Events: Bonny Sartin's "The Banks Of Newfoundland" with special guests - Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll

17th Century painting of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland
(Dorset County Museum)

Bonny Sartin will be performing at  a various locations around the county with a fascinating talk on the history of Dorset people. This time the story moves abroad, and he will be joined by two of the South West's finest fiddle players to make it a real night to remember.

The talk is entitled “The Banks Of Newfoundland” and tells the story of Dorset's brave fishermen who for hundreds of years sailed across the Atlantic for the summer to fish for cod off Newfoundland.

Bonny said “Many fortunes were made and lost, but the port of Poole, in particular, flourished. It was tough for the fishermen though. Newfoundland is inhospitable. Icebergs, fogs and foul weather played havoc with their little boats and if you survived that you were often greeted by the Press Gang when you reached home.”

Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll

Joining Bonny will be Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll, the fiddle duo are leading lights in the new folk generation and have recently completed a project marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of the first permeant English settlement in Canada, Cupids Cove, Newfoundland.

They have been swopping tunes and songs with Newfoundland musicians, and will have just finished a joint tour called Shore To Shore. This show brought together leading singers and musicians from Newfoundland and the West Country of England in an international collaboration that charted the development of folk song and music on both sides of the Atlantic from the early 1600s to the present day.

Bonny, Becki and Nick will be performing on:

• Saturday, February 4th at 7.30pm at the Durweston Village Hall, Tel: 01258 453170

• Sunday, March 4th at 7.00pm at the Cerne Abbas Village Hall, Tel: 01300 341332

• Friday, March 16th at 7.30pm at the Broadwindsor Comrades Hall, Tel: 01308 868582