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Te lady in question lived and taught in the North East of England and so aſter meeting in the summer to finalise the details of our exchange, we both started our „new lives“ in September 2000 in each other’s region and school, her teaching English in Saint-Gilles and me teaching French in Stockton-on-Tees, having literally swapped jobs for the academic year. It was going to prove a very challenging time for both of us, having to adapt very quickly to different school systems, cultures, roads, accents, TV programmes, weather, foods etc… If I’m quite honest (as I like to call a spade a spade, although some of you call a spade a shovel just to complicate matters. I found the whole experience particularly difficult, emotionally and financially draining too actually as life in the UK at the time was more expensive than in France, especially things like food and diesel which you need on a regular basis. So I have to admit I was living like a recluse in my Darlington flat, mainly because I didn’t have any energy leſt at the end of the school day! Luckily for me, I had by then made friends with another teacher from the school who knew about my love of music and decided to take me to the Darlington Folk Club one night in February 2001 as he knew the person running it very well… the rest is history, as they say.


Aſter singing a song at the sing-around and meeting Tom Hughes (the folk club organiser) and his wife Jenny that evening, my life changed forever literally overnight. We became firm friends over the following months with Tom offering me more and more support spots through the club for artists such as Tanglefoot, Allan Taylor, Colum Sands etc… raising my profile in the process and in effect giving me the chance to perform in the UK for the first time in my life on a scene that was completely new to me: listening audiences? I certainly was not used to that when I was in France! It made it quite awkward for me at the beginning as I didn’t know what to say between songs and could fit 10 songs in a 30 minute performance. Tat was soon going to change as my confidence with the English language grew as well as the number of anecdotes I was gathering from my days in school… Also, I was „learning the trade“ by observing other performers on stage either at the club itself or other local concerts or festivals. In other words, by the time Saltburn Folk Festival 2001 came round in August, I was hooked to this folk music scene and dreamt of being 100% part of it. I didn’t want to go back to France anymore.


Reluctantly, I did though, as my exchange officially ended at the end of July 2001 and I had to go back to my school in the South of France for the beginning of the academic year in September. I felt really down and heartbroken to leave my new friends behind and only had one thing in mind: to come back as soon as I could… which I did, for good, in July 2002 aſter leaving my teaching job and selling my flat in Nîmes… while some probably thought I was mad to leave a safe and secure environment as well as a beautiful region, most were happy to see me follow my heart. Tey looked in amazement as I managed to pack my whole life (that included my lovely dogs Boogie and Mambo) in my little French car with just enough space leſt to see in the rear view mirror and smiled as they waved me off on my long drive to Darlington via Calais…


Waiting for me and my doggies on the other side of the Channel up in Darlington were my friends Tom and Jenny who had decided to open their arms, house and heart to the three of us for as long as we needed… 10 years later, I’m still there, writing those lines from the kitchen table with a nice cup of tea by my side. Sadly over the years, our family unit has suffered a few cruel blows… First Boogie leſt in October 2005 and more recently, we had the heartache of losing Tom (September 2011) and Mambo (December 2011). So it’s just me and Jenny now but we are determined to keep smiling and move forward despite the losses we have endured as we know that’s exactly what they would have wanted us to do.


My singing career in the folk scene over the past 10 years has gone from strength to strength thanks to the support and trust of many friends who believed in me right from the start. Although I had to rely on supply teaching in the first few years to complement the gigs I had, gradually the tendency changed and I’m pleased to say that I haven’t done a single day of supply work since May 2009… I have to admit I don’t miss it at all. I feel privileged that I can do the one thing I love the most and make a living out of it, something I could only dream of not so long ago. Of course, it didn’t just happen, hard work, dedication and „a little help from my friends“ to quote Te Beatles, have been instrumental. Like I said earlier I owe everything to my „Daddy“ Tom who gave me my first stage and acted as my mentor in the early days. He


PHOTOGRAPHY: PAM AINSLEY - www.pamainsley.co.uk


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