"Owyer doing, allright?"

...was Chris's traditional enquiry of the half dozen shell-shocked punters after our first number at the Fishes in Highworth on Saturday.
At first the silence was deafening, but eventually we were rewarded with the gentle snoring of the recumbent patron at the back of the room, closely followed by the dull, wet thud as he rolled off the bench & hit the flagstone floor.
The next couple of songs elicited little response save the howl of the wind, the distant tolling of mournful church bells and (someone must have opened the back door) the appearance of a lonesome tumbleweed, which came to rest in front of the monitors.
Looks were exchanged, eyebrows raised, & grim determination set in...
Sure enough, by half ten most of the pub were leaping around like... well, like drunks, frankly, & none the worse for that! As we stripped the gear down at the end of the night, we were surrounded by genial & barely coherent people who wanted to buy the CD, which of course Chris had forgotten to bring... ;-)
All in all a good night, & a nice gentle reintroduction to gigging after my 3 year absence - I don't think anyone noticed my copious mistakes?
As we loaded the van, a couple of Highworth yoof lurking outside the chippy commented: "Blimey, it's the Magic Numbers!", which was a bit depressing - I know we've all put on weight over the years, but please..!