Thyme

Somehow, despite the very pedestrian pace of my life, I missed the sad news that the English singer, Norma Waterson, passed away on 30th January this year (the anniversary of my Dad's death, as it happens).

Norma Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022)

Norma, her sister Lal and brother Mike were brought up by their grandmother, Eliza Ward, who was descended from an Irish travelling family and knew many old songs. The young Watersons eventually sang together in the early folk clubs in the 1960s. The group formed and re-formed over the years but was always a family affair, more recently also featuring Norma's husband, Martin Carthy, and their daughter Eliza.

In recent years Norma had health problems which restricted her in many areas of life, though somehow she always managed to sing. Here she is, flanked by Martin and Eliza, and with other family and friends supplying harmonies:

I only ever knew them through their many recordings and live performances, but such was the warmth and honesty of everything they sang that, like many others, I thought of them all as old friends. 

Take care.