SPRING/SUMMER 2012 No. 98

cover.pdf 1 03/11/2009 12:03:39 what’s afoot title & logo to be inserted as for previous issues. No. 98 SPRING/SUMMER 2012 £1.00 No. 98 SPRING/SUMMER 2012 The Magazine of Devon Folk www.devonfolk.co.uk All articles, letters, photos, and diary What’s Afoot No. 98 dates & listings Contents Local Treasure: Jim Causley 4 diary entries free Devon Award, 2011 9 Please send to The Folk Trail Land’s End to John O’Groats 10 Colin Andrews First International Dance Workshop 11 Bonny Green, Kitchen Songs 13 Morchard Bishop, Footnotes 15 Crediton, EX17 6PG Devon Folk News 16 Devon Folk Committee 18 Tel/fax 01363 877216 Contacts: dance, music & song clubs 19 - 23 [email protected] Diary Dates 25 - 30 Copy Dates Contacts: display, festivals, bands, callers 33 - 37 1st Feb for 1st April Soundbeam update 38 1st June for 1st Aug Reviews 39 - 49 1st Oct for 1st Dec Morris Matters 50 Advertising One could easily get the impression that some people spend all day in Enquiries & copy to: front of the computer or on a mobile phone emailing, texting, tweeting, or Dick Little blogging on Facebook and other social networking sites. Not to be left behind Collaton Grange, in the march of electronic communication I signed up to Facebook & Twitter, Malborough. amongst others, not really being aware of what I was letting myself in for. Kingsbridge TQ7 3DJ In compiling this magazine on my PC I was amazed by the numbers of emails Tel/fax 01548 561352 generated from these sites that were arriving in my inbox. [email protected] Rates So where is this all leading and what are the implications for folk music? Full page £27 Half £16.50 Many bands, singers and other performers now have their own website and Quarter £10 Eighth* £5 a presence on YouTube or MySpace or suchlike, and undoubtedly these do Lineage* £3 for 15 words lead to increased bookings. We are fortunate that, through the good services (*min. 3 issues) of Trevor Paul ( axey-green, devonfolk) and John Culf (harbertonfolk) in Please enclose cheque particular folk events are well-publicised on-line. payable to “Devon Folk” with all orders and adverts Devon Folk has been without a recognised Publicity Of cer since Patricia Distribution & Reid left the committee. Whoever does take over the role in due course, he Subscriptions or she will need to be fully conversant with all the advantages (and pitfalls) Jean Warren that the internet and social networking offers. 51, Green Park Road, Plymstock, Plymouth, Colin Andrews PL9 9HU Cover photograph: End of the Folk Trail 01752 401732 Individual copies What’s Afoot is published 3 times a year by Devon Folk. £1.00 + S.A.E. / A5 Please note that the views expressed are not necessarily Subscription (see form) those of the Editor nor of Devon Folk. Devon Folk is £5 per 3 issues) an af liate of the English Folk Dance & Song Society (registered charity number 305999). The Editor & Devon Bulk orders (pre-paid) Folk accept no liability for the content of copy supplied £10 per 10 incl. p&p by advertisers Printed by Hedgerow Print, Crediton. Tel. 01363 777595 3 Jim Causley discussed his folk career and made a lasting impression. Jim studied voice his passion for Devon’s regional folk identity and accordion with tutors such as Sandra Kerr, with Melanie Henrywood Kathryn Tickell, Catriona Macdonald, Louis Killen, Chris Coe, Julie Murphy, Karen Tweed, Early In uences Ian Lowthian, David Oliver and Alistair Anderson Born in Exeter and brought up in Whimple, Jim (who apparently advised while teaching dance, attended Clyst Vale Community College and “You are only ever doing it wrong if you are not Exeter College, where he studied Performing enjoying yourself!”) Arts and Jazz and Popular Music. Early musical and theatrical experiences included singing in Emily Portman and Lauren McCormick were also the village church choir and school assembly, in Jim’s year and they all soon bonded, nding hearing singing and music at home and themselves in the minority both as singers involvement in school, college and and southerners. While this university village performances. He sang and liaison (aka The Devil’s Interval) was played keyboard as a student, to prove fruitful, they did have to writing and performing in bands ght their corner when frustrated and at open mic’ sessions. by the course content, which included a lot of fast Irish and Jim’s taste for folk music was Scottish tunes. Jim would have honed from childhood through preferred the course to be more attending the Whimple Wassail encouraging and encompassing event and by visiting Sidmouth of southern English music and Festival every year with his dance. Jim’s early performing grandmother. After joining a experience stood him in good gospel choir in Okehampton as a stead and he graduated from teenager, he went on to sing with Newcastle with the highest mark for ‘Voices in Common’ in Exeter, run by performance in his year. The Wren Trust where Paul Wilson was a big in uence, leading to Jim buying his rst Burgeoning Career accordion at Sidmouth when he was about 18. From 2003 Jim performed solo, in a duo with Fay When the Exeter Phoenix re-opened, Jim took the Hield and with ‘Devil’s’. Signi cant early guest opportunity to steward and it was there that he rst recording and concert performances for Devil’s saw artists such as Eliza Carthy and Kate Rusby. included Martin Wyndham Read’s project ‘Song He had started going to Topsham Folk Club and Links 2’ and Waterson:Carthy’s ‘Holy Heathens by the time his college courses had nished, he and the Old Green Man’. (Jim contributed a was ‘de nitely quite folky’. wassail song to the latter called ‘The Robin Redbreast’ collected by Baring-Gould in Newcastle University Jacobstowe, West Devon, which he had learned Jim rst heard about the Folk and Traditional from Wren). Music course at Newcastle University through a fellow student at Exeter College. After his rural Jim’s solo CD ‘Fruits of the Earth’ came out in Devon upbringing, the move to apply and study 2005, followed by ‘Blood and Honey’ with The in Newcastle took Jim some courage. After a false Devil’s Interval in 2006 and his second solo start, he overcame the culture shock and attended album ‘Lost Love Found’ in 2007. the course from 2002 to 2006. He considers that Collaborative Work the greatest bene ts to him were social – meeting Jim met Mawkin, an instrumental band from other people, playing in pubs and soaking up the Essex, at the Dartmoor Festival and a couple of music. The strong Northumbrian regional identity 4 years later they liaised to perform as Mawkin: ‘Devonshire Characters and Strange Events’. Causley, recording ‘Cold Ruin’ in 2008 and ‘The The Whimple History Society has cuttings from Awkward Recruit’ in 2009. They have played to about the 1930s, but it died out during the Second some large audiences in support of artists such as World War. Whiteways the cider factory was Show of Hands. still up and running when Jim was growing up in the village and the History Society revived In 2009 Jim took part in a project called ‘Under the Wassail in the late 1980s when he was about One Sky’ led by John McCusker, bringing ten. Some local classical musicians used to play, English and Scottish music together. Other guest but eventually that died and Jim stepped in when appearances have involved work for Jackie they were wassailing without music or singing. Oates, Jim Moray, Bill Murray, Ella Edmondson He now leads the musicians playing the Whimple and Phil Beer. Wassail Processional Tune between each of the Jim’s latest CD ‘Dumnonia’ came out in the orchards around the village and singing the song spring of 2011. He had touched on Devon to the tree. They start at The New Fountain Inn material previously, but had always aspired to and work their way through the village, ending do something that was all Devon songs, with up at the Cricket Club for cheese and bread and people like The Pixie Band providing that unique apple cake. The Unthank Sisters lmed Whimple ‘Devon’ sound. Wassail this year for their documentary on winter customs, due for broadcast in October 2012. Current Projects Recently Jim has formed a duo with Richard Jan Stewer Trethewey, a passionately Cornish friend who Sam Richards and Ken Penney started ‘Jan contributes complementary vocals, ddle and Stewer Night’ in the late 1980s with Sam taking mandola. They have a gig on the Isles of Scilly in the readings. John Babb then gave the readings April and are working on cross-county material, until his death in 2007. Jim had become interested intent on healing the wounds of any rivalry! in dialect prose and poetry, had enjoyed reading the Jan Stewer books and had grown up Charles Causley, the Cornish poet from Launceston surrounded by the lovely broad Devon accents of is a distant relative and Jim is currently setting his grandmother, neighbours and local farmers. his poems to music and performing the work in He was encouraged to give the readings a try by Launceston and Trusham where the family has friends at Pennymoor and, although quite nervous roots. about it, he felt it would be better to give it a go Jim’s other interests include history, historical than to see it die out altogether. In May 2008 buildings, photography, song writing, Morris he gave his rst Jan Stewer reading and is now dancing with Raddon Hill and travelling by train.

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