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Wot..? No Music Day..?


Dad3353
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I was surprised to not see much, if any, mention on this forum, so I thought I'd ask the question...

Is there not a National Music Day, the 21st June, in Britain..? Here in France, it's just about the biggest event of the year for all musicians, groups, PA companies, music schools and more. There are events held in just about every town, many small villages, and several venues programmed in even modest cities. I 'googled' this for GB and counted 28 for the whole lot (1 in Ireland, 1 in Scotland included..!). What am I missing..? It's true that good weather helps, although in France the date is notorious for being wet and windy, almost by spite, it would seem. The towns will cordon off the town centre and bands or solo artists will perform on street corners, in and in front of bars and cafés, there is usually a podium and a programme of brass bands, rock groups, jazz ensembles, solo guitarists until 2 in the morning. Is GB just a miserable lot of so-and-sos, or is there a hidden underground movement that I just can't see from here..? :unsure:

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The only regular music event in the Wigan borough is the annual International Jazz Festival which, presumably due to cutbacks in funding, has dwindled somewhat in terms of duration and scope - previously there was a healthy fringe festival running alongside the main festival which offered a wider scope of musical styles but this has been absent for quite some years - there used to be many free and also outdoor events but sadly these seem to be rarer now.

http://www.wlct.org/wigan/whats-on/jazz/

The Wigan International Jazz Festival runs from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 July 2014.

I was also involved in running an annual arts festival in the borough and that also featured a lot of music events but again, sadly, lack of funding has put an end to it.

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[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1403448746' post='2482748']I'd happily shoot all the buskers when I'm in the city centre, especially now that they all use bloody amps.[/quote]

I'm so old I can remember when the bands of pan-pipe players weren't playimg to backing tapes over a bl**dy big F-off PA system.

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I've never heard of a national day of music but many towns have their own music events throughout the summer.

Hertford, for example, hosts a series of musical events throughout August and I'm sure it's not unique: http://www.hertfordmusicfestival.co.uk/default.php

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1403446966' post='2482725']
Is GB just a miserable lot of so-and-sos
[/quote]

Yes we is, though that's not the reason.

* France is full of towns and villages with dinky little squares, each of them ideal for outdoor musical events. By contrast and with some exceptions most of the UK's towns are street-y and linear in form. Any audiences will therefore have to form a line one deep and 800 yards long which is obviously impractical.

* Much of France enjoys clement and agreeable weather at this time of year. Most of Britain, by contrast, will usually be knee-deep in rain and / or sleet.

* Gallic miserliness being a well-established fact, the French national music day is probably the sole occasion when amateur and semi-pro bands perform for free. As evidenced by many, many threads on BC, this occurs year round in Britain; hence [i]every [/i]day is National Music Day

* Being naturally more excitable the French plunge headlong into this sort of thing, arms waving, accordions tootling, tyres burning and berets flying through the air. Phlegmatic Britons remain sanguine about the promotion of music as an enhancer of life and community spirit, embracing by contrast a spirit of '[i]Vive L'Indifference[/i]'.
[color=#ffffff].[/color]

Edited by skankdelvar
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[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1403457387' post='2482869']
^^^This^^^.... and just to clarify I'm not hiding in your closet!
[/quote]

Phew, thanks for that (... [i]but I did go round them all to check. One cannot be too careful these days[/i]...).

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[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1403455924' post='2482845']
Yes we is, though that's not the reason.
[...]
embracing by contrast a spirit of '[i]Vive L'Indifference[/i]'.
[color=#ffffff].[/color][/quote]

:)
Class!

[Poirot]
...et, évidemment, I say these in a way... most sycophantique.
[/Poirot]

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1403460083' post='2482904']
Phew, thanks for that (... [i]but I did go round them all to check. One cannot be too careful these days[/i]...).
[/quote]

I know. I'm watching you through a small hole I made in your pantry door.

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1403468907' post='2483029']
I know. I'm watching you through a small hole I made in your pantry door.
[/quote]

So just exactly how many of you are there, here..? No, it's simply for getting in the victuals. Tea on tap, of course, but I'm low on biscuits. Do you all have sleeping bags..? Anyone need an alarm call or anything exotic..? Come on, come on; let's be having you, I've not got all evening... <_<

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[quote name='hollywoodrox' timestamp='1403483657' post='2483175']
I always wondered what happened to this, I remember having it in the early to mid 90s then it just seemed to fizzle out
[/quote]
Sounds like my experience with sexual intercourse.

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1403511083' post='2483256']
He's outside with the goats...
[/quote]

Goats..? :huh: We don't have any goats..!

...

Oh, I see..! He thought they were...

Oh, my goodness, call a doctor, quickly. Yes, at once. Oh, the poor fool..! Goats, indeed. (... [i]although I see the likeness, now that you mention it[/i]...).

Let's just hope that we're not too late... :mellow:

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