Every month, the Rye Waterworks hosts the Rye Bay Crew, packed to the rafters for an entertaining evening of shanties and songs from the sea. The friendly crowd of regulars, visitors or first timers enthusiastically join in with the singing and banter, which gets louder as the beer flows. Conversations start up between strangers and new friendships are forged, helped on by landlord Dave Roder’s hospitality and legendary ability to organise seating arrangements. As well as the traditional sea shanties from the Rye Bay Crew, crowd-pleasing guest appearances are encouraged, often resulting in renditions of songs of a distinctly ribald nature.
As part of the proceedings, Dave makes a collection for a local charity run by volunteers. Last week, it so happened that Geoff Austen, a volunteer and director of Rye Castle Museum, was drinking outside before the shanties began, when Dave asked if anyone could suggest an organisation that used volunteers, for the collection. Naturally Geoff mentioned the museum and that it is almost entirely run by volunteers. As a result, a generous £135 was raised for the museum; so thank you, on behalf of the museum, to the staff and the customers for their support.
A fun evening for all, in one of the friendliest places in town, full of life and community spirit.
Image Credits: David Roder .