Here are just some of the beers that didn't pass my lips:
There are, of course, many more drinks that I didn't have last night (including gin and tonic, for example), but it would be a pointless exercise to list or show photographs of them all.
Anyway, I feel good and rested now.
I'd been on a big shopping binge on Wednesday and Thursday - including said bottles of beer - in anticipation of the arrival of my namesake and another guest. I wasn't entirely sure when the former was due to arrive, and I hadn't heard from him Thursday night. Which was fine, though I did have a dream in the early hours of Friday morning. In the dream he rang me up and said how much he was looking forward to us playing another gig on Saturday night, and that he'd be over early Saturday in plenty of time.
I woke up with a shudder and thoughts of no, NO, he's got the days mixed up! Help!!!. I got up, switched on my computer, and there was an email from him - he'd be arriving late Friday morning. I dashed off a quick reply, relaxed and began to enjoy the fact that I'd got the day off work.
Now I didn't post any details up here of the fact that we were playing on Friday night, principally because anonymity is one of the key factors in enabling me to blog: it has its advantages but at times like this it also serves as a mild frustration.
Nevertheless, I'm not about to change that.
I'll talk about the gig itself in a subsequent post I think. When we did this kind of event last year, I was very much on the periphery of it all in terms of organising the whole thing - it was enough for me personally just to get enough material (and sufficient confidence in myself) together to get up and play. So it feels good to record that this year, I forced myself into the uncomfortable (for me) position of doing far more in terms of planning and liaising with the venue, the sound man and everyone else involved.
I hope that means that I'm more empowered to do such things on my own.
I also want to record again just how wonderfully odd it is to have a namesake from the other side of the world who is incredibly talented - and is one of the warmest, most personable individuals I'm lucky enough to be able to count as a friend.
Friday afternoon, as we were catching up with each other and making preparations for the evening's events, it was just delightful to sit and talk ideas and to have such a level of mutual understanding regardless of our different approaches towards creativity. For him to play a recording to me of something he's been working on, a piece which is just astonishing. For me to play him some of the music I was going to perform that night, and to see him shaking his head with a wide grin.
A sure-fire burst of enthusiasm, warmth and inspiration.
