Blog: Sheffield

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Steve and I gathered at St Pancras station on Saturday and headed NORTH to SHEFFIELD, for the next in this lengthy season of Dinosaur Planet Previews. We had a LOVELY time.

After checking in at The Ibis (YES! I GOT MY USUAL ROOM) we wandered off to The Red Deer where the gig was DUE. It was a proper backstreet pub, a bit off, a lot cosy, with a nice lady behind the bar and TONS of different beers. Also, very handily in this weather, a BEER GARDEN, which we went and sat in. Mr Pete Green (promoting) arrived and recommended a CURRY HOUSE which Steve and I headed off to.

It was an EXCELLENT recommendation, Butler's Balti House (being men of a certain age and inclination we both said "I 'ATE YOU BUTLER!" within seconds of arriving) where me, Steve and Ms S Jenkins, who joined us swiftly had an ACE curry and also mucb DISCUSSION. We were pleasantly FULL when we arrived back at the pub, where several other people had arrived. The top room was WARM and Pleasantly Packed when we went up, and watched Oxo Foxo, who did a set almost ENTIRELY of covers of pop songs. I think this is a REALLY good idea and I wish more people did it - if you play songs that people mostly a) already know b) already LIKE, then surely that's a guarantee of a MUCH better time for EVERYONE?

Then we went on and I must say it went REALLY well. Steve started off saying "HELLO SHFFIELD!" as this was his first time ON THE ROAD. We got LARFS from the very start, which was very reassuring, and Steve did the best version of A Little Bit to DATE. I have to admit i did BRIDLE a bit at the fact that HE was getting LARFS (at the age of 40 i have decided to try and be completely honest about wanting the attention to be on ME. Everybody I know seems to have noticed it already anyway!) as opposed to all of them being MINE but BRAVELY consoled myself that it was For The Good Of The Show. I am like a THEATRICAL SAINT in this way.

RIGHT at the very end, just after the hornpipe has been danced for the second time, we got interrupted by Massively Arsey Landlady, who BARGED in, shouted "LAST ORDERS! LAST ORDERS now!" and, despite seeing exactly what was going on, LOUDLY started collecting drinks. "We won't be long!" said Steve, jovially. "I CAN'T STOP LAST ORDERS!" she shouted, and STORMED out. It was fine for us (tho, as Pete later pointed out, one of us should have said "But it was Last Orders for mankind - aaaah!") as we DID finish a couple of minutes later, but I always think it's funny (BOTH ways) when people who run pubs get like that. "GRRR!" they think, "PEOPLE in MY pub! How i hate them!"

So yes, we finished HOT and VERY SWEATY but also PLEASED and everyone made it down in time for Last Orders. I had been planning to go back to BED but we were a bit UP and EXCITED, so decided to go elsewhere for MORE BEER - hilariously LOADS of people made a SPECIAL POINT of saying "Bye! Thank you!" and being SUPER POLITE and grateful to the Arsey Landlady, which only made her ANGRIER STILL!

We ZOOMED down the road to The Washington wherein I engaged upon a Lengthy Political Debate with Mr P Green and we also had some BEER and more CHAT. It was BRILLIANT and a happy precursor to the GOOD TIMES to come at Indietracks. The next morning was ALSO a precursor to the slightly less enjoyable MORNINGS to come at Indietracks, and it was a very quiet Hibbett and Hewitt who rode the train home. Quiet, but happy, and looking forward to the gigs to come.

posted 12/7/2010 by MJ Hibbett

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