'Much Merriment At Meet Of The Tongue & The Steelyards Collective'

Things have been pretty full on this last few weeks so apologies for my lack of posts this year. Sadly, much of what I have been up to has had little or nothing to do with Christmas mores the pity other than searching for Christmas presents/writing/delivering/sending cards and the like.

I did manage to get away from the stress for a bit though last Sunday at a 'Winter Get Together' at  Horam. Jane and Keith Trott have a lovely home there with plenty of grounds and a nice, warm stone barn that is ideal for Storytelling/Poetry & Song evenings. Jane is a 'creative sort' who writes a lot of poetry and Keith loves his old Penny Farthing bicycles and loves to listen (as well as ably preparing the mid-interval refreshments) so its always nice to see them both and feel 'part of something', you know?

Jane Trott (left) and Yvonne Rees

Yvonne Rees, who was given the task of hosting the dual event, is another well-known local Poet and Artist and is always good for a giggle with her witty, observational poetry. As for the other 'acts' well, that's where you and I come in! Both The Steelyards Collective and Meet Of The Tongue are rather like old time family Christmas gatherings because the idea behind both is that people meet up for an evening and provide their own entertainment - taking it in turn to sing/read/perform their work or just listen to others or maybe provide a bit of something by someone who has inspired them. It never really matters who does what because we ALWAYS have a good time and each others company no matter what!

Wendy is all smiles telling her tale!

I chose to read out a Christmas story of mine called 'The Cellar Door'. It was written more with children in mind but seeing as some of the pieces before it had been a little 'dark' in theme for the time of year I thought it might help to re-connect people with the wonder of Christmas that only kids really ever feel. It is such a shame as we grow older that we seem to lose the ability to get excited 'wide-eyed and open mouthed' about anything and I love thinking back to when I was small and how even the simplest thing then seemed to have a sprinkle of magic about it when it was associated with Santa, Tinsel and twinkling fairy lights... 

Lorne plays Christmas Carols on his flute.

What made this particular afternoon so nice was the fact that, due to one thing and another, both 'Meet Of The Tongue' and 'The Steelyards Collective' have not been able to hold their usual regular monthly meetings for a few months this year. Seeing everyone again and feeling the sense of community that these meetings help to re-instate in todays rather isolating society was really nice and I even 'threw in' a little 'surprise' for hosts, Jane and Yvonne at the end of the evening to make everyone smile!

I don't want to say too much more about that here because I am hoping to repeat the feat when doing my Christmas Radio show with, Jeff Belton next Monday! Yes, folks! The 23rd is only 6 days away now!

If you think you would like the kind of traditional evening that I talk about here why not come along to one of either 'Meet of the Tongue' or 'The Steelyards Collective' (hopefully) monthly meetings in 2020? You will be ever so welcome and it does not matter a jot if all you want to do is sit at the back and listen - ears are as welcome as voices! You can see photos of some of the 'performers' and performances here...

'The Glory Of St Clements Church Christmas Fair!'

I went to my favourite Christmas Fair of them all yesterday namely the one at St Clements Church, High Street, Hastings!

I ALWAYS have a lovely time there meeting old friends (some from my school days whom I never seem to 'bump into' at any other time?) and so it is something I look forward to every year at this time.

I was the very first person through the doors this year as I got to the church about 25 minutes early! I love to chat with the people behind me in the queue as its an opportunity to soak up some Christmas atmosphere, share a few laughs and help promote the festive spirit!

Me doing just that! (lol)

The queue this year was not as long as in previous years but then, as I reported at St Luke's a while back, this is the trend these days with the generations that love actually doing this kind of thing dying off!

This said, I was heartened to see a number of kids being brought to the fair by their parents. It is vital for the very survival of Christmas itself that we all do our bit to keep introducing Christmas to the next generation you know!

As you may already know, I LOVE the £1 a go prize every time stall and usually make a bee line for it as soon as I enter the church. For some reason though this year I didn't - deciding to browse through some of the bric-a-brac and craft stalls first. I bought a lovely Debenhams Christmas Tree broach (all sparkly!) that I shall wear myself (and blow the damage to my reputation!) in December and found the PERFECT present for a friend as well that I won't reveal the nature of here just in case they read this!

Sadly though when I did finally arrive at my beloved £1 a go stall I noticed that some of the familiar faces that I usually share some fun with were missing. I've never been one for remembering names ( unless you've ever had a record out!) but usually remember faces and some the elderly 'stalwarts' of the event I was hoping to see were definitely not there...

Thankfully one of the ladies I was hoping to see was there and she told me the sad news that the other lady I had expected to see had died recently and that her husband, with whom I often share some laughs, was in hospital at the moment. I felt so sad hearing the news because every year when I go back I fear hearing this kind of thing and up until now have always been pleasantly surprised to see them all smiling back at me for another year.

Pic courtesy of, Keith Leech.

The GOOD side of such sad news though was that the lady I spoke with had her DAUGHTER running the stall for her with a friend this year. At least if the tradition is 'handed down' so to speak it will help St Clements continue to put on such events!

After I 'bought my fill' of presents to open on Christmas Day from the stall I went for a cup of tea and a mince pie with my school-friend, Paul. He is a really nice, gentle bloke and said he would treat me this year so that was even better! (lol) We sat down and spent a good half an hour catching up on stuff and chatting about Christmas and there was only a smidgen of politics, honest guv! (lol)

I then saw the lady who organises the Fair every year. She is a marvellous lady, who at 78 is an incredible asset to the church. She was dressed with her usual festive hat on and a tiny mince pie hanging down (not a real one!) but was not quite as bright and smiley as usual I detected. It turned out that her brother passed away last week quite suddenly (though they knew he was terminally ill) which was why. What a STAR she is to STILL turn up, help out and be as Christmassy as ever in such sad circumstances, eh?

People often ask me why I love The Old Town and Old Towners particularly - well that's why! They are made of sterner stuff and do all they can for their community even in their own darkest hours. If only the people of other areas in Hastings & St Leonards would take a leaf out of their book!

I felt very honoured talking to her as well because she recounted to me how special it was to read the 'lovely story' I wrote about the Fair for 'Hastings Town' magazine a few years ago. That was probably more than 'a few' years ago now so it is nice for me to think that someone still remembers my efforts!
I really hope that this lady reached her fund-raising target from the Fair this year. The number of stalls was down a little on previous years but there was a 'Mulled Wine' seller this time around and of course the HUGE raffle!

It always pains me that I am invariably MEGA busy at this time of the year and so can not stay right until the end but I really enjoyed myself (as ever) again and came away with a bag full of presents and 'goodies' as I always do to help make mine and those I buy for's Christmas Day special.

Oh and I also bought 4 lovely home made cakes that were divine! I took a pic of them for you before sharing them with family and a friend. They look a bit 'sickly' but actually weren't as the sponge inside them was as 'light as a feather'!

Who needs 'Red Bull' to give them wings, eh? (lol)

God bless all at St Clement's Church - I wish them all a SMASHING Christmas and a very HAPPY new year xxx

'Under A Week To Go!'

Not long until the big day now! The weather is 'suitably un-festive' though (as usual) and its teeming down with rain again this morning. My cold is also hanging on longer than those 'friends & relatives' that come to stay at Christmas each year and has now gone on to my chest! (lol)

The smiley, Kate Rosie from 'Teddy Tinkers' in London Rd

OTHER THAN THAT (lol) I have been enjoying the run up to Christmas Day and attended a Christmas Barbeque Party thrown by the very FABULOUS, Kate Rosie from 'Teddy Tinkers'. As you might expect in mid December we had LOVELY weather and Kate said the burgers were lovely (if you could catch them) and the sausages divine (as long as you could lift your snorkel out of the way enough to take a bite).

So it rained then?

Oh yes! Just a tad! But it didn't dampen the Christmas spirit and everyone had a great time. I got three 'very dubious considering my single status' presents on the night as well. Three boxes of 'lucky dip presents' had been put together and we all had to choose one at random times during the evening. The three boxes were entitled 'Boys', 'Girls' and 'Not Sure' and I (without consciously thinking) picked my first gift from the 'Not Sure' box. Well! I got a small metal SHEEP for my pains made by Kate's hubbie, Alex!

The irony of these gifts will not be lost on the universe!

Now, most of you who know me will have burst out laughing at this - you rotten swines! (lol) The next 'random gift' I got turned out to be 11,000 of toy pirate money! You can buy a LOT of metal SHEEP with that, oh yes! (lol) Thankfully, the final gift I received was a simple biro with a football on the top - nothing 'double entendre' about that you might say but I would point out that potentially all three gifts involve playing with balls! (lol)

Oh dear, that REALLY is a GRIM joke, isn't it? By gum, you can soon tell reading this blog how far 'stuck up my own era' I am, can't you? My one defence being that if you can't have a bit of fun and 'let your hair down' (FAT CHANCE OF THAT!) at Christmas then when can you?

Talking of people 'having a bit of fun' I saw a chap in the street the other day wearing a suit made to look like Christmas wrapping paper! Bright red it was and he had a 'sparkly' sequinned red hat on as well. The suit was quite well made as well - not a 'home-made' job and he told me when I stopped him to say "well done and Happy Christmas" that there is a company now selling them on the Internet.

GREAT to see a few PRO Christmas things coming from the digital age and i really hope more people will decide to buy one to wear 'for a laugh' at Christmas! I would have asked him for a photo but he was with a lady and she was a 'vulnerable adult' and so I didn't think it appropriate. He must be a 'good lad' I reckon as he probably works in the care industry - Santa won't forget him on December the 25th, I'm sure of that!

I did my bit later that day to 'spread the insanity of Christmas' when with my friend, Stephanie in the Hanushka Coffee House in George Street (Hastings Old Town). Sitting there wearing my Christmas jumper that makes me look as if I am wearing a Santa suit I asked Stephanie whether she was 'suitably humiliated to be seen with me in public yet or not?' Stephanie (who knows me of old) grinned and denied that she was - so to make sure of it I opened my shoulder bag and pulled out a large Elf hat with a bell on the end and sat there wearing that as well! To say that I got a few "Oh, GOD PLEEEESSSE' looks from the 'miserable git community' was an understatement but quite a few people who were in the shop already or who walked in and spotted me thought it was fun!

I LOVE spreading a bit of good cheer and insanity at this time of year and for every person who thinks its 'pathetic for a man of my age' there are two (or more) who smile. Smiles are what we need more than ever in the world at the moment and so I shall continue to be as 'daft as a brush' in public places at Christmastime no matter what!

Love Tony xxx

'Back From Grassington With A Filthy Cold!'

It was great to make the 'pilgrimage' back to Grassington in Yorkshire for their annual Dickensian Festival but I have returned home with a filthy cold!

The weather 'up north' was appalling while I was there with high winds and plenty of rain. Luckily though, I only really got one 'drenching' and that was during my last half an hour in Grassington.

One of the oh so Christmassy shop windows in Grassington

Things did not work out 'to plan' on a number of levels as far as my holiday was concerned. It took over 13 hours to get to our hotel in Skipton from Hastings because of bad weather, people not turning up at the collection points and the plethora of accidents on the roads. We were supposed to 'pop in' to Newark on the way up for our lunch stop but got 're-directed' to Melton Mowbray instead as the motorway was backed up due to an accident. Our driver then told us when we got back on the coach that according to his sat nav EVERY possible route from Melton Mowbray to where we wanted to go had an accident on it somewhere!

To make matters worse, our party (only 15 of us) were due to attend a 'Christmas Party' at the hotel that evening and so being constantly held up meant that when we FINALLY arrived the Hotel manager was under pressure to start serving the Christmas meals to the other guests! In the end we had 30 mins to basically 'chuck our bags ion our rooms, beautify ourselves and get down to the function room'. It wasn't ideal but I still enjoyed myself! In all there was about 20 tables of people to serve and with about 8-10 per table I could see why our being so late was giving the poor hotel manager the jitters!

I tell you what though, I was THRILLED with the hotel itself! The Rendezvous Hotel in Skipton may only have a three star rating but when you walk into the 'hospitality' area and see TWO FULL -SIZED REAL CHRISTMAS TREES adorned with lights, baubles and with presents underneath to your left it makes a BIG impact upon you - especially if you are a 'Christmas person', like me!

With an 'imposter' at the Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton.

In fact, what with the friendly, smiley staff and the VERY comfortable seating areas (both in the foyer and about the upstairs bar) the Rendezvous Hotel has a 'showbizzy glitz' about it. All of the staff are 'well drilled' and the way that the waitering was done with 'military precision' at the Christmas Party was impressive! As far as the food goes, I didn't eat anything that I didn't like during my stay though I can imagine a 'proper foodie' picking one or two holes re the odd 'potato that was not cooked properly' or similar. Re- Craig Revel Horwood and his infamous '10 paddle' you do have to be ULTRA-PICKY to find real fault though.  

After the main lunch some of the staff engaged their guests in some 'party games' (which was fun - even if people were reluctant to take part at first) with prizes of bottles of bubbly for the winners and then the D.J. handed over to a great duo who played guitars and sang along to backing tracks. That makes them sound 'naff' but they were actually very good and I danced to 'Let's Dance' by Bowie and their rocky version of 'Sweet Child Of Mine' by Guns n 'Roses. They also did a lot of other 80's classics by Erasure, Tears For Fears and Soft Cell, which was unusual...

Many of the other guests were dressed up in fancy dress and I (complete with my Christmas Elf jumper and soft pointed Elf slippers with bells on the end) thus didn't look quite the 'prat' I would have otherwise!(lol) I got to dance with 'Wonder Woman' as well!!!

Maybe because of the weather on arrival in Grassington I did not find quite so many 'hardy souls' dressed up in Dickensian costume as last year. The pretty lady who played the flute dressed as a fairy wasn't there nor were the two ladies who 'manned' the 'crumble and custard' stall but the village was every bit as festive and Christmassy looking as I remembered it.

Sadly, this year we had only 4 hours to enjoy ourselves as opposed to 6 last year. I fully understand how 6 hours at a place smaller than Rye might be a problem for most (especially the elderly) but for a Christmas fool like me who loves nothing more than staring 'gooey eyed' into Christmassy toyshop windows or staring lovingly at fairy lights it was no time at all!

'Scrooge' and his helper plug my album!

I DID manage to have a brief chat this time though with the man who plays 'Scrooge' and his accomplice. I thanked him for the wonderful effort he puts in each year and told him I had come all the way from Hastings to savour more of his antics. He said that he hadn't played in Hastings for an age but had some knowledge of the area. I gave him a copy of my 'A Nod To Mr. Dickens' CD and explained that only 100 had every been made and that I had decided to give some of them to people like him who really go in for the traditional meaning of Christmas and give so much joy to others. he and his mate (who pulls him along in his barrow) seemed genuinely touched by this gesture and agreed to pose for a couple of photos for me as a result.

More from my adventures in Grassington next time! x

'Time's Going Too Fast! (lol)'

Oh, oh! I see the word 'December' has 'crept' onto the calendar already!

I am ' still fighting' to get prepared for Christmas this year and have missed my December the 1st deadline to have all cards written, presents bought, foreign cards sent and presents wrapped BUT I am doing much better than the previous two years when I ended up in total chaos and some people just got nothing at all!

The cost of sending real cards has gotten a bit silly these days though as I found out this morning. After having to shell out over £12 to send a dozen or so cards I cheekily asked the lady behind the counter if her bosses name happened to be 'Turpin' and if so if he liked riding horses? I can't say that she appreciated my sense of humour but then that's nothing new either today! (lol)

By gum, I'd LOVE to send us all back to the 1970's or 80's when everyone sent cards at Christmas time and you could have a joke with people!

Anyway, I have felt very 'blessed' the last week or so because I have been treated fabulously by a series of friends of late. Yesterday my 'old mucka', Jeff Belton and his wife, Wendy treated me to a three course Christmas meal at The Brickwall Hotel in Sedlescombe. Seeing as I have 'chipped in' and done a bit of hospital radio broadcasting this year they felt I deserved to attend the CHR Christmas meal. The Brickwall Hotel is a lovely old building with old oak beams, a real fireplace and plenty of 'period features' and I really enjoyed my visit there. The staff were all very smiley and friendly and the food was great! I had a bowl of spicy parsnip soup for starters followed by a traditional Christmas Turkey and stuffing meal (with all the trimmings) and a GORGEOUS (Darling) Raspberry cheesecake for afters. I'm a 'great man' for my Cheesecakes and know a good one from a bad one so they were under pressure not to disappoint! No worries though as this was definitely a GOOD one and I enjoyed it immensely.

I joked with one of the people I was sitting with that I was glad that we all had our names and our menu choices on little cards in front of us. "I'm not very good at following instruction and got into a lot of trouble a few years ago at a similar do", I said. "How was that, she (unwisely!) asked?" Well, I asked if they had a record of my menu choices as I'd forgotten them and they said "not to worry as they would send over what was mine". "Unfortunately, I then ate the waitress! (lol)"

Another person in our party remarked that 'The Brickwall Hotel' was a strange name for such a beautiful venue. "It's called The Brickwall Hotel because trying to get served here is like talking to a brick wall", I said, with a grin. Nothing could be further from the truth in actual fact as all of the staff were attentive to our needs and did everything with a smile. Considering how busy the Hotel was (another two functions were taking place at the same time as ours) that took some doing, I can tell you!

I'm hoping to get to Battle this afternoon to 'get my fill' of the festive atmosphere there is there every year and to get some footage and pics of the WONDERFUL Christmas tree that is 'in situ' on the Market Square this year in the centre of town. They know how to do Christmas trees properly in Battle with the bulbs all the way to the ground - unlike the 'we can't trust anyone who lives here not to nick or vandalise our bulbs' brigade that ensure all trees in Hastings only have bulbs at the top!

Grrr, don't get me started on that subject! (lol)

Not sure if I will be able to get many great pics or any decent footage as my camera doesn't really 'do' poor light shots that well but I will try if I can and (hopefully) post some of the results here.

Oh well, toodle-pip for now - onwards and further downward as I always say! (lol) xx

'Less Than A Month!'

I am working hard to try and get prepared and organised for Christmas in good time this year after a couple of 'debacles' the last two years. When you fail to sort things out before the word 'December' hits the calendar you are on a very slippery slope! By GUM the time flies away from you at that point and as you become too stressed to enjoy anything you miss out on the magic of the run up to Christmas and how that can make you feel...

When you are organised, have written all your cards, sent all the overseas ones, written all of the letters to go inside them AND have sorted and wrapped up all of your presents though you can just relax and soak up the festive atmosphere. The  Christmas lights have now been switched on in Battle and there is no better a place to go - especially when its getting dark to feel the 'Disney' kind of vibe that Christmas evokes. The sight of Battle Abbey all lit up and of the tiny Christmas trees that usually hang out from above shop fronts around the Market Square is amazing and as there are also plenty of public benches to sit on in the square you can simply relax, be merry and think of favourite memories or of 'the things to come' this year.

I am soon to be 'off on my travels' back to Grassington and the Dickensian Festival there. It should be fun but I reckon this year its going to be much colder and probably damper up in Yorkshire than last year. I'm going to try and fit in all of the things I missed last year (including a trip to the little museum there) AND make the time to go and have a pint in the quaint little Pub there. Hopefully, the trip will live up to my expectations but its always a risk 'going back' to somewhere in consecutive years because if its not so good the second time you kind of spoil your overall memories of the place, you know?

I had a 'traditional taste' of High Street shopping yesterday in Hastings. It brought home to me just why most of us shop online these days because, try as hard as I might to support the High Street, I could not find the item I wanted to buy anywhere in Hastings. Every shop I went to that I thought would have it did not and in the end that is what you are up against. Time is of 'the essence' to most people these days what with 'flexible' working hours and so the average person needs to be able to find what they want quickly. Mind you, It did bring back lots of happy memories of shopping back in the 1980's when we would all be seen carrying a plethora of carrier bag fulls of stuff in town on a Saturday or at Christmas time. I used to love looking at people struggling with all their bags and  wonder who they were buying the stuff for? The snag with all kinds of shopping is that the more a person looks  - the more they buy and usually for themselves! (lol) We all know what WE want but struggle to find presents and so for every £1 you spend on someone else you are likely to spend twice that on yourself! (lol)

I did get some LOVELY Christmassy enamel badges (you can see a few of them here) though from one of the St Michael's Hospice charity shops. All of the money raised goes to help the hospice and so I couldn't resist - especially as the designs are so cute and festive. In my situation I shouldn't really be 'handing out money' but Christmas is all about 'good will to all men' (I do feel sorry for women on this occasion!) and the hospice do such fantastic work.

Finally, I managed to get a glimpse of the fabulous old Steam Train that visited Hastings Station yesterday afternoon at around 3pm. While the weather was rotten and it was raining looking down on the train from the bridge in Linton Rd was a lovely, nostalgic and emotive experience. There was quite a crowd with me, which was nice to see, and we all 'oohed and aahed' when 'the old girl' fired up and pulled away in clouds of steam towards us and we heard that (once) familiar chugging sound as she picked up speed. It was only a Steam Train but it brought back so many wonderful memories for me of my Nan and Grandad, Fish N' Chip suppers and sitting on the bridge watching the trains in their old Austin A40. Whenever a Steam Train came in or went out of Hastings Station I used to delight in getting enveloped in the smoke as it went under the bridge and would then rush over to the other side of the road to watch it gradually disappear into the tunnel. I did most of that yesterday (couldn't get really into the smoke due to the crowd) and so for me that train yesterday was like catching a glimpse of the Polar Express...

You can see a video of the Steam Train on my Youtube channel, Maybrick44. Sadly, we are not allowed to include links here anymore but if you type in 'Steam Returns To Hastings' and Maybrick44 into your browsers you should find it o.k.

Love Tony xx

'New Videos On Youtube & J.R.R. Tolkein'

Well folks, I have been working like stink since returning from Grassington and have now uploaded two videos of my adventures there to my Youtube channel, Maybrick44. Sadly, we bloggers are no longer allowed to posts video links as part of our posts here and so you will need to actually visit channel Maybrick44 to view the films. While you are there check out the video for my Christmas Video Single this year, 'Heart Full Of Joy' - I uploaded that a few days before I went on my break but forgot to post about it here, until now!

One of the other places we visited on the holiday was Harrogate. Now, I thought Harrogate was a quaint old Yorkshire village like Grassington but actually it is nothing of the sort! We only had about a couple of hours to look round and I did not get to see very much at all because I came across a record shop en-route to the main part of the town and got no further!

Before that, however, I had browsed in a few of the charity shops on the far reaches of the town centre and found a few 'christmassy finds' including a hardback book all about the letters from Father Christmas that J.R.R. Tolkein habitually made up and sent to his children each year.

Aside from, 'Lord Of The Rings' I know nothing at all about Tolkein and had no idea that he was a 'Christmas person'. Mind you, I suppose its not much of a leap of faith to think that a fantasy writer who pens tales of elves, goblins and made up lands might be a 'believer' in Father Christmas and do all he can to spread the word and keep Christmas alive, is it!

The book has lots of lovely colour photos of the letters themselves and of the paintings and drawings that J.R.R. sent with his letters. He even went to the trouble to paint fake stamps on the envelopes and fake post office markings! The letters themselves (which date from the 1920's) are great fun to read and paint a calamitous picture of life at the North Pole and I can only imagine how magical it must have been to have had J.R.R. for a Dad! Mind you, I've been pretty lucky with mine as well - even if he does HATE Christmas!

I only paid £1.50 for the book so I reckon I got a bargain as I've not seen nor heard of it before?

Christmas time is THE perfect time to believe in fairy stories and I plan to take the book with me on Friday when I go to my monthly Storytelling, Poetry and Song evening at Horum (The Steelyard Collective - check them out on Facebook) and read out a few of the best of J.R.R.'s festive tales!

'Heart Full Of Joy'

Because of financial constraints I have not been able to continue with my 'recording career' for most of this year but was determined to at least try and come up with my annual 'Christmas Video Single' for Youtube and was prepared therefore to 'raid my piggy bank' one last time to fund a couple of sessions in the studio to try and produce something.

Having written and been pleased with the idea of 'Heart Full Of Joy' I teamed up earlier this week with 'my old sparring partner', Harvey Summers to see what we could make of the song. My plan was to just produce something fairly basic revolving around him playing an acoustic guitar and me singing but as usual things didn't work out that way!

Harvey Summers Last Single

For those of you unaware of Harvey, he is a bona-fide GENIUS and if you are lucky enough to 'dial him in' to an idea of yours and get his creative juices going then you are well on the road to creating something special! My plan therefore to record something 'stripped back' and acoustic flew out the window in the first minute or so as Harvey LOVED my idea and 'the muttering' started.

Now, when Harvey starts muttering (to himself) about the ideas flying into his brain about how to compose the music for a song the best thing you can do is sit back and let him get on with the task in hand! I NEVER cease to be amazed at how brilliant he is and am always confident with 'Harv' at the helm that the end product is going to be AWESOME.

As with all recording sessions, however there are 'challenges' that crop up along the way and so I do 'chip in' my thoughts and ideas if and when I think they might be helpful or when I feel strongly about something. I do get Harv a bit 'ratty' sometimes if he is 'in the moment' but I understand why that happens and don't take anything to heart. The great thing with Harvey and I is that we both know what the other one 'brings to the party' and also have great faith in the fact that anything critical said either way is intended only to help. I don't understand any of the computer programs that Harvey uses to build the basics of the musical arrangements and that occasionally causes a few problems but I'd rather get my old mate cross occasionally that see him sit there without an idea in his head after listening to my demo!

Anyway, after two long-ish sessions we now have about 90% of the work done and I am hopeful that I will have a Christmas Video Single to upload to Youtube again this year. The video may not end up that marvellous though due to the time factor but I am always thinking of things and on the look out for great pictures so I might yet surprise myself!

Santa LOVES the idea for 'Heart Full Of Joy'!

Sadly, we are not allowed as Bloggers to add links to videos on Youtube here anymore (boo!) so you will have to keep an eye on my Youtube channel, Maybrick44 if you want to see and hear 'Heart Full Of Joy' when its finished. I will of course post a note here to let you all know when I have uploaded it and it is available. One more session should complete the song and the current plan is to try and fit that in within the next week -fingers crossed!

'St Clements Provides Plenty Of Christmas Cheer!'

St Clements Church

I had a lovely time today at my favourite Christmas Fair of the whole year!  The St Clements Church congregation always make a great effort to present something that is full of fun, colour and atmosphere and my Christmas pretty much starts with their Christmas Fair!

This year was no exception and I bumped into Amber Rudd while examining the home made Christmas decorations, cards and gifts stall. She said hello to me (we have met before) so I’m not sure if she recognised me (my Cowboy hat is memorable even if I’m not!) or was just being polite. Now, I know The Conservative Party are not perfect and I can’t say that I am happy with all of their policies either but I do feel very sorry for Amber as she has been the subject of a lot of very personal attacks of late and I don’t think that shows a good side to politics. Because of that I did my best to make her feel welcome, smiled and told her that it was “lovely to see her here”. I wanted to ask for a photo for this blog but decided to let the poor girl have some 'quality time away from the cameras’ in the end…

Anyway, I spent the best part of two hours browsing the stalls and FARMING the £1 a go - win every time stall, as ever! The people on that stall all know me and welcome me each year and so I always do my best to help them sell out! 

The one thing I did find troubling this year though was the fact that most of the people running the event and manning the stalls this year were elderly. Its a worrying trait that these kind of community events, fates, fairs and indeed Christmas itself all seem to be kept alive more than ever these days by the older generations. Even the people I chatted to over a cup of tea and mince pie were a fair bit older than me. Now you know why I try to do all I can each year to spread Christmas spirit and thus ( hopefully) continue to re-inforce it and the wonderful traditions that go with it. Not being a religious person myself there’s a certain irony in me ‘leading the charge’ on that front I suppose but no-one can say a bad word about any of the volunteers at St Clements - that’s for sure!

Oh, and I even won a 'star prize’ on the bottle stall! After telling the lady running the stall that I was going to ‘invoke the spirit of Tommy Cooper’ in order to try and win something this year and that knowing Tommy if I managed it I'd probably pull out a ticket that said ‘Drinking is bad for you’, I went and won a star prize with the first ticket I chose! Good on you Tommy! I suppose you could say that it all fell into place ‘just like that!'

Well, I don’t know what the rest of the festive season will hold for me this year but at least I can now say that I LOVED one part of it!

'An Emotional Day'

Things never work out as you think they are going to in life, do they? As I posted earlier, today looked like being a VERY quiet Christmas Day indoors with just me and my Mum and Dad but it did not turn out like that!

No, in the end I received a phone call mid morning from my friend, Robert. He had not heard from me for a while and had not received my usual card so rang to see how I was. Now, as you all know, I have not been 'at the races' with Christmas this year and have had difficulty focusing so I had not sent him a card nor even bought him a present yet!

Robert is a good friend, however, and knows me of old. We may be totally different people but he does his best to understand my 'fevered brain'. Before I knew it I had been invited to his house for lunch! This was a most welcome offer as Mum was not cooking anything much today having made the effort to do a lovely dinner yesterday. For her to have 'one less to worry about' was thus going to be good. Mind you, my brother, Geoff, had changed his mind about coming today as well so I needed to be back home by early evening to meet him and his kids, Sam & Sophie for the VERY unceremonious present opening session!

Amazingly, on the way around to Roberts I spotted a £5 note laying in amongst a pile of leaves! That was a nice Christmas bonus! What filled me with even more joy though was that the £5 note had a prefix that started with the letters AL. I could not help laughing out loud when I spotted that and looked up to the heavens and thanked my old mate, Alan Gaywood, for the fiver from beyond the grave! I know its crazy, but I choose to believe that there is no such thing sometimes as a coincidence and today was one of those occasions. It would be typical of Al to give me his last £5...

After a really festive Christmas lunch with Robert (who is not normally much of a one for 'the c word') and having watched The Queen's speech to the nation on the telly it was time to return home. Oddly, I felt rather flat for a while when I got back so decided to have a bath and freshen myself up a bit. A good old soak often helps if you are feeling a bit down...

As soon as I wanted to have my bath my brother turned up with the kids but they were staying a while so I carried on with my previous plans.

Sophie opens one of her presents from me..

When it came to finding the presents I had got for the family I had a bit of a job. Space is at an absolute premium in our house these days and I could not find some of the cards I had written! In the end I had to either give up on them or write a few new ones but poor old Mum missed out because I had used up all my spare cards doing 'Operation Spread Christmas Spirit' yesterday!

Anyway, in the end the present giving session went off quite well and I did manage to get a few nice family photos (as you can see) to share with our Australian side of the family in Victoria. Sam did not even know about them so I spent a while telling him all about them and how we are related. Good job Trevor & Lesley are as family orientated as I am down under! If It wasn't for Trevor and I using Ancestry.com a while back the two sides of the family would not know anything at all about each other!

Dad, Mum and my brother, Geoff.

Lesley & Trevor May from Victoria in Aus

Sam (my brother's boy) is all smiles!

Once my brother and the kids had gone I set about opening my presents! My mystery benefactor's purple box turned out to be a battery operated Christmas Train set! Ideal for a 51, nearly 52, year old kid! HA HA HA I also got a pair of Elves slippers with bells on from my friends, Sally & Ro and loads of thoughtful gifts all individually wrapped up from Stephanie, Simon and Solana!

Prezzies from Stephanie, Simon & Solana

Jan sent me a poetry book from Oswestry and Bin & Bean Kennedy a swanky new writing book with a magnetic cover - I even got a Balloon Modelling Kit from Martin & Vanessa - all good fun stuff!

Lastly, I set about opening my Christmas gifts from the St Clement's Church Christmas Fair. I got some LOVELY fragrancies including a TED BAKER one (not bad for a £1, eh?), a LONG Toblerone to look forward to polishing off and  a Star Wars Sticker Set! HA HA The most odd gift of all though was a tin of pilchards! I know its Hastings Old Town guys but, really! For Christmas???

So, there you have it, my Christmas Day in a nutshell. A lot more eventful and emotional than I had expected and bargained for. I still miss my old buddy, Al and will be glad now in a way when I see 2017 on the calendar rather than 2016 but Christmas does at least make you aware of what you STILL have for now and that sometimes is just enough...

'Merry Christmas!'

Another year, another Christmas day! Well, I'm STILL waiting for the 'fanfare of trumpets at dawn', the Willy Wonka like experience to cap the morning, the LAVISH and happy family present opening gathering this evening and to look out on a freshly laid carpet of snow BUT it is CHRISTMAS! Ho! Ho! Ho!

To keep my newly installed Christmas tradition going, I DID manage to write and deliver 18 'Operation Spread Christmas Spirit' cards yesterday. I was not able to do it under cover of darkness this time and did get more than a few 'funny stares' from local residents while peering closely at their homes as I walked slowly around with my bag of cards over my shoulder... Still, 18 people will have discovered a card from 'Santa' on their mat ( or stuck in their blooming awful, very stiff letterboxes!) either yesterday or this morning and a few festive chuckles will ( I hope!) have been caused due to the wording inside. I came up with all kinds of silly but fun tales to put in the cards this year including about how Rudolf had a cold and because of that his red nose went out! Poor old Santa (me) could not see a thing and was only saved from crashing the sleigh by the families lovely light show! Now, what more Christmassy a tale could anyone tell to someone they don't know but wish well, I ask you?

Today is going to be a VERY quiet one for me and my folks. It doesn't look as if any of the rest of the family are going to come today and Mum has already opened two of her presents at the breakfast table! I despair with my lot about their 'lack of a sense of occasion' and intend to save opening all of my presents until the light has gone, the Christmas tree is twinkling away and I have time to enjoy unwrapping my gifts and thinking of the people who have sent them...

LOTS of love to you all this Christmas day and make sure you spend plenty of quality time with the ones you love...

'I've Been Visited By A 'Secret Santa'!

While this year has been a difficult one it has had its moments when, as if to say 'don't give up old boy' something nice has happened. The day before yesterday my Mum went to put some paper in the re-cycling and found that someone had left a present on our doorstep!

The Mystery Gift!

 The present was not labelled nor was there a card but I knew somehow it was meant for me and was the result of either my writing this blog, my work as 'The Clean Up Man' or a 'ripple' from last years 'Operation Spread Christmas Spirit' campaign...

Sadly, Mum opened the end of the parcel to see what it was before I could stop her so I already know what is in it but I won't enlighten you all until the big day! I am really pleased to know that 'someone out there' also has the spirit of the season in their heart and shares my wacky sense of humour. I hope they had as much fun 'sneaking up' on my house to drop off the present without being seen that I have when trying to drop cards in people's letterboxes on Christmas Eve! Being a burglar may be a horrid and selfish thing to do but I would not want their 'job' I can tell you! HA HA

It looks like today I am going to have to help Mum with some last minute Christmas shopping but I still have one or two presents of my own to get so that's fine. I am SOOO late this year on competing my Christmas present buying and have REALLY struggled to think of what to buy a couple of my friends. I know there are 'safe' options that I can get but I LOVE to come up with something new, un-expected and different that is just right so have been reluctant so far to buy the 'same old same old'. Still, I am sure my friends would rather have something they like than something different they don't and so I may have to concede defeat this year and 'revert to type'...

Overall, I think I have done quite well this year at keeping Christmas in my thoughts but I can't say I have really felt the 'fuzzy warm feeling' I usually get much. I guess that was always going to be a bit much to ask though this year having lost TWO people who were close to my heart...

Oh well, time to get ready for a days shopping and then I will have my last session of present wrapping to do for this year. I have not written any 'Operation Spread Christmas Spirit' cards out yet either so if I am to do it for a third year...

'4 Days To Go!'

Well folks, we are now nearly at the 'big day' again! As usual, instead of a lovely, soft carpet of snow and a population of Snowmen looking at us through the window we have wet, depressing days and that HORRIBLE grey sky...

Still, Christmas is the 'season that lives in your heart' and so you don't actually need to see it you just need to feel it and know that it is real...

I'm writing this listening to The Manhattan Transfer's Christmas album from 1992 so I'm all wrapped up in great harmonies and lush melodies! The 'Man Tran' are not normally my scene ( a bit showbiz) but this time of year their gorgeous vocal harmonies and show like songs all help create a bit of badly needed glamour!

The run in to Christmas has been a strange one for me this year. I have either been out enjoying myself with good friends and attending Christmas Dinners or I have been at a loose end indoors at home with (too much) time on my hands to reflect on the horrific losses I have suffered this year and how scarey 2017 looks...

I know I say this every year, but Christmas can be and is a difficult time emotionally for lots of people. Offset against all of the happy get-togethers there are inevitably thoughts of those no longer with us and of how things keep changing on you as you get older. Loneliness is especially keenly felt at this time and that is why I try to smile at everyone I meet in the street and make sure I say a cheery 'Good Morning' or 'Good Afternoon' to them with my 'Merry Christmas!' Small little gestures like that can really make a difference and maybe be enough to keep someone who is feeling 'cast off' going.

I hope with this blog I 'connect' with a few people and help bring the cheer and spirit of Christmas into your home!  Here is a little poem of mine I put to music a few years ago. The video may be very amateurish but the scenery is lovely and Christmassy! I filmed it myself in Church-in-the-Wood the last time we had some significant snowfall in my area...

Finally, I had a lovely evening out with my Shorelink Writers club at The New Inn in Westfield at our Christmas dinner party.

Yvonne & Alvin are all smiles!

Someone left me a 'secret Santa' present on my chair while I was taking a few pictures, which was very nice and I will look forward to finding out what it is o the 25th! 'Thanks for all the help' was the message attached to the card. Now, I do try to be a 'helpful fellow' whenever I can to my friends but I've no idea this time who this present could be from?

They really are a great bunch of people at Shorelink Writers and no-one can feel lonely or lost for long at our group because it is such fun and we all support each other - like a family does...

So people, if you are reading this and thinking you could do with something new to be a part of next year make a new year's resolution to come to one of our meetings. We are on a 'holiday break' now until January the 9th but you are most welcome to come along to our next meeting at Tesco's Community Room in Churchwood Drive! We start at 7pm until 9 and the tea, coffee and biccies are all free so what have you got to lose?

'A Truly Heart Warming Christmas Card & Letter'

I was really touched the other morning when I received a Christmas card and a letter 'out of the blue' from someone who knows me only from my 'One Man's Guide to Hastings' series and as 'The Clean Up Man'. I love making videos for my Youtube channel (Maybrick44) and especially videos to do with my home town of Hastings, East Sussex so it gives me a real boost when something like this happens and I get some recognition from someone that they are watching and appreciate my efforts!

The Letter & Card From Dave Booth

The voluntary work I do clearing the streets of rubbish and litter and generally 'looking out' for the well being of my local community as 'The Clean Up Man' can also be a lonely and sometimes soul destroying job but people like Dave Booth, who the letter was from, (thanks so much mate!) who reach out to me REALLY fire me up again to keep doing what I do and to try and make a difference...

I have been doing my 'work' in the streets of Hollington as 'The Clean Up Man' now for the best part of five years and get a lot of pleasure from the result of my efforts every time I see a horrid, smelly area suddenly look new, neat and nice again. In a way, I feel a bit like a 'vigilante' for decency, which is why I gave myself the 'superhero' monicker of 'The Clean Up Man'... It's all a bit pathetic though in a way as I should be working a proper job and creating a life for myself but I just don't feel up to that and lack the confidence required to 'take life by the scruff of the neck'. In many ways, 'The Clean Up Man' gives my battered ego a chance to feel good about who I am and what my contribution to the world is for a change and kind people like Dave really help to keep me going in the 'scarey' world of ours.

Dave is obviously a 'man after my own heart' as he tells me in his letter how he regularly relates to many of the things I talk about and show in my videos. Dave lives in West Sussex now but is yet another of the 'ex-pats' (as I call them) that still have a soft spot for Hastings and get their 'fix' of the place by tuning in to my Youtube channel. It feels good to know that my words and feelings about the place I love are not just 'lost to the ether' and I'm glad that Dave and people like him find comfort and solace in my videos and thoughts...

Dave mentions 'Woolworths' (and the Kings Rd branch), the two swimming baths, our long lost but sadly missed Memorial Clock Tower that was lost due to vandalism and 'your beloved pier' in his letter - and assures me he could tell me a tale or two about them all...Keep up the good work! He says to finish with...

Well Dave, I will! THANK YOU so much for your card and 'words of wisdom' - the boost they have given me is much appreciated, I can tell you! 2016 has been a pretty awful year for me emotionally and it feels really good to know that there are people like Dave 'out there' who notice and who care.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas Dave and all the best to you and your boys for a happier 2017...

'Emerald City' - The Seekers Lost Christmas Song

I am in the process of trying to update my (fairly) comprehensive list of all U.K. Christmas hit singles and as such have been trawling the Internet for information. Ironically, I discovered 'Emerald City' by The Seekers (no 50 - 1967) by going through my own collection of CD's as part of my drive to whittle down what I have to make room for some of the CD's I was left by my mate, Alan.

Listening to bits of the CD's you are thinking of getting rid of is usually fatal as, when you actually hear most of them again, you find that you don't want to get rid of them at all! On this occasion, however, the compilation of The Seekers I was playing was water damaged and so I had already decided to get rid of it and was just making sure there weren't any individual songs I wanted to keep on the computer.

As soon as I heard, 'Emerald City' I thought it sounded like a Christmas single and so I checked it out on the internet. According to Official charts.com the song got to no 50 for 1 week in Dec 1967 as so also qualifies for inclusion in the unfortunate list of songs to reach the lowest available chart position for just the single week. Thankfully, The Seekers had plenty of other bigger hits so they do not join acts like Angel Witch, who's 'Sweet Danger' single was their only hit and reached no 75 for one week (there was only 50 official chart placings available in 1967).

According to Wikkipedia, 'Emerald City' was written by Kim Fowley (a real 60's 'character!) and another of the band members, Keith Potger under the nom-de-plume of 'John Martin' and is a song based upon a fictional visit to the Emerald City in L.Frank Baum's book, 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'. Quite why Fowley and Potger thought that a song about the Wizard of Oz would sell at Christmas time I'm not sure?

Still, I have to say that the song does evoke the 'magic feel' of Christmas time and does feature some VERY cute kids voices in the background so I'm a bit surprised that it did not do better than it did. Mind you, 1967 does not seem to have been a very 'festive' year for some reason? Until discovering, 'Emerald City' I had not found one single Christmas chart hit for that year in the U.K...

Take a watch of the video here and see what you think? Since discovering the song I have been playing it quite a bit! In fact, finding something that I missed before is what has inspired me to do some more research into U.K. Christmas hits and I hope to post an updated list here soon...

Merry Christmas pop pickers!

'My Christmas Quiz Is A Hoot!'

Well, I am glad to say that my annual Christmas Quiz went down a storm at my Shorelink Writers club meeting yesterday. Our last regular meeting of the year (before our Christmas meal next week)  I am usually called upon to put a Christmas themed quiz together for a bit of fun.

Ye noble chocolate rations!

As ever, I supplied the three teams led by Ro, Brian and Alan (2), with a 'chocolate ration' to keep their spirits up and their brains fed during the evening and dressed in a suitable daft way to MC the evening!

With 6 rounds of questions prepared, including a music round where I intended to play 20 or 30 seconds of 10 festive songs and ask the teams to tell me the artists name, there was a lot to get through in two hours. I was a bit disappointed at the turnout as only 13 people showed up ( we regularly get 18-20 at meetings these days) but things happen at this time of year and one of our regular members relies heavily on the trains so the disruption at the moment was always likely to count him out...

Thankfully though, the 13 I did get were all in a festive mood and took quite keenly to the quiz once we started. I did try to split Ro from Sally (one or the other's team ALWAYS wins our quizzes) but Sally objected quite rightly claiming that they always get separated and could not help being so intelligent! Dashed insolence, eh? HA HA HA

Ro (in red) and Sally (opposite) - The DREAM Quiz team!

Suitably attired as Quizmaster!

Having had quite a bit of flack the previous two years for making my quizzes too hard I
REALLY tried to make it all a lot easier this year and had also 'upped the silliness' factor by including rounds about 'Christmas Riddles' and a 'questions you were asked last year but I hope you have forgotten the answers' round!

Introducing the idea of each team playing their joker on one of the rounds for double points I started the evening in hope that everyone would enjoy themselves...

Well, I think you can see from the pictures here that it was a good night! I had planned for 4 teams of 5 to play the quiz but in the end we had to settle for two teams of 4 and one of 5. Sally and Ro were in one of the 4 person teams but soon went into the lead and after scoring an impressive 16 points with their joker in the second round were well ahead even by half time! Brian and Alan (2)'s teams though were locked in a battle for 2nd and dead level at the half-time interval...

Half Time and Ro's ALREADY in a good lead!

My previous music rounds have been slammed as 'too hard' by all in previous years and so this time around I simply played snippets of 10 festive songs and asked the teams to tell me who it was singing - no need for the song title or anything else... This seemed to do the trick as all of the teams did very well and appeared to enjoy the christmas vibes! Both Brian and Alan (2)'s teams scored 5 out of 10 on their prospective joker rounds (doubled to 10 points)  and amazingly at the end finished locked together for second place as they had been at half time - Ro's team having long sauntered past the winning post (as usual!)

Oh no! Ro' wins AGAIN!

Chris 1 and Sian (LOVE the specs) of Brian's Team...

Alan (2)'s team deep in thought

Overall, it was a fun night and I think the best quiz I have put together so far. Just hard enough to get people thinking, it was still easy enough for everyone to feel they were doing well and that is always the mark of a successful quiz!

Onto the last Shorelink get-together of the year next week - our Christmas dinner at Westfield. It should be a great night and a fitting end to another great year for Shorelink...

To finish off here is a track from one of my favourite Christmas albums by Lady Antebellum - check it out!

HO! HO! HO!

'A Christmassy Walk And Oranges'

I went for an evening walk along George Street in The Old Town of Hastings on the 9th. So much of Christmas is 'best served' when it is dark and the cobbled streets of The Old town really come into their own when you can see lots of Christmassy lights twinkling and flashing above them!

The snag with that though is that it is VERY hard to try and capture the magic of all that with a small camera - especially if like me you are no 'whizz kid' with the technical side of things! As you can see by the pics here, I did my best but ultimately failed pretty miserably!

Still, Christmas is a time when it does you good to get out into the world and give yourself a chance of meeting new people. With people traditionally busying about the shops there is often a chance to stop for a rest on a seat and share a few words with someone you don't know...

In many cases, it is words like this that can make a Christmas for many. I'm one of thousands of single people who often feel isolated at Christmas and while I while I  am lucky enough to have some GREAT friends, when the festivities really get under way they all have families of their own to visit or concentrate on and so I spend a lot of the main days of Christmas playing records in my bedroom at home. Mum and Dad are not really into Christmas at all (especially Dad, whose the ULTIMATE 'Bah Humbugger') and so I have to try and create the festive atmosphere for myself more often than not! Next time you sit down next to or near someone when Christmas shopping say a few words to them - it doesn't cost you anything and you might just make someones day!

Anyway, I made a little video of my walk! Like the photos here, its not great quality but if you want to see it you can do so here...

If you do watch the film, there is a part in it where I take a shot of the front window of the Jewellers shop . I was really taken with that scene as it transported me straight into the era of one of Charles Dickens novels. I felt like Tiny Tim lovingly staring at the toys in the window of the toy shop in 'A Christmas Carol' I can tell you! This morning I had an Orange and the citrus burst I experienced had a similar effect upon me as I imagined the look of utter delight  there would be on one of the poor little street urchins faces in that film if they could have just one segment...I think the Orange is the most 'christmassy' fruit of all and in the right circumstances can really connect with how marvellous a feeling it must have been to poor kids to find a WHOLE one all to themselves at the bottom of their Christmas stocking...

'Up To My Festive Tricks Again!'

I am beaming with delight right now writing this as I have been up to 'plenty of good' again as far as spreading the Christmas spirit goes and can't wait now to witness the fall out from my devilishly nice act! HA HA The Devil certainly misses a trick being an 'old rotter' you know, its MUCH more fun doing something nice and (sadly) much less expected these days!

I can't reveal the exact nature of this 'good deed' as yet but once it comes to fruition I promise I will post and tell you all about it...In the mean time have a listen to this wonderfully Christmassy piece from 1974 featuring the classic voices of Mel Blanc and others. It might just give you a clue as to what i've been up to...

'It's Creeping Up On Me!'

Normally at this time of year I am beginning to get the 'festive tingle' in my bones and starting to get the urge to begin playing Christmas music. I always find it odd that I perpetually get the urge to play Christmas tunes in advance of the actual festivities beginning but I guess its because getting into the right frame of mind to enjoy all that the festive season brings is an important part of the process...

This year, however, I am hopelessly behind with everything due to the urgency of sorting and getting rid of the CD's I was left by my old mate, Alan Gaywood. I have been working like stink over the last three weeks or so to sort, sell, box and send CD's to all of the online de-cluttering websites and in many ways it has been just like being back at work at Masons Music (a wholesale company) where I worked for 10 years selling music related merchandise like band t shirts, woven patches, caps and hoodies etc...

Ironically, I heard earlier this week that Masons closed down on the 4th of November. Life can be pretty cruel sometimes and even though I left in 2009 I have remained friends with my old boss and was hoping against hope that he and the business could survive the current trend and keep going. Sadly, the recent resurgence of vinyl records and the boost to the merchandising industry that shall bring has not come soon enough nor strongly enough and with mp3's taking over and rock music taking a backseat now to rap and R&B (which is not merchandisable) the writing has been on the wall for some time...

I feel very sad about the loss of my old workplace and upset when I think of the staff who will all now be looking for work again. To come out of work at any time at the moment is bad news but to come out with Christmas on the horizon and the worst trading period of Jan-Mar to come after that is even worse. Still, most of the lads I knew were good at what the do and most had good computer skills as well so hopefully they will be alright.

I have send out now over 30 boxes of CD's since I started! Alan was a lovely bloke but boy did he like a lot of C.R.A.P. music! Nothing very Christmassy about bands like 'Marduk' and 'Dark Angel' and while I like a bit of reggae now and then some CD's are INCREDIBLY samey and drive you nuts! I am getting very panicky now that Christmas is going to creep up on me this year before I am ready. I have e mails coming out of my ear holes, articles that need writing, social engagements coming up and performances that I need to rehearse for all waiting on the back burner while I try to get the CD situation under control! My bedroom has always been bad but it is SERIOUSLY bad now with boxes of CD's even stacked along the only remaining floor spaces. I can just about get in the room and round the front of the bed and that's it!

I noticed the other day that the Christmas Fayre at The Holy Redeemer in Upper Church Rd is coming up on the 26th of Nov and that reminds me that I need to find out when my favourite Christmas Fayre at St Clements Church in the Old Town is going to take place this year. I have missed out on it at least two of the last three years and will be gutted if I do so again! So much to do and so little time. Not only that but I am acutely aware that I need to spend some time on trying to build a life for myself with someone as well because time is running out for me at home - that's if I survive, of course...

Oh well, nothing more that I can do at the moment than try to keep pressing on with the CD's and see what tomorrow will bring...