From Norfolk – the distinctive singing and melodeon playing of Tony Hall

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Yarmouth, engraving by William Miller after Turner

A 19th century engraving of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, by William Miller, after a
typically drama-packed painting by Turner. Image from the Wikimedia

For the last few days I’ve been listening to the melodeon playing of Tony Hall, a musician I’ve admired since the 70s. Tony plays the melodeon, a kind of push-pull accordion that came to dominate the music of much of England, when cheap models arrived in large numbers from Germany in the 19th Century.

Of course, it’s commonly been a seaman’s instrument – just think of old Bob Roberts, skipper of the last working sailing sailing barge, the Cambria. I’m glad to say I was lucky enough to hear him perform not so very long before he passed away.

Now, since one of Tony’s recently recorded songs, Down on the Hard, has some dreamy boatbuilding references, I thought I should share it – with the CD label’s permission, of course. Click on the link for a little song that I think will make many of you smile.

And for a bonus, here’s Tony again, this time playing his version of The Abbot’s Bromley Horn Dance.

For more of this stuff, order a copy of Tony’s new album, One Man Hand on the Wild Goose label.

Follow the link for more references to songs and singing at intheboatshed.net.

The Wikipedia on punts and punting

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Punt builder\'s workshop, photo from the Wikimedia Commons, taken by Thruston

Punt in boatbuilder’s workshop, photo from the
Wikimedia Commons, taken by Thruston

I really can’t add anything to this excellent Wikipedia entry on the punt – one day all its entries will be like this.

Do you know there are still people out there, particularly in publishing, who think the Wikipedia is useless? I once had a rancourous argument with a senior director for a magazine and events company when I dared to suggest that the model was a good and useful one. No doubt sour grapes can grow almost anywhere…

The names of a punt\'s various parts

The names of a punt’s component parts, image from the
Wikimedia, drawn by Thruston

See also:

Henry Taunt’s 19th Century photos of the Thames

Punts galore at Oxford

Free online boatbuilding plans for a racing punt

Pilot gig building video

Many of the pilot gigs being raced around the shores of the UK are the work of Ralph Bird. In this very nice BBC RealPlayer video, he talks about the gigs, his life as a gig builder and his plans for a busy retirement. Thanks go to Chris Rogers for letting me know about this one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/videonation/gig_builder.shtml

For more on the Cornish Pilot Gig Association:
http://www.cpga.co.uk/index.html

The Wikipedia on pilot gigs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_pilot_gig