Emily Smith at the 2009 Celtic Connections Festival
writes:
Hello again!
I woke up to a snow covered Dumfriesshire this morning, I've got another gig back up in Glasgow tonight so the drive there should be very interesting ...
After a sleep deprived few days at I'm going to have a wee rest
before heading back up again for my remaining shows, the first of which is a
gig with my band on Thursday night.
Also on the bill is English singer and fiddler who I'm looking forward
to meeting and hearing.
I had a rehearsal last night with my band which ran quite late, but I'm really pleased
that we managed to get a new song arranged and will give it a go at the
gig.
It's called Roll on Lovely Doon and was written by a man called Robert Hetrick back in the 1800s.
I got the lyrics from a book that was given to me by a local shepherd.
He found the book in his mother's house and had been carrying it around in a plastic bag on his quad bike for weeks hoping to bump into me!
I have a bit of a reputation for collecting old poetry and song books. Sometimes they really are just dusty, old books but occasionally I find little gems in there and I'm really thankful to the folk who think of me when clearing out their cupboards!
I'm off for some iPlayer action now to catch up on the episode I missed of Victorian Farm, anyone been watching that? I'm
just an old fashioned girl....;-)
Comment number 1.
At 22nd Jan 2009, EnglishFolkfan wrote:Hope you got some rest Emily, and the remaining shows go brilliantly.
The Victorian Farm series was filmed in the South of the County I live in, Shropshire, at the Acton Scott Working Farm Museum. It is in a beautiful valley with the Long Mynd and Wenlock Edge on either side. The amusing part for me was the scene when the coals were unloaded from a canal boat. The Shropshire Union Canal was way too many miles distant to have been a real event but it did give a chance to see Saturn a 'Shroppie Fly' which appropriately is the name of the Shropshire Union canalside hostelry where we have an 'open' folk session every Monday Night. The bar is made from the side & prow of a real Fly boat. Let's hope there will be more music in the next four episodes, maybe some harvesting folk songs whilst supping their cider in the fields?
Thanks for the Celtic Connections news, and good luck in rootling out more hidden gems from those old books that find a welcome home with you.
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