So that was Christmas...

...how was it for you?

It's always a bit, shall we say, anti-climatic isn't it? In a funny sort of way I always feel a bit sorry for actual Christians at Christmas (as opposed to the rest of us who only go to church when it suits us or indeed when we can't avoid not doing so- how many people have you heard say that they've started going to church because they can't get married in one unless they do?) who see something that I would imagine means a great deal to them being submerged under a deluge of consumerism and hypocrisy. East- a renowned Christmas hater for many and varied reasons- and myself were discussing this very topic only last night whilst ourselves being submerged under a deluge of lager. After walking up and down Uxbridge High Street looking for a pub that was (a) open and (b) not full of recently escaped psychopaths we settled upon The Metropolitan in Windsor Street. 'I'm off for a kebab' said the great man at the end of our evening before stumbling off triumphantly, leaving me to stroll home wondering why, amongst other things, 2 pints of lager had cost us just under £4 in The Metropolitan, yet cost just under £6 practically everywhere else. It was, I suppose, that kind of night.

Last Sunday's gig with Austin went well... sort of... we were playing at Henry's in Aveley near South Ockendon which, I'm told, claims to be the oldest building in Essex. It's a striking place, made all the more so by the fact that when myself and the long-suffering Shirley arrived it was shrouded in fog which rolled across the pond like.. well, just like it does in the films I guess.
It had been a while since my last duo gig with Austin so I'd spent a bit of time revising the songs as well as looking at some new-to-the-repertoire stuff. Austin uses backing tracks that generally have no guitar parts on them so it's a good opportunity to stretch out a bit on guitar, as well as testing your timing- drum machines tend not to speed up or slow down (not that a drummer would ever do that of course!) We played well enough but the building was practically empty which was a shame since it's a splendid place- still, I'm sure it was a bit busier the next night.
All of this pales into insignificance next to the fact that I thought Shirley was going to thump Austin when, in the course of our conversation, he commented that he didn't like women that weren't confident about themselves. (I can't recall his exact words but that was the gist of it) You should have seen her face- heroically she waited until we were on the way home before the ranting began...

Oh well- it's Thursday morning and it's time to open the shop. Again. Let's see how many people say 'oh, you're open then' before beginning the 'I hate Christmas' rant. It happens every year!