Saturday saw us at The Belfry Hotel in Handforth playing for the Spring Ball of the Time Out Group, and I'm guessing, like us, you are wondering what the devil the Time Out Group is about? Well, let me take a few minutes to explain before I regale you with the details of the evening because, believe me, it was a remarkable experience for us!
The Time Out Group is a charity (and, therefore, relies purely on public donations, Lottery grants and such like) and aims to provide support for people of all ages with learning disabilites, so that these people can feel they are part of the "normal" population. The charity has only 2 paid employees, and relies on volunteers for the rest of the work that needs to be done. The patron of the Charity is Annabel Tiffin, who many people may recognise from NorthWest Tonight or the Politics Show on BBC1 - her photo is attached as well, just in case you don't recognise the name ;-))! Annabel was guest of honour for the evening, with her husband (more of which later!)
The evening was an absolute delight for us - the atmosphere was brilliant - there were about 160 folks there, with a mix of volunteers, guests and the people that benefit from the work of the Charity, with no feeling that anybody was "disadvantaged" or being treated any differently - this is difficult to describe in words, but I hope you get the picture! If ever you see anybody collecting for the Time Out Group - don't hesitate to give them some money - believe me it's worth it!
As for the gig -well, it's difficult to see how it could have been better! Firstly, the band was fed!! In itself, this is a rarity at "posh" events, but on Saturday, there was an added bonus (for Matt anyway!), because he got extra helpings of roast potatoes (because Andy had stuffed himself before arriving)
and an extra chocolate "tear drop" pudding!
We went on for the first set at 10:15, and it's always with a bit of trepidation that we approach the "late" gigs, because it can go one of 2 ways - either everyone is ready for a good dance, or they have just had too much "fun" already and think that throwing stuff at the band is the next instalment! However, on Saturday, it was the first option that prevailed and, from the moment that the starting chords of "The One I Love" rang out at 10:15 (right on time!) the crowd were off and running! Every song was met with almost rabid approval (even the Happy Birthday to Peter's Dad - more of him later as well!)
The first set lasted until 11:00pm and we planned to take a 20 minute breather (so that Matt, Chrissie and Andy could do their bit for the tobacco industry workers!), but we were hauled back on at 11:15 to start again! The challenge for us was to get
everyone up and dancing - even the Tiffin table! This actually proved easier than it might sound, and Annabel's husband even joined us on stage for a couple of numbers with a tambourine! His parting shot (before Annabel dragged him outside for a beating!) was "I want to be in a band.........!" He's welcome back anytime - providing he doesn't want a cut of the fee!
Being on stage with the mighty D&C became a theme for the night because Peter - our MC for the night - also decided to join us on several occasions! His piece de resistance was Johnny B Goode (which he thought was coming a number of times before it actually did, so he made a few false starts!) when he eventually took centre stage, he gave it many decibels and many different words! It was certainly the most eventful rendition of the song we've ever done!
We finally called it a day (Sunday, actually!) at 12:40am - there were lots of things that we wanted to do that we couldn't (but we hope people understand!), but it was a great night, we felt that we played really well - even though Dave wasn't there (he was on holiday - yes really!) - and it was for a truly worthwhile cause.
We now have a "rest" before the Macc Beer Festival - still not clear whether we are headlining on the Friday or the Saturday - but we'll let you know (we are on
both nights though!). There will definitely be some new numbers being launched but, of course, we're not going to tell you what they are! Tickets are already on sale, so get them while you can!
There will be more postings on here before then - obviously!!
