MavinsBlog

2008-12-09T09:09:00.000+01:00

This Blog is no longer in use.

Please go to

http://69.89.31.103/~romanonl/andrewmavin/

There will be a .com address soon.

Thanks for commenting here, hopefully we'll see you at the other place.

cheers
Andrew

Dont forget!!

2008-02-17T12:48:00.002+01:00

Sniff, gurgle, pfffft, a-tishoo !!!

2008-02-11T14:10:00.000+01:00

Guy af a kold .... mee no likey. my dose runs, my i's weep and I sneeze a lot.

Boo hoo!

But, ear r sum pick tures ov my guard in wot Daddy and Mummy hav dun. Eye lick it a lot! tis knot fin hished yet but wiv sum new plants it wil bee coool!

Alzo, ear iz wot Auntie Susies new house lookin' like now .... cool or wot? stil a bit draft tee four me, but wen I go it wil bee more done.

Will blog when better.

Been Jammin'

Quack uPdATe

2008-02-03T08:38:00.000+01:00

Dadi STiLL aS a snore hed und Kant trype; Sew I is dOIng it 2 day

Ear IS suM fo Toes ov ME

C'mon ENgland!

tH1s 1s me wiv friends and Anti Susie At tHe play Gr0up

Th1s me w1v my new Kar

This 1s me telling Daddi tHat me LEgs R 2 ShOrrT

Luv

bEnJAmin

x

My New Friend

2008-01-23T09:52:00.000+01:00

Hi people! Its really about time I put my fingers to the black noisey thing again and tell you all how I am getting on ... I have a new top tooth! Its on the left (my left, your right). Dont yet know what to do with it though, I'm sure I'll find out. Apart from that I'm getting on fine! Daddy and I have lots of fun during the day, going to the shops, playing in the garden and of course bouncing!!!!

I am also going to a new place called "Mummies and Toddlers" .... Daddy likes going here too. I'll let you all guess why. But for me its great and have met some really nice friends. They are roughly the same size as me, although some can crawl really fast and also some can run around. I want to do this too, but I cant as my right leg gets stuck under my bottom. Daddy helps by pushing me over a bit, but that I fall over and cry .... I then get sympathy .... oh yes .. a winner!

Here is a picture of my new friend Kian.

Auntie Susie is coming to stay for a few days ... that'll be great. Its about time my Italian improved a bit. Benny (remember Benny) helped me at Christmas, but as you can see below, ... I'm still not 100% sure about him ..... very loud! Mami and Papi are still away on their World Tour. I do miss them a lot and looking forward to Mami staying with me too!

Mummy is still enjoying her job and Daddy is getting some more playing. although this morning he didnt look happy to see me .... I think it might have something to do with getting in at 03.25 this morning.

Well, I must be off for sleeps now, as this typing really tires me out, and I need the rest before my guitar practise.

Hope you enjoy the pictures?

Lots of Love

Benjamin

Happy NEw Year!

2008-01-03T13:36:00.000+01:00

And it is certainly new for me! A lot of things have changed recently.

Before either Mummy or Daddy woke me up, fed me, played a bit then back to sleep. Now they BOTH get up, run around getting me ready to go out as well as themselves. We get in the car! "ITS ONLY 08.15" I cry (not that they yet understand Ga ga language) but off we go through the forest to a place called ETSI, where Mummy gets out and says bye bye. Daddy and I then go back home (with some strange wailing music on (apparently called "lead set plain" of something).

It all change after that too! Daddy looks after me all day now. Mummy reappears after yoguart time. I do miss her during the day ... and I think Daddy does to.

I have also had a change of diet. I now eat "wafer fingers" which are nice but with only 2 teeth they take a bit of sucking. This leads to enormous amounts of sticky goo ... which leaves stains EVERYWHERE! I like Wafer Fingers. I am also eating lits of animals now, although the cow the other day was a bit too heavy for me ... think I'll wait til I am older for that one.

I am also really into "holding things then dropping them then laughing then being given them back then dropping them then laughing then being given them back dropping them then laughing then being given them back dropping them then laughing then being given them back dropping them then laughing then being given them back dropping them then laughing then being given them back" This is great fun although Daddies smiles do go away after a time.

Some very good friends of Mummy and Daddy have given me a bouncy bouncy thing. I bounce in it. I like it. Its bouncy! ........Bounce!...........Boing! .... weeeeee! .... I did fall out of it the other dqy which hurt a lot...... But BOUNCE!!!!!! This is me bouncing with Susie and Gianni.

Well, lots of other things to tell you but I will save them for another day.

Lots of Love Benjamin.

PS. Mummy goes to "Bay Jing" late in February leaving me and Daddy for 10 days alone. I hope we can both cope!

Happy Christmas

2007-12-20T08:25:00.000+01:00

Benjamin has composed a special Christmas Carol for you all! I just cant seem to get him to understand that you need a plectrum!

For those without sound, he is actually "singing" while playing ... bless.

All is well here, a final trip back to Blighty to further empty the house. Very hard to leave the place that has been the only constant throughout my families life. Leaving it in the back of an AA breakdown truck also added that special something. Thanks Vauxhall!

Nick Worrall (AKA John Peel) was the most amazing friend you could have at a time like that and along with Gareth they helped me through what was a very difficult day. I cant thank them enough really.

It was fun though to see all the guys and gals of Soul Doubt. Thanks folks for letting me play, sorry about the end of Superstition, but I am sure I was right!

It was great to return home to Louise and Benjamin of course, and we all head off to Italy for Christmas.

Well, A Happy Christmas to you all and heres to a healthy and happy New Year

Andrew, Louise and Benjamin

I GOT TEETH!

2007-11-18T14:13:00.000+01:00

Guess What .... I've got teeth!

Only two, but teeth none the less. They do hurt a lot sometimes, and I mean a lot. Whats the big idea of an enamel based product ripping through raw skin???? No wonder people are scared of Dentists.

I am now also eating solids! Well, I like to call it slightly thicker liquid to be honest, but it tastes yummy .... except Courgette. Dont like courgette. Mummy and daddy have even try to disguise it by mixing it with my favourite carrot, but me no daft boy! I am also eating lots of fruit including pear, apple, banana, and even blueberries!! You can imagine my nappy after that one!

Its getting colder here, starting to feel like Belgium again. We can still have lunch outside in the sun, but as soon as that goes we head indoors to the warm.

We've been doing lots of walks in and around town in my buggy. Its quite cool as I can see where I am going rather than stare at Mummy or Daddy all the time. Much more interesting.

God-Daddy Jeremy and Mrs Jeremy visited for a week. They are really cool people, funny accents, but really cool. They sleep longer than me! I had fun with them a lot. I hope they will be back soon.

I also went to visit Mami and Papi just before they went off on their round the World trip. I was cold there as well but I had lots of fun going for walks, being sick on their expensive carpet and going out for a lunchtime meal with them all.

Auntie Susie and Jar Knee came on a flying visit last week also, we went for a walk and did fun things like eat, sleep and had a lovely bath with bubbles! Lucky me!

Well, going out AGAIN for a walk ... well, to be honest I just sit there and be wheeled around ... so I'll say gurgle gurgle byedee bye and promise to write soon

Benjamin
xx

Hi everyone .....

2007-10-28T15:54:00.000+01:00

Well, firstly, thank to so many people for their kind words and thoughts during the past 3 weeks. As many of you may already know, Dad died on 16th Oct after extending his life by 10 months from his original date he was given for the Leukemia to take him away.

The last 2 weeks were spent in the amazing St. Clares Hospice in Jarrow who looked after him in such a way, words can't describe their dedication and attention to detail during his stay.

For a long time, Dad had wanted to go to sleep and not wake up. This wish was granted by St. Clares for which I know he was forecer grateful.

Looking back, he got to watch the Cricket World Cup, Durham win 2 trophies and 2nd in the League, The Rugby World Cup (except the final which England lost because he wasn't around to cheer them on), and of course he got to meet Benjamin, not only at home in September, but many times while in the Hospice. The nurses took this photo when Benjamin arrived ..... I treasure this.

Dad's spirit left the house on the Sunday night before the Funeral. Louise and I were in bed dozing when at 22.17 we heard all the wind chimes in the hallway 'play' like a chiming clock for about 3 minutes ... the front door went click, and then silence. It was scarey, but beautiful.

***************************************************

Of course, while being in North East, Benjamin did visit lots of other people .... including the now World Famous "Granny 2"

and of course "The North Sea"

Thanks again for the cards, letters, photos and memories. I will be back in the North East in 2 weeks time for more sorting out, plus 2 Soul Doubt Gigs (helps pay the air fare!!)

Andrew, Louise and Benjamin

xxx

Ciao!

2007-09-23T10:36:00.000+02:00

I know! 2 entries in a week! I am getting better at typing now so its good to practise.
This weekend I went to visit Auntie Susie and her restaurant in Italy (4th country in as many months!)

It was great! I got hugged and played with and gooooed at all the time! Mami and Papi were there also. It was nice to see them again.
Auntie Susie bought me a lovely new coat for the winter as well as some socks. I also have discovered something called Shampain .... looks yummy!

I also met a mad Italian Chef called "Benny" ... kept kissing me all the time .... but his food is delicious! Looking forward to going there at Christmas so I can throw it all over the restaurant.

We also went to see Auntie Susies new house. I think it is a bit drafty and needs some decorating myself.

Daddy played his guitar in a place called Forli (pronounced Four Lee) ... he's been invited back so he must have played better than the last time I heard him.
Well, enjoy the pictures and will blog soon.

Love
Benjmain

PS No PS today ... I am content with life

Hello everybody!!!

2007-09-20T07:48:00.000+02:00

Phew! Its been a long time but I think I would crash blogspot if I mentioned everything I have been up to.

Mummy and Daddy have been working hard to get the appartment nice and tidy for me so that in a couple of months time I can destroy it once I start crawling. Have discovered how to twist and turn my neck and roll over on my play mat ... Daddys CDs are closer now! He spent about a week getting them all into alphabetical/cronicialogical ...logically cronic ... order of release. It'll take me about 5 minutes to revert them to the original state .... Whoo ha ha ha!!!

We visted Papi and Mami last month at their very nice house in Sauliac. They had a big blue wobbley thing that confused me somewhat, however it wasnt as big as the big blue wobbley thing I dipped my toes in the other week .... that one was warmer. There was also a party in my honour which was very very nice, however I was sent to bed when the food arrived!! That was a bit of a buggar! I also spent the day with PApi and Mami. This was really nice. Daddy and Mummy had a lovely day out on their own. They went to a place called "Conk" but spelt "Conques"

On the way back from theirs we went over a bridge called "Meo" spelt "Millau" Bridge ... It looked amazing. Very Big! Daddy got scared going over it ... silly man.

We headed over to somewhere called the "UK" last month. This is somewhere else I hadn't been. It rains there .... a lot. I thought it would warm up at some point. I only wear shorts and singlets here. I wished I had packed my woolly jumper and raincoat. We visited my Granddad for the first time, It was great fun to see him. I also got to meet granny2 as well. Photos are below. We visited a place called "Nu Casle" but spelt "Newcastle", "Hexam" but spelt "Hexham", "Manchester" but spelt "DarkRainyPlace" and "Chef Field" but Spelt "EvenDarkerRainyPlace".

Tke care eveyone, hope you've enjoyed the photos ...

Benjamin x

Our Garden

2007-09-08T16:24:00.001+02:00

Here you go folks ..... for those who have asked, some photos of the garden. Still some work to do though .... helpers are welcome!

View of the fir tree from the terrace

Our terrace

View from under the fir tree across the other part of the garden

View from the fir tree back across to the terrace

Seating arrangement under the fir tree

Mummy and Benjamin ready fro the World Cup!

.........

2007-09-06T22:09:00.001+02:00

August 17th? I'm ashamed it has been so long. Tomorrow I shall post something meaningful .... well ... maybe on the weekend ..... in the meanwhile ... its time for "The Gallery" .... (cue theme from "The Deerhunter")

Grandpa and a happy little man

Granny 2 and the little man .... oh .. and Louise

Three bored generations of Mavins

Daddy happy to be on the South Marine Park Steam Train again with a not really bothered where he is Benjamin.

Mummy out with some mad friends ......

Mummy out with some mad bloke .....

Here you go!!

2007-08-17T20:40:00.000+02:00

Well, after a lot of hassle, holidays and various other events, here are some photos for you to view as requested by a lot of people.... hope you enjoy them. Benjamin has promised me that he will blog soon .... but in the meantime, he did ask me to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERESA!!!"

On Holiday at Papi's

Enjoying the bath (sensored version)

CHANGE ME DADDY, CHANGE ME PLEASE!!!!!!

Hmmm, I think I would suit the army life!!

OK, Thats it .... No more travelling by car .... 1568km is enough!

Blog Soon!

As Promised

2007-07-27T16:09:00.000+02:00

Here I am in the Garden with Mummy

Here I am with Daddy on the terrace

Here I am looking Silly!

Here I am on our nice comfy seat

Here I am with my Godfather and his lovely wife.

Here I am with an Extremly scary man!!!! Apparently he is wanted by Interpol.

Chapter Eight - I Love France !!!

2007-07-18T15:09:00.000+02:00

Well, I know it's been a long time since I blogged, but everything has been packed and only now can I get the laptop to a hot spot in the pub and blog. (Didn't have to prove my age to get in either!)

Well, we are all here. Daddy, Brian and Tom moved all the stuff successfully down here to the appartment, while Mummy and I waited until they put all my things together and then flew down. That was fun except the bit where we went down to earth.... didn't like that at all. I decided to protest loudly to the pilot so that he could speed things up a bit. Seemed to work.
Daddy was at the airport to meet us which was nice (at Nice). The weather was a little hotter than Brussels, which reminded me of when I was born as it was very hot then.

The appartment is great. Nice big garden with palm trees and a lemon tree (great for those drinks with tonic). I have a bigger room now and something called "a fan" which helps keep things cool in my room. Mummy and Daddy don't have one though and they are NOT getting mine! I can also hear them at night talking about something called "Mos keet toes". Because of this, I have learnt another new swear word which daddy won't let me type, but what he says is anatomically impossible.

So far, I havent seen any of that stuff called "rain" here. I think I have seen a life times worth of "rain' since I was born so I am not missing it.

Daddy has been upset because he has been without the "remote' for the SACD player. This has caused him a lot of stress. Hopefully the box it is in will arrive tomorrow along with the "Pee-yanos". Mummy and Mami go shopping and organise things in the mornings leaving me and daddy to play cricket in the garden and read Star Wars books and drink beer. This is very cool! But Mummy isnt to know this ...

Once we have internet at Home, Mummy and Daddy will let you all know of course.

Take care everyone. Will blog again soon and will add some pictures also.

Benjamin

PS. I am still cute! Pictures soon.

"This is where the fun begins"

2007-07-03T18:59:00.000+02:00

A quote from Han Solo of course, however, this is the time where everything starts happening for real.

All out Worldly goods are either in storage in Brussels and Antibes. I leave on Friday to transport about 80% of our stuff down to Antibes and place them into OUR appartment. Its ours now ... all ours. No one elses .... not even a banks!

Once there, everything gets set up for the arrival of Louise and Benjamin who fly down on the following Tuesday.

While awaiting their arrival, all the stuff from the other storage will be picked up and also deposited at the appartment.

And now for the Thank you list.

Richard, Sally, Daniel and Jacob for letting us stay at their house during the past week. We started our life in Brussels here and now we finish it here.

Brian and Tom for helping me move down to Antibes

Arne, Bai and Giovanni for helping getting the stuff out of the appartment into Storage

Roman. For being a great friend

The Bizon. Where it all began

And Thank you for reading

Over and Out ..... see you in Antibes (once I dig out the PC, get a telephone line in etc etc etc)

Andrew, Louise and (of course) Benjamin

Sorry, sorry, sorry sorry, ...and Sorry again

2007-06-24T21:50:00.000+02:00

I'm Sorry

We are Sorry

We really are.

Benjamin, Louise and Andreqw would like to apologise.

We have been packing, having a birthday, packing, working, being busy, sorting out our move to Antibes, sleeping, napping, working, changing nappies, feeding, working, packing, playing, going out, sleeping, feeding, feeding, feeding, packing, working, doing things, ..... etc etc

So Sorry

Benjamins Godfather visted and I STIL haven't put the photos on ..... I'm sorry.

Forgive us?

A & L & B

xxx

My Godfather Is Coming!

2007-06-15T15:47:00.001+02:00

HURRAH! My Godfather is Coming!

Cool!

Opps .. I think I just done a poo in all the excitement!

Yep .. I did! and Daddy has to clean it!

Chapter Seven - Daddy Went Away

2007-06-06T22:04:00.000+02:00

He went away and left Mummy and I all alone. I wasn't happy about this but Mummy did explain that it was for a very good reason.

HE took a lot of things down to Nice in a "Van" with a "Friend". This "Friend" apparently was helping us move and he also has a place where Daddy and he could sleep .... but not together.

This "Friend" is silly, according to the pictures. This is him here on the way down in the "Van".

He helped Daddy pack the storage unit HE cleaned his swimming pool

Daddy and he has a drink together
Apart from this, I haven't really been doing much. More visitors including one man who was really nice and bought me my first pair of "pumps" very cool! Thank you Uncle James

Well, as I said nothing much happening. Mummy is packing lots of things away and writing lots of letters to people to tell them we are leaving so as you can imagine she is very busy ... As well as looking after me of course!

I also had a visit from Brian and Joyce from England. they were very nice and very funny. They even laughed when I was sick in Brian's shirt pocket! ....

Well, thats it folks ... til the next time

Ciao! (I learnt that from Auntie Susie!)

Chapter Six - I Gotta God Mother!

2007-05-24T20:44:00.000+02:00

I am very pleased to tell you all that I definitely have a God Mother. Everyone keeps telling me about her, but I have never met her up until now.
Auntie Susie arrived for a day's visit yesterday and it was brill !

We played Hide and seek ...............

We played "Lets put the bunny ears on Benjamin to make him look silly" ............

We went for a walk in the park, and Auntie Susie did almost all the pushing

Wine was drunk AGAIN!!! ... But I got none of it! AGAIN!

But all in all I has some great quality time with Auntie Susie. She is really nice too! Brought me presents (I knew she would of course) all the way from Italy from her work friends Laura and Andrea which were lovely, she played with me, and gave me a bath (which I inadvertently had a poo in ... sorry Auntie) She also had fun with Mummy and Daddy too!

I am hoping to see her again soon and I think I will be spending Christmas with her in Italy. I will also meet someone called Jar Knee or Gianni as it is written. He also sounds fun! Appartently he speaks in a strange way also so we should get on well. .... Wow! By then it will be my 4th country visited!

Bye Bai .....(you still haven't got it have you)

Benjamin

xx

Chapter Five - I don’t like Belgium

2007-05-21T15:00:00.000+02:00

Apparently, I live in Belgium. I heard Daddy the other mentioning the Belgians and their Bl**dy bureaucracy. It seems that to get me a passport and an ID card takes more than just form filling and visiting your local commune. Because Daddy is upset, I am upset therefore I think I will ask Daddy if we can move. I plan to speak to him tomorrow about it.

Also, the weather isn’t exactly what I like. The storms over the past couple of days have been soooo noisy, it has woken me up. And when Benjamin wakes up, I like everyone else to wake up! Seems only fair. Bl**dy Belgian weather Daddy says also.

So, apart from Beer, Moules Frites and a fully lit motorway system, what have the Belgians given me eh?

Visitors this week have included Rachel and Giovanni again ….. they keep bringing me nice things! They are always welcome of course. Daddy says Giovanni still owes him 6 beers ….. (he told me to say that)

I am now getting into the “routine” again. This is quiet nice actually as I get a couple of naps in the day and a long nap at night. Mummy and Daddy seem to like it also as they can sleep much more!

Daddy came in late TWICE this week …. I don’t know where he goes but he does smell funny when he comes back. His voice is different too. Very slurry and he hiccups like me; but a bit louder. His fingers are also very raw after these “nights out”. I think it has something to do with playing music or something.

Oh yeah chocolate. I forgot about that. So, apart from beer, Moules Frites, chocolate and a fully lit motorway system, what have the Belgians given me eh?

I was in a foul mood on Sunday. Just couldn’t rest or do anything I wanted to do. Even pooping was a bit of a strain (more than normal). Daddy sang along to something called “Pink Floyd” .I really quite enjoyed it and I was very rested after a while. Then something horrible happened. A different voice started singing ….. I started crying! Daddy told me not to worry as it was only” Roger Waters” and it would finish soon. And thankfully it did!

Mummy is being wonderful at the minute. She is always there for me whenever I am a bit upset. She is also starting to look a lot better recently. Not so tired (I think that could be my fault) and she is laughing a lot more. This makes me happy!

Well, that’s it for now. Auntie Susie is arriving on Wednesday which is great! I haven’t met her yet but I am sure she is nice …. And I bet she brings me something too! YES!

Bye-de-Bye

Benjamin

PS. No one got the Bye joke in the last blog …. What I meant to say was Bai was here … Bai bye? …. Bye bye? ….. never mind! You are probably Belgian!

Chapter Four - Out and about

2007-05-14T09:21:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone ... sorry for not updating Daddy's blog recenly, but seeing as I am now 3 weeks old, I have begun that nice phase of wanting to eat and eat and burp and poop and eat and eat and vomit and poop and eat etc etc etc .... Its great! Its like being an alcoholic but knowing you dont have to worry about the addiction!

However, I digress. Lots of vistors this week which was nice .... one guy who came had very wierd hair and look like he had been in the sun too much. apparentlyl he is called "Bye", everyone must know him as a lot of people go and see him when they leave my house. ..... A very nice person called 'Jo' came over this weekend to help Mummy and Daddy to rest. She has a drinks cabinet as well, but it was locked.

Went for a couple of "walks" in my bed. This is wierd. The place where I normally sleep was taken downstairs and placed on a little trolley type thing, then was taken outside into something called "fresh air". That was nice actually! I went to sleep quite qucikly! It like a drug! ..... what ever they are.

Tonight, Daddy is playing at "The Bizon". He told me all about something called a "Bizon Blood" ..... sounds lovely, but strong. I told Daddy that I would look like this if I had one!

Well, I must get back to Mummy now as I am feeling hungry again.

Lots of Love to you all!
Benjamin

PS. I dont think Daddy loves me anymore as he h s built a small prison for me .... it has nice toys in it to play with and a lovely new mobile thing that spins around and has flying bugs on it .... hmmm, perhaps its not all that bad.

Chapter Three - "A First Step Into A Larger World"

2007-05-07T09:08:00.000+02:00

Now look! I love them dearly, and I know they will be looking after me for some time, but when I am asleep .... I would like to remain asleep. And when I am wide awake, I dont wanna go to bed! IT's quite simple!

They keep going on about "rhythm and routine" which I am sure is what I will need eventually but I am used to getting my own way when I was inside Mummy!

We all went "outside" the other day ..... my God it was terrible. Firstly, Daddy couldn't find the right elevators out of the car park, lots of "people" kept bumping into my pram, it was hot and sticky, and so I let rip from both ends to vent my anger. Also Daddy wasn't happy about something called "Carlsberg" being served in a Belgium cafe. He does moan about the slightest things.

I have discovered screaming at the top of my voice isn't the best thing for Mummy and Daddy, especially at night. It gets their attention though! Daddy does a lot of the dark time feeding, but he seems to watch TV while he does this ... HELLO!!!! ME PLEASE!!!!! ATTENTION!!!!!

Mummy seems to be getting lots of rest which is good as the %age factor of the drinks improve greatly. Mummy and Daddy's drinks cabinet is getting better too as "visitors" bring me clothes and them drinks. This brings smiles to both of them!

Daddy said he was proud of me today; odd really as I thought that the smell that followed this comment would have changed his mind! Oh well, you can never tell.

On other fronts, Mummy's Stitches have opened a bit so we have to go back the the hospital tomorrow to have them checked. Daddy apparently has to go to a place called "work" next week. I don't know what this is but it seems to involve lunches out and buying chocolate for people. ... sounds interesting!

Daddy was also a bit upset the other day as something called "gigs" had been cancelled at his residency bar in Brugges. Appartently I will have to go without new clothes and have no more presents until the summer. This is not good, so if anyone reading this can offer Daddy some "Gigs" then I would be grateful..... he sings me to sleep which is nice .... honestly!

Well .... take care all of you, and lots of love from Mummy and Daddy of course

Benjamin.

PS (I've learned what this means) Mummy wanted this photo on the site. She calls it "My Boys"

Chapter Two - The Homecoming

2007-05-01T10:49:00.000+02:00

Mummy seems better now and so the nice people at the hospital said we could go home. Daddy had already been home to get things ready for me which was nice.

I fell asleep after mummy had opened the drinks cabinet (note to self .... I keep hearing people talk about 'mixer drinks', not too sure about these as the neat stuff seems great!). I awoke to being in a new place! Not so orange as the hospital, but still as warm as cosy. Mummy and Daddy took a couple of hours to decide the best place to put me (note to self .... when I can talk I must tell them that the tour of the appartment could have waited!)

I seem to poo much heavier and more frequently now. I have overheard someone saying 'better out than in' ... I have to agree with this! The funny bit of plastic around my belly button fell off today. That was wierd. I hope nothing else falls off without warning.

Its a bit strange at nights though. I am feeding for about 2 hours, take a short nap, then feed agin for 2 hours. I am contented but Mummy and Daddies eyes have suddenly taken on a new dark like colour and they seem to have a shorter fuse when one of my bigger poo's arrive!

The Music is nice and relaxing. We had something called 'Mahler 4' yesterday and something called 'Massive Attack'. Thats what I often do in my nappy funnily enought! I wonder if there is some music called 'Weeing All Over Daddy' .... I do that too!

Grandma and Grandpa are helping out too. They are making food for Mummy and Daddy so that they can concentrate on me. I like this idea! I think they are leaving on Saturday though. Wonder what will happen then?

Well, I am hoping that Mummy and Daddy aren't too upset that I cant seem to settle down, it's all different here. I have only been here for 2 days but I think it will work out OK.

That wierd Italian Woman was here again, Sissi I think is her name ..... she came with a smaller and quieter version of herself. Does everyone have smaller doubles I wonder? .... Speaking of doubles, I need another drink. Will update you soon ... bye bye, glug glug.

PS (whatever that means) Daddy has asked me again to thank all those people who have sent cards and to thank them for the presents you have brought. I haven't seen them yet but I am sure they are nice. If you have sent money, please let me know. .... I don't trust them!

Cant help it sorry .....

2007-04-27T13:12:00.000+02:00

"Just the 3 of us"

Proud Daddy .... but looking a little askew!

an even happier Daddy!

Ah Bless!

More Pictures

2007-04-26T12:25:00.000+02:00

Mummy and Benjamin
Grandma and Benjamin

ZZzzzzzzzzzz! (finally)

Grandpa and Benjamin

... cos I know you wanna see them!

Chapter One - My Story

2007-04-24T14:38:00.000+02:00

On Sunday 22nd April, I decided to move house. Although the free food, drink and sleeping arrangements were excellent, the living room was a tad cramped, so I wanted to have a look elsewhere for a place to live.

Mummy and Daddy seemed happy to be living where they were so I thought I would join them.

However, the escape route I had learned about during my last couple of weeks seemed a little to small for my liking, but my determination drove me on and on. I knew that with some help from Mummy, I could push my way down.

After over 18 hours of chiselling my way towards the intended escape hatch I could almost see a chink of light. Down and down I tried, pushing and squeezing my little head through the gap, but alas, it wasn't to be. Then, I had a reoccurrence of the very strange nightmare I had the other day about being attacked by Dyson Floor Cleaner. This is where a vacuum cleaner tries to eat me by grabbing my head. I didn’t like this at all and decided to retreat back to my cosy little home. I had decided not to move out after all.

So there I was, back at home sitting pondering the next move, when all of a sudden there was a bright light!, lots of noise, green coats, people with masks all staring down at me. Naturally, I screamed. And screamed again and again ... oh ... and again. A nice looking lady took quite a fancy to me and took me away from this madness that had come over me, and before I knew anything else had happened, there I was in the comforting arms of Daddy showing me to mummy, who, incidentally, was hiding from the strange people behind a green cloth.

Now, I am in a lovely little room, with Mummy and Daddy, all wrapped up safely. I think it is their home. There is Champagne and laughter so I must be there. But the same strange people do pop in every now and then to ask questions, so maybe I am still at that place Mummy mentioned to Daddy the other day .... I think it was called 'hospital'.

Daddy tells me that he received well over 100 text messages and voice mails. He says he is very grateful for all of these very kind words. Mummy likes sitting in her bed a lot. I think this is because she is still a little tired and strained from all the work she put in. But she has the most marvellous design in drink cabinets!

As well as Daddy and Mummy, I have a God Daddy and a God Mummy. Sadly, Jeremy and Susie couldn't make it today, but I can’t wait to see them soon as well. Apparently they bring presents!

Today, Grandpa and Grandma came from France to see me. They seemed nice, but I was asleep most of the time. I said hi to Grandad and Granny 2 in England over the phone on Sunday evening who seemed very happy to hear from me.
Be back in touch soon.

Benjamin James Mavin
3.640 Kilograms (8lb 1 oz)
52 cm
Brussels

A New Arrival!

2007-04-05T15:37:00.000+02:00

Its the new Genesis CD/SACD/DVD Box set from 1976 - 1982

It is amazing to hear the old albums remastered and remixed. A whole new listening experience! I recommend them to any Genesis fan.

The songs have been given a real breath of fresh air. The small idiosyncrasies in the music have been pushed forward just that little bit more. The cabasa in the Keys solo in "Lurker", the backing harmonies in a lot of the songs are much more evident, the whole thing has been given width. Much more colour in the darkness that is Wind & Wurthering. The guitar riffs in "No Reply" and "Sarah Jane" really gives a little inside to his riff like stuff in the next few albums. Trick is probably the best remix of all of them without a doubt. The bonus disc of the B sIdes is also great to here, although they are mostly all evident on Archive 2, they are loveingly touched up here. Booklets excellent ... some new insight in the interviews (I have only seen the "Duke" one so far).

Looking forward to the next release already ... which, of course, will be Kippa

Almost there .....

2007-04-02T08:34:00.000+02:00

... and she is still looking radiant in the sun !

YES !!!!!

2007-03-30T10:39:00.000+02:00

I have it!

Steely Dan

2007-03-21T11:06:00.000+01:00

.... Are in Europe once more

.... They are playing in Brussels!!!!

.... They play the day after we leave for France!!!!

.... but I am not upset !!!!

.... I will have to go and see them in Italy at the end of the month!!!

... nothing will stop me this time !!!!!!

Catch up

2007-03-05T09:21:00.000+01:00

Please find below the answers to people E mails ......

1. Louise and Kippa are doing well. Sleep is not great at the moment, but seems to be a good preparation for what is to come. April 9th is the due date. Pram as been ordered .... cot is up .... message for Jason and Kate .... is there a piece of furniture in your house that is falling down? ... the bolts in the envelope dont fit the cot :--) .... but we have fixed it. Thank you again so much for the cot .... Kate, lets hope you parents dont read this.

2. The evening with Stephen was great. Really nioce to meet up and talk talk talk. We realised that it was the first time we had consumed alcohol together! ... that shows how long it wass since the last meet up!

3. Current gig list .... although there may be some changes, but feel free to pop along!

9th March - Churchills 21.00 onwards
13th March - Celtic Ireland 22.00 - 00.00
22nd March - Grand Prix 21.00 - 23.00 Hosting the SSW
30th March - Churchills 21.00 onwards
31st March - James Joyce 21.00 onwards

4. Message to John, thank you so much for playing, albeit briefly .... the 2 hour rehearsal was the highlight of the weekend .... great to play with you as always. ... we shall do it again! Hope you are enjoying the SD CDs?

5. Jason, I will try and get them to you ..... "Baby Steal My Heart" is the song. ... this week .. I promise ....

And here endeth the update.

Irish Translation

2007-02-26T11:39:00.000+01:00

As you can see, the board says

" Live Music Saturday 24th at 9PM with Andrew"

What I didn't realise was that in the Irish Language this translates to ......

" Live Music Saturday 24th at with Andrew but if some people want to watch the France v Wales game then he wont go on until 11PM"

Needless to say despite turning up at 17.00 to set up, staying there for the Ireland england game, no one mentioned anything about the change of timings etc. So, with around 20 people turning up to expect to see "moi" (some from Holland, some from England and some from the North of Belgium) AND having dragged John from Den Haag for the weekend, we packed up and gear and walked out.

Thanks for those who also got up and walked out and joined us again at the Churchills bar where Bai was playing .... we ended up having quite a fun night! Thanks Bai for letting us take over your gig .... it would have been an empty night without us lets face it!

Again, thanks to Rachel, Giovanni, Roman, John, Janneke, Louise, Kippa, Capri, Bai, Oliver, Nadia, Marije, Tom, Sarah, Isobelle, Isobelles friend, Tonys friend, Ciaran, Calvaugh, Sian, frined of Sian (sorry), and many others who either joined us at Churchills, or left after we pulled out.

Due to play there next month, and I'll have to go and speak to them about this. I still wanna play there, but I will only be dealing with Bryan ..... he is the only sensible one there and I still feel I let him down a bit .... hey ho .....

Friends Reunited

2007-02-21T14:50:00.000+01:00

Tonight, I hope to be reunited with a very good friend whom I haven't seen for 20 years. We lost contact when we went to different sixth form schools.

We shared a lot of experiences in school, I always called on him on the way to school, sometimes playing snooker and playing the piano early in the morning, he was Noah Claypole to my Oliver, we were both brothers in Joseph AHATC, he helped me home one time after I was beaten up, he played Euphonium and guitar and so shared a lot of musical experiences. I think we did our associated board exams together!

The reason for meeting up is simple .... Monopoly! I was clearing out a cupboard the other day and found my old Monopoly Board. Inside the cover was a statement ... it reads

I think this was around 1984/5 ish ... funny how my signature hasn't really changed!

After kick starting some nice memories, I decided to pop his name into Friends Reunited and got in contact.. It is also ironic that he walks past the Cannon Street Office in London every day! So here I am waiting for the clock to move to 1640 so that I can leave and make my way to "The George" pub .........

Hope I will recognise him!

Dear All

2007-02-16T16:13:00.000+01:00

I am sorry, very sorry indeed for not keepingyou updated. I see from the blog count that people visit, see the same posting, then go. Fair enough I say ... I would do the same.
But, in the meantime, I promise the reader to .....

1. show pictures of kippa
2. Add my current gig list
3. Write something sensible .... or maybe not ..... this weekend.

A nice photo taken by a friend at "The Bank" gig with Bai and friends ..... no animals were hurt during the gig I hasten to add.

We have been somewhat busy over the past couple of weeks, what with Dad, travelling, baby scans etc etc.... Lots of other excuses, none of which would satnd up in a court of law .....
So, for the moment ......

Saturday 17th Feb - Churchills
Saturday 24th Feb - James Joyce
Tuesday 27th Feb - Celtic Ireland, Brugge
Wednesday 28th Feb - La Touche (I hope)
Friday 9th March - Churchills
Tuesday 13th March - Celtic Ireland, Brugge
Friday 30th March - Churchills
Saturday 31st March - James Joyce

April ... I am closed for obvious reasons .... Taking May and June bookings now!!!!

2007-01-30T16:09:00.000+01:00

Hi all

Again apologies for the delay but as you may have gathered, things have been busy ......
But in short, as I know thats what you prefer, Ali and I had an incredible tour. Full of fun frolics, cancelled gigs, double bookings, live TV shows, playing to 120+ people at "The Bank" and of course ... the Bizon!

This link is a link to the TV performance. It si streamed and is pretty pants, but if you scroll to around 40+ minutes you should get to see the one songs we did for that night

http://www.labelletv.net/emissions_fiche_vod.asp?smi=12&genre=8&id_emission=2&id=55#vod

Bai and Thierry, it was an absolute pleasure to share the stage and the music with you. I do hope we get to do something similar again. DVD of the Saturday is on its way!

Ali, thanks for being here, thanks for being the coolest guy! and I'm sorry for blowing the chance you had with those 3 Dutch Girls ......

Thanks to Ciaran Mc Manus for the photos! They are of Ali, Bai, Moi and Thierry ... but not in that order!

If anyone who was there wants to add comments about the gigs, please feel free to do so!

Gig List

2007-01-14T21:31:00.000+01:00

Greetings all, I have had a number of requests to put the up and coming shows on the blog ... so de to popular demand ....

Yestderday - Grand Prix from 21.00 with Bai Kamara Jr.
Saturday 20th January - Churchills from 21.00
Wednesday 24th January - La Touche D'Iviore from 22.00 with Ali Reay
Thursday 25th January - The Bank recording for French Belgium television from 14.00
Thursday 25th January - La Porte Noire from 21.30 with Ali Reay
Friday 26 th January - Monkay Buisness - Upstairs in the Lounge from 21.30 with Ali, Bai and Thierry
Saturady 27th January - The Bank featuring "The Living Rooms" from 21.30 Ali REay, Bai Kamara Jr, Thierry Rombo and myself .... (Belgium debut on drums!)
Monday 29th January - The BIZON Jam Session with Ali Reay

Feel free to pop to any / all / none of these events ....

WOW

2007-01-04T11:29:00.000+01:00

Excerpt from "The Who and the making of Tommy" by Nigel Cawthorne. Bought this book in a sale yesterday ...... and on page 47, there was quiet a revelation!!!

But tensions were growing in the Band. With the law suit hanging over themTownsend was ready for the whole thing to fall down upon him. DAltery even quit briefly. Moon, Entwistle and Townsend solidered on although Moon was approached by the Animals and Entwistle by the Moody Blues.

"I saw myself writing film scores" recalls Townsend later, "while Keith and John saw themselves forming a new band called Led Zeppelin".

Indeed, they has both threatened to walk out when Townsend hit Moon with a guitar. When things were going badly in 1968, Entwistle and Moon had discussed forming " a super group that would go down like a lead zeppelin (slang for lead balloon) It was a conversation in the salvation Club in New York on April 5th 1968, that Led Zeppelin were born, albeit without Entwistle and Moon.

This doesn't match with the version in Led Zeppelin - The story. I cant exactly remember the reason for calling the band Led Zeppelin in that book, but this is quite something! Page Plant Moon and Entwistle!!! As much as I love Moon, no one stands up to Bonzo ... and no one ever will, but it is fun to try and imagine it!

Any one got anything they can add?

Hello 2007 !

2007-01-02T09:06:00.000+01:00

Firstly ..... lets not talk about Cricket .... lets just say I feel let down as I never wanted Freddie as Captain,

Strauss was always my choice. .... needless to say ..... 4-0 is the result. ..... Still, I'll be listening in to check on the progress and support them. ....

This will be quite a year me thinks .... no need to go through everything of course but to say that I am looking forward to what the year brings is an understatement.

Not much to tell about the festive season, Christmas with Dad, New Year with friends pretty much sums it up. Louise is getting bigger and rounder around the tummy, but is not adding anything else to anywhere else. Some say this is a sign for a boy? But overall and most importantly she is doing very well indeed.

January will be a month of visitations. Lous Mum and Dad are visiting next week and then her sister for the following week, then Ali arrives for the 2nd Brussels Tour. More of this later.

Churchills on Friday if anyone cares to join in the fun .... from 21.00 as always.
In the meantime, I hope you all had a Happy New Years Eve and Day

DIARY CHECK - 27th January .... THE BANK .... Be there!

Artists Impression.

2006-12-19T09:10:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in previous blog, there was no photos from the Scan, however, here is an artists impression of things .... hope it makes those desperate for a photo happy. .....

***NOTE no animals or humans were hurt during this photo shoot ..... although Louise does look a little forced into it doesn't she! ***

Belly Picture .. where is it?

2006-12-17T18:17:00.000+01:00

Well, firstly and most importantly, all is well with little Kippa. All measurements, sizes etc are "normal" and everything seems still to be on track for April..... However, due to Kippas game of hide and seek while the doctor was scanning and trying taking photos etc, there was no photo for anyone .... so, sorry folks ... no pictures. We hope Kippa will be a little more helpful in Febuary at the next scan.

Apart from scans, gigs, planning Christmas trips etc , nothing much happening over here. A scarey night watching Belgium TV as they reported the demise of Belgium as Flanders announced its independance in a spoof emergency news report ...... see this link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6178671.stm

Initial reaction was shock, especially as this is a common talking point amongst Belgiums, then it was a case of WOW! this is happening! to ... nah bollocks, its a hoax.

Fun Gig with my good Friend Bai Kamara Jr. .... it was his birsthday party combioned with Zachs leaving party so a good time was had by all .... appartently this photo was not tampered with .....

Anyway, 2more days at work here in Brussels, then a trip over to London for 2 days of wrok then Christmas Holidays until The following Thursday.

This will be it until then, so heres wishing you a wonderful, festive Christmas .... and may your dreams be varied and wide, and may all your Christmas' be White ..... at least I think thats what he was on about ...... HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Andrew, Louise, Kippa

Month Anniversary!!

2006-12-04T09:53:00.003+01:00

Yes, apologies to the 3 people who actually read this that I haven't provided an update for, as the title suggests, one month

To be honest ... and I really mean this ... we have been pretty busy. A visit in early Novemeber to see Dad for a week. He's been getting used to the idea that he isn't going to get any better. As mosy of you know, he was diagnosed with a form of Leaukemia in May and was given this side of Christmas as an "end date" to use a crude but appartently approved hospital term.

It was a difficult week as not only looking after him, but also still being available for work. The phone going off at odd times hasn't helped, but both objectives have been met. I ended up using a 56K Modem line to France to communicate with Terminal servers so that I could do my work .... slow ... but still manageable.

Louise is doing well and slowly but surely gets bigger and bigger. Its an amazing sight when you think about what is going on inside.

Sorry its not much, but we really have been busy and there's too much to put into the Blog ..... might crash!

Anyway, a more meaningful blog soon ..... with maybe a picture of the belly !

Monday - Bizon Jam.

2006-11-03T13:35:00.000+01:00

C'mon .... I know you all want to!

Mr. Ciaran McManus (aka M C Manus) will be performing with me alongside many others

So, from 21.00 until Phil kicks us out, feel free to pop around.

Lots of new songs to be performed, including

Sweet Caroline
Gimme Some Tailfeather in Chicago
Mrs Robinson
Dock Of The Bay
Stuck In The Middle With You
Waterloo Sunset
Under The Bridge
Virtual Insanity

Ta ta for now!

Latest Scan photo!!!!

2006-10-27T09:03:00.001+02:00

All is well with Kippa according to the Doctor .... !!

Will there be or won't there be?

2006-10-25T11:47:00.000+02:00

Many of you know that for many many years, I have been a big follower of Genesis (the band, not the "Book Of .... "). Over the past year or so there have been a lot of rumours about the possible reunion of Genesis either with the 5 of them, or the 4 of them or just the 3 of them ...... well, a very sensible German has set up a site containing the best info I have been able to find. So .... to share with you all, cos I have sort of been keeping it to myself recently

http://www.genesis-fanclub.de/genesis/reunion/genesis_of_a_reunion_engl.htm

Personally, I would prefer them to leave it. Collins is now partially deaf in his left ear, (some say this might be an advantage) Banks' last effort was interesting, but lacked drive, Rutherford's Mechanics seem to have settled for dismal, middle of the road stuff. Gabriel and Hackett seem to be the only sensible ones by refusing (so far) to join in.

Oh well, we will see anyway, I will probably go and see them where ever they will be, but after the last time I saw them (Ahoy with Wilson singing) I wasn't impressed.

Greetings again ....

2006-10-23T14:28:00.000+02:00

As Dave Matthews often sings "So Much To Say, So Much To Say, So Much To Say ... yeah yeah ... So Much So Much So Much To Say" Or something like that

Its proably best to divide things into chapters

1. Manchester - After a long drive from Brussels which began at 05.00 in the morning, and after a good night at Churchills, I arrive to a meal at Pizza Express ... Yummy! It was nice to bite into that lovely crust again. We used to do Pizza Express a lot as there was one just down the road from where we lived, was nice to have the memories flowing back. Met up with a lot of friends and had a great time with all of them, esepcially those who were at the wedding, a lot to catch up about and a lot of new photos to go through.

2. Dad - Drove to Newcastle on the Sunday. Dad looked very tired and it was very obvious that the Steriods had taken their toll on his face and body, about half a stone had been added. He was very tired and not really up to much which was good for Louise as she could also spend a lot of time relaxing. The visit to the Clinic on Thursday showed his platlets were down to 8.4 (shoudl be 10) and needed 3 units of new blood as a top up. At least he will be off the steriods for the time being. Managed to get out to Hill Head and some other places ..... he even managed to sit in the back of the car which was, for him, very exciting! He has finally finished, what I think is, his best boat to date.

It really captures the best things of all the boats he has done so far (around 18). The detail on this one is particuly great especially the toilet paper in the bathroom and the lino in the cabin. Excellent! Photos don't really do it justice to be honest.

3. The Tap and Spile - Monday night at the Tap and Spile with Ali was a tremendous success! A lot of people in the place considering it was a Monday. The set was great, especially with Ali, Looking forward to another long weekend in January here in Brussels. The Websters and the Hirsts where both there supporting as was a madman who air guitared and air sang "I'm A Believer" to the enjoyment of all around. One bit of very sad news was that "Bob" as in "Sally and Bob" in Chris' Living Room, passed away a couple of weeks ago. We dedicated the performance that night in his memory.

This is Ruben.

4. Sheffield - Left Newcastle on Thursday to drive down to Sheffields to see Yo, Steve, Ruben and Nathaniel. Again, lovely to see them and their photos. Rhuben is becoming quiet an accomplished pianist while Nathaniel is the leading contender for the "Boris Johnson Look-a-like 2006". Sheffield is a strange city to me .... I always seem to get lost despite visiting many many times before. Even Lou gets confused sometimes, and seeing as she stayed there for 5 years, I at least have an excuse!

5. Hacconby - Friday ..... it must be Hacconby. Popped in for Luinch to Terry and Jill who also live the in house just up from Lou's Mum and Dad in france. Very nice and kind couple, both Ex-teachers and so get on with them very well.

6. Wisbech - Wisbech, .... it must still be Friday. Thanks to Jason and Kate ... and of course Isobelle .... for letting us stay with them despite them moving house .... on Tuesday! At least it was a night off for them both. Drank FAR too much with Jason after the girls had wimped out to bed, but it was great to catch up with them all. It will be a long time before we see all these people again, but hopefully we will!

By The Way .... Kate doesn't know about this photo!!!

7. Sunday. - Did F*** all .....

8. The Car - Did us proud. Very Comfortable and very economical. 38MPG for over 1100 miles including town / Motorway and country roads and was fully laden with gear .... and Louise!

By the way .... little update.. .. we have the next big scan on Thursday so hopefully some more funny pictures then. Mummy doing very well .... not so sick and has a smile on her face again!

See you in about a week.

2006-10-13T13:55:00.000+02:00

Unless you happen to pop into Tap and Spile on Monday or be in Manchester this weekend, or in Churchills bar tonight, or Sheffield on Thursday / Friday ..... Bye for now!

UPDATE UPDATE !!

2006-10-11T11:00:00.000+02:00

Louise was sick on Monday night .... oh dear oh dear ...... All clocks restarted.

One Week Later .......

2006-10-09T09:05:00.000+02:00

Yes, it is one week later, and a big thank you to all those who posted a comment and also to those who couldn't work it out and sent me an E mail instead.

Things here are all fine and dandy, Lou hasn't been sick for almost a week now (previous record was 56 hours during the last 7 weeks)

Lots of things have happened here this week, A new baby carrying device was purchased, aka a new car. e bought the Citroen Picasso ..... very nice. I only have 2 things that are a tad add and one huge issue ...... It has no rev counter which although one should use ears, it is nice to watch! There is an odd tick tick ticking sound inside the ventilation system ..... only lasts for about 4 or 5 seconds, then goes ..... these 2 things I can live with. However, I simply cannot understand how Citroen can allow a car out of the factory with such an appaulling sounding speaker system. It is truely awful! I have already changed the rear speakers so that some resemblance of bass can be heard, the front door bins will be changed soon. The fronty placed tweaters are fine and acceptable..... Hopefully all will be sorted by next week as I will be driving up North.

Louises' parents arrived on Monday, and were immediatly taken to Casualty as Marian had fallen over on the way to the airport in Carcassone. A broken right ankle and tendon damage in the left ankle meant most of the week was spent trundling her along the flat corridors on a wheelly stool and firemans lifts up and down stairs. ... I'm not even going to mention the showers!

Susie and Gianni (or Jar Knee as he is know) also visited this week for a few days which was great to see them again.
It was Giannis first visit to Brussels ..... so .... well .... we had to sample some of the many beers ...... we had about 8 different ones in one night ..... so not a bad start. But all told, we 6 had a lot of fun and laughter and daftness.

This week, should be quieter, Brugge tomorrow, Churchills on Friday and then off to the NE to see Dad. Playing with Ali in the Tap and Spile next Monday so if anyone wants to pop along .... they do do real ale!

For those of you who know, and for those who don't .....

2006-10-02T08:27:00.000+02:00

The Future Mummy and Daddy are all well ......

Horses, Golf & New Songs

2006-09-26T09:04:00.000+02:00

Well, that was my weekend. We both went for a lovely walk with Sally, Jake and Daniel through some woods that they are trying to burn down, clear out to make way for housing. There was a big get together of people who live nearby to sign a petition to stop this from happening. We signed it. However, due to the land already sold off for housing in 1971 AND the lawyers finding no way out of it, it looks like the walks will be soon stopped and replaced by concrete, cars and bricks. Shame really as in the summer it is a beautiful to walk.

Jake and Daniel had a turn on the horse which they seem to enjoy very much.

While on the walk, I was listening to The Ryder Cup. I could have gone to a pub and watched it, but no, I spent the afternoon walking the children. Now, I hear you cry, where was Daddy? Well, Daddy, or Richard as he is also known as, was ..... at the K club ..... I not jealous .... nor an I UPSET IN ANY WAY .... there ... got that off my chest.

Made a list of lots of new songs to tackle this month. I usually pick 5 new songs a month, but I was been lazy month and simply stole 5 of Ali's ..... so .....

Sledgehammer - Petrer Gabriel
All My Loving - The Beatles
So Lonely - The Police
The Boxer/Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis (I really really hate this song, but I get requests for it all the time. ... so)

For those in and around Brussles this weekend, I will be playing at "Churchills" Bar, just off Munt Plein. starting 21.00 - 00.00. You might even get to hear a couple of the above!!!

Oh ... one other thing ... would like to recommend the new (well relatively new) Battlestar Galatica series 1 & 2 Second series outstrips the first but it is very, very good. Nioce twists on the original series, great characters (except the stupid Doctor) and an excellent script/dialogue. Available for download at you nearest pirate download site!!!

I have been called many things in my life .....

2006-09-22T09:29:00.000+02:00

..... but never "Andrew Music"

Ah well .....

La Porte Noire as wlawys lived up to the expections of a really god night. Lots of dancing, lots of good audience participation, and of course very, very, VERY good beer.

A weekendend off this weekend, just spending time together for a change. No visitors, no hassle, just pure bliss .... Hmmmm

How Tall Is A Smurf ?

2006-09-19T10:21:00.001+02:00

I read this and thought about the blogging community of NBBTS and it's affiliations ...... in particular, Andy C.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5317982.stm

I was always curious about how tall a smurf was!

Anyone out there got a question that you think they will struggle with?

or

Anyone out there got a question that you think Andy will struggle with?

Well, He's Gone

2006-09-13T08:45:00.000+02:00

Yes, I returned Ali to the airport and to his flight home to Hexham (via Newcastle of course). It has been a great weekend which was topped off by a great Bizon Jam.

Really great audience who took Ali to their hearts. Chimay Bleu with Bizon Blood chasers seemed to have given Ali a bit of a knock on the Tuesday morning. After texting him "Are you in one piece", his reply of "I'll get back to you on that one" speaks volumes.

Nothing now until Thursday ... what ever am I going to do? Well, practise the 6 songs I have 'borrowed' from Ali for a start as well as sorting all the things out that need to be sorted out that I hjave failed to sort out because I haven't sorted myself out yet.

Anyway .... thanks Ali fir an amazing weekend of fun and music, we will have to do this again sometime soon ..... very soon .... and next time try and persuade Chris !

A Most Excellent Weekend

2006-09-11T09:25:00.000+02:00

To say that I have had one of the best musical weekends would be an understatement.

Ali Reay and myself took Brussels by storm since Thursday. People, musicians and the odd canine seemed to have really enjoyed the guitar exploits of Mr. Reay

Thursday night saw a gig at La touche (thanks pascal). It was a perfect rehearsal for the next two nights. Thanks to those who turned up and had a lot of fun, Ciaran for playing his large percussive instrument.

Friday night was Fat Boys ...... a really great night. Bai turned up and joined in, even Tony Mallet sang Sultans of Swing! Isabelle also joined us which was great to sing with her again. Lee the barman played his harp and of course Bo shouted a lot. Just a camera photos I'm afraid. Wli and I hung around until about 03.00 talking about nothing really, but the beers kept turning up on the bar so we couldn't leave them!

"Nature Boy" was played I think about 3 times that night! Ali does the best version ever of this song, Naty King Cole and George Benson dont get a look in!

Saturday night was Churchills Bar A first for me and obviously a first for Ali. Thanks to Ronnie and Phil for allowing us in without a real demo and having faith purely by looking at the blog and the set list. Really nice place to play, nice listening audience (rare for Brussels) and the bar maids who look after us amazingly well ... by ensuring we always had a drink at the ready!! Thanks girls!

Tonight is the Bizon ..... so please please please be there as Ali wont be bacl for a bit and its the last chance to see him.

Dont Forget now!

2006-09-07T07:24:00.000+02:00

For those who may have been on another planet .....

Thurs 7-Sep La Touche With Ali
Fri 8-Sep Fat Boys With Ali
Sat 9-Sep Churchills With Ali
Mon 11-Sep Bizon With Ali
Thurs 14-Sep Celtic Ireland

Really looking forward to having Ali playing this weekend ..... its been sometime since we seeded the idea ... lets hope it bears fruit.

Guests will include Roman, Bai, Pete, Zach (although he doesnt know it yet) plus anyone else who pops along.

Pics will I'm sure be blogged next week.

Link to a video!

2006-09-01T13:52:00.000+02:00

http://soundideas.blogs.com/jasonblog/2006/08/the_chorus_of_t.html

This is a quick 2 minute video of the gig at The Black Pearl for those of you who are interested.....

Watch this space ..... another gig next weekend may be appearing soon!

There is an 'r' in the month.

2006-09-01T10:15:00.000+02:00

Which means Mussels are back on the menu! Hurrah!

For those of you who don't know, Mussels are only ever, really, truely available in Belgium when there is an 'r' in the month. Any genuine Belgium establishment won't sell you mussels until then. I am out tonight with friends so I have already made my mind up about what I shall be eating!

Its been a long time since a blog, mainly due to me being in the North East for around 12 days with no internet access ....... there is of course internet access in the North East, its not that backward, but I dont have personal access. Becasue of the length of time since a blog, a lot has happend, so here is a quick thank you list ....

Thanks to ....

All those who turned up at The Black Pearl. I had a great time and I hope you all did too.
Jason, for organising the above event and hitting bits of metal and wood in an organised way, Andy and Ali for playing along also

Friends and relations for the Wedding Party at my Dads

Dad for supplying the house

Nick and Trish for a lovely meal and entertainment.

Sam and Jim for a wonderful Wedding

Alison for the lovely dancing

The Sage ....... for simply being there .... what a building!

The Gateshead Millenium Bridge ...... for opening up while we were there.

Brian and Joyce for their ever wonderful company

The A1 / M1 / M25 / M56 / M6 / M62 for NOT having too many traffic jams.

And of course to Louise for being the best co-driver anyone could have!

..... and any one else who knows me

Off Now .....

2006-08-17T16:41:00.000+02:00

Off to South Shields on Saturday Morning to see my Dad for a couple of weeks so I won't be able to blog a blog for a bit. However, make sure you check on http://soundideas.blogs.com/ for information about what will be happening soon... but for those how cant wait

August 23rd - Black Pearl, Newbiggin-By-The-Sea .....

Possibly the most beautiful place in Northumberland. You can see the pub here ... its on the left .....

In the meantime .... other up and coming events include a very special weekend as Ali Reay will be in Brussels for 6 days to do some joint gigs with lme. He is an amazing guy, a good friend and a unique guitarist. I would reckomend you all come to at least one of these Gigs ... if not all!

Sept 5th - Celtic Ireland - Brugge
Sept 7th - La Touche - Chatelin, Brussels (Yes, its a Thursday!) - With Ali
Sept 8th - FAT BOYS - Place Luxembourg, Brussels - With Ali
Sept 10th - Le Chat Pitre Jam Session, rue Bailli, Brussels - With Ali
Sept 11th - Bizon Jam Session - St Gery, Brussels - With Ali
Sept 14th - Celtic Ireland - Brugge
Sept 16th - L' Alphabet, Brussels
Sept 21st - La Porte Noire, Brussels
Sept 26th - Celti Ireland - Brugge

I think I will take October off!

Take care all and see you in September.

Be There !

2006-08-09T12:49:00.000+02:00

And dont forget ....

Celtic Ireland, Brugge - TONIGHT 22.00 - 00.00
Grand Prix, Brussels - TOMORROW 21.30 onwards
Bizon Special - MONDAY 21.00 onwards
Celtic Ireland, Brugge - 23rd August.

So long my friend

2006-08-08T16:07:00.000+02:00

A very good and special friend of mine has left Brussels to return to his native London.

For those of you who met James will be reminded of his humour, generosity, DJing, drinking capabilities, smile, spikey hair, kindness, helpfulness, sarcasism, wit, humour, help, superb Usher, Man of the Match award winner at my wedding, Stag Night organiser, dirty flat, PS2 competitiveness, but most of all, his spirit of fun!

So as a thank you to James, I present this photo of him arriving back home showing me his army uniform ...... Hmmmm.

Good Luck James in your new adventure, you will be long remembered by your Friends here in Belgium.

Can I invite all of you to put a small thank you on this blog so that he can read it? Thanks!

My Set List

2006-08-03T15:34:00.000+02:00

I have been requested by a couple of small bars, whom have not yet had the privilidge of my tones, to provide a set list for some possible gigs. So, here is the full list .... pick what you want!

2 Princes Spin Doctors
A Horse With No Name America
Aint No Sunshine / Layla Bill Withers Eric Clapton
All Along The Watchtower Bob Dylan
All My Loving The Beatles
America Simon & Garfunkel
Angels Robbie Williams
Baby Steal My Heart Mavin & Staal
Bartender Dave Matthews
Beatles Medley – Mother Need Work Beatles
Cant Take My Eyes Off You Andy Williams
Chris’ Living Room Mavin & Priore
Counting Out Time Genesis
Dancing Moonlit / Boys are backThin Lizzy
Deeper Than The Sea Mavin & Priore
Dock Of The Bay Otis Redding
Don't Look Back in Anger Oasis
Down So Long Sting
Down The Road Mavin & Staal
Dreadlock Holiday 10CC
Easy Commadores
Englishman In New York Sting
Everybody Needs Somebody – Medley Various
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover Paul Simon
God Put A Smile Coldplay
Going Up The Wrong Way Bai Kamara
Good Day Bai Kamara
Gravedigger Dave Matthews
Hard To Handle Otis Redding
Here Today Gone Tomorrow Mavin & Priore
Hey Jude The Beatles
Hold The Line Toto
Homegrown Francis Dunnery
I’m Alone With Us Mavin
I'm A Believer The Monkees
It Just Went On Too Long Mavin
Its Probably Me Sting
Isn't She Lovely Stevie Wonder
Jerry Springer Roman
Just The Two Of Us Bill Withers
Kiki’s Place Mavin & Staal
Land Of Confusion Genesis
Losing My Religion REM
Lovely Day Bill Withers
Luka Suzanne Vega
Message In A Bottle Sting
Moondance Van Morrison
Morning Blues Mavin & Staal
Music Washes Away The Dust Mavin
My Girl The Temptations
Piece Of Mind Mavin & Priore
Play That Funky Music Wild Cherry
Roxanne Sting
Show Me The Way Peter Frampton
Signed, Sealed, Delivered Stevie Wonder
Substitute The Who
Superstition Stevie Wonder
Tea In The Sahara Sting
Tears In The Rain Mavin & Priore
That’s The Way Led Zeppelin
The Attic Mavin & Staal
The Célé Mavin
The Mighty Quinn Bob Dylan
The Priory Mavin
The Rain Song Led Zeppelin
Under The Sun Mavin & Priore
Weather With You Crowded House
What The Hell Is Going On Mavin & Priore
Why Does It Always Rain Travis
With A Little Help From My Friends Beatles
Year of The Cat Al Stewart

The North

2006-07-31T14:07:00.000+02:00

Had a wonderful time soaking up the sun, sea, sand and Minchellas ice cream while back at home this weekend.

Met some old pupils while I was there. Always a strange thing that seeing people who you spent a lot of time with from the ages of 11-16, then see them again when they are pushing prams or looking so much more mature than you remember them. This is the reason I give for not remembering their names or faces anyway. So I have to say Hi to Karly, Vicki and Ruth ...... and yes I do remember their seconds names ..... Wallace, Williams and English.

Visited Rothbury, one of the most beatiful villages in Northumberland ..... sorry Newbiggen BTS ..... Saw my old school's new buildings which look very impressive. The Tyne Bridge which again made me go all lumpy (in the throat) Cleadon, home of my Fairy Godmother Enid and of course a couple of days with my Dad in South Shields.

We spent an interesting evening at the Riverside Cricket ground at their rendition of Last Night of the Proms with 2 very good opera singers who were unfortunealtey supported by the Riverside Tavistock Band. they used to be the Brown Ale band until they lost sponsorship. It was good to see some familiar faces, but I have to admit to sitting and listen to a fairly sub standard performance. It was a very similar programme to 2 years ago so nothing really that new to listen to.

Hospital

2006-07-25T12:20:00.000+02:00

Today, Furry goes to hospital to get a few ribs changed, a couple of dints filled and a general MOT. I have had her for about 18 months now and it is about time she was fully checked out. Fortunatley, I wont be playing with her for about 10 days so plenty of time for her to recouperate. She deserves the rest to be honest after being played pretty much constantly for these past 6 months.

Bernie will be replacing her in the meantime. She doesn't very often like to be higher strung than normal, she is very comfortable in D, but for the next 10 days or so, she will have to stretch a little more to Eb.

Going to see my Dad in the North East this weekend. Haven't seen him swince the week after the honeymoon after everything was diagnosed so I imagine it may be a little bit of a shock to see him. Not planning on seeing anyone else, so apologies to those who we would normally drop by to see.

It is very hot here in Brussels, the temperature looks as though it will be back to the dizzy heights of last week .... 37° - 38°

When will the English Shut up about the weather?

2006-07-20T10:00:00.000+02:00

I ask you .... 33.36°s? Thats nothing ... This was taken just outside our work.

Yellowjackets

2006-07-19T09:40:00.000+02:00

No, not a blog about odd coloured clothing, but again about music

I have recently purchased the 6th Harry Potter book on paperback and slowly wading my way through it during the 25 minute tram journey to and from work.

Being weak minded and lacking a certain amount of concentration, I cant read without instrumental music playing on my Discman ... (yes, I still have a discman) and so I am currently enjoying a revival of all my "Yellowjackets" CDs. They are an American Jazz / Fusion Quartet from the Mid-late 80's and are still going strong and producing some great material. http://www.yellowjackets.com

Because they have been going for around 25 years, their music reminds me a lot of different times in my life. I was listening to "Samurai Samba" which brought back memories of Newcastle School of Music and my old drum teacher Roger Hempsel who first introduced me to them. "Livewires" was one of my first CDs and was played pretty continously while Teacher training at Bretton Hall, "Like A River" when I was moving to Netherlands, "Greenhouse" (although came out much earlier) reminded me so much of Living on my own in Chester in the Soundproof Bungalow ..... Oh yes!

What music reminds you of special moments, times in your life? Interesting answers only please.

More interesting things are happening ......

2006-07-19T09:29:00.000+02:00

...... here

http://persistent.blogs.com/persistent/2006/07/blog_in_the_sty_1.html

Someone who I have never met is currently mimicing other fellow bloggers. This week, he has done me, and a fine job he has done too! This is their dog by then way .... not Ian. Although as I said I have never let him so what do I know.

Tonight

"La touche D'Voire" .... pleased be there to enjoy the sunshine and the music ...... then I will go on at around 21.30 - 22.00.

Tomorrow

"Celtic Ireland", which I am sure will be a long evening as we have a Bank Holiday on Friday.

Busy busy busy PART II

2006-07-11T11:17:00.000+02:00

Sorry, forgot to to mention this guy

This guy played about 30 minutes last night to finish off the Jam .... great blues steel player, very funky! Comes from Bali, has the name of Maday (at least thats what it sounds like) and is around in Brussels for 2 weeks.

He is a must see. Hasn't anywhere to play but he will be down next week at the Bizon .... hosted by Roman .... SO BE THERE!!!!

Busy, busy, busy

2006-07-11T10:45:00.000+02:00

Watering plants, cleaning Windows, World Cup, Ironing, washing, drying, eating, food shopping, working ....... I could go on .... but the real reason for no blogging is a combiniation of these projects and no PC at home .... mine too has gone to the Doctor, a motherboard failure it seems. hopefully, sometime this week it will be returned.

Too many gigs this week ......Wednesday, helping out The GAs for their gig, Thursday was of course the Extravaganza at Le Chat Pitre with Roman. A great success for all, I learned a lot fro the great man and the audience seemed to enjoy the whole thing. We repeated the Whole thing at Fat Boys the following night, with one exception ..... I wasnt driving so I could really let go and have a lot of fun

*** WARNING****

NEVER EVER LET ROMAN ORDER THE DRINKS IF YOU ARE GOING A GIG WITH HIM

****WARNING****

Saturday was spent recovering
Sunday was also spent recovering .... but then the World Cup Final happened ... so back to Square one.

Had a great time shouting abuse at French supporters especially at the end, but missed most of the game by talking about sensible things like World Cup Rugby with people sitting next to me.

Monday night was another great Bizon evening ..... but a late finish meant that another night of not much shut eye occured .... zzzzzzz

Louise back tonight ... cant wait ... and another reason why my Blogs entries will be in short supply.

This weekend we go to England for a wedding, looking forward to that as we get to see people who were at our wedding again! Great!

Louise has left me .....

2006-07-05T08:19:00.000+02:00

Boo hoo! ....... for 6 days while she spends some time down south in the even more sunny South of France. I am now left alone with a long list of tasks and not enough time to do them. Fortunately, one of the greatest jobs in the World is on this list ..... no, not ironing for those who know me ..... window washing! Something very therapeutic about window washing, making sure there is no lines, nice clean sills, the glass sparkingly in the sunshine .... hmmm. Walkman on, sun shining (but not too much ... never clean windows when it is very sunny).....

Cough cough ... anyway, I will be busy this week with lots of things, Tonight I am setting up and mixing "The Grevious Angels" and trio of my aquaintance consisting of 3 guitars, harmonica and vocals. Very cleverly put together as normally this would bore me rigid .... I mean 3 guitars!!!! But no, they are very pleasing to the ears and a fun bunch of people to be with. Thursday is a gig at "Le Chat Pitre" Feel free to think what the translation could be. I am playing with the great and wonderful and highly talented "Roman" .... who is known by no other name. Really looking forward to this as we have reheared .... down the phone .... for those who know me, I am not someone who turns up and plays along, as I like the organised, rehearsed and structured sort of set up .... so maybe tomorrow night I shall fail miserably! We will see.

Friday - I'm free although my gear will be at Fat Boys ..... Saturday is Celtic Ireland, Sunday is the World Cup Final ...... Monday is Bizon ..... Tuesday, Louise returns YEAH!

It is good that Italy are in the Final, this means I have someone to support on Sunday. I hope to be at Fat Boys with Giovanni ... he of "1000 pictures" fame.

Well, must work ... mustn't I?

Amazing Weather

2006-07-03T08:53:00.000+02:00

Its the time of year I really like. Hot weather and the start of the Belgium homidays. Around the weekend of July 1st, it seems as though the entire population of Belgium head South to their little places in France and Spain, leaving the rest of us to sit, breathe in and enjoy the space left in this small country. Today will be the hottest of the year with forecasts of 36° in the centre .....

It is a bizarre site seeing the ring road, completely blocked for around 4 hours on Saturday .... nothing moved. We went to Ikea, shopped, went home, assembled, returned to pick up a missing part, drove back home .... and I swear I saw the same van parked on top of the bridge on the Ring durin ghtis 4 hour period. Madness.

Due to Louises enforced Gardening Leave, she is whilling the hours doing all the jobs that we have been meaning to do, All our papers have been sitting in 2 red boxes since we moved to Brusssels. Now they sitt very proudly and organised in 2 beautifully put togther filing cabinets. I hope to keep Louise busy during this time ... I would hate to return home and find all my CDs in order of colour rather than Alphabetical followed by order of release.

Louise piles off to France for a week to Souliac, I have Brugge, Le Chat Pitre and Bizon Gigs during her absence so a busy week once again ahead.

Jealousy

2006-06-27T09:10:00.001+02:00

I am not the sort of person to gloat or to make people jealous .... however .... I think I am about to.

To John, Michael, Jason, Dr. H and many others ..... I am sorry for bombarding you with texts last night but it was worth it!

Last night I went to see the one and the only (and I really mean that) Oscar Peterson and his Quartet at the BOZAR in Brussels. Wow. Great seats too (thank you my love) 30 foot away, 3rd row and we faced Oscar and his bass player straight on and watched the wonderful musical communication between the two.

The man is 81, had a stroke about 7 years ago leaving it difficult for him to walk, he has Alzheimer's and is genuinly not in the best of health, but put the ledgend behin a piano, add the best form of musical ensemble there is (Bass, Drums and Guitar) and he turns his clock back about 30 years.

It was an amazing spectacle to see him play ..... in fact, just to see him was an event for me as I have been a lover of his playing for many years. OK .... he aint as clear, fast or as methodical as his early days ... and yes there were moments when he veered of the tonal path ... and moments of slippy fingers, but I was so wrapped up in the event that I accepted this as "jazz"!

His bass player David Young was incredible, not only his extremly dexterous playing, but the fact that he really kept everything going. He played literally on top of Oscar, ensuring that if he moved away for the chord sequence (which happened a few times), he would follow the change and nod gentley to his fellow musicians who would then simply slip a gear. He also helped oscar to remind him to wipe his hands before playing, whispering a possible next number but most of all not panicking when Oscar started "Satin Doll" ..... for the second time in the set!

His Alzheimer's was evident in a numbers of area ... the repeating of Satin Doll and one of his Blues compositions which was also played twice; a funny moment when he looked at the set list on his piano and said "I have to choose one of these songs now ....... hmmm .... dont even know that one"; his solos towards the end did repeat a lot of similar phrasings and riffs and he also mention twice the missing DJ of the Bass player (lost in transit) and dedicating numbers to Ray Brown. But this did not detract from the performance of the great man. The emotion shown during performances was very moving. He played "Requium" as a dedication to Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Brown and by the end you could see the tears .... he played from his heart.

Last night was incredible ..... never to be forgotten .... He has quite a schedule ... I hope he makes it.

We will never see him again ..... but last night was such an incredible event, I would not want to spoil the memory of a fantastic night.

Sorry guys ... I know you are Jealous ..... and I can live with that.

My memories going ..... I think ..... I cant remember

2006-06-26T10:49:00.000+02:00

There was a time during my musical career where I would never forgot a single screw, washer, cymbal felt, stick etc for a gig, concert or performance. I always prided myself on having everything, for every occasion, always. OK, there was once where I left my entire bag of drum stands in Aberdeen ......... and played in Doncaster the following night without them ....... AND there was one time I left my stick bag in the back of a car and had to use woodern coat hangers ...... Oh yes .... and I left my mouthpiece in my parents car when auditioning for Bretton Hall ...... but apart from that, a very good history.

Recently however, call it old age or that fact that I am using a different entertainment tool, I have been forgettng a lot of things. In Brugge a couple of months ago, I had no plectrums. I had to cut the plastic from inside the guitar case and literally carve our the plectrum shape. Last week at the Tap & Spile I had left my Acoustic De Capo and so had to use my fender de capo ...... with the assistance of a metal hammer to straighten it. Last week ..... I forgot my strap .......

Nick Yule .... Lawyer, Scottish and almost a Daddy ... very kindly reply to my text stating ...... "At least you dont forget the chords ........... that often". Thanks Nick, you sent me into a frenzied panic and dropped "Why Does it always Rain On Me" as a precaution. For those who know .... this is the one song I usually screw up in the chord department ..... oh and "Layla".

So the solution is to go back to the old fashioned way of check lists. I thought I had grown out of checklists, but no .... looks like the memory is starting to go ... and I am only 37.

A request for a coupl of photos again so ..... here you go. Thanks to Nick Worrall for these outstanding takes!

It's been a Month .....

2006-06-21T16:39:00.000+02:00

..... how can I possibly do a blog to cover a month!!!!

I know .....

This time next week ........

2006-05-19T14:07:00.000+02:00

..... we will be finialising all the details and fixing all the necessary issues regarding the wedding on Sunday .... Yippee! Really cant wait for the big day to see everyone and of course marry the wonderful women who is Louise.

I still haven't blogged about Dave Matthews or the Brugge gig last night, but I am so busy at work and at night time it is really difficult to find the time. However, I have found some time so ....

Dave Matthews - Wow! What a night. I was so excited about seeing the great man! I was totally buzzed, pumped and bursting to the seams. He was very very good, he was very shy and I think humbled by the whole night. Remember this guy "doesn't do" UK/Europe after an incident with the British people in 2001 and so for him to get the reaction he got and the way he moved around on stage and played, you could tell he indeed felt "blessed" (his words). The night was spoilt however .... apologies Ruby .... by the Americans who attended. The basically whooped and shouted and yehaared all night both during songs and during the stories. Shameful reaaly. They kept shouting out songs .... which Dave simply and politely told them that he was there to play music to English people not to be shouted at! Unfortunatly for me the songs they shouted out were 2 of my favourites ... which Dave then didn't do (he had done them at the other 2 shows in MAnchester and Burr Ming Ham. A really unforgettable night! He will be back with the band soon ... he promised so he had better not let me down!!!

BRUGGE last night was the usual combination of non listening punters who never clap and a wonderful bunch of people led by a very fun Canadian Lady who proceed to get EVERYONE in the bar dancing! ... even though she didnt know them ..... It is always so much easier and better to play to these sort of people, you know where you stand with them .... needless to say I went past the 00.00 mark and so ended up getting home much later than expected. Drank 2 Red Bulls in the car which made me VERY hyper!!! WARNING .... dont drink 2 Bulls quickly!

Anyway...... I won't be here for 3 weeks .... Wedding followed by Honeymoon for I will be back around Mid June

Have a great rest of May and early June ..... and speak soon!

Dave Matthews

2006-05-12T12:03:00.000+02:00

Yes, I am excited .... in fact more excited than I have been for a long time. Reason? I have tickets to see Dave Matthews in Hammersmith Apollo on Monday night ... oh yes! The guy has never been to Europe before so obviously this is a moment not to miss.

For those who are unaware of the great man .... then please make sure that in the next couple of months ... YOU DO! I am not going to spend time here telling you all about him and his band ... the band aren't coming to London ... boo hoo. .... all I am going to say is to get some of his stuff either on CD or download or whatever.

So .... I have starved myself by not listening to ANY of his music for the past week.

To show how much I really appreciate the music of this guy ... my current list of all time great Musos are now

1. Mahler
2. Steely Dan
3. The Beatles
4. Dave Matthews
5. The Flower Kings

I will be publishing a Blog after the event .... promise!

6 reasons why I haven't blogged

2006-05-11T09:11:00.000+02:00

1. The Weather is beautiful here in Brussels for a change

2. Nothing of interest to say really

3. Work is very busy

4. Final preparations are currently ongoing which is taking up a lot of time

5. Trying to think of a 5th reason is time consuming.

6. There is no 6th

BUT, I will be playing at Singer Songwriters Tonight along with Steve Jones so if you arte aroung ... pop in to the Grand Prix Café from 21.00

Paris .... in Springtime.

2006-05-08T08:48:00.000+02:00

According to the song ...... it is supposed to be "sunny and gay and warm and all play" ....... but I can tell you first hand that it is NOT!

After working in Paris for the week .... hence the non blogging .... Louise travelled to Paris so that we could spend a weekend without the worries, concerns or organising of the wedding. This we did but under cloudy and rainy skies. It was "sunny and gay and warm and all play" for the last hour we were there!

We spent the Saturday at the Palace of Versailles just on the outskirts of Paris. An amazing place that I would recommend to everyone young and old. A lot of walking but with so many different and wonderful things to see, it hardly matters. Unfortuntely for us, but not for those visiting next year, the Hall of Mirrors is half closed due to renovation work. This work started in 2002 and still has another year to go but it will look fantastic when finished. BIG TIP .... buy an all day passport before you go!! The queues were a good hour long when we arrived, howevere after taking the lmiberty to buy them before hand (FNAC or other ticket outlets) we were straight in. They even have different enterances for the all the different appartments visits for those with the passport and for those without. Again this saves about 20-30 minutes every time.

For more info ... www.chateauversailles.fr

Small gig update. The Gig at L'Alphabet had been cancelled, however I will be at the Singsong Wroters night at Grand Prix this Thursday ........

BIZON JAM

2006-05-02T16:41:00.000+02:00

Not a reference to fruit toppings on toast but to the very interesting and successful Bizon Jam last night .... errrr ... at the Bizon.

No pictures to show, although I do have a blurred photo of the blister on my bottom of my 4th finger as evidence of mad tambourine playing. Thanks to all those who turned up last night, Thanks to ....

Tony Futheringham for his always crowd pleasing songs although I most enjoyed the look of horror on his face when I asked him to improvise a blues
Nick Yule for the excellent solo in Its Probably Me ....... and his guitar playing
Eric Moens for playing all songs all night in Eb, Ab, Db, Bb, ..... hope you still love me? We must get that slide solo in Piece of Mind worked on!!
Oliver Willardson for his incredible bouncing bomb impression as well as the last song of you 3 song set ...... it's better faster .... trust me
Ciaran Mc Manus for playing percussion for only the second time in his life in front of an audience ..... the first time sober
Dexter ..... FINALLY .... he's BACK!!!! Along the watchtower was cool man!
Nick Worrall for thinking about us
Nico Corten for bringing back a few good memories
Philip and Arne for bein the busiest and the best barmen in Brussels
Jon Eldridge for being there AGAIN
The 2 Policeman for being true sports!
Rose O Donovan for always Crystal clear accapella singing .... but you lose a point for not joining in on "With A Little Help"
Darius ..... for being Darius
Sarah ...... for being better looking than her Dad!

Thanks to the wonderful Bizon audience who are always easy to please!

My Backing singers

2006-04-28T09:35:00.000+02:00

Played at Celtic Ireland last night and was kindly joined by 3 guys on holiday who provided backing vocals for most of the songs!

Playing at this place is an interesting experience as you never have the same audience twice. It is very much a tourist type of place especially with it being so central in Brugge. There is also a suprising numbers of students who go there so the set list must be as varied as possible.

Last night started very quiet with only about 30 people there but after a couple of numbers the place swelled to around 75+. Playing in Belgium is an interesting experience compared with England (or Netherlands for that matter) as from an audience point of view, you are there purely for background music and so they always talk over the top of you. Play a song they dont know .... the look at you in a very strange manner, so I have no perfected the art of introducing my songs as other peoples ..... this works well! Having the 3 guys sitting right next to me and singing along to pretty much all the songs made the night go quicker (I play from 10.00 - 00.00 .... followed by a 75 minute drive home) and very relaxed atmosphere. They genuinely enjoyed the night ... thanks guys!

Update on Donald ...... it was all a dream .......

My Fiancé Killed Donald Fagen

2006-04-27T10:13:00.000+02:00

Donald came round my flat last night asking about the possibilities of using one of my songs on their up and coming tour. I was very excited about this and we talked for hours about music. We were having such a great time until Louise came back from shopping.

She was upset that a) he had turned up unannounced and b) we had opened her special bottle of wine we had been saving. She started shouting at both of us in an uncontrolable rage..... which resulted in her pushing Donald down our stairs. He crashed into the bookcase and split his head wide open on my set of Grove Dictionaries ...... Good way to go really.

Happy Monday!

2006-04-24T11:01:00.000+02:00

Yes, it is Monday! Aren't Mondays great! There is soimething fresh, new and exciting about then! Its the start of a whole new week of excitement, fun and jolity!

For me however, this Monday means pain and anguish as it was the first Cricket game of the season. Despite lengthy warm up, stretches and exercises, it still feels as though my muscles have been replaced with iron rods! But I am not complaining .... much

For those curious to know gig lists etc for the up and coming weeks ..... please see below.

Thursday 27th April - Celtic Ireland, Brugge 22.00 - 00.00
Monday 1st May - Bizon Holiday Special! 20.30 - 02.00
Wednesday 3rd May - Celtic Ireland, Brugge 22.00 - 00.00
Thursday 18th May - Celtic Ireland, Brugge 22.00 - 00.00
Saturday 20th May - L'Alphabet, Brussles 21.00 - 00.00

This is the "Bizon" in case you have never been

After this I have the small matter of the Wedding ..... then the honeymoon (Iceland .... the country, not the shop) .... and then

Thursday June 15th - Le Chat Pitre featuring "Roman and Myself" for 3 hours of birthday fun!!!!!

Caption Competition

2006-04-20T10:24:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the long delay ... but just back from France. All went well, but more details later.

Finally some photos from the Stag night.

A small selection .... but more will follow ....

Feel Free to think of your own captions! Winner will recieve a prize so wonderful ... you will not believe!

Roman must concentrate as he soon realises he is working with professionals

Eric shows his hand at Sax!

The Staggers!

Good evening and welcome to the Bizon!

07.45 Sunday morning .... and still a smile!

Goin' South

2006-04-10T08:51:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow at 04.00 CET we will be making our way down to the Sunny South of France to do final preparations for the Wedding.

Any thought of blogging from France is foolish as the sellotape and string that holds together the telephone cables together in that part of the world would most definately break under the stain of a Blog entry!!

So ..... hope you all have a great Easter Holiday and blog to you upon our Return.

Andrew and Louise

Sorry, Its been a while

2006-04-04T11:34:00.001+02:00

Currently in London for work which gives me the chance to grab those things you cant get in Belgium. It is a strange list but I dont think there is anything wrong in going to Tescos for Ambrosia Rice Pudding, Jacobs Cream Crackers, Revels, Creme Eggs, Stilton cheese, Toffee Crisp and Flake.

I have to admit that I felt really annoyed coming out of the shop especially as the till girl (is that sexist?) was the most obnoxious and annoying person I had met in London. Rude, short and curt can only describe the manner in which she deposited my carefully choosen goods into the bag, literally demanded money from me, threw the change back in my hand without a by or leave. (OK, maybe I shouldn't have worn my Newcastle Scarf). Anyway .... not happy.

Something else troubles me about Londoners .... why dont they look you in the face on the tube? I love to people watch, especially during the student break in Brussels, but here they seem to live in their own little world ignoring all that is going on around. They almost seemed ashamed of what they are doing, where they are etc. Odd ..... or maybe it is me?

I spent a really nice night last night with my good friend Jeremy and his good friend, so now I suppose also my good friend John. Jez has just moved into a new place .... but has the added attraction of a small recording studio next door which they are also renting. Not only did they provide excellent food and wine, but they also provided me with more MP3s of old 70's music that is commercially unavailable. I can now throw out all of Rick Wakeman LPs as I have them all now on MP3. Listening to them is purely nostalgic. They are truely awful listening to them .... but sleep soundly now I have them ... Thanks Jez!

Well, I feel a lot more refreshed now after a weekend of pretty much doing nothing. Back to the grind this week at work with a 2 day trip to London, followed by another night in Brugge, then a trip to the British Embassy to sort out one final bit of documentation for the Wedding.

We then will have 6 days in France to arrnage all the final pieces of jigsaw for the wedding. There is still lots to do but I think once the french trip is over, things will be much more clearer ..... we hope.

Sorry, Its been a while

2006-04-04T11:34:00.000+02:00

Still a little Jaded

2006-03-31T13:58:00.000+02:00

I have to admit that I am still feeling very tired for the weekends exploits and the events of the week. On 3 occasions I promised myself a relaxing bath followed by a good nights sleep, but each time I was distracted by other things and so now I am really suffering.

A collegue of mine said that after you hit 35, recovery time doubles! It certainly feels like it at the minute

Louise has her final Wedding Dress fitting tomorrow, everything is getting so close now. Still a lot of things to organise but I think we have the bare bones all sorted out. Becasue we are both British Citizens, livingin Belgium and getting married in France, the paperwork is mounting up and up! Belgium is a burocratic country to start with ... we seem to be adding to our woes wanting to do this in France.

Nick Worrall has posted the photos today so by Wednesday we should have some photo to check out. A relaxing weekend ahead followed by 2 days working in London. Only 3 gigs in April which to be honest I am pleased about especially as we will be in France for 6 days for the final Wedding preparations. However, I think a couple of other gigs will come out of the woodwork.

This will give me some time to work on some new songs ..... I hate repeating myself all the time and try and do at least 5 new songs per month. This months suggestions are "Pina Colada Song" an ABBA Cover, a Fleetwood Mac cover Losing My Religion (Izz normally sings this but I reckon I could also add it to the set) "Just the 2 of us" and I was thinking of Gerry Rafferty "If you get I wrong you get it right next time" .... good one for the wedding!

Have a good weekend you all.

Oh Yes .... It is that Good

2006-03-29T12:07:00.000+02:00

Oh Yes .... It is that Good

I have finally managed to get a copy of Morph The Cat. Nick Worrall bought an IPOD rip copy this weekend for me to "taste" but I bought the proper copy on Monday. and oh yes, it is good. As my fellow Steely Dan fan man said on his blog, good albums always take a lot of listening .... Jeff Buckley is an excellent example .... drove all the way to Brugge last night (not just to listen to the CD you understand, I was gigging there) and it indeed gets better and better. This morning I went the long way to work so that I could continue to read the lyrics while listening to it.

For those who have it ..... I am curious to know if Keith is playing on Track 4. He is not mentioned on the musicians list, but the drums playing is incredible .... surely it can't be a machine!!!! The ghosting is too good for it to be a machine .... please listen to those who are sad .....

A quick Hi to the lovely ladies from were at the gig last night who seemed to really enjoy it who enjoyed themselves last night ..... hope they manage to put a nice entry.

Photos from the Stag nights are on their way apparently .... aren't they Nick!!!

6 out of 56

2006-03-27T13:21:00.000+02:00

This was the final result of number of hours slept over number of hours of my Stag night.

Pictures will be following shortly

All I want to say at this point is that it was the most enjoyable Stag nights I have ever had the pleasure to witness or be part of.

I am still very, very tired!! In work today ..... just

Special thanks to James "Lizard Breeder" Ledger for organising.

Highlight was singing "With a little help from my Friends" with 15 plus people on the smallest stage in Brussels

There are probably more ...... but memory loss prevents me from remembering.

Thanks to all those who attended at the different times and places. You all know how you are

More meaningful and forthright blog will follow soon .... good Night!

A Sick Blogger

2006-03-22T09:13:00.000+01:00

This Blogger is not a well blogger. I have Strep Throat. Not the best thing to have when you have 3 consecutive gigs coming up. Also had 2nd trip to the Dentist yesterday as well as a visit to the doctor to get throat sprays, antibiotics, throat gargling stuff etc etc etc.

One good thing though ... it means I can listen to the final days play of the India v England 3rd Test! Excellent!

For those who can ..... Le Chat Pitre on Thursday Night with "The Andrew Mavin Ensemble", Friday night at Fat Boys Sports Bar, Saturday night at Bizon. Special prize for those who attend all 3 gigs!!!!

Pure Mastery

2006-03-20T09:04:00.000+01:00

I am of course taking about a 60 year old Grandfather playing live in Amsterdam last night. A pot belly hidden by ablack Fender strat, wisps of gray hair floating under a sea of colours, right shoulder lifting with each beautifully played bendin note, a glass like voice breaking above the beautifully voiced chords underneath, a rendition of his new album which supassed even my expectations, a second set of covers from one of the greatest (and I dont use this word lightly) rock bands of all time.

Yes, I enjoyed it .... I loved it .... it was masterful .... a lesson to ANY musician of how to play to a spellbound audience. No egos ... no pre recording .... no click tracks ... just pure enjoyment by both the musicians and the fans. The clarity of the sound was unbeliveable. I have only been to one concert there before (The Heineken Hall), and that was the Symphonic Yes tour. that was good but last night you heard every fret buzz, string buzz, plectrum placement and every word. My only complaint was the usual one of not hearing the cymbals enough ..... (I know I know) and Dave (as he allows me to call him) was sometimes a little too prodominant in the mix. .... oh and one other thing .... Rick Wright was Shite ..... Dave's Guitar strap broke mid way through a song .... but the band covered it superbly, he made a joke of it as well which was just so cooly done.

He played the whole of his new CD with an order change which I think helped, then Second set was Shine on (with a lovely acoutis section in the middle) a couple of old songs including Syds Domino (Nick, please remind me the second song again), Wearing the inside out (that was rubesh), Breathe / Time / Breathe Reprise, High Hopes (Beautiful), Echoes. This was absolutely the highlight of the show, I had forgotten what a great song this was. Encore were the standard Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb .... sheer bliss.

What a night!

Can't say anything else really except make sure you get the DVD when it comes out ....... and you know what? the gig cost £35 ...... Sting costs about twice this as does U2 Madonna etc etc ..... even "The Boss" was around £90 ..... no way could they even come close to the standard of performance last night.

I was very brave

2006-03-15T08:16:00.000+01:00

I was indeed very brave last night as I paid my once every 5 year visit to the dentist. I hate the dentist .... almost as much as flying ... in fact my worst nightmare is having dental treatment on a plane while listening to Country and Western music.

Anyway, he was very nice, he didnt hurt me nor did he patronise me. I have on missing crown (Nutalls chewing nuts got rid of that one) one cracked Molar (that was a black olive pip), a large cavity in right number 4 (don't know how that one happened) and a repair is needed to my front crown. So it is gonna be a streeful month to get all that fixed.

I am not in any pain (touch wood) so we'll see how it goes. He has fish in surgery .... ironic really as they dont have any teeth .... but I did worry when first arriving as there was sounds of a large dog barking as I took my seat. That really didn't help to calm the situation.

I am really,, really, really looking forward to the weekend as I will be going to Amsterdam to see David Gilmour play live. Having seen the set list he is doing I am now erven more excited. I am going with a friend of mine who is an absolute Floyd Freak. He was out bid for a Live8 ticket on £1000. He loves them, despite only scoring 8 / 16 in the Mastermind Specialist subject round (I got 12).

Still no MORPH THE CAT .... I am hating the fact that Jason T (not Jason C) is probably listening to it now ...... AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

This Weekend

2006-03-13T10:47:00.000+01:00

I had to be in London for work on Thursday and Friday so I decided to take the opportunity to go and visit friends I haven't seen for (we worked out) about 4 years. They now have a lovely young girl called Isobel who is now 18 months old and obviously I have not met her before .... nor she me! It was great to see them again after such a long time especially in their beautiful house. (currently for sale if anyone out there is interested). They also have a dog called Bob, who is mad but fun. These are not his real eyes by the way ..... they make him wear contacts to scare the neighbours.

It is a shame they won't be at the Wedding but I think Iz would be such a handful to take with them, they have made the right decision. They have promised though to come over to Brussels soon ... and I cant wait.

Other than that it was a quiet weekend which involved a lovely drive through Fen country and a visit to the Souths answer to the Norths Metro Centre. It is called "Blue Water" or Blue Warta" as they say daan Souf. Huge but would fit 4 times into Metro Centre. did have a John Lewis though where Lou pretty much spend most of the day! Almost crashed the car while thumping the steering wheel while travelling at 85mph down the M20 listening to the incompetance of England Rugby Team. I was pleased to have missed it by all accounts. I am still too angry to comment effectively about this match.

Morph The Cat HAS NOT YET ARRIVED so I am also very upset about that especially as my "Dan Man" has had his since Saturday. ..... BOO HOO!!!!

I did however manage to get lots of nice Floyd Live downloads from Jeremy while in London. Yeah!!!

Last Night

2006-03-09T09:13:00.000+01:00

Just a couple of photos from the gig last night. Great place to play, nice audience except for some annoying young girl who request I turned down because she had a headache and couldn't talk to here friend .... GET A LIFE GIRL .... or go to a bar where there is no music. She stayed to the end though so ... good on her!

Isabelle did a small set which went down well and the guest guitarist is Steve 'The Bull' Bullock, who is from a small town called South Shields in England.

Forgot ......

2006-03-07T10:04:00.000+01:00

A visitor to the Bizon last night ask for my gigs in Brussels this month ..... So here you ALL go!

1-Mar café Grand Prix
4-Mar The Level Bar
6-Mar Bizon
9-Mar La Porte Noire
23-Mar Le Chat Pitre
24-Mar Fat Boys
25-Mar Bizon
28-Mar Celtic Ireland, Brugge

It Has Begun

2006-03-07T09:12:00.000+01:00

It’s the beginning of a very busy period I have been looking forward to and also dreading! My new role at work means that I will be travelling a lot more as well as generally being a lot busier than I have been in the past. This is combined with a lot of Gigs this month in Brussels, Brugge and London. Also, my 48 hour Stag Weekend happens at the end of the month. Secretly, I am sure I am going to love it, but at my age, I like my sleep! It will also be hard on Lou because a lot of nights I won’t be getting in until past bedtime.

Attended a 1930’s theme/birthday party of a friend of mine. It was a good night, Played with Bai and Thierry in a little Jazzy trio. Mainly played a lot of his music a swing sort of style. I was accompanied by 3 beautifully dressed young and lovely ladies (pic enclosed). As you can gather, I really enjoyed it!

Last night was the Bizon Jam night www.cafebizon.com It was a really good night with some great playing from all the guests. I hope some of them might make a comment or three!

Still no photos from Wednesday night. So for those waiting anxiously to see them ….; will have to anxiously wait some more!

Photos .....

2006-03-03T08:39:00.000+01:00

... not arrived yet sorry!

Today is Friday ... which can only mean one thing ..... Thai for Lunch! There is an abundance of bistros, restaurants etc all around work and all of which compete for lunchtime business. This means good food and very reasonable prices. We have multiple Italian, Chinese, Thai, Greek, Mediterranean buffet, French, Belgium places to eat, but Friday is Thaiday! A superb 2 course meal for €8 with 4 different choices on each course. (stop drooling Andy!)

But also Fridays are usually busy here at Work so must dash. As soon as the photos are here I will post accordingly. Bai, myself and his bass player are playing at a 30th birthday party for my good friend Nico. I will be playing drums ..... hmmmm .... long time since some of you have heard that! Other than that a good friend of Louises is over this weekend, rehearsals for next week with Izzy and of course one eye on the test match.

Short ... but temporary

2006-03-02T08:45:00.000+01:00

Short post, mainly due to some photos from last night arriving in my INBOX soon! Went well, deceided against instrumentals due to the fact I totally forgot the retuning I had to do .... rather embarrasing moment when you announce a song, then do something completely different. Ah well.

The Fountain

2006-03-01T09:33:00.000+01:00

After reading Rebecca's Blog about doodling, I confessed to not doodling while on the phone. I watch the men renovating the Fountain outside my work. For 4 months we (my team) have watched them work and now it is almost close to completion. It is amazing to watch 'physical work' rather than the work I have been used to in my life (teaching, playing and IT). They dug up a huge hole in the ground (8M by 8M ... we know this cos we measured it one lunchtime) built an underground control room for the pump, filter pipework etc). Filled in and re-landscaped the ground, and now they are almost ready to finish the work. Puts what I usually do to shame really .... I generally tell people at work what to do, and they do it! Odd really. It's not an amaryllis but .... I'll post updates accordingly! The silver balls are next!

Decided what to do tonight! Add 2 instrumental numbers!