A gig with a bit of a difference. Apparently this place is a school for the rest of the year, and then for the final weekend of term it turns into a folk festival site. We certainly never had End Of Year hops like this in my day. And how many HMHB gigs have you been to, where you can get a bowl of paella beforehand?
The audience went through the whole age spectrum. One or two Dukla shirts dotted around, and it was difficult to gauge how much of the crowd was there specifically for the band. But the whole tent was won over in the end. Or do they call them marquees or something else, these things? Andy Kershaw did the on-stage introductions, Neil was left without a lead for half of "When The Evening Sun Goes Down", a sociology student from Prague wanted to know where I got my Dukla shirt and Nigel namechecked the "Save Brampton Hospital" campaign (is everybody's hospital everywhere in the country under threat of closure?). Apart from that, everything was as you would expect. Also bumped into Paul from Edinburgh and his girlfriend. And had a chat with Geoff who was wandering round looking lost seeing as he didn't have a stall to look after. Not sure how much is going to be broadcast on the Kershaw programme in August, but it will be worth being ready with your finger on the pause button. The show went thus:
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes
CORGI Registered Friends
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Bottleneck At Capel Curig
Paintball's Coming Home
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Tending The Wrong Grave
Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman
The Best Things In Life
Bad Review
Uffington Wassail
Twenty-Four Hour Garage People
For What Is Chatteris
Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off
Shot By Both Sides
If I Had Possession Over Pancake Day
A Shropshire Lad
Trumpton Riots
Slipknot
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
and two songs in the encore
Running Order Squabble Fest
A Country Practice
Oh and The Blacksmiths at Talkin, just up the road from Brampton, does a top breakfast.