Just turnaround now

When Dave and I arrived at Pirate, two things made us suspicious: there were parking spaces available, and the building looked completely dark. We feared the worst. 

But inside, there was fresh paint on the walls. The room looked better-lit, and - could it be? - cleaner than usual. To stop us getting too optimistic, there was an empty beer bottle behind the sofa. But altogether, better than things had been for a while. 

Dave was trying out some fancy new earplugs. As a result, he was playing a bit louder. At first this was good, as he can get swamped by the guitars. But then the other volumes crept up. And by the end I was wishing I had earplugs too. Which would doubtless make me play louder. You can see how arms races get started. 

A good practice. Could have done without a long diversion because of roadworks on the bypass though. And blimey it was cold.