TALES FROM THE GAOL

WEEL MAY THE KEEL ROW…                 

Well folks, I can honestly say that the first Tales from the Gaol quiz night was a success. Dr. Vic entertained us with two old prison folk songs on his melodeon, Dave made us all smile with ‘Keep yer feet still Geordie, hinny’, & Penny premiered her new song, The Old Gaol Blues (more about that later)…

And I asked questions, that I thought we easy-peasy. It turned out they were a tad trickier than I anticipated, but folks got stuck in anyway. One table got 15 out of 20, which was rather impressive. But the main thing was, everyone got a prize. If you look closely below you’ll see Mark selecting a limited edition record by The Postmen (a fine choice, if I may say so myself).

And at the end, we all sang the Keel Row… I like to think Kathleen Ferrier wouldn’t be turning in her grave, but tapping along on the side of her coffin.

So, we’ve only gone & booked another one, this time with poetry… details below…

NO MORE HEROES?…

I asked for any heroes that should be included in my massive banner, celebrating folks who have done even the slightest thing that’s somehow special. Not had many replies, but someone today emailed me & mentioned Yang the cat, who would visit the hospital in Hexham every day, & became something of a local… hero.

ATELIER MOOT…

That’s right folks, as of the end of this month, I’ll be slightly moving into the ground floor of the Moot Hall to start making work for the Gaol. The paint will be flowing & the kettle will bever be off, as I bring some of my ideas to life, ready to be installed next spring. I now have a full set of painter’s clothing, including some snazzy troosers from my pal Vicky in Slaley, who’s also given me a bus drivers jacket to paint in, should the temperature drop go back to being a bit nippy.

But look out for any ‘open days’ I’ll be having where you can have a wee mooche around in my new studio, ask me questions as I paint furiously, & even say stuff like ‘missed a bit’ when I’m covering the plywood in all sorts of excting pigment…

DUSTJACKETS GALORE…

And speaking of paint etc, my workshops for Hexham Book Festival, as advertised in their brochure have all filled up, on Sunday April 26^th & may 3^rd, 10am – 12pm… But not to worry, if you still want to take part, we’ve now added two more worskhops, on the same days, from 2-4pm. Spaces for these are filling up too… Go to the Hexham Book Festival website if you’re interested…

QUIZ NIGHT NO.2

As mentioned above, the now legendary Tales from the Gaol quiz nights are back. This time we’ll also have some poetry from a dear pal I call the Geordie Laureate, Mr Harry Gallagher. Harry is in fact from Middlesbrough, so not even a Geordie, but now resides in sunny Cullercoats. I published a bok with Harry when I was deep in my Northumberland Folk project. It sold well, in great word emporiums like Forum Books in Corbridge, so we printed it again. It sold some more, so now it’s time to reprint it again (it’s a Northumberland bestseller, dontcha know?). So we’ll be launching the third edition of Seventeen Northumbrian Poems, illustrated by me that night.

But… we’ll also be launching a new book, published by my Cakes & Ale Press, to coincide with the Hexham Book Festival. For this small, but handsome volume, I asked Harry to pen a poem about Hexham & thereabouts, which he has. And there’s another two sets of verse – one by Bloodaxe star Robyn Bolam, & the words to one of my favourite songs, Fareweeel Regality by Terry Conway. I would show you the cover for this book, but I’ve yet to design it… straight after another cup of tea, I promise…

So come laong to Garden Coffee House again, for another thrilling quiz, but also some top notch poems from Harry & others & witness the launch of Trio, Notes from the North East. And should have a poem to read out your good self, get up on the TFTG stage (there is’nt really stage, but there’s a mic etc), & read out some verse… go on…

OLD GAOL BLUES…

As mentioned above, Penny Grennan, your deputy mayor & local star singer songwriter, permiered her brand new song, The Old Gaol Blues at the last quiz. And that night we asked you all to write your own verses for this soon-to-be-classic. And you did. The results were profound, funny, intriguing, slightly dark & fantastic.

Here’s my favourite…

I’ve got the old Gaol Blues

I’ve got the old Gaol Blues

She came to Hexham and started to wail

Folk talked that her pee smelled of Kale

But that’s no reason to go to Gaol

I’ve got the old Gaol Blues

Sheet music coming soon… 45 too, possibly on coloured vinyl… we’ll see… after I’ve had some Kale…

ALL THAT OTHER MOTHER JAZZ…

As I mentioned in a previous post, I rarely return from the fair town of Hexham without a treat or two. And this time it came in the form of a blue note record, by none other than Thelonious Monk. That’s right, Snap Records, on market street had a cache of old jazz vinyl, & there it was, waiting for me.

And I’m super chuffed to say that my book Hot Jazz Special, now 21 years old has a new lease of life. That’s right, Snap have a couple of copies for sale, so if you don’t already have a copy, there was one neatly nestled inbetween a pink Floyd cushion  & a pair of Metallica pumps… a tenner well spent, I reckon (for HJS, that is… I think the Metaliica footwear is a tad pricier)…