Hat Club Launch Tonight: 8pm: What Else Are You Going to Do?

Trust me, there's nowt on TV, and I know you're not washing your hair...

The Hat Club Launch: This Saturday, 24 August

A reminder to come to the launch of 'The Hat Club' on Saturday.
The excellent Brian Lopez plays guitar with Giant Giant Sand.

He has a solo album 'Ultra' which is cracking.

You can buy it here.

Think Dylan meets Feliciano meets Ry Cooder... if you must, but Brian's voice is incomparable. He does this falsetto thing that is quite unique and spine tinglingly addictive. The ensemble playing on the album has a wide screen twang and drama that is compulsive; horns blare, strings quiver and set the hairs on your neck a dancing. The songs themselves are passionate parables of love lost and found.

I hope that Tarantino has his number.

Brian is now in Britain, staying with Di and I: he's here to play some gigs with KT Tunstall as her support and as a member of her band.
Excuse the gush but we had the privilege of a private performance in our lounge the other night.
Di was blubbing and blowing snot. Our neighbour Louise used the word 'exquisite' ten times before I stopped counting. Maybe it was the tequila that fueled her enthusiasm but she was right of course. Her husband Des was rendered speechless, unusual for him, reduced to chuckling, whooping and whistling so loud that, well, he'd have woken the neighbours if... they hadn't been the neighbours. Up close, inside the guard, you get to see the mechanics of a performance and there was definitely something special going on. Brian is both powerful and sensitive in the same sweet breath; dexterous and deftly adroit on his nylon stringed guitar. He had some choices to make because he can take a song anywhere he wants to and, although he'd drunk deep from the same bottle as the rest of us, he didn't misstep once.
Brian knows what he wants; he's grounded yet ascendant, seemingly heaven sent, surely glory bound.
Don't miss this chance to see him up close...

Di's Photography

I'm sure that many of you are aware that Di is fast developing a reputation as a fine photographer; particularly in the world of Rock and Roll.

Her latest venture was a jaunt to the 'Les Escales' festival at St.Nazaire in North West France.
The festival celebrated the best of the Tuscon music scene, featuing Brian Lopez, Gabriel Sullivan, Chicha Dust & Tom Walbank... with Geoff Hildago, Vicki Brown, Mona Chambers, Jason Urman, Jon Villa, Efren Cruz Chavez, Winston Watson, Connor Gallaher, Jack Sterbis & French Cumbia Ambassadors, Laurent Allinger, Jean Patrick Cosset, Ronan Daniel & Yvan Tamayo.

Please click this link to have a look at Di's blog on the event and see some of her stunning photography.

Berkshire League: Warriors at Nuffield

Here's Joe's match report.

I'm happy to print it as it gives me a chance to republish this photo of The Warriors' dragarse Mike Atkinson who seems to be unsuccessfully resorting to violence again.
Btw, is anyone else troubled by Joe writing about himself in the 3rd person? 
Who does he think he is; Mike Tyson?

After the prior match result with a reduced number of team members, the Warriors lost their top spot in the table by a small margin. However, reviewing the overall table boosted team morale when it showed they had a match in hand. If only a full team could travel to the distant town of Newbury for this week’s match against Nuffield Health and come away victorious, surely the top of the table could be regained and held for the remainder of the season.....

Match 1: Jez Harrop v James Storey

Having played his first team squash match of the summer just two weeks prior, Jez couldn’t wait to get on court again. Playing at the number two position this week, he had a tall order to fill. First game was very close to start, but then Jez pulled away for a 9-5 win. In the second,  Jez seemed to have a good hold on the game by working out a lead to 7-3, but then James was able to collect himself and pull back to win at 9-7. For the third game and fourth games, it seemed that Jez had lost his squash legs as James was able to command the T and win out the match with scores of 9-2 and 9-4. First match to Nuffield.

Match 2: David Tecke v Rob Weighill

It had been well over a month since David’s last appearance for the team, but as a dedicated team member he had not only committed to travel for the match but was the team chauffeur! Showing on court that he was in top form, David easily won the first two games with scores of 9-2 and 9-3. However, he then took his eye off the prize and found himself down 7-2 in the third game. Finally flagging down the proverbial taxi to bring him back on court from la-la land, he took charge and stormed back for a 9-7 win. Second match to Beaconsfield.

Match 3: Andy Wright v Chris Sparks

Another first-timer team appearance recorded for the Warriors during this summer league, Andy was interested to see what this whole team-squash thing was about. Showing no signs of nervousness, Andy promptly made it known he was taking no prisoners with an authoritative win at 9-4 in the first game. The second game went much as the first, with Andy operating on a different level to his opponent and winning again at 9-4. However, Chris was not to be muscled off home court without some level of respect and brought Andy back to earth by winning a very close third game on a score of 9-8. Mentally shaken, Andy continued digging a hole to bury himself in as Chris built a 6-0 lead in the fourth game. But, showing confidence and mental toughness, Andy was able to climb out of his hole with a comeback 9-7 win, taking the match for Beaconsfield. Two matches against one, Beaconsfield in the lead.

Match 4: Joe Budzynski v Simon Bottomley

Knowing a match win would seal the overall team victory for the Warriors, Joe concentrated on doing just that. A slow opening saw the players trade serve multiple times up to 3-3, but then Joe was able to pull away for a 9-6 win. Similar to the first, the second game had several changes of serve with few points available for the taking. A couple strings of points put together by Joe ended up being the difference as he won 9-7. Third game now and Joe seemed to be showing some unusual signs of fatigue, which Simon took advantage of to build a very healthy 8-3 lead. But, Joe then caught a second wind as he worked the scores back to 8-8. Two points later and the match was his....fourth match to Beaconsfield, and the overall team victory in hand.

Match 5: Mike Atkinson v Jamie Crawford

Having gone on court while Joe’s match was still in progress, Mike was looking forward to a tough contest as he had won a very tight match during the Nuffield visit to Beaconsfield earlier in the season. Unfortunately, his opponent did not seem keen on making it close at all as he earned a commanding lead by winning the first two games on scores of 9-5 and 9-6. Down two games, Mike had read of John Bullard’s tactics in the last match at Bracknell and decided that might work for him as well....an injury timeout was the result as Mike caught Jamie on the forehead with his racquet. Feeling no sympathy for his opponent, Mike then finished the game off by winning 9-6. In the fourth, Mike relied on his fitness and some crafty shotmaking to fully reverse the trend of the first two games and draw even with a score of 9-1. Fifth and final game, with both players tired and feeling the pressure. Some ill-advised boast attempts by Mike resulted in amplified confidence for Jamie, which he used to dictate a final score of 9-3. Fifth and last match to Nuffield.

Final Match Score

Beaconsfield Warriors: 12 Games, 3 Matches won

Nuffield: 7 Games, 2 Matches won

Overall winner: Beaconsfield Warriors

Scores, fixtures, and table can be found on the club notice board and at:

http://www.berkshiresquash.org/leagues/summer/

The Hat Club: Relaunch: Brian Lopez: August 24