7th November 2026 - Westlands Entertainment Venue, Yeovil

 It isn't often that the A303 is nearly empty. Is it fuel prices? Is there football on somewhere? Whatever - the historic thoroughfare was an easy-peasy drive (even past Stonehenge) and we were setting up in the world's least photogenic building (from the outside, anyway) nice and early.

But the Westlands Venue is big, and it was a tad concerning to survey all the tables, knowing that while we had sold plenty of tickets, we hadn't filled the whole place.

Luckily, the team at Westlands are obviously old hands at this sort of issue, and some clever shuffling of table and chairs, and the floor instantly became a bit cosier. When the lights came up for the traditional 'crowd shot', the room looked well filled.

Full marks to Dave and the busy team at Westlands for looking after us so well. 

Nice to have the highly talented Kathy Horniblow lurking just off stage as the evening went on with her huge camera, and supplying us with a huge file of dazzling pictures. 

Saturday 5th September 2026 Swindon Arts Centre

A short trip down the M4 to Swindon Old Town centre where we were made very welcome by another almost full house.

The good burghers of Swindon - or whoever it was who redesigned the city centre to make it clear that they don't like cars - should have a kick up the backside. We had to use a 'residential' side car park to unload and then scuttle off to the nearest proper car park. There were two, one short stay and one long stay, and long stayers weren't welcome in the short stay one. 

Those of us who have spent the last year getting tickets for all manner of infringements decided it would be wise to head for the long stay - about a mile away. It also only took cash, so I had to head for the friendly Coop to break a tenner, all the while serenaded by the deafening beat of the 24/7 fitness activity centre that hadn't spent a lot of money of sound proofing.

The welcome inside the Swindon Arts Centre was lovely, and we had a fantastically relaxed gig - the sort of gig where there were technical issues, but no one minded; indeed, the enthusiastic crowd were all up for hints and suggestions (some of them better than others). A great evening.

Big thanks to Sam and Lily on the knobs.

8th August 2026: The Acapela Studio, Pentyrch, Cardiff

 

    The omens weren't brilliant as we set off for South Wales. We'd had email warnings about explosions in local quarries causing floods that closed crucial roads. We'd also been briefed about not parking in the obvious car park: it's owned by the pub next door, and Acapela clients were less than welcome to use it. It's only a short step from there to an episode of Midsummer Murders.

    The traffic jams westbound started at Bristol, and reached Newport, where thousands of Comic Con fans finally got off the road. And the venue itself - from the outside - had the welcoming aura of a whitewashed breezeblock. But appearances - as they say - can be deceptive.

    Inside, the ex-Methodist Temperance chapel had been lovingly converted to a breathtaking performance venue, with seating in the gallery, and tables laid out for those who wanted to dine before the show. Even the dearly departed of Pentyrch had a great view south, over the houses and the Bristol Channel to North Somerset.

    Hywel looked after us splendidly - and I don't just mean in the sound department, although that was top-notch; mind you, with his top-level musical pedigree, one expects nothing less. We were dispatched to the 'green room' with delicious (and complimentary) pizzas and cold drinks. Nothing could have been more welcome after a long, hot drive from central southern England. In fact, we, as a band, couldn't have been made more welcome. A fantastic trip west. Thanks to one and all at the Acapela.

1st August 2026: The Rotherhithe Festival

 It was a bitter-sweet gig in the middle of London. A long drive in to squeeze a one-hour set among a fantastic range of bands, all doing their bit for what was apparently the last ever Rotherhithe Festival. Full marks to everyone involved for recreating a very special village feeing in the shadow of all those shiny new towerblocks.

Saturday 27th June 2026: The Neptune Inn, Hove.

     What an honour to play on the very same stage that Gary Moore himself once once graced. Well, 'stage' is a slight exaggeration; a small section of raised floor in a small corner of a small bar in a small but very famous pub. Nonetheless, above it is a photo of the man himself in action.

    But once we finally squeezed in and got set up (and poor old Shaun finally made it through the A27 traffic jams), we enjoyed a slightly truncated evening entertaining a crowd that had been somewhat depleted by the Ingerland football match that had thoughtlessly been scheduled to clash with our gig.

    'Truncated' because our finish time was hastily changed to 11pm (having previously been moved from 11pm to midnight) after neighbours suggested we were a bit loud. Hard to disagree with them, to be honest.

    Highlights of this, the second part of our fantastic double-header in the south east, included an Asian gentleman kindly helping me park my car in one of the few spots available outside the pub (I was slow to realise that he was simply trying to stop me from hitting his beloved BMW that was behind me - one of those ones with the furry personalised plates), 

    And the thunderstorm that hit Hove as we waited for Shaun to arrive cleared to a dramatic evening sky. 'Tinseltown in the Rain' sprang to mind. Blue Nile, wasn't it?

Friday 26th June 2026: Astor Theatre, Deal, Kent.

     As the heatwave continued, we set off round the M25 and then due east for the lovely seaside town of Deal, where the historic Astor Theatre awaited. 

    It had everything you could ask for: fantastic air conditioning, large empty car park directly alongside, a ruthlessly efficient sound man (thanks, Anthony) and an almost full house.

         It's hard to say why the crowd were so lively and enthusiastic; was it the welcome escape from the heat that the Astor provided, or did we play brilliantly? Let's be modest and say it was 50/50.

Saturday 23rd May 2026: Players' Theatre, Thame

 

We marked the start of the 2026 heatwave with a trip to the Oxfordshire/Bucks border and the lovely market town of Thame. (Named after its river, the Thame, not the Thames. The Thame (the river) meets the Thames south of the town, in Dorchester. No, not that Dorchester. Another one. Do keep up.)

Tucked down a mainly residential side street is an old church hall, beautifully converted into a performance venue, and run by volunteers. They looked after us famously. 

It wasn't a full house, but it was enthusiastic and appreciative. And the air conditioning was very welcome. Many thanks to Wayne and his team for looking after us so well. And even more marks to Frank, filling in for Sean on drums for the first time.

My pre-gig stroll around the town revealed loads of charming independent shops, only one Turkish money laundering operation barbers shop, a huge central car park with FREE parking (yes, really) and lots of friendly locals. One very comely lady stopped to chat as I surveyed one of the few empty shop fronts. We covered farming, politics, demographics and all sorts of topics in our twenty minute talk, ending with a lot of eye rolling at the state of the world. As she reached into her bag for "something I must give you that you'd be interested in", all sorts of visions flashed across my mind - some of them more virtuous than others.   It was a very smart business card with the website of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Oh well. For those who might be interested....