We've got a huge number and variety of songs and tunes
covering all the usual folkie subjects (loads of death and sexual innuendo) but
a large proportion are related to the sea and sea-faring men, mainly
in the days of sail.
In the British navy, sailors then, as now, spent time "on watch",
i.e. on duty and time "below", i.e. off duty. The normal
watch length is four hours but there are two, two hour watches
each day, from 4 to 6 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. - these are called
"Dog Watches".
Since 1989 (several years before we were bitten by the folk music bug),
Joy & I have been puppy walkers for the
Guide Dogs For The Blind Association. During this time we've had
great fun bringing up loads of guide dog puppies. One
of these was Digby who, after spending years as a guide dog, retired and came back to us as a pet. The Dogwatch
logo has a dog's face in a watch face - the dog in the watch is
Digby. In November 2007, at the age of 14, Digby, bless him, went to meet his maker and we miss him.
Because of our involvement with dogs and sea songs, the name Dogwatch
just seemed the obvious choice - it sort of jumped up and bit
us on the .... you might say!!