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Chris Brady
 
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Default 'Stan Huguill' Pub in Brest, France

Folks might be interested in the pub named after a certain
world-famous professional and traditional shanty singer in certain
western French port. It's not even on the quayside but up a main road
leading out of the town. It's a moot point as to whether they ever
have any shanty sessions there though.

Unfortunately with the ‘none-in-a-bar' law in the U.K. I guess shanty
sessions in the U.K. are now a thing of the past. Anyway I snapped the
pictures from a bus at the Brest 2004 Maritime Festival earlier in
July 2004.

Interestingly, talking to Johnny Collins, who was helping to crew and
cook on the Julia at the Festival, traditional shanties don't really
work on modern tall sailing ships. Apparently the work – hauling
halyards, sheets, turning capstans and the like – is not hard enough
to warrant shanties; there's too much mechanical advantage gained from
blocks and pulleys now-a-days. Pity though. Like the bosun's whistle,
shanties have now all but disappeared from use on tall sailing ships.

But the pubs remain – such as the ‘Le Stan Huguill' in Brest!! There's
even a web site at: http://leguidedusoiffard1.free.fr/stanhuguill.html

Pictures are in the Photo Album called 'Shanties' created in the Yahoo
Group 'EFDSS-FORUM'. Copyright is mine, but may be downloaded for free
for personal use.

CJB