Hi {name}
Jim Radford
There cannot be many of you who do not know by now that Festival regular, Jim Radford enjoyed Amazon Chart success with his “Shores of Normandy” song toppling both Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber from the top slot. We are proud of Jim’s association with and support for our Festival and pleased to report that Jim will be with us again this October. His wartime association with Harwich and the Rescue Tugs, plus his own participation in the D Day landings will form part of his talks this October; talks that are always popular and very well received.
In addition, coinciding with the 75th Anniversary of D Day this year, Jim will be speaking to some local schools about his wartime experiences. This is a valuable opportunity for the schools to hear first- hand accounts of the 2nd World War and one which, sadly, may not be available to them for much longer.
Fisherman’s Friends
The much acclaimed film about the rise to fame of this Cornish Shanty Crew is set to be shown in Harwich next month at the 1912 Centre. (1912 is being used temporarily for film showings whilst our Electric Palace undergoes major renovation.) A heart-warming gentle comedy, the film portrays the difference in lifestyle between the “London set” who sign the group and the slightly more down to earth approach to life of the shanty crew. Well worth watching whether or not you have an interest in shanties – and presumably most of you do! Fisherman’s Friends is showing at the 1912 on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July at 7.30 p.m.
Sunday Singing on the Pier
Once again we would like to promote some Sunday singing on the Ha’Penny Pier throughout the Summer months. This provides good publicity for our Festival in October, supports the very friendly Café on the Pier, who in turn are very supportive of us, and it’s a nice way to spend a summer afternoon in Harwich. Of course it also promotes your own shanty crew so it’s really an all round winner!. If you would like to volunteer for this please do contact the Festival, preferably by email (info@harwichshantyfestival.co.uk ) and let us know which dates you can do. We will ensure that you have plenty of fliers and a collecting tin and please do take the opportunity to give out your own publicity, sell your CDs etc.
Airbnb
Regular attendees of the Festival will already be aware of the lack of available accommodation in Harwich over the Festival weekend. One of the charms of this little historic town is its size, but it can also be a problem for visitors. We appealed to local residents a couple of months ago for beds to house Festival artists and this is almost all arranged now, but we have the ongoing problem of finding spaces for would be visitors to the Festival. And so we are going to run a campaign locally to see if any residents would consider earning a few pence with a weekend Airbnb style arrangement which we can offer to visitors, not just this year but in the future also. If you are a local resident and you are interested please do get in touch. Again the email above is the easiest way to contact us.
The festival this year is 11th-13th October.
