Our second half resumed with the Morris routine only half completed. We gave our audience more songs as they ploughed on through the Leatherbritches, the Elliswood and the Church End beers. Our usual mix of Blues, Folk and our own tunes. We called up Mark John for his inauguration into ParrotHood for our Finale-"Folking Liberty." Unable to gain the stage, due to it being so crammed with bodies, he played in troubadour style, from the floor, with a long lead.
"Folking " with its convoluted choruses, you have to sing oh so carefully, so as to avoid saying many rude words. It went well until another ruddy train pulled in. This time, as it left, there was a deafening cacophony of whistles and hoots as they thundered by outside a few metres behind us. From this I deduced that our ex-Fiddle player, Eddie Jones was on the footplate. What a card! Like something out of frigging Chuggington it was. It obliterated the final verse so...we did it again.
Leaving the site afterwards was a bit like lunchtime at The Arc De Triomphe roundabout, if you know it. Somehow the Morris Men decided that this would now be a good place to complete their routine, and so they danced, literally, across the exit road. Hilarious. Exiting Motorhomes, Low loaders, Caravans, Steamrollers, Artics and all sorts of vehicles just well, basically got in each others' way, then rolled to a halt. A bit like a Le Mans start, but with hundreds of tons of iron involved. A grand day out. Hopefully we'll be back again next year.
