Ahoy there shipmates!
Another jolly weekend in rock; Friday at the Cat & Wheel was notable for the sheer quantity of spilt beer and broken glass all over the floor afterwards; a very lively night, but fortunately nobody aimed their boobies at Stuart this time. After we passed out the “fellatable guitars” into the crowd, only one came back safely afterwards, but was so covered in beer and grime that I binned it; after all, nobody’s going to want to wrap their lips around that, I figured.
Yo homeys
Well, the Blue Lagoon certainly didn’t disappoint on the drunken audience front; helped immeasurably by a coterie of ladies there for a 49th birthday bash; the birthday girl herself making quite a pastime of manipulating her chest at band members; she started with me, but since I simply beamed back at her, have her a thumbs-up and said “Thank you very much”, she shifted her mammary manoeuvring in Stuart’s direction – since he was careless enough to look slightly shocked, he thus became the focus of her bosomy wibbling for the rest of the evening.
Hey gang
Right, well that’s our 2017 World Tour off to a good start, then.
Saturday night at the Rolleston Arms in Swindon – not a huge crowd, but since the rest of town was apparently completely dead, we didn’t do too badly.
And everyone there seemed to have a good time, so that was all right, then. We even had a night of special effects, courtesy of a very nice chap who was sat peacefully drinking and vaping away, producing clouds of sweet-smelling vapour – which prompted the easily-confused Stuart to ask me if I’d brought a new smoke machine. I hadn’t, but I think we’re going to have to get one now.
Happy New Year, folks!
We hope you all had a spanktastic festive season, we certainly did…
Gig reports (as far as I can remember them) are suitably cheery – just before Christmas we played the Farmhouse in Yate, which turned out to be a rather better night than anticipated, thanks to a fairly solid cohort of slightly bonkers locals – including one fine lady, whose name alas I have forgotten, who was something of an urban hairdresser – a “street stylist”, if you will – she spent much of the evening unaccountably weaving plaits into the hair of various other members of the clientèle, and when she spotted Ben’s flowing tresses, her face lit up with an evil grin.
Ahoy there shipmates!
Well, Friday at the ‘Cullis was an interesting evening. We arrived to find that the pub has changed hands since we were last here, and they’ve done it up a bit. In fact, there’s even a nice little drum riser, which should nicely enhance our professional rawk’n’roll credibility. And now that I’ve got my new amp back from the doctors, I have an impressive six-foot high stack of backline, which I think also helps to substantially enhance our professional rawk’n’roll credibility.
Well, it’s getting very close to that special time of year; and you need to ask yourself – have you been naughty or nice? Knowing you lot, best prepare for the worst, I’d suggest…
We had a hugely entertaining time on Friday at the New Crown Inn in Bath – lovely little pub, very friendly, and made us feel massively welcome. The landlord in particular seemed very enthusiastic, playing air guitar with gusto (it’s an Italian table sauce) for most of the second set, and joining in our impromptu game of Blind Man’s Buff after we’d packed up – which started when we threw a coat over Rosa’s head, and only finished after some ten minutes of giggling when she had to be caught just before plummeting down some stone steps…
Hurry folks, there’s only one shopping day left til Christmas!
It’s true. There’s always only one shopping day left til Christmas. It’s called Christmas Eve.
My advice is not to leave it too late, though – otherwise the only place left open will be the petrol station, and that means everybody gets either charcoal briquettes or screen wash for Christmas.
Anyways, we had an interesting time this weekend, thanks for asking; I think Saturday night was my favourite, playing a party for the New Sentinels bike club down in Bedminster. After some initial confusion – expecting to be the second on of the two bands, then finding on arrival that they wanted us on first; then having to wait for them to set up first anyway, which took a while on account of their guitarist being an hour late; then after finally being able to hurriedly set up being told (just as we went on), that they wanted us to play not one but two sets – things settled down quite nicely.
Ho, ho ho, my little ones.
Yes, it’s now December, start of the silly season, and time to be able to use the C-word in public again. A fine weekend to start off with – we arrived at the Queen Vic to find the council has closed the road for a festive street fair a little further up the hill, blocking our access to get in and unload.
Fortunately, they hadn’t had the foresight to close the pavement as well, so my little van clambered nimbly over a couple of kerbs, and we were right outside the venue, with plenty of spaces to park, since everybody else seemed to be law-abiding.
My, that was a busy weekend!
Friday night, and it’s off to the rather lovely Barrington Arms near Swindon with daughter Lil for an acoustic evening; a fine plan, spoiled only by the cheery signs, twinkling in the rainswept night, announcing that the M4 is shut from the next junction but one onwards. As the noted wit Oscar Wilde would have remarked, “Oh, bugger!”
So it’s off at the next exit for a frantic explore of the B roads of Wiltshire, and we finally slither to a halt outside the pub a mere hour late. Fortunately Tracy, the nice lady in charge, is very understanding, and we still manage to fit in a full two sets before finishing time. She apologises that the pub’s not too full, but blames Black Friday, the weather, the roads, and, curiously, the government. Apparently, though, they normally have more people in the place, and they usually like something a bit noisier than what we’ve just played. Lil immediately informs her that we can easily do MUCH noisier, we just bring her brothers along – this suggestion is met with approval, and so the stage is set for a full-on Polar Bear Cheesy Pirate experience in the New Year. ?
Hey folks
Helldammit, that was a fun weekend all round!
Friday night, and time for Lily’s gig up at the ol’ Clothears in Stroud; having forewarned the pub that in addition the usual acoustic-y stuff, we were bringing along the full strength of the tribe – the mighty Polar Bear Cheese Pirates From Outer Space – we arrived early and after almost an hour of careful planning, carrying, arranging, rearranging, and tripping over each other, we’d managed to get the entire band’s kit set up in the very snug space available. And a jolly night we had of it; although after over an hour of drumming way after his bedtime, poor Jimi had to curl up in a corner to snooze while we packed the rest of the kit up afterwards. Usually it’s Lily that does that.
