Gig

The gig didn't go too badly, all in all. Apart from the quality of sound from the vocal mike, and one of the guitars getting muted on the mixing desk causing it drop out all together for the last song, there were no technical hitches. The mike problem is easily solvable by experimentation with different brands, and the mixing by having their own competent sound engineer.

The songs themselves were solid enough in their foundations, but the three that they recorded were noticeably stronger than the rest of the set. It is clear that they have a good idea of the sort of music that they wish to produce, and with the usual BSAT, the rest of the set should be brought up to the same standard.

Preston Band Cropduster

This link takes you to my good friend Rob's band website. Hopefully, I'll be seeing them perform on Wednesday so I'll review that gig here afterwards.

Cropduster

News

The chess is going well, though I'm still losing more games than I'm winning. The internet has made it much easier for players to research good tactics, and even ordinary folk can make reasonable players.

I received the survey report for my new house and had the points detailed analysed by an expert. It seems the house has rising damp due to a failed damp proof course, plus the wall-ties need replacing (it seems there were insufficient to start with). That's about £1200 of work, so not too bad.

Still stuck on the book. I have read only a few pages since my last post.

I found a course on Greek in WH Smith whilst in Preston. I started teaching myself Greek for a holiday in Corfu last year with my (now ex) wife. Perseverance will have its reward.

Yes well

In my last post, I said that my latest book was taking me a little longer than usual. Well, by the context, you may have guessed already that I'm still reading it. I'm half-way through and hoping to finish it within the week and move on to something else.

I have added a link to "Lets Play Chess" in the sidebar, a site I joined some time ago. I haven't visited in quite some time because of my home life driving me into a state of utter dejection the like of which I have never known. That is also the reason I dropped from the management training course at work, and I have not recovered sufficient momentum to consider rejoining.

At this time, I have received the court Order for which I was waiting, but the situation is not yet resolved. It's all down to a single piece of paper and my solicitors being satisfied that it has been appropriately drafted before allowing me to sign it. Money - the bane of the human condition.

New Year?

Well, so far little has changed. I'm still scraping by, supporting my ex-wife while I wait for the Court to approve our financial arrangements. I have the searches and the mortgage arrangement fee paid on my next property, but am a little worried that if things take much longer, I will lose that property and be starting the search process over.

This week's book is "Whiteout," by Ken Follett, which is taking me a little longer, since I have been feeling very tired post-Christmas. After "Wolves" and "Broker," both of which I enjoyed immensely, it seems a little shallow. The problem is with the dialogue between characters. It's a little obvious that mechanics of the plot are being introduced through these conversations. However, this isn't apparent throughout the whole novel so I won't dwell on it over-much.