And so the 'God Bless You, Ma'am' Tour 2012 finally got going in the bucolic paradise that is Tichborne. There were some, who shall not be named, who were a trifle concerned about this first gig of the year - recent rehearsals had been somewhat underattended, underproductive and underwhelming. In fact, the one before this gig had been officially defined by a well-respected international panel of experts as 'Crap'.
Anyway, the bar had been cleared, the little present left by the resident labracocker/doberoodle/daschboxer had been removed, and we squeezed ourselves into the long narrow dining area. I'm not saying it was that long, but we were at one stage calculating the time delay between Ian thumping his drums and the vocalists hearing him.
Those doubting the TLOG's ability to raise their game for the big night (and how nice it was to see the blackboard advertising 'Live Music Night', and not 'Nite') should hang their heads in shame; we were spot on. True, there were one or two stumbles ("Switch the microphone on, Mindy"), one or two missed starts, and an encore that could have been better rehearsed, but the assembled throng seemed to enjoy it, and one more booking was provisionally made before we'd even packed up.
Nice to see a strong turn out from the West Meon contingent, and from Alresford Rugby Club checking if we were in fact what they wanted for their 21st Anniversary Ball. Special mention to Rufus from Blackhouse Farm wearing out his trousers at the knees on the harsh carpet. (Don't ask.)
We now have a bit of a gap before the main body of gigs gets going. Time for a bit of fine tuning, and then we can take 'em on.
