Sunday 14 June 

It was late afternoon when we began to arrive at the village engaged, so it would seem, in on-going festivities. By happy coincidence our event tied in with the tail end of Shotesham Open Gardens weekend, something we had not known when booking the venue. The pub was packed – we had difficulty weaving through those in the bar as we made our presence known – and the garden was equally full. There was certainly a festive atmosphere in the air and the quintessentially British situation of people of all ages enjoying drinks and the sunshine at the local pub. 

A fully outside event for us this time. The band worked its way through a selection of tunes, of various types, as usual. Our repertoire of tunes taken from myriad recordings of local traditional musicians is being further augmented by those from two manuscript tune books from the county: George Watson of Swanton Abbott and William Clarke of Feltwell. We certainly will never run out of suitable material. In addition, Tom Knight produced a seemingly endless amount of tunes on the dulcimer, as they occurred to him, most stemming from the repertoire of his grandfather, Reg Reader. Endearingly, young two-year old Reggie helped his dad out on a couple of occasions – perhaps the first steps in his following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, as well as father? Several people sat in with us throughout the proceedings, creating a full sound, which seemed to be greatly appreciated by those in the garden. 

The gravel underfoot was potentially a problem for dancers, although not so bad for the step dancers, as it happened, once boards had been put down, and much took place. Game as ever, Barry Mobbs and Monica Rackham managed to waltz and polka on several occasions, retaining the grace despite the hazards underfoot. The dancing was a draw, as far as interest was concerned, and several local youngsters were inspired to try their hand (or feet?) at it. Given the acoustic situation, we decided to forgo songs for the occasion and to concentrate on a few hours of instrumental music. It has to be said that it fitted the occasion and surroundings perfectly. 

So a very enjoyable afternoon and a successful foray into south Norfolk. We have been asked back to the pub, if we wish, and maybe at some time in the future we’ll do another event there, perhaps inside where we can give the songs an airing too. 

Chris Holderness June 2026