Bagpuss is woken for Sidmouth

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Sidmouth Folk Week 2010

Friday 30th July to Friday 6th August 2010
Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 8XR, England MAP
early bird £148 for an adult season ticket, other prices vary depending on event

The first surprise of Sunday is the size of the queue for Eliza Carthy & Saul Rose. It's considerably longer, considerably earlier than that of Show of Hands. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the afternoon concerts are included in the price of a season ticket, whereas you need to pay separately for the evening concerts. Maybe though its because 'Liza n Saul are widely loved and appreciated; probably the latter. Before we see them though, we are entertained by Pete Coe, who offers masterful interpretations of traditional songs, lively between song banter and the odd nugget of comedy in the form of such numbers as Hello Squeeze box my Old Friend. Pete is a versatile musician, accompanying himself generally on melodeon: of the Hohner kind, he's not a Castignari man. He occasionally plays the banjo, and sometimes, such as his delightful interpretation of On a Monday Morning, he plays the bozouki. He succeeds early on at engaging the audience and by the time he gets to Shine on Me everyone is singing along heartily.

Eliza Carthy & Saul Rose kick off their varied set with tunes. 'The Lads Like Beer', and 'Trouble over Bridgewater', get everyone clapping, whooping and stomping. The smut laden, 'The Miller and the Lass' strikes the right vein with the Sidmouth crowd. 'I Wish That the Wars Were all Over' is intimate, sad and again well received, as is the tender 'Washing Song', originally from the Isle of Man and translated from Gaelic. 'Good Morning Mr Walker' hails from 'Liza's mum's time in the Caribbean where she worked as a DJ. Its apparently about marrying ugly girls for money and certainly gains the highest volume sing-along from the crowd so far. The final song is about new mown hay and earns an encore; three robust and energetic tunes. The audience take their time to leave. It feels like they all need a minute to get their breath back.

Upon reading the festival programme for the first time, it's hard to imagine any events exciting more anticipation than The Music of Bagpuss, which takes place at the Manor Pavilion Theatre. Its a traditionally styled venue, all cosy velour seats and restrained lighting; the perfect place for a dreamy trip back in time. For added magic, the show features two of the original stars, John Faulkner, playing Gabriel the Toad, and Sandra Kerr, playing Madeleine the Rag doll. The cast is completed by family members, Nancy Kerr playing Emily and James Fagan, showing a remarkable flair for accents, playing Professor Yaffle. Bag puss himself occupies centre stage. This of course leaves a major part for the audience to play, that of the mice.

Mouse ears are helpfully provided at the door, and they play the part with enthusiasm. They 'heave!' on the Magical Mouse Organ whenever requested and they sing Magical Mouse Rounds in order to fix the various broken things that Emily has brought in to show Bag puss The lyrics are projected onto a screen behind the stage, and Madeline gives helpful singing advice to ensure that everyone is in tune and comes in on time. By the end of the show, the porcupine pin cushion has been fixed, and the inside out house been turned outside in. We've heard the story of Tavish Mctavish, the worst bagpiper in Scotland and solved the mystery of the biscuit making machine. We've even sung along to Shine the Sun and performed the actions in sign language. At the end, the 'mice' emerge into the Sidmouth sunshine with big beaming smiles, most with their ears still attached.

The Woodlands Hotel offers an atmosphere that is probably, of all the Sidmouth venues, most akin to that of a folk club. Its an intimate space, with seats in the middle and sofas around the edge. Sunday evening is bright and breezy, and the setting suns adds warmth and light to the room. This evening's offering is 'Woodlands Folk', featuring John Kirkpatrick, Simon Care, and Ian Russell. For many though, the highlight of the evening was an appearance by Will Pound & Dan Walsh. Dan and Will play tight, driving bluegrass. Dan plays banjo. He slaps, he strums, he finger picks, showing the rare ability of making a single stringed do the job of a whole orchestra. Will embellishes on harmonica, adding a bigger, ballsier, bluesier depth to their sound. They play old songs, such as Robert Johnson's 'Stop Breaking Down', and newer ones such as 'Every Day is a better Day' which is Dan's composition and represents his attempt to write a happy bluegrass song. It certainly gets toes tapping, and receives huge applause. Dan and Will are going from strength to strength.

An issue that sometimes plagues Sidmouth goers is the fact that there is so much good stuff on offer at any given time. The trick is to check the programme carefully and plan accordingly, as many artists appear more than once at the festival. Such was the case with Will and Dan, and also with John Kirkpatrick who was appearing later in the week with Brass Monkey. With that in mind, I headed to the Bedford Hotel to catch Louisa Killen. Louisa opened with a great song about bankers which got the audience stirred, and followed with 'I'm in the Sidings Now', by Cyril Tawney. Her version of 'Barbara Ellen' was a highlight. Her rich, resonant voice adding the necessary drama. Louisa sang most of the set unaccompanied, occasionally playing the concertina, such as during that last song of the evening 'Love Farewell', which was appreciatively received.