I enjoyed two local events on the same day last week – one I was part of, and the other I was happy to sit back and listen to.
The latter was the return to his home town of author Adam Farrer (pictured), who was giving a talk at Withernsea Library about his book, Cold Fish Soup, which has been dubbed a “love letter” to the town.
It was great to finally meet Adam and buy a signed book from him… because I’d left my copy at home! He gave some readings from the book and talked at length about the inspiration behind it.
He made the point that while there were many things about the book that he would have to explain to audiences outside Withernsea, this wouldn’t be the case here, of course, and it was interesting to hear of the process that had led up to the writing and publication of his book, which is a collection of essays with Withernsea threaded through them.
“There’s always something happening here,” he said, adding that the town’s indomitable spirit in the face of it basically falling into the sea was something that needed broadcasting to a wider audience – and he’s achieved this, as the book has been published in the USA and he’s had interest from all over the world. If you haven’t read Adam’s book yet, do grab a copy – I guarantee you’ll love it.
Later that day, Saturday, June 17, I was performing at the Great Newsome Festivale with Fiddler’s Elbow, which was much fun. I wasn’t exactly sure how our brand of folk/early music would go down in-between bands performing pop and rock covers, but one thing’s certain – we were different! And there was a group of little girls who were dancing throughout – they even did a ring-of-roses while we played an old tune called The Garland, which, eerily for us, is the dance that was traditionally done to it. Proof positive that folk music really is in our DNA, I reckon…
However, all this gadding about meant that I wasn’t able to attend the surprise 80th birthday party for our veteran reporter Terry Bearpark, and I was very sorry to miss the occasion. I did give him a gift the other day, though – an official Gazette press pass, which amused him no end, as he’s managed fine without one for decades.
