GIP

The icon is from the Oysterband 1994 Holy Bandits Tour t-shirt which I purchased in an auction just before the Chumbawamba set. All proceeds to the Howard League of Penal Reform. "Cool charity," I said as I bought the shirt from someone who turned out to be Lee's wife. "Oh, yes; Lee's been doing lots of volunteering in local prisons and is training to counsel prisoners, so he's got really involved with them," she explained. Coo.

The Big Session was excellent again, with weather which was just perfect and slightly less hot than last year. Beer all sold out, on Saturday this time, but it was good while it lasted. They had clarified their policy on kids ents since last year; an adult to stay with the kids at all times, which would have been just about bearable except for the no-real-ale-in-the-kids-area rule. The kids area was fab, though, and Marianne has returned home with a very fetching death mask.

Bands this year included Levellers & Chumbawamba, both acoustic, Spiers & Boden, Seth Lakeman, The Warsaw Village Band, June Tabor, Nizlopi, Swill, and unclechristo, weirdly missing from the programme though feted as one of the big names on the smallest stage.

The Oysters did two long sessions, on Saturday (with June Tabor; set list here) and Sunday (with Chumbawamba; set list here), and incorporated in a jam session as the Big Session House Band on Friday night. That set was rather lackluster, and we were tired, and left early -- but can see from photos that after we had given up, Spiers and Boden turned up. Ah.

( and there's a bigger picture of the fabulous shirt design behind the cut, specially for Oysterband junkies )

GIP

The icon is from the Oysterband 1994 Holy Bandits Tour t-shirt which I purchased in an auction just before the Chumbawamba set. All proceeds to the Howard League of Penal Reform. "Cool charity," I said as I bought the shirt from someone who turned out to be Lee's wife. "Oh, yes; Lee's been doing lots of volunteering in local prisons and is training to counsel prisoners, so he's got really involved with them," she explained. Coo.

The Big Session was excellent again, with weather which was just perfect and slightly less hot than last year. Beer all sold out, on Saturday this time, but it was good while it lasted. They had clarified their policy on kids ents since last year; an adult to stay with the kids at all times, which would have been just about bearable except for the no-real-ale-in-the-kids-area rule. The kids area was fab, though, and Marianne has returned home with a very fetching death mask.

Bands this year included Levellers & Chumbawamba, both acoustic, Spiers & Boden, Seth Lakeman, The Warsaw Village Band, June Tabor, Nizlopi, Swill, and unclechristo, weirdly missing from the programme though feted as one of the big names on the smallest stage.

The Oysters did two long sessions, on Saturday (with June Tabor; set list here) and Sunday (with Chumbawamba; set list here), and incorporated in a jam session as the Big Session House Band on Friday night. That set was rather lackluster, and we were tired, and left early -- but can see from photos that after we had given up, Spiers and Boden turned up. Ah.

( and there's a bigger picture of the fabulous shirt design behind the cut, specially for Oysterband junkies )