An Afternoon at Strutt House
1-4pm Sunday 19th May 2019
As part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Great Places Scheme I’ll be writing some new songs in response to the Strutt’s North Mill Museum ready for the Belper Arts Festival afternoon showcase at Strutt House.
Other artists include Umbilica, Grawl!x, Seiko Kinoshita, Toni Buckby, Spindrift, Debjani Chatterjee and Charu Asthana.
Teas, coffees and cakes will be available. Entrance to Strutt’s North Mill Museum will be free for the afternoon with short guided tours available on request for a donation.
This free event is funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund & Arts Council England.
I’ve started a new event called ‘Milford Monthly Music’. It is an evening of unplugged folk, acoustic or classical music in the lovely acoustics of Holy Trinity Church in Milford. Musicians are donating their time for free so please come along to support them and donate some money to the future of Holy Trinity. At the moment the money keeps the building heated and insured. If they can get enough financial support then the church can be turned into a space for the community to use.
If you’re interested in performing a set please get in touch.
March 15th Sarah Hinds, April 19th Sue MacFarlane, May 17th Kevin Hewick, June 21st TBC, Sept 20th Ola Wilson, Oct 18th Classical Jazz, Nov 15th TBC, Dec 20th Umbilica and Grawl!x!
The performance is followed by an unplugged open mic so bring along a song, story or poem
In Nov 2017 I wrote a folk song called ‘Bullmoor Lament’ to the tune of Bonny Portmore. It was written in response to planning applications to build housing and a factory extension on land in Belper called Bullsmoor.
I’ve also sung the Bullsmoor Lament at the Queen’s Head open mic in Belper, the Middleton by Wirksworth folk jam, The Northern Green Gathering and Derby Folk Festival fringe.
Bullsmoor Lament – sung on Bullsmoor.
(Not great sound due to the wind, but you do get to hear the birds.)
I walk on Bullsmoor almost every day with my dog Charlie and have written the Bullsmoor Blog in an attempt to collect information, stories, memories, pictures and poems about the land. As I collect more stories for the Bullsmoor Song Project I’ll put them on there.
In October 2018 I found out that the planning application for Bullsmoor had been declined so the Bullsmoor song project is now a celebration of the land.
Come and help me collect stories of Bullsmoor as part of Belper Arts Festival
On May 11th,12th and 13th (times to be confirmed) I’ll be sitting in a bell tent at the top of Bullsmoor (near the park in the little fenced off field that used to be owned by Severn Trent) collecting your stories about Bullsmoor. I’m interested to hear any stories you have whether it’s what you know about the history of Bullsmoor, happy memories of sledging, walking your dog, picking blackberries or a Sunday afternoon walk with your family. I’d like to hear about your thoughts about the struggle with development, times when you walked to school over the fields or rode a bike or a horse along Kirk Lane, memories of Coppice brook flooding or any wildlife you’ve spotted there over the years.
You can either sit in the talking chair and tell me your stories or you can write them down.
If you’d prefer to get in touch another way then send me an email sarah.hinds@hotmail.com
Once I’ve collected all the stories I’ll write a series of songs about Bullsmoor ready for next year’s Arts Festival. If I get enough stories I might also compile a book.
To help fund this project Ruth Gray has kindly donated an original painting of Bullsmoor which will be auctioned on May 23rd at the Milford Monthly Music Session at Holy Trinity Church. https://www.ruthgrayimages.net/
Thanks to the owners of Bullsmoor Farmhouse for letting me use the land.
British Folk singer and songwriter Sarah Hinds currently lives in Belper, Derbyshire. Born in Derbyshire, Sarah is developing a reputation for her songs about Belper and the surrounding area. She was previously known for playing bass guitar in ‘The Mothers’ an all mum punk band.
Using classical and flamenco guitar she sings songs of love and loss. Making observations about life she explores the impact of the modern world and loss of the natural environment on people’s lives. Described as “beautiful” by Dean Jackson BBC Introducing.
Comments and reviews
‘Sarah’s voice can hover over a single nylon string, she evokes a really deep, primal feeling in me, she is a very uncontrived artist, very ‘real’ Kevin Hewick – Melton Folk Trail 2018.
‘..your voice is magical…I found it so moving…I thought it was hauntingly beautiful‘ Ronnie Thomas – Wales Sept 2018 talking about ‘Long Time Love’
‘Thankyou for uploading your tracks, they are beautiful…I’m so keen to broadcast some of your material.‘ Dean Jackson BBC Introducing Nov 2018
‘Great music on Soundcloud-you have a very special style and I love your lyrics.’ Adrian Kerr – Melton Folk Club Nov 2018
‘The world is a better place for more of your beautiful music being out there in it’ Hilary Prentice – Totnes 2018
Comments from the audience
‘Fabulous songs and playing, you have tons of talent’ ‘Beautiful singing’ ‘Your music touches my soul and makes me happier.’
Thanks to everyone who came along to the CD launch concert and who took part in the open mic session afterwards. It was a lovely atmosphere and you raised £100 towards Supporting Holy Trinity Church Milford to stay open and become a community facility.
People begin to arrive at Holy Trinity ready for the music. It was a cold night but it was a lovely relaxed atmosphere helped by the warm acoustics of the church.
