My Guestbook 

Fri 3rd February

Had a couple of life changing events in the last couple of weeks. One very nice, and one which is both horrific and absolutely terrifying. There is never an easy way to deal with extreme illness in the immediate family. Its awful, sneaky tendrils wind their way into every aspect of one's everyday life and colour the landscape a dismal grey even on the brightest of days. Needless to say, there is nothing to be done and everyone will get on as best they can.

On the other hand, we have a new house guest who already fills my day with adoring looks, bitten toes, piles of poo, small sprinkles of wee, and will eventually take me on long country walks, hopefully in the sunshine! 'Cassie' is an adorable seven week old English Springer Spaniel bought from a registered breeder near Hinkley in Leicestershire. I met 'Cassie's' Mum, Dad, and Grandmother who were all beautiful animals and all have a much better pedigree than I do.

It's a big commitment taking on a pet and anyone who knows me will tell you I was never a 'doggie' person. I liked the independance and f*** you attitude shown by our feline friends and have had a small collection along the years. There was a small dog shaped rodent we had for thirteen years called 'Molly' but she had to go after she bit my Grandson. 'Molly' was a Lakeland Terrier who thought she was a Rotweiller and had much bigger balls than anyone in the village, me included. I guess she would still be here had it not been for the bite at Joseph but 'Molly' was getting on in years and couldn't be doing with all the noise and frantic movements of a toddler. She snapped out of Terrier instinct and drew blood so there really was no option. It could have been a finger or even worse, an eye.

Please don't think dear reader, that I lumped her behind the head with a piece of 2 x 4 and buried her in the garden, although that was my first instinct when I saw the teeth marks and blood on Joseph's chest. No, we found an older gentleman who wanted a feisty companion and gave 'Molly' to him. Last I heard, she was still going strong.

Tonight we have a full house at The Banbury Club in Birmingham which is not too far for Bob, Glenn & I but is a bit of a trek from Manchester for Eddie. Tomorrow we are back on the road with The Ivy League at The Courtyard Theatre in Hereford. Not too far as the crow flies and this is just as well as snow is forcast for The Midlands. Work is piling in for this year and I had the sniff of a small cruise for next year! Watch this space....

Wed 22nd January

It's nearly two months since I posted anything up here and I did think about letting the site go but I mentioned that to a few people and they all said I should keep it out here. To be honest, it doesn't take too long to scribble my thoughts down. It's just a matter of application and making the time and doing it!

The Fortunes, like a lot of bands on the circuit are having a bit of a quiet month and start work again in February. Eddie took the opportunity and went on a fabulous cruise around the Middle East with his partner Nadine. The quiet period has been a bit of a blessing for me personally as we have had our own problems again with illness in the family. I have never known a worse period in my lifetime for friends/family getting very poorly. Is it just a 'blip' or more worryingly, an age related phenomenon? I have no idea but I think the thing to do is to enjoy yourself whenever possible folks because it's later than you think.

Anyone who knows me, know that I love my cars and I really indulged myself recently! I sold the XK8 to a dealership in Gatwick, and drove back in a very nice supercharged Jaguar ST R. To the uninformed, this is a hugely powered 400bhp supercar which needs a petrol tanker to follow it around if driven hard. I have had fast cars before and owned both a BMW M3 and a very fast imported Subaru Impreza (long before they became de rigueur with the chav set) Whilst they were both fast, they were very frantic and noisy cars. The Jag on the other hand, whispers up to warp speeds far beyond both the aforementioned and is a luxuriously appointed four seater. A real Wolf in Sheep's clothing!

I noticed on Facebook that the old chestnut 'original' artists had risen again! Of course, our name was mentioned and whilst I couldn't give a flying **** what these people think whilst they sit in front of their 'magic portals' getting hammered on cheap wine, I know for a fact that both Rod & Baz would be absolutely fuming at their rants. People! The original Fortunes you talk of were together for only three, yes count them, three years! They had the big hits, Troubles, Here It Comes Again, This Golden Ring etc. Then in '66 Glen left to go solo and Shel McCrae joined. Dave Carr and Andy Brown and Shel all left in the early '70's after having more success with Rainy Day Feeling and Freedom Come Freedom Go. Others joined. This was the pattern throughout the years and the lineage is there to be seen by all who desire, either on our site or on the totally independent Wikipedia.

My point here is that at every stage in it's existence, The Fortunes had successes with every formation of the band. I was asked to be 'a Fortune' in 1983 and am now the longest serving member apart from Rod and Baz. Along with Paul Hooper, Rod Alan and Barry Pritchard, I received a gold record after success with a best selling album in Europe. People who have been avid fans of the band since its formation have told me that 'Some Bridges' was one of the best recordings that The Fortunes ever made! Please don't lump us in with the bands who merely pluck a name from the ether and take to the stage. We have recently contested and won a Trade Mark dispute with non other than The United States Patent and Trade Mark Office.

If THEY believe we are entitled to be The Fortunes, that's enough for me!

Anyway, we have a sixties weekend show to look forward to next weekend at Butlins in Minehead. I really enjoy these events and love the atmosphere and all the fancy dress etc! We are hoping to rehearse sometime ths week and might have at least one new number in the show..........but don't quote me!

Sun 20th November

Nearly at the end of the '60's Gold' tour and I will admit to being rather sad about that. It's been a very hard slog at times, schlepping up and down the motorway but non the less, very enjoyable! Met some old friends and made some lovely new ones along the way and more importantly have acquitted ourselves very well by all accounts. Fantastic comments from lots of you in emails and on our Facebook page for which we are very grateful.

Ireland was fantastic as I wrote in my last blog (below) It was some week in Scotland also. We did over 1400 miles in the five days we were away and played to packed houses on every occasion. A great night was had by all at Chip Hawkes's hotel bar! A guitar was found and we sang and 'Monkeyed' around till around 5.00am I think! Great to meet up with long time friend and supporter of The Fortunes, Stewart McPhearson and his lovely wife Carol. The pity was, we didn't have a show in their neck of the woods and were staying in Perth which is some way from them so we couldn't 'party' like we did last time. Probably just as well as the last time he & I got together, I was two days getting over it!

We have the best part of a week off now thankfully and I can maybe get over this damned cold which has been affecting all and sundry. So much to catch up on though. The gearbox went on our seven seater on the way back from Scotland via Blackpool and I have to collect the reconditioned unit on Monday morning. Hopefully the old girl will be back on the road by Monday night. We had to hire a car for this weekend's gigs and that didn't end well either! Luckily, I had ticked the option box for extra insurance because on the way home from York last night in the fog, a badger the size of a bloody donkey scuttled out in front of us on the M42 and hit the front of the car, poor thing. It was totally impossible to avoid and the impact was tremendous! It was so violent that the steering wheel was nearly wrenched from my hands and we nearly went over! Looked at the car in the light this morning and its going to cost hundreds to fix!

Got thousands of fliers and posters to pack and send this week to theatres for our annual mini tour with The Ivy League early next year, and have just looked at my emails and there are 24 needing replies! So, there you have it!

Sun 16th October

Just back from two very succesful shows in Northern Ireland at The Waterfront in Belfast and The Millennium Theatre in Derry. Most nights on the tour, the bands just wend their way home seperately and there's not much time to sit and chat. On this trip however, we chatted (and drank) till 4.00am both nights! Great fun in the hotel bar at Dukes at Queens hotel in the heart of the city. Nice too to be able to take time to meet the fans after the show and not rush on up the motorway. Especially nice for me to meet up again with 'Three Good Reasons'! Three beautiful ladies whom Rod, Barry, Paul and I first met twenty one years ago when we shared a stage in Derry. Twenty one years!! Jaysuss!!

Irish audiences are very different to English ones as they tend to be more vocal and out for 'The Craic' as they say. It would be very easy to get into a conversation with a theatre goer from the stage as I believe, one of our party did on more than one occasion!...Nuff said! Anyway, we look forward to our next trip out there and to that end, we were met by an agent of long standing on the morning we were to fly back home and plans may be afoot to get The Fortunes back there for a much longer stretch sometime in the not too distant future.

A couple of nights off and we then do six 'on the trot' beginning with Butlins at Skegness on Monday. I think we may stay over as we are on last at 11.00pm and have to be in Guilford early on Tuesday. Hardly worth coming back for what little sleep I might get on Monday night! Off to the gym now to try to repair some of the damage done by 'The Stout' in the bar!

Sat 1st October

First week nearly over already on the '60's Gold Tour' and all is well. No hissy fits or falling outs that I know of. It's great to be doing another theatre tour because as much as we love our day to day work in The Fortunes, it's always a pleasure to know that people have actually paid to sit and watch/listen rather than finding us appearing at their club.

Turned out that last month wasn't as bad as it started out to be. Upon returning from my 60th in Portugal, I called in to see the doctor after a certain amount of nagging from my family. My ankles had swollen whilst I was away after acquiring a 'shin splint' on the running machine just before we left for Portugal. The doctor took blood tests and I waited a week and then called for the results. I was told to come in immediately and see the doc!

Apparently my triglyceride count was an off the scale 6.9 and I had, according to the computer screen, a one in five chance of a heart attack in the next 5 years! This after half a lifetime of running, training, gallons of water, five a day fruit and veg etc, etc! It turns out, that I was no better off than if I'd sat on my arse watching soaps and eaten fish suppers every night for the last thirty years! Next step was an ECG on my heart which proved to be fine. Blood pressure, again fine. Another meet with the nurse and more bloods taken.

The following week dear readers, was to say the least a little worrying. The day arrived and I called to get the results and......they had lost them! Another three days pass and after getting in from a show in Pakefield at 4.30am, I was shaken awake by the telephone at 8.02am to be told by the receptionist to "come in as soon as possible!" Needless to say, I trudged, with heavy heart, into the surgery........

Pleasantries were exchanged, notes read, a wee sharp intake of breath and she quite matter of factly told me with a cute Scottish 'lilt' reminiscent of Dr Cameron's 'Jenny', that my old readings were 6.9 and my new readings were........1.2!!

It turns out that "The lab may have made a mistake on your first test!" My comment was, "It's a very good job we don't live in The USA then isn't it Doctor?" Anyway, my whole life then opened up again in front of me and after offering to kiss her, to which she said "Mr Smitham!" (but smiled) I walked to my car, vindicated................and about a foot off the floor!

p.s. so nice to hear from old friends after.......can it really be 30+ years??

Wed 17th Aug

As you can probably see, I somehow lost about five months worth of my blog (for blog read...drivel) The domain name ran out whilst I was on holiday in Portugal and when I decided to re-instate it, I found I had lost some files. No great loss but a bit of a nuisance!

Anyway, we had a great time and I got to celebrate my 60th birthday twice! Once here at home with a family BBQ and again at the absolutely stunning Monte Do Casul Hotel & Restaurant in Barranco de Sao Miguel. My old mate Geoff had driven down from Spain with the lovely Jackie to help me celebrate and had organised a party for us on a sunny terrace overlooking the lakes amongst the beautiful scenery in the hotel grounds. An absolutely fabulous day with great friends and family!

Speaking of my 60th! It is a bit of a landmark event and none of my other birthdays has ever quite meant as much. I mean, up to your 40th you have a fair to middleing chance of doubling your years.....but 60? With that in mind I have decided to make a 'Bucket List' of things to do this year and the first was to see what colour my beard was! You guessed it! White as the driven snow and before you ask, I shaved it off before I went to the dental hygenist for my three monthly clean and polish. Well, I couldn't inflict that on her! Amongst other things on my list, I also hope to take my test on a mororbike (much to the consternation of my nearest and dearest!)

Off to Belgium on Friday for the weekend. A series of shows culminating in the brilliant 'VostertRock' Vostertfeesten in Bree. We did the same show last year and had a great time! Also on the bill will be The Sham, Mike Pender's Searchers, The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel and The Chris Norman Band.

Better start thinking soon about the upcoming tour with Gerry & The Searchers! I believe we only have 35 minutes on stage so it is going to be difficult but not impossible to make the desired 'impact'. It would be nice to find one of those 'killer' songs which Rod had a knack of fitting in to the show.................any ideas?

Tue 22nd Feb

Pamela and I decided to get out of the cold/wet weather for a while and came out to the Canary Islands.....so called not because of little yellow trilling songbirds, but because of the colonies of seals which inhabited the waters around Grand Canaria which the Romans called sea dogs 'Insula Canaria' (Island of Dogs .....history lesson over!)

Anyway, the weather could not be better and we have had a fabulous time so far, lazing by the pool, catching up on some reading, wining and dining, and just watching the world go by. On Wednesday, we were whisked way up the mountain to friends Vic and Chrissy's lovely villa for an evening of fun mirth and frivolity! Chrissie, widow of front man Freddie and The Dreamers and Vic her partner of three years, moved here some time ago and have renovated the villa high up overlooking The Atlantic Ocean to fantastic standard.

A dinner party had been arranged for eight of us and Chrissie had worked wonders! The table was a sight to behold and the food delicious! On one side of the table was close neighbor Dave and his fascinating partner Hilary, who had taught and had been involved in music to a very high level all around the world. Dave, a world class flat green bowls player who has represented his country many times in competition, was also a retired potato farmer from Jersey in The Channel Islands. He also looked and more to the point, sounded like a South African spy!

The other side of the table was taken by Mark and his lovely partner Linda. Mark is a psychiatric nurse who looked a little like Roy Wood of Wizzard fame! A seemingly quiet reflective Irishman, whose soft lilting brouge bellied his profession. As is the way of things at these occasions, polite conversation got a little easier as the wine flowed, and some of the stories and anecdotes told around the table should be written down for others to enjoy!

A fantastic evening which saw Pam and I staying over in Vic and Chrissy's lovely home and brought back safe and sound (if a little hung over) the following morning.......... Many thanks Vic & Chris

Monday 4th Jan

I just heard from the agency that the cruise is not to be! Because of the '60's Gold ' tour, we couldn't make the dates work so the Caribbean cruise is off! It is however, nice to be able to turn down work because you have too much!

Sunday 13th Feb

Still no definitive list of dates from the '60's Gold' tour organisers. I am not too concerned as I know that one of the agents is on holiday. I spoke to him whilst he was laying on a beach in The Caribbean and seeing as he was paying for the call, I know he wasn't too happy to hear my voice!

Speaking of The Caribbean, we are also waiting for a 'yea or nay' on another cruise out there this coming December, straight after the tour finishes. The phone's have been red hot between myself, the agency in London, and Fred Olsen's representative. I have to admit though that in this business, no news is usually bad news! Either way, I will post both here and on The Fortunes web site if and when I get the call.

I heard through the grapevine that The Fortunes own Shel Macrae stood in for a poorly Chip Hawkes at a show in Kidderminster last night with Brian Pool and The Electrix. Anyone see the show? I would be interested to hear your thoughts

........... (on the guestbook above)

Sunday 6th Feb

I've just received the first draught of the tour dates for the '60's Gold' tour in the Autumn. It's not quite complete and confirmed yet so I can't put them on The Fortunes web site, but as I write this there are 38 dates in the book. That's a lot of traveling, but we are really looking forward to the tour and to showing what we can do amongst that 'august' band of men!

'Murphy's Law strikes again though! We had to turn down another very nice ten day cruise around The Caribbean because we are touring with '60's Gold' You can either have not enough work........or too much!

Great show and a full house with The Ivy League at The Arts Centre in Solihull last night. A few problems with their PA but luckily, our set went without misshaps and we stormed the place! We had our old friend Ian 'Spike' Monroe, ex member of Marmalade and ace photographer/video exponent, running around the building dressed all in black like a 'Ninja Photographer' taking pictures so I can use them for publicity shots. I will put some on the web site too when I get them.

Off for Sunday lunch today with Pamela and Rod's wife, Margaret. We were hoping that Margaret could come to last night's show but she had friends staying over and they left a little late for her to get ready. Anyway, thanks to Brian Yeates Associates, we have quite a few shows in the general area so we hope that she can make it to one of those........

Friday 21st Jan

As you can see (above) I have opened a 'Guest Book' for you to leave your comments should you so wish. I had so many emails regarding the post below that I thought others might like see your comments. It's a simple process and very secure. All comments will be scanned before being posted.

Thanks...........

Thursday 20th January

I just heard on the grapevine that some (or most?) of the bands on the 'sixties' circuit will not now be appearing at Butlins 'Sixties Weekends' in the future. The Fortunes were told late last year that the format would be changing and that instead of doing only one show, we would be appearing twice, doing one early show and one late, in differing venues. It now appears that bands without enough hit records to their name, will not be booked at these events in future!

In my humble opinion, I think the powers that be are being slightly short sighted in this. I am sure that this is nothing more than a cost cutting exercise and whilst I fully understand the need for a bit of belt tightening, I do wonder at the wisdom of cutting down the variety of acts on display at these events. The very fact that some bands have only one or two hits to their name, make them work harder to make their show 'special'. They cannot rely on an hour of hit records to get them through the show. There are some great bands out there on the circuit who have honed their acts to perfection, regardless of how many times they were in the charts thirty or forty years ago and truth be told, they are now established acts and people want to see them!

I also think that this 'hits' only policy, can work against a band. The Tremeloes who could probably play for two hours doing only their hits and the 'B' sides if they had to, have been musically stifled by that very fact! They are a fantastic band who are all great musicians with tremendous voices and I for one would love to see them tackle an outrageous version of a classic 80's power ballad! The Searchers too have so many hits and whilst they have recorded some great songs unrelated to their name in the past, they also are 'tethered' by their name and success in the charts.

Vanity Fare on the other hand, who are thought of as good enough to back every principal singer on the 'Sixties' circuit by one of the biggest tour management companies in the country 'Flying Music' will now fall foul of this edict from above!

Personally, I think that's crazy!

Thursday 6th January

The new year is upon us, and 'God' willing, it looks like a good one for all here and for The Fortunes. An excellent job done on the cruise, plenty of work in the book and a great tour to look forward to in the autumn. Had some good news too regarding a dispute we had across The Atlantic. Let's hope we can now all move on with our lives and our careers.

The cruise around The Caribbean was great fun and of course financially viable, but I honestly think we all felt as though we missed Christmas altogether. The paying guests on the ship were there with their friends and loved ones whilst we on the other hand, rattled around the ship between shows! Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but personally speaking, having five Grandchildren in the Smitham household makes a big difference and a couple of calls home left me sitting very quietly looking out the port hole at the horizon. (big girl's blouse!) Anyway, it was nice to get home to usher in the new year with everyone and to get back into the routine again.

Makes me think of just what the brave people in our armed services give up every day of their lives. Being seperated from friends, family, and especially children for months at a time must be absolutely terrible. These are weeks, months, and years they can never replace and the knowledge that they may never come home again must fill them with an absolute dread. Ultimate respect to each and everyone of them.

Anyway, back to the more mundane. I did think about not taxing and putting the Jag away for the winter but 'the winter' seemed to happen whilst we were in Holland and The Caribbean. I left it outside and didn't use it when the cold weather broke as black ice and a 4 litre V8 engine putting power to the back wheels is a deadly combination. It stood covered in snow for the best part of a month and when I finally decided not to put it into storage, I dug it out and it started on the first turn of the key. I love it! Anyway, it's now taxed and ready for the new year. I've always had a thing about cars. It has a lot to do with being the youngest of five brothers who were always tinkering with engines outside, and inside the house. Many's the hour Ive spent watching a black & white tele whilst rubbing my hands raw, bedding in valves with grinding paste and a sucker on a stick! Men of a certain age out there will understand what I mean. These days, I prefer to let the professionals do the work whilst I appreciate the power, performance and elegance from inside the car.

Great news from 'Down Under'! I love it when we give it to the Aussies. They lost 'The Ashes' and the series in their own back yard! Wonderful. I just hope we do the same thing in the 'one-day' series just to rub it in...........

Tuesday 30th December

I know it all sounds very glamorous, cruising around The Caribbean on the good ship 'Oceana' but in the last two weeks there have been a lot of very early 'get-ups', miserable hours spent in crowded airports, mostly arguing with morose BMI staff, flight cancellations, long exhausting journeys in varying degrees of discomfort and differing time zones to contend with.....not to mention the b****y snow!

Due to the weather, our flights to Holland were a mess and BMI Baby could not have been less helpfull if they had tried. I for one would never fly with them again if I had the choice. The service at every check in desk both in Birmingham and Schipol was painfully slow, dismal, un-helpful, and a downright rip-off. Anyway, suffice it to say that after getting on the first plane to be told the flight was cancelled, booking an afternoon flight and returning to have that one cancelled too, we gave up and headed home after booking for the next day. Another early get up but thankfully, we got the last flight out of Birmingham that day and got to Schipol and the snow! Lots of it! Parts of the country were at a standstill but we made it to both shows and had a great time both on stage and at the bar with the friends who had battled through to see us.

We returned home next day, again on a very early flight to prepare for the cruise. Unfortunately, family issues kept Glenn from coming with us on this trip but we were very lucky to get Coventry wonderkid, Anthony Harty to fill in for Glenn. (see here) Anthony is long time friend of Bob Jackson and had played in Bob's 'Badfinger' some time ago. He started his career with Paul Wellar in ' The Style Council ' after sending Paul a tape of himself playing bass. So good was he, Anthony was offered the job! He is a great musician who can outplay most people on drums, bass or guitar! I hate him...............

Yet another very early wake up call and we drove to Manchester Airport, boarded a Delta Airways flight and flew for nine hours to Atlanta, then a further two hours on to Miami where we stayed the night at The Grande Plaza Hotel, and on to Nicaragua the following day. Nicaragua! Now there's a country!

We landed in the capital city of Managua where we were to be met and driven to 'Oceana'. We were befriended by three young ladies as soon as they saw us collect our guitars from the conveyor belt. They were to be employed as masseuse on board and were desperately trying to reach 'Oceana' but had no means of transport and no funds to speak of. No one from the ship was there to meet them and they were positively stuck! Rather than leave them to fend for themselves, we stuffed all their baggage in our small truck and we squashed in to drive the two hours plus to the port where 'Oceana' was docked.

I have been very lucky in my time as a musician to travel to some truly exotic places, but Nicaragua is something else! A very verdant and ruggedly beautiful country which was home to The Aztecs......but en route, we drove through what I can only describe as bandit country! The roads were shocking and recent floods had torn great swathes through the countryside. Shanty houses lined the roads and children played just inches from where huge lorries thundered past with little or no regard for them or other road users. Chickens and horses wandered into the road at every venture and one poor bird was smashed into a bundle of bloody feathers right in front of our eyes! It really was an experience to drive through a country ravaged by a civil war which began in 1979 and only abated in relatively recent times.

The ship is amazing! Not the biggest in the fleet but very elegant. A huge atrium amidships stretches upwards to a fabulous stained glass ceiling. Wide white marble staircase lead to lovely shops and bars. Fabulous retaurants over four floors, cafes, piano bars, nightclub, casino, gym, sun deck, the list goes on and on. We negotiated a cabin each, unpacked and the fun started! The theatre holds over 500 people and was practically full on each of the four shows we did. Entertainers aboard a ship are of course invisible until they appear on stage, then it is difficult to walk down a corridor or much less, eat a meal without someone wanting to talk to you! Some lovely comments from everyone after the shows.

Anyway, we had a fab time. Drank and definitely eat too much! I went on as a passenger and came off as freight!

Can't wait for the next one................

Tuesday 14th December

Just saw the weather report on Sky News and it's not looking good for the weekend.

More inclement weather is to be expected and no doubt the roads will again close from Lands End to John o' Groats! It seems to me that just a thinnish coating of the white stuff has the ability to totally collapse the infrastructure of Great Britain whilst the rest of Europe takes it on the chin and just gets on with it. Is it just another question of "too many leaves on the railway line" or better still my favorite...."the wrong kind of snow"? The Inuit of the Artic regions of Canada have over 30 differing words for snow but come on! It's the 21st century and we have dedicated, highly paid weather pundits, whole TV shows given over to discussing 'weather patterns' and 'global warming', long range forecasts, and satellite imagery and stuff! Why are we in this country turned into bloody victims as soon as the rain freezes?

It must be a question of money. It has to be! Not enough machines on the ground to plow it off the roads and not enough cash in the coffers for a fair wage to get the men out there to clean it up.

But it's not just the damn snow! Every year we have torrential rain for a couple of weeks and people are washed out of their homes. Then three weeks later when the sun finally deigns to shine for a few days, we have a bloody hose pipe ban! A week later and the hospitals are full of folk croaking through heat stroke! Come on people! We live on an island! We are surrounded by water! We are supposed to have 'weather'! Why can't we deal with it??

The Fortunes are due to fly out of Birmingham to Schipol in Amsterdam on Friday to do three shows in Holland.

I won't hold my breath....

Saturday 4th December

It never fails to amaze how kind and generous some people can be, and just how cruel and heartless others are.

I was told a true story yesterday about a kind hearted soul who on a recent night out with friends, took pity on three homeless people he saw huddled in blankets against the sub-zero temperatures. Like most of us, he could have walked past and thanked which ever God he favoured that it wasn't him sitting there. For whatever reason, he didn't. He spoke to them, gave them what money he had left from his evening revels and took them to a nearby hotel where he paid for three separate rooms on his credit card, and went on his way.

Two days later, he went for petrol, found his card refused and checked his balance on returning home. The hotel had taken £1500 from his account because the three had stolen the TV's, fridges, bedding, in fact, everything which wasn't screwed down.

It really does beggar belief that such charity could be taken advantage of by these bloody parasites!

Bugger Karl Marx. I sometimes think Stalin had the right idea...........

Thursday 2nd December

A few of you may have seen on The Fortunes web site that on Tuesday the 23rd December, we are flying out to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua to meet up with the P&O cruise liner 'The Oceana' as she sails up from Mexico on the next leg of her voyage around The Caribbean. We are onboard for six days and will be back in time for the New Year Celebrations. It is going to be very strange not being with our families during the festive season and a huge wrench for me personally not being with my Grandchildren, but needs must I am afraid.

Our profession has changed much over recent years and new markets do not come along very often. Anyone in this business has to be on the look out for new possibilities and when they appear, grasp them with both hands. We did of course, perform on 'The Black Prince' for Fred Olsen two years ago and as enjoyable as it was, it was in British waters and 99.9% of the clientele were of course British. This trip is different as there will be more of a multi-cultural mix on board and may offer us more possibilities of lucrative work in more 'exotic' places in the future. I hope so..................

Sunday 28th  August

Off to Cricket St Thomas Hotel in Chard tonight do a show with Marmalade! That will be a bit strange for Glen! It’s the first time the two acts have worked on the same stage and he has not been their drummer!! Staying over then Poole Park Festival with The Ivy’s tomorrow. Had some good news this morning. It seems that someone saw us in Belgium last weekend and wants to book us in Holland next year. Ihave also contacted an agency in Scandanavia and hope to hear from them soon too. The cruise we did a year ago for Fred Olsen was a big success, so I also took the liberty of dropping the agency who booked us a line to see if there are and ‘ships on the horizon’ so to speak. Things being as they are, getting work for the band is quite difficult and it’s a very fine line between being too pushy and not doing enough, but sitting waiting for the phone to ring is no good at all! Just finished an ‘article’ for ‘The Beat Goes On’ magazine. Old mate Ralph Gowling asked me to do a piece about how Glen is fitting into The Forts and the upcoming shows with The Ivy League. It will be in the Sept edition............Right! Off to the M5 !

Sunday 24th  August

Sunday 15th  August

I just received this email from a friend. Madeleine McCann's family believe a new picture of the missing four-year could play a vital role in the search for her. The photo cleary shows her very distinctive right eye where the pupil runs into the blue-green iris. Please click the picture of little Madeline and send the PDF to everyone in your ‘contacts’ folder...............

Saturday 7th  August

Sitting on me todd and it’s very quiet! Pamela has just taken our daughter and two of the Grandkids to Lanzarote for twelve days and I’m fed up already! The freezer is well stocked, the fridge is full up and the wine racks are groaning under the weight so plenty to eat and drink, but It looks like I shall be looking for things to do over the next fortnight. My golf might get better. I might get a little fitter (or fatter!) I could do some house improvements I suppose, or maybe get out in the garden? Then again, there is the pub..............

Monday 2nd August

Back in ‘Blighty’ after a very relaxing week. Had a fabulous time but it was incredibly hot! 40+ degrees! The air con was on constantly in the hotel room! I can see why a lot of the ‘ex-pats’ leave for a few weeks during July and August. I did just as I said I would........I sat on the beach and read the daily paper and finished a good book. Had some really nice nights out with friends and re-visited ‘The Captain’s’ villa up in the mountains. Watched the Grand Prix and sampled some goodies from his extensive wine cellar! All in all, a very nice break! Speaking of which, we have an enforced break before our next show in Belgium on the 22nd of August, so I am going to try to organise some rehearsals for The Forts. Maybe put in a couple of ‘Rockers’ if I can convince the guys!

Friday July 23rd

After a very long day, we finally finished in the studio about 8.30 last night. All the vocals are done and Bob is now taking the project to his own studio to do a few keyboard overdubs and to mix the tracks down to master quality. This is quite a long and demanding process and is not one which I would relish. Everyone has an opinion and a personal ‘take’ on how the CD should sound and finding common ground can be very difficult. Anyway, once this is done, we can then get the whole thing manufactured. Please........no emails asking when this will be! I have no idea at all! I will put it on the web site when we have them in our sweaty mitts!

Tuesday July 20th

Had a great day yesterday! A round of golf with Geoff Turton (never trust a Gas Fitter with burnt eyebrows!) Very funny man and a joy to be with! Played at ‘The Warwickshire’ Golf & Country Club in Leek Wooton. A fantastic place with two golf courses, a state of the art gymnasium, pool, sauna, steam room and spa. A very grown up kind of place but as Groucho said “I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member!”  I’m joining on Friday......... Went straight to the studio afterwards and did some vocals on the CD. Eddie was just finishing his vocals when I got there and it sounded great. Bob, Glen and I will be there on Wednesday & Thursday to hopefully finish off.

Monday July 19th

It’s going to rain tomorrow and anyway we are going into the studio, so today I am off to play golf with Geoff Turton (The Rockin’ Berries) That should be a fun day out, apart from the golf that is! Haven’t played since..............since Rod & I played in the Duty Free Dubai Open at The Emirates Course a couple of years ago! How about that for name dropping?

Saturday July 17th

Here it is. My first ‘blog’ on the new site. I apologise but, you can’t ‘post’ replies here. You can of course rant and rave back at me through the ‘Contact Page’ should you so desire...... Back in the studio this week to finish off the CD. Just the vocals to do but that in itself can take some time. Looking forward though, to hearing Glen’s dulcet tones on the tracks. Glen has been a bit unwell over the last few weeks and has needed anti-biotics for a chest infection. He is well on the mend now and hopes to be in full voice for the recording session. Right! It’s Sunday afternoon and I am off down the pub!