Author: Lucy Simister

These are your only days

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

Forgive me for being a bit philosophical today but I’ve just released a track on YouTube that means a great deal to me. It’s a folk song called Only Days and it was inspired by our photo album.

Everybody has favourite photos that capture a moment, an image that brings the memories back of happy times, on holiday or at family gatherings, a picture that crystallizes and experience and freezes it in time. This song flips through our personal photos. I know that your experiences though different from ours – and the images snatched at the time will do the same for you and I urge you to get that album out and have look into your history. Relive those heart-warming moments from the past. For us, Only Days allow us to do just that.

I beg you to realise that making memories is what life is all about – or at least it should be.

This song started with early camping trips – we didn’t have a lot of money when the kids were little – and we would take off for a few days sometimes only a few miles down the road and pitch a tent, just to give the kids the experience of camping. Even the nettle stings and the insect bites were a part of the memories of it all!

We’ve had the great good fortune to travel quite widely and so the song mentions some of those memories too – for these experiences I will be eternally grateful. When we were in Thailand the owner of the cabin we stayed in invited us to join him while he planted a tree. I would like to revisit and see how our tree is doing now! It was quite a few years ago now so I bet it’s grown! We felt deeply honoured to have been a part of that experience. It feels like we have left a little bit of ourselves planted there!

Think about your own experiences! Go out and make new ones. Next time you look out of the window and the weather is shocking (as indeed it is while I am typing this!) get your coat on and go for a walk. By yourself or with someone – get out there and see what experiences might be waiting to greet you. You never know when a story will present itself to you – a story that you can relate to friends, that you can exaggerate for laughs.

Make the most of your lives. This quote, usually attributed to Confucius, says it all: “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one” 

Go out and do something outrageous, courageous, amazing, fantastic – brave – bold and above all KIND.

Please have a listen to the song and if you like it give us the thumbs up and subscribe to our channel – it helps us a lot and encourages us to write and perform more music which is what we love doing.

And if you don’t know what to do – do something. Life isn’t going to come around asking if you want to come out to play – you have to go looking for it.

Go West!

Featured by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

SO this weekend was a tad busy – though I am not complaining!

Aboard the Golden Hind in Brixham
Aboard the Golden Hind in Brixham

We choose the life of itinerant folk musicians. It can be exhausting but it is so rewarding! This weekend we played a gig for a private party on board the fabulous Golden Hind in Brixham Devon and I dare say a good time was had by all! It’s true to say that it feels like a home from home for us – playing as we do lots of shanties and songs of

the sea alongside some more land bound folk music! We started the evening play ing through the PA but then took the music to the audience and lead them in dancing and hornpipes – as well as singing a few rowdy sea shanties – and a lovely bunch of people they were too, all too willing to join in and sing with gusto!

Cornwall Folk Festival

Then as soon as we’d struck the last note and sung the last syllable we heaved all the gear off the ship as if we were looting treasure and chucked into the stagecoach – well the car actually, and thundered down the lanes to Cornwall. The lanes being mostly the A38. It was about two hours drive from us, not a big drive in the scheme of things but after throwing ourselves into a gig I’d generallly prefer to retire with a glass of the black stuff in my hand – but no, ’twas not to be! Go West came the cry, Go west! Cornwall beckons!

This was our second year at the Cornwall Folk Festival and I think I would have to say it might be my favourite. It is held in Wadebridge, a pretty town in North Cornwall and it is a very well organised event. The music is incredibly varied. with loads of very talented and versatile musicians – playing not just folk music – blues, apalachian, singer songwriters, skiffle, you name it – every kind of music made an appearance!

Our slot this year was on what they call “Shanty Street” a collection of small venues around the town and we were stationed outside the Molesworth Arms pub and our very capable sound man Mark was kind enough to take the above video during our performance.

Check out our YouTube channel here to listen to more shanties and folk songs!

Interesting Folk…

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

Since our last post we have been keeping busy indeed! It seems a while ago since I got around to posting about our wee tour around the UK!

Back in te middle of July we were in sunny Exmouth – and I can tell you that they really put on a show there! If you haven’t visited Exmouth in Devon and you happen to be nearby get along and see the place – the folk there are friendly and will welcome you as they did us. We played our usual brand of folk songs of the sea, and a couple of shanties – and the audience were up for a party! They joined in and sang along. I’d have to add what a great community they are down that way. The festival was more of a general music festival with every type of music available so keep an eye out for next year’s offering – it will be well worth it!

The at the end of the month we made the epic journey to Withernsea. A lovely little place north of Hull but unfortunately rain stopped play! With the best will in the world there isn’t a lot of point in performing when the audience clear off home to take shelter! Still – nice people and good vibes even if we ended up a little damp!

In the meantime we have been busy on our YouTube channel and have uploaded a few new folk and traditional maritime tunes:

Check out this one for example – Bully in the Alley

This an old favourite with as many versions as there are shanty crews!

And here is a very old folk song – the Night Visitor – beautiful and mysterious in my view – and while you may think that is a song about infidelity, you may change your view when you learn that this is a folk ballad from a tradition of ‘night visitor ‘ songs that often describe a visitor from beyond the grave – and then the song takes on a far greater poignancy.

Anyway give it a listen and do please remember to subscribe to our channel and like/comment on any – especially if you have song suggestions that you would like us to perform – always happy to oblige!

Our next little outing will be next week – 16th August 2025 – when we will be trekking up to Morecambe for their annual maritime music festival. We will be playing three slots there so check out the programme and get along to see us if you can!

Tarra all and take care XX

Further news from the Birdcage

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

One week today – there will be songs from Birdcage!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1VDNroZG5w/

Hooligan’s Rule – along with 5 other excellent bands will roll up and rock the place – so make a note in your calendar – 29th June from 12 noon, bring parrots, doubloons and any treasure you might want to donate to a worthy cause as all proceeds will be going to the Lifeboats….

Get some change out! – in this day and age I’ve rarely got gold or silver in me pocket but bring lots so you can donate! You can probably donate via the website but just in case – bring your donatable trove with you and fill up the coffers! Let’s make this seriously worthwhile for the lifeboats. Let’s break a few records together. Think of what the lifeboats do!😁

Ooo Aarh and all that. See you all there I hope!

Songs from the Birdcage

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

As you may know from previous posts we play a lot of songs of the sea and shanties and similar nautical and marine related pieces on guitar, fiddle, mandolin and bodhran so it is really welcome to get any feedback from our audiences.

So – as you might imagine – I’m absolutely thrilled to say that we received the following testimonial from the organisers of the Pirates in the Port festival in Newport Gwent.

“An excellent duo with brilliant and varied musicianship. Charismatic, energetic and original they harmonise very well and really got the audience going. Highly recommended. Bois Y Bryn”.

We had a fantastic time over in Newport and if anyone reading our page lives near enough to Newport South Wales and sees an opportunity to listen to Bois y Brin Shanty crew – just go and do it – you won’t be disappointed. They are accomplished and entertaining! Check out their facebook page here!

On other ship and shanty related matters we will be playing at the Birdcage in Brixham for an afternoon of shanties and songs of the seas organised by Andy from the local and highly respected shanty crew Missin’ Tackle – there will be several of us performing but as yet I am waiting for confirmation who will be there – as I know I will post it on Facebook and on the website here.

And the Venue for this illustrious concert will be …

The Birdcage. Hence the title of the post. See what I did there?

SO here’s a link to the Birdcage pub in Brixham – which is a great little venue. I performed there in another shanty crew, the always entertaining The Marldon Wonky Donkeys -back in May and really love the atmosphere there – if your near come and say hello!

Course Laid In, sir!

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

What can I say about the Pirates in the Port Festival in Newport, Gwent?

The festival started with a convivial gathering at the Mercure Hotel in Newport with many pirates, shanty singers and similar ne’re-do-wells and they were in fine voice!

For the next two days the streets and bars were full of so many great singers and musicians enjoying the sessions as much as we did! Shanties and songs of the sea were the order of the day.

These Shanty and Pirate festivals attract people far and wide and we bumped into others friends from Devon! (Check out the Teignmouth Mermaid here! A real life singing mermaid…) And all prepared to make sometimes very long journeys just to join in with the fun!

We were down for performing on Saturday at two venues – the Mercure Hotel at 1200 hrs and then McCanns Rock N Ale bar at 1400 hrs. We did our thing there – and then we were offered the opportunity to play at the Corn Exchange – a great venue – and performed a set there at 1900 hrs to a near full house. The audience was made up of lovely fun people up for a party – and we had an absolute blast! They joined in with the choruses and the daft action songs with gusto! Our sincere thanks to them that the evening was so successful.

Where next, Sir?

So now we are looking ahead to our next adventures and there are a few in the offing.

On Sunday July 13th we will be playing a set of songs of the sea at the Exmouth Festival. The Festival runs from the 10th to the 13th July and will showcase songs of the sea in all their manifestations. Its a fun for all the family event – and ecologically sustainable as well! check out their website to read all about it here. Trust me, free and fantastic and definitely not to be missed.

We’ve a few other things on the horizon too and I’ll post more in due course when we have more details. In the meantime keep a bright lookout me hearties and speak soon! Take care

Tony

Pirates in the Port!

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

I don’t exactly know what it is about pirates that has attracted the attention of such and adoring public. But I for one am glad – it gives Lucy and I the opportunity to dig out our bad rags (that’s like glad rags only more piratical) and get out there and play some music!

We will be a-setting sail once more for lovely Newport in Wales for there annual Pirates in the Port shanty festival next weekend (31st May – 1st June 2025). We will be performing a selection of songs of the sea and shanties on Saturday 31st at the Mercure Hotel at 12.00 hrs and then again at McCanns Rock N Ale Bar at 14.00 hrs – and we’re really looking forward to it.

I am currently working on two more tracks to upload to our Shanty Project Channel.

One is called Steam and Sail and is sung from the perspective of old sailors witnessing the decline of the sailing ships as steam ships began to become more more popular and more reliable. In a final cruel irony sailing ships were retained to carry coal around the ports of the world to fuel the steamships.

And the other track I am working on is about a hapless chappie considering work on a pirate vessel. It is called the Jobseeker’s Hornpipe – and as you might have guessed it’s a funny song.

Here is a snippet of the lyrics:

“Though not usually proactive, I arranged to see the rep,

on consideration thought it would be wiser –

To wait until I’d got the job before I told the wife

Then carefully choose my moment to surprise her”

Ill post more when they are ready for upload

Heave ho! Me lads

The sailing ships ran by the concerted effort of the sailors on board.

It’s a fantastic art form, the sea shanty. You probably don’t need me to tell you that sea shanties are work songs from the sailing ship days where it was man power that kept the ships at sea – human energy – not steam and diesel, nor electric motors raised the anchors and the sails. And these men had to work together. Sea shanties – lead by the shanty man ensured that these tough fellas worked together – to breast the capstan bars or heave on sheets and lines. If they did not work together sailing ships would not have been feasible.

Sometimes shanties were sung to bewail the hard life of a seaman, sometimes to express how they missed home comforts and there loved ones, sometimes shanties sang about hopes for better weather. For me the common thread is that they were very much sung from the hearts and souls of the men singing them.

Hope to see you somewhere soon!

Take care

Tony

Piracy Pays!

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog

Well, let me tell you, if you found yourself in Brixham during the early May bank holiday, you were in for a laugh! It’s like a comedy fest with sea air and scones—who knew holidaying could be this much fun?

And when I say it pays, I don’t mean we walked away with bags of gold or treasure maps, but let me tell you, we had a riot!

It is impossible to explain the Brixham Pirate Festival. Many tens of thousands of people descend on our little fishing town for three days of the celebrations. Pirates of every conceivable variety arrive – so many variations on a theme from Jack Sparrow to Blackbeard and everything in between – not to mention original piratical creations dreamt up in the minds of some very interesting people! Music resounded seemingly from every street – it was a fantastic affair that I for one will never forget. Roll on the Pirate Festival 2026!

In the middle of all the piratical mayhem we were very kindly welcomed on board the beautiful Vigilance – the last sailing to trawler in the port of Brixham. She was built in 1926 and my, she’s a beautiful craft.

When we were on board we filmed a video for my song of the same name. You can hear it here .

It was an emotional experience filming on board – the level of heritage craftsmanship that has gone into bring her back to her former glory is astonishing – and I should add almost literally boat loads of money!

Check out the Friends of the Vigilance website here.

So, as you can see we’ve been pretty busy and have a lots more adventures in the pipeline. I’ll post soon with more news

In the meantime, fellow hooligans, stay safe and take care.

Tony & Lucy

Updates and News

by Lucy Simister, posted in Blog, Home

Good morrow to all ‘ee Pirates out there ’tis nearly Brixham Pirate Festival time again!

In around three weeks time if the weather’s set fair the good ship Hooligan’s Rule will be sailing to Brixham for to entertain the folks there with our brand of songs of the sea and piratical shenanigans.

‘t all starts on Friday afternoon of 2nd May at the Pearl and Oyster bar – like it says on the poster above – from 4 o’clock

Then we will be in Brixham Town Centre carpark at 1100 hrs on Saturday 3rd May and again on Sunday 4th May at 1100 hrs for more….

Now I suppose it may not be obvious but to put on a festival like this is no mean feat – a small bunch of dedicated volunteers work tirelessly to get it all up and running and you would be astounded at how many dubloons it takes to get all the stuff in place that’s needed – health and safety arrangements, equipment hire, staging, road closures, events, even portaloos! And nobody does nothing for free nowadays – except for the volunteers of course! It all takes a heap of treasure to make it happen – all for YOUR ENTERTAINMENT.

So we’d ask you two favours!

One – yes, my friends, support our local traders! Buy things from the market and our shops. As you will know many small town traders are facing stiff competition from the big boys …

Two – Pirates are not known for asking nicely. But here goes: Please Please Please donate to the Brixham Pirate Festival to ensure that we can continue to make the festival a success this year and into the future. We are very proud here in Brixham that we host THE BEST PIRATE FESTIVAL IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. Let’s keep it that way – and the only way to hang on to such an accolade is – well, MONEY MONEY MONEY. And a bit more MONEY. It can only happen year on year if the volunteers that organise the whole Festival cover the overheads. A Spanish galleon full of gold would hardly cover it! So please donate whatever spare dubloons you can afford.

All we want is for you all you ladies, gentlemen and kids to come along and enjoy. Come and sing along and laugh until your sides ache; get you ice cream and your chips and your souvenirs of our beautiful town, and if the grown ups fancy a few drinks (responsibly and peaceably of course), I’m sure you’ll be made to feel most welcome. Then when it’s all over go home with your very own treasure of rich and wonderful memories.

Who could want more treasure than that?