Chili's First Gig: A Spicy Addition to the Crew!
We’re diving into some sea shanty shenanigans this month, and trust me, you don’t want to miss it! We’re introducing our newest crew member, Chili, who’s ready to spice things up and share his wild stories about joining the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew. We’ll also be chatting with Skipper and Ash, getting the scoop on their journeys and what brought them to this ragtag band of merry sea singers. Plus, we've got some fun audio clips from our summer gigs, including our biggest event yet at Valleyfest, where we got to belt out our best tunes to a sea of smiling faces. So grab your favorite drink, sit back, and get ready for a rollicking good time with us on Shipshape and Bristol Fashion!
Want to see the crew? https://pobshantycrew.co.uk/
Donate to Teenage Cancer Trust https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/POBShantyCrew
Vally Fest https://www.valleyfest.co.uk/
Theme song provided by Kale A. Deane
Takeaways:
- The Port of Bristol Shanty Crew has raised over £31,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, showcasing their dedication to charity and community support.
- In this episode, we welcomed our new crew member, Chili, who has a knack for spicy food and brings a fun vibe to our performances.
- Summer events like Valleyfest brought us closer as a crew, allowing us to perform in front of large crowds and enjoy the festival atmosphere together.
- Singing sea shanties not only entertains but also strengthens our bond, as we share stories and create memories while raising money for a good cause.
- The crew is gearing up for a busy September with more performances and rehearsals, ensuring we keep our shanty tradition alive and well.
- We aim to integrate new members into our crew smoothly, highlighting the importance of camaraderie and teamwork in our musical journey.
Mentioned in this episode:
Ale and Shanty Event 2025
www.aleandshanty.co.uk
Nova Scotia
Transcript
Hi, this is Fish and you're listening to Shipshape and Bristol Fashion.
Speaker A:Shipshape and Bristol Fashion.
Speaker A:Boys along the hardest side from evil gorge to wonderful heaven all the line Secure the barrels down below Bind them, tie and lash em this vessel, she is certified ship shape from Bristol Fashion.
Speaker B:Ahoy there.
Speaker B:It's oggy and welcome to Shipshape and Bristol Fashion.
Speaker B:Thank you for tuning in and if this is the first time you've found us, it's great that you've picked us to listen to because remember, we're here to talk about the great crew that is the Port of Bristol Chantel crew.
Speaker B:And if you are returning, thanks for coming back.
Speaker B:It means that you must have appreciated the content that's been produced so far and you've come back for more.
Speaker B:A huge thank you once again for listening to last month's episode and of course, donating towards our chosen charity, the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Speaker B:Since people have listened to that episode, we've received more money from you, the listeners, and of course, from people that donate during our events.
Speaker B:So really, really thank you for doing that.
Speaker B:Of course, if you've not listened to the episode, then please dial back.
Speaker B:Look at the last episode.
Speaker B:Listen to the last episode, in fact, and just listen to some of the great work that the Teenage CANC Trust do and how we support them.
Speaker B:And if you have just a few moments, then follow the link that is in the show notes and feel free to donate because you know that it's an incredible charity and every penny counts.
Speaker B:I hope you have had a lovely summer.
Speaker B:It's certainly been a bit wet, but there has been glimmers of wonderful weather and hope you've managed to go out there and enjoy it out either by the seaside to your.
Speaker B:Either way, I hope you've had a lovely summer and had some time off either from work or from your normal routine.
Speaker B:On this month's episode, we're going to pop down to the crew room where we're going to speak to Skipper and Ash to explore their time so far with the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew and a little bit of their backstory, so you get to hear about these crew members.
Speaker B:And also we will have some audio clips from some of the events that we covered over the summer, including our biggest event to date, we feel, which of course is Valleyfest.
Speaker B:But first, we have news of a new crewmate to join us here at the Port of Wristell Shanty Crew.
Speaker B:If you follow our socials, then you'll already know about it, but it's important that we just give him a little bit of air time to celebrate the fact he's joined us and is going to sing his heart out and join the crew in our melodies and harmonies.
Speaker B:But more importantly, he's a lad that comes along that we can laugh with too.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:So I'm going to hand over to the doc, who has got some audio for you to listen to of the great reveal of the new crewmate.
Speaker B:And then we'll pop down to the signaller, who is voiced by Ash this month, to give you all the updates of what's been going on and what to look forward to with the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew.
Speaker C:Okay, so we are in the Caldwell Rose and well supported by this superb venue, as always, the.
Speaker C:The watering hole of Captain Sebastian Commodore.
Speaker D:Or something like that.
Speaker C:Yeah, brilliant.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And if, obviously, if you like rum, this is the place to come because they have got a lot of it.
Speaker C:Anyway, we've just made an announcement about our new crew member who has just joined us and it's a sort of little drum roll as we build.
Speaker C:And his crew name is Chili because he is honestly the hardest chili and curry eater I've ever met.
Speaker C:His taste buds must be obliterated because he can pretty much eat anything without you killing him.
Speaker C:And in fact, the landlord presented him with some really heinous hot chili tequila type thing that they made here, which nearly nobody can drink because it like blows their heads up.
Speaker C:And he just drank it, said, oh, that was nice.
Speaker C:Anyway, gives me great pleasure introduce to you, Chili, who is no other than the beautiful man that is Bill Hill.
Speaker A:Hello, everyone.
Speaker B:Who would have thought it was me?
Speaker C:Who would have thought.
Speaker A:Chili, Bill, all the two, all the.
Speaker C:Clues which was put out.
Speaker C:Could you guess it was me?
Speaker C:Go and be honest.
Speaker C:Did you, did you.
Speaker C:Could you see, could you see who it was?
Speaker A:I didn't.
Speaker C:I think.
Speaker C:I think we made you look a lot grayer on the, on the video.
Speaker C:Very much younger.
Speaker C:Now, the slightly unfortunate thing is that obviously being a new boy, he's got a hat, but he's only got one badge on it.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And because he's an ex policeman, he's got a policeman's badge and he actually just looks like a copper.
Speaker C:Anyway, we'll fix that.
Speaker C:We'll sort him out with.
Speaker C:With some more badges and.
Speaker C:But Bill, welcome to the crew.
Speaker C:Brilliant to have you on board.
Speaker C:I hope you enjoy many, many happy years with us.
Speaker E:Absolute pleasure and hope to see you out at some venue somewhere.
Speaker A:Coming, sport?
Speaker C:Are you coming to Bellyfest?
Speaker A:I can't work.
Speaker C:Oh, Valley Fest on Friday and Saturday.
Speaker C:We are being supported by.
Speaker C:There's a support act, I can't remember what.
Speaker C:Sophie Ellis something or other.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And Sister Sludge.
Speaker C:No, Sister Sledge.
Speaker C:Sister Sledge also are backing singers for the.
Speaker C:For the weekend, so looking forward to raising some massive money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Speaker C:But welcome, Chili, Bill, thank you.
Speaker C:Thank you for having me on board.
Speaker D:Ahoy there, shipmates.
Speaker D:And shiver me timbers, it's the Signal.
Speaker D:Or here with all the news from the Port of Bristol Shanty crew.
Speaker D:Well, August was a reasonably quiet month, due mainly to lots of holidays, but it's been an opportunity to get our new boys, Oggy and Chilly, fully involved with rehearsals and picking up the new songs that we're doing.
Speaker D:We have done a couple of events during August.
Speaker D:The beginning of the month was probably our first encounter with a real festival.
Speaker D:We were singing at Valley Fest and on the same bill as people like Sister Sledge, the Feeling and Tiny Temper and Sophie Alex Bexter.
Speaker D:We weren't actually on the same stage as most of them, but maybe that's something for next year.
Speaker D:But it did make us feel like proper pop stars because there were thousands and thousands of people there, not all listening to us, but it was our first brush with fame and I think we're keen to do that again.
Speaker D:We just had a very busy Bank Holiday weekend.
Speaker D:Just gone a couple of performances.
Speaker D:On Saturday, we were down at the Clevedon Flower show for a lovely afternoon.
Speaker D:It was really, really nice and a nice atmosphere.
Speaker D:The Rev was in fine spirits with his introductions and the weather was fantastic.
Speaker D:The only thing that I was disappointed in is we couldn't see the little train going round because apparently it's not running at the moment.
Speaker D:That would have brought back lots of memories for me from my childhood.
Speaker D:On Bank Holiday Monday, we then went down to the Cross Hands at Winterbourne down to see our really good friends Becky and Kev.
Speaker D:It's the second year we've been down there.
Speaker D:The garden was packed, as was the pub.
Speaker D:And actually the combination of barbecue, cider and beer and a lot of shanty is a winner.
Speaker D:And I think everybody had a great time.
Speaker D:Those three events meet that as we stand at the moment.
Speaker D:The amount that we have now raised for the Teenage Cancer Trust is just under 32,000 pounds, which is absolutely amazing and all due to our very generous sponsors and all of the audiences that come in and dig deep to listen to us sing.
Speaker D:So, looking forward into September, we've got some more private events in September, but the one event that we have that is public is on Sunday 8th September, when we'll be singing at the Star Inn Beer Festival in Wootton Under Edge.
Speaker D:As I've said just now, there's no better combination than shanty and a pub and hopefully a nice sunny day.
Speaker D:So I hope you'll come up and support that beer festival.
Speaker D:We'll be there singing from about 1:00, I believe, and then for the rest of the the year as it, as it carries on, we'll be moving towards Christmas when we're always very busy looking to get our new members, Chile and Augie, properly integrated with us and singing all of our songs that we know well and they're getting up to speed with.
Speaker D:And we're also rehearsing some new songs.
Speaker D:We've got an interesting song of the Vikings that the Rev is doing and there's two or three others that we're trying to get over line.
Speaker D:So more busy times for the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew.
Speaker D:We do thank you for all your support out there.
Speaker D:I hope you have a great end to the summer.
Speaker D:And for now, this is the Signiller signing off.
Speaker B:Thank you, Doc.
Speaker B:And thank you, Ash.
Speaker B:Welcome Chilli to the Portal British Oceanti Crew.
Speaker B:You are, you are a great addition and of course we've been rehearsing probably every week during the summer and you are a great addition to the crew.
Speaker B:And of course, I'm no longer the new boy and so I really do look forward to working with you.
Speaker B:And we're going to be singing some songs together in the future, so I'm really looking, looking forward to that.
Speaker B:And of course, Ash, thank you.
Speaker B:Great news there.
Speaker B:So, like I said before, here is some audio from the events that we've covered during the summer.
Speaker B:And then we'll pop down to the crew room and have a chat to Ash and Skipper about their time within the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew.
Speaker C:Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we are slightly later than advertised, the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew.
Speaker C:And we're immensely grateful to the WIC community for inviting us to come and sing on this glorious afternoon.
Speaker C:It makes you proud to be English on a sunny summer's afternoon when the rest of Europe are identifying with being Spanish.
Speaker C:We're grateful to you for inviting us to come and sing, particularly because it allows us to knock another hour off our community service order.
Speaker C:And it also enables us hopefully to raise some more money for our supporting charity.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So we set up two years ago to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Speaker C:As a young lad who's known to a few of the members of the crew, who has, sadly, an inoperable brain tumour.
Speaker C:And in order to support young Harry, we thought we'd get together to sing a few songs and raise some money for charity.
Speaker C:And when we started off, we hope to raise a thousand pounds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Speaker C:And we're pleased to say that just over two years later, we've just clocked?
Speaker C:30,000.
Speaker C:So anything that you're able to give to support that worthwhile charity which supports children and their families with a pretty horrendous diagnosis, then your support would be very much appreciated.
Speaker C:And I'm just reminded by the peelers in my left ear that the WIC WI in the event shelter between the beer tent and the marshfield ice cream still have quite a lot of strawberries and cream for sale.
Speaker C:So if you haven't had strawberries yet, please make your way over there and enjoy them while they're fresh.
Speaker C:In South Australia I was born Heave.
Speaker A:Away all away South Australia and Cape Horn we're bound for South Australia all away, you rolling kings leave away all away all the way you'll hear me sing with.
Speaker A:We're bound for South Australia, me lads.
Speaker C:Be of good cheer for the Irish coast will soon draw near and then we'll set sail for the old Cape Clear Ah, come and get your roots.
Speaker A:My son Whip jamboree, Whip jamboree all sail land coming up behind Whip jamboree, whip jamboree oh, come get your oats, my son and it's all for me grog me jolly, jolly grog all for me beer and tobacco well, a spent Tommy Tin with the lassie drinking gin Far across the western ocean I must wander Farewell to you my diner a.
Speaker C:Thousand times adieu for we're going away.
Speaker A:From holy ground and the girls that we love True, we will sail the South Seas over But we'll return far.
Speaker B:Shore to see again the girls we.
Speaker C:Love I'm the holy ground once more.
Speaker A:Fine girl you are the girl I do adore Until I live in hope to see the holy ground once more.
Speaker C:Fine girl you are so I'm standing on the top of the hill at the Valleyfest.
Speaker C:We're here on Saturday.
Speaker C:We were here yesterday.
Speaker C:We had three, well, two gigs and one impromptu gig by the Teenage Cancer Trust tent.
Speaker C:And then we've come back for more.
Speaker C:And today the weather is fabulous.
Speaker C:Standing at the top of the hill overlooking Chew Valley Lake, and you can hear a lot of noise in the background.
Speaker C:So we just finished our first gig and I've got Nobby with me.
Speaker C:Nobby, how was our first gig for you today?
Speaker C:Really enjoyed it.
Speaker C:More so than yesterday even.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was great and loved it.
Speaker A:Loved it all.
Speaker C:What was the highlight for you?
Speaker C:Listening to your commentary and seeing your wonderful face painting.
Speaker C:Ah, my half Hulk.
Speaker C:Yeah, I had to shave half my beard off this morning because the lady told me she couldn't paint my face with a beard.
Speaker C:So I've got half a beard on one side and an Incredible Hulk on the other side and it is incredible.
Speaker C:And then we've got Art here as well.
Speaker C:Art wasn't able to join us yesterday, but he's here today.
Speaker C:Good afternoon, everybody.
Speaker C:Having a wonderful day here at ValueFast.
Speaker C:Had a great gig seeing to.
Speaker C:Well, it's always difficult when you're singing outside.
Speaker C:It's windy.
Speaker C:But we had a fantastic crowd who made it even better for us.
Speaker C:They all participated, joined in.
Speaker C:We had an absolutely fantastic set and looking forward to the next one.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And we were standing downwind of the main stage, so all the way through our acapella singing, we had.
Speaker E:Really, really well, didn't it?
Speaker C:I think it proves the point I've been trying to make for a while that there is a new musical genre out there.
Speaker C:Shanty hip hop.
Speaker C:That could really, you know, it could.
Speaker C:It's got legs, I think.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:We could do shanty garage as well.
Speaker A:As.
Speaker C:We'll do garage.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, we sing in the garage.
Speaker C:That's probably about the closest we'll ever get, but.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And then I've got Fish over here as well with Jax.
Speaker C:So how was your gig this morning, Fish?
Speaker A:Well, I think it's best gig so.
Speaker E:Far and I think if the audiences.
Speaker A:Get much bigger than that, we need to be on a stage.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, I have.
Speaker C:I have hashtagged or name dropped Sophie Ellis Bexter in a.
Speaker C:In a Twitter post this morning.
Speaker C:So you never know, we might get the call in the morning.
Speaker A:Well, that, that would be very good for us and very good for her as well.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, we.
Speaker C:We probably.
Speaker C:We might not murder the dance floor, but we'd certainly murder the harmony, I guess.
Speaker C:And then I've got old Bill as well, who's looking very dapper in his.
Speaker C:In his Panama hat.
Speaker D:Hi, Doc.
Speaker C:How you doing?
Speaker C:Really good, really good.
Speaker C:What was the highlight of our gig this morning for you?
Speaker D:Not losing my voice.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's all.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's good.
Speaker C:Well done.
Speaker C:And I sprung Pill Pill on you as well with about 30 seconds notice.
Speaker C:It was like being asked to propose the toast to the visitors, wasn't it?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:That was a bit of a challenge this morning.
Speaker C:30 seconds notice suddenly singing a song I don't usually sing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Thank you for that.
Speaker C:That's all right.
Speaker C:It was my pleasure.
Speaker C:And you did superbly.
Speaker C:We unfortunately missing Rev today, but he's here in spirit and it's.
Speaker C:It's a really great atmosphere, actually.
Speaker C:There's a lot.
Speaker C:A lot more people here today than there were yesterday.
Speaker D:And I've got two ready.
Speaker A:Two of my pegs already.
Speaker C:Got two pegs already.
Speaker C:Ah, no way.
Speaker B:Yeah, I've only got one left.
Speaker C:Got one left.
Speaker C:Have you got any.
Speaker C:Have you got rid of any of your pegs yet, Fish?
Speaker A:You didn't give me any.
Speaker C:Yes, I did.
Speaker A:No, you didn't.
Speaker A:You gave me Jackie1 yesterday.
Speaker C:No, she's got them for you.
Speaker C:She's obviously looking after them.
Speaker C:She hasn't told me she hasn't dispatched them yet.
Speaker C:And not.
Speaker C:He's got rid of one of his pegs on a security guard, so he's now.
Speaker C:He's now hiding.
Speaker C:He's turned his back to the security guard in case he's in trouble and he told him his name was Arthur Grannan anyway, so hopefully he'll be okay.
Speaker C:Well, the sun's out.
Speaker C:We're gonna go.
Speaker D:And behind the bar is the organizer of the Gloucester Shanti Festival who wants us back.
Speaker C:She saw us two years ago and wants us back.
Speaker C:Oh, wow.
Speaker C:Are you sure she's heard us sing?
Speaker C:Yes, and she wants us back.
Speaker C:She's an organiser of the Gloucester Shanty Festival.
Speaker B:We're disappointed we couldn't make it this year because it clashed with Portishead.
Speaker C:But it's remarkably unusual for us to be asked back to sing for a second time.
Speaker D:Absolutely.
Speaker A:In fact, one of the bar staff came down and saw us sing and.
Speaker D:Enjoyed it so much she actually gave us a Scotch egg, which she actually makes.
Speaker C:Well, thank you for sharing that with all of us.
Speaker D:Well, my wife hates it.
Speaker C:Excellent.
Speaker C:Well, on that note, I think I'm going to go find something to eat and I'll hook up with these guys a bit later right there.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Port of Bristol Shanty Crew.
Speaker A:And we've been going for two years.
Speaker A:Some of us have been singing shanties a lot longer than that and some of us actually know all the words, which is an advantage.
Speaker A:Now, we've been described in many different ways.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And I believe that the.
Speaker A:The best description that we've had so far is this.
Speaker A:The Port of Bristol Shanty Crew, the Triumph of enthusiasm over talent.
Speaker A:Okay, so here we go.
Speaker A:Right, A traditional shanty.
Speaker A:Santiana.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Is that all right?
Speaker A:And General Taylor ran away.
Speaker A:And it's an ER up and away we'll go.
Speaker A:All on the plains of Mexico.
Speaker C:So we've just finished our third set at Valleyfest, had a fantastic closing gig, and I'm here with Tracey, who's coordinated the whole Teenage Cancer Trust fundraising endeavour this weekend.
Speaker C:How has it been for you after your second day?
Speaker B:We've had a great weekend.
Speaker E:Everybody is loving the sun and Valley Fest, and we've got Tom Bowler, we've got Human Fruit Machine, and everyone's just with a smile on their face and enjoying it and listening to you guys sing a happy tune.
Speaker C:When you said human fruit machine, in my head I had pinball machine, and I thought, that sounds painful, but how does a human, human fruit machine work?
Speaker E:Three humans stand in a box and then you shout, spin.
Speaker E:And they spin their arms and then.
Speaker B:They bring a piece of fruit out.
Speaker E:And if you get three in a.
Speaker D:Row, you're a winner.
Speaker C:Hey, genius.
Speaker C:Genius.
Speaker C:So have you finished for the evening, though?
Speaker E:We have, but we're back open tomorrow 9 till 6.
Speaker C:Are you staying for Tiny Temper?
Speaker D:We are.
Speaker C:Excellent.
Speaker C:Well, have a fabulous evening.
Speaker C:Thank you very much indeed for looking after us, and have a great festival.
Speaker C:See you soon.
Speaker A:Take ahoy, me, shipmates.
Speaker B:You're listening to Shipshape and Bristol Fashion.
Speaker A:Now, because there is a song that is the R N L I song, and it's called Home from the Sea, and Mary said, you know, could you sing it?
Speaker A:And we said, yes, but we don't know it, so.
Speaker A:But don't worry, don't worry.
Speaker A:We rehearsed it on.
Speaker A:Well, three of us rehearsed it on Wednesday night, and we've got the words, and it could be all right, okay?
Speaker A:So please be.
Speaker A:Be kind to us.
Speaker A:Join in if you know it.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, we don't, so.
Speaker A:Any help gratefully receive.
Speaker A:Really.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Home from the sea On a cold winter's night with the storm at its height the lifeboat answered the call they pitched and they tossed Till we thought they were lost as we watched from the harbour wall Though the night was pitch black There was no turning back Thought someone was waiting out there and each volunteer had to live with his fear as they joined in a silent.
Speaker C:Prayer.
Speaker A:Carry us home Home Home from the sea Angels of mercy Answer our plea and carry us home home Home from the sea Carry us safely home from the sea that's the last time you'll be applauding.
Speaker A:But never mind.
Speaker A:We are the Port of Bristol shanty crew.
Speaker A:Been going for about two years, and we were here last year.
Speaker A:First time we've ever been invited back to anywhere.
Speaker A:So that's a real plus for us, I can tell you.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:You may have noticed that we've got someone in the crew that's even more diminutive than Nobby, which is, of course, our cabin boy here.
Speaker A:Who is Herbie.
Speaker A:Herbie.
Speaker A:And he comes to most of our gigs.
Speaker A:And over the years, we now see ourselves as Herbie Hunter's backing group.
Speaker A:So a big round of applause for her.
Speaker A:Big please.
Speaker D:He knows all the words, which we don't.
Speaker A:Yeah, he knows more words than Nobby, I'll tell you that.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:This next song is Always Enchanted About a voyage that went disastrous wrong.
Speaker A:Twas 14 Sep oh, well, I do remember I nearly broke me poor old mother's heart For I shipped with Captain Nipper On a big foremasted clipper and bore way down south to foreign parts and the wind began to blow and ship began to roll and the devil of a hurricane did blow I O and it nearly knocked the stuffing from the good ship Rack a muffin we got to the bottom we would go Help me Bob I'm bully in the alley hey, hey, Bully in the alley Help me Bob I'm pulling the alley Pull it and chimbo now so help me Bob I'm pull.
Speaker D:Bully in the.
Speaker A:Alley Help me Bob I'm bully in the alley Bully d shame blow now.
Speaker D:Well, a long spell in jail Wouldn't.
Speaker A:Do us any harm oh, a long spell in jail Wouldn't do us any harm oh, a long spell in jail Wouldn't do us any harm and we'll all hang and we'll rolly o Carry it along we'll rolly o chariot along we'll roll the old chariot along and we'll all hang on behind oh, a.
Speaker D:Nice pipe from Becky Wouldn't do us.
Speaker A:Any harm oh, a nice pipe from Becky Wouldn't do us any harm oh, a nice pipe from Becky Wouldn't do us any harm and we'll all hang on behind and we'll roll the old chariots along we'll roll the old chariot along we'll roll the old chariot along and we'll all hang and a free.
Speaker D:Burger from Kev Wouldn't do us any.
Speaker A:Harm oh, a free burger from Kev Wouldn't do us any harm Just one time I will take the Northwest Passage to find the hand of Franklin Reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one more through a land so wild and savage to make a northwest passage to the sea.
Speaker A:Now, in the poonic times on merchant ships, sea shanties were sung to help the.
Speaker A:The crew regularizing, keeping time with hauling up sails and binding up the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The anchor.
Speaker A:In the Royal Navy, though, chances were banned and they used to keep time by just saying numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4 and.
Speaker A:A bit boring really, but they were allowed to.
Speaker A:There was one song that they did sing and it was very popular amongst the.
Speaker A:The Royal Navy as they were fighting the.
Speaker A:The dastardly French and Spanish and anyone else they found.
Speaker A:And this one is called Spanish Ladies and it's going to be sung by Nobby Die.
Speaker A:Farewell and adieu to you Spanish ladies Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain for we've received orders to sail for old England From a shot rant.
Speaker A:Asilly is 35, please.
Speaker A:We're rant and we're all a true British sailors We're rant and we're roar all on the salt sea until we take standings in the channel of old England from ocean to Scilly it's dirty hard leaks what should we do with.
Speaker C:A drunk drunken sailor?
Speaker A:What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
Speaker A:What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
Speaker A:Lie in the morning Hooray up she rises Hooray up she rises Hooray up she rises her eye in the morning Put him in a long boat till he's sober Put him in a long boat till he's sober Put him in a long boat till he's sober High in the morning thank you very much.
Speaker D:Thank you very much.
Speaker C:That was fun.
Speaker A:Well, that's good game.
Speaker B:So here we are.
Speaker B:I am with.
Speaker B:I'm with Ash.
Speaker B:And I'm with him, skipper.
Speaker B:Both of them are not new to the podcast because they've obviously provided audio before and we know that Ash has been the signaler and we'll continue to do so, I hope, because he's got a great voice.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:Welcome, champs.
Speaker B:How are you both?
Speaker D:Very well.
Speaker D:A little hoarse, actually, because we've.
Speaker D:We just finished singing.
Speaker D:We're.
Speaker D:We're on location, I think, for the first time.
Speaker D:So I'm a little growly.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker E:Clevedon Flower Festival.
Speaker E:We're there.
Speaker E:This is our first time live.
Speaker E:Yeah, we're thoroughly enjoying it.
Speaker D:We're buzzed.
Speaker E:We just finished.
Speaker B:It's really good.
Speaker B:It was a big crew and a good audience and they were really enjoying it.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But here we are.
Speaker B:Gentlemen, welcome to the podcast formally.
Speaker B:And this, of course, is formally the crew Room where we get to kind of hear about the person behind the voice.
Speaker B:Now, you both have been kind of around for a good few years now with part of the crew, but I'd like to know your backstory.
Speaker B:So, Skipper, we're going to start with you, if that's all right.
Speaker B:Tell us all about your journey in the world of shanty.
Speaker B:First and foremost, why are you into shanty?
Speaker B:What's it all about?
Speaker E:Oh, I love traditional stories of music, folk singing, and this is just one aspect of folk singing.
Speaker E:It tells a story, fortunately or unfortunately, towards the sad songs about death.
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker E:There's a lot of it, apparently, sailing ships.
Speaker E:But my songs are the Molly Mork who thought that it was a spirit of a lost sailor that fell overboard following the ship down in the Southern Ocean.
Speaker E:Another one is Franklin, the northwest passage.
Speaker E:And 300 people died when they were going from the North Pacific to the South Atlantic.
Speaker E:Or the other way around.
Speaker D:Sorry.
Speaker E:Anyway, that's my.
Speaker E:That's my navigational skills.
Speaker B:I mean, as a disclaimer listener.
Speaker B:We are.
Speaker B:We are talking to Skipper here.
Speaker B:But he does have.
Speaker B:He has a pint in the hand, so, you know, he could literally say anything.
Speaker B:So I look forward to the editing of this.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you're Mr.
Speaker B:Sad Singer, but actually incredibly joyful kind of man.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:You're very happy.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:Well, you've got to be, haven't you?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:I mean, I think singing fantastic.
Speaker E:I mean, it sends out these endorphins.
Speaker E:There's other ways of getting endorphins, like running and other things, but we won't go into that, you know, and being a single person, moving on.
Speaker B:So sing is a good thing.
Speaker B:Singing's a good thing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:This is not a dating app, then.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker B:Sorry, mate.
Speaker B:So you clearly are experienced in singing.
Speaker B:Being part of the port of Bristol Shantley crew isn't your first rodeo.
Speaker B:You've been part of a crew before?
Speaker E:Two or three years before that.
Speaker E:The male voice choir.
Speaker E:I'm in for about 15, 20 years.
Speaker E:And this group of people, men, all men.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker E:Very friendly.
Speaker E:We've all got understandings about each other, our strengths, qualities.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:It's a privilege.
Speaker E:Privilege to be part of.
Speaker B:Nice.
Speaker E:It's very, very lovely.
Speaker B:And I'm the new boy, as oggy and new to the crew.
Speaker B:And it's great that you've taken me under your wing.
Speaker B:Skipper.
Speaker B:Skipper.
Speaker B:Let's work out.
Speaker B:Why are you called Skipper?
Speaker B:For the people listening at home thinking, why is he called Skipper?
Speaker E:I thought it'd be A good idea to buy a sailing boat.
Speaker E:So that got bought in Newcastle and then got brought down by a lorry and then it couldn't get put in the water.
Speaker E:So we had to go somewhere else to get put in the water in Cardiff.
Speaker E:Done quite a bit of sailing first couple of years, learned that.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker E:We went out one time and a little thing had broke on it and there was lots of diesel everywhere.
Speaker E:So a big learning curve.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker E:Is that the allergy about boat?
Speaker E:Bang us another thousand Is true.
Speaker B:Yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker E:So I got a sailing boat in Cardiff.
Speaker B:Excellent.
Speaker B:And you're the only sailor within the crew, to be absolutely honest.
Speaker B:Isn't it?
Speaker B:You know, and we're very fortunate to have you on board, which is great.
Speaker B:Which is good.
Speaker B:Ash, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker B:It's great to have you here, Ash.
Speaker B:Why are you called Ash?
Speaker D:Yeah, I'm the one with the.
Speaker D:Along with Art who's got the boring nicknames.
Speaker D:They ran out.
Speaker D:I think they got fed up thinking of nicknames for a while.
Speaker D:Cause I referee football, as you know.
Speaker D:There was a thought I might be the reference, but the Rev put the kibosh on that because it was too close to the Rev.
Speaker D:So I got booted out of that nickname.
Speaker D:So it's just Ash, they never thought of anything different.
Speaker D:Very left out for all you with your wonderful.
Speaker B:And it's too late now to change it, innit?
Speaker B:You are forever now.
Speaker B:Completely too late.
Speaker D:I can't do anything.
Speaker B:Ash, talk to me about your journey into the world of seashantes.
Speaker D:Well, as we know, seashant is a lot to do with alcohol.
Speaker D:Lots of drinking rumors.
Speaker D:And unfortunately my reason for singing in the Shanty Crew is due to alcohol.
Speaker D:I went to a dinner and the Rev and two or three of the guys got up at the end of this and did a bit of an impromptu sing along.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:In the early days of the crew getting together and with a glass of wine or a bottle inside me, I thought I could do some of that.
Speaker D:So I volunteered myself.
Speaker D:And then nearly, what's it, two and a half?
Speaker D:Nearly three.
Speaker D:Getting over three years later in a choir, in a community rock choir with my wife, which was fun for a bit.
Speaker D:But then, yeah, the shanty is just so much more.
Speaker D:It's easier to get into.
Speaker D:You don't have to learn huge amounts of lines and it's just great fun.
Speaker D:And as Skipper said, it's a great bunch of guys.
Speaker D:We have a really nice time doing it.
Speaker B:Obviously.
Speaker B:Give all the death songs to Skipper and Mr.
Speaker B:Positive Man.
Speaker B:There do you have your name on any of the songs that we tend to listen to?
Speaker D: Mine's: Speaker D:Because I'm probably one of the younger members of the.
Speaker D:Well, now you're the.
Speaker D:You're the baby.
Speaker D:I know I am the baby, but I'm.
Speaker D:I'm.
Speaker D:I'm probably the.
Speaker D:One of the youngest.
Speaker D: And, yeah, a: Speaker D:But in Cornwall it's really well known.
Speaker D:And it's sung in all the pubs.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker B:Something to death, to be honest.
Speaker D:But, you know, I did get that when I was down there.
Speaker D:I wonder why people weren't Leslie.
Speaker B:But it's good to take a little bit of Cornish.
Speaker D:A little bit of Cornish.
Speaker D:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker D:And a couple of those I cover off.
Speaker D:I think we're trying to make sure that we got a bit of coverage for people who aren't around.
Speaker D:So the doctors.
Speaker D:John Kodaka, but I cover that for him.
Speaker D:And I do Leaving Of Liverpool as well, which is another one.
Speaker D:But it's only recently I've done some individual songs.
Speaker D:Are very happy to sit in the background and just do the chorus bit.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You've got a bit of melody in your voice as well.
Speaker B:I hear that occasionally.
Speaker D:I got a bit of harmony every now and again.
Speaker D:Chaka harmony once in a while.
Speaker B:And I think both of you admit that this is great to be part of this group of men, of course, you know, to share our stories and our weeks and our months when we come to rehearsal.
Speaker B:To rehearsal.
Speaker B:But it does have a serious component, doesn't it?
Speaker B:And that, of course, is charity.
Speaker B:And we do it to raise an incredibly large amount of money wherever possible for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Speaker D:It's amazing.
Speaker D:Well, I think we're all quite stunned about it still.
Speaker D: d off thinking we might raise: Speaker D:So it's.
Speaker D:In that first year, it just.
Speaker D:The money flew in and we.
Speaker D:I guess, actually we got not carried away with it, but I think we've reined it back in a little bit about the number of gigs and stuff we were doing.
Speaker D:Probably too much because we got very enthusiastic about raising all this money.
Speaker B:I'm still there, buddy.
Speaker B:I'm still there.
Speaker D:You're still there.
Speaker D:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:I think my family really died in that world.
Speaker D:But, yeah, we're in danger.
Speaker D:I think for some People of making it a bit of a chore to come out and sing and it should be just fun.
Speaker D:So we're.
Speaker D:We're.
Speaker D:We're not.
Speaker D:So we've done our bit.
Speaker D:A little bit, I think raising that money and Selective.
Speaker D:Selective.
Speaker D:Doing.
Speaker C:Selective.
Speaker D:Selective.
Speaker D:We are.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And stopping the ones really where, you know, we were doing gigs where the audience really weren't listening much but the money was good for the charity.
Speaker D:And yeah, that's a bit.
Speaker D:Feels a bit pointless that.
Speaker D:So we stopped those.
Speaker D:We're not doing that anymore.
Speaker B:But the good news is that I've certainly learned over the last year of kind of playing around with this podcast is that there's a huge circle, a huge family of Shanti singers around not only within Bristol and within the southwest, but around the UK and beyond.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And we're now part of that.
Speaker E:Yep.
Speaker E:France, Holland.
Speaker C:You know.
Speaker E:Never know, we might get to Holland one day.
Speaker D:Oh, nice.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker B:Will you take us in the boat?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:We wouldn't get to Holland if we weren't necessarily in the boat.
Speaker D:We might go to Belgium, but we won't get to Holland.
Speaker D:It was amazing.
Speaker D:When we went down to Falmouth for their ship Chutney Festival.
Speaker D:Just the number of crews that were down.
Speaker D:It was unbelievable.
Speaker D:80 odd crews down there.
Speaker B:Phenomenal.
Speaker D:And 40, 000 people at that event.
Speaker D:It was just unbelievable.
Speaker E:Time.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:It was great.
Speaker D:It was great.
Speaker D:And meeting those guys, seeing them on the circuit is.
Speaker D:It's just really good fun.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:Nice.
Speaker B:And we feature on that album, which is great.
Speaker B: The: Speaker B:We're there, you know.
Speaker D:Well, that's hopefully one of our next things.
Speaker D:Maybe.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:We're all talking about getting a recording.
Speaker D:Really neat.
Speaker D:So we've been going over two years now.
Speaker D:It's about time we got something.
Speaker E:We've got some good singers.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And get a knobby on.
Speaker D:On the recorder before he forgets the words again.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:You need to get knobby going because he's.
Speaker D:He's a superstar of the shiny.
Speaker B:He is.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:We are so lucky to have him on board.
Speaker B:But yeah, no, really good.
Speaker B:Indeed.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So what next for both of you?
Speaker B:You got some songs in mind that you'd like to sing in the future?
Speaker D:I guess it's about.
Speaker D:Maybe for me I might look to cover off as I've done with a couple of the others.
Speaker D:Some of the other songs that we still.
Speaker D:We do already.
Speaker D:But if that individual's not here, we haven't got coverage for it.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:There's a longest John Song that I quite like, which.
Speaker D:The name has just escaped me, as I was gonna say it.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker D:But I might try and introduce that as well.
Speaker D:That's really.
Speaker D:But it goes against what the Rev really wants to do because there are quite a bit of harmony in it.
Speaker D:And I'm not sure we're really ready for harmony.
Speaker D:Too much.
Speaker D:A little bit's all right.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker B:Skipper, we were talking about how.
Speaker B:Have you got any future songs that you'd like to bring to the set that you'd like to see us do?
Speaker E:I would definitely like to do Northwest Passage by Franklin.
Speaker E:Yeah, that's a fantastic song.
Speaker E:Classic.
Speaker E:Which is a little bit unfortunate because Stan Rogers, who sung it, died at about 32 trying to save someone.
Speaker E:People from an airplane.
Speaker E:Airplane clash and in Canada.
Speaker E:It's phenomenal.
Speaker E:So hopefully we can get to sing that because I think it's a great song.
Speaker E:Ash loves it.
Speaker E:I like it.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker E:And then I Sewing about the maid on the shore.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:Which is.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:So that's another lovely song as well.
Speaker E:So hopefully.
Speaker E:But we're restrictive, obviously, with.
Speaker E:With people because if everybody wants to sing their own songs.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:That's not fair.
Speaker E:That is one thing that we do share.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:We do the set list of songs we share, which is great.
Speaker B:Yeah, it is.
Speaker B:It is good.
Speaker B:And, you know, behind the scenes, I know in rehearsal there's some great songs coming that we'll put into our set list that will sound great.
Speaker B:And just to enhance some of our stuff.
Speaker B:But anyway, gentlemen, I think it's the time to send you back to the bar.
Speaker B:Yeah, we have.
Speaker B:I can filter this out.
Speaker B:Skipper, you got one more thing to say, buddy?
Speaker E:I've got one more thing.
Speaker E:Quite a few years ago, when I retired.
Speaker E:No, not that long ago.
Speaker E:But I thought, wouldn't it be a great idea to get some men together that got abilities that want to do something with their time and get some money up together?
Speaker E:Yeah, that was it.
Speaker E:And lo and behold, we've got people with enthusiasm to come together.
Speaker E:It just.
Speaker E:That was my thoughts.
Speaker E:And it just snuck into being that we became a shanty crew raising charity for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:It's a fantastic experience to be part of the group.
Speaker E:Fantastic.
Speaker D:And I guess for the crew over the next few months, it's integrating you and Chilli into the.
Speaker D:Into the crew properly getting you fully up to speed.
Speaker D:So we've got 12 of us available if we need to call on you will be.
Speaker D:Ease a burden, I guess, on some of the rest of us who do so That's.
Speaker D:That'll be great.
Speaker D:Looking forward to that.
Speaker D:Looking forward to you doing a couple of solos.
Speaker D:Well, yeah, I gotta get a bit of Cornish stuff.
Speaker B:Yeah, a bit of Cornish.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker B:I think there's a interview coming up with me and Chilli and I think Doc's gonna do it because there's normally me.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker B:But anyway, gentlemen, you better get back to your having a beer and an ice cream and just enjoy the rest of this event.
Speaker B:Thank you, gentlemen.
Speaker B:Talk to you soon.
Speaker D:Thanks.
Speaker E:Thank you.
Speaker B:Well, I hope you've enjoyed this month's episode.
Speaker B:It's been great to have you on board and it is always great if you could share this podcast with your friends.
Speaker B:And of course, if you have an opportunity and you do listen to this podcast, one of the many podcast platforms that are out there, then please do leave us a review.
Speaker B:It does help us to make sure that other people find us if they're trying to find more content about sea shanties, but also just to find out more stuff about the port of Bristol shanty crew.
Speaker B:So if you have have just a few moments, pop onto your podcast platform and give us a good review.
Speaker B:And please do share it with your friends.
Speaker B:So, like I said, that's it for this month.
Speaker B:Thank you for listening.
Speaker B:Fair winds and following seas and we'll see you next month.
Speaker A:Along the harbor side from even gorge to underfall we'll even hold the line Secure the barrels down below Wind em tie and lash em this vessel she is certified ship shape and Bristol fashion So haul away me laddie bo Haul away, you're free Haul away me ly boys and save a drink for me Haul away me ly boys Haul away, you're free Haul away me lo boys and save a drink for me.
