Show of Hands

A packed day today. Up at Doreen's for 8.00am to meet the movers who were taking her furniture to be stored while the work was done over the next couple of weeks. By the time they had gone there was just enough time to get back home to meet the gas engineer who was coming to service the central heating boiler and gas fire.

Meanwhile Doreen and Susan were at the hospital for an appointment for Doreen, which all went well. I thought the afternoon might be a little easier as we were expecting to go to the gym but just as I was about to ring the contractors to confirm the paint and paper we discovered the paint Doreen had chosen was a silk emulsion but she wanted a matt finnish. So it was back to the drawing board. In the end I went for a swim on my own while Susan went for a walk, enjoying the sun and the late afternoon skies.

It didn't let up in the evening as we were going to see Show of Hands in Tunbridge Wells. Tea was already prepared so as soon as I got back from the gym we were ready to eat. A bit of an issue at the theatre in that we had circle seats but no lift up 6 flights of stairs. The staff did find seats in the main auditorium but not 5 together.

The concert though was magnificent. Phil Beer, Steve Knightley and Miranda Sykes are one of the top bands full stop. They're not too popular on the BBC as their songs contain "too many issues".  The songs, lyrics, harmonies and instrumentation were absolutely superb, with Phil Beer outstanding on a vast array of stringed instruments. They played old standards such as "Galway Bay", "Roots", "Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed", "Cousin Jack", "Country Life" as well as new songs and songs associated with the ending of the Battle of the Somme. They ended with "Santiago" to a standing ovation. Any more SoH fans out there?