Troon, Banksy, a song about banjos, A bargain lunch and the Beatcrofting show as usual
It’s my last day in Troon on a visit constrained by travel and locum issues. Susan has had to go back home early to sort out medical cover for her GP practice, and we had limited time in That Scotland due to difficulties getting the car booked onto the ferry.
Space, for vehicles and especially when it comes to cabin accommodation for passengers (the Shetland ferry takes between 12 and 14 hours and is overnight), has become very problematic, and these days I take the precaution of packing a ‘survival bag’ in case I have to crash out on the bar floor or am consigned to one of the so-called ‘pods’ NorthLink provide at extra cost (basically a reclining seat). Susan used it last night – neck pillow, fleece blanket, silk sleeping bag liner, inflatable footstool, earplugs, eye mask) and has made it home in one piece, just about. I have a cabin tomorrow night. I think. I hope.
Anyway, this week has been busy, visiting weans and grandweans, seeing pals and taking in the truly excellent Banksy Cut and Run exhibition at GOMA in Glasgow. I’m not going to talk much about it – the wonder of it comes in the many surprises – but just to say Martha, Susan and I found it inspirational and moving, as well as funny and infuriating.
That day we had a superb lunch at The Spanish Butcher in Miller Street, but standout in terms of munch value this week was a trip to the Harbour Bar in Troon’s Templehill – two courses, £8.10. Chilli and home-made chicken and rice soup. Loads of decent bread. Also some memorabilia from the Ailsa Shipyard, mainstay, along with the Barassie Railway Works and the shipbreakers, of the Troon economy when I was growing up here.
If you’re looking for the Beatcrofting radio show, it’s coming up! Keep scrolling. Meanwhile, here’s a song I’ve been playing with for years but have never made public until now. Played on Susan’s Auntie’s ukulele banjo (she was a professional musician aboard the Whtie Star Liners for some time). The link is to a Mixcloud stream of the track. Apologies to all banjoists
!
Please don’t Bring your Banjo
(The Hostess’s Plea to Her Brother the Musician)
Please don’t bring your banjo when you come
We appreciate the way you pluck and strum
We all admire your clawhammer technique
Your bluegrass version of The Lord’s My Shepherd is unique
You prefer the five string to the four
I like the sound of conversation more
Your fingerpicking is a real delight
And causes hardly any arguments or serious fights
Please don’t bring your banjo
Please don’t bring your banjo
Please don’t bring your banjo when you come
I do not wish to sound the least bit mean
But a banjo’s different from a trampoline
For when jumping on a banjo it is true
There no need for anyone to take off their boots or shoes
And where do banjo player play the best?
It’s not really a question, it’s a test
But the best place a banjoist can go and play
Is in the fast lane of the nearest busy motorway
So are you sure you really have to go?
You didn’t even bring your banjo
Thank you – be sure and come back when you can
I’m sure the doctors can extract that badly wedged bodhran
Please don’t bring your banjo
Please don’t bring your banjo
Please don’t bring your banjo when you come
And finally, this week’s Beatcrofting on Mixcloud as promised.
https://www.mixcloud.com/tom-morton2/beatcrofting-from-60-north-radio-14-july-2023/
Joe McAlinden — Sparkle
Shane McGowan and the Popes — Haunted
Jackson Browne and Ray Davies — Waterloo Sunset
Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band — Kismet
Daniel Lanois — The Maker
Tristen — A Case of You
June Tabor, Oysterband — Love Will Tear Us Apart
Nick Lowe — Lately I’ve Let Things Slide
The Spooky Men’s Chorale — Crossing the Bar
Little Village — Do You Want My Job
Shleby Lynne, Alison Moorer — Not Dark Yet
Geraint Watkins — Heaven Only Knows
Patti Scialfa — Spanish Dancer
Hope you’re doing OK. Speak next week.
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