WELL, WHAT DO YOU KNOW - 1 MARCH IS BACK ON!

Just come off the phone with Andy, and he has confirmed that the gig on 1 March (that should have been at Morton Hall) is now on at THE OLD SHIP INN on Beech Lane in Macclesfield.

This is always a good night - so get there early, otherwise, you'll be outside with the smokers!

For those who, for some reason, have never been to The Ship before - here's a link to how to get there!

THE OLD SHIP INN

and if nothing else, you can enjoy the cisterns!

A VICTORY AT THE VICTORY HALL!

The first gig of 2008 took us to the wilds of Mobberley, and the mightily impressive facility that is the Victory Hall. For those who are not familiar - and I suspect there are many - the Hall is actually 3 facilities in 1 - a friendly bar area, a 3 room snooker hall and a large function hall with stage and lights and everything you could possibly want!

The place is run by Gary, who is brilliant- he's into heavy metal and wears some pretty suspect clothes, but he lives and breathes the Victory Hall, and is passionate about providing the local community with good quality entertainment and hospitality - all we can say is SUPPORT HIM!

We had a great evening and, although there was room for plenty more people in the hall, hopefully those that were there enjoyed it enough to tell their friends and maybe we can come back again? We knew things were going well when Gary synchronised everyone's watches at 11:50 pm back to 11:15 (the music is supposed to finish at 12:00am, and he wanted us to play several more tunes!)

The set list is in the right hand panel - the normal variation on a theme, but we have some new stuff in the works (well, not exactly new, but you know what I mean!)

Our old mate Dave Robinson appeared with Rosemary (they keep coming back to see us, and Dave likes his music, so I take that as a good sign!), and he took some photos - here are the first couple (click on the images to enlarge them - if you dare!):

1. Paul & Chrissie trying singing with their mouths glued shut (note also the matching pyjama tops on Frank & Paul)!

2. Some semblance of action in this one, although Chrissie has obviously spotted something amusing hanging out the back of Dave's trousers!

3. Good God - there's even people dancing - although Paul can't see them, cos he's looking the other way - fool!

BOBBY CRUSH RETURNS!!

Breaking news!
As Andy will not be able to be with us for the "posh" do on 16 February for the Congleton Round Table Ladies Night (because Claire's promised him a better evening!), we have enlisted the services of old friend, compadre and band member Paul Hambley!
For those who don't know Paul, he has been around the music scene in Macclesfield for many years (more than he would probably care to count!); for a number of them, he was a regular member of the Jack Miller Band (in between their frequent fall-outs!), and Paul has also guested with other beat combos around and about. Paul played with Dazed & Confused for 2 years, but left because we kept nicking his flask of tea, so he couldn't have a drink at half time (as he called it!)
Paul is an all round good egg - not least because he supports Manchester City, and it will be good to have him play with us, even if it is only for one night (who knows!). All we have to do is provide him with a set list, and he can then annoy his neighbours by practising into the early hours of the morning at full blast.
We will, of course (in true Strictly Come Keyboard Playing tradition), be scoring his performance out of 10 and, if nothing else, we'll try and capture the event photographically (particularly if he's all dressed up, and wears his gangster hat!)!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - SATURDAY 26 JANUARY!

Yes folks - we're out and about again for the first gig of 2008 - and for this one we're straying into uncharted waters - Mobberley!

All we really know about it is the people that live there are very rich (including Paul Gregory!), there are (or were!) 2 pubs opposite each other and not another for miles, and you can't hear yourself think because the village is just inside the end of Runway 2 of Manchester Airport (we should fit in well then!)!

Anyway, mein hosts at The Victory Hall have been after us to play there ever since they came to see us during our "residency" at The Coach & Four in Wilmslow during 2005 (i.e. we played there approximately every 6 weeks until they got fed up with us, or we got fed up with them - I can't remember which), and we have been promising to turn up there ever since!

As ever, we'd be delighted to see old and new friends at this gig and, for those who are not familiar with the wilds of Mobberley, a link to Streetmap.co.uk is attached so you can work out exactly where it is! Victory Hall Hopefully, we'll have some photos of the event to post on here, so we can build up a nice gallery of "Confused-lings"!

I SAID THIS WAS DIFFICULT - 1 MARCH GIG NOW CANCELLED!

No sooner had we sorted the gig dates out, when the gig on 1 March was cancelled! I'm sure it will be re-arranged, but the gig list has been amended anyway!

C'est la vie, as they say in Congleton!

CONGLETON ROUND TABLE LADIES NIGHT - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER?

Here's the information about the gig we're playing on 16 February (click on the image to see it full size) - looks a bit posh to me, so we'll have to dig out our best bib and tucker!!

David Hogg tells me that, although this evening is organised by The Round Table, the event is open to anyone else who might want to book a a really good night out; the venue looks outstanding - and, of course, there's us!

David's contact details are David.Hogg@astrazeneca.com and the website for the venue is http://www.thepavilionbarandgrill.com/ (very impressive!)

2008 GIGS - UPDATE

Now that the festivities are over, and everyone is back in the grind of daily work, the picture is becoming a little clearer with regard to gigs in the early part of the year - in fact, we seem to have them coming out of our ears, and finding out who is available to do which gig is a logistical exercise second only to organising the D-Day invasion!

Anyway, the gig list in the right hand panel has been updated and, to save you having to hunt round, the next few are also listed below. As usual, we're trying to keep a mix of good old sweaty pub gigs and any private "do's" that people ask us to play at - we'd be delighted to see you at any of our gigs that will let you in!

Saturday 26 January (21:00) - Victory Hall, Town Lane, Mobberley (public gig)

Map: Victory Hall

Thursday 7 February (21:30) - Jolly Sailor, Sunderland Street, Macclesfield (public)

Saturday 16 February (21:00) - Congleton Round Table Ladies Night, Congleton Park (see separate post above on this gig)

Saturday 1 March (21:00) - Morton Hall, Union Road, Macclesfield (in aid of East Cheshire Hospice - contact Veronica Poulton on 01625 614219 for tickets)

Saturday 15 March (21:00) - Paul M's daughters' 21st Birthday Party, somewhere in Macclesfield!