³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Reg Meuross writes:

Wednesday 24 Sep was the last night of my ten day tour with Phil Beer from . Half Arts Centres, Half Village Halls. The venue is a Scandinavian style Hall in Wootton Courtenay, tucked into the leafy hem of Exmoor beneath Dunkery Beacon. Even though the population of the village is only 210, the hall is packed.

An interesting fact of is that a fair percentage of that audience won't know us from Des O'Connor! Show of Hands will mean nothing to them and Reg Meuross even less. They are there to support a local event run by enthusiastic volunteers.

They've managed to raise half of the 270k it cost to build the hall themselves. And have since seen to it that it gets used for the purpose it was built; to bring the village together. Members of Minehead Folk Club are there to add vocal gusto to the proceedings. Ìý

20% of the audience are from outside the village and know us. Even for them this is a rare treat; No ring roads, no parking problems, friendly folk, cheap bar and a genuine front parlour atmosphere. It is wonderful to see the other 80% witness theÌý beauty and the skill of Phil's playing for the first time, andÌýto sing themÌýthe songs I've written from stories collected visiting villages like this all over Britain for the last 4 years.

A quick glance through the Rural Touring website will show the folk acts already involved in Rural Touring: , , , , etc. It's only natural; although many of these villages may not have Folk Clubs, they still have folk.

Reg Meuross