A Visitor On Europe’s Roads

Auf dem berg

It was only a short drive from Worpswede to Scharmbeck, just outside of Winsen. Ray had warned me that it was an interesting get-in ….

Here Ray is checking the sign on the way in to make sure we are on the correct track through the woods.
This is the drive up to the field and the stage.

The field where the stage is once grew barley, then cows grazed there but it wasn’t right for them so for some years it was left to the wild and trees seeded themselves from the woods surrounding it. Then when covid (referred to here as “corona”) struck, Farmer George offered to build a stage so that there could be music played outdoors with people distanced from each other. As you can see in the next picture, George built a small stage out of a cow pen by adding a roof, sides and planking for the stage. The lights and our PA were powered from a generator located about 100m away so that the noise didn’t disturb the music.

The stage set up ready for Ray to perform.
The evening’s merch table

Ray played here once before in 2022 on his Land Of Heroes tour which was during the covid restrictions.

The concert was well-attended but we know that the weather forecast put some people off from coming. During the show we could hear thunder in the distance and kept looking up at the clouds. The weather gods must have liked the music as we only felt a couple of drops of rain.

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2 responses to “Auf dem berg”

  1. George Sandaig/Farmer George Avatar
    George Sandaig/Farmer George

    Thanks Tom for your notes in general and for these in particular. May I add that this was in fact Ray’s third visit to the hill in the middle of nowhere. It was in 21 that he came for the first time after we had met in person at a church concert in Harburg (St. Petrus, parish of my late mother) the year before when I had just started the ‘Corona concerts’. I was fascinated to meet a former member of the famous Oyster Band I had experienced on various occasions at the Hamburg Fabrik during the 90s I believe. (I got to know this through a live recording of NDR/North German Radio and was instantly thrilled as a former lover of Scottish folk music I had become familiar with as a student in Glasgow in the 60s – 70s). Later I met Ray again at a house concert in Hamburg-Lohbrügge and all the Lohbrügge and Bergedorf people appeared to be looking forward to the hill concert in 22, nobody, however, turned up. Unfortunately in 23 Ray was double booked for the hill and Bad Doberan and so I let him go to the Baltic sea side where he had a full house – as I read in your notes. Also that year he went to the Harburg Pub “Komm Du” (former Gerichtsklause, Inns of court as it were) right opposite Harburg court house under the Schwarzenberg where Prussian emperor Wilhelm I once enviously peered over to Hamburg Free State. I used to have a flat next door and would have loved to attend had I only known about this. Meanwhile this place has been closed down after the owner took his life.

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    1. Tom Avatar
      Tom

      Many thanks George for these additional comments. I enjoyed meeting you and our interesting discussions. Keep up your good work with concerts “auf dem berg”. Best wishes, Tom

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