Whilst I have no connection with the company, I
see California-based 'Festival Tours International'
(run by Richard Thompson's wife, Nancy Covey)
are offering what looks like an interesting two week
UK tour next year (4th - 18th August '02) to celebrate,
Fairport Convention's 35th Anniversary! see
http://www.gumbopages.com/festivaltours/
Here are some of the proposed Itinary Highights -
(Nancy [EMAIL PROTECTED] tells me prices should
be available in October). Hoped some jmdlers
might be interested (and perhaps we can add on
a London jmdl get together - before, after, or along
the way).
PaulC
from their website:
>>>>
Join us on our unique trip to England
and Scotland. Visit the Britain the
tourists don't see, with music as our
focus and musicians as our personal
guides. We will take long walks
through the countryside and have
fireside visits as friends open their
homes and villages to us for special
concerts arranged just for our trip.
We'll meet and mix with the locals and
discover Britain from a new and
definitely non-tourist approach, while
travelling to some of the most
beautiful places in the British Isles.
Unlike most tours, our schedule is
always loosely structured and open
to the spontaneity of friends,
musicians and events which are often
times not planned far in advance ...
Sunday - Tuesday, August 4 -6 - London
We begin our trip with a private
moonlit dinner cruise down the
Thames as we watch the sights
and lights of Big Ben and the
spectacular Houses of
Parliament. Be serenaded by
special guest musicians such as
Loudon Wainwright III, Iain
Matthews, Jerry Donohue or the
Albion Band. There will be plenty
of free time here in London to
explore this fascinating city.
Visit the Tower of London,
wander the famous museums,
enjoy a sumptuous afternoon tea
or stroll through one of London's
many beautiful green parks. In
the evenings enjoy the spirits in
a cozy pub, catch a gig in one of
the clubs or see some of the best
theatre productions in the world.
Wednesday, August 7 -
Banbury
Travel to the beautiful Cotswold
countryside. We'll stop at a
picturesque village for lunch in a
thatched village pub. Then spend
the afternoon with FAIRPORT
band members swapping stories
and sipping ale over a pub lunch.
Wednesday night we'll have
tickets for Fairport's
pre-festival warmup concert in
the small town of Banbury. These
warmup gigs are always sold out
and are often times some of the
best concerts you'll ever hear
from the band!
Thursday - Saturday, August
8-10 - Cropredy
The weekend will be spent at the
Fairport Convention Reunion
Festival, which takes place on a
grassy field overlooking the
rolling hills outside the village of
Cropredy. This will be the 35th
anniversary of Fairport
Convention, so it will be very
special, and a real "reunion" of
former Fairport members!
Special guests will include
Richard Thompson among others
yet to be announced.
Sun & Mon, August 11-12 - Yorkshire Dales...
Drive north through the green
English countryside to the heart
of Wensleydale (yes, home of the
cheese) in the high rolling hills of
the Yorkshire Dales. Today enjoy
our R&R at Simonstsone Hall, an
18th Century former shooting lodge
with magnificent views over the fells,
near Hawes, one of the most
picturesque towns in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire is the home to great
traditional musicians including
Martin Carthy and the Watersons.
Tonight will be a private musical
treat just for us.
Tue & Wed, August 13 - 14 - Scotland!
Details to be determined!
Thurs- Sun, August 15 - 18 - Edinburgh
The capital of Scotland since the
12th Century, the magnificent city
of Edinburgh is built around its
world-famous castle. This time
of year the city truly comes alive
with the Edinburgh International
Festival which is the biggest arts
festival in the world. Throughout
the city there are literally thousands
of presentations of music, theatre,
dance and art. You'll have plenty
of free time to "do" the festival at
your own pace. Saturday afternoon
we'll all gather one last tim to enjoy
an afternoon high tea! The tour
"officially" ends Sunday, but you
can add extra days at the end
(or beginning) of your trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Festival Tours International
Nancy Covey * Joey Thompson * Carole Raye
15237 Sunset Blvd., Suite 17, Pacific Palisades,
CA 90272
Fax/Tel (818) 346-5146 (310) 454-4080
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WWW: http://www.gumbopages.com/festivaltours/
BCM Festival Tours, London WC1N 3XX
Fax: 0207 435-7779
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
