Fireworks, gigs and Christmas

November 2

A local gig tonight for We Steal Flyers, The Hastings in Seaton Deleval. Melanie drove us and the kids stayed with Melanie’s Ma and Pa. They like being there. The gig was the best one there and more CDs sold. Our Spotify following is ticking up too. Some great gigs, tours, festivals next year and the new album will put us on a new level.

November 3

A nice day at home, a film and then off to Billingham for another great gig there.

We love playing there and we are bigger there every time. Melanie did some Christmas shopping and then she went up into a spare room to watch TV with Ellie and Rebecca.

It was a fun gig and we have some good plans for next year with new T-shirts and albums. Each T-shirt we release 100 of them and once they are sold then that is the end of that design.

November 4

Acoustic Magic with happy warm friends in a happy warm place. I love being there on days off. Eric Sharp was really nice to hear, he is on spotify. Then good friend Dave Adams played a set. We said goodbye to our friends until the Christmas show in December. Then off to Newcastle for a Bar Loco gig. I met up with school friend David Hardy. Also great to see friends. A school friend never leaves you, you are friends forever. I love this and seeing him is good for morale. I played a set to a few people and then Eric played another great set. With Dave, Ellie and Rebecca we played The Night Before Christmas game, Dave won. It was a good game, most games are if you are happy for the winner and had fun just before losing.

November 5

I much prefer when the fireworks displays happen on the 5th of November. It makes no sense to do it at weekends and I have to gig pretty much every weekend anyways. Melanie went to the village she grew up in to watch a display with Ellie and Rebecca in Hadston, this was the first one to be held there but I am pleased to know that it was a great display and everyone I know left all smiley. We had a curry in the loft, played board games, read out comics and watched some far away fireworks out of the window.

November 6

Back to school, I miss them but I get deep into work and setting up more gigs around the UK. Tonight was another songwriter night in Seaton Deleval, The Hastings. Dave Cowan, Ken Common and Les Anderson were playing. It was a fun night and plenty of support. Acoustic Magic does a lot for venues and players and I love it when it works out well for all involved.

November 7

I love all forms of cricket and 4am is the start of the test match in Sri Lanka. I have been talking to Dushan, a lad from Sri Lanka that played for Alnmouth this season and also a friend of mine Colin Crowe who goes away every winter with some friends to see England play wherever it is they are. I love that he does this so much. It is like knowing someone has escaped and is living a dream. So many talking about dreams before going to sleep but Colin is living it.

November 8

I got that feeling of being lost and that falling feeling through the night but I know it will pass as long as I keep going. I see a lot written about the problems I have and it actually makes me feel worse by being reminded everywhere I look and listen. After some sleep I got up and went to record my new Christmas song with Shaggy in Shagnut studios. “Winter Is Here” has now been released.

Last year’s Christmas song Winter’s Kiss has now over 10,000 plays on spotify alone.

We dropped Ellie off for her two hours of cricket and went Christmas shopping. It was a great day but everyone I get through I believe is a great day.