The Festive Selection Box from FolkCast

The Festive Selection Box from FolkCast

By Phil WiddowsMusic
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The Festive Selection Box from FolkCast episodes

  • FolkCast Summer Sizzler 2015
    The Soundtrack for the Season!
    Grab your picnic blanket or a folding chair and enjoy more than an hour
    of superb sounds to keep you sizzling all summer long
    Summer Is A-Comin’ by Merry Hell, from the album “The Ghost In Our House And Other Stories” (2015)
    Sun Song by Laura Veirs, from the album “Warp And Weft” (2013)
    “A few days by the sea…” Newsreels, (1950s)
    English Seaside Postcards by Paul McGladdery and Gaynor Wilson, recorded especially for FolkCast (2015)
    Picnic by Peter Knight’s Gigspanner, from the album “Doors At Eight (Live)” (2011)
    Haymaking by Dora Greenwell
    Country Life by Whapweasel, from the album “Festivalis” (2012)
    Summerfly by Teresa Doyle and Doug Riley, from the album “Summerfly” (2004)
    “Oh boy, Lake Platatuki!”, from ‘It’s Higgins, Sir!’ American Radio Show (1951)
    Lake Song by The Decemberists, from the album “What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World” (2014)
    Lilac Time by Anne-Marie Sanderson, from the EP “Shadows & Sparks” (2015)
    “I’ve always loved the idea of summer and sun and all things hot…”, from the film “Frozen” (2013)
    Wonderful Day by Lee Maddison, from the album “Weightless” (2014)
    Underneath A Blue And Cloudess Sky by Seasick Steve, from the album “You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks” (2011)
    Sunshine Saturday by David Dee Moore, from the album “The Sun, The Moon, The Stars… and Other Moving Objects” (2013)
    The Swallow by Thomas Aird
    Swallows by Abbie Lathe, from the album “Low Summer” (2011)
    Summer! Rain!, from British newsreel (1954)
    Rain by Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston, from the album “Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston” (2012)
    “…atomic bombs, flying saucers or the eclipse!”, British newsreel (1954)
    Caught In The Rain by Steve Knightley, from the album “Track Of Words - Retraced” (2009)
    The Weather Forecast, from British newsreels (1947)
    Weatherman by Stormy Mondays, from the EP “On My Radio” (2010)
    Lazybones by Joe Brown (with Sam Brown), from the album “The Very Best of Joe Brown: 50th Anniversary” (2008)
    How Can I Compare Thee? by Skinner And T’witch, from the album “Rise” (2015)
    “Thinking of Europe”, from ‘Our Miss Brooks’ Summer Vacation’, American Radio, 1955
    Forest Of Summer by Fairytale, from the album “Forest Of Summer” (2015)
    Solstice Call by Gaia Consort, from the album “Evolve” (2004)
    Wickerman by Damh The Bard, from the album “Sabbat” (2015)
    Head Home by Blackmailed & Bereft, single release (2014)
    For full details and links to artists’ websites, see the ShowNotes at www.folkcast.co.uk
    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast - March Into May 2015
    A podcast all about the wonders of Spring.
    Good news! You’ve survived the winter! Let’s celebrate the coming of Spring with FolkCast’s March Into May 2015, a progression in music and verse from the slow departure of old man winter to the birth of the summer. And in Spring, my fancy turns to just one thing! Anyone fancy a ride on my pogo stick?
    Spring Song by Charlie Chaplin, from the film “Limelight” (1952)
    Written In Green by Bella Hardy, single release (2011)
    Exile Of The Winter King by Phil Widdows (2015) featuring Looking Through by Mike Vass, from the album “DecemberWell” (2012)
    Come The Springtime by Lee Maddison, from the album “Weightless” (2012)
    “Everybody discovered it was Spring…” radio broadcast (March 1947)
    First Light Of Spring by Luka Bloom, from the album “Innocence” (2005)
    Gloomy Winter’s Noo Awa’ by North Atlantic Trio, from the album “Some Part Of Something” (2013)
    Echoes From The Gates Of Darkness by Darren Sant
    Spring Warning by Terence Blacker, released online
    “Spring, Spring, you lovely thing…” Harold Peary as The Great Gildersleeve (radio, March 28th 1943)
    Spring Song by Laura Veirs, from the album “Hello I Must Be Going” (2012)
    Spring Season by Amazing Blondel, from the album “Evensong” (1970)
    Farewell Winter by Matthew Tomayko, from the album “Pilgrim Window” (2010)
    The Snows They Melt The Soonest by De-Malebysse (demo)
    Making Maple Syrup ~ Excerpt from “Charles Kuralt’s Spring” read by Charles Kuralt (1997)
    Maple Syrup Time by Pete Seeger, from the album “One Meat Ball” (2006)
    Transformation Of Energy by Night An’Fey
    Antlered Crown And Standing Stone by Damh The Bard, from the album “Antlered Crown and Standing Stone” (2012)
    “This is also a story of Spring…” from “Family Theatre” Radio Drama, April 1951.
    April Fool’s Day by S.J. Tucker, from the album “Blessings” (2008)
    April Come She Will by Tracy Grammar, from the album “Book of Sparrows” (2008)
    Easter Sunday can occur anytime between March 22nd and April 25th…
    The Rochdale Coconut Dance by Threepenny Bit, from the album “Pantomime Cannon” (2014)
    April Song by Jolly Jack, from the album “ Seasons, Ceremonies & Rituals- The Calendar In Traditional Song” (2006)
    April Friend by Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, from the album “Strands Of Gold” (2006)
    Shropshire Lad: Cherry Trees by A. E. Housman (1887)
    Cherry Blossom by Paul McGladdery, released online (2014)
    “What’s it like being in love..?” - radio show (March 1947)
    Spring Cleaning by Fats Waller, (originally release 1937)
    “…Lamb Bites Wolf…”, excerpt from British Newsreel (1949)
    One Morning In May by Kyle Carey, Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker, from the EP “One Morning In May” (2013)
    Sumer Is Incumen In by Richard Thompson, from the album “1000 Years Of Popular Music” (
    One Man’s Morris / Ampthill Sunrise by Life And Times, from the album “Charivari” (2001)
    The Beltane Fire Dance by Beltane Border Morris
    Cotton Hill by Fairytale, from the album “Forest Of Summer” (2015)
    “The Cuckoo comes in April…” Traditional rhyme
    First Cuckoo Of Spring by Danni Nicholls, from the album “A Little Redemption” (2013)
    Weaving The Summer by Spiral Dance, from the album “The Quickening” (2006)
    For full details and links to artists’ websites, see the ShowNotes at www.folkcast.co.uk
    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast Festive Selection Box 2014
    The FolkCast Festive Selection Box - bursting with good things for the season of Christmas, Yule and Saturnalia, with specially selected music and readings.
    Produced and presented by Folkie Phil Widdows featuring Babba and special guest star Ashley Hutchings with an exclusive appearance by Santa Claus.
    Introduction (from “Santa’s Workshop” 1932)
    Could It Be Christmas by Jon Lindsay, single release (2011)
    “Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa!” ~ Bart Simpson.
    The Reindeer Boogie by Hank Snow, single release (1953)
    Sleigh Ride by Christmas Accordion, single release , with “Sly Little Santa” by Mrs CS Stone (1912) .
    Father Christmas Down Hounslow High Street by Robb Johnson & The Irregulars – from the album “The Ghost Of Love - A Christmas Song Suite” (2009)
    St Benedict’s Christmas Fair by Lisa Redford, single release (2013)
    “Shoes”, written and read by Ashley Hutchings, with Christmas Shoes by Saxophone Dreamsound, from the album Sax Christmas (2014) into All I Want For Christmas Is Some Rockin’ Shoes by Johnny Aitken, single release (2009)
    “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candles and nuts we’d all have a merry Christmas!”
    Christmas At Sea by The Longest Johns, from the EP “Christmas At Sea” (2013)
    Winter by John Smith, from the album The Fox And The Monk (2006)
    Christmas In No Man’s Land by Maggie Boyle, from the album “Won’t You Come Away” (2012)
    Silent Night by Andrews Massey, from the album Make Merry (2013) with “The Star”, written and read by Ashley Hutchings.
    Silent Night by Anne Marie Sanderson, single release (2014) with all proceeds to Amnesty International.
    Someone by Barry Allen, from the album “Where The Heart Is” (2012)
    Keep The Flame by Johnny Coppin, single release (2011),
    This Time Of Year (Second Version) by Runrig, from the album Stepping Down The Glory Road (2013)
    “The Queen’s Christmas Message” read by Babba.
    Christmas Rose by Blackheart, single release (2012)
    “Burn Logs Burn” written and read by Ashley Hutchings into Burn Logs Burn, by The Albion Christmas Band, from the album “A Sound In The Frosty Air” (2011)
    Footprints by Bella Hardy, from the album Bright Morning Star (2012)
    “Smoking Bishop” read by Phil & Babba, to Punch by Lunasa, from the album “The Kinnitty Sessions” (2004)
    “Eggnog 1887” read by Babba & Phil.
    Who Spiked The Eggnog? by Straight No Chaser, from the album “Christmas Cheers” (2009)
    The Little Drummer Boy by Ringo Starr, from the album I Wanna Be Santa Claus (1999)
    Carol Of The Bells by Marillion, single release (2014)
    “Extract from ‘Orlando’ by Virginia Woolf”, written and read by Ashley Hutchings.
    God Rest Ye by Andrews Massey, from the album Make Merry (2013)
    “Tinsel” read by Phil & Babba
    Snow White Lies by Zoe Wren, from the album The FolkStock Christmas Present (2014)
    “Boxing Day” read by Phil & Babba
    The Wren Boys’ Song by Nowell Sing We Clear, from the album “Nowell Sing We Four” (2007)
    Good King Wenceslas by Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer, from the album “A Sound Of Christmas Past” (2014)
    Send Phil Some Brandy by Wood, Wire And Words - specially recorded for FolkCast (2014)
    For full details and links to artists’ websites, see the ShowNotes at www.folkcast.co.uk
    Merry Christmas from Everyone at FolkCast. It’s our finger in YULE ear!
    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast Winter Storm 2014
    A storming collection of songs, poetry and prose for the winter 2014/15
    Drive The Cold Winter Away by Green Diesel
    from the album “Wayfarers All”
    Winter Singing by The Imagined Village
    from the album “Bending The Dark”
    The Running Fox by The Young ‘Uns
    from the album “Never Forget”
    Sparrow by Peter Lacey
    from the album “Last Leaf”
    Song For A Winter’s Night by Reid Jamieson
    from the album “Songs For A Winter’s Night”
    I heard a bird sing
    In the dark of December
    A magical thing
    And sweet to remember.
    ‘We are nearer to Spring
    Than we were in September,’
    I heard a bird sing
    In the dark of December.
    ~ Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing
    Winter King by Ninebarrow
    from the album “When The Blackthorn Burns”
    When Springtime Comes Around by Mark Ellis
    from the album “When Springtime Comes Around”
    A Season In Your Arms by Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar
    from the album “The Call”
    December Song by KC Barber
    from the album “Cold Wind Blowing”
    “The shed of leaves became a cascade of red and gold and after a time the trees stood skeletal against a sky of weathered tin. The land lay bled of its colors. The nights lengthened, went darker, brightened in their clustered stars. The chilled air smelled of woodsmoke, of distances and passing time. Frost glimmered on the morning fields. Crows called across the pewter afternoons.”
    ~ James Carlos Blake, Wildwood Boys
    Through The Winter by George Boomsma
    from the EP “Through The Winter”
    “He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter….
    In winter the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity.”
    ~ John Burroughs, The Snow-Walkers
    Red Deer White Snow by Stooshie
    from the album “Stydd”
    “I put up a petition annually, for as much snow, hail, frost, or storm, of one kind or other, as the skies can possibly afford us.
    Surely every body is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a winter fire-side: candles at four o’clock, warm hearth-rugs, tea,
    a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies on the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without…”
    ~ Thomas De Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
    Weather by Rainbow Chasers
    from the album “Chimes At Midnight”
    Icicles by Miranda Sykes
    from the album “Bliss”
    The days are short,
    The sun a spark
    Hung thin between
    The dark and dark.
    Fat snowy footsteps
    Track the floor,
    And parkas pile up
    Near the door.
    The river is
    A frozen place
    Held still beneath
    The trees’ black lace.
    The sky is low.
    The wind is gray.
    The radiator
    Purrs all day.
    ~ John Updyke, January
    Gloomy Winter by Shine
    from the album “Sugarcane”
    “The English winter—ending in July, To recommence in August…”
    ~ Lord Byron
    “There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.”
    ~ Billy Connolly
    Highland Snow by Andi Butler
    from the album “Six Songs”
    “Winter is not a season; it’s an occupation.”
    ~ Sinclair Lewis
    Winter Fever by Kyle Carey
    from the album “North Star”
    Think of winter and think of snows
    but in England that’s not how it goes.
    Here blizzards are as rare as a placid child,
    English winters are wet and mild
    and wild with gales and gnawing damp
    that dull the days and put a cramp
    on life out of doors. So we don’t dash
    through crystal drifts but trudge and splash
    as the rain and drizzle floods and flows
    and dewdrops drip from off our nose.
    Then, soaked and raw, we go home quick
    … and turn the heating up a click.
    ~ Phil Widdows, English Winter
    January Sky by Charlie Mosbrook
    from the album “Something To Believe”
    “Winter is nature’s way of saying, ‘Up yours!’.”
    ~ Robert Byrne
    Harbour View Hotel by Duncan McCrone
    from the album “Colourblind”
    “February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March.”
    ~ Dr. J.R. Stockton
    Storm by Nigel Brown
    from the album “Mother Ivey”
    See the ShowNotes at www.folkcast.co.uk
    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast Halloween Scream 2014: My Babies...
    Greetings, and welcome to the FolkCast Halloween Scream for 2014, a special show featuring My Babies…, an original tale of terror about a folk tradition which, for some, has a gruesome intensity.
    So, this is not suitable for those of a nervous disposition, or whose imaginations tend to get the better of them when darkness falls, the wind howls, and when the veil between the worlds becomes thinnest.
    It’s not something to play to your babies, either. Not yet. Save it until they are old enough to know that what they imagine and what is real are not always the same thing. Not … always.
    BUT, if you’re willing to take the risk of a shiver or a shock, please - lock all your doors and windows, turn off all distractions, sit back and be comfortable for the next 20 minutes while I tell you all about My Babies…
    +~+
    My Babies… is written, presented and produced by Phil Widdows
    Intro music taken from: Jack-O-Lantern Waltz by The Similar Trends – from the album ‘Man In The Moon’
    -
    “Earth/Moon Dance Music”: The Hangman’s Waltz by Daisy Chapman – from the album ‘Shameless Winter’
    -
    Closing Song: The Pumpkin Song (I Long To Be A Jack-O’-Lantern) by Paul Borgese and the Strawberry Traffic Jam – from the album ‘Songs For Halloween’
    See our website: www.folkcast.co.uk
    21 min
  • FolkCast Autumn Crackler 2014
    A hand-gathered harvest of music and poetry for the season.
    Take a walk with us from September to December, through Halloween and Guy Fawkes’ Night.
    Presented and produced by Phil Widdows, featuring readings by Babba and Phil.
    Golden Sun by Phil Manzenera
    from the album “Vozero”
    Silver And Gold by Kim Lowings & The Greenwood
    from the album “This Life”
    Out Of Season by John Conolly
    from the album “Send Us A Postcard”
    Small High Whistle From A Bird by Maia
    from the album “Maia”
    September Road by Jane Thomason
    from the album “September Road”
    Harvest Moon by Peter Lacey
    from the album “Last Leaf”
    Summer Fades by Smoke Fairies
    from the album “Through Low Light And Trees”
    The Man In Green by Show Of Hands
    from the album “Lie Of The Land”
    Trees Turn To Fire by Jon Budworth
    from the album “Trees Turn To Fire”
    Autumn Sounds by The Vessels
    from the album “The Vessels”
    England’s Skies by David Gibb & Elly Lucas
    from the album “Up Through The Woods”
    Setting Sun by Salt House
    from the album “Lay Your Dark Low”
    Birdsong by Ninebarrow
    from the album “When The Blackthorn Burns”
    Autumn Leaves by Feast Of Fiddles
    from the album “Still Live”
    Autumn Leaves by Deborah Rose
    from the album “Soul Be My Soul”
    Harvest by Nick Cook
    from the album “Mistaken”
    October Sky by Taylor Brown Trio
    from the album “Notebook”
    Soul, Soul by John Kirkpatrick
    from the album “Every Mortal Place”
    We’ll Be Ghosts by Brooke Bentham
    single release
    The Ghost On The Moors by Ange Hardy
    from the album “Bare Foot Folk”
    Penny For The Guy by Danny Carnahan and Robin Petrie with The Missing Pieces
    from the album “Cut And Run”
    A Cob-Coaling Medley by The Oldham Tinkers
    from the album “Best O’ T’ Bunch”
    December Snow by The Moody Blues
    from the album “December”
    For full details and links to artists’ websites, see the ShowNotes at www.folkcast.co.uk
    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast Summer Sizzler 2014
    The Summer Sizzler 2014 from FolkCast
    The Soundtrack of the Season!
    Pull up a beach chair, help yourself to barbecue and beer, and enjoy 80 minutes of sizzling summer sounds from FolkCast,
    home of the best in folk, folk-rock, singer-songwriter and roots music!
    Presented and produced by Phil Widdows with interjections from Babba
    Contents
    Sing A Song Of Summer by John Martyn from the album “The Tumbler”
    Springtime Promises by Pentangle, from the album “Basket Of Light”
    “Aaah, summer - that long anticipated stretch of lazy, lingering days, free of responsibility and rife with possibility. It’s a time to hunt for insects, master handstands, practice swimming strokes, conquer trees, explore nooks and crannies, and make new friends.” - Darell Hammond
    Meet You In The Summer by Chris Hardy, from the album “Health To Your Hands”
    “In the Bible when it rained for 40 days and 40 nights they called it a disaster. In England, we call it summer…” - Anon
    Right As Rain by Peter Lacey, from the album “Last Leaf”
    “At the beach, life is different. A day moves not from hour to hour but leaps from mood to moment. We go with the currents, plan around the tides, follow the sun.” - Sandy Gingras.
    Sun Golden Sun by The Tansads, from the album “Rough And Ready: The Early Years”
    Atoms by Runrig, from the album “Everything You See”
    Summer by Broadfoot, from the album “Straight Between Us”
    “It’s summer, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to find out what my friends with swimming pools have been up to since last summer…” - Anon
    The Swimming Song by Fairport Convention, from the album “Old, New, Borrowed, Blue”
    “I go for a short swim at least once or twice every day. It’s either that or buy a new golf ball!” - Gene Perret
    I Have Lately Learned To Swim by 3 Boxes, from the album “Strings Attached”
    In The Summertime by The Peddlers, from the album “Three For All”
    “Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” — Sam Keen
    Inverary Summer Nights by The Clydesiders, from the album “Scottish Folk Songs Of The West”
    Stars Over Cloughanover by The Saw Doctors, single release.
    Skylark by Moonrakers, from the album Beneath The Snow
    - with To A Skylark (excerpt) by John Clare, read by Michael Sheen
    Summer Fires by Ninebarrow, from the album “While The Blackthorn Burns”
    Dunstable Downs by Life And Times, from the album “Charivari”
    - with Summer Solstice Song, written by Sophie Watson, performed by Frejya’s Fire
    Noon Of The Solstice by Damh The Bard, from the album “Spirit Of Albion”
    Lush Green Leaves by Paul McGladdery, from the album “Northwing Sessions 2013”
    “Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jewelled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” - Ada Louise Huxtable
    Down By The Greenwood by Golden Bough, from the album “Contemporary Songs: The Night Wind”
    The Way Through The Woods by David Gibb & Elly Lucas, from the album “Up Through The Woods”
    Summer Outing to Heaton Park, by Ewan MacColl
    This Time by Merry Hell, from the album “BLINK … And You’ll Miss It”
    “Summer afternoon — summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” - Henry James
    Postcard From Summer (instrumental) by Sebastian Owen, download release
    “Now let’s find our own thrill…” - 1946 newsreel
    Wonderland by House Of Hats, from the album “This Love”
    Dog Days by Locomotive Ghost, from the EP “Summer”
    The Summer Lady by Steeleye Span, from the album “Wintersmith”
    Keep focused on FolkCast for the best in folk, folk-rock, singer-songwriter and roots music … all year round!
    1 hr 18 min
  • March Into May! Spring 2014

    FolkCast's second annual celebration of the season of Spring, as told in music, rhyme and verse. Come on, let's set out now on a journey from the death of Old Man Winter to the dawning of a new summer … on the way we'll visit April and Easter as we March Into May!

    The Music and Verse (§)

    Spring Song by Charlie Chaplin

    First Song Of Spring by Paul McGladdery

    It May Be Spring But I Still Need A Coat by The Webb Sisters

    § Spring by Ian Bland (written and recorded exclusively for FolkCast)


    with Dance Of The Demon Daffodils (instrumental) by John Kirkpatrick

    I Saw The Sun Today by Becky Mills

    Come The Springtime by Blue Rose Code

    § Never Mind, March by Anon

    The Springtime Of The Year by John Rutter & The Cambridge Singers

    First Spring Day by Suburban Tribe

    Spring Has Sprung by George Breakfast

    § Excerpt from Two Tramps in Mud Time by Robert Frost


    with The Walk Before Easter (instrumental) by Martin Simpson

    § Blackrod Hawthorn written and spoken by Dogman (aka David Sands)

    One More Day by Skylark Song

    Snowdrops/Birth by Maddy Prior

    § Pace-Egging And Old Tosspot

    Pace-Egging Time by The Watersons

    § Easter by Bill Hicks

    Easter Snow by Christy Moore

    It Can't Be So by Ange Hardy

    Our Stolen Season by Ashley Hutchings (vocals, Emily Slade)

    Let's Misbehave by Irving Aaronson & His Commanders

    § Excerpt from Jeeves In The Springtime by PG Wodehouse

    Poisoning Pigeons In The Park by Tom Lehrer

    Bleed The Maple by Emmett Doyle

    Bluebells by Rosa Rebecka

    § May Day Approaching… by Ewan MacColl

    Northill May Song / Mwynen Mai by Blanche Rowan & Mike Gulston

    The First Of May (instrumental) by James Bell

    Cuckoo's Nest by The Morris On Band

    § May Day In Ducklington by Cecil Sharp

    Cuckoo's Nest (instrumental and dance) by Hunter's Moon Morris

    May Morning by Triangle

    § Why Spring? by Phil Widdows

    A Clown's Heart by Oysterband

    For full details and links to artists' websites, see the Shownotes at www.folkcast.co.uk

    In 2014, spring begins with the vernal equinox on March 20 at 4:57pm GMT

    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast Selection Box 2013
    Music and poetry for the season of Winter, of Christmas & Yuletide.
    Presented by Babba - Produced by Phil Widdows - Readings by Phil Widdows
    Song For A New Beginning by Secret Garden, from the album Winter Poem
    …. with Winter Begins by Phil Widdows
    Winter Song by Anne Marie Almedal, from the album Memory Lane
    Winter Rose by Fairground Attraction, from the album The Very Best Of Fairground Attraction
    …. with Winter Bonus, a limerick…
    Cold Blow December Winds by Winter Wilson, from the album Cutting Free
    Wintersongs by Judy Dyble, from the album Flow And Change
    The Invisible Waltz by Howard Haigh, from the album Ride Forever and A Winter Snowscape by Martin Barre, from the album Stage Left
    …. with London Snow by Robert Bridges
    Bring Us In Good Ale by Maddy Prior And The Carnival Band, from the album A Christmas Caper
    The Company Makes The Feast by Kathryn and Bob Tickell, from the album Northumbrian Voices
    All In The Winter Time by Life And Times, from the album Charivari
    Christmas Bells by Bellowhead
    Gower Wassail by Blast From The Past, from the album A Victorian Christmas
    Wailey Wailer by Jim Causley, from the album Dumnonia
    The Holly & The Ivy by Kerfuffle, from the album Lighten The Dark
    Deck The Halls/Ding Dong by Andrews Massey Duo
    Wexford Carol by Gareth Davies-Jones, from the album Nine Lessons
    North Pole Express by Nick Lowe, from the album Quality Street
    I Believe In Father Christmas by Lisa Redford
    Canadian Christmas Song by Eric Bogle from the album The Dreamer
    That Sleigh by Steve Folk
    It’s This Time Of Year by Neils Cremer
    A Light Out Of The Dark by The Halstead Clan
    Advent Polka/Saint Nick’s Brawl by The Albion Christmas Band, from the album An Albion Christmas
    … with About Socks by Dr Seuss (take #61)
    Big Daddy C by Roy Mette
    We Wish You A Merry Christmas by Brian Brink, from the album Christmas In The Grove
    … with Another Spring by Patience Strong
    We Wish You A Merry Christmas by Bella Hardy, from the album Bright Morning Star
    For full details, see the ShowNotes at www.folkcast.co.uk
    Published December 11th 2013
    This is a FolkCast podcast. All original content is copyright FolkCast 2013 ©
    1 hr 18 min
  • FolkCast Autumn Crackler 2013
    FolkCast Autumn Crackler 2013: a collection of songs and quotations for the season
    "Summer swift becomes memory,
    and autumn falls to the ground
    in a harvest of gold leaf and ripe berries,
    as the year rolls around
    And here is the FolkCast Crackler,
    a harvest of verse and of song,
    a salute to the season's quality
    as the year rolls along."
    The Boys Of Summer by Show Of Hands
    The Green Man by Roy Harper
    “Autumn -- that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness -- that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” ― Jane Austen, Persuasion
    September (Alternative Version) by Nick Cook
    Autumn by Paolo Nutini
    Brambles On A Hill by Ashley Hutchings
    “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ― George Eliot
    Gathering Summer In by Talis Kimberley
    “But then fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September. It stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favourite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.” ― Stephen King, Salem's Lot
    Fire At Midnight by Jethro Tull
    Sparkle Eyes by Gill Sandell
    "Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night." — Hal Borland
    Half The Way by Marco Catracchia
    “It was one of those days you sometimes get latish in the autumn when the sun beams, the birds toot, and there is a bracing tang in the air that sends the blood beetling briskly through the veins.” ― P.G. Wodehouse
    Paris In Spring by Mark Handley
    Mist In Autumn by FolkLaw
    Things Behind The Sun by Luluc
    “Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
    We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!” ― Humbert Wolfe
    Wind That Cracks The Leaves by In Gowan Ring
    Sycamore Tree by Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker
    “October proved a riot; a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween.” ― Keith Donohue
    October by Tuung
    “The tints of autumn: a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.” ― John Greenleaf Whittier
    Autumn Snow by The Last Bison
    “Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself. The leaves as they spark into wild colour just before they die are the world's oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white silence of winter.” ― Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, & Learning the Hard Way
    A Leaf Must Fall (intro) by Prydwyn And Kira with Quickthorn
    Marigold by Maddy Prior
    “Crying, whistling, calling, they skimmed the placid sea and left the shore. Make haste, make speed, hurry and begone; yet where, and to what purpose? The restless urge of autumn, unsatisfying, sad, had put a spell upon them and they must flock, and wheel, and cry; they must spill themselves of motion before winter came.” ― Daphne du Maurier, The Birds & Other Stories
    Migrating Bird by Anthony Thistlethwaite
    Remembrance Day by Mark Knopfler
    "November comes
    And November goes,
    With the last red berries
    And the first white snows.
    With night coming early,
    And dawn coming late,
    And ice in the bucket
    And frost by the gate.
    The fires burn
    And the kettles sing,
    And earth sinks to rest
    Until next spring."
    — Clyde Watson
    November by Steven Lindsay
    Strangers We Meet by The Black Feathers
    1 hr 18 min

About The Festive Selection Box from FolkCast

From the publisher's feed

A special seasonal feed directly to the Festive Selection Box editions of the FolkCast podcast. Here you will find the annual collections of some of the best independent music, plus poems, readings…