I arrived at the riverboat last month just as it was about to leave, but I didn‘t have to do a pierhead jump. The gig itself was really enjoyable once I’d stopped trying to find my sea legs and sat down to perform. The band was Gordon Smith, Jim Mercer, Dino Coccia and myself and everybody seemed to enjoy it. The free food and drink helped to make it a memorable trip. The occasion was a fiftieth birthday celebration. On the following Friday Gigi and I went to Henley for another birthday party, this time a ninetieth for an ex-Battle-of-Britain pilot.

My next foray was to Paradise by way of Kensal Rise to catch Big Joe Louis and his band. Another good evening not too far from home. Jon T-bone Taylor joined us there and it’s good to see him out and about. Not quite such good news about my guitarist Bernie Pallo as he had to go back into hospital. He’s out again now but is taking a long time to recover.

Last week Gigi had a break from work so we took a couple of trips, one to Brighton and, last Friday, to Paris for the day She had some business to transact and I decided to go with her. We mooched about the capital and ended up in a restaurant, watching passers-by in the rain, before heading for home. She probably would have preferred that I had stayed at home as, on going through the departure check out, we found that I’d lost her passport  On reflection I realised that the only place  I could have lost it was on the train, so thanks to some very helpful liaison between the French and British Border controllers it was found at the lost property office at the Gare du Nord. I think I’m back in her good books now…I was very impressed with the Eurostar service, by the way.