It was in the Hunters Lodge Inn at Priddy on the Mendip hills of Somerset many years ago, Ben Dors, the landlord, used to collect empty glasses from the back room where the Cavers were singing. If the songs we were singing at the time contained swear words or other obscenities then he would remonstrate with us to "watch they words" which is why this collection is so named.
The Mendip caving songs have been recorded complete with scores and sound files so now the task of recording the recitations and rude songs we sang has begun and several of us old farts are engaged in the process.
The original midi sound files have been converted to mp3 files and all will play on Internet Explorer but there is an issue with other browsers which will not accept player plugins. Midi files are tiny which is why I used them originally but are not supported on all players. For this reason I am now using mp3 files which are huge by comparison but widely accepted and, if your browser doesn't accept player plugins, I am putting a link in to the file so you can play the mp3 file on whatever player you are using. All new songs will now be coded for this format.
Many of these songs owe their existence to rugby clubs where it has long been the tradition after a game to sink large quantities of beer and sing rude songs. We had a similar tradition on Mendip after a caving trip but as many cavers in the west country would have played rugby, many of the songs probably travelled up to Mendip with them.
The words are unexpurgated but if your browser is set appropiately then the pages should be protected from young eyes although if they can use a computer these days they could probably teach us a few! If you used to be a singer on Mendip in the 50's and 60's and have something to add or correct then contact me and I will respond.
Roger Biddle, December 2016
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