Well, our Autumn Gathering at the Olde Smack has fallen victim to the plague – it’s not a big place, and, as you probably know, the nearest it can come to “social distancing” is “not taking the next pirate’s drink out with your elbow (unless you mean it)” – so we have decided to embrace all the technology available to us and go virtual.

This year’s gathering will be live-streamed on Facebook on 19th September from 1500-1745 hrs, with a mix of pre-recorded and live sets from the Silver Darlings, ourselves, Carys (and Max the Pirate Cat) and, headlining, The Captain’s Beard. Please join us for a chat online – and bring your own rum!

Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/307205290562083/?

We are both sorry and delighted to tell you that two of our summer gigs have been postponed. Sorry, because we were looking forward to playing out this summer, and delighted, because those same gigs will be happening in summer 2021:

Folk at the Boat, Ipswich: postponed to June 2021 – date to be confirmed

Chickenstock, Stockbury, Kent: 23rd July 2021 – and, if you buy your festival tickets before 23rd July this year, you will be paying 2020 prices! Go to the festival website for full details: https://www.chickenstockfestival.co.uk/

So far, our own Autumn Gathering is set to go ahead at the Olde Smack, Leigh on Sea on 19th September – we’ll keep you posted.

We are all becalmed, hoping that this dreadful plague will pass us by and that a fair wind will get up soon. In the meantime, here’s a song to cheer you up:

Which might be a statement of the blindingly obvious, but you need to know that (most of) Captain Morgan’s Rum Do will be performing a short set for …

Southend Folk & Ale Festival 2018

On Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th April 2018
on behalf of Southend on Sea Borough Council,
The Hoy at Anchor Folk Club is organising a Free Folk Festival
in aid of The Leigh Folk Festival Association at The Royal Pavilion on Southend Pier.

All participants are giving their time and performing without any personal reward.

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As this is in aid of Leigh Folk Festival, which is a very good cause indeed, please try to drop in and see us!

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

Join Captain Morgan’s Rum Do for the Winter Pirate Gathering at Leigh on Sea – you know you want to be there!

You’ve written your new Pirate song, haven’t you?

You’re looking forward to seeing the Tempus Experientia performers, aren’t you?

You’re longing to hear The Captain’s Beard, aren’t you?

And you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else next Saturday, would you?

What a bunch of lazy pirates we have been, not updating our website!!

You have just missed us at Brixham, and we hope you won’t hold it against us. We’ve had one or two random problems with the website and haven’t managed to get our piratical acts sufficiently together until now.

But, be that as it may – photographs and videos of that stunning event are or will shortly be available on our Facebook page for your enjoyment. Here’s one which may encourage you to go and look …

Our only real excuses are that three of the band are in the middle of recording an album (that’ll be Triangle, then) and the percussionist is buying a boat. Which is, when you think about it, quite a reasonable thing for a pirate to do. We will be telling you more about that in the near future!

Here we are in 2016 already – it hardly seems possible!

There have been some big changes going on: the Captain has finally kicked the world of 9-5 into the briny, given up getting up early, and set sail into full-time musicianship (he should have done it years ago!) May we recommend that you check out his other projects on his website.

We already have 2016 bookings, but more details will follow over the next couple of months as times and dates are confirmed.

We’re all off to the Isle of Wight in the morning! Come and see us in action at the Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll look forward to seeing you there.