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I officiated again today for what I thought was to be the last time before I would be eligible for my Referee qualification, but I must have forgotten to collect a signature at one of the other events this year so I still have one more to go before I can apply. No matter, I’ll try and polish ChoongJang for next year and do that at the end of a day of officiating for the first event of the year. Then I’ll be able to get stuck back in to sparring again.

Everything worked out well at the gig on Saturday. Steve called, Jim, one of his mates just 2 hours before we were due on stage, and asked if he could support us. He agreed, turned up with his acoustic guitar and played a fantastic set of `Unplugged’ Radio-Head and Nirvana type material for us and warmed the crowd up a treat :-) We came on to a rapturous applause from around fifty of our family and friends, and got a bit of a mosh-pit going for our closing number, Goodbye My Child. We played a couple of songs from the set again as an encore, and somehow managed to milk about an hour in the lime light…

Tonight we have asked the Past Its MCC if they would like a showcase gig while we have all our equipment in the area. So we play to a tough crowd in a few hours… they have seen a lot of excellent bands in intimate venues, and will be expecting a lot. If we don’t die on our arses, and make it through the set with a bit of polite applause, I think that’ll be a success.

My first gig with D-FEX is tonight at the Conservative Club in Great Malvern. It appears that the band we are supposed to be supporting, Plastic Heroes, has pulled out because the singer has developed a tick in his throat since returning from their 14 date mini-tour in New York. The organisers have asked us to headline, which is all very well, except we have prepared less than forty minutes of material :-( The plan is that we will play 2 identical sets, with an hour break between, and hope nobody notices…

I’ll put some pictures in the PhotoAlbum when I get back.

23I arrived home from an all too short, but none the less fantastic eight days in Goa. I was based at the 5-star Ramada Caravela Resort on Varca Beach, Asia’s longest unbroken stretch of beach at 20km. I cannot recommend it highly enough, the staff were extremely helpful and eager, and the facilities were exhaustive. Our all-inclusive package covered 2 Ayurvedic massages each, yoga classes every morning, all meals and snacks, as much of the locally brewed alcohol as I liked, use of the pool, sauna, golf course, etc. etc. I have never tried curried sea-food before, but there was plenty on offer, and it was delicious. I indulged in three curries every day, and every one of them was a delight! Read the rest of this entry →