We had a good turnout for our gig at the Windsor Castle last month and are looking forward to the next one. Tony Bell depped on bass; thanks again Tony. Carmen Carr came along and strutted her stuff, going down well. Even my daughter Elinore, who popped in for five minutes, stayed for the whole evening, and didn’t blame me next morning. Continue reading →

Last week’s gig at the Oval took an age to get to and an age to get from, but was enjoyable nonetheless.  There were visitors from Germany and Lithuania as well as locals. Chris Youlden was soon busy signing Savoy Brown records, showing the interest is still there. The gig was well received once again so thanks again to Graeme the manager. An added thanks too for the gift of a takeaway bottle of wine. If only all gigs were as friendly. Continue reading →

It seems a long time since I wrote anything here, but the reality is that I wrote a long diary entry a week or so ago and promptly deleted it. I must have pressed something I shouldn’t have. As I’m often pressing people’s buttons and winding them up, this was obviously some kind of just retribution. Ah well. Of course by the time I’d finished writing the lengthy tome, it was almost closing time in the pub, which seemed justification for not rewriting the thing. Continue reading →

Christmas is fast approaching , but life goes on anyway. More importantly, the shortest day has passed and we can pretend that the days will get noticeably longer and even kid ourselves that Spring is around the corner. Of course it’ll be a Spring full of Doom and Gloom, but as it’s a way off at present let’s not go there. Anyway, why go there when it’s already here – the doom and gloom, I mean. I’m already fed up with the media’s continuous spewing out of the most miserable predictions. Get a life. Continue reading →

After watching the England/Germany football match last Wednesday, which included a couple of typical blunders although it resulted in an England win, I wandered into the blues Jam at the Inn in time to hear the house band augmented by Sax and Trumpet, which made for a change. Later I sat in myself, accompanied by piano man Ritchie with Brian on bass. We played three or four numbers to close the jam and finished in time to enjoy last orders which our friend Soul man Abe had obligingly ordered. If only life was always that easy. Continue reading →

After staying up to watch the results of the American presidential election I managed to sleep late on Wednesday morning. I got up in time to watch the Daily Politics on the BBC, which included various opinions on the task ahead for Obama. It seems to me that people are already expecting miracles from the man, but as there is such a long transition time between the handover from one president to the next, perhaps reality will have time to mute the euphoria. His success certainly has changed history and there was a feeling that people were suddenly aware that they were part of that history making. Usually history passes without me personally being awake to the fact, so I suppose I must be getting wiser in my old age. (I still can’t remember what I was doing when John Kennedy was shot, but I‘m sure that it wasn‘t me). Continue reading →

Somehow I found myself in the Portobello Gold a couple of Sundays ago. I think the plan had been to start there, then go for a quick one in Finch’s and end up at the Inn On The Green. Like all the best laid plans it never quite worked out like that. There was solo guitarist/singer performing at the Gold and someone suggested we should request he played a blues. I didn’t think that was necessarily a good idea, so the request was never made. Someone also suggested another request, that he take a break, but I dissuaded them from making that request also. Performing solo is hard enough without comedians in the audience adding to the work load. Continue reading →

Continue reading →

On Monday I eventually found my way to the Blues Puppies launch in Wandsworth. I say eventually but it was via the Inn on The Green, for a quick visit and then Finch’s for another quick visit. Unfortunately a couple of miscreants came in and what was going to be a quick drink, turned into an afternoon and evening session. I did manage to get home, pick up a couple of harps and wend my way to Trinity Road by way of Clapham Junction. Continue reading →

On Wednesday evening I went to the Inn on the Green and, by chance, met a couple of friends from the Caernarvon Castle residency days. It was a bit of a leaving party for a friend returning to New Zealand after twenty one years. This coincided with the weekly blues jam which drew even more musicians this time. I sat in for a couple, in between drinks. I helped accompany a young singer named Terri Shaltiel, whom I had met the evening before. I introduced her as coming from North of Watford, but she seemed keen to be more specific and assure everyone that she was from Leeds. She sang well and a trumpeter did his bit too. I don’t remember getting home. Continue reading →

I made it to the blues jam at the Inn on the Green last Wednesday. I enjoyed it more than I had expected to. The house band got things moving with plenty of Elmore and Robert Johnson stuff. Friends of Tony, the gutarist organiser, had come from as far away as Eastbourne to support the first night so there was plenty of variety. I sat in on a couple of songs along with a violin player and as far as I know, no-one left the building. I shall be there again this Wednesday too. Continue reading →

The gig at the Oval Tavern started late despite the best laid plans, Bernie the guitarist, for once in his life actually wanted to get to the gig early, to “chill” as he put it. Mr. Cool indeed! We duly left at half five, hardly time to digest breakfast, but you have to humour people some of the time. The journey was laced as usual with lots of swearing at inconsiderate motorists, i.e. everyone else on the road. Nothing new here then and nothing to delay us you would think. However there’s always one, isn’t there? Or maybe two or three… Continue reading →