We had a great day at the Smack! Unfortunately, The Captain’s Beard were stranded in snowy Sussex and couldn’t make it, but local band Grand Reunion stood in at the very last moment. Not that they made it without mishap, as they were without their guitarist, who was, at that very moment, waiting for the paramedics after having a bad fall while loading his kit. A depleted Tempus Experientia, in the shape of “Sailor Sam” (Kevin Corcoran), provided the links and the Hoy Shanty Crew sang their hearts out for us.

Nigel Townend won the songwriting competition. The Cap’n is a hard-hearted blackguard and insisted that entrants had to be there in person and perform their entry themselves – and Nigel did exactly that.

We couldn’t have predicted that weather – it’s at times like that that a pirate sees the charm of the Caribbean …

Anyway – here’s a taste

Rash. Impetuous. Foolhardy. Bold. Whetever you call it the Winter Pirate Gathering at Leigh on Sea is going ahead tomorrow after all. We have a band, The Captain’s Beard, braving the great outdoors to come up from Brighton, we have our own crew, Captain Morgan’s Rum Do, battling their way from Ipswich and Felixstowe and Tempus Experientia fighting the trains to come from the other side of London. The Hoy Shanty Crew are hardy folks and they plan to be there as billed. All we need now is an audience to make it all worthwhile…. come and spend the day in a pub – what else will you do?