Hat Club Nearly Sold Out!/Bulls v Bears Match tonight

Should be a good weekend:
Tonight we have a Bulls v Bears face-off.
These team matches are always competitive; sometimes there's blood on the walls!
Come share in the gory...
7.40pm start.
The likely line up (with my predictions) is:

The Pig v Poppa Guildersleve: A slogfest with a win to the Pig after some of the most unimaginative rallying ever witnessed at BSC: 3-2

Napoleon v Dave Fielding: Fielding embarrassingly over ranked. Does he rank himself? Not a great ranker if he does do the ranking himself... It'll all be over in 25 minutes; early bath and bar for Napoleon: 3-0

Monkey v Neil Davis: Neil's light is fading apparently; how the mighty are fallen... He might rise to the occasion but I doubt it. Could well make an early exit for a children's party or parent meeting... Monkey too strong for this feckless father: 3-1

Oli v Goldilocks: I haven't seen 'Stampy' perform for a while. He can be quietly effective, making the most of his modest skill set. Flatters to deceive; let's hope Oli has his squash head on. He's been playing some exquisite stuff lately but... we all know that he can suddenly morph into an indifferent state at the drop of a dummy so... This one could be interesting: 3-0 or 0-3

Me v Joe Bzxcwllszski: Joe twats the ball! What he lacks in finesse he more than makes up for in zestful endeavor. Last time we played I think I won, but only after I'd resorted to the dark arts. Has Joe developed some court smarts after his year with The Trojans? I hope not. Could be close: 3-2


Tomorrow evening we welcome Martin Stephenson to The Hat Club.

Last time I looked there were 4 tickets left, so thanks to all of you who are supporting these musical evenings.
I already have the next two lined up; news of that shortly.
Also news to tell soon about The Average Wrist Band's latest outing...

Hat Club: Martin Stephenson: This Saturday: Only 10 Tickets Left!

Willie Stripped Bare

Well, you can't say WKP doesn't put his money where his mouth is.
Fortunately, this year he turned out to be a gobby gobshite...
Yup, the Irish went down to England in a fiercely contested battle; the right team winning in the end.
Willie did treat us all to half time pizza which went down well.
After 80 minutes Willie refused to cough up our £5 bet; apparently we hadn't shaken; although I did take £1 off him in a bet on a penalty kick, the first brass that I've ever lifted from the tightarse.
Seems that the Monson family fared better, stripping him of £20.
It looks like they spent it wisely...

A Message From WKP

This Saturday at 1600 will be your best ever opportunity to see WKP humiliated (really?) when the mighty England (representing a population of circa 70 million not counting the colonies, Tuilagi, Vunipola et al) take to the field against minnows Ireland ( population 6.4 million plus sheep and pigs) . This will be the match of the Championship and determine whether Ireland will win the Triple Crown. WKP is hoping for a good turnout at the club to help with the atmosphere. Drop him a line if you are planning to attend at w.kirkpatrick549@btinternet.com . That way you will get catered for when the pizza turns up at half time. WKP

Bulls v Holmer Green

Jim Cooper writes:

Apologies for the delay in reporting the outcome of last night’s match Bulls vs Homer Green. My day got off to a bad start with the A4 being turned into a car park for 2.5 hours this morning and I haven’t caught up!

Ian’s squad rotation paid huge dividends and in my opinion was rewarded with one of the best Bulls’ performances of the year.

First up Trevor ‘Sassoon’ Jones vs Trevor Howes. Trev’s been a bit of a super-sub this year. Normally we’re left guessing whether we’ll see the hairdressing nonce, or the artist of old, with flashes of poetic genius. Despite a wobble in the 3^rd Trev dispatched his man comfortably 3:1. Verdict: it was all Siegfried, no Vidal!

Meanwhile I was marking Olly vs Darren Thompson. Mark Mellott refused to mark them since he thought there was a high probability of this one “kicking off”. Now what could have made him think that! In reality they were no bother at all. This is comfortably the best I’ve seen Olly play for years. Moving well and hitting the ball really crisply. Despite a tough first game and some good running from Daren, Olly strolled home 3:0. He’s back!

Ches the Python Bhola was on the other court vs Mick Baker, who looks a bit like Sam the Eagle from the Muppets. Ches got off to a slow start losing the first 9:4 but won the next 2 relatively easily. Mick replied by winning the 4th setting up a decider. Now anybody who knows Ches will know there’s f*ck-all chance of him giving an inch and our man of steel duly delivered by taking the last 9:6. This was another great, hard-fought win, against a useful opponent. 3:2.

Chairman Kev, playing at one, was matched against Mark Mellott. Now Mark might not have the most sophisticated game and nobody is going to call him a shot-maker but he’s effective and seemingly tireless. The first 4 games seesawed back and forth, with Kev worryingly losing the 4^th 9:1 but Kev gave himself a stern talking to and upped the pace and endeavour in the 5^th. We all know the strength of Kev’s drop but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play it better, or to such effect. Mark knew it was coming but they were just too tight. Kev took the 5^th 9:7 in what was a great game played in good spirit. 3:2

That left Harry vs Ross Baker as the last match of the night. Ross would normally play one I think but has dropped down to two following an injury earlier in the year. He’s a few pound heavier but still a quality player. Ross won the first 2 games 9:4, 9:2 but the games were tighter than the scores suggest. Harry played a good 4^th taking it 9:7. Ross got to match point in the 4^th at 8:4 but Harry dug-in and at 8:6 Ross took a nasty tumble and was looking shaky but finally managed to squeeze it out 10:9. 3:2.

So overall the Bulls won 17:8 and everyone played great. Well done boys, I was proud of you.

Jim

Hat Club 4: March 1st: Martin Stephenson: Tickets Selling Fast!

A reminder that you can reserve your space now.
Simply ask any member of staff to put your name on the Hat Club Clip Board.
Please note that you will need to pay £10 a head at the time.
This will guarantee  you a spot.
But hurry!
Half of the tickets have already been sold...

Hat Club 4: March 1st: Martin Stephenson

The next Hat Club date is set for Saturday March 1st.
Put it in your diaries; it should be a very special evening.
Martin Stephenson is a name that should resonate with anyone who has a half decent record collection.
Here's news of Martin's latest recording 'California Star', and mention of his musical history:

BRITISH SONGWRITING TREASURE MARTIN STEPHENSON RETURNS WITH THE DAINTEES FOR NEW CAREER LANDMARK ALBUM

Much-travelled, much-loved British singer-songwriter Martin Stephenson and his band the Daintees are back with a new career highlight, more than 30 years after Stephenson first emerged as one of our most distinguished performers.
Stephenson’s restless troubadour spirit has now amassed an extraordinary catalogue of 40 albums, and the latest addition is another landmark. ‘California Star’ is the band’s first record to appear in a new deal with Absolute Marketing, distributed by Universal, and stands as delightful proof that a fifty-something artist can go on getting better and better.
‘California Star’ shines with all of Martin’s amassed influences, from folk and country to Americana to rock ‘n’ roll, but with plenty of the style that’s pure Stephenson and no one else. “I just went on a little journey with it,” he says.
“I don’t have huge budgets now, but I like that, it makes you resourceful. Rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t built on huge budgets, so it’s good to have a little bit of pressure. Sometimes if you’ve got huge budgets,” he adds with his trademark understated humour, “you end up sitting in the jacuzzi when you should be playing.”
‘California Star’ is already being heralded as the Daintees’ finest work since ‘Boat To Bolivia,’ and that’s some comparison. That was the 1986 debut that announced one of the most perceptive songwriters of the day, with a thoughtful, layered sound in an age of excess. The NME said of Stephenson’s song craft that he “builds bridges between love and hate, cradle and grave, folk and pop, past and present.”

“There’s lots of different dimensions in music,” muses the Durham native, who now lives in Invergordon in the Scottish Highlands, where he also runs his own small label for young artists he admires, Barbaraville. In the summer, he played to 5,000 admirers in the acoustic tent at Glastonbury, and will be taking the new songs from ‘California Star’ to a venue near you soon.
“Sometimes, no matter how open rock ‘n’ roll people think they are, they can have a blinkered view of how the scene and the universe shift,” he says. “You’ve got to redefine yourself. It just depends whether you’re connected to it or not.”