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In keeping with a tradition that occurs throughout the land during the festive season, the north west NABD contingent woke up on the morning of Sunday December 28th thinking, “time to party!” The annual Christmas bash to raise funds for the association was upon us once more. The venue was the Guzzling Goose in Ashton-under-Lyne, with hosts Phil and Ivy extending their usual warm welcome. With everything arranged and in place, Pete Murray & I arrived at midday and were soon joined by Kel, Clare and the man himself, Rick Hulse.
Within a couple of hours, the place was packed, with an excellent turnout from the local crowd - alongside a respectable number of the Yorkshire crew, including Ash and Al Lorimer. (I’d been expecting a call from Al for directions to the pub - until he calmly strolled in through the door.) Later came Martin & Linda Fowler (from the Isle of Man) and Martin Fisher (NABD stalwarts of old), and then more NABD regulars Byrnie, BJ, Rose, Wellies, Smurf, Womble and Shirley entered the fray. So, with an atmosphere more reminiscent of a mini rally or a reunion party, the scene was set for some jolly fine revelry indeed.
At this point, it became apparent that we had a problem with the first band, and were facing the prospect of a musical hiatus. This is when Shittin’ Bricks, (who were booked for the second slot of the day), offered to cover the first set as well, and took to the stage accompanied by Rick’s priceless compering. Again, they proved themselves to be one of the best bands around on the scene at present. They absolutely rocked the joint, and played a brilliantly eclectic mix of numbers that kept everyone happy. As evening fell, another glitch cropped up; this time with the last band on the list. In this kind of situation, you need little short of superheroes to turn things around: luckily for us, we already had some. After keeping the party swinging all afternoon, Shittin’ Bricks did a THIRD set for us - and kept going until they were fit to drop and Jay’s throat was almost raw. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude; and all I can say is if you haven’t seen & heard these guys yet, you don’t know what you’re missing.
We received a very generous donation of £100.00 off Landlord Phil, which, along with the £176.25 made on the stall and raffle, took the total raised to £276.25. Thanks are also due to Shirley Hauxwell (for her help & for her patience with mine & Byrnie’s inability to stand straight), Brian Wilkinson, Phil, Ivy and all the staff at the Goose, and to everybody else who came along and did their bit.
We all had a great time and raised the profile of the NABD further still. The end of the evening is something of a foggy haze now, but that’s the mark of a good party, and no doubt we shall do similar again at the latter end of this year.
Gaz McCabe
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