Photos and Video Clips

Our highly trained official photographer Carol on the lookout for even more photo opportunities. However, we would still be grateful for any photos or video clips that she missed.... thanks

Falmouth International Shanty Festival 09 - Report

Well, we all made it to Falmouth despite dire prognostications from the weather man about sailing conditions, with three boats berthed at Port Pendennis this year. Once again we were berthed with our friends from the Wareham Whalers.

The weather turned out to sunny and hot, which was a real bonus for everybody. The first thing we did was join a mass shanty sing for BBC Spotlight. We started our performances by doing the early session at the Watersports Centre on Friday evening and on Saturday we did 5 Degrees West, The Moor Piazza stage and the Front. On Sunday we only had the one event which was on the Custom House Quay at lunchtime.

There were a record number of groups this year from France, Holland and Denmark, as well as a lot of excellent UK groups.

We had a few funny incidents. One of the best was when Will was introducing ‘Tall Ships’ at the Waterfront. He was doing his bit about how the Cornish used to indulge in a little ‘diversification’ in the form of wrecking when a strong Cornish voice announced from somewhere ‘and we ain’t finished yet’. Despite everyone collapsing at this (including the Tars!), William managed to keep his intro going.

There was a great atmosphere throughout and Falmouth Shout did a superb job in organising and managing the weekend once again with their usual hospitality. Many thanks to them for all their efforts, which hopefully raised a considerable sum for the RNLI.

There are some pictures of the event and links to some You Tube videos to the right of this post.

We hope to be back there next year.

Most of what you ever wanted to know about the Tavy Tars crew

Click the link 'Meet the Tars' on the right if you want to know more about the Tavy Tars crew.......

Falmouth International Shanty Festival 2009

We now have the final draft programme for the 2009 festival, which is even bigger this year. The Tavy Tars performance slots are likely to be:

Friday 12 June 19.00-20.00 at the Watersports Centre
Saturday 13 June 12.00-13.00 at Five Degrees West
Saturday 13 June 16.00-17.00 at The Moor stage
Saturday 13 June 19.00-20.00 at The Front (our favourite venue)
Sunday 14 June 13.00-14.00 at Custom House Quay stage

There is much more information on Falmouth Shout's website at
http://www.falmouthshout.com/festival.html
or use the link in the musical links section of this page.

So put the dates 12-14 June in your diary and we hope to see you there.

'Back to Our Roots' show - DVD now available!!

A limited number of the long awaited and critically acclaimed DVD of the Tavy Tars 'Back to Our Roots' show are now available. Any Tavy Tar can supply you with a copy in exchange for a fiver. Thanks to Jason Poole for organising the shooting and Chris Gilling for his work on editing the footage.
NB. This DVD contains the only known images of the Tavy Tarts surprise guest appearance!

Tavy Tars Sketch

Marine and landscape artist Hilary Thorpe was at the Classic Boat evening at WQSC back in August and she kindly did this sketch, which is approximately 8 x 6 inches. Copies are available directly from Hilary at a cost of £10.00 + postage at hilary@hilarythorpe.co.uk. A link to Hilary's website is shown under the useful links section.

750th Anniversary Celebrations Concert

The Tavy Tars are to join other musicians of the Bere peninsula to celebrate 750 years of music in the parish. The concert will take place in St Andrew's Church in Bere Ferrers at 7.30pm on Friday 19th September.

Tickets are available from Margaret's Hairdressing in Bere Ferrers and The Pharmacy in Bere Alston at £5.00 to include refreshments at half time. Proceeds will go to St. Andrew's Church.

Tavy Tars to lead 'Devon Sings'

Make a note of Tuesday 9 September at 13.30 hours and try to be in Tavistock's Bedford Square. The event is 'Devon Sings' in aid of the 2008 BBC Children in Need appeal, where people from all over Devon - all along, down along out a long lee - are being asked to sing the world famous local folk song 'Widecombe Fair', at the same time. The Tars will be leading the singing in Tavistock and will be joined by officers and members of West Devon Borough Council, children from Tavistock Primary School and passers-by attracted by the melodious outpourings.

Read more about it all at the BBC Devon website. The link is shown as 'Devon Sings' in the Music Links on the right of the screen.

See you there......

CD Second Re-order

Due to high sales of The Tavy Tars debut CD, we have had to order further supplies for a second time. Despite global financial instability, we have managed to hold the price at a staggeringly reasonable £5.00, plus 75p postage if you can't find one of us to sell you one directly. Order requests via email to tavytars@googlemail.com please.

Photo Request

If any members of our audiences have taken photographs that you think we might be able to use, we would be really grateful if you could email them to us at tavytars@googlemail.com. Thanks in advance.

Classic Boats in Tar's Home Waters

Following their visit to Plymouth, and despite the atrocious weather, the Classic Boat Rally moved up the River Tamar to the beautiful Weir Quay, where they were entertained by the Weir Quay Sailing Club. After an excellent meal provided by the Club, an appreciative audience of members and guests were entertained by the Tavy Tars with a selection of shanties and other traditional music, which the Tars enjoyed as much as the audience. It was great to forget about the weather for a couple of hours.

Sutton Harbour Festival - The B-Bar

The Tars did a two hour slot at the B-Bar in Plymouth's Barbican on Sunday 3 August. This was part of a series of events for the Sutton Harbour Festival, incorporating the Classic Boats Rally. Click the link on the sidebar to find out about future events at the excellent B-Bar.

Tars Melt in the Sun

The Tars did a three part set in the garden of the Olde Plough Inn on the afternoon of 26th July, as part of a programme of entertainment. The event was the first Bere Ferrers Beer Fest organised by Ted and Sarah, the owners of the pub.
It was a perfect summers day for an outside event with several types of beer flowing and many types of sausage dishes being eaten. The festival was deemed so successful it is planned to repeat it next year. Can't wait!

Wet and Windy Pirates in Salcombe

The Tars were asked to provide the entertainment at the Pirate Rampage and Raid at The Ferry Inn at Salcombe on Saturday 21st of June. It was a windy and wet evening and after doing a first set on the patio, where the umbrellas collapsed and glasses blew off tables, we moved inside for the second set. A few hardy enthusiasts stayed outside with us for the first set, but the second set was much better, with a lively and enthusiasic participating audience, including the crew of the Matthew. The wind machine was redundant at the outdoor session although its operator did insist on using it! Thanks to Carol for the pictures.

Tavy Tars on You Tube

A video clip from the Falmouth Festival has now been uploaded onto You Tube. Click the box for 'watch in high quality' for a better picture.

The link is at the top of the side panel to the right of this posting.

Falmouth International Shanty Festival Report

Well – we made it! By Friday afternoon, four local owned boats had berthed at Falmouth’s Port Pendennis marina, which was subsequently used as the base for the Tavy Tars. The boats made an excellent central point for us all.

On Friday evening there was a reception, the welcoming speeches and several groups sang at the Watersports Centre. On Saturday morning, the Tars sang at the main stage in Events Square to a hardy audience who braved the showers to join us. It was great to see some Bere Ferrers faces who had come down specially to hear us perform.

After a pasty lunch on Custom House Quay, it was over on the ferry to St Mawes for a session outdoors in the showers and cold weather. Our passages on the ferry were free, in return for singing our way across the Carrick Roads. The other passengers seemed to enjoy it-however there was no escape for them once the ferry had departed.

Saturday evening saw a session in the Waterside pub, which was a great venue and very popular. Beth found a dancing admirer and Carol found a dancing partner (see pics).

Sunday morning saw our session on the stage on the Moor in wet conditions again and after another pasty lunch it was our final session at Custom House Quay, where BBC Radio Cornwall turned up to do a live broadcast, including an interview with Beth and Pru.

Everyone really enjoyed the weekend and it was a very useful experience for us all. We shall have to start thinking about the 2009 set list.

Our thanks to Falmouth Shout for their excellent organisation and hospitality, and for making the arrangements with the sponsors for our beer and pasties. We hope that the funds raised for the RNLI were substantial. We must also not forget to thank the Tavy Tarts for their unending support and acting like it was the first time they had heard us at each session!

Cotehele Quay

The Tavy Tars were invited to sing and entertain the guests at the preview evening for the National Trust Cotehele Discovery Centre on Cotehele Quay on 29th May. The singing was an outdoor event, fortunately after the torrential downpours of the afternoon. The Tamar barge Shamrock made an appropriate background setting for the event, despite the falling tide!

Photo with thanks to Kate Harman

Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival 2008 - Timetable

The planned performance slots for the Tars are:

Saturday 14/6 - 11.00 hrs @ Events Square stage
Saturday 14/6 - 13.50 hrs @ St Mawes
Saturday 14/6 - 19.00 hrs @ The Waterfront
Sunday 15/6 - 12.00 hrs @ The Moor stage
Sunday 15/6 - 14.00 hrs @ Custom House Quay stage

Full programme available at
http://www.falmouthshout.com/2008_Festival_Prog.pdf

We look forward to seeing you there.

Tars on the Terrace - Olde Plough Inn 4th June

In preparation for their forthcoming sessions at the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival in June, the Tavy Tars will be performing in the garden of The Olde Plough Inn at Bere Ferrers on Wednesday 4 June from 19.30 hrs. This is of course weather permitting. If the weather is not good, the session will move inside the pub. Ah well!
Admission is free and all are welcome.

Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival Performers

The list of all the 2008 performers and their bios, including the Tavy Tars, is now available at http://www.falmouthshout.com/festival.html. The performance timetables will be published as soon as they are available.

'Back to our Roots' photographs

Of the 170 photographs taken at the show, a selection is now available to view by clicking on the sidebar on the right side of the screen. Any suggestions for captions to tavytars @gmail.com !

Tavy Tars 'Back to Our Roots' Show

For two nights only, on 4th and 5th April 2008, the Tars will be performing their main local event of the year at Bere Ferrers Church Hall.

Haul away boys let them go

Out in the wind and rain and snow

We've lost more than we'll ever know

On the rocky shores of England

The chorus from Steve Knightley's and Show of Hands latest hit recording Roots has been the inspiration for the next Tavy Tars show Back to Our Roots. In the song Roots, Knightley reflects on the loss of the tradition of singing local and regional songs in pubs and at family celebrations. While Asians, Irish and other nations celebrate their heritage in song, the English tend to stay quiet, except perhaps in Bere Ferrers, where music has become a big feature of local life.

The show promises to be quite revealing as the Tars sing about their ancestral roots in the British Isles and elsewhere. They claim ancestry from generations of Brummy boatmen, Scottish fishermen, Vikings and other seafaring folks. Some of the stories might be stretched a little, but that's what a good yarn in a pub is all about.

Once again you can bring food and drink, and enjoy the pub atmosphere as the Tavy Tars provide an evening of top notch entertainment.

This show follows on from the very popular 'Tamar Tales' show from a couple of years back, so demand for tickets is expected to be high, so the advice is to book early.

Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival 2008

The Tavy Tars have signed up to perform at the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, which takes place at various venues around Falmouth and St Mawes from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 June. Full details of the singing venues and times will appear on the Festival website shortly. Follow http://www.falmouthlifeboat.co.uk/seaShanty.html for latest details.

Tavy Tars CD

In late 2007, the Tars recorded a CD at Aardvark Studios in West Devon. The CD contains 12 tracks of the most requested songs in the repertoire and is available at performances or via post. The cost is £5.00 + 75p for post and package.

If you would like a copy, please ask one of the Tars, call at the Saturday shop, or contact us at tavytars@googlemail.com