A while back, I met Top Topham for a drink or three in the Portobello Gold and as we reminisced he showed me some photographs from our gigs at the Station Tavern. My memories were mostly of the anti-authoritarian attitude which I’ve carried for most of my life and of how it has affected my music career specifically. I ended the conversation with the phrase “A rebel without a pause“ and immediately decided that it would be a possible title for a Cd. We then mulled over the idea and decided that maybe a country blues project with Chris Youlden and perhaps a pianist like Bob Hall would be good. Needless to say we haven’t pursued it further, though who knows?

I then left to go and pick up Gigi from hospital where she’d been having a throat endoscopy. When I got there she was still under the influence of the sedation drugs. She was very amenable to all my suggestions, even the impolite ones so I asked the nurse if we could take some of the drugs with us as it would enable me to keep her under control. As expected, my request was turned down.What a shame. Gigi is now back to her normal self and my control has waned. A few days later we went to a birthday party for Jim Mercer and a colleague, where Dino Coccia, Gordon Smith and I joined Jim for an acoustic set of blues which ended up sounding like a jug band without a jug.

Last month’s gig at the Inn on the Green consisted of one straight through set after the world cup match ended. This month’s gig will be at the usual time and will consist of two sets. The Inn will then close for a few weeks for refurbishment, but will open on the intervening Saturdays for the great English Saturday breakfast which has be come a feature and will stay open all day. Once the building work has been completed, the Inn should re-open for business as usual about the 6^th or 7^th of August. Finally, for all those people who are awaiting an answer to their e-mails I apologise and will get around to it soon but am presently on holiday.