Time for Fiddlin'

Well, the Fiddle Fair 2010 beginneth.

Hard to believe it's been a year since we sat in the Glebe being entertained by Les Violons du Rigodon... The forecast is better than last year - cold but dry; hopefully the marquee at Casey's won't take such a battering this time around.

The line-up snakes its way through venues in Baltimore and out to Sherkin, and has something for everyone: concerts, masterclasses and sessions (planned and impromptu) in a variety of trad styles, ending on Sunday night with Lunasa and Kevin Burke, in what promises to be a storming gig. For full details see fiddlefair.com.

The fun kicks off this evening with our own Baltimore Beginners in The Algiers :-)

Wooden Boat Festival, Part Two

So, I was invited to sail on Sunday, and despite my lack of gear or terminology, off I went. The morning sail was the Lobster Pot challenge: boats race to find the pots, pull them up and collect a wooden token inside; first one back is the winner. We... ahem... experienced some difficulty involving our rudder and the limpet-like twisty turny lobster line. Anyhoo, it's all about the taking part!

So, having come last (twice) we made it back to the pier in time for the Carbery Timber boat race. People had been working on these boats all day Saturday: each team gets a bunch of wood and some double-sided stickey tape, and has a day to design and build a seaworthy craft. During the Build, some looked like kennels, others like coffins, one was straight out of Star Wars. By Sunday morning they were painted and christened: for names, I had joint favourites: 'The Sneaky Badger' and 'This Way Up' (which, it transpired, was sadly misnamed). And with a great audience lining the pier and the square and all the docked boats, the little makey-uppey boats launched out to sea.

Some... well some experienced difficulty in staying afloat; there's clearly a knack between balance and momentum, and design I guess. Slowly, the first one sank, to thunderous applause & roars. Other boats zoomed off, and the sturdy crafts ended up ramming and battling each other until each boat went under. Outstanding entertainment, and a brilliant effort by all.



And then, with a little break to taste fare of the seafoodey kind, off we went to race again. As we set off, we... ahem... experienced some proximity-related difficulty with another boat (I believe the term is t-boning). Anyhoo, it's all about the taking part. So having come not quite last, we finished off with the Parade of Sail, where we strutted our collective stuff. And oh my goodness, there was much stuff to strut:



I kept resisting the temptation to go all Grace Kelly and declare 'Oh, she was yar!!'

Back on land, there were sunshiney pints and prizes galore, fabulous hats, cajun music, pizzas, much slagging, newly-arrived visitors and more pints and a great session in the Algiers.



Colombo-like, we had just onnnnnne more drink when we got home, and finally, the Festival was ended.

An outstanding weekend :-)

Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival, Part 1

So, last year I was staying in Rosscarbery at this time of year. I noticed a poster for the Wooden Boat Festival, and thought I'd nip over, maybe take some photos for my sailing-loving brother.

I came here pretty early on the Saturday morning - they were still setting up stands - but there were a lot of people around, and I drove through the village trying to find somewhere to park... I found Baltimore an odd mix of very touristy folk and very local locals - I didn't really feel like I fit into either camp. So I had a wander, took a few snaps for my brother, and headed home.

This year's festival was a different experience for me (you can click to enlarge):



And this is before I even got out onto the water!

Beautiful weekend :-)

From the sublime to the ridiculous

Thinking about Christmassey music today. I don't mean the tinny cover tunes piped through shops, but actual music. Music that you might not hate.

It started with the O Holy Night from the Christmas episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The fab soaring hymn production style of W.G. Snuffy Walden (what a great name) is given a real New Orleans twist. Just phenomenal.



And from there I got thinking of The West Wing and so to The Yale Whiffenpoofs, whose Christmas album have been added to the family music collection in recent years. (Our childhood staple was John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together to which we used to decorate the tree each year.)

Anyhoo, so The Whiffenpoofs led to a capella, and on to Straight no Chaser, a group from Indiana University. I hadn't come across them before: in addition to 'straight' songs, they do funny medleys of boy bands or sitcom tunes or hipiddy hop. And their 'Lion Sleeps Tonight' is worth a listen. But keeping to the theme, their 12 Days of Christmas is a treat. Christmas should have some argumentative songs!