All aboard in Bowes

Sarah Richardson from New River Shanty Crew on the folk group’s recent adventures

New River Shanty Crew on tour in Weston-super-Mare

New River Shanty Crew meet weekly in Bowes Park to sing sea shanties under the direction of our ‘skipper’ Ailsa Mainwaring and ‘first mate’ Nick Siepmann.

Sea shanties were originally working songs for sailors enduring long weeks at sea. Some are fast and funny while others are slower and more reflective.

We have had several successful local gigs so far this year. We started with a standing-room only performance at Bowes Park Folk Club and were then welcomed at Muswell Hill Methodists’ Church picnic and a 125th anniversary tea at Trinity-at-Bowes Methodists’ Church.

This summer we went on tour for the first time, with festival bookings at ‘Pirates in the Port’ in Newport and the ‘International Sea Shanty and Folk Music Festival’ in Weston-Super-Mare.

In Newport, 20 of us opened the weekend at The Corn Exchange – a handsome, wood-panelled building formerly used for trade on the River Severn. We sang on a brightly-lit stage to a full house. A comic song, The Wreck of the Nancy Lee, went down particularly well. In the afternoon, we sang at Le Bar, a smaller venue, and stayed to listen to ‘Odds and Sods’ who were barefoot and sang Cornish independence songs. At Sips Café on Sunday, families stopped to listen on their way into the beautifully-restored wrought iron Victorian market hall.

Many of us signed up to sing again in sunny Weston-Super-Mare. We appeared at the opening event following the festival organisers, ‘The Steepholmers’, at the Italian Gardens. Food stalls, pop-up bars and ice-cream vendors lined the square and gave it a real festival vibe.

On Saturday we performed to a friendly crowd at The Old Colonial, when the pub was decorated with pirate flags and bunting, and the MC dressed in a tricorn hat and tailcoat. After this, we packed into The Three Brass Monkeys, a lively bar near the town centre. On Sunday, after a walk on the pier, we had a great final performance in Brunello’s Lounge. It was wonderful to look out and see peoples smiling faces and children dancing.

We all enjoyed singing at these festivals. It’s boosted our confidence, while spending more time together has been fun and also helped our performances. We are back in rehearsals now and look forward to our upcoming performances!

New River Shanty Crew rehearse on Thursday afternoons at Shaftesbury Hall in Herbert Road – new members are welcome. Their next performance is on Thursday, 10th December from 7.45pm at Bowes Park Folk Club, 143 Myddleton Road, Bowes Park N13 8NG. For more information:
Visit newrivershantycrew.co.uk

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