Maritime Merrytime at Ellesmere Port

Magellan represents AudeShantyMen at UK Shanty Festival

The National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port was the setting for the 5th Festival of Maritime Music over the Easter weekend.

More than fifty acts - from solo to shanty band - performing in five venues on site meant continuous entertainment from 11am until 5pm. In addition there were two evening concerts featuring the best of our homegrown talent as well as bands from Europe. And then there was the Bar .... !

The Old Gaffers - Devon's finest!

Short Drag Roger

It was good to hear the outstanding contributions made by female vocalists such as the eight strong a capella band She Shanties and the multi-talented songwriting/singing duo of Linda Kelly and Hazel Richings who perform under the name of Hissy Fit.

Hissy Fit

Much praise is due to Julia and Derek (aka Trim Rig and a Doxy) whose brainchild the Festival was and who bear cheerfully and almost single handedly the immense burden of organisation. Can't wait for next year when the AudeShantyMen hope to be performing.

A larger album of photos from this memorable weekend can be found on our FaceBook page. Click on the link at the top of the page.

Arrival of Spring stirs the AudeShantyMen's juices!

 Hands to Muster Stations!

It may be a while since we updated our Blog but that does not mean that the AudeShantyMen have been idle in the meantime. Far from it! There is much to report about what has been happening behind the scenes during the past few months.

As the summer whiled away Powder Monkey brought to fruition the dream he shared with the lovely Elise of opening their own restaurant. On both their parts this enormous task required endless hours of toil and devotion to duty, not, alas, to singing.  By late summer "La Vue" was open and what a success it has proved!  Situated on the former wine estate of "Mestrugue" the cuisine, hospitality and beguiling surroundings have captivated all who have ventured there. If you haven't tried it yet make sure you reserve : the number to call is 06 47 07 76 48. You won't be disappointed!

During this period the Crew, besieged by the usual quota of summer visitors, stood down as usual to entertain them. Disappointingly, this slowing of pace proved tricky to accept for a couple of our newer recruits who felt the need to push on. So we said goodbye and thank you to Juggins and Bosun during the autumn and winter respectively.

The New Year saw the AGM of the AudeShantyMen and this brought with it several planned and important changes. Greybeard felt it was time for him to relinquish the post of President, which he had occupied with distinction since the inception of the band. It was with reluctance that this decision was accepted. After due deliberation the Crew agreed that it would be advantageous to elect a non-singing Honorary President who could guide the ship without the emotional attachment that comes with choral involvement. We were fortunate indeed that Arthur Groves, a fan from way back, agreed to stand. He was a unanimous choice and was elected unopposed. Already Arthur's steady hand on the tiller has proved beneficial. Long may this voyage continue! Another important innovation at the AGM was the adoption of a formal Constitution. Alongside this stands a Code of Ethics which all members have adopted. Membership is  renewable annually, membership fees have been raised and all singers have signed a Rights Waiver to ensure that there are no possible obstacles to future performances, recordings and publicity. Future members will required to do likewise.

As far as performances are concerned, last summer the Crew was sad to have to turn down an invitation to sing at the Shrewsbury Festival, one of the biggest events in the GB Folk music calendar.  They have decided to defer an appearance at the UK Shanty Festival until 2016. However, Magellan is on a mission to check out this year's event and will shortly be back in the UK to act as an ambassador for the band and to gather new material at this, the biggest shanty gathering in the country. 

We can also announce that our first performance of the year will be in mid May  in southern Brittany.  We shall be joining up with our friends from the shanty group Chantimor to participate in the important maritime event held annually in Vannes, Le Festival du Golfe du Morbihan. Our songs have been chosen and rehearsals are under way. It promises to be a memorable trip. More about it will no doubt be appearing here in due course. Suffice it to say that we are delighted at last to be meeting the members of Chantimor and to be performing with and for each other.

There will be other occasions during the coming months when you will be able to hear us sing a lot closer to home. We are looking to increase the number of singers in the Crew, so, if you are interested, or know of someone who would like to give it a go, please be in touch at audeshantymen@gmail.com

Who said we'd not been doing a great deal? Well there you go! Until the next time this is Magellan signing off.