2022

The Damned

The Adverts were just coming on stage when I got there and did a great half hour set which I enjoyed because I have liked their stuff for years and seen them a few times. Penetration came on after them and didn’t really do it for me although they played their songs well I have never really been a fan or listened to any of their stuff.

The Damned were obviously headlining and cam onstage the Doctor Who theme then stormed through:

I Feel Alright,
You Take My Money,
Help,
Born To Kill,
Stretcher Case Baby,
Feel The Pain,
I Fall,
Fan Club,
Alone,
Fish,
1 of the 2,
Problem Child,
Neat Neat Neat,
Stab Yor Back,
Sick of Being Sick,
See Her Tonite,
You Know (with sax),
So Messed Up.
Encore –
New Rose,
Pills,
This Could Be The Last Time.

I was sceptical whether I would enjoy the abo e set list that does not include many of the songs that made me fall in love with the Damned but there was no need to worry, because they were magnificent and put on a really great show!

Looking around at the audience I thought just thought everyone is so old, and it made me think am I one of these people…clearly I am but I just don’t feel like they looked?

They finished with This Could Be The Last Time by The Stones and I have to agree, watching Brian being helped onto the stage by roadies which was quite shocking he looked like an old man but he could definitely still play the guitar. I suppose he is nearly 70!

The other three turned back the clock and were sprightly around the stage and it was a thoroughly great night and I am glad I made the effort!

/by

Damned but not Forgotted

Back in the beginning 2020 I bought two tickets to see The Damned in concert at the O2 Apollo in Manchester, I was so excited to see one of my favourite bands of all time but not only that it was the original lineup Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Brian James. I did actually see this line up briefly at the Brixton Academy in July 1989 when Brian James joined the the other 3 on stage to play 4 songs, but since then the only constant member has been Dave and Captain on and off Rat left and Brian never showed any interest in ever playing with the band again.

Covid happened and various other reasons meant since buying the tickets I literally forgot about them until a poster showed up on a Facebook group a few months ago saying the tour had finally been rearranged and was happening in November but even then it wasn’t until the tickets turned up in my inbox last week that I thought about the concert and we were on holiday in Spain with a trip to London for a weekend before today. Jamie felt it was an event too far when I mentioned it last week and said she didn’t want to go but as I got ready this evening she would have loved to have joined me for a night out in Manchester even if The Damned were not on her bucket list of bands to see!

Unfortunately it was too late to get a babysitter so here I am sat on the tram on me own heading to Manchester from Altrincham to a gig I bought tickets for two and a half years ago to see a line up I never thought I would see ever let alone twice

The title of this post is misspelled intentionally because I wrote exactly that as graffiti on a pub toilet wall in the 80’s and was ribbed mercilessly for my error. Two lessons learned graffiti is pathetic and dumb misspelled graffiti is worse I never did it again!

/by

Dads worried

I keep seeing how dangerous American Football is and it would be a dream to see my son play the game but my worst nightmare if he got seriously hurt, I am not sure I could forgive myself?

I am not sure Lincoln wants to play American football because he wants to or because he thinks I want him to…if he wants to do it who am I to stop him but I don’t need him to do it to impress me.

Reagan has been riding for a few years now and her Mom has loaned a horse so that Reagan can ride more which is fantastic but I went to collect her tonight and everywhere was locked up and she said she’d been riding her horse and at 6 the owners locked the gate. I asked if she’d been riding alo e but she said no there were others there, I just said you always need someone with you incase you fall off.

I love them both and I realise I worry about them and I am always thinking of the absolute worst case and that makes it worse

/by

To see or not to see

Having glasses for distance is a necessity especially watching TV and driving amongst many other things but I can get by with out them and that’s why losing my glasses is so annoyingly easy. It’s because I can get by that I didn’t realise I’d put them on top of our case while we ate lunch at Borough Market and left them on there as we left to go to the hotel on Saturday. I imagine they dropped off the case as I dragged it behind me and they were lost, but I coped without them.

Jamie asked me did it detract from watching the game and my answer was, a little, because I missed the detail of the game. Sometimes I could not see the ball which was annoying at times but I could see enough to really enjoy the game.

Since getting home I have been using a pair of glasses I have owned for three years I know this because it was the free pair I got with the first pair of Tommy Hilfiger frames that Billy chewed up as a puppy but I never really got on with them, but I was prepared to persevere with them for a while when Specsavers emailed me to say my “golden ticket” is about to expire which will give me 50% off a pair of glasses, so I called them and asked them if I can have another pair of Tommy frames but of course they are discontinued, which means I have to go try on frames before buying a new pair.

It’s just a faff I could do without but I want to see!

/by

Trick or Treat

Made it home from London just in time to take Reagan to horse riding, it was great to see her again but hello goodbye see ya later was all I got. Lincoln and me also left to go get the Billster from the kennels so we were basically all in the house for 5 minutes tops.

We went to the American embassy to get Lincoln’s passport renewed before getting a train back to Rugby driving the rest of the way home on a glorious day. After retrieving Billy we sat waiting for the girls so we could go out trick or treating but by the time the arrived home it had started to rain and it never stopped for the rest of the night.

The Jones family joined us again this year and we went to the cow estate to find very slim pickings where usually we would have made out like bandits but to add insult the rain was now absolutely torrential and it was decided to drive around and try and find houses elsewhere but it just didn’t happen?

The kids did get a few sweets but we were wet cold and it was starting to get late so we called it a night and were home by 8:30….early bed and done, long day brings a great weekend to a strange conclusion?

/by

Even greater day GO BRONCOS!

What a day WHAT A DAAAAY I know winning isn’t everything but it really does help! Mommy is so good at traversing London now, we went to Victoria to get a passport photo of Lincoln before going to Wembley and our journey was faultless.

A moment I have been waiting for was here Game Day at Wembley Broncos vs Jaguars and I get to share my day with Mommy and Lincoln too. The Green Man pub was fantastic, packed full of Broncos fans all as excited as me before walking with many of them to the stadium. I got great seat behind the Broncos team on the 35 yard line and a look around the ground was brilliant because there was a lot of orange.

The first half was similar to what I’d been watching all season poor offense but the defense also sucked committing far too many penalties and we went into the halftime break trailing 10 -7. The second half was a total transformation on both sides of the ball the offense wasn’t perfect but we were able to actually move the ball on two scoring drives to put us ahead, these opportunities were created by a great defensive effort stopping the Jags in their tracks and taking the ball away twice the second of which effectively fi ished the game when K’Waun Williams intercepted Lawrence with the Broncos leading 21 – 17 and just over a minute remaining.

Queue the celebrations and a very happy Daddy!

Like I said an even greater day than yesterday and finished off with a cheeky Nandos before and early bedtime

GO BRONCOS

/by

Great day

Go Broncos

/by

Tomorrow we ride

Looking forward to my football weekend in London and can’t wait to meet up with like minded fans tomorrow night although I am not sure why because I am not the most sociable but I am going to try, and I am also with Jamie who can start a conversation with anybody!

Seeing photos of the Thursday and Friday meet ups at The Barrow Boy and Banker pub with GM George Paton, Steve Attwater, Miles and the Cheerleaders amongst others doing the meet and greet makes me even more excited and jealous if I’m honest.

Perfect people to meet over the next couple days would be Elway or Manning obviously but any players past or present would be fantastic. I would like to meet Scott Kennedy and Zack Kelberman from the Mile High Huddle podcast I listen to everyday and sometimes contribute too.

Let the weekend begin

/by

Pool last night

I won last night which was personally satisfying because I am not playing well purely because I play one frame a week, it was the TKO Rd1 and I went on first and beat one of the best players in the league.

Last week I did everything right played well and then missed the black ball and I did not get another chance, I lost because of that miss condemning me to a week of frustration arghhhh!

The chance to appease that defeat, I decided, was going to be the first frame this week. The lad I played is reputedly one of the best in the league but lacks experience being so young but when he broke off and cleared all the reds I didn’t think I was going to get a shot but he ran out of position and snookered himself so had to settle for just hitting the black. Coming to the table under so much pressure my saving grace was I had seven yellows to hide behind and I knew if I did it would frustrate the hell out of a player used to potting for fun.

I was determined not to make a mistake and was successful in not only hiding I was able to move my yellows into better positions ready to pot given the chance. That chance came when I basically was left no real choice than to go for it, but ran out of position leaving myself a safety shot to put the white in baulk only to fluke a yellow and then having no choice but to try and pot my last yellow if it goes in I will have an easy black but if I miss I lose

My last ball could not have been played better I cut it down the line and watch it hug the cushion and drop, as expected I was indeed left with an easy black but remembering last week I took my time and made sure I didn’t miss.

Unfortunately after going 2 nil up my team struggled to win another frame eventually succumbing to a 5 3 defeat.

/by

Back to life but…

I went to work this morning leaving the family to have a home day, which was planned but still slightly annoying I may have enjoyed another hour in bed but hey ho. Life is always weighting for us after something like our holiday but I remembered a throw away comment Jamie said as we drove from Benalmadena back to the boys house, “I love the life we have built for ourselves, Al”

It really stuck with me because it’s taken nearly 15 years to get to this point and it’s been hard at times but most of the the time the life we are living is an adventure I just want to keep experiencing it for as long as we are allowed!

I  looked over my shoulder and Reagan was curled up on the backseat behind Mommy she was asleep probably dreaming of the beach and the fun we’d just had but definitely tired from two full days playing in the sea and sand. Behind me was Lincoln who can’t stay away in a car at the best of times but he had been full on busy for the last two days and he had to be very tired so it was good that he was getting some sleep. I looked at Jamie and our two children as we drove through the most beautiful Spanish scenery and I felt warm inside

“I love this life we have built for ourselves too, dude and I hope it lasts forever!”

/by