If I’d realised I’d be standing next to a double wall socket last night, I could have saved the weight of lugging my battery pack along. Still, better safe than sorry – with 16 musicians crammed in upstairs at the Needle and Pin last night I’d have been a bit stuck if I hadn’t had the socket right behind me.

Excellent gig by the way and the “Twelve Days After Christmas” song I contributed as a solo piece went down very well. For most audiences, the combination of the familiar with a sardonic twist is a safe bet for a crowd pleaser. The group I played with (Ho Ho Ho – a subset of the various Charnwood Concert Bands) is already booked in for the same venue in early December next year… a sure sign of a successful result.