Monday 30th July 2007

It's getting very close to main festival season here in Kent. Broadstairs Folk Week is but a fortnight away and then it's Faversham Hops two weeks after Broadstairs finishes and the Deal Maritime a little after that. A few weeks later, the season closes with Tenterden. And then it's just sessions until St Patrick's night when it all starts again.

The sessions have been bouncing along quite nicely thank you with no great surprises. Dan the Fisherman is back from university after gaining a 2:1 in something like Fisheries Management (or a degree in prawn fishing as our accordionist puts it) and already has a job! It sound like a cross between Council licensed Greenpeace meets Francis Drake but I'm sure it's not. Anyway it's in Dorset and it's protecting fish stocks.

What else have we seen? Younger musicians taking an interest (progeny of the sessioneers) - always a good thing and Heather Grabham making another welcome appearance. And welcome back Fox who is a Sussex lad I believe but has some nice tunes and don't you go believing all that rivalry between Sussex and Kent nonsense. I think it's Marsh propaganda to keep the smuggling secret. Ooops I've just let out the secret. Never mind. Read Dr Sin. Or maybe it's the cricket rivalry. Anyway we like each other really. Honest. I remember a grand session in the bar at Doris's on the Marsh a few years ago where the fine musical traditions of Kent and Sussex met for an enjoyable evening. Especially as Doris was trying to charge pre-decimal prices for the beer. The wartime posters are genuine - it's never been decorated. It has won a CAMRA award for recreating the atmosphere of bygone days - Flag floor, gravity dispensed beer, wartime decor. It's all real - it's always been like that! Well since the war obviously. If you did take the WWII posters down, there'd probably be Napoleonic War posters underneath.

Don't forget - if you want a session 11th - 17th August, join Paul Lucas at the lunchtime session in the Lord Nelson at Broadstairs. There are other sessions going on as well, but Paul's are a kind of institution.