The big danger of writing a blog is that it can turn into a brag sheet or a complaints list. I am trying to avoid both but - I have done a few good shows lately, the Lionheart British Pub and Restaurant and a couple at the Abbey Road Pub, both in Mississauga, old fans and sons and daughters of fans (sons of the Barmaids Arms Pioneers!) showed up and new fans were made. That completes the brag bit.

Now for the complaint department:

Dear Hershey Centre,
On Saturday I went to the Dodge Rodeo at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga and it was great, impressive as hell, the cowboys and girls performed fearlessly. Great entertainment - but the food sucked.

Dear Hershey, you are a giant food company, how can you be so timid, so offhand, so mundane? The Hershey name is all over the place, on the concession stands and in the ring, everywhere, but the food was on the same level as in a two-bit movie palace concession. Chocolate bars and beer at a rodeo? It doesn't cut it. It's a Rodeo, for heaven's sake, where was the real food, the BBQ ribs, pork chops on a stick, real hamburgers, sausages?

I don't care if it is the union or the company that insists on being the only food supplier, if you are going to do it put some effort into it. Come on Hershey, have a little guts and try serving some real food when the occasion demands - or get out of the kitchen and let the Rodeo people do it themselves.

Outside the Royal Theatre, Victoria, BC.
I always thought that I looked like an entertainer but beside Billy Connolly I look like an assistant to the assistant manager, damn!

I have just heard that Anita Scott passed away last summer. Anita had a fine soprano voice and was a regular on the Pig & Whistle TV show. She was one of the last of the group of entertainers, influenced by British Music Hall, who livened up the Toronto scene in the 60's and 70's.
Anita was born in London, won a talent contest as a kid at Margate and spent a lifetime in entertainment, overseas with the ATS and on the Moss Empire circuit and in nightclubs in England and Canada.

Some other entertainers I enjoyed from that era: Anita's sister 'Queen' Anne Macbeth, Ken Stanley, Christine Scott, Billy Meek, Maurice Bolyer, Art Snider, Kitty Meredith, Jimmy White, Katie Murtagh, Ray Sonin.

There was an Australian known as "The Kangaroo" whose show was so scatological he made me look like a boy scout. In Victoria, BC, Jerry Gosley held the fort with his Smile Show, all in Pearly
gear. Who's left from the Toronto scene? Me and Adam Timoon and hopefully some others that you will remind me about. email: bob@londonbobby.com

The best instrumental trio I ever heard live was in Toronto: Jimmy Coxson on piano, Jack Landers with a five-string acoustic bass and Tony Braden on guitar.

The Internet is changing and this web site that I first put up as soon as I discovered the World Wide Web (1999) is now old-fashioned, all these static pictures and ordinary type. Now there is something called "Web 2.0" which means, basically, more pizazz. So I have to hit the books again and update my programming. The first results of this can be found on my Video Clips video page and in my tribute to the superstars of Music Hall. This is a work in progress though, there is much to be done so check back now and again and see how it is coming.

It is fairly recently that I discovered everybody is reading blogs. A blog, apparently, is a diary published to the net so the whole world can read it, if it were so inclined. Blogs strike me as being a bit self involved, so I have to ask myself: would anybody want to read this one? Then I think, well, people come to hear my silly songs and jokes so perhaps somebody would read this. They do say that everyone’s favourite topic is themselves. Never quite too sure who 'they' are... So I figure I ought to be doing this whole 'Blog' thing too, otherwise I fear I may be left by the roadside. I hope I don't say "I" too much.

So. Hello all. I suppose I ought to be writing something wonderfully profound and eloquent now...

Last night was the first gig for quite a while as a magician, not musician. I surprised myself, I was good! I based the act on the premise that there had been a mix-up at the agency, the audience expected a magician but they had sent me, a musician, but it's okay, I've got this book, "How To Do Magic", and reading from the book I proceeded to mess up all the tricks Tommy Cooper style. I am pleased to say the audience and I all had a good time.

RAIN NIXES SPAIN. Victoria, the only city in Canada with decent weather, decided to have a slight glitch last week. In the space of a few days torrential rain, snow, freezing temperatures, power failures and wind storms all combined to make life miserable for everyone. Toronto , Winnipeg etc all take this in their stride but Victoria is not ready. While I was enjoying performing (in an Italian Restaurant and an Irish Pub!) in cool but sunny Spain our house in Victoria flooded, our trees broke and our roof leaked dangerously near the grand piano. Vicky was defending the house all by herself, fortunately we have some good friends who came to her aid in battling the damage. I decided to cut short the Spanish contract and here I am in Victoria looking for local gigs - so far a fund-raiser for Santa's Anonymous and a Masonic Ladies Night are on the books. Not exactly overworked.

"Sam, I told you never to play that". Well, I played it in Rick's Bar in Casablanca. Well, as near as I could get to Rick' Bar. That bar was only a movie set but in the real Casablanca the Hyatt Regency have recreated it to their best ability with pictures of the stars all around the room and a grand piano on a podium. So I went and plonked myself down at the piano and played 'As Time Goes By'. I suppose that every pianist who passes through Casablanca does it and the staff who refrained from screaming, "Oh no, not again!" should be complimented. Anyway I did it and then had an expensive beer and left, back to the ms Noordam for a six-day Atlantic crossing.

Europe is interesting, exciting and, compared to Victoria, horrendously expensive, especially Venice. Price of a beer in Venice? If you drink it standing up, eight euros. Sitting down, twelve euros.

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