Cardiff, St Davids Hall, Sun 17th Oct 2010- Blog by Steve

Polly has asked us all if we would like to contribute to the blog so here is my attempt for what it’s worth.

St David’s Hall, Cardiff was the destination for this show and we left Torquay about 11am on a beautiful sunny October day. Travelling to gigs wouldn’t be the same without some sort of mishap and we got off to a fine start with Chris having to return home about 10 mins into the journey to retrieve his stage wear that he had left behind.

We eventually met at our regular fuel stop on the outskirts of Torquay and fuelled up and set off to pick Polly up from our meeting place at the bottom of Telegraph Hill

This is us flying down Telegraph Hill with the minibus in front.

and there’s the minibus at the bottom of the road after having picked up Polly.

“Have you got your sat nav set?” was the question.

“Of course I have says I.” Problem being I set it for the City Hall instead of St David’s Hall. Mishap number 2¸which proved to be the instigator of much amusement and abuse at my expense later in the day.
Jeff asked if I bought my sat nav from a joke shop....but he didn’t put it as politely as that.
Speaking of Jeff and following on from his renowned penchant for all things toiletry and nautical, I duly informed him that the “Council Gritter” had been well and truly stoked with the aid of a “Balti Bomber” and that the “Admiral” was expected in port at about 2.30pm Cardiff local time.....probably berth 2.

He likes to know these things and has even been known to acquire photographic evidence.

Anyway...on with the journey........

Here’s the fabulous Mrs L playing Farmville on her phone and our slightly portly Bass player Patches O’Hoolahan.

And there goes Jeff again....raggin the ass off the minibus at about 80mph.

Bless him.

It really was a beautiful day and here’s a nice shot of us going across the bridge

It was a bit tricky taking these photo’s while driving...especially while I was trying to drink my coffee and answer the phone all at the same time....but hey.......I managed. (cough, cough)

This is us lost in Cardiff.......

And this is us lost again...

Success....we eventually made it without the aid of the Kelloggs sat nav which may just have been set for Botswana...

The plaintiff cry of....”Yeah, but I got the co-ordinates off Google Earth” could just about be heard over the barrage of abuse.

Here’s a nice picture of Paul sporting some rather snappy head gear. I’m not sure what look he was trying to achieve but....

“You look like a tw*t” was one of the suggestions.

Obviously all in the best possible taste.

Here’s the Commander in Chief with a well earned mug of “Shut the f**k up”

Or tea as it is generally referred to.

And this is the delightful Fredi doing her “Waddup dawg.” thing that she does.

I haven’t got a clue either. I mean we are talking about a girl who fires up a sandwich maker just to keep her hands warm.

Here’s Fredi and Harriet waiting around to sound check.

This is Dave “Lofty” Lockhart doing the on stage monitor mix. Dave really looks after his gear and all his PA equipment was immaculate. He can actually hear from about 50 metres away if you tread on one of his mike leads. God bless ya Dave. As a matter of interest Dave tours frequently with the Blockheads.

Oh look....here’s Buffwad taking a break from playing “Angry Birds” on his phone. Go on Buff....show us yer war face

Being as I’m doing the blog this week I thought I might give you a peep at my gear...this is the point where the rest of the band yawn.

Here’s my set up. It’s Matchless all the way for me and I wouldn’t use anything else. Both these amps are 1996 Mark Sampson originals with only one owner.....me. It looks a bit over the top but one rig is used as a back up.

Next picture is my effects....

I also have a smaller board which I use for the Lap steels.

Anyway, enough of that. Here’s Freddie and Polly in deep conversation and showing much concern after just finding out that Jeff is suffering from haemorrhoids. We are having a whip round to see if we can raise some cash to get him a soft cushion or inflatable bottom ring to put on his drum seat. As a measure of his popularity it’s heart warming to know that we have so far raised 17p with only Glenn the manager remaining to chip in. We are hopeful that we will achieve at least 20p by this Friday.

Some shots of the girls about 15 mins before the show.

Here’s Harriet slumming it.....

Fredi drying her nails...

And Jeffrina.....spanking Angry Birds....again

Finally, a shot of the front of house mixing position. More of Loftys gear.

You can’t make Cappuccino on it so it’s pretty useless.

A quick shot of the stage...

And last but not least....yes....I wore my Homer Simpson socks...

Many thanks to all who come to see our shows. Come say hello afterwards. We are more than willing to chat.

See ya.

Steve