Swinging into Autumn

Well, that was the "summer", I suppose. Not many gigs, but not a total dearth, thank goodness.

I've been taking the opportunity to catch up on some reading, particularly Alan Bennett, who has to rate as my favourite author. He has such a wry sense of humour, it never fails to raise a smile, even the occasional guffaw.

So what's new? The Ram Company have been working hard, behind the scenes, polishing up the "Waltzers and Wonders" show - new coloured shirts for one thing, and a really satisfying photo shoot on the stage at the Derby Guildhall. We're getting more enquiries about the show from festivals and larger venues, so watch this space!

I've also been doing a few gigs with the fabulous Kellys Heroes. Check out the video here.

My super agent Fifi (Fiona Maurice-Smith) is still feeding bookings my way, bless her. What would I do without her? I know it's trendy for people to knock agents, but Fi really does work hard for her commissions, and I for one do appreciate the fact that she takes a huge burden off my shoulders and lets me just get on with providing the show. Thanks Fi.

The Big Dance of 2008 was really good ... you might just catch a glimpse of the Derbyshire Volunteers on this video compilation of the event.

Looking forward to the Derbyshire Volunteers gig on Derby Market Place this Friday, 4th September 2009, 9 - 11 pm. The occasion? The rather grandly-named Derby Festé. I've been told there could be a couple of thousand people dancing! Let's hope so, eh?

OK. I've got to try hard to get myself back into a routine of getting up at a reasonable time in the mornings. Over the summer holidays, with Ben off school, we've got into quite a lazy pattern of going to bed really late (it's nice and quiet at night, very conducive to working on the computer) and getting up correspondingly late next day.