A Voyage to Yorkshire and the Great Piratical Wedding!

Blackbeard's Tea Party are having a hell of a year - a trip to Spain for the Costa Del Folk festival already under their piratical belts, there's appearances at Cropredy and Glastonbury Festivals in the offing, plus the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo.  On Saturday, however, it was  ... 

... and being band auntie and cousins, off we went to Filey for the weekend.

Up to this point, my experience of the Yorkshire coast had been confined to a day trip travelling from Staithes to Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay to Scarborough about 35 years ago, so I was keen to spend a little more time in this beautiful part of the world.  Arriving on Friday night at our guest house, we dumped our glad rags and went straight onto the beach.

Oh, and it was lovely.

We walked along the beach as far as a World War II pillbox, sat rather incongruously on the sand near Hunmanby Gap. (Apparently, lots of pillboxes have fallen from the cliffs along the east coast of England due to coastal erosion - this one is pretty intact if that's the case here.)

On our return we admired the local birds ... 

... and met up with the final two members of our party.

All present and correct, we could proceed to the wedding at Wold Top Brewery the following day. 

This was never going to be a run-of-the-mill occasion and whilst there were some traditional bits, there were also stilt-walking drummers, the rest of the band all being best men, a toast in the groom's own, specially brewed beer ...

... sword dancing by Black Swan Rapper ... 

... pirate-themed eats ... 

... a galleon wedding cake ... 

... and a first dance that was actually playing the violin with bow and drumsticks.  (Yes, marterteral tears were shed.)

I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll ... (well, not quite)

Congratulations to my favourite nephew and his lovely bride.  I know you'll continue to be astounding together.

Back in Filey, a new day and another walk on the beach, this time in the opposite direction to Filey Brigg.

 

It was exciting to get to the end and see a whole new part of the coast come into view, over to Scarborough. 

It reminded me a bit of Worm's Head at Rhossili on the Gower, only on a smaller scale.

 

  

Yorkshire, as far as beauty goes, you are up there with my beloved West Country, almost.  Hope to be back before long.  

Tomorrow We'll Be Sober!

'What's The Croft like as a venue, then?' I asked my daughter.

She wrinkled her nose. 'OK, I s'pose. You do stick to the floor a bit, though'

Armed with this information, my 89 year old father and 83 year old mother decided not to attend the Blackbeard's Tea Party gig, even though they love watching their grandson, djembe-playing Dave Boston, and granddaughter-in-waiting, Laura Barber, play.  I had no such qualms. I've been sticking to various floors, at gigs and domestically, since the late 70s.  So accompanied by most of my offspring, I swanked in courtesy of the guest list just in time for the opening song.   

Blackbeard's Tea Party has undergone a fairly major personnel change of late, with the departure of singer and melodeon player, Paul Young.  I was a bit apprehensive when I heard the news, as I thought Paul's voice very distinctive and really well suited to the band's material, though his stage persona was pretty dour.  His replacement,  the singer and melodeon player Stuart Giddens, couldn't be more different, scoring about 8.2 on the campometer.  I particularly enjoyed the subtle change to the lyrics in 'I can hew', and once he's memorised the order of the verses in 'The Landlord', he'll be fine.  

 Elsewhere, Blackbeard, that local Bristol boy made good, was well served by his band's excellent musicianship.  I have a bit of a penchant for fiddle-playing, and Laura is superbly talented.  For energy and passion, I can only really compare her to that maestro, Seth Lakeman. 


Support was provided by local rappers, Silver Flame - that's rappers not rappers - who also performed with the band in Sidmouth, back in the summer.  By the end of the evening the entire audience in the packed back room was dancing, and the band received a well-deserved ovation.

  

Another perk of being Auntie to the band is that you get to put most of them up afterwards.  They're far too nice to demand a rider, but the beer went down well (£17.99 for one box in Sainsbury's; £20 for two. What's that all about, then?)  Following a slap-up breakfast next morning, my parents popped around for a quick visit and stuck to my kitchen floor, so they didn't miss out either.  

I think I'm right in saying that with the exception of their two appearances at Sidmouth in August, this was the first time Blackbeard's Tea Party had performed in the West Country, and that seems a shame as surely it's here they would be best appreciated.  Hopefully they'll get booked for more festivals and carnivals in these parts over the coming months. In the meantime they have an excellent new CD out, called Tomorrow We'll Be Sober, which will be just the job for all those approaching Christmas and New Year parties.