DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME;

"Thrust into the front line"

By Scottish Keith Stodart

So yesterday during a quiet time at work I drop Mike an e-mail asking him how he's doing .I know he's up to his eyes in it at the moment but he's always got time for a bit of banter. Due to the time difference I don't get a reply before I go home but there is one waiting for me the next day. The main details are not important but basically he asks me to help him out with his diaries for a couple weeks, which of course I gladly agree to do. Little do I know that before I've even agreed, Ed's posted Mike's diary telling everyone that Scottish Keith is doing the diaries for a couple of weeks. Taking a liberty or what? Only joking he didn't even need to ask, anything for a friend. So I guess you guys are lumbered with me for a while so I'll try to be as entertaining as possible, without being offensive (note Caryne)

The reason I was writing to Mike was to tell him about my trip back up to Scotland at the weekend. I had arranged a few months ago to go and take in a football match between my home team Hamilton Accies and Paul Barr's home team Greenock Morton, we didn't know when they would be playing next but whenever it was we would be there. Simple organization really, a few beers before the game and a lot after, we would be joined by Paul's brother Jim along with another couple of mates Chris and Pat. When the date came out as the 20th September we couldn't believe it as it was the same day as Paul's sister Louise was getting married, ah well change in plans. As luck/fate would have it I get invited to the evening reception of the wedding so I can go to the game and hook up with Paul later.

Those not involved in the wedding go to the game which is quite entertaining and ends up a draw, one all, and after having a few beers after the game I go back to Chris' house to get showered and changed.

We head down to the wedding reception thinking we are a bit late but the speeches are still going on so we are ushered through to a room with a free bar, yes free. Now I surmise that the bar may be free for an hour or so but it ends up free all night, until 1.00 a.m. You can guess the end results here.

When it all spills out a few of us pile back to Chris's house for the after party celebrations. Now Chris has the biggest record collection I have seen, bar none, and naturally we plonk ourselves down in the record room. Knowing that this would be destined to happen we had purchased some drink earlier on in the day, therefore the bottle of vodka and some beers are produced.

It ends up with myself, Chris and Paul in the room with vinyl and CD's scattered everywhere and I eventually go to my bed at 9.30 am for a couple of hours. We should have written down the play list of all the tunes we had played but then again who thinks about this when you're on a roll. All I can say that everything from Teenage Fanclub to Ivor Cutler was played and everyone was a gem. Well I guess they all are when major alcohol kicks in.

Ivor Cutler

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Mike Randle
mike@lovewitharthurlee.com

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