Mike Blair of the Bedford Folk Club has reviewed all three of our albums for Unicorn Magazine and, in so doing, has provided us with excellent feedback and constructive criticism that we have valued enormously. Following his recent review of ‘The Bite’, we got in touch with Mike to properly thank him for both his kind words and for the help he had inadvertently given us over recent years. In the correspondence that followed, Mike mentioned the Bedford Club and Rob and I thought it would be a great idea to finally meet Mike and visit one of the nearby clubs that we had not yet visited.
Bedford is a singers club for its members, rarely (if ever) inviting guest artists. The members of the club all clearly know each other very well and the banter between them is absolutely top notch. It was a real pleasure to meet with Mike and his fellow club members, who made Rob and I feel extremely welcome. There is a lot of talent sat around the room at Daley's Club, just off the Bedford Road in Kempston. We had everything from a wonderful unaccompanied version of the Bruce Springsteen classic ‘A cautious man’, to a Noel Coward song, through Joni Mitchell, Tom Paxton and traditional songs from around the British Isles and North America. Some extremely funny self penned songs were sung also – including one about Sweeney Todd – who had ‘a finger in every pie’.
The good humour evident in the room was later followed up by a laugh-out-loud Newsletter – somebody somewhere has missed their vocation in life. We were warmly welcomed and, having travelled, were given more than our fair share of time performing. Everyone seemed to enjoy what we did, and the invitation remains open for us to return – something we absolutely will do. May thanks and best wishes to all at the Bedford Folk Club.