HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME
This year we had the holiday of a lifetime, New York & Los Angeles. We met up with some of the friends we have met along the way, through the International Pop Overthrow Festival, Luxuria Music, Brian Wilson gigs, other gigs, and the internet.
Our two week holiday was filled with such fab memories, most of which were unplanned (and beyond our wildest dreams), and 100% of which were down to our friends giving their time to make sure our holiday was the best ever.
It all started when British Airways gave a free upgrade to Club World.... I quaffed Champers for the whole flight!!!!!
For our memories of NYC – we walked the length and breadth of Manhattan from our base at the Ace Hotel down to the Ground Zero area, up to Times Square, up to the Dakota Building, back down through Central Park…… and we had the opportunity to meet up with Frank and Paul from the best garage band in the world, The Beat Rats and also met Kiki – a true 60’s babe. A day out in New Jersey was brilliant (cue Soprano music as we headed through the tunnel), walking on the boardwalk on the Jersey shore, DK and Margie’s Tiki bar, and having the privilege of rummaging through the rare Beach Boys basement goodies in Jersey!, Thank you all.
For the sunny LA memories: Dom & Becky threw the most amazing party, during which The Beeb became an honorary Wondermint (!) and we met some new friends too. Minty could have spent the rest of the holiday with Joanne listening to her tales of her younger years. There was some serious harmony going on that day, although we were a bit mystified that “Pretty Flamingo” is not a well-known song in LA!!! We finally met the lovely Lina and her hubby Rory and had the opportunity to savour her world famous tamales. Dom & Becky also gave up their time to take us on a tour of the Sunset Strip, which was just awesome, with a stint in Rodney Bingenheimer’s booth to boot! (with the Mayor of Sunset Strip present).
We had a great time in Amoeba records in Hollywood as well!!!! We breakfasted every day at Uncle John's in downtown LA, a shortish walk from our plush hotel - Uncle Johns is thoroughly recommended.
We spent a day out in the splendid company of Luxuria Music Guru Chuck Kelley for a fab tour of the Beach Boys’ early years, another day in the company of Brian Wilson band members (and brilliant musicians without the BW label), Darian and Nelson, touring the studios the Beach Boys recorded in and the haunts of the Pet Sounds era. Another day out, this time with Mari & Mal who were fantastic tour guides of Laurel Canyon and that infamous Deli where The Beeb’s mouth dropped seven fold when none other than Brian Wilson walked in! Another fab day out with lyricist and poet, Stevie K for an off the beat drive around La Canada (breath-taking) coupled with a fab lunch in a lovely little coffee shop.
We also caught a gig by the fantastic Adam Marsland and his Chaos band (with Evie Sands) which was just superb and we got the whole LA spirit and friendly vibe when Ken and Laura gave us a lift back to downtown LA afterwards - great guys :-). Before the gig we had the opportunity to meet up with David Bash, IPO Head Honcho and his lovely lady Rina for a bit of dinner.
Our last day was spent at the studios of LuxuriaMusic where we also had the great privilege to meet some of the other DJs' Steve and Andrew.
So many other people we met who are tagged in the notes…… you really made this our holiday of a lifetime, without a doubt. THANK YOU ALL
(for a full run-down and some photos, check out our blog www.mintyandthebeebholiday.blogspot.com )
ALL WORK & NO PLAY?
I got a new job… well, I say a new job. It is the old job beefed up, as my boss was moved on to other things but with no extra pay, no re-grading of the job……… Although “the management” had downgraded the role for me to be placed in it, I am essentially doing exactly what my old boss did…….. I’ll bide my time and go into bat early doors 2012 to get the re-grade and the pay.
My new job though meant a lot more travel. This year it’s shorter but more frequent trips which is a bit better than being away for a whole week at a time. This also means The Beeb can’t get up to too much mischief with his guitars in my absence!!!!
GIGGING
Memorable gigs this year were Brian Wilson (of course) where I got to be in the same room as my fave band of all time, Wondermints AND have my picture taken with them all together. We spent a great couple of weeks following Brian and his wonderful band around the UK. The tour started in Scotland (Glasgow) and had the best after show party ever, hosted by Jill and Duglas, which meant when we left at 3am, two of the band were still partying and not going back to their hotel any time soon!!!! The whole tour was brilliant and we got to meet up with many dear friends as we travelled from Glasgow, to Manchester, Birmingham (don’t mention the rats!!!) and 3 nights in London’s Royal Festival Hall. Hats off to Mandy for organising the post show get to-gethers’ in London. And to all the guys who "tour" that we meet up with, and YOU know who you are!!!! - your company was (as ever) really great xxxx
Other fab gigs of 2011 were:
BMX Bandits – we rarely get the chance to savour this brilliant band playing live, so when we find out they are playing in Glasgow we do make the effort to get up there.
We have seen Mari Wilson a few times this year and she NEVER disappoints, whether it is her solo show, or with GirlTalk, who co-incidentally is done with Barb Jungr who we have also seen solo.
Glen Campbells’ farewell gig was a real tear jerker. That man is amazing and his gig was awesome.
Alice Cooper at Ally Pally was an experience, and one The Beeb had been waiting for 40 years for !!!!!
The Zombies homecoming to St Albans earlier this month was nothing short of fantastic, with the surviving members of the Zombies joining Rod and Colin on stage for a few numbers.
We also did our usual stint at the IPO in Liverpool, with our pal Davey-W and saw some terrific new bands and some bands we have seen in previous years (Beat Rats RULE!). This was a great week for us, when we got to meet up with friends old and new (yes A-M that includes YOU!).
For all of the gigs we have caught this year, check out our blog www.mintyandthebeeb.blogspot.com
Not a gig, but a Beach Boys get together – the annual STOMP convention. This year’s guest was Frank Holmes who did the original artwork on the unreleased Beach Boys SMILE album back in 1967. Well, the album was up for release (and it duly was released) and Frank was a fantastic guest for the day and even came back afterwards to the hotel and played a bit of bluegrass with The Beeb. It was truly an honour to meet both Frank and his wife Harriette.
FAMILY
I lost my Mum on 2nd December. That was really tough to go through and I still well up with tears now, as I imagine I will for some considerable time to come. My sister had planned to come over from Singapore (where she lives) for Christmas so thankfully she was here to be able to say goodbye.
Mum got a great send off in Wicklow, her home town in Ireland, where so many people turned out to say goodbye. My Mum’s family have been so great. I don’t know where my Uncle Mick got his strength from, and without him I don’t think we would have got through it all. It broke my heart to see how upset my Dad was. The plus side was that it was great to see my Aunties, Uncles, cousins and their kids, although it was horrible to see them all upset.. I don't think I've ever had a stronger hug from my uncle Paddy! The hug from my cousin who met me at the airport made me really emotional and I wasn't able to talk at all.
The Beeb did a reading as I would have just crumbled and he posted the following piece on his facebook page. I am so proud of him and it sums up the whole day.
“We got back from Wicklow Town in Ireland last night after the sad task of burying Jacqui’s mum. She passed away last week after a short illness and was flown back home from the UK to be laid to rest in her native soil. It was incredible to see people stopping in the street and blessing themselves as the cortege headed for the chapel. Lorries and cars coming in the opposite direction stopped till we passed too. The deep faith these people have was really moving, but sadly lacking in most places these days. It was family and friends who left the funeral home to head for the chapel, but as we made our way there, lots of people in the street had joined us. The respect shown by people of this wonderful town towards Jacqui’s mum must have eased at least some of the family’s pain. St Patricks Church in Wicklow is like a mini cathedral and I had the honour of doing a reading at the mass there. I was humbled at being asked. The words, “close family” usually means about 4 or 5 people, but in this case half of Wicklow Town are Jacqui’s close family! They were just fantastic. Thanks go to them and the residents of Wicklow for the kindness shown over the past few days. “
And this I saw on Facebook and felt it summed up everything………
God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be. So he put his arms around you & whispered come with me. With tearful eyes, we watched and saw you pass away, although we love you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard-working hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, he only takes the BEST. ♥ xxx
Love You Mum
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