Happy Holidays.

Morning strumpets,

It`s been a bit mental in GNS land recently, so sorry about recent lack of posts. Here`s a couple of festive vids to get you in the mood. I`ll be back posting between Christmas and New Year.







Have a peaceful and happy Christmas,

Mark.

One Movember Spawned a Monster!!!!!

Afternoon Strumpets,

It is with great pleasure that I unveil the completed Movember Video. During the month of Movember I have been growing a moustache in aid of Prostate cancer research and awareness. I have "adapted" the lyrics to Morrisseys "November spawned a Monster", and asked friends, family, and several lovely local legends to assist. This is what happened.




Massive thanks to Harry, Louise and Grace, Anna Shannon, Lee and Lisa from Mannequin Attic, Glen Coggins, Valerie Powis, Kim Groves, Cheryl Smith, Diane Youdale, Pam Royle and Ian Payne for helping out. A massive thanks also to BBC Radio Tees DJ John Foster, who was absolutely brilliant in helping with contacts

Please donate @http://uk.movember.com/donate/your-details/member_id/912778/


Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Mo Movember

Evening Strumpets, I`ve been having a hell of a time growing the Mo for Movember, It truthfully has been a bugger, and worse than prepasring for the GNR last year. It`s just so damned itchy, all the time. But it`s for a great cause, and it`s lovely clocking fellow Mo Bro`s around the Country, and seeing people like Kevin Pietersen over in Oz sporting the gentleman`s attire.

Here`s a couple of Mo Impressions

Monkey from Monkey magic. he`s even got the headband!

Hunky Hugh Jackman as "Wolverine".

Harry Secombe as The Cyclops in 1976.

Chopper Reid!

Please copy and paste this link http://uk.movember.com/donate/your-details/member_id/912778/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account and support this worthy cause.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Fingerpicker Froster.

Evening Strumpets,

Apologies for the length of time, but I`ve been having a few problems with me Dashboard for the Blog, hopefully all sorted now.

We`ve had a bit of a snowfall in England, and as a result it`s snowman time. However I thought me and Gracie might go for a Great North Strum type of critter, and below are the results. any ideas for a name?

Till the next one in about five minutes, learn something new.

Mark.

What could I say?

Evening Strumpets (last time tonight, honest),

I`ve been working on the words for a tune written by Andy from Northern Banjo Boy, and today I finished it. It`s a lullaby, and it`s very much inspired by Maurice Sendak and (perhaps surprisingly) the poem read by the Father in the Stephen King Novel Cujo to help his son overcome his fear of the dark. I hope you like it, if you do, please feel free to leave a constructive comment on here. If you don`t post something on Andy`s Blog!



Following recording that i was messing about with the guitar and this happened.



very rough, but I honestly think it`s funny as hell! Keep `em peeled for further more polished versions of this. I really think it needs a basic glockenspiel riff over the top of it. Harry`s got a keyboard with a glock sound on it. or I could just use the upright piano in the dining room.

This is how it starts!

Till the next one, learn something new

Mark.

Live in Loftus.

Evening Strumpets (again),

Here`s a video from the wonderful open mic nights at The Station Hotel in Loftus on a Thursday night. There`s so much talent there, but it`s so relaxed and welcoming that it`s closing time before you know it.


Mark Davies. The Riverside.

Loftus | Myspace Video

Till the next one (in about five minutes), learn something new (you`ll have to be quick though).

Mark.

Favourites part three.

Evening Strumpets,

I`ve had the most delightful day with my family. I was woken at the fantastically late time of 10:15 by Louise and the kids with a fine selection of presents and cards, both bought and home made. Then I went to see my dad with the kids.

I`ve written a few things on here about me Dad, and usually from a funny slant, but going to see him this morning I thought I should let you know about the real bloke behind King Kenny.

Born in 1929, the youngest child of Billy and Hannah, Dad was raised in Cannon Street in Middlesbrough. Cannon Street has long since been pulled down, and an Industrial Estate bears its name these days. But back then it was the heart of Middlesbrough. It`s residents at the time were poor, but got by. Dad often tells me of getting Sheeps skulls from the local butchers and looking for any cavities in them so he could suck out the sweet jelly!

Kids were often shoeless and large families would reside in the two up two down buildings, a blanket separating the lads from the lasses in the bedrooms. In the late Thirties His Dad went to see a folk band play in the Princess Alice, and during the set they actually broke out into a fight between the singer and the guitarist. The band disbanded there and then, and Grandad bought the Drummers Kit for a couple of Bob. Dad was a bugger for tapping out rhythm on anything he could get his hands on.

Dad played with the kit often and became pretty good to an amateur level. He remembers going to the Middlesbrough Empire Theatre when he was eleven, and sitting in the alley alongside, with his snare and brushes, playing along to the music coming through the open door at the side.

Following a bit of trouble at home (we`ll say no more about it) Dad had to leave sharpish and decided to go to try his hand in London. He slept rough in Hyde Park for a couple of weeks, and ate from the free biscuits given out at auditions, which he would stuff in his pockets. Eventually, and after Tutelage from Max Abrahms, Dad became a professional Drummer.



He travelled the world, and played with the likes of Tessie O Shea, Tommy Cooper, The Goons, and many others. He played on the Soundtrack of "The 39 Steps" and "Moby Dick". But he never lost his love of Middlesbrough. Following a fire in a theatre (The picture above shows dad with Billy Shakespeare the day after the fire) Dad decided he`d had enough of the music world, and returned home. He got a job with BT, where he worked for over thirty years. He met and fell in love with a Blackpool girl, and between them they had four kids, eight Grandchildren, one Great Grandchild, and an absolute Ball.

After retiring Dad decided to give our Mam what she`d always wanted and moved back to the seaside, only this time in Seaton Carew, just outside Hartlepool. They lived there for a couple of years before Mam noticed a problem when she went to the toilet. Dad didn`t know what to expect, but he travelled every step of the way with her, holding her hand, and in the darkest hours still making her laugh.

Mam died nearly three years ago, and for the first time in an age, Dad was alone. He had the kids, but they couldn`t look after him like Mary. He had his neighbours, but they couldn`t give him a cuddle and a kiss before closing his eyes on a night. The strain showed.

But the old Bugger didn`t let it break him. He continued to go on the Cruises that they had enjoyed, he would go to the local social club on a Wednesday and annoy the others by shouting "house" when he wasn`t even close to winnning. His Kids visit regularly, and speak to him most nights on the phone.

I went to see him this morning, and he looks thin and old. But Christ, he is thin and old. Within twenty minutes of being there he had given the Hal and Grace their ice cream fix, and was showing Grace how to play a paradiddle on the arm of his chair. before I left we were involved in a fifteen minute argument concerning whether a musician could really be classed as a musician if they couldn`t read music.

My Dad, the man who told me "never kick a man when he`s down" and "never give them your real name or address" regarding going out with lasses.

My Dad, the strongest man I`ve ever met, a real life Hero. King Kenny.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Five Alive, Part Two.

Evening Strumpets,

as promised here`s the second of my five favourite blogspots. with a tune at the end. scroll down, play the tune, and read the piece. Nice!







Evening strumpets,

At the weekend we took the kids into Town to have their feet measured for new shoes. Great news, they haven`t grown a bit, seventy of your new English Pounds saved for the Davies`s, woohoo! but it meant we had a bit of spare time on our hands. So what can you do on a rainy cold Sunday morning in Boro?

Surprisingly, quite a lot and relatively cheaply. In the Town Centre there has been a lot of work over the past twenty years into making it less of a place where you would avoid the dog turds, whilst simultaneously stepping over the drunks.

The kids had a play with the fountain, and from there we walked up to the bottle of notes, a huge sculpture, which like the Angel of the North either makes you think "what the..." or makes you think "Oooh I like that". This is situated next to a giant circular chessboard, and a little pond where you can feed the ducks. just over the way are the Law Courts, so often seen on the News when bad people do bad things. There`s a great sculpture outside (See above) which caused a bit of a scandal when it was first shown, as it was not long after the Cleveland Child Abuse scandal. luckily common sense prevailed and it remained.

From there it was over to MIMA, which was recently featured on "Top Gear".
This is the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, and it`s a cracking place. The kids love it, and get to really experience Art at their level. During a Bauhaus exhibition, Gracie asked what the picture was supposed to be? I asked her what did it look like, and she said "Spongebob kissing your Mobile Telephone" so that`s what it was.

Finally we have recently gathered a very large wheel. Not as large or as grand as it`s counterparts in London, or York, but lovely all the same. Great contrasting views of the Hills to one side, and the steelworks to the other, making me realise just why i love this Town.

It might be a Shithole, but it`s my shithole.



Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Five Alive.

Evening strumpets,

I`m going to post my favourite five GNS Strums written and sent over the past year and a half, finished off with a new song at the end of each one. With a visit rate of over 8,000 and a regular daily visit of 25 people(from Jakarta to California, to Bedfordshire to Wellington) viewing the blog, I can only say a massive thank you to the Strumpets spread throughout the Globe. It really means the world to me.

So, Here`s the first one.

A story which you truly could not make up.


11th April 2010.


Afternoon Strumpets,

We had the most brilliant day out in Durham yesterday. Originally we were going to go to Hardwick Hall, but in the spur of the moment we thought, as it was such a lovely day, a drive through to Durham and a picnic along the river by the Cathedral would be fun.

As we were looking around the Cathedral, the Chaplain of the Cathedral came over and began chatting to us, about where we were from, which school the kids went to etc. It turns out his wife taught at my school. He told us that there was going to be a wedding taking place at 2pm in the Cathedral, and Gracie may get a chance to see the Bride walking down the Aisle, but when we came back there was a massive crowd and, understandably, the part of the Cathedral was cordoned off where the wedding was taking place. Grace could just about make out the Groom (Harry was outside with his mother chasing pigeons, and lookingly longingly at other tourists uneaten picnics).

A Curate approached Grace and after asking me if it would be alright, said "Come with me Poppet". She took Grace down to where the wedding was taking place, and Grace got to see the wedding march perfectly. She was buzzing. I must admit from my angle it was pretty magical.

Then we went for a walk around the Market, and as we did so The Mayor Of Durham, Dennis Southwell, picked us out of the crowd, and asked if we would like to have a tour of his offices, and have a cup of tea in the Mayoral Lounge (If that`s the name)? As we were leaving, he came came up to Grace and said "I think I recognise you, are you called Gracie, and were you in the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette the other week doing a run with a pink guitar" Harry laughed like a loon, and Grace was absolutely amazed. She said that she was, so the Mayor said "Well if we`ve got a celebrity in the hall, I`ll have to open the Balcony so you can wave to the crowds". And that`s what he did. You really couldn`t make this up! He walked us through the
Chambers where people were being given guided tours, Telling people "Let us Through, this is Grace from the Gazette" and we spent five minutes on the balcony, waving at the people below. It was fantastic.

I don`t suppose Mr Southwell will have much call for reading a blog about a lad doing strange things with his banjo, but if anyone knows him, will you give him a massive pat on the back from me. It truly was the most amazing day. We`ve already got Grace and Hal writing thank you letters to send to him.





Here`s a song which I believe proves that somewhere, that fantastic day is still going on.



Till the next one, learn something new,
Mark.

Boo Yah!

Evening Strumpets,

a Couple more things on Boo.





Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Wake up New Boo!

Evening Strumpets,

Andy over at Northern Banjo Boy alerted me to a great recording website, where you can record directly which is really easy to use, and then put your stuff "out there".

So i`ve recorded a couple of me songs onto it, which should be much clearer.

Here`s the first one,



Hope you like,

Till the next one, learn something Boo,

Mark.

National Elf Service

Evening Strumpets,

It`s official, I`ve just seen "THAT" Coke advert. So here`s something for you to enjoy.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark

Rock Your Mind!

Morning Strumpets,

More vid from last wednesday in The Alice.



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Rock Me Amadeus

Afternoon Strumpets,

here`s the first of a couple of clips from The Princess Alice the other night. It looks like it`s been filmed from a secret camera located on the Tie of a drunk at the bar, but you should get the giste!



Till the next one, etwas Neues lernen.


Mark.

`Tache tastic

Evening Strumpets,

So here`s the Movember vid (very rough version) so far, with legendary Anna Shannon, Brilliant Mannequin Attic, and wonderful Glen Coggins featured. Many more to come.



One Movember spawned a monster in the shape of this tache
which must remain
a stranger to Mach III


Please visit http://uk.movember.com/donate/your-details/member_id/912778/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account .• Click this... link Or,

• Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Lest We Forget

Chris sent me this via Facebook.

The Send-off


Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way
To the siding-shed,
And lined the train with faces grimly gay.
Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray
As men's are, dead.

Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp
Stood staring hard,
Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.
Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp
Winked to the guard.

So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went.
They were not ours:
We never heard to which front these were sent.

Nor there if they yet mock what women meant
Who gave them flowers.

Shall they return to beatings of great bells
In wild trainloads?
A few, a few, too few for drums and yells,
May creep back, silent, to still village wells
Up half-known roads.


Wilfred Owens.

A Tale from a Hospice.

Afternoon strumpets,

I`ve been asked by Jan in New York why I "do stuff" for Cancer Awareness and Hospices. As you are probably aware I lost me Mother to the bastard a couple of years ago, but many years before that, whilst doing my nursing studies (This was last Century) I was sent to a local Hospice for a placement. It was during this placement that I realised why nurses are called "Angels" in England. I could tell you a million stories from my placement there, but there`s one which really had an impact on me and how I chose to live my life. I won`t name the Hospice, and I`ve changed names and a few minor details, so hopefully nooone will be able to identify themselves from the following story.

A man was admitted to the Hospice, who had been found collapsed in a Bed and Breakfast room in the local area. He had been unconscious for a couple of days and was in a terrible state. He was tidied up, and given the required medication, and within a couple of days he was able (very weakly) to speak. I got chatting to him, and it turned out he was a Brummie (from Birmingham) who had moved here in the early Nineties. He had a passion for Aston Villa (A football club) which still showed in his eye`s whenever we got into arguments about which team was, at that time, the best. He had no family or what you could call friends in the Town, and his nearest relative, his Sister, lived in Kingstanding in Birmingham, but he wasn`t sure where.
"Villa" as I called him (he called me "Boro") had Prostate cancer, which had spread to his bones. he didn`t have long, but I was asked if I could keep him company, as quality of dying was as important as quality of living and noone should have to go through either alone, unless they wished to. Villa swore like a trooper, and at times was a right grumpy sod, but at no point was his anger or grumpiness aimed at his condition or staff. It was just who he was. He told me he had got in with a bad crowd and had gone from one "drinking house" to the next. It was one of these establishments where he had collapsed, but noone had noticed for a couple of days.

When I asked him why he drank he just said "One`s too many, and ten`s not enough Boro". He`d known he was poorly, but hadn`t gone for a check up because "I didn`t want to be told I might get better".

The Friday morning of the day he died I was on the early shift. I`d got there for ten to seven, to be told he didn`t have long, and would I go into his room and sit with him until the inevitable happened. Of course I would. I got in there at half past, and it was obvious he didn`t have long. He had been placed on "driver" which allowed regular analgesia to be pumped into his system. I held his hand and told him it was going to be ok.

Several times that morning I thought he had gone, and several times he would make me jump with a massive inhale. I told him to let go, but the self preservation of the human body is incredibly resilient, and he just would not allow his train to visit its final station. I sat in the room, telling visiting staff that I was fine, for nine hours holding his hand, keeping him as comfortable as I could. Then a miracle happened. i`d love to tell you he opened his eyes and said thank you, or that he got better, but that`s not the types of miracles that happen in Hospices. The miracle was that his Sister turned up.

One of the nurses had been on the case, and had managed to contact her. His sister thanked me and told me she would be with him now, and take care of the arrangements to take him back to his beloved Birmingham once the inevitable happened.

I went home absolutely exhausted. I bought a bottle of wine, and began preparing Tea. Whilst doing this, the telephone rang. It was the Matron from the Hospice asking me if I was OK. She told Me Villa had died peacefully, but that his Sister had been in the toilet when it happened.
I raised a glass, kissed my wife, and went back to making Tea.

Hope that answers your question Jan.

Please help raise awareness of Cancer by supporting things like Movember (it doesn`t have to be me, there`s loads of blokes doing it), if only so there aren`t more "Villa" stories about.

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

One Movember spawned a monster!

Evening Strumpets,

This Movember, the month formerly known as November I’ve decided to donate my face to raising awareness about prostate cancer. My donation and commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK. This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity. To help, you can either:

• Click this link http://uk.movember.com/donate/your-details/member_id/912778/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account . Or,

• Send cheques and CAF vouchers (made payable to ‘The Prostate Cancer Charity Re Movember’) directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity – First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London W6 0LE. Be sure to include the person’s name on the back of the cheque.

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.
For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit http://uk.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.

Thank you in advance for helping me to support men’s health.

Till the next one, trim something new,

Mark.

Halloween Spooky Stories.

Evening Strumpets,

Thanks to everyone who entered the halloween comp. Here`s the best of the crop.

Alan in Derby sent this in

Ok, so I first heard this when I was about 12, and it's stuck with me for the many long years since. It happened to a friend of my brother, and involved a whole bunch of his other friends too, who all swear this is the truth. It's not terrifying, but something about it creeps me out...
(The actual names have been lost in my mind due to time & dementia, sorry!)


Trev was bored. Saturday night TV was rubbish for teenagers (Paul Daniels again??) and he'd much rather be out having a laugh with his mates. Problem was he couldn't get in touch with anyone, they were all "out somewhere". Without him, the rotten sods.

He was starting to doze off, when he heard some shouting outside. Not an argument, but raised voices. He ignored it, assuming it was just some bunch of lads walking past outside, but they didn't move on. The telly was loud enough to drown out what they were actually saying, so being bored (and a bit nosey), went to the window and looked out.

There he saw all of his mates - Dave and Paul sitting on the wall sharing a fag, Mark and a few girls milling about on the pavement beyond them, and Smiffy, John & Dawn right outside his front door, looking upward and shouting - "We're going to the offie for some booze then piling round Micks, you coming?"
Trev was puzzled.
"What are you being like that for?" Dawn asked, seemingly to the sky. "Stop being ignorant - are you coming or what??"

Intrigued, Trev tapped on the window and everyone looked at him, and laughed. "Oh, there you are! We thought that was you," Smiffy said, pointing to the upstairs window, "it must be your brother."
Trev frowned. "No," he said, "I'm the only one in here, everybody's out."

The three faces in front of him froze. They looked up again, then back to him, panic rising in their eyes... "Get out mate, there's somebody upstairs, there's somebody in your house!!"

Trev tipped out of the living room, down the hallway and out the front door faster than he had ever moved in his life. By that point the whole gang was at his door, every one of them saying that *somebody* had been standing in the upstairs window, in his parent's darkened bedroom, staring at them. When they shouted the warning, they had all seen the figure calmly turn and walk away.

A thorough search of the house by Trev and his 7 friends turned up nothing. All windows were secure, and the door to his parent's room was closed, as it had been all night...

Everyone was a bit rattled by the event, Trev more than most of course - but Dawn says she hardly slept for weeks. Every time she closed her eyes she could see that dark silhouette, just gazing silently down at her...

James in Middlesbrough sent this in,

I used to work with a girl called Lisa who was from down south but moved up here to be with her husband. She went back down south to her parents house where she grew up and they took their 3 year old daughter for the first time.

During dinner her daughter was talking to someone invisible, they asked her who she was taking to, she said Julie. They asked what Julie looked like and she described a Victorian lady. They all took a gasp.

It was the exact same imaginary friend Lisa had when she was three

And my favourite, this one sent in by Andy in Thirsk.

This is a true story....

Many moons ago when we where younger Sue and I stayed at a friends farm on the Lizard in Cornwall for New Year.

After a strange new year party at a pub in the middle of nowhere we arrived back at the farm and collapsed into our sleeping bags. I was woken by my wife who said 'I can her something upstairs!'. It'll be someone going to the loo i muttered and tried to go back to sleep, but then I heard it.

The noise was the sound of a large dog scrabbling across bare floorboards followed by the sound of an old latch being lifted and dropped. This sound repeated itself overhead at intervals several times. Thinking it was someone buggering about I got up and went upstairs to ask them to keep it down.

At the top of the stairs all was quiet as the grave... but downstairs again the sounds continued until we both passed out.

Next morning we mentioned the nights goings on at breakfast, only to be told 'don't mention this to my daughter'.
Apparently, she slept in that room and had repeatedly seen a man in her room in the mirror and now always kept her dresser mirror covered......

Needless to say this scared the crap out of us and we quickly packed uop and left.


Thanks to everyone who joined in, wait what`s that, over there in the shadows? It can`t be, can it?

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Halloween Comp!

Evening Strumpets,

I`m going to send out a challenge to you all.

Come up with a scarier halloween story than the one I`m about to post, and get a reward. A song of your choice, posted on the blog! There`s no losers, each scary story (within reason) will be posted anyway.

Rules: You must follow the blog. Scroll down until you see the follow
icon on the right of the screen and click on it.

It must be really scary. Scary and suitable (family friendly)
enough for me to post it on the
blog.

Send it to my email adress. markdavies23@hotmail.co.uk.

Here`s mine, told to me fifteen years ago by a good friend. I swear this is true, so come closer and I`ll whisper it, because if I say it too loud, and the wrong person hears it, they may go mad. if you are of a nervous disposition, stop reading now. Seriously, STOP....READING.....NOW......

My friend`s cousin lived in a farmhouse in Arnold, just outside Nottingham. She would often sleep with her pet dog "Rowlf" at the foot of her bed. One weekend her parents were away, and she went out for a drink with her friends.

She returned to the empty Farmhouse, and after a period of watching TV she went to bed. Sure enough, Rowlf leapt on the bed and cosied down for the evening. She fell in to a restless sleep, disturbed by nightmares, and awoke after two hours to find Rowlf licking her feet. She kicked gently at his wet nose and dozed again.

Again it was a fitful sleep, and she was awakened again by Rowlf licking her feet. A similar kick to his nose put paid to that.

Two hours later, and something made her jolt awake. But all she heard was the dripping tap (drip drip drip)from her En Suite Bathroom.

She fell asleep again and woke at 07:30, cold from an open window, she could have sworn was closed when she went to bed, but fit as a fiddle and walked into her En Suite. Except....

Nailed to the wall was Rowlf, blood dripping from the gaping wound from his neck (drip drip drip)

Written in the Dogs blood was "human`s can lick too"!

She never recovered, and is still living in the local mental health Residential Unit in Arnold.


Is this true, I`ll let you know, but until then,

post something new.

Mark

Happy Days, in so many ways.

Afternoon Strumpets,

This morning we were going to pop round me Dad`s, but he rang and said he wasn`t feeling too well so could we rearrange. The weather was awful (unusual for Boro, I hear you say), so we came up with this.



Following on from that, I occasionally post quizzes on Facebook, if Louise is out drinking that mucky beer. The prize is a request for a song to be placed on this Blog. Last night There was a close match, with Karen and James Lindley, and Matthew Sibley narrowly losing out to Alan sawdon and Sarah Burnett. In memory of Tom Bosley, who passed away last week, they requested this. Hungover and in bad need of a shave and haircut, I couldn`t be any more like Arthur Fonzarelli. Harry on the other hand.....




Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

FB Interviews 2. Fallen Phoenix.

Evening Strumpets,

Following on from the Leddie and Smoggy FB interview, as promised a million years ago, here`s a Facebook interview with another of Middlesbrough`s finest bands. Andy Granville is lead singer and guitarist with Fallen Phoenix. I`ve had the priviledge to support these lads on a number of occasions, and on one special night, join with them onstage for a powerful Tolkienesque rendition of "Let it Be". Trust me, if there`s any justice in the world, you will be hearing a lot more of this band in the future. If you`re like me, you`ll press play on this YT clip, and read the interview.



GNS: So away we go, I`ve witnessed your band playing in several formats,
even occasionally joining in, but who or what is Fallen Phoenix?

FP: We`re a rock and roll band, we often get put on with indie bands and then other times we`re put on with really heavy bands, all of which is fine with us, but whenever we`re asked what we do we just say rock n roll, all depends what you want out of it in the end, we`re just 4 close friends who like to make a racket together.

GNS: What`s inspired the "racket" incidentally, I absolutely agree, you sound pure rock n roll to me.

FP: Just a love of music really, when we first started it was to make the music that we wanted to hear as we didn`t think anyone was making it, i personally felt a bit detatched from the music scene in England, still do as a matter of fact, all my influences come from 60's to the 90's so hopefully were a slice of that.

GNS: Couldn`t agree more about the English music scene, An occasional match flame in a universe of dross doesn`t mean diddly. Tell me about your first gig.

FP: Our first gig was at Libertys In Town a few years back, it was on a Wednesday night as i remember because we were all going to Leeds festival the next day. We were a 5 piece back then as we had a synth player, i just remember spending a lot of time making sure our synth player was okay as it was his first ever gig. We went on before a band called The Outlaw, we went down well as i remember. We still play about half of the set we played that night so i guess we had a pretty strong start.

GNS: You never foret it do you? synth would make an interesting dimension to your sound. Any venues you go down better in than others?

FP: We always tend to go down well in our spiritual home the Princess Alice. I like to think where ever we play in Middlesbrough we tend to go down well. We had quite a memorable gig in Coventry a few years back that we still talk about, went down a storm that night. We once had a gig in Newcastle with some glam rock band who's name escapes me but they spent the entire night slagging off the crowd, by the time we went on they were ready to linch someone, we couldnt wait to get off stage that night.
Spiral Feedback! that was their name! bunch of tools!



GNS: Probably helped that you were from Boro! Spiral feedback? My heads hurting just thinking about that. So what`s next?

FP: To be honest people from Newcastle are pretty cool about Middlesbrough bands in my experience. I`d hate to be a Mackem (someone from Sunderland "mack`em and tack`em) in Newcastle, i`m sure that'd be a different story.
We`re getting our name around as much as possible, we recorded a single earlier in the year which is free from our website, so the plan next to record the rest of our songs and take it from there. Organising it is the challenge really, cos a lot of bands stop playing live whilst they record which we really dont want to do, we want the lot.

GNS: I`ve found Middlesbrough to be quite liked in the various places, usually as an affectionate pisstake, but not hated. So what`s the Website?

FP: www.fallenphoenix.co.uk yeah you get the obligatory smoggie comment, but its all in jest, people are cool about Middlesbrough.

GNS: Nice one. Final question, in two parts, firstly, Boro this season, what prediction? Secondly sum up in five words fallen Phoenix.

FP: I think the rest of this season is damage control. I`d like to be an optomist and say if we get the right man in we'll nick our way into the play off's but i cant see that happening, for as much as Strachan tried i think his vision was way off what type of team we are, different mentality and strengths, so if we fix his mistakes for the rest of this season we'd be in a better position for next season (sadly thats what i said last season about Southgate) but i live in hope.

GNS: Unfortunately DITTO.

FP: Loud, hairy, catchy, real and anthemic, there would be another hairy in there if our bass player wasn`t fighting a losing battle with his. ;)

GNS: Brilliant! He`s a big lad though. Where can the strumpets find out more about you chaps besidesthe website?

FP: We`re on the usual places, facebook, twitter and myspace, all of which can be gotten to through the website, or in the Alice on a friday night is usually a good place to find us too.

GNS: Cheers Andy any gig`s coming up?

FP: 28 Oct 2010 Seven - Sunderland
04 Nov 2010 Billingham Symphonia Club - Billingham
17 Nov 2010 Plugged In - Sunderland
03 Dec 2010 The Princess Alice - Middlesbrough
15 Dec 2010 Bad Medicine Rock Club - Middlesbrough

thats the rest of our year at the minute, but there will be more in there soon enough.




and there you have it. Fallen Phoenix. Personally, I think they`re what picking up an instrument and getting yourself out there is what it`s all about.

Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

The Riverside.

Afternoon Strumpets,

Yesterday Mr Gordon Strachan left as manager of my Hometown football team. By coincidence I`d found a nice chord progression which I felt lent itself to a slice of American Gothic verse regarding a serial killer. Listening back to it, I realised it could also be about Mr Strachan`s reign.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.



Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

The FB name game.

Afternoon Strumpets,

I watched a fantastic film on Friday night called "Charlie Wilson`s War". A truly brilliant and topically brave movie. However whilst watching it, I couldn`t help but think it would have been better if it had been "Charlie William`s War". I am aware that there are many of your good selves scratching your heads, but growing up in the Seventies in Northern England, Charlie and many others were a staple diet of our television viewing lives. Here`s a taster.



So how many other stand ups could be in film titles?
I came up with:

Jim Bowenfinger, Plunkett and Don Mclean, Weekend at Bernie Cliftons, Dave Alien, Sweeney Bob Todd, Max Boyce`N the Hood, Mike Die Harding: with a Vengeance, Regarding Lenny Henry, Lionel Blair Witch Project, Phil Cool Runnings, Avatarby, Benny Hamburger Hill, 3 Days of the Tom `O Connor, and finally, Far from the Manning Crowd.

I posted these on Facebook, and the response was overwhelming. It soon began incorporating any well known name as well as TV shows. So (deep breath):

Damion posted: Richard Pryor & Predjudice, Gene Wilder - Party Animal, Les Dawson's Creek, The Benny Hill's have Eyes, Tony Hancock.

Jamie posted: conan the barbarian duncan smith, The Gary Thin Red Lineker, father ted rogers, the bruce forsyth saga, King Arthur Askey, oh chuckle brothers where art thou, shay unforgiven,

Matthew posted: Flash Gordon Strachan, Indiana Howard Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jaws Holland, Pretty in Thomas Pink, Sliding George Doors, Eddie Murphys Law, The History Boys George, Rob Brydon Prejudice, James Corden and the Giant Peach, What's Eating Rhod Gilbert Grape, EdByrneucating Rita, Do The Steve Right Thing, Russell Howards Way, Bill Hick`s and Ted Rodger`s Excellent Adventure,

Alison posted: Meet me in St. Louis Walsh, Smokey Robinson and the Bandit, What happened in Johnny Vegas, Jackie 'Chubby' Brown, Riding in Alan Carrs with Boys, There's something about Mary Shelley, The Kevin Bridges of Madison County, Jail Monkhouse Rock, The great Coltrane robbery.

Steve posted: Rita, Sue, and Bob Monkhouse too.

Robin posted: mick millers crossing

Chris posted: American Werewolf in Paris Hilton, The Beverly HillBilly Crystals, Ed Victoria Wood, Ed Victoria Wood, Lee Evans Almighty, The Harry Hills Have Eyes, The Benny Hills Have Eyes 2, Simon Peggy Sue Got Married, The Bobby BasketBall Diaries, Leaving Las Johnny Vegas, Richard Pryor III.

Laura posted: Lorraine kelly's heroes, Eamon Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles, The Full Monty Don, Harry hill and the philosophers stone (and all the other films too!), A nightmare on Elmo Grouch street, Freddie Starr's New Nightmare, Citizen Cain Dingle.

Mark posted: Pale shaun rider, Legally blondie (courtesy of the missus), Kill Bill Hicks, Boy George in the striped pyjamas, Close encounters of the thora hird kind, The martin shaw-shank redemption.

and finally Peter Squibs (aka Neil) posted: john wayne s world, Star Wars - A new bob hope. Men in Cilla Black. The Jean Claude Van Dambusters. By the light of the silvery keith moon. Full kenny jacket. Jim Platt oon. W C Field of dreams, the people Vs larry grayson flint, The Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball Run, Stuart Little and Large, Dangerous (brothers) Liasons, and Antz and Dec.

It`s been a really difficult decision, but I hereby decree the winner to be Neil with "Ron Howards End". Wrong in so many ways, but just spot on in so many others. There`s a film I would pay to see. In fact i`ll be amazed if it hasn`t already been done.

I hope you`ve laughed as much as I did this morning reading them all, and again when typing this.

Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

The composing poser?

Evening strumpets,

Chris in Boro has sent me a message asking how I write my songs. That`s a tricky one. Yoko Ono tells a story of an animal with a hundred legs which had the most beautiful walk in the world. One day a young man asked it how it walked in such an exquisite manner, and the creature replied "it`s easy, first I move this leg, then I move this one, then I...erm...." and could never again walk quite as beautifully as it had before.

Now then, let`s get one thing straight, i may use writers stories or quotes in this post. I am not, repeat, NOT placing myself in any of their standards. I`m just trying to get across how it happens.

If other people have written the chords, as in Cowboy Waltz and Longlands, I`ll listen to the basic recordings of the song in the car, and see which phrases/melodies leap out at me. In the instance of Cowboy Waltz, all I could hear in my head for the opening line was "I`ve had children to various women, none of them know my name, it`s true" That pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the song. This guy is a shit, simple as that, I had to imagine a selfish awful fella, who thinks he`s great. Fun? Like you`ve never thought of!

Longlands, I got the melody pretty much straight off as it`s there already in Carls brilliant tune. I was laughing at how catchy it was, when the words "take me along to Longlands" came into me head. That made me think that Places in Boro, could just as easily fit into an old west setting, and off I went. The next thing, we`re playing it here.



With my own stuff, I generally just sit down and wait, as Stephen King describes it, for my muse to shat on my head. More often than not, though not always, the chords will come first. I remember reading an interview with Paul Draper about how Mansun had reintroduced melodies back into songs, and that really hit home. I think this is where Morrissey has really struggled over the last couple of years, as no matter how fantastic the lyrics are, to me it`s always the hook which gets you to love a song. I do try to get a personal "Old Grey Whistle Test" thing going in most of the songs I write. As in, I never record anything immediately, so if I can remember it the next day, it might be alright.

My songwriting partners over the past almost thirty years have been Carl Dalton and Mark Dent. They`re usually my measure for if somethings any good, though recently Andy from Northern Banjo Boy, and The Alice Charmers has been a pretty good judge of what`s good and what`s not. I`ve written thousands of classics over the years, propelling me, i`m certain, to a life of living off royalties, watching telly and ordering takeaway pizza
a la About a Boy, only to realise it`s already been written. Usually by whoever I happen to be listening to at that particular time.

I love clever titles for songs. One of my favourites of my own is this one.
Not my favourite version of it (Originally a nephrons song), but it gets the point across, i think.



So there you have it, hope that makes sense Chris.

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Open mic All Hours

Evening Strumpets,

I`ve been thinking a lot lately about The joy that is Open Mic nights. More often than not, these are really nice nights where a pub which is finding the old recession, along with daft prices in the supermarkets a barrier in getting the "punters" in. As a result, you can find yourself in a pub, which ten years ago would have been full to the rafters, playing banjo to four blokes and a dog. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, because the actual act of getting up and hearing yourself amplified can at times be a particularly effective laxative.

I`ve had the misfortune on a couple of occasions to witness really talented musicians dry up, and virtually run out of the pub, never ever again daring to get up and display their talent. This is such a shame, because you realise really early on, that everyone pretty much in the pub is on your side. They`re willing you to do well, but the pressure we put on ourselves doesn`t allow, at first, us to see that.

I first played an open mic in The George and Dragon in Yarm on St Georges Day 2009. More than that I was playing me banjo, which I`d been playing since Dec 26th 2008. Do the maths, that is not a long time. But I`d been promised by a friend who`d heard me play that I`d go down a storm.

I practised Cripple Creek a million times. I took the banjo to work with me, and practised in me dinner break. But when the mouth is dry, the phrase "Cripple Creek" is about as simple to say as Deoxyribonucleic acid. Too many "K" sounds. That was me song. That was the one I could play, but would I dare sing?

I got there on the night and it was heaving. I was told I`d be second on. I waited with me half a diet coke, and waited, and waited. Eventually the first lad got up, and as he did the place suddenly filled with about thirty people with T-shirt with his name on, all screaming for his "songs" He was good at first, but to be honest he went on a bit and he was losing the rest of the punters aside from his fanbase. Right there I made a valuable decision. If I was ever going to have a crack at this open mic stuff, it would have to be with a mix of a song for them, a song for me.

I got up and played, and it was an absolute blast. I decided to sing, and truth be told it wasn`t too bad. Such a buzz people coming up to me afterwards and telling me how much they enjoyed it.



I`ve since played quite a few open mics, mostly at The Crown and Princess Alice. On Wednesday in the Alice for the first time I played nothing but four songs of me own, (Great North Strum, Whole, Time Less Classic, and Sick on My Shoulder) and they went down really well. Ian Swinbourne, a guy who has such a talent, was there. He has been asking me for a while to go to Loftus on a Thursday for their open mic, but it`s a heck of a distance, and I`ve always passed, purely as it would mean getting home really late.

Ian promised that if I got there he could guarantee an early slot. So I went. The first person i saw when i got there was Vin Garbutt! A real legend. Blimey, this was not going to be any ordinary open mic spot.



I got up and played "GNS" and "Sick" and had some cracking banter with the (busy and very talented) crowd. And that was that, until Mr Garbutt came over and told he`d really enjoyed me songs. How cool is that. I was smiling all the way home.

All I`m saying is, I could have gotten to this age without ever having had the joy and pleasure that is playing S Club 7 or the Stranglers on the banjo to a bunch of bemused seasoned drinkers. I strongly urge anyone with any talent to get up on an open mic night, it could lead to you driving home with the biggest smile on your face.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

The Great british Giveaway.

Evening strumpets,

You all know what i think of the modern day PT Barnum & Bailey Freakshow which is X Factor, so here`s a song which pretty much sums up how I feel.



Hope you like it,

Til the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Hope was Crosbys Partner.

Evening Strumpets,

as many of you may already know, my day job, and the one that puts food on the table, involves working with people with health problems, and specifically mental health problems. As a result I meet a lot of people experiencing symptoms of depression.

Depression is an illness born from hopelessness. The individual finds themselves in a numb state, not necessarily crying all the time, but bereft of any emotional feelings, because there is no point. It is brutal and indiscriminant in who it picks, but like most illnesses it can be treated. The art of the therapist is to allow the person to discover hope. In discovering hope, the person can begin to appraise their thought patterns differently, and as a result begin to understand why they are feeling the way in which they do.

It is not the therapist`s role to tell them what hope is. That is for the individual to reacquaint themselves with. And there`s the rub. The therapist can use guided discovery techniques to assist, but it is far more effective in the long term for the person to find hope for themselves. This should lead to a questioning of the appraisal of thoughts, which in turn leads the person to effective treatment. I call it the "Red Mini Syndrome". You never see a red mini until you buy one, in the same way, once you begin reintroducing hope into your life, you may start to see it everywhere.

I was asked by a colleague what hope was to a person experiencing depression, and I immediately replied "Hope was Crosby`s Partner". albeit a cheap and throwaway line, I thought about it later and wrote a song, which hopefully outline the paradoxical universe a person with mental health can find themselves in.

Hope you like it.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

Time Less Classic.

Evening Strumpets,


Time is something which puzzles me. I know for a fact that somewhere there is a ten year old version of me waking up on a rainy Thursday morning in the six weeks holidays, and Mam`s saying "away lets go and see that new "Raiders of the Lost Ark" film at the pictures". I know that there`s an eighteen year old version of me somewhere, walking up the stairs to the Madison Nightclub in Middlesbrough wondering if tonight I would meet someone. Unfortunately there`s also an eighteen year old version of me somewhere stood at the end of the night watching his mates "tap" off, and going home in a taxi, alone.....don`t feel sorry for me, I got there in the end! Besides how would I have grown such a love of the Smiths if I`d this hadn`t happened.





There`s, hopefully, also somewhere an eighty year old version of me holding me Sweetheart, whilst walking the Grandkids in the Park. What I think I`m trying to say is that time is a concept that as long as our arses point to the ground will never be clear as a general notion, but individually we can let it be whatever we want it to be. I like the idea that Mam and Dad are still laughing with each other on their first date somewhere. And if I`m wrong then, well I`m not in a gang of one, of that I`m certain.

This reminds me of a joke my Brother recently told me.

When I was older I used to love playing with me time machine.




Here`s a song what I have wrote about the whole shebang. (in 2/4 Time).



Till the next one learn something new

Rock Your Mind Festival 2010

Evening Strumpets,

I`m very privileged to be taking part in the Rock Your Mind Music Festival taking place in ten pubs in Middlesbrough throughout the tenth of October. The Festival is the brainchild of Aaron Gray, and is to promote awareness of mental health issues.

I`ll be teeing off in TS1 at 1pm, but there`s loads of other brilliant stuff there too.

Checkout the facebook page @http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Rock-Your-Mind-Music-Festival/139607669383071

Here`s a song what I have written



Till the next one learn something new.

Mark.

Oooarr missus.

Evening Strumpets,

So today was an absolute blast at Whitby, the kids were dressed in pirate Garb, the beard was effective, and may be coming off tomorrow. I can`t begin to explain how pleasurable it was playing there today. i`ve been really lucky to play at some amazing sites this year, Topcliffe, Deer Shed, but this was on a par with anything I`ve done. if you`ve been to whitby, you`ll know what I mean, but the bandstand is situated at the foot of the pier and below the Abbey and West Cliff. There literally was nowhere you could look that wasn`t breathtaking.
Whilst playing "That`s Entertainment I noticed a group of people at the top of West Cliff, so I shouted for them to wave, and blimey o Riley ace of spies, they did. incredible. The kids had their faces painted and wore their pirate costumes with pride, and had messed about throughout dads set, attempting to put me off (just occasionally)

A really lovely day day, and £570 raised for Whitby RNLI, I`ll post more pics as I can, but massive thanks to all the performers, and especially to Angie and John Taylor of North East Live for arranging it all.

Here`s me doing me best Pirate scowl.



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Jamboree.

Morning Strumpets,

I`ve had quite a disastrous year so far when it comes to attempting to carry the drum on a stick for half marathons. I had to drop out of the Redcar Half Marathon, due to a still undiagnosed Chest condition, which literally had me dry Coughing till my eye`s looked like Arnies in the Mars scene in Total Recall.



And then this week I`ve damaged a tendon in my left foot which has put me out of the Great North Run. I am absolutely gutted. But I`ll be back, God`s know what with, but I`ll think of something. Maybe my body`s trying to tell me something, I don`t know (possibly stop eating all the pies).

However I am still going to be attending Whitby Pirate day tomorrow, so get yourselves there if you can. Eagle eyed viewers may notice I`m wearing Roland Rat`s Arse around my mouth and chin. Itchy and uncomfortable does not come into it, but I think I`m starting to like it. What do you think, on second thought`s I probably don`t want to know.

Fun and frolics at the bandstand from 10:30 till about 6.

I`m getting up at about 3pm, so if you should see me, give me a wink. Here`s an old song from a band called The Nephrons. They`re great, (of course the fact that along with Carl and Mark I`m in them has no way influenced my choice of description).



Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Whitby Pirate Day 2010.

Evening Strumpets,

On the 18th Sept I along with a variety of other performers will be commemorating Whitby Pirate Day, by playing some music for free at the Bandstand at the foot of the Pier in Whitby, North Yorkshire.



We will be playing in full Pirate garb and raising funds for the "Ooooo ARRR NL AYE AYE Cap`n" (RNLI for those of you not on the same wavelength).

Hope you can make it, it should be a reet laugh.



Till the next one, Be learnin a somethin` new me hearties,

Mark.

Kyles Song

Afternoon Strumpets,

Benjamin from Utah, who designed the GNS Logo, and the design for the GNS Shirt which I completed the Great North Run wearing last year (and hopefully will also do again a week on Sunday), has written a pretty fantastic song for his son. It`s accompanied by a lovely video. So take a look.



Till the next one, learn something new.

Mark.

irish

fmb

Billy Radcliffe Cover version.

The Alice Charmers:The Great North Strum (Copyright 2009, M. Davies)

Fanning the flames.

Evening Strumpets,

When Mel Brooks was asked why he kept poking fun at the Nazi`s, when quite obviously it`s not a "funny subject" He replied, "I`m just fanning the flames, that fire should never go out and allow people to forget what they did."

Here`s a perfect cartoon! Just click on it, and click the zoom to read it. Then let your kids read it.



Till the last one, Never Forget.

Mark.

GNS is 1 (and 1/52th) today.

Evening again, yeah I know buses and all that (You wait for ages and then three come etc). I`ve just realised, GNS was one last Tuesday. Hurrah. More posts to come, but to celebrate, here`s a tune what I have wrote about an incredible woman called Ruth Collington. Check her inspirational blog out on the YT description bit.



Happy birthday!!!! (and one week)

Mark

Allo Maurry Poppins

Whilst in spain we watched Mary Poppins many a time. I`ve always liked this song, and worked it out when we got back.



Cheers,

Mark.

Hola Muy Strumpetas.

Evening Strumpets,

Well it`s been a while hasn`t it? I`ve been away with the Family to a lovely part of Spain called Orihuella. Which literally translates as "Place that is nowhere near anywhere else". Or rather "Place which would be walking distance to other places, if it wasn`t surrounded by mad Spanish Motorways".

The weather was hotter than a fat lad in July, and the food and drink was tremendous. The kids loved the pool, and me and my sweetheart loved the cerveza and Vino de rosada (her) y blanco (me). Of course it wouldn`t be a Davies holiday without a couple of stories. so here we go.

The first night we arrived there we decided to walk to the local Shops and Restaurants a journey of about a mile and a half. We inevitably got lost, and very kindly (as we turned a corner to find a dead end) an Irish lady pulled over and offered to drive us to where we wished to go. We enjoyed good food and drink, and the kids got up and sang a couple of songs on the Karaoke (Harry stole the show with Yellow Submarine, Gracie thrilled with Mama Mia). It was this point I asked Louise if she knew our address so we could book a Taxi. Unfortunately, she did not know our address. Well that`s alright I thought, we could text the guy who`d brought us and ask him. Unfortunately neither of us had remembered to bring our mobiles out with us.

If you haven`t been to these urbanisations which are taking over Spain, it`s like Disney does Espana. Every house is the same (Casablanca) every street identical. We knew were staying at number 22, other than that, it was a white house in a street with white houses. And we`d had a drink. And the kids were shattered. And we didn`t know where we were.



I figured (in the best Jackie Pigeon tradition) I had a decent idea which way the Irish woman had come, so off we set. All the way (as we followed the English waddling home to their "known" abodes like some Romero epic, Louise kept saying, this isn`t the way, we should have turned right further down. It was a very long ten minutes walking, until Grace recognised a parkbench we had passed earlier. Unbelievably, and through better luck than judgement, we made it home. If any one is interested, it was 22 Castillo Del Rio.

We found a lovely little Spanish restaurant, where I could pretend to be fluent in Spanish, "Hola, Mesa Para quattro Por favor" etc and so forth. The second time we went in there was a Spanish fella playing Flamenco on the guitar, whom Grace became very fond of (I think it`s a Puss in Boots thing, Louise begs to differ). As all the other English families were regarding him as if he had asked them to wash a tramps backside, to gain a bit of encouragement he was over like a shot.



He began playing "La Bamba" for Grace. Now then (and you can probably see where this is heading) anyone who knows music can tell you that La Bamba is pretty much Twist and Shout, or vice versa. So I began singing Twist and Shout. He nearly dropped the guitar. Spouting stuff in Spanish I tried to reply, but as all I know how to say is "Table for four please" and "thank you, I am full" this was not much use.

The next thing he`s thrusting the guitar into my hands and asking me to play to the English. I was worried I might put them off their Sausage and Chips, but being the whore that I am, I gave it a bash. It went down really well, and the waitresses and waiters came in to have a look at the English buffoon singing the wrong words to La Bamba. Finishing, I got a nice round of applause, and a couple of free drinks for the family. A really nice night to remember.





At the end of the holiday, I was more than ready to come back (Yeah I know, I can`t believe it either,but it`s true).

I`ve been back a week, and now feel almost ready for another holiday. As Northern Banjo Boy notes in his excellent website, you take two weeks off, and have three weeks worth of work to come back to.

Till the next one,

learn something new,

Mark.