I managed to miss the last Ella Speed gig at the Alley Cat Bar by simply misunderstanding when they were taking a break from the fortnightly residency. However I did manage to catch another gig by a trio led by Dan Nash, a singer guitarist, who has a great repertoire of blues songs. It was just by chance that I was in the Chippenham hotel at the end of my street that night and it was a pleasant surprise when they came on. I highly recommend them. His web address is

www.dannashblues.com

I did remember to go to a previous gig at the Alley Cat though it wasn’t the Tuesday residency but was in fact a late one with various other acts. It was well attended and the audience were enthusiastic. We’re there again on the 10^th of the month so I shall probably manage that one, age permitting. We’re also doing an Ella Speed gig at The Secret Garden in Battersea on the 15^th.

Despite all the claims that the economy is improving I’m finding just the reverse as my overdraft limit has just been reduced. Needless to say I was not amused. Of course I could give up drinking but back in the real world I can’t see that happening. My newest excuse for going to the pub is that I get to see my seven week old Great grandson Harley there from time to time. So far he’s not on beer but he definitely licks his lips when I down one…

The other day, I was stopped in the street by a couple of neighbours who recommended an art exhibition at a nearby canal-side church, St Mary Magdalene’s. They told me that the exhibition was well worth a look and also the vaults of the church where the exhibition was being held were really fantastic. Armed with this information, I duly persuaded  my partner Gigi to pay a visit with me. We were not disappointed.

As we arrived we ran into the artist, William Stevens, and had a brief word before entering. The works, “The Drovers“, are based on the imaginary clash of 19^th century cattle drovers entering modern day London. The artist had travelled in Central Asia where he had encountered a current culture similar to that of the old drovers of Victorian times. The result is a reflection on history, fantasy, and modern urban life on the streets. The exhibition is on until the 29^th October from midday until 5pm. In addition, the vaults themselves are also spectacular. St Magdalene’s is a fine neo-Gothic church and somehow is a very appropriate setting for the display.

After the exhibition we went to the nearest bar, no surprise there, where we sat with our drinks under an awning beside the canal, watching the interloping Canada geese passing up and down, without, I hasten to add, the ushering of drovers. I was suddenly reminded of my first full-time job. I had worked on a dairy farm and on a few occasions I had indeed driven cattle through the streets of Hereford, from the Cattle Market to a farm on the banks of the River Wye, just outside town  I had completely forgotten these incidents. Must really be getting old.

On the subject of getting old, My annual birthday bash went really well, though there were some late arrivals who thought that the gig went on after 11pm. Well it did a bit, but not intentionally planned. I really enjoyed it and the audience was very appreciative. Once again I want to thank the band and the guest musicians. Photographer Tim Holt was in attendance and I’ve just received  his archive gallery of the event. You can access the photographs of the night on his website: http://phatfotos.co.uk/shakey/Shakey_et._al./Welcome.html

I would like to thank everyone who sent birthday wishes via facebook and cards. I’ll be having my birthday bash at the Chippenham Pub in Shirland Road this year. The pub is at the junction with Chippenham Road. The band will be Alan Vincent on guitar, Jim Mercer on vocals and bass, Mel Wright on drums and John Lewis on keyboards. Chris Youlden can’t guarantee to be there as his health problems don’t seem to be getting any better, but I’m expecting a few guest musicians along. The gig will be on the 12^th October starting at eight in the evening. It’s actually about ten days after my birthday but that has nothing to do with old age. As for my actual birthday, well that’s another story.

In fact, Gigi had to go to Paris for the day on business so I  went along with the idea of  having a celebratory meal there before returning to London.  We started off by almost missing the Eurostar from St Pancras because of traffic problems but we just about made it by switching to the underground mid-journey. The business took place in the garment district of Paris but went on much longer than planned. This was not a secret plan to keep me out of bars, or so I was led to believe. Any way the business finished around six thirty and we went to a nearby café  for  much needed refreshment of  French cheeses and wine.

Then the evening got a little out of kilter. We decided to make our way to the Gare du Nord terminus and have a meal in the vicinity before boarding the train. A simple plan which went slightly wrong when we met by chance a couple of friendly Australian ladies and fell into conversation  punctuated by a bowl of  very spicy olives interspersed with the odd glass. That was when we realised  it was time to make our way to the station. After much huffing and puffing we arrived just in time to watch the last train leave. We were given a couple of goodwill ticket changes  so that we could catch the first train out the next morning.

Time for plan B. A couple of phone calls to London  to let people know of a change of the next day’s  arrangements  followed by a decision to find hotel and then get my birthday meal. We didn’t have to go far and checked in then went to a nearby restaurant and ate. And so to bed at about half one in the morning. We awoke not so bright and breezy at six for the journey home. Suffice to say we did not miss the train.

Recently Bettye LaVette did a gig in Chelsea at the Under the Bridge club. She had recorded one of Chris Youlden’s songs, “I’m Tired” so Chris and I went along to catch the show. She duly performed the song and later we met her backstage, thanks to the auspices of Kevin Kiley.  She is one of those performers who never seem to get proper recognition until late on in their career, but she is a great singer with a sense of irony and knows how to put on a show. She has a good band too, who supported her well. She then finished the evening with a solo vocal, with a gospel tinge which emphasised how exceptional a voice she has. A fine evening.

I did another gig with Jim Mercer’s band Ella Speed at the Alley Cat in Denmark Street on the following Friday and that went pretty well too. Pete Miles sat in on drums and did his usual great job and there was a friendly crowd too, so I thoroughly enjoyed the evening there also.

I didn’t get to Notting Hill Carnival this year for the first time in years, so I don’t know how it went, but there seemed to be a lot more people there from what I’ve been told.  Gigi and I had other things arranged but there’s always next year. However we did manage a post |carnival party along with Jon T-bone Taylor and other friends at Jason’s annual shindig. He does the website for me, but his other talents as host and chef did the trick. Well, as I’ve fully recovered, it must be time for a drink…

I gigged at the Alley Cat in Denmark Street with Jim Mercer’s band. It was during the happy hour as usual and eventually people arrived and got happy, well they applauded boisterously, so I guess they were happy. I remained sober which does not mean I was unhappy. We are going to do a less than happy hour on Thursday 11^th July starting at nine in the evening or at least after the happy hour which ends at eight. Jim has finally decided on a name for the band which is Ella Speed an old Leadbelly song I believe. The line up is Jim Mercer on vocals and guitar, Peter Parker on Bass, Sakura Mori on drums and myself on harp and vocals.

Last Friday I met up with Mel Wright and Chris Youlden for a tipple or two. I did the tippling because the others were on non-alcoholic beverages, Chris because they’ve finally tried an antibiotic which seems to be working and Mel for whatever reason, (sanity probably…I daren’t ask). Chris’s leg is still badly swollen, but the virus seems to be responding to the new medication. He promises to drop in at the Alley Cat when he’s properly recovered. I look forward to his recovery.

Last Saturday’s gig at the Red Squirrel went well, despite the opposition from Glastonbury and sports on television. The band played enthusiastically and we had a couple of sitters -in…Natalie, who did a tasty version of “Mustang Sally” and Eddie Gee, who did a spot on harp and vocals. It was a very lively party crowd which meant lots of drunkenness. I didn’t want to be the party pooper so after the final set I too joined in the revelry, or boozing as some people might call it. As the rest of the band were driving, I had to dispose of the band drinks which had been bought for us. Well we’ve all got do our bit haven’t we. We are all in it together, right?

We are doing another gig at the Red Squirrel this Saturday the 29^th June. The line-up will include Alan Vincent on guitar, Brian Diprose on bass and Neil Littman on drums. It happens to be the day after both Alan’s and Brian’s birthday, as they share the same birth date, so plenty of reason to party and celebrate. In addition, there will be a christening party on behalf of the son of one of the Squirrel staff, so, all in all, it seems like it’s going to be a fun gig. I of course will be my usual sober self.

On a less happy note, I recently had my computer hacked by some virus that takes the  contact names and email addresses and then sends out a load of rubbish adverts to unsuspecting recipients. I apologise that this has happened and hope it didn’t cause too many problems for other people, though I fear the worst in that respect.

Another computer problem is that I somehow deleted a message from a lady before answering it and the sender was not on my contact list and I can’t remember her name. The message concerned an inquiry about  the Little Woman You‘re So Sweet album and whether there were any Cd copies of it. In fact  there was a Cd issued by a German label. Surprise , surprise, I knew nothing about it until someone sent me a copy. The lady enquirer used to listen to her Dad playing the vinyl album when she was young and continued to listen to it as she grew up. I hope that she reads this and  get’s back in touch.

Recently, Gigi and I went for lunch al fresco at Cote Brasserie in St. Christopher’s  Place just off Oxford Street. We got some great service from a member of the staff named Albert, a Catalan, I believe. He was, later in the month, going to Yorkshire to assist in the opening of another branch, so I wish him well.  At the next table were  a father and son and we got talking. It turned out that they had both played cricket for Gloucestershire and in fact the father had played for Pakistan. He was the youngest of five brothers, four of whom all played for the national team He was Sadik Mohammed and we had a really enjoyable conversation.. It’s the sort of surprise encounter that you can get in London and I look forward to many more.

The gig atthe Red Squirrel was a great success  with a good turn out, lots of dancing and drinking and lots of photos courtesy of Tim Holt who’s website is phatphotos.co.uk. Tim did the Greek Street album cover by the way. The band, Jim Mercer, Alan Vincent, Mel Wright and myself was in cracking form and surprised a few of the regulars who only knew me as a guy propping up the bar most nights. They now know that I’m not just a pretty face… A big thanks to all the people who turned up and made the night really enjoyable.

The following Tuesday, I went to the Alley Cat in Denmark Street for the usual fortnightly duo with Jim Mercer but this one was different as we were augmented by drums and bass. This too went enjoyably well and we hope to have the four-piece next time. Incidentally that won’t actually be on a Tuesday as there is a record launch that evening. We will be playing on the day after, Wednesday 15 April, at the usual time, six till eight, which is the happy hour. This caused various interpretations of phrase last time we played there. Jim had just finished announcing the song he had just performed, “Four until Eight” when Tim Penn interjected that should be six until eight,  forcing me to declare my interpretation, which was: Sex until Late. Yes I am still living in a dream world…

Yesterday evening I met Dino Coccia at the Princess Louise Pub in Holborn to pick up the last available copy of  the “Got Blues If You Wannit” cd, and of course to have a quick drink. We had done a gig the previous week at a wake for a friend of Dino’s and had really enjoyed the gig, with people eventually persuaded to get up and dance.  Enid, for whom the wake was organised, had been a lively enough soul and would have been first on the dance floor, as her daughter Sue had informed me, so I was pleased to see the dancers.

During the course of the drinking at the Louise, I realised that this had almost certainly been the place in Holborn where I had promoted the Hellhound Blues Club, way back in the late sixties. It had also been the venue of various jazz sessions some of which Dino had worked in. These reminiscences led to the usual comparison with the London music scene then and now. Perhaps the new easing of the licensing laws will encourage a return to busier pub venues but I’m not holding my breath.

Back to the here and now, the duo gig I’ve been doing with Jim Mercer every other Tuesday is cancelled next week and we’ll be back at the Alley Cat happy hour session on the 30^th of this month. Before that Jim will be on bass and vocals with my band on the 27^th at my local, the Red Squirrel on the junction of Elgin Avenue and Chippenham Road in Maida Hill. Jon T-bone Taylor also sent me an email about doing a repeat gig in the greenhouse at Ravenscourt Park in July. No rest for the wicked then.

I spoke to Chris Youlden yesterday but he is unable to do the band gig at the Squirrel as he has serious leg and ankle swelling  which he’s having antibiotic and zinc-dressing treatment for. He has been told to rest so lets hope he improves soon. as we’re due another drinking session. Which leads me to another  meeting on Saturday with friends of the late guitarist Bruce Langsman, who gigged with me in the early days and may well have gigged at the Hellhound blues Club. Mel Wright and Wolfie Witcher are attending at this annual get-together of Bruces mates which is being arranged as usual by Bruce’s brother Rex. The late bassist /vocalist Ron Skinner was a regular at this event too. Incidentally, I have not been invited to play at Maggie Thatchers’s wake, but perhaps there isn’t one…

Well I didn’t get to the gig on January 22^nd , nor indeed the one the following fortnight. Whilst making my way down a slope covered in ice, I managed to slip up and crack a rib or two. I had the wind knocked out of my sails for a while and then started to haul myself up just as a young middle-eastern guy wearing a union jack tee shirt offered to help. I thanked him and continued on my way to the newspaper shop, which had been the reason for my journey. I got my paper and walked home, avoiding the slop by detouring. As the day wore on, the pain increased so much so that eventually I called an ambulance. By a curious coincidence it turned out that the father of one of the ambulance crew had exactly the same birthday as me, down to the actual year. When I chatted her up I was told I was old enough to be her father…A&E on a Sunday evening is never a great place to be.

Eventually I was discharged about 2.30 in the morning, with some pain killers. They weren’t very effective and I had to call another ambulance on the following Wednesday. The  examination was more intensive this time and I was discharged with much better painkillers and a letter to my GP. The pills ran out a week later so I trudged off to the doctor and was given more pain killers and also antibiotics for a lung infection. That meant another missed gig at the Alley Cat but Jim Mercer told me that Gordon Smith went along to help out so I didn’t feel at all guilty. Suffice to say that I did finally get to the latest gig on the Tuesday just gone. Yes, I did drink and no I wasn’t drunk when I fell over on the ice. This is the third time I’d cracked a rib and only once had I been drinking, just to set your minds at rest.

Now back to the less mundane. Is it just me or is there a certain irony in that DNA evidence was used to verify that the burial site of Richard the Third had indeed been discovered and that DNA evidence also led to the discovery of horsemeat being used to augment  beef products. Perhaps if a cow had been at hand at that battle, he could have saved his kingdom and we wouldn’t have needed DNA to tell the story. On the other hand, “A Cow, a Cow, my kingdom for a cow” wouldn’t have suited Shakespeare, though it seems he too had his sense of humour. The news coverage of the confirmatory evidence about Richard also mentioned that a plaque had been placed at a nearby river bank where it was alleged his body had been thrown in by an angry mob. In the discussion about where the bones should be laid to rest, seems to have occurred to no one that they  could have been thrown into the river where the plaque was. Oh well, I have my ideas of how to do things and nobody takes any notice…

It’s quite a while since I wrote anything here. It can’t have been all the partying I’ve been doing, although I did enjoy Christmas with my family. Nor has anything ultra-extraordinary happened in my life. On the contrary, it’s been pretty much déjà vu. Regular pub visits but not much in the way of music, at least not my kind of music. However, all is not lost.

A couple of months ago Jim Mercer asked me to join him in a gig at the Alley Cat in Denmark street, just off the north end of Charing Cross Road. It’s the sort of club I would consider running myself, not too big but spacious enough and near a tube station (Tottenham Court Road) and served by plenty of buses. We do a duo every other Tuesday, with Jim on guitar rather than his usual bass and we play during the happy hour, between six and eight. We had a break over Christmas and will be back on Tuesday 22^nd January. Chris Youlden says he will make it that evening. In theory it keeps me out of trouble.

I’ve also agreed to do a gig at the White Lion in Streatham for a children’s charity which helps children in Nepal. For further details about the promotion go to the following website: events @music4children.org which gives some details about the White Lion and the way it ahs been changed into a community bar from what seems previously to have been a pretty run-down pub. Not that I have too much against run down pubs as long as they are still open. There is always hope of some improvement instead of the place becoming yet another Tesco local store, with or without beef burgers. The gig will be me, Dino Coccia on drums, Alan Vincent on guitar and possibly Jim Mercer on bass, but as he’s still in the Caribbean, I can’t confirm that yet. Chris is unable to do that particular gig but may do further ones should they arise.

I met Chris the other day to pass on some information and show him a video of Betty Lavette covering one of his songs. We met once more at the J.D. Wetherspoon’s on Charing Cross Road. Chris is doing okay with a few health niggles, but his wife is having quite a few problems, so I hope things pick up for her soon. I don’t think I’ve completely convinced him to get an I-pad but he seemed impressed at being able to watch the You-tube of Betty’s performance and then write and send a reply without having to leave the pub. I  met Dino the next evening in the Princess Louise in Holborn. As I wrote previously; déjà vu. A belated Happy New Year to everyone.

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.

So much for enjoying the fact that I had some more gigs. The reality is that the Chippenham gigs have now been cancelled after the manager departed at short notice. Rather than jump off the nearest tower block, I decided to move the gig on the 6^th of October to the pub even closer to me in Chippenham Road. So my birthday blues celebrations will now be at The Red Squirrel at the junction of Elgin avenue and Chippenham Road, W9.

We’ll probably start the celebrations at about eight even though there may be an extension. That sounds like another alcoholic turbo boost.

The band will be Jon T-bone Taylor on guitar, Jim Mercer on bass and vocals, Pete Miles on drums and myself . Chris Youlden has confirmed he’ll be there too so a good night is a probable. So if anyone reading this knows anyone who’d intended to turn up at the Chippenham, please let them know of the change of venue.

Someone, possibly from Germany, as I think the name was Gerhardt, recently emailed me about buying two Cds, but it had gone into my spam box and when I tried to move it, it somehow got deleted. I then closed down the computer so the trash can got emptied too. Anyway, if that gentleman reads this, could he please email me again and I can apologise to him.