When I'm not being involved with music in some form or another, whether playing with the 'bones or just listening and enjoying, one of my interests is history. Not that I'm in any way an expert, but the way people used to live has long fascinated me. I've always been more interested in ordinary folks rather than Kings and Queens, though learning about the hard lives endured in the past can sometimes make me feel a bit guilty about complaining about the modern world!
Whalebone have been fortunate to have the chance to perform at some historic places in the past few years. We've gigged at three castles, Ludlow, Powis and Clun, two ancient Welsh churches and two Victorian railway waiting rooms. Many of the village halls we have played used to be village schools, and one, at Minsterworth, is a beautiful building erected after the First World War as a memorial to those who didn't return. Recently we played at Bewdley Museum in the sawyard, with a mediaeval camp a few yards from us.
Two events in particular stand out for me. One was English Heritage's Festival of History at Kelmarsh earlier this year. Organised on an enormous scale, and with hundreds of re-enactors (including musicians) taking part, there was almost too much to take in, with the climax being a stunning aerial dogfight between a Messerschmitt ME109 and a Spitfire (the Spit won - see below!)
My favourite though, and right at the other end of the scale in terms of size, was the opportunity we had to play at the first public opening of the restored Miners' cottages at Blakemoorgate, on the Stiperstones above Snailbeach. We were invited by Genevieve Tudor to be part of the event, so we and a few other musicians piled into a Land Rover to be taken on the best journey I've ever had to a gig, bumping slowly up the rutted track to the cottages. Once there, settled into a room where songs may have been sung over 100 years ago we took turns to play, Gen sang beautifully and a few beers were seen off as the sun slowly set over the distant Welsh hills. Maybe a hundred people made the journey up from Snailbeach to see the cottages where the lead miners lived, and to try to imagine the hardships they faced, especially in winter. A magical setting for playing music, and a gig that will long live in the memory.