Reports

FOOLS GOLD - ‘’The Blaydon Races’’ 15th April

This week we welcomed the return of ‘Fools Gold’ - a folk singing duo who combine the telling of some interesting historical facts with appropriate folk songs, this week they were telling us about the Blaydon Races of 1862. The Blaydon Race is now a popular long distance run but began life in 1811 until 1865 as a horse race.
Fools Gold took us through its’ history telling us tales of many characters associated with it over the years. George Ridley wrote the famous song and a Cumbrian called William C Irving painted the well known picture featuring many of the people featured in their talk and the subject of many of their songs. These characters included Cushy Butterfield, Tommy on the Bridge, Coffee Johnny, Sawdust Jack and John Spencer.
Fools Gold are talented musicians with lovely voices and a humorous way of re-telling old folk tales and left the members enthralled. We enjoyed hearing about John Spencer the Hawker with the extraordinarily loud voice, of Tommy on the Bridge - a beggar who lived on the swing bridge straddling 2 towns and thus keeping out of trouble from both, and many more.
We are already looking forward to their next visit.