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20 Feb 2007:  JK on FREE REED MIDWINTER BOX SET
Before hibernation set in, the eagle eyed amongst may have noticed three JK tracks on the Free Reed 4-CD box set released at the end of last year - "MidWinter" - FRQCD-30 - compiled by Nigel Schofield.

Amongst the dazzling array of hugely varied material you can find two tracks off the 1997 "Wassail!" CD - Fellside Recordings FECD 125 - which features JK + Rosie Cross, Gina le Faux, Jane Threlfall, Carl Hogsden, and Michael Gregory. The songs concerned are "Wassail Song" and "Chariots".

The third item is from the 1978 Free Reed LP "Going Spare", which they promise me really will come out on CD this year! This is the original recording of "Jogging Along With My Reindeer", a track which also made it onto the ADA Recordings 2003 compilation "Nowt so Funny as Folk" - ADA 105CD.

19 Feb 2007:  FANS DEVASTATED BY SNOW CHAOS
The recent bout of heavy snow across the middle of the country caused me to be snowed in here in my rural fastness in deepest Shropshire. Sally and I live up five miles of narrow country lanes that wind remorselessly through twisting hills and valleys before reaching a road wide enough to have a white line down the middle. It's lovely, but we are last on the list when the gritters are out, and though the local farmers do their bit, on this occasion the snow was up over the top of my wellies in places.

I had to miss appearances at Jingles Music Club in Ramsey, near Huntingdon, and Oxford Folk Club, on February 8th and 9th. The organisers of both venues were very kind and understanding, and we hope to fix replacement dates as soon as possible. Nevertheless, if you braved the elements on either of those evenings, please accept my apologies for not making it myself.

Ironically, the 4 × 4 vehicle that stands here for just such an eventuality was booked into the local garage for a repair on the morning of the 8th, and its delicate state meant we couldn't even get that far!

21 Nov 2006:  E-MAIL PROBLEMS MAY BE OVER!
If anyone reading this has tried to get in touch by sending an e-mail through the contact page on the website, you may have noticed a distinct lack of replies. Sometimes this is simply due to my own inefficiency and hectic life-style, but quite a few folks have told me that their messages have been returned as undelivarable. And quite often messages come through as a whole page of heiroglyphics.

Three Degrees West, who design and maintain the website, have recently been through everything with a fine toothcomb, and believe they have sorted this out now. So, if you have not received full satisfaction in the past, please try again, and we'll keep our fingers crossed!

Huge apologies to one and all for this inconvenience. If it still doesn't work, you'll just have to write a letter.

16 Nov 2006:  BRASS MONKEY BACK ON THE ROAD
The four surviving members of Brass Monkey will be out gigging in 2007 - Martin Carthy, Martin Brinsford, Roger Williams, and JK. We've decided to give it a go without attempting to replace our late colleague and dear friend, trumpeter Howard Evans, who died in March. Our last tour, in May 2004, had to be conducted mostly as a four-piece because of the onset of Howard's illness, so we know it works, because we had no choice!

We are doing a couple of numbers at the big Waterson/ Carthy event at The Royal Albert Hall on May 12th, and a tour in October. Booking through Routes Music - see the contacts page for details.