FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE – TRACK LISTING & NOTES 1 FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE – When we need a peaceful place where we can go and sort out life’s muddles, we go walking on the Cleethorpes foreshore between the Leisure Centre and the Pumping Station in the early morning.Well, it’s cheaper than seeing an analyst! 2 BRAID AWAY DOLLY – Written by dear departed Pete Addison in 1972. Pete said: ‘It reflects childhood memories of my mother, who worked as a braider - the smell of Manila twine, filling the needles, the hustle & bustle of the Six Hills Street braiding shop & the assembly shop on Fish Dock Road.’ Braiders, mostly women, made the huge trawl nets for Grimsby’s then thriving deep sea fishing industry. 3 OLD AUSTRALIAN WAYS – Andrew ‘Banjo’ Patterson’s poem set here to Dave’s tune. Best known for ‘Waltzing Matilda’, Patterson left a wealth of verse about his native Australia. Powerful? We’re British, & even we feel homesick for the Outback when we sing this! 4 WHISKY IN THE JAR – A familiar Irish song, set here to a ‘new’ tune. 5 DORSET FOREARM SMASH – OK it’s silly - & yes, the ‘Dorset’ accent is atrocious, but there’s really no other way to sing it! For non-dancers the titular reference is to a very lovely traditional dance known as the Dorset Four-Hand Reel, usually danced to this tune. 6 LINCOLNSHIRE’S FLAT – Is it? Only in parts - see the CD cover picture. Those who know us also know we love Lincolnshire a great deal. But true love implies complete knowledge & acceptance of the object of that love – warts & all! 7 LINCOLNSHIRE LANDSCAPES – There you are – we told you we loved Lincolnshire! 8 THAT’S WHERE I’LL BE – This gift of a song from Julie is a tribute to all absent friends, but especially Heather Carter. Fond memories. 9 THE ROPEWALK – Hall’s Barton Ropeworks survived 250 years until closing in the 1980s. From simple twine to enormous maritime cables, the factory’s products were world renowned for their variety & quality. Here we trace the careers of two imaginary workers. 10 FUNNY HOW THEY NEVER PLUGGED ME IN – In part inspired by the 1950s film ‘The Man In The White Suit’. But what would really happen if someone came up with a way to completely eliminate drudgery? 11 GIVE ME A REASON – Ever had that Monday morning feeling? If only … 12 NO MAN OF MINE – When tragedy strikes a working family – whatever the industry – the instinct is often to turn away from the dangers. But life isn’t always that simple, is it? 13 EARLY ONE SPRING – From several sources kindly researched by fine traditional singer Arthur Knevett in 2004, most of these verses appear in the 1983 Lincolnshire & Humberside Arts publication ‘21 Lincolnshire Folk Songs’ collected by Percy Grainger & edited by Patrick O’Shaughnessy. Collected from William Roberts at Burringham-on-Trent on 30th July 1906, the bitterness of the jilted young sailor strikes through clearly in these few short stanzas. 14 MEMIADLUK & UCKALUK – Written after a visit to Hull’s fascinating Maritime Museum. Horrible as the whaling industry was, some kindly Christian whaling men did what they could to help the poor Innuit whom they encountered on their bloody voyages. (We mean no disrespect in our use of the term ‘Eskimo’ here – only to reflect the language of the 1840s.) 15 WASTELAND – Written in the early 1980s when we were active members of HAND – Humberside Against Nuclear Dumping. The threat to dump low-level nuclear waste in North Lincolnshire was suddenly removed to coincide with a general election. But the rush we are soon likely to see to embrace nuclear energy still ignores the threat posed by its potentially deadly waste to future generations. 16 AT THE CAFÉ DANSANT ON A FRIDAY NIGHT – In the 1950s & 60s the Café Dansant was a popular venue for the youngsters of Grimsby & Cleethorpes to ‘bop the night away’. Where this thriving nightspot stood is now paved over. Still, when walking the dogs we sometimes fancy we can hear those ghostly revellers … Incidentally, around here we used to pronounce it: the ‘Caffy Dansunt’.