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| Captain BirdsEye and Roger the Cabin Boy
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A few weeks ago, Andy enquired whether we would be able to play at The Unicorn in Congleton - a fine establishment with a growing reputation for good music, on Saturday 22 June. We all duly said that would be fine (we've not played Congleton for a year or so), and wheels were put in motion to confirm the booking (Andy's job), sort out publicity (Paul's job) and generally get ourselves into shape (not easy when holidays and the like had to be accommodated!).
Things were seemingly going OK, except for the fact that The Unicorn were apparently oblivious to the fact that we would be appearing there! There was nothing on their Facebook Page - in fact, they were billing up another band to appear on that night, so there was a real risk of either a multi-band event, a coin toss for who played the gig or (at worst) a big fight in front of the pub! When this was pointed out to Andy, he seemed completely unfazed saying "Don't worry, I'll talk to them, it's all OK". Unbeknownst to Paul, who was getting a little perturbed by the lack of action at the Unicorn end (to the extent of posting on their FB page to tell people that their entertainment had changed, and that D&C would be there, rather than the other band!), a plot was being hatched!! To celebrate his birthday, a replay of the famous "Band on a Boat" trip of a couple of years had been arranged and, when he was told of this at 7:45am on Saturday morning, it almost precipitated a heart attack, stroke and nervous breakdown all at the same time! Sure enough, on arrival at Macclesfield Marina, the whole band, partners and friends were assembled - except for Chrissie and Pete who were late, because they live 50 yards from the marina!
Notwithstanding the shock, it was a fabulous day - the weather held out, there was a big spread of food and drink AND Andy had frantically rung round telling people who had arranged to go to the gig (and The Unicorn!) what was going on, so all's well that ends well! We did consider going on to the Unicorn to heckle the other band, after we'd parked the boat (I think that's the right nautical term!)but decided, in view of level of refreshment that had been reached, it probably wasn't a good idea! So, big apologies if we wrecked anybody's plans, and the same to The Unicorn if we messed them about - we are hoping to actually turn up and play there sometime in July, and that will give us the chance to make amends properly!
So, onto this week, when we ARE actually playing! We're back at The Windmill in Whiteley Green, which is always a great night, and we'd be delighted to see old and new friends there. As it's Paul's actual birthday on that day, that's also a good reason to come and see if the addition of another year has taken its toll!
