Ellie and Me – T5 travels
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 10:21 am
Fletchertown to Dent (again)
And …. an Amazing Opportunity
Having visited my cousin Jan for a few days and being relatively re-assured that she was ok, I drove back to Dent.
Arriving on a Saturday gave me plenty of time to catch up with friends and rehearse.
Now, I play the guitar and sing, but having spent a few years doing the rounds of open-mics, sessions and paid gigs, I rarely play 'out' any more – guess I've just lost my musical 'mojo'.
One of the reasons for returning to Dent was that there was going to be a live broadcast from the Sun Inn for the BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.
Mr. Vine was doing a three-show series 'Village, Town, City', asking local people their opinions on the (then) forthcoming EU Referendum and Dent had been chosen as the 'Village' broadcast.
The local band, 'Out of the Sun', had been asked to perform live to 'play out' the show, along with our good friend Blanty. I'd been invited to add harmonies.
The show was scheduled to be aired on Monday 23rd May, which gave us two days of 'rehearsals' and two evenings of playing music in the pub. Joy!
There were two groups of bikers staying in the village over that weekend (one each at the two main campsites). They were delighted that we would be playing live music both on the Saturday AND Sunday in the Sun.
The biker crowds are always great fun (and lovely gentlemen/ladies) and we were as entertained by them as much as they were by us. A prime example was when three of the bikers gals grabbed the display of copper teapots/kettles from the mantelpiece in the pub and pretended to play them (much to the dis-concern of one of the bar staff, but all was well, it was all done in the best possible taste and no 'instrument was damaged' ). There was a lot of dancing and joining in going on as well. Isn't that the point of playing music in a pub?
Some of the BBC Radio 2 crew were there – maybe checking us out to make SURE that we were good enough to play live?
There is no photographic evidence of the jolly japes on those two evenings, but even though there was a great deal of ale quaffed I can assure you that there was much mirth, everybody had a good time and nobody hurt themselves.
The following morning, I helped Wendy and Mick serve breakfast to some (lots!) of the bikers, who came into the farmhouse kitchen looking a little 'worse for wear' and left looking a heck of a lot better! Tea (the nectar of the gods and universal restorer) and Mick's breakfasts did the trick!
Whilst I was keeping the teapots full, the bikers were discussing the possibility of printing a book of their exploits (well, they decided that there would be two – one 'clean' and one more honest!).
Of all of the tales they told (all true) this one, in particular, had me in stitches:
A member of the group had managed to purchase a gross (144) of see-though plastic macs (at a very reasonable price), which he generously gave to other members. One evening, he put on his mac, and nothing else, and trundled off to the pub. Approaching the bar, he asked the lady who was serving, “May I have a pint of bitter, please?”. “Sorry, no”, replied the lady. “Why not? Is it the way I'm dressed?”, asked the biker. “Certainly not”, she replied, “it's just that I can see that you don't have any money!”
So, after two days of mega serious playing (and drinking), Monday arrived. We were asked (by one of the show's Producers (who loved Dent and had suggested it for the Village broadcast)) to play the song, 'Whisky on a Sunday', which we knew but which wasn't a regular in our 'repertoire', but we had a few hours in which to get it right.
The time came. We all (five of us) crowded into the area where Jeremy, his crew, the broadcasting equipment and a couple of locals (who had just been interviewed) were sitting and then … we were silently counted in and were on!!
I have to say that I was VERY nervous prior to the broadcast (I think we all were, especially Roger, who'd never played the song before), but when we were on air, during the song it was if the rest of the world had just slipped away, distant, of no consequence as our instruments and voices blended - as they always do when we play together.
Wow – we played live to a potential audience of 8 million listeners!! No offers of a recording deal yet, though
The BBC Radio 2 podcast of the programme is no longer available, but the following link might take you to a recording of 'our bit' in the show (Credit: Betty Beckett (thanks for the video and for looking after Ellie whilst I sang!!)). Apologies if the link doesn't work
https://www.facebook.com/bettybecket/vi ... 096027526/
Note: You won't see me in this video – I'm 'hiding' in the left-hand corner, but I reckon you'll be able to hear me singing, being the only female in the band – hehehe.
Afterwards, we were still 'buzzing', so went out to the pub's beer garden and carried on playing.
What a wonderful bunch of musician friends I have
Lesson learned: Accept and enjoy every opportunity that is offered to you as you go through life.
Note: I found myself looking in the corner of the pub where Little Mick used to sit, still expecting him to be there, poring over the crossword, half of Guinness in one hand, crossword puzzle gadget in the other hand.
And …. an Amazing Opportunity
Having visited my cousin Jan for a few days and being relatively re-assured that she was ok, I drove back to Dent.
Arriving on a Saturday gave me plenty of time to catch up with friends and rehearse.
Now, I play the guitar and sing, but having spent a few years doing the rounds of open-mics, sessions and paid gigs, I rarely play 'out' any more – guess I've just lost my musical 'mojo'.
One of the reasons for returning to Dent was that there was going to be a live broadcast from the Sun Inn for the BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.
Mr. Vine was doing a three-show series 'Village, Town, City', asking local people their opinions on the (then) forthcoming EU Referendum and Dent had been chosen as the 'Village' broadcast.
The local band, 'Out of the Sun', had been asked to perform live to 'play out' the show, along with our good friend Blanty. I'd been invited to add harmonies.
The show was scheduled to be aired on Monday 23rd May, which gave us two days of 'rehearsals' and two evenings of playing music in the pub. Joy!
There were two groups of bikers staying in the village over that weekend (one each at the two main campsites). They were delighted that we would be playing live music both on the Saturday AND Sunday in the Sun.
The biker crowds are always great fun (and lovely gentlemen/ladies) and we were as entertained by them as much as they were by us. A prime example was when three of the bikers gals grabbed the display of copper teapots/kettles from the mantelpiece in the pub and pretended to play them (much to the dis-concern of one of the bar staff, but all was well, it was all done in the best possible taste and no 'instrument was damaged' ). There was a lot of dancing and joining in going on as well. Isn't that the point of playing music in a pub?
Some of the BBC Radio 2 crew were there – maybe checking us out to make SURE that we were good enough to play live?
There is no photographic evidence of the jolly japes on those two evenings, but even though there was a great deal of ale quaffed I can assure you that there was much mirth, everybody had a good time and nobody hurt themselves.
The following morning, I helped Wendy and Mick serve breakfast to some (lots!) of the bikers, who came into the farmhouse kitchen looking a little 'worse for wear' and left looking a heck of a lot better! Tea (the nectar of the gods and universal restorer) and Mick's breakfasts did the trick!
Whilst I was keeping the teapots full, the bikers were discussing the possibility of printing a book of their exploits (well, they decided that there would be two – one 'clean' and one more honest!).
Of all of the tales they told (all true) this one, in particular, had me in stitches:
A member of the group had managed to purchase a gross (144) of see-though plastic macs (at a very reasonable price), which he generously gave to other members. One evening, he put on his mac, and nothing else, and trundled off to the pub. Approaching the bar, he asked the lady who was serving, “May I have a pint of bitter, please?”. “Sorry, no”, replied the lady. “Why not? Is it the way I'm dressed?”, asked the biker. “Certainly not”, she replied, “it's just that I can see that you don't have any money!”
So, after two days of mega serious playing (and drinking), Monday arrived. We were asked (by one of the show's Producers (who loved Dent and had suggested it for the Village broadcast)) to play the song, 'Whisky on a Sunday', which we knew but which wasn't a regular in our 'repertoire', but we had a few hours in which to get it right.
The time came. We all (five of us) crowded into the area where Jeremy, his crew, the broadcasting equipment and a couple of locals (who had just been interviewed) were sitting and then … we were silently counted in and were on!!
I have to say that I was VERY nervous prior to the broadcast (I think we all were, especially Roger, who'd never played the song before), but when we were on air, during the song it was if the rest of the world had just slipped away, distant, of no consequence as our instruments and voices blended - as they always do when we play together.
Wow – we played live to a potential audience of 8 million listeners!! No offers of a recording deal yet, though
The BBC Radio 2 podcast of the programme is no longer available, but the following link might take you to a recording of 'our bit' in the show (Credit: Betty Beckett (thanks for the video and for looking after Ellie whilst I sang!!)). Apologies if the link doesn't work
https://www.facebook.com/bettybecket/vi ... 096027526/
Note: You won't see me in this video – I'm 'hiding' in the left-hand corner, but I reckon you'll be able to hear me singing, being the only female in the band – hehehe.
Afterwards, we were still 'buzzing', so went out to the pub's beer garden and carried on playing.
What a wonderful bunch of musician friends I have
Lesson learned: Accept and enjoy every opportunity that is offered to you as you go through life.
Note: I found myself looking in the corner of the pub where Little Mick used to sit, still expecting him to be there, poring over the crossword, half of Guinness in one hand, crossword puzzle gadget in the other hand.