The Fuse Festival in Lichfield started out as a kind of Fringe to the Lichfield Festival… Well, on that basis, the Wayside Serenaders are a Fringe to the Fringe… albeit a Fringe of one band. A single-strand fringe, if you like, straggling across the bald pate of the woebegone…

We’ll be busking this Saturday (9 July) afternoon for your pleasure somewhere in Beacon Park so that as you make your way from town past the tennis courts and on towards the Fuse Festival marquees up beyond the sports fields you can make your promenade in step with the loping beat of Dead Skunk, the rapid run of Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door or the louche funereal-step of St James Infirmary. Other options include joining those Saints as they Come Marching In or high-stepping Just A Closer Walk With Thee.

Look out for our motley band between 2.30 and 3.30pm.

And if you are around earlier, do check out our good friend the Lichfield Gospel Choir who are on stage in one of the Fuse marquees at 12.30pm.

…and they met unexpectedly at Speakers’ Corner in Lichfield.

The Rev J Olly Glum was busy plucking at nylon string and pulling on broom handle when Kath From Huddersfield happened to stroll by in the company of her bowls-playing, Lichfield-resident mum.

Kath From Huddersfield, who plays in a blues-skiffle outfit called Hokum, had been collecting bird feathers to use as quills with her writing group, but was persuaded to swap feathers for tea chest briefly, sitting in with the Serenaders for a run-through of Mama Don’t Allow.

And here she and they are (once again Rev Glum has failed hopelessly in his videoing, leaving Kath From Huddersfield hidden behind her own hand for much of the video. He offers his apologies):

If you want to find out what Kath From Huddersfield and Hokum are up to, their Facebook page is here:

https://www.facebook.com/HokumHudds

Supreme tea-chest builder and decorator Andrew Paterson RA*, inspired by his proximity at the time to the ocean – well, the English Channel anyway – requested a sea shanty (cf: comment on yesterday’s post).

And we’re happy to oblige! Apologies in advance for the Rev J. Olly Glum’s inept video work:

• We are pleased to remind other tea chest players that Mr Paterson has signed an exclusivity deal in perpetuity with the Wayside Serenaders so approaching him for similar would be a complete waste of time… As the Rev J Olly Glum so often says: “Get your own bloody artiste!”

Most of the Wayside Serenaders will be at Speakers’ Corner, beside Minster Pool in Lichfield tomorrow between approximately 11am and 1pm.

There may be four of us, there may be five. Alas, we’ll be without the multi-instrumental skills and deadpan demeanour of Ian Doleful – he’ll be reading the runes of the Roman ruins of Wall – but those Serenaders present will be doing their utmost to fill the multiple spaces left by his absence.

Do pop along to see us.

The Wayside Serenaders’ branding is now complete – and don’t you like our new motto: “Musica Longa Vita Brevis”? Yes, you can take the “Graveside” out of the band name but our brief time upon this earth should never be denied.

As always, the hugest of huge thanks to our loyal artiste, Mr Andrew Paterson RA, for a sterling job with pen and ink.

(Ankle and foot: model’s own)

… or actually, when the Wayside Serenaders are involved, not muck but just ineptitude. See the Rev. J. Olly Glum fail to play the baritone horn – plus other spectacular misjudgements – when we again take to the streets – more specifically, Speakers’ Corner, beside Minster Pool in Lichfield – this Saturday, 11 June, between about 11am and 1pm.

Coincidently – or should that be contrastingly? – it’s the Lichfield Jazz & Blues Festival this weekend, where you will be able to see musicians who can actually play their instruments… and sing in tune…

Horses for courses, eh?

The Wayside Serenaders, with their new six-person line-up, had a jolly time at Speakers’ Corner on Saturday. Here is a picture:

And here are a couple of videos:

Many thanks to Gerbo Huisman for the vids, pic and for his enduring enthusiasm.

The Wayside Serenaders will be playing at Speakers’ Corner, beside Minster Pool, Lichfield, tomorrow (Saturday 21 May) from about 11am to about 1pm. Do drop by on your way to or from the shops, while taking a breather on your morning run, after having brunch at a cafe or before going for a lunchtime pint.

We might have some new tunes to play… and perhaps a new instrument too. And I think it is safe to assert that you will not hear two Swanee whistles in harmony anywhere else in town!

… or to be more accurate, on the pavement again. The Wayside Serenaders will be at Speaker’s Corner or thereabouts, beside Minster Pool in Lichfield, this Saturday, 16 April, from about 11am to about 12.45pm. Why not drop past for a little sing-song when you’ve done your Easter egg shopping or picked up your leg of lamb ready for the Easter Sunday feast?

Oh! And we have new “business” cards which include our new website address. Mind you, if you are reading this, you already know that!

We’ve changed our name! The original one seemed like a good idea back in the late teens of the 21st century when all the world felt complacent in its invincibility and the words “memento mori” might have been a useful warning to all. Now, with the dreaded C-19 having brought our limited time and fragile place on this planet into sharp relief, the name Graveside Serenaders seems like an unnecessary reminder of our mortality.

But we continue to be Serenaders, we continue to busk alongside the byways of this fair land and we do it in an old-fashioned manner, so we’re adopting the descriptor Wayside instead.

With the weather warming up, we hope to see you along the way very soon…