Wednesday 29th July 2009

There have been some changes with the tour dates so I'm attaching an updates list of the festivals where you can visit the caravan.

9. Sidmouth Folk Week 4 - 7th August (confirmed)

10. Broadstairs Folk Festival 9 - 12th August (confirmed)

11. Whitby Folk Week 22 - 24th Aug

12. Traditional Music Day, Suffolk 5th September (confirmed)

13. Thames Festival, London 12 - 13th September (confirmed)

Tuesday 28th July 2009

I'm very pleased to say that the wonderful Jonny Hannah posters have been selling really well and there are now only 14 left from the limited edition of 50. These are still available at £75 + £5.40 P&P. Please email the museum for details.

Friday 17th July

We arrived in the pretty village of Much Wenlock amidst pouring rain. The Festival at the Edge site was not far and as we pulled in a very damp Genevieve Tudor was there to welcome us. We towed Roberta into position and then made our way to our B&B to dry out. In the evening there was a fantastic line up of performers in the main music tent. First up was Emma and the Professors with songs inspired by local folklore. Next was the amazing Chris Wood. The set started off with a light hearted song or two but quickly became very dark and political and incredibly moving. To finish off we heard Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds with their brilliant folk re-workings of classic punk and 80's songs.

The weekend saw a steady stream of visitors as the weather was much warmer and brighter, at least it was on Saturday....
We were next to the book tent and I was delighted when Jamie Crawford made the kind donation of the full set of Roy Palmer's Folklore books to the museums collection. I was given a lesson in how to use my Jig Doll by Mike West who was working at the festival and I've been practising ever since. Many people offered contacts and my thanks go to Ben Haggerty who introduced me to Des & Alison from the Museum of Myth and Fable.
www.mythstories.com

Many of festivals performers and story tellers visited the caravan and my thanks go to all of those who offered so much support. I would also like to say a very big thank you to Genevieve Tudor who invited us to attend the event and looked after us so well.

www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2006/04/05/genevieve_tudor_feature.shtml

Monday 13th July 2009

My brother picked me up with Roberta (the Caravan), at 6am and we drove off to the Holloway Rd to collect John Akehurst, a photographer friend. We were due to take the next two days to drive up to Stornoway and the Hebridean Celtic Festival. Day one went well and we reached Glasgow in time to get lost a few times before finding the B&B and meeting a friend for dinner. On Tuesday morning as we set off, I told my fellow travellers that I had the distinct feeling that the day was to be very surreal.....
The scenery around Loch Lomond and onwards through Argyll was absolutely stunning. The weather with dazzling sunshine and squally showers, leant the dramatic landscape an even more filmic quality.
We finally arrived on the Isle of Skye and decided to stop for something to eat before continuing up to Uig to catch the ferry over to Lewis. It was then that my Brother, Anthony noticed that the tow bar was looking very low. As we peered beneath the car we could see that the metal holding the tow bar was bent downwards. It was obvious that it needed some urgent attention. After some help from some very friendly locals we continued on our way only to find it was happening again. With a heavy heart we unhitched Roberta, zipped over her cover and left her by the side of the road while we set off to find a garage.



We eventually had to go back over to the mainland and book into a B&B in Kyle-of-Lochalsh, as it was getting late. Wednesday morning we were recommended a garage, Corry Motors in Broadford and the very helpful Joff and his team where able to weld enough metal onto the chassis to enable the car to tow a tank. Poor Roberta is a little more hefty since her re-fit but at her age I think she's entitled quite frankly. By this time we had missed our space on the ferry over to Lewis and it was time for us to be making our way back down and the Festival at the Edge in Shropshire. Sadly we never made it to Stornoway, so close and yet......



On our way back we stopped in to see the Breadalbane Folklore Centre which is housed inside a beautiful working Mill dating from 1840 built on the site of a much earlier one said to have been built by St Fillan, whose story is told inside the museum. The legendary 'Healing Stones' of St Fillan can be seen, sitting on their bed of straw which is changed each year. Permission can be obtained to use the stones under certain circumstances.
www.breadalbanefolklorecentre.com

Friday 3rd July 2009

Today was a red letter day if ever there was one. As of today, the Museum of British Folklore is official. Companies House have registered the name and I can now set the project up as a Community Interest Company. This will enable me to get a whole number of things sorted out and to be able to start applying for funding in earnest.

Plans to have an Art & Music event in support of the museum, at the end of the year have started to brew due to the number of bands who have offered support and also the amount of artists who have been in touch. Further details will be posted as they occur.

Monday 29th June 2009

This weekend saw the museum project paying a visit to Leigh-on-Sea and the Folk Festival there. A warm welcome was given to us by Rex Palmer and Kate Denny on our arrival. I had no idea at the time that Kate was the lead singer from The Kittiwakes, who I had heard on Genevieve Tudor's BBC Shropshire Folk Show the week before and loved. I listen to Genevieve's excellent show every week and was delighted when she was able to come down to London for the tour launch event along with fellow presenter Allan Price.
In between greeting a constant stream of visitors to the caravan I was able to meet and hear The Owl Service, whom I've been to see several times. A new discovery was the sublime Ski Jordan who I had never heard before and was totally mesmerised by. You can hear samples of their music here -

http://www.myspace.com/kittiwakes
http://www.myspace.com/theowlservice
http://www.myspace.com/skijordan

It was a great two days and I made many new contacts and hopefully new friends. I was very pleased to have a donation of narrowboat art works by Pauline Dickinson and the offer of a folk sound archive dating back to the 60's. When I got back I heard from the people at Broadstairs Folk Festival that it will be possible for me to attend so I shall amend the listing. I'm now planning the longest trip of the tour which will be to the Outer Hebrides and the Hebridean Celtic Festival, then the Festival at the Edge, Shropshire. Roberta is going to receive a little extra TLC over the next few weeks in readiness for the epic voyage.

Thursday 11th June 2009

The Museum is delighted to announce it's first major acquisition. Painted in 1987 by Clifford Bayly RWS, 'Alignment Sixteen, The White Horse Plagued by Gliders', is a large triptych and features the White Horse of Uffington. The painting will feature in the proposed gallery dealing with Chalk Hill Figures.

Monday 8th June 2009

This past weekend saw a trip to Southampton and then to Weymouth, Dorset for the Wessex Folk Festival. Henry Bourne was able to join us too. My brother Anthony was thankfully able to do the driving. (I'll make a Folkie of him yet). On Thursday last week we visited some very dear friends of mine in Southampton who were all photographed by Henry. My thanks go to Maureen, Ron & Maggie and Jeanette & John, for their time and continued support. The next day we made our way to Weymouth and dropped Roberta (the caravan), and set off to explore. Weymouth is a picturesque seaside town and has some wonderful architecture. On Saturday morning we set up on the North Quay and I was joined by the novelist, Kit Berry author of the Stonewylde trilogy. Kit was signing her books and chatting to fans and it was great to meet her. She kindly gave me the set of Stonewylde books which I'm very much enjoying.
http://www.stonewylde.com
The people of Weymouth were incredibly supportive towards the project and some very useful contacts were made. I met Mark North and Robert Newland, the team behind the Dark Dorset website, which has much information on the folklore and mysteries of Dorset.
http://www.darkdorset.co.uk
The artist Dominic Shepherd also came by to say hello. Late on Sunday afternoon a chap called Kevin Mart donated several wonderful Punch & Judy puppets to the museum collection, for which I'm very grateful. My thanks also go to Paul Openshaw, Pat Green and Pauline Clenshaw for all their help.

All in all, the Weymouth festival was a fantastic trip. Next stop, the Leigh Folk Festival.

Tuesday 26th May 2009

Over the four days of the Bank Holiday long weekend, the caravan was parked outside Tate Modern as part of the House of Fairy Tales project, set up by artists Gavin Turk and Deborah Curtis. Their idea is to promote creative education amongst other things and the Museum of British Folklore was very happy to have been asked to join in.
http://www.houseoffairytales.org/

Over 60,000 people were expected and with the weather being so wonderful it felt like there were more. Poor Roberta's suspension took quite a battering as hordes of people queued up to see what she had to offer. I had a thousand calling cards and a thousand postcards with information printed on them and they all went in the first day. It was very heartening to hear the response people had to the project and almost everybody asked the same question, 'Why is it we don't have a centre which celebrates and researches our Folklore?'. To everyone who offered help and have since contacted me via this website, I send my thanks and will certainly take you all up on it! I was also very pleased to be able to sport the finished Gareth Pugh coat which is stunning and added a much needed element of glamour to my greeting people outside the caravan in the sunshine. Next stop Weymouth on the 5th 6th & 7th June.

Here is the updated tour list...

1. Hastings Jack in the Green, East Sussex 4th May (confirmed)

2. Shepley Folk Festival, West Yorkshire 15 - 17th May (confirmed)

3. Tate Modern, London 22 - 24th May (confirmed)

4. Wessex Folk Festival, Weymouth, Dorset 5 - 7th June (confirmed)

5. Leigh Folk Festival, Essex 24 - 25th June (confirmed)

6. Hebridean Celtic Festival, Stornoway 15 - 16th July

7. Festival at the Edge, Shropshire 18 - 19th July (confirmed)

8. Port Eliot Festival, Cornwall 24 - 26th July (confirmed)

9. Sidmouth Folk Week 4 - 7th August

10. Broadstairs Folk Festival 9 - 12th August

11. Green Man Festival, Glanusk, Wales 21 - 23rd Aug

12. Towersey Festival, Oxfordshire 27 - 31st Aug (confirmed)

Monday 18th May 2009

On Friday last week my Brother, Anthony and I set off to visit the Shepley Spring Festival with Roberta (the caravan) in tow. It was quite a long drive up to West Yorkshire from London and we arrived around 6 o'clock to set up. The festival is one of the smaller ones, but had an interesting line-up of performers and my thanks go to Keith and Nikki for allowing me to come along. Over the weekend the weather sadly went from windy with light showers and a spot of sunshine, to torrential rain and blowing a gale. Never the less, many people came along and to my delight, those who were most interested in the museum project were the local Police, with whom I had many long chats with and they were really supportive. It was also very good to see my friends Doc Rowe and Jill there too. Doc gave his 'Blood, Booze and Bedlam', talk on the Sunday which was fascinating. One scary moment occurred on the motorway on the way home, a tyre on Roberta blew out with a loud bang. Luckily my Brother was on hand to change the tyre as I stood there being a bit useless, taking notes should it ever happen again. Trip 3 will be to Tate Modern, London for the 22nd - 25th May.

Wednesday 13th May 2009

Today I had another fitting for the coat that is being designed for the tour by Gareth Pugh. I arrived at his studio in East London to find three members of his team actually weaving the fabric for the piece out of meters and meters of green ribbon. Gareth fitted the toile made from Calico and I watched fascinated, as the fabric grew before my eyes under the nimble fingers of his talented team. It should be ready for me to sport for the dates at the Tate Modern.

Saturday 9th May 2009

Today the postman delivered a small parcel. It was marked as having been sent from Prague. When I opened it, there was the most exquisite oil painting by Iku Dekune, one of the artists I had approached to produce a piece of work for the museum's collection. Iku lives and works in Prague and produces the most wonderful illustrative works, often based on Myths and Fairy stories. Iku decided to illustrate the tale of the Scottish Kelpie, a breed of water horse that enticed people, especially children, to ride on its back, then took them down to a watery grave where they would be devoured, except the heart and liver. The Kelpie would often appear as a lost pony but could be identified by its constantly dripping mane. Its skin is like that of a seal, smooth, but as cold as death when touched. Once a rider climbs onto its back the skin becomes adhesive. A common Scottish tale is the story of seven children lured onto a Kelpie's back, while the eighth keeps his distance. The eighth child simply strokes the Kelpie's nose, but when his finger becomes stuck to it he takes a knife from his pocket and cuts his own finger off. He saves himself, but is unable to help his friends as they are pulled underwater with the Kelpie. Commonly known as spirits of the dead, Kelpies are hardly benevolent creatures.....

Tuesday 5th May 2009

I'm delighted to announce that the museum can offer for sale a limited edition screen print, specially created by the artist Jonny Hannah. The poster measures 69cm x 29cm and costs £75 (+ P&P) with proceeds going to the museum funds. Each print is signed and numbered and depicts aspects of this years tour.

Please email scostin@dircon.co.uk should you wish to purchase one.

Saturday 2nd May 2009

Today was the start of the tour and also something of a personal milestone. This is the 15th year that I've been lucky enough to attend the Hastings Jack in the Green festival. It was also the first official outing for the caravan, which has been named Roberta Boudica. Roberta after the make of Castleton caravan and Boudica after the Iceni Warrior Queen who, as far as I'm concerned, should be our Patron Saint. The driving was entrusted to the capable hands of Natalie Abbley who had never towed a caravan before. She had the unenviable task of getting Roberta up to the Ladies Parlour on the West Hill in Hastings. A steep, narrow pathway leads to an open area overlooking the sea, where the stalls are laid out for the day. Early on Monday morning we made our way up and then had an hour or so to set out the display cases and hoist the mini maypole and bunting. Next to us was Henry Bourne with his temporary studio. This was also the first day for Henry's photographic project to document the people we meet during the tour.





I hurriedly got changed into my Jack in the Green outfit and tottered down the hill to join my friends and the procession. The sun was shining when Jack appeared amidst cheers from the crowd. As usual the event was very well attended and is for me one of the most life affirming days of the year, (despite the sub zero temperatures later in the day!). I'm pleased to say that Roberta was never empty and had a constant stream of visitors over the day. People seemed genuinely delighted that we might soon have an established centre which celebrates and records our native customs and traditions and I received several donations for which I am very grateful.

Friday 1st May 2009

I'm delighted to say that the launch was a huge success on many levels and a very big team effort. After months and months of planning, everything came together in one final push. The caravan has been named Roberta Boudica. Roberta after the make of caravan and Boudica after the Iceni warrior Queen.



Everyone at Cecil Sharp House couldn't have been more helpful and my sincere thanks go to Katy Spicer, Stewart Morgan and Sam Lee for all their help.



The renowned catering company, Cellar Society, created a sumptuous menu which included delicious cheeses kindly donated by Neal's Yard Dairy. ( www.cellarsociety.com ) I would like to thank the lighting and sound companies for all their time and energy too, without Nick Knowles ( www.spiritdesignuk.com ) and Ralph Biddulph ( www.systemsound.co.uk ) it would not have looked and sounded as good as it did. Mark Hubbard at Scena, the set construction company, with whom I've worked with for many years, did me proud once again by making the band backdrop and providing all the screening for the coat check etc. ( www.scenapro.com ). The main entrance way to the hall had a glorious, sweet smelling archway of flowers provided by Nikki Tibbles at Wild at Heart, who also made hundreds of beautiful garlands for the guests to wear, making everyone look thoroughly folkie. ( www.wildatheart.com )



The gifts on the Tombola were kindly donated by Alexander McQueen, Hermes, Nokia, Comme des Garcons, Harvey Nichols, Jurlique and Illamasqua. Next came all the entertainment. At the start of the evening the magicians, Paul Kieve and Darren Langford entertained everyone with some wonderful close up magic. ( www.stageillusion.com ) They were followed by a fantastic performance by Hunters Moon Morris, who stormed the main hall and did a rousing performance which guests are still asking me questions about. ( www.huntersmoonmorris.co.uk ) This was followed by a film, especially commissioned by the museum, entitled 'Britannica, Rites and Rituals'. Edited by Ruth Hogben from footage shot over the past 45 years by Doc Rowe, it is a wonderful introduction to our seasonal customs and includes many festivals from all over the UK. It will be available to be viewed on-line, in a compressed form, on this website very soon.



Next came the first of the evenings bands, Rachel Unthank and the Winterset followed by rising stars, Blue Roses.
( www.rachelunthank.com ) ( www.myspace.com/musicofblueroses ) My thanks go to both bands and I very much hope to be able to catch up with them on my tour at some point.



A huge thank you has to go to Stephanie Rutherford, Amanda Sheppard and Gillian McVey at the PR company, Purple. They were quite phenomenal at putting together the committee for the event, getting the press involved and inviting the hundreds of guests and then dealing with everyone on the night. ( www.purplepr.com )

I never forget for one moment how lucky I am to have such a massively supportive group of friends and they were amazing too, mucking in with all the production, decorations, humping desks from the main hall, dressing as Herne the Hunter to solicit donations, manning the coat check and Tombola and even clearing glasses etc. Special thanks go to Stephen Jones for his magnificent hat, Jenna Rossi-Camus for my outfit and Gareth Pugh for the coat which will be coming with me on the tour. To them my humble thanks.

Lastly a heartfelt thank you to all the guests who bought a ticket to support the event and so help towards the tour.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2009/05/do-we-have-any-actors-here-oh-just-some-major-movie-stars.html