Someone asked me today if I knew of any English whistle players-an enquiry from a third party.
In retrospect,I think they meant Whistle-players who play in an ‘English’ style,rather than purely English born players.
I offered up Vin Garbutt(plays Clarke tin whistle) and Billy Conroy(check out the FARNE website).
Do fellow Chiffers know of any others?
I’m not sure about an ‘English’ style, but there are a lot of whistlers around Durham and Northumberland, not to mention Tyne & Wear. I just can’t remember any of their names right now, but I’ve definitely heard whistlers playing Geordie music in the Bridge in Newcastle, in Hexham and Alnwick and in Colpitt’s in Durham. (And that doesn’t include those who play ITM in that part of the world.)
Did/do any of the High Level Ranters play whistle?
Oddly, though many Scottish and Irish pipers play whistle, I don’t think I’ve ever met any Northumbrian pipers that do - maybe it’s to do with the very different fingering… (Northumbrian chanters are end-stopped, which means that when you close all the holes, the chanter is silent; you open only one single hole at anytime to play - which is one reason why these guys can play so FAST!)
And finally, I’ve seen an dheard quite a few whistle players playing for Morris dancing, which is VERY English.
well, he may have irish parents, but, he was born and raised in, and lives in england: mike mcgoldrick.
Thanks lads.
Ah,‘The Bridge’ is a great pub,Brian!
Actually,I just had a bit of a laugh from this thread- I was about to scroll down the list of whistle threads,and this one was just off screen,so that the bottom of the letters were hidden,causing the the title to look like ‘FOOLISH Whistle Players’!!- That’s a whole different topic! 
Guess I’d qualify!
BTW, the Farne website Kevin mentioned: you’ll find details of Billy Conroy and John Doonan at http://www.asaplive.com/FARNE/Learn.cfm?ccs=188&cs=605
and a great sound file of Billy playing his own hone-made whistle
I’m English and I play the Whistle, but more importantly I play some “English” tunes what ever that means.
The more I look into the trad dance tune repertoire of the various traditions the more I see common tunes and versions of tunes. I think we have to look at all the traditions as very interconnected, with promiscuous tunes moving between geographical, national, and genre boundaries, without let or hindrance.
I think the myth of Irish or other musical appartite, developed when it became politically expedient to the powers that be.
John S
Interesting point John.
As an example-Hornpipes are quite common throughout the British Isles,though to my knowledge,they originated in England(Northumbria has a rich legacy of Hornpipes).
James Hill the noted composer of ‘The Locomotive’ and ‘The High-Level (bridge)’ hornpipes,was Scottish born,though achieved his fame in Newcastle upon Tyne,though his tunes are widely played by Irish musicians.
Tunes also have regional names- ‘The Boys of Bluehill’ is also called ‘The Boys of North-Tyne’ in Northumberland.
Hi Kevin, yes “Durham Rangers” and “Merry Sherwood Rangers” comes to mind though these are both played in England.
John S
Yes, it’s good to remember that there are a lot of “British Isles” tunes, common to more than one tradition - Soldier’s Joy, for instance. And Salmon Tails Up the Water (a great tune shared on both sides of the Scottish border) is known in Ireland by another name (which I forget - somebody’s polka). Thankfully, most players are generous about this, and there are few tradition-bearers who would welcome or encourage musical apartheid.
Presonally, I like to sing and play the songs and dance tunes of the Scottish Borders, because that’s where I come from, but I’ve added Highland, Irish, Northumberland, Galician and English tunes to my repertoire, because I have had the chance to hear them - in the days before sound recording, tradition-bearers would sing or play whatever they heard, and even despite that limitation, many of the great collections are full of so-called ‘extraneous’ stuff: see Greig & Duncan’s massive (8 big volumes) collection of songs from Aberdeenshire, which includes composed parlour ballads and music hall songs, folksongs orginating from Ireland, England and America, as well as Burns songs, Childe ballads, and all of the stuff that revivalists in the '50s and '60s would have called ‘authentic’.
Thankfully, our traditions are large and elastic, and more tolerant than many scholars.
brian
Hi Brian good ta see yer posting again,hows the crack in Hong Kong 
Have a look at “Cuckold come out of the Armoury” and “Lannigans Ball”, same melody different rhythm.
And while I’m here, “Cam Ye O’er Fra France” and “The Rocky Road to Dublin”. A lot of 3/2 Hornpipes became Slip jigs to avoid extinction.
John S