I met up with my old friend, Lee Merrill Sendal, aka Corona Smith, and That Guy From Shiznitz.

I’ve known Lee for years and we’ve spent many a happy hour playing music together.

He gave me a lovely little tune I’ve never heard before to set me off on the road. This tune is from East Yorkshire, my homeland and has an interesting history. It was taught to Lee by his friend and fellow fiddle player Jim Eldon (the Fiddler of Brid). Jim is an amazing collector of East Riding tunes and songs, and he learnt this tune (along with many others) from a character called Billy Harrison. Billy died in 1986, but he had a wealth of stories and tunes to share, some of which made it onto CDs. You can find out more about Billy, and Jim here: https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/harrison.htm

Lee cooks up all sorts of jiggerypokery: Zooandlogical Times, Shiznitz, Duets with Jim Eldon, (to name but a few) and is often to be seen around East Yorkshire busking with his little pegdoll puppets. If you happen to see him busking, ask him to play ‘Billy’s Dad’s Polka’ and chuck a couple of quid in his hat.

This tune, Billy’s Father’s Polka, made it to me through the lineage of Billy’s Dad, Billy, Jim, Lee, and me. I’m honoured.

This is me and Lee playing it together: