By Special Diary Guest Caryne

photo by Dukie Anderson

The evening started well as I had bloody awful hayfever and felt like death!! Then to add to the fun it totally poured down with rain as I was running from work to the train station so as I got on the train from Bristol to Cardiff I was soaking wet!! Things can only look better I thought, but, of course, the train was late in!! Anyway, after a rather dubious long taxi ride to Bute Street, we found (my friend Tom and me, that is!!) ‘The Packet Inn’, as recommended by Dukie and found Dukie himself, just outside. He tells us that Mike’s bag and pint is inside but he’d off for a while (actually never did find out why!!!) Still, inside the pub, along with Mike’s pint, Martin (from South Africa) and Aake (not sure about that spelling, but he’s swedish and has the world’s best Forever Changes tattoo) were there. It seemed like a decent enough pub, even though it had bloody awful cider (well, I am from the West Country). Mike then returned, after many a tale about the wonders of Glastonbury , which he claims to have been a great experience, apart from the toilets (of course) and some stories about his new ‘friends’ The Super Furry Animals (I guess he means the band and not the lot who hang around The Flaming Lips!!) Not surprisingly the ‘Mike Randle demo CD’ then appears, and like the ‘true fans’ we are we all part with a fiver for a CD we’ve never heard (I’ve since played it and it’s rather good), though I’m not sure what my husband now thinks of me owning a CD, signed, ‘To the wonderful Caryne’!!! Steve64 had turned up by now and we all had a few more pints, though I felt Mike was truly heroic turning down all that was offered!! We all made our way round to the venue, it was bloody weird, couldn’t quite work out what it had once been, all dark wood panelling etc, not like the usual places at all but thankfully no searches on the way in (I’ve had sweets taken off me at the last few gigs I’ve been too, apparently there’s a ‘no food’ policy, which is total madness, as they don’t even sell food in the bloody places!!) Just got in to see the end of the support act, Dukie seemed to know them and had said they would do four of their own songs and four covers but all I heard were covers, The Doors, The Stones, The Zombies etc (I may have this wrong as I was on my fifth pint by then!!) They were Ok, but nothing special. Despite Mike telling us that they’d be on at 9pm, they didn’t take the stage till 9.50, Steve 64 was getting seriously worried as his train was at 10.50, but, like the hero he is, he stayed till the end and slept at Bristol Temple Meads!! >Everyone looked great and no sign of being ‘knackered’ after the Glasto bash, glanced at the set list but they just didn’t follow it, we got >Your Mind and we >Orange Skies >My little red book >Alone again Or >Old Man >My Flash on You >The Daily Planet >The Red Telephone >Bummer in the Summer >You set the Scene >Signed DC >Everbody’s Gotta Live/Instant Karma >August >A House is not a Motel >Singing Cowboy > >Between Clark and Hilldale >7 and 7 is

I’m sure Arthur claimed to be Tony Blair, as he was introducing the band, I know he spent that time at the Houses of Parliament but didn’t know he was taking it that seriously!! I’m the most bloody biased person in the world but from my position at the front, under Arthur’s nose, it all seemed excellent to me, the sweat was pouring off all of us (and I had several rips in my top!!) by the end of the gig. Standing is just so much better than sitting down, though more people could have been dancing, at times I felt it was just me (though I’ll let Dukie off as he had his ever trusty camera!!) Only one encore, though lots more was requested, suppose it was already well past curfew time and I think the whole band were well hot and sweaty by then!! Mike reappeared for the usual chat, I think he enjoyed it and then asked me to write all this as Mel Cicero (spelling?) hadn’t turned up. So I’m rattling it all off now!! Was supposed to be getting a taxi back to the station with Steve64, Martin and Aake but Aake seemed to have vanished, was he ever seen again or was he captured by a ‘Catherine Zeta Jones’ lookalike? Will we ever know?!!! >Mike, please get back to your diary writing, you make it all sound so much better than me!!! >Great to see everyone and ‘Love’ to all I met, >Caryne >xxx

Mike Randle