Just before my birthday I met up with Chris Youlden, Mel Wright and Brian Diprose for a long overdue drink. We agreed to meet at the Wetherspoon’s pub on Charing cross Road and as there was a back entrance on Greek Street, I decided to enter from there. It was a surprise to see posters and photographs on the walls from the Marquee Club as I  went in, until I realised that this had been one of the Marquee venues towards the latter days of the club. Once in the main part of the pub I was able to remember it better. The place is really spacious and with more than a nod to it’s musical past. The beer was up to usual Wetherspoon’s  standards and I shall no doubt be frequenting the place more often in future. Another surprise was that Mel had finished his third novel and presented each of us with a copy.

It concerns a bunch of sixties people coming to terms with the fact that they aren’t getting any younger, well at least that’s my rather biased interpretation of it. It’s set in Hastings and the town also seems to be undergoing the problems of facing up to the recession. Mel has done an amazing amount of research on the town, including the saga of the end of Woolworths. One of the main characters is naturally a blues fan. I wonder who that is based on. I really enjoyed the book. It’ entitled One Thing And Another and  is available from Dartford Forum Publishing for £4.99

The website is

www.dfpbooks.co.uk.

My 75^th birthday day bash went well and I’d like to thank everybody who turned up and partied. Also I have to thank Paul Lamb, Big Joe Louis, Laurie Garmon and Chris Youlden, among others, for sitting in and doing a great job. While I’m at it I should like to thank all those people who posted birthday wishes on facebook. Thanks too to the band, Jon T-bone Taylor, Jim Mercer and Pete Miles for the gig. Lastly I have to thank my partner Gigi and her friend Stephanie, for producing the cup-cake spectacular on the night. That is it as far as partying is concerned…well perhaps my 100^th.  Mmm maybe  I’m the one who should be facing up to the reality of  the past disappearing too.