A highlight for both of us: a wonderful long May Bank Holiday weekend enjoying the wealth of music, tradition and fun that the Sweeps Festival brings to Rochester every year, with morris dancing ‘sides’ descending to perform all along the High Street and up in the Castle Grounds.

Around all that centuries-old tradition there’s also a booming world music/folk/roots festival in venues across Rochester. This year we loved the French Celtic energy of Sur Les Docks and local legends the Singing Loins at the Rising Sun, as well as the Balkan gypsy folk of Balamuc, and Staggered Ray (featuring Chris Weller and Rob Shepherd from our pod jingle).

The Sweeps Festival was part of Rochester life for centuries - celebrated by Charles Dickens - until common sense and health & safety stopped chimney sweeps sending young boys up chimneys… In the early 1980s it was Gordon Newton who began the renaissance of the Festival and has overseen it grow and grow to become a central plank of Rochester culture and music. Gordon tells us the whole story, and throws in a bit of melodeon playing to boot.

So join us out on the streets of Rochester, chatting to musicians and Morris dancers to capture the flavour of the whole event. How SWEEP is YOUR love?!!

Medway Council Rochester Sweeps Festival page https://www.medway.gov.uk/sweepsfestival

Sweeps Festival Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RochesterSweepsFestival/

With thanks to the City of Rochester Society for supporting this podcast. Find out more about their work at city-of-rochester.org.uk

We Did it Medway is presented by Rob Flood and Philip Dodd. It is produced and edited by Suze Cooper of Big Tent Media, with assistance from Emily Crosby Media.

The We Did It Medway music is written and performed by Chris Weller (Staggered Ray), Rob Shepherd (Singing Loins) and Vicky Price (Ashen Keys) with lyrics by Philip Dodd.

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