WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Saturday evening saw us close out our gig list for 2009 at Porter's, and a great night it was too - lots of noise and energy, which was all the more surprising because some of us had been out eating, singing and jumping around until 2 o'clock the morning before, as well! Anyway, on Saturday, the snow was falling hard, Christmas hats abounded, the pub was bursting at the seams, Andy kept playing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - who could ask for more? It was good to see some old friends - especially Mickey Jones, who was in fine form despite his recent problems.

We played in the space usually occupied by the pool table (because our previous pitch was taken up by the Christmas tree!) and, while it gave us more space, it did make it a little difficult to see more than about 4 of the punters at any one time - apart, that is, from the start of the second set when about 25 people had strayed into the "stage" area because that was the only space for them! It made it very cosy anyway. Some photos here including one of Chrissie trying to get into her house at about 2 in the morning by climbing over the neighbour's wall, because her gate was frozen up!

So, we can all relax into the Christmas festivities now - and a chance to look back over quite an eventful year! Highspots were the new venues we played (e.g. Nag's Head, Windmill), 2 more beer festivals, helping Matt Rose reach the pinnacle of his career before it took a dive when he joined The VirginMarys, becoming radio stars, sharing laughs with old friends, and meeting new friends. Not so high spots were frequently getting rained on when setting up or breaking down the gear, getting stopped by the police for having suspicious cargo (i.e. Chrissie and Matt!) in the back of the van, playing to about 4 people in The Spinner's at Bollington, and not even getting through the door at The Millstone! We sometimes beat ourselves up about not introducing enough new stuff into the set, but I've just done a quick review, and we have added 10 new numbers this year, which is pretty good going considering we've also fitted in 24 gigs (that's about 2 a month you know)! Whatever, it's still been a hell of a lot of fun and, as always, we would like to thank every single person who has supported us through the year and, especially our families, who have borne the brunt of our "hobby" - again!

Just remains to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - except the landlord of The Millstone, of course!!

PRETTY GOOD CHILD OF MINE!

After a couiple of weeks "rest" we tipped up again at Sandhole Farm last night to help celebrate Tom & Laura's wedding celebrations; second time this year we have played there and, as previously, the organisation was superb and this time the timing was even better, as everything ran according to the schedule we had discussed - for a wedding, unbelievable!

The major difference for us was that we had no Chrissie (boo hoo)! She had either forgotten about the gig, or decided that 4 days in Germany with Pete was a much better option - although it seems utterly unbelievable, the latter was apparently the case! Also, she might have something to tell us when she gets back..........

Anyway, in Chrissie's absence, as trailed previously, we had a "stand in" female vocalist - none other than Paul's daughter, Lucy! Now Lucy has had voice training for several years, and those who have heard her talk for England will probably vouch for that but, since she went off to the debaucherous wilds of Sheffield to get an "education", she has rarely, if ever, used her singing talents! So, for the last few weeks, since the subject of "depping" for Chrissie was broached, she has alternately poo-d her pants and practised like stink for the gig! In fact, yesterday was spent almost entirely in her room going over every song on the set list! Notwithstanding all this, Lucy has only had 1 formal rehearsal with the band before last night, so her nerves were totally understandable.

As it turns out, everything went really well - although things were thin on the dance floor at times, both sets went really well, and Lucy's "piece de resistance" of "Sweet Child of Mine" was met with a rapturous reception! The really nice bit was she got a text from Chrissie this morning asking how it had gone. Needless to say, Lucy has been on Cloud 9 for the last 24 hours - although she did have a prima donna "sleep in" this morning (too much X-Factor methinks!)

We have one more gig left in 2010 - Porter's/Prince of Wales on Roe Street in Macclesfield on Saturday 19 December. This will be a great Christmas Party night - no doubt many people will be celebrating finishing work for the holiday, so why not put it in your diary now, and come down and sweat with us?! We will obviously put some more publicity out in a week or so but, forewarned is forearmed!!

Oh yes - for those who missed it - City beat Chelsea 2-1 yesterday; now it get interesting!