And today I spent most of the day at one of my favourite places, Vowley Farm, where Alfie Purls flock of (mostly cotswold) sheep were due to move to a new home. All day in the fresh air, walking about, sheep-wrangling, taking down and setting up electric fences, and finally - singing to the flock as they were taken in groups in the trailer to their new place. The first set left, and the remainder became a bit of a roiling mass of woolly backs. They knew something was up. My song Cloth of Gold was written for this flock. Cotswolds are special. Their history is fascinating. When some of the current flockmembers were lambs being hand-raised, their shepherd, Emma Turner, sang it to them; it calms them to this day. So I stood and sang them Cloth of Gold, and the Sheep Shanty (which namechecks several of the flock) and Close the Gate - very new, and written for the occasion of their leaving this farm - and then, whatever I could think of. They liked Jack Hardys Siar N Daingean (the only cover I currently perform) and God of Lost Things. I dont think they knew what to make of Jane Austens Tango. This isnt Newport has sheep in too, they liked that. Every time I cycled back round to the ones they knew best, they lifted their heads and their ears went forward. It was a very different audience to last weekends triumph, but somehow... it was a very grounding counterpoint :-)
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 21:40:40 +0000
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