Just catching up...

Hello everyone! I’m miles behind with the news. First of all let me tell you about the last few gigs. We had a cracking time a couple of weeks ago with ‘a lovely weekend of music’ as Claire put it. On the Saturday night, we had the world’s best time playing at The Plough Inn, Tiptoe. I tell you, the roof nearly came off. People were singing, dancing, standing on chairs to get a better look. What a fab evening. Big thanks to our sound engineer Rob Austin. We’d had a few technical problems before Christmas – just when Rob was off sunning himself in Spain. Very inconsiderate! But at The Plough, Rob tweaked everything to perfection. It was the first time that all seven of us (including Keith Fletcher on drums and percussion) had played a live gig together And all of a sudden, we were a band! It was brilliant. The next evening, we played Shenanigans at The Portman Hotel. This was only a short set, about 40 minutes, as there was an open-mic session beforehand with some terrific performers. Even though there was only a small audience, we really enjoyed playing and the Shenanigans engineer, Alan Williamson made sure we got a great sound So thanks to him and to Paul Burke for inviting us. Next up, was a little duo guest spot session at Bohemian Voices, Lately Nightclub, West Hampstead. Alan and I went up together – he full of flu, poor lad – but it was worth it for the great response we received. We did five songs – three from our current album, and two from our forthcoming one. Well, there were only about 30 people there but it’s such an intimate venue that that seemed really full … and thirty people hanging on your every note is a great audience. They sang and clapped along to ‘Morning Glory’ and one woman, who’d lost her partner, said she cried in ‘Wait on the Other Side’ and we sold a CD – yes! We hope Steve will invite us back again … soon! We’re only doing a couple of gigs in February (a duo guest spot at the Consortium on the 14th, and a full band gig at The Manor Arms on Friday 25th). This is because we are currently working hard on the new CD Ghosts of Wasted Chances . We’re keeping everything crossed that this is going to make a bit of a splash. I really don’t want to have to get a day job again! You’ll notice (very shortly anyway) that our website has had a bit of a revamp. Hope you like the new look which ties in with the new album. We do have a guest book so don’t be shy: let us know what you think. Big thanks to Al Stewart and Pete Green for their work on the web and on the CD artwork. Lastly, we’re also keeping busy with organising a big event to raise funds for a fishing boat and nets for a village affected by the Tsunami. This will take place on Friday 6th May at Hoburne Caravan Park, Highcliffe. We are indebted to Wayne Clarke, manager there, for donating the use of the venue and to Prestoprint, Christchurch who have already agreed to donate printing costs for posters, flyers and tickets. We are looking for a really special headline act – the venue holds 550 so it’s got to be someone who can pull a big crowd – we’ll keep you posted but put the date in your diary now. One fab raffle prize already received … loads of signed CDs, cassettes, programmes etc from the one and only, unmatchable Mike Scott of The Waterboys. I tell you, if I weren’t a happily married woman, he could be in big trouble ……!! See you at a gig soon.

Charlie