‘The Tale of Bideford Black’, a song written
by local musician John Purser, has been kindly sent to us as a lively addition
to our archive with a short explanation of how he came to write it. It is
exactly this kind of original and diverse response to our local history that
will make this project such a genuine and personal archive of our local
community. Enjoy…
“Basically the song started with the
account of anthracite mining in "The Book of Bideford" by Peter
Christie and Alison Grant - my late mother-in-law, who lived in Bideford had a
copy. I was intrigued by the thought of mining paint and caught
out one or two geography teachers where I taught in Hertfordshire.
On moving to Barnstaple I became an
active member of Bideford folk club and many local singer-songwriters became
friends. This inspired me to start writing. "Bideford Black"
was the first song I wrote (in 2003). I am not a prolific writer – my latest
song "Bideford Witches" emerged last year after about three years in
the writing.”
Many thanks John :-)
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