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TV Appearance Proves Norfolk Dialect Isn’t Dead
Following his appearance on ITV’s Tales from The Country transmitted in the Anglia, Central and London TV regions to a potential audience of 10.8m homes Norfolk’s very own Winston the Singing Farmer has seen a huge leap in interest in his songs.
The programme, which followed Winston’s popular act in venues around the region, has proved such a hit that Winston is fast becoming a ‘rising star’ in his own right even though much of his work is a tribute to the Singing Postman – Alan Smethurst, famous for his unique Norfolk dialect pop songs in the 60’s. Winston’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the show aired on Thursday 12th June 2008 even though he was touring in Orkney at the time.
Winston says, “The response to the programme has been phenomenal and proves that even up against today’s hi-tech music, tradition often wins out and there’s still a place for a gentler approach to life. I’m not one for too much hustle and bustle, in fact I think just about everything goes too fast nowadays, but I must say that I’m enjoying the attention that I’m attracting. As the title of one of my own albums says ‘Tha’s been a long time a comin’.”
He continues “I’m really pleased that Norfolk dialect is proving so popular in locations that are so far away from Norfolk that I’m not sure most of the audience even know where Norfolk is, but there’s no need to worry, I soon put them right and at the end of the evening they’re all planning their next holidays at home…in Norfolk, and we all know Norfolk beats the Balearics out of Benidorm.”
Winston played at this year’s Royal Norfolk Show in the Bandstand feature and was chosen to be the act that closed the show for 2008, quite an honour. He is also appearing at the President’s marquee of the British Simmental Cattle Society on the opening evening. Further afield he is booked to participate in a light hearted ‘Sing Off’ against another well-known group ‘The Wurzels’ at the 35th Haddenham Steam Festival, where he hopes to prove that Norfolk Dialect can get one up on the Scrumpy Quaffing burr of the West Country. Whilst back in his home county, this summer sees Winston appearing in his own One Man Show at the Oddfellows Hall, Sheringham; and then the Cromer Pavilion Theatre at the beginning of October.
Winston Harrold is part of a well-known North Norfolk farming family and he and his wife Jayne still farm at Guestwick near Holt where they have over 200 head of sheep with a mixed arable farm. Winston started singing as a young boy and now he is one of only a handful of Norfolk Dialect entertainers trying to preserve memories of a way of life that is rapidly being taken over by technology. That’s not to say that Winston is a technophobe, take a look around his brand new website to hear his songs, check up on his appearances, buy his albums and visit his photo-gallery.
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