Top o’ the mornin’ to ye!
And this week, we have to report on a rather quirky gig, up in Wotton Under Edge, a charming little town just south of the Vale of Gloucester, and a slightly east of the 18th century.
We were playing at the Star Inn’s Christmas bash; as we pulled up there, there is a brass band (I think) just packing down under a gazebo outside.
Emma looks at me in horror.
(There’s nothing unusual about that in itself, but this time she was looking at me in horror, wondering if we were supposed to playing outside in the cold). As it turned out, we were in fact appointed to be inside the nice warm cosy pub, in a space that looked a little cramped, but – considering it was indoors – we decided was entirely satisfactory.
The evening passed without any major incidents from either us or the punters – a no-score draw, if you like – although they did exhibit the common behaviour of roundly ignoring us for most of the night, then suddenly becoming noisily enthusiastic for the last couple of songs and demanding multiple encores.
It was nice to see our chum Olly there though, who’d come in for a rest after a busy day going around Gloucestershire knocking on doors asking if people would be considering voting Labour next Thursday. Apparently there are “a surprising number of stupid people in these parts”.
And – although we do try to keep politics at arm’s length from band business, I do feel that on this occasion there are essentially moral, rather than political issues at stake – so for what it’s worth, I heartily encourage everybody to get out and vote on Thursday, for whichever party it is you feel is best; if you’re undecided, a nice guideline I saw was as follows: “If you’re not doing so well, vote in your own best interests; if you are doing okay, vote in the best interests of those who aren’t”.
And I will specifically NOT add that, if you think that the current bunch of duplicitous toffs should be trusted with anything more than the stationery cupboard, you are more gullible than you look…
Anyway – on to happier matters –
Saturday 14th – The Cellar Bar, Caldicot. Not played here for quite some time – it’s great fun! Sometimes I do miss living out in the valleys, they definitely know how to have a good time. And so do we, by and large. So that should work out nicely.
And finally….
Square on
A