Off The Beaten Tracks 1 May 2023

A radio show for May Day and the week following it. Tune in from Monday at 1pm or 8pm on Ginger Feather FM or listen whenever you like on Mixcloud. 

Iona Lane plays at More Music in Morecambe on Saturday the 6th of May. 

The Levellers - One Way 
Grace Petrie - Farewell to Welfare 
The Proclaimers - Cap In Hand 
Richard Thompson - King Henry 
Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forward 
Steve Knightley - All Quiet on the Western Front 
Fil Campbell & Tom McFarland - Day's Gonna Come 
James J Turner - Watching You 
Kim Edgar - Absent Father 
First Aid Kit - King of the World 
Frank Turner - Haven't Been Doing So Well [Acoustic]
The Trials of Cato - As Green As You 
The Proclaimers - The World That Was 
Iona Lane - Headspace 
Peatbog Faeries - Wacko King Hako 

OTBT Lancaster Music Mix

A mix from 2019 this week on Ginger Feather FM as I was unable to record a show last week due to our house being rewired. Tune in every day at 1pm and 8pm. 

Iona Lane - Brown Eyes
The Low Countries - Sun Street
Moonlight Gazette - Dinaresade
Idiot Johnson - Good Things Never Last
Dog Daisies - Carehome
Dan Haywood - Suspicious Farms
The Broken-Hearted Few - I Don't Think I Love You
Jo Gillot - Traveling Raft
Paddy Garrigan & The Stroller Priests - Sea Monsters
Stuart Anthony & Larry Beckett - Exile and the Kingdom
Howard Haigh - Reflections
Mikey Kenney - The Path I Walk Upon
Nino's Blue Saloon - We're Leaving Tonight
David J Kelly - The High Road

The Wicker Bin

It was a Monday afternoon in 1981. I was in 6th year and for those of us not involved with the CCF (playing at being soldiers etc) we had to kill forty minutes, after the last lesson of the day had ended, before we were allowed to go home. So that meant you either sat in your classroom, went to the library or to the Sixth Form Common Room. 

On that particular day I headed to the common room which was fairly quiet. There was a group of lads sitting in the corner including GJ who was a prefect, or ephor as they were called at my school. I sat across the room from them doing nothing much when suddenly I heard a voice saying, "Let's put Bertie (my nickname) in that bin." Before I could escape, they were round me and put me, arse first, in a large wicker paper basket. I decided not to put up a struggle as I was outnumbered and it was done in good humour.

Then one of them said, "Let's put him up by the window." This was on a shelf about four or five feet off the ground above a small cupboard under the window. So there I sat with my knees up to my chin unable to move. Any attempt to get out of the basket would have resulted in me falling to the floor and probably getting quite badly hurt, so I stayed put. I did ask them for a book which they gave me and they returned to their seats in the corner of the room.

After a while I looked out of the window and saw a teacher approaching. As he came to the outer door into where the common room was, he looked up at me in disbelief. I told the lads that he was about to come in and of course, they didn't believe me. Moments later the door opened and in walked said teacher. I should say at this point that he had a reputation for being very strict and did not put up with any nonsense. When the lads saw him, I imagine they were more or less shitting themselves. 

The teacher looked up at me and came out with words that have stuck in my memory ever since - "What are you doing up there?" to which all I could say was, "They put me up here, sir."

The lads were then instructed to get me down and received a good bollocking with GJ getting a particular telling off, what with him being an ephor. 

And the moral of the story is, if you're going to put someone in a basket for a laugh, don't put them where an authority figure can see them. You're just asking for trouble that way.

Off The Beaten Tracks 17 April 2023

Tune in at 1pm or 8pm from Monday on Ginger Feather FM or listen on Mixcloud.

IMAR - Bangers
Janice Burns & Jon Doran - False True Love 
Kaela Rowan - Lord Gregory 
John Renbourn & Wizz Jones - Getting There 
Damien O'Kane - The Close of an Irish Day 
Lady Maisery - Katy Cruel 
Megson - We Are Better Than This 
Bob Fox - From Me To You 
Barrule - Engage!
IMAR - The Tree of Life 
Skinner and T'witch - England's Spring 
Paddy Garrigan & The Stroller Priests - The Museum of Forgotten Songs
Turnstone - Islington 
Dog Daisies - Carehome 

Off The Beaten Tracks 10 April 2023

Playlist for the Ginger Feather FM show - on at 1pm and 8pm daily - for the week starting the 10th April. You can also listen on Mixcloud.

The Waterboys - The Raggle Taggle Gypsy

Darwin Song Project - Jemmy Button 

Sandy Denny - Ecoute Ecoute 

The Young 'Uns - Three Dads Walking 

Chris Leslie - Old Marlborough 

Davy Graham - Sally Free and Easy 

Eliza Carthy & The Restitution - Mr Magnifico 

Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage - Santa Fe Trail 

Seth Lakeman - Poor Man's Heaven 

Pippa Reid-Foster - The Mermaid Song 

Nic Jones - The Humpback Whale 

Fairport Convention - Crazy Man Michael 

Led Zeppelin - Tangerine 

Off The Beaten Tracks 3 April 2023

This week's show has two tracks from the new album by Fil Campbell & Tom McFarland titled Shoreline. Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday the 3rd of April on Ginger Feather FM

John Martyn - Don't Think Twice, It's Alright 
Simon & Garfunkel - The Times They Are A-Changin' 
Martin Stephenson - You Belong To Blue 
Rab Noakes - I Had A Girlfriend 
Patsy Matheson - Water Is Over The Weir 
Kris Drever - If Wishes Were Horses 
Linda Thompson - Do Your Best for Rock 'n Roll 
Neil Young - Field of Opportunity 
David Crosby - Almost Cut My Hair (demo) 
Findlay Napier - King Kong's Visit to Glasgow 
Fil Campbell & Tom McFarland - People 
Fil Campbell & Tom McFarland - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 
Karine Polwart - Salters Road 
Will Pound and Jenn Butterworth - Beggarman 
Afro Celt Sound System - Amber