Maybe I've gone too far now. I said "why don't I put together a shanty band". We're holding a gala to celebrate the re-opening of a monument, which looks like a lighthouse. That's because the man it commemorates was the 2nd lord of the Admiralty in the 1800's, he was called Sir John Barrow, look him up on wikipedia.

Anyway, I called round a few friends and now with 4 days to go I've just got back from the studio with a master of the ten songs we'll be performing on Sunday.

It's been fascinating digging around youtube and the net looking for songs and lyrics. And with this new found enthusiasm for all things nautical putting this set of songs together has been a real pleasure.

There's a joyful vibe to singing them and so it's been a lot of fun. I've got Mike W on mondola and squeeze box, Ash on Mandolin, Jackie on Bodhran, Dapper on vocal, Juliet on vocal, Kirston on vocal, although she missed last nights recording, and me on acoustic and vocals. And we sound good, and we've got all the killer tunes in there. Blow the man down, drunken sailor, whip jamboree as well as some tasty ones for us and a couple of originals too.

So it's all set fair for Sunday at three, and the Monumental gala.
See you all there.