Wonderful Morris sides and a good ceilidh at Wimborne Folk Festival weekend 2010 but a scarcity of musicians pub sessions

I've just got back from a great weekend with Exmoor Border Morris at Wimborne Folk Festival 2010. The weather was perfect for camping. The Morris sides rocked and I rediscovered the pleasures of ceilidhs. However, there was a substantial dearth of musician's sessions again which is not unusual for Wimborne.

If you are a musician and like playing traditional English music or are a dancer, the Morris movement is well worth a try and the Wimborne Folk festival is a wonderful example of the great feeling of family that you get when you put a lot of Morris dancers passionate about their craft with a lot of musicians passionate about playing traditional English tunes and mix in substantial quantities of alcoholic refreshment to produce a heady hedonistic cocktail of enjoyment that I would thoroughly recommend.

As a folk musician, I have spent most of my time at festivals playing traditional English tunes in the pubs and there is no doubt that Wimborne Folk Festival offers little choice for the musicians session. I spoke to many musicians over the weekend and they were all talking about seeking and not finding a good pub session. The best I managed was 45 minutes lunch break away from my Morris side at lunchtime on Saturday when I played some traditional English tunes at the British Legion. However, when I went back later in the weekend, there was little in the way of pub sessions happening there.

However, the lack of musicians session opportunities led me to seek out other forms of enjoyment and there was a ceilidh at the school near the official campsite so I decided to go along and watch just for something to do. It was a strategy that didn't work because I'd been there only a couple of minutes before I got grabbed by a delightful lady who kindly and energetically swept me around the floor. Soon I was right hand starring, left hand starring and dosydoing with the best of them. Then there was another dance with another willing lady and then another. I discovered that there was a system where people on the floor put their hand up if they want another dancer for their set so newbies like me didn't have to seek out a willing female which certainly makes life easier for a dancer of limited experience.

So, for wonderful Morris sides and good ceilidhs, I would recommend the Wimborne Folk Festival based on my experience in 2010 but traditional folk musicians who like to spend their time at a festival playing in the pub sessions may find better opportunities elsewhere. Were you there? Your comments are welcome below just click on 'comments'.