Donovan may have sung of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man, but last night we heard his female counterpart. She was one of ten or so musicians gathered for Folk Night at a pub. The ensemble consisted of squeeze boxes, spoons, penny whistles, an Irish harp, autoharp, a pedal organ, guitars.

Granted, there were bits where they were “singing songs of luh-uh-uhve” but actually there were more sea chanties and traditional folk tunes, music hall oldies and a few original numbers. High level of musicianship and an attentive audience (save one obnoxious drunk).

What’s a hurdy-gurdy, you ask? Imagine tossing a violin, a keyboard and a mandolin into a bowl, adding a crank and making the resultant music sound like a quiet bagpipe. Glad you asked, now, aren’t ya?

It’s a bowed stringed instrument with a keyboard pressing wedges of wood against some strings while other strings are drones. The crank provides the bowing of the strings, and the keyboard provides the pitch changes equivalent to a fret board. Oh yeah, and the player can choose to add the distinctive buzzing sound to one of the drone strings. Or not, if they *like* the audience.

Got to love an instrument with parts called the dog, tangents, and tyrants.

So, the same musician also sang, played squeeze box, and spoons. At one point, she pulled out a bag and changed her shoes. Thought it was a bit weird until she got up and cleared space. A dancing demonstration followed with footwork from the Lake District.

The pedal organist played a few bawdy songs from the music hall genre including one in which we learn the girl’s boyfriend married her Mum and now she has to call him Father.