Irene Shettle

Where to start?Until a few years ago I was a career Civil Servant (HM Inspector of Taxes to be exact)with 28 years service in. Mercifully I got a reprieve, and instead of grilling taxpayers, and doing tax detective work, I now do occasional work as a box office assistant at the Electric Theatre here in Guildford - the home of many concerts initiated by Electric Voices, local South West Surrey folk organisation, run by benign folk impresario Lawrence Heath.My major "thing" has always been singing - something I've been involved with since I was a toddler. I've sung in many choirs over the years, and made recordings with Guildford Choral Society in the last 15 years for radio, TV and commercial record companies as part of their semi-chorus. My main passionate involvement since childhood, however, has been with traditional English music, and for the last 15 years or so I've had the great privilege of sharing the songs I enjoy with others by singing out in public.In 2000, after many years of singing at home for my own pleasure, and attending the National Folk Music Festival in Sutton Bonington, I entered for the singing competition, and won the title of "Singer of the National" for best rendition of an unaccompanied traditional song. That was followed up by attending Folk South West's "In the Tradition" Easter School in 2001 & 2002 where I received tuition from Shirley Collins and Eddie Upton. Thanks to encouragement and assistance from them, and support from Lawrence Heath, I put on two shows at the Electric Theatre, Guildford about the Victorian Folksong collectors, Lucy Broadwood and Sabine Baring-Gould with my friend and fellow FSW student, Mike Bosworth from Cornwall.Since then I've become the resident singer at the Music Institute Folk Club in Guildford,performed by invitation in Christmas concerts in Sussex and Surrey,hosted a session at a Farnham Folk Day alongside Ed Rennie,and generally stood myself up wherever the opportunity to sing presented itself. I've also recently started to give public talks on Lucy Broadwood, the Victorian folksong collector, the first being to members of the Guildford Institute of the University of Surrey in November 2006. I am also carrying out research into Lucy Broadwood's diaries and correspondence in my spare time (what little there is of it!)and collaborating with David Gregory, Associate Prof at Athabasca University, Canada with a view to producing a book on her.My early retirement has given me the opportunity to attend far more Festivals and folk events than I was ever able to do when "working", and I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to get out and about sharing songs with other singers and members of the public!(More info on my website http://ireneshettle.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk)