In the general scheme of things, Trafalgar Day (21st
October) doesn’t get much attention in our glorious British media, but it’s
different if you are a shanty singer!
This year, we got to celebrate Nelson’s greatest victory and
his death in 1805, twice! On the 22nd October we joined a group of
serving and retired Royal Navy officers and their wives in Yelverton’ s Church Hall to add some music to their annual
Trafalgar Day dinner. A very grand occasion, with black ties and medals and in
contrast, the Tars looking as scruffy as ever. Later that week we were doing it
again, but this time with the members of Cargreen Yacht Club in their lovely
little club house on the banks of the Tamar as they combined a celebration of
the great sea battle and the end of the sailing season. No black ties and
medals on display here, but both occasions had some common features.
The memory
of our greatest ever naval officer is treated with all due respect and
solemnity, but that doesn’t stop everyone having a great time with good food
and large quantities of alcohol, which prepares the ground for lots of lusty
singing. And a “Trafalgar Night” event would only be complete if your musical
offerings included “ A Life on the Ocean Wave”, “Heart of Oak”, “What shall we
do with the Drunken Sailor”, and of course, “A Drop of Nelson’s Blood”!
