Last week’s gig at the Inn On The Green went well with a couple of guests sitting in. There were also a couple of guests who had intended to sit in but in the end had to leave before they had the chance. It wasn’t down to something I said…or didn’t say!

The evening started off with a little confusion; nothing new there. It turned out that we were playing along with another act. Normally we would have played in a seperate part of the venue but the manager decided to put both acts on in the main stage. This meant that we had to wait while the other act, a duo did a twenty-minute sound check. This lasted for about three quarters of an hour, then we did our usual two minute check.

There was a charge on the door which we and our supporters hadn’t anticipated. This didn’t deter the band, though it obviously deterred some of our followers. We finished the first set and while the other act were playing, I arranged with Big Les Wraight and Paul Rowan, both formerly of Little Matthew & the Intentions, to sit in for the last set. This never happened unfortunately because Les and his girl friend over here on a flying visit from Japan, had to leave and take Paul with them when Les’s girl friend suddenly became ill.

I managed to persuade Dave the manager to drop the charge on the door for the second set and we had a great session, with Chris taking a break while Carmen Carr sat in on a couple of vocals with T-Bone Taylor on guitar. We brought Chris back on for the final part of the set and were well received with plenty of dancers strutting their stuff. A few new faces also seemed to be enjoying themselves and complimented the band afterwards, someone even suggested that we should be doing festivals. I agree.

After the gig I realised that as I wasn’t driving, I was free to stroll along to the Warwick Castle in Portobello Road for last orders. Surprise, surprise; quite a few of our supporters managed to get there too. Does this mean we are encouraging overconsumption of alcohol. Perish the thought!

Some bad news. The gig at the King’s Head theatre pub has come to an end with a change of management succumbing to complaints about noise from a miserable bastard who has recently moved in next door. Why do people do something so stupid as to move in next to a long established music venue then immediately complain? The answer is that they can get away with it. There should surely be some qualification of say ten years habitation before you can complain. They would have long moved on by then of course. Right, that’s my whinge of the week. I feel better already.

Tomorrow I’m doing a duo gig with Gordon Smith at a party for a sixties hippies commune. (This is not my description and we aren’t performing for free). It’s meant to be outdoors and rain is forecast. I’ve never performed under an umbrella and I’m certainly not taking my clothes off. I think I’m looking forward to it.