My Podcasts
As in the previouse two series I will continue in this one to tell my tales of the Rev Gentleman's song collecting and stories about him and the singers who sang their songs for him who he called 'The Songmen'.
With such a busy life, when he was not folk song collecting there is much more to tell about Sabine his family and his many other interests which I will talk about in future episodes.
There will be episodes of interviews with local folk musicians and some from further afield.
A busy year for the 'Parson and the Songmen', with a production run of 15 episodes to download.
Which I hope you will find interesting and enjoy?
Spring has arrived here in North Devon, and it would seem to have had quite an effect on Mike who is full of vim and vigour ( or possibly something stronger...) In this first episode of the the third series of The Parson and the Songmen w...
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April 30, 2025•14:21
The publication of folk songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould in Devon and Cornwall made them accessible to the general public, but left Sabine wondering just how he could reach an even wider audience?His answer was to get ...
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May 14, 2025•13:07
The songs published in Songs From The West by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould were wholly collected, or particular to, Devon and Cornwall. But what to do with the songs sent to him from other parts of England and beyond?Sabine never dis...
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June 11, 2025•18:22
Firstly, Many Happy Returns to The Parson And The Songmen as it celebrates its Second Birthday with its Fiftieth Episode!In this special episode Mike tells the story of how a song collected by The Reverend Sab...
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June 25, 2025•15:31
In this fifth episode of the third series of The Parson and the Songmen, Mike explores Sabine's second autobiography 'Further Reminiscences'. In the book he discovers a song that seems to have , astonishingly, escaped Baring-Gould's keen censor...
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July 09, 2025•16:25
Join Mike for a very special 'Parson and the Songmen' this time around! It's not every day that you happen to get to the chance to have a chat with one of the world's leading mandolinists, composers and all round wit, but this is just what Mike...
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July 23, 2025•28:39
Hello and welcome back after our summer break!In this episode we focus on William Andrews, a shy farmer from Sheepstor, in a remote part of Dartmoor, Devon. Andrews was not only a farmer though, he was a skilled musician, and was visited...
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September 10, 2025•14:14
'Catch Me If You Can' is the title of a cassette tape, (originally released in 1978 and please search the interweb if you're too young to know what a cassette tape is) released by Pete Coe who spent a week in the company of a Cornish t...
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September 23, 2025•19:11
The poet John Keats called Autumn the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness'. A time for reflection and also a time when 'all is safely gathered in' before the onset of winter.Those words, of course, come from the harvest hymn We Plou...
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October 08, 2025•24:07
In this episode of The Parson and the Songmen we join Mike at Ashwater Church, in the far west of Devon, for a day of 'ringing and singing'. One Day In October are the first four words of a very special song that the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould...
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October 22, 2025•15:36...
At this time in November we remember the sacrifice that hundreds of thousands of British soldiers made with their lives as they fought in the First World War (and remember that millions died overall). Many songs are associated with this war, bu...
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November 12,2025•16:10...
Welcome to Series Three, Episode Twelve. All we will say about this episode is that it involves some early Twentieth Century song collecting, a very enigmatic song collector and two wheeled transport. Listen on...(By the way, and still t...
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November 26,2025•25:08...
If you do celebrate, you may well have noticed that Yuletide is nearly upon us... But, if you did need reminding, then this episode of The Parson and the Songmen will do just that for you!There are plenty of Christmas and Winter Solstice...(By the way, and still t...
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December 11, 2025•16:41
Return of the Return Of The Bumper Festive Edition
Season's Greetings One And All!Welcome to the festive sixtieth edition of The Parson and the Songmen!In this episode we tell the story of a special carol service that takes place every year in the Stratton/Bude area of North Cornw...
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December 24, 2025•246:57
A Happy New Year to you and welcome to this third compilation of songs (and tunes) from the shows!We have a varied selection for you, some reminding you of spring, the festive season and, as always, a fair dollop of the Reverend Sabine B...
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January 07, 2026,•32:14