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The First Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival 1990
(Reproduced with permission)
by Dave Roberts
Copyright Salt Town Publications 1999
The Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival
Was quite an affair there's no doubt.
It took place in June nineteen-ninety
And I'll tell you how it came about.
A fellow named Richard Devaney
Was on his third barrel of beer
In a pub called the Boar's Head on Kinderton Street
When he had a tremendous idea.
Now, Richard was quite a musician,
And fond of a song and a joke;
With his two mates, Dave Thompson and Trampas,
He sang in a group and played folk.
The Middlewich Paddies they called them;
Their fame spread both near and afar
And Trampas appeared on tin whistle
With Richard and Dave on guitar.
Now, as Richard stood there getting plastered
A light bulb lit over his head;
It had 'idea' written above it -
'I've got an idea', he said.
'A Festival! That's what this town needs!'
The idea took root and grew strong,
So he called all the town's brains together,
(And that didn't take him too long)
And soon they had formed a committee
Which met every Sunday, and soon
The Festival came to fruition
On Friday the fifteenth of June.
The marquee fell down on the Friday
And everyone said this was meant
As a sign that the gods were all angry,
But I think it was just a portent.
A gang of strong men grabbed the canvas
And soon had the marquee put right;
In no time the party was swinging
With everyone happy (and tight).
There's a lot of great talent in Cheshire
And Middlewich has its fair share,
So on Saturday they held a contest,
To find the best folk-singer there.
The contest was tense and exciting,
With everyone wanting to win,
(It was won by a woman called Gladys
who sang 'Bless this House' and drank gin.)
On Saturday night came the concert
And the Middlewich crowd clapped and cheered
As the Middlewich Paddies sang folk songs
And the great Bernard Wrigley appeared.
On the Sunday they still hadn't finished
And festivities raged round the town;
And the ale was flowing so freely
It was feared that somebody might drown.
All in all, it was quite an occasion,
If you saw it you'll know what I mean;
It was there days of laughter and music
And the best do this town's ever seen.
Here's a health to the Middlewich Festival
May it prosper and go on and on;
If you came and enjoyed it, we thank you
And we'll see you in June Ninety-one.
(This account was written actually before the Festival, and parts of it are downright lies) - Dave Roberts
(Bits I remember that were downright lies were. She wasn't called Gladys, she was called Deirdre. She drank Whiskey not Gin and she played the flute beautifully and didn't sing and she had this old bloke playing the guitar for her. Can't think who that was. And wasn't the runner-up a guy that played the Irish Pipes and spent the whole 10 minutes tuning them? And I don't remember the marquee falling down) - Ed
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