A Great Success

Well, I have to say that last night's 2nd birthday celebrations did the place proud. A good crowd were in, and everyone was receptive and appreciative from what I could see. Alan had played a blinder with the acts he brought and the pub absolutely rocked. The format was slightly different to normal with a support act, followed by two showcase acts then the headliner. Alan himself was back on form and started us off well before bring on Ben Schofield who had us hooked right from the word go. He played well off the audience and treated us to a great theory about galvanising dustbins.

Next up was Jimmy O'Neill who is finding his feet but has bags of potential. Unfortunately Jimmy had hurt his neck earlier and taken some of his mum's medication, which made him feel a bit woozy. In the circumstances he did well to remember any of his material and despite losing his way on a couple of occasions he left the audience laughing. Let's hope he is in top health next time we see him.

The second showcase act was Rod Shepherd, conspiracy theorist. His all-action style and paranoid persona struck a chord with the crowd (some of whom may not have realised it was an act!) and his stream of rants and warnings about the lies before our eyes worked extremely well. His props were well thought out even though I had to crane my neck to see them (note to self - don't stand behind the pillar next month). This character could really do things I believe.

Finally we had The Ivan Brackenbury Hospital Radio Roadshow - an act that had been nominated for the Perrier (or whatever it is called now) award at the Edinburgh Festival last year. We were privileged to have him perform for us and after the build up we had given him he had a lot to live up to. Fortunately he really brought the place down. The idea of a live broadcast back to the hospital from a pub in Preston worked a treat and his jingles and dedications had us all guffawing and on occasions doubled up with laughter. Ivan (or Tom to be more accurate) had a great time too and wants to come back for our 3rd birthday celebrations. That would be fantastic so let's hope it comes off.

Finally thanks to everyone who attended. Some new faces were in attendance, which was very pleasing, along with many familiar characters. Special thanks must go to Sharon the landlady for backing the event, to Alan for organising a top notch bill and to Stuart, Caroline and Mike for the publicity that seems to have helped attract a healthy intake of new (and hopefully future regular) punters.

See you all next month.

The Fox

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