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Join Mike for a very special 'Parson and the Songmen' this time around! It's not every day that you happen to get to the chance to have a chat with one of the world's leading mandolinists, composers and all round wit, but this is just what Mike did recently when he met up with Simon Mayor.

Taken from Simon Mayor's biog on his website mandolin.co.uk Please visit for info on all of his work, gigs, workshops, projects, CDs etc

'As well as being an incredible mandolin player, Simon is a fine fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. Whether with long-time partner Hilary James or his group The Mandolinquents, his live performances blend dazzling musicianship with poetry both poignant and playful, and a ready supply of humorous anecdotes and off-the-cuff wit. His stages have ranged from primary schools to classical, folk and literature festivals worldwide, and as featured mandolin soloist at orchestral concerts'.

So, sit back, make yourself comfy, and join Mike and Simon now in this latest episode of 'The Parson and the Songmen'.

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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In this fifth episode of the third series of The Parson and the Songmen, Mike explores Sabine's second autobiography 'Further Reminiscences'. In the book he discovers a song that seems to have , astonishingly, escaped Baring-Gould's keen censorship in order to make his song collection, as he put it, 'fit for Christian ears to hear!' 

If the song had been through 'the cleansing process', then did the Reverend Gentleman think it was a fair reflection of society, or was it, indeed, just overlooked?

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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Firstly, Many Happy Returns to The Parson And The Songmen as it celebrates its Second Birthday with its Fiftieth Episode!

In this special episode Mike tells the story of how a song collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould made it into the British pop charts and peaked at No.3 no less!! What the Reverend Gentleman would have thought of Elvis (No.1), The Drifters (No.2) and Cliff Richard (No.4) who surrounded him at the top of the chart we will never know, but I bet he would have been chuffed that one of 'his songs' had reached such a huge audience.

Well, here's to the next fifty episodes of The Parson and the Songmen.

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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The songs published in Songs From The West by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould were wholly collected, or particular to, Devon and Cornwall. But what to do with the songs sent to him from other parts of England and beyond?

Sabine never discarded these songs, but put them to one side as they were of interest and too good to be lost and these resulted in a new publication

Join Mike now as he tells the story of how this book came into being, which The Reverend Gentleman titled 'A Garland Of Country Song'. 

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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The publication of folk songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould in Devon and Cornwall made them accessible to the general public, but left Sabine wondering just how he could reach an even wider audience?

His answer was to get on the road for a series of 'gigs' that were were probably the first ever traditional folk song tour of England!

Phew! Rock and Roll....

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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Spring has arrived here in North Devon, and it would seem to have had quite an effect on Mike who is full of vim and vigour ( or possibly something stronger...)

In this first episode of the the third series of The Parson and the Songmen we are back in Devon to celebrate spring, and there is a distinctive feminine theme running through the podcast.

Confused? Well let's find out where Mike will lead us now. Happy listening!

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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Hardly seems a year since the last compilation of music from the first series. But yer us be! Season Two is now complete and we'll finish off in viddy style with the now customary(!) selection of songs from the shows. Geddon Boy!

Here is the track listing, or click on CHAPTERS (above) if you want to go to an individual track.

1. The Highwayman
2. Glory Of The West
3. The Village Shop
4. Tristan's Lament
5. Come My Lads
6. The Merrymaid
7. Medhel An Gwins
8. I Rode My Little Horse
9. Bold Gambling Boy
10. The Legend Of Tamara
11. The Ivy And The Holly
12. Mademoiselle Parisott's Hornpipe

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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Well, we've missed All Fool's Day by a day, but let's celebrate this custom anyway. In this podcast Mike takes a look into its origins and tells some stories about one of Cornwall's great historical pranksters, as recorded by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould. 

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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Recently, Mike went to visit the force of nature that is Moe Keast at her home in Bodmin, Cornwall. Moe is a traditional singer and storyteller and has been a regular at Bodmin Folk Club, with a short break for bringing up children, almost since the first evening in 1968! 

Moe has been  a Cornish Bard for 25 years under the name of 'Myrgh Cana Hengovek',  translating as, 'Daughter of Traditional Singing', and is very proud of her Cornish Heritage. She has played many festivals including Sidmouth, Whitby and Lorient in Brittany and has appeared in all the Celtic Countries. Moe seems to be part of the very earth of Cornwall, and is certainly, One Of A Kind!

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857

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Gool Peran Lowen! Or for those whose Cornish may be a little rusty, Happy St Piran's Day!

St Piran is generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall and the 5th March is St Piran's Day which is celebrated in Cornwall in much the same way as St Patrick's Day is celebrated in Ireland.

But who was St Piran, and why is he so special to the Cornish? Find out now in this twenty-second episode of the second series of 'The Parson and the Songmen'. 

Support the show

*PLEASE VISIT MY NEW WEBSITE mikebosworth.uk Lots of info about my connection to folk music and The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould as well as upcoming gigs, contact details etc AND A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO CLIPS AND BUY A COPY OF MY CD ' By Chance It Was'.
*Jon Tidball, podcast series producer - [email protected].
*Please follow the facebook page for these podcasts:
https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Parson-and-the-Songmen/100093220748945/
*Thimblerigg videos on YouTube for more songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thimblerigg+videos
*Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group - 1924 to 2024 for more https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/
*Simon Mayor. Hugely acclaimed mandolin player, fiddle player, guitarist, composer, poet and wit. mandolin.co.uk *Mike O'Connor. Cornish-based musicologist, folk singer and story-teller.
http://www.lyngham.co.uk/
*Barbara Griggs. Harpist and early music specialist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Arganteilin-Harp-Cornwall/dp/0954106857