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Bob
Hambleton, at Lain’s Barn, handing cheque to MS Therapy Centre
MC
Pete Smith, with Dave Guest and Jenny Brown, drawing the raffle at Old Mill
Hall
It’s not all glamour!
Kate & Dave (with
helpers) mopping up after a major bar spillage while the concert carries on
in the hall!
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Folk
for M. S. - The Origins
The memories of the factors that came together to form Folk for M. S. are disappearing into the
mists of time. Bob Hambleton, a long time folkie and would be
singer/songwriter who had been diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis some
years before, wrote a song, ‘Misty Days,’ attempting to express his personal
view and attitude to having the disease, his being a comparatively upbeat and
positive approach. This prompted his friend, Sarah Davis, to suggest that
they might run a folk concert to raise money for M. S. One night at Upper
Clatford Folk Club, they approached the guest, Roger Watson, who at the time
ran the BBC Radio Oxford folk programme, to see if he would be interested in
broadcasting such a concert.
Meanwhile Kate
and Dave Guest, who ran the Stanford in the Vale Folk Festival, were planning
to host a charity concert at Lain’s Barn near Wantage and had already
approached Roger about broadcasting the concert live on Radio Oxford. Roger
suggested the two events become one and so FOLK FOR M.S. was born.
Initial Plans
The four then started planning the event and these plans rapidly out grew the
original concept. Lain’s Barn, a converted tithe barn, provided sufficient
space for the concert, catering and several craft stalls; all in a very
‘ethnic’ surrounding. Fortunately, because of their experience in organising
folk events, the four knew, and were friends with, a great many well know
folk performers. Finding the artists to create a high quality line up was not
a problem but it was obvious that they needed a ‘big name’ to top the bill.
In the meantime, the preparations went on apace.
Top of the Bill
Included in these preparations was the almost obligatory raffle. The
generosity of people when it is for a good cause is staggering but it was
still with some trepidation that Bob and Sarah approached Vin Garbutt who was
appearing at Sarah’s local folk club in Salisbury.
Somewhat hesitatingly, Bob explained to Vin that they were trying to organise
a folk concert to raise money for M. S. and nervously broached the subject
that Vin might consider donating an album to the raffle. Unfortunately Bob
got somewhat tongue tied and before he could actually get the words ‘album’
and ‘raffle’ out, Vin had thought for a moment and said, ‘Yes, I’ll do that
for you. Mind you you’ll have to speak to my agent, but if I’m free, I’ll do
it.’ They had got their ‘Top of the Bill.’
Well not quite; when they checked with Vin’s agent, he was already busy on
the night planned - so they changed the date of the concert to the following
week! That is why the concert, originally arranged for the end of May,
actually took place a week later.
(Incidentally, the song that sparked the whole thing, “Misty Days,” didn’t
get used on the night, and that is probably just as well!)
The Concert -
7th June 1990
After all the planning and preparations that had gone on, the big day finally
arrived and the concert took place. Lain’s Barn is a wonderful venue for folk
events and the support that the concert generated was staggering. Towards the
end of the evening Roger Watson who compered the concert, asked the audience
if they had enjoyed the event. Receiving a very positive response, he told
the four organisers, live, on stage, that they would be running it again the
next year! The rest, as they say, is history. Incidentally, Radio Oxford were
never able to broadcast the concert live as the remote location of Lain’s
Barn meant an OB was not possible
From Strength to Strength
The growth in popularity of the concerts was such that in 1996 the event was
moved to a larger venue at The Old Mill Hall in Grove, a few miles from
Lain’s Barn, where it has become a permanent feature. The format of the
concerts has remained very much the same. There may be plans drawn up for the
expansion into ‘A Day of Folk’ in the future but these will still centre
around the evening ‘flagship’ concert.
Charity Registration
The major development in our activities came about in 2000 with our
registration as a charity in our own right. Folk for Multiple Sclerosis is a
registered charity No. 1080774. The trustees would like to express their
grateful thanks to Mike Sparks MBE, a member of Herga Folk Club and an expert
on charity registration, for his help, guidance, advice and support which
made the registration a reality.
Developments
There has been one significant expansion in the work of Folk for M.S. with a
newborn interest in folk entertainment among M.S. organisations that the
group have generated being satisfied by some of the many folk performers who
have offered their services to the charity.
Donations
Through the
years several people have quietly made significant donations to the charity
and the trustees would like to repeat their previously expressed thanks to
these individuals. One significant contribution was the £524 raised by
a sponsored walk undertaken by Jenny Brown. Jenny had previously never
undertaken an extended walk, let alone a week long solo expedition. Another
stalwart has been Hazel Byrne who works throughout the year running
tombolas and stalls in aid of FfMS and has raised over £1000.
To these and all our unmentioned supporters, we express our grateful thanks.
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