Gerry Ffrench joins us for Shanties on the Steamer cruise July 1

Published: 19th Jun

We are very pleased that Gerry Ffrench can join us for our Shanties on the Steamer cruise on July 1st.

Shanties on the Steamer (Sutton Weaver - Acton Bridge – Sutton Weaver) cruise duration approx. 4 – 4.5 hours departing at 1200hrs. Please park at Anderton Boat lift car park and our coach will pick you up and take you to the ship and return you. The coach will pick up at 11.30.

Information on Gerry Ffrench Click here to see her website and clips of her singing

One of the best singer songwriters working in the Northwest today, Gerry’s Liverpool/Irish roots make her a wonderful performer, writer and recording artist of rich contemporary folk music.  Her song writing has evolved over the years, influenced initially by the music that her Irish Father – who was  a Cunard Yank – brought home from  America during her childhood. Rock and Roll and  Country and Western  made up the musical diet at home, together with the Irish folk songs that her Irish Grandmother used to sing. These different but connected genres made an engagement with the Folk Revival a natural progression for her.

With their strong local flavour, Gerry’s own songs make numerous  references to Liverpool’s maritime history while their style is firmly rooted in traditional folk and shanty.  Now she is embarked on a mission to record and celebrate a way of life which has all but disappeared from Liverpool and  every other major seaport. The hard lives of the women left behind when the sailors went off to sea have never been given a voice in the same way that the lives of their husbands and sons were,  in traditional Shanty.  Songs such as The Other Maggie May, When The Wind Blows Up From The Mersey  and of course  Cunard Yanks do just that, being written from the point of view of the wives and families left behind.

Gerry is a musician with a great voice who is in demand at festivals and live venues across Merseyside, the UK and Europe.  She is a regular performer in Holland and 2017  saw her adding Rosses Point in Sligo,  the Maritiem Festival at the Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen and Costa Del Folk Portugal  to her festival destinations. Her appeal is growing  and developing as her own songs and stories are played out in her very popular live performances.

PARKING – due to very limited parking at Acton Bridge we will be operating a Park & Ride Coach Transfer from the Anderton Boat Lift car park to Acton Bridge. The coach will depart at 1130 hours and take you to the vessel for a 1200 hrs sailing.  There is a minimal parking fee of £3.00 for the whole day.  Following your cruise, the coach will return you to your car at the Anderton Boat Lift car park.