PRESS RELEASE May 16th 2017

The Walnuts are a group of middle-aged musicians from Berkshire who play Celtic music, Folk and Americana.

Between June 28th and July 4th 2017 they will be travelling together in a motorhome all the way to Oslo and back, to play a series of concerts in aid of Alzheimer’s care and research and in Amsterdam for Hope Beyond Displacement.

They will be stopping along the way for refreshment, and will play music wherever they stop, regardless of whether anyone has asked them to do so. The only way to cease them playing will be to put money into their cake tin.

Their route will possibly take in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Aarhus. These are all places which have welcomed musicians for hundreds of years.  The Walnuts could well change that. There is no guarantee that they will all last the course. All the members snore like kango hammers.

The Walnuts are: Davie McGirr, founder of sevensongs.org, Matt Allwright, journalist and presenter of Watchdog, Rogue Traders, The Code, and other things, Celtic Fiddle legend Donald Stewart. They will be joined in Oslo by internationally reknowned piper Fergus Muirhead and Percussive Supremo Simon Dore. This forms a heady 3:2 Scottish/English mix.

Here is a bit of a taster from BBC Radio Berkshire with Matt  and I on the Bill Buckley show. Action starts about 2 hours, 9 minutes and 45 seconds in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p053tylc#play

This hastily thrown-together trip will take place in a Bailey Advance 665 motorhome, kindly supplied by Baileys of Bristol. The Walnuts will be supported in their endeavour by The Caravan and Motorhome Club. Essential cake supplies are from Battenburg Belle and The Cookcurry Club is providing curry for the trip.

Any enquiries please contact Davie at Davie.McGirr@sevensongs.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:
Departure date: 28th June from Reading, Berkshire
Return Date: 4th July.

Sevensongs.org has raised over GBP20,000 by playing small concerts in people’s back gardens and living rooms. It was started by Davie McGirr after he and his family cared for his in-laws through Alzheimers in their home. Further details at sevensongs.org

Donations to: http://www.justgiving.com/David-McGirr/
Matt Allwright’s agent – Lizzie Barroll-Brown: lizzie@jamesgrant.co.uk
Contact at Caravan and Motorhome Club – Nikki Nichol: nikki.nichol@camc.com

Graphics from Rob Andrews: tsktsktut@gmail.com