Message from Brutus

What a difference a bit of sunshine makes! Sunday 24th May saw Worfield CC's 8th annual Worfestock festival. It was nice that the sun came out and clouds went and hid just for the day. Great also for all of the people that turn out year after year to make the day what it is and not get a good soaking like we have at the previous two. Thank you to all that grafted so hard on the day, you all know who you are and without you it just would not happen. The crowds came out and when you look at all the smiling faces on the photos that were taken, I think we had a good time.

Apart from all those at the club who grafted so hard, there are of course, all the musicians that turn up and play for us free of charge and allow us to continue to stage Worfestock as a free entry event. The Cricket club benefits from the day and all proceeds go towards it. We at the club are striving to go forward and develop it and secure our place at the forefront of Shropshire cricket. The queue for the bar was probably the only thing that caught us out this year and we will be trying to sort that out for next year. It was frankly, the numbers that turned out on such a sunny day that did us. Most folks got into the spirit and waited patiently for drinks, of course there are always a few who want life completely free and bring their own. Perhaps they thought we had just put on 8 acts and a bbq just for them!

Thank you to all who came and supported us in the true spirit of Worfestock.

The Cellar Thieves

Reggae Rhythms

The Dockers

The Rise

Rocksteady

CCL

Daysleeper

Jonathon Buck and George Goodyear gave us a couple of tunes, I will find a picture of them and post it, I could not find one whilst doing this but there must be some about. They impressed the crowd anyway! (They are 11 years old).

Worfield cricket club will host the 8th annual Worfestock on Sunday 24th May 2009. Gates will open at 1pm with all the usual stuff happening in the afternoon, music starts at about 5.30pm on two stages outside the pavilion. There is a plan against inclement weather so don't be afraid to turn up whatever happens. There will be plenty to keep the kids amused in the afternoon and the bar and BBQ will be open all day.

Kind musicians that are turning out for the club are -

The Cellar Thieves 5.30 - 6.30

The Dockers 6.30 - 7.30

The Rise 7.30 - 8.30

Rocksteady 8.30 - 9.30

CCL 9.30 - 10.30

Daysleeper 10.30 - >>>>

Lets hope for a nice day

Brutus

It's difficult sometimes, to put into words how you feel when you loose a good friend and even more so when it's well before it ever should have been. Since Clive and Pam moved to the area they have become woven into the community because of their kindness and first class friendship.

I speak for everyone, I know, when I say that we will miss Pam very much, her kindness, her warmth and the time she had for everyone without exception. We will all rally around Clive, Darren, Jane and Kyle because we love them very much.

My thought for the day is that I am glad that I knew Pam and have the pain of the loss than not to have met her and not have had all the fun we had.

Brutus

I ordered the new Bruce album, (due for release at the end of January), on the 12th of December. 'That's early enough' I thought to myself smugly. Guess what? It was a day late!

It seems that in my past, listening to Bruce's albums that they get played constantly and then there's another one! and that gets played constantly add infinitum.

This new one is good let me tell ya, obviously I am a very biased fan so you'll have to put that to one side, all Bruce's albums are different I think by evolution and maturity but what I just can't comprehend is where all the different melodies come from. They are not stupefyingly complicated but all great and all different. Lyrically, Bruce is a master class all of his own How do you come up with something like outlaw Pete? and the Bass line in that is nothing short of awesome!

There are some great tunes on there, Kingdom of days is a great song and you can't help drifting off into that one. I reckon Good Eye will get you a speeding ticket if you got that turned up in the car.

The Last Carnival is just one of the best written songs, if you know E Street I need say no more. The vocals at the very end make the hair on my neck stand up every time I hear it, It almost captures the sound of a spirit.

Nice one Bruce and the E Street Band

See you up the road

Brutus

Before I go to sleep at night is the time when I think of the people who are worse off than me. I think it is because it is the place that I am most comfortable and relaxed and I cannot imagine what it would be like to have that taken away. Ironic is it not that at Christmas, where Jesus is said to have roamed that guns and bombs are the only news. It saddens me that in this day and age there is still all this crap going on Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan not to mention half of Africa with little to eat and even less medicine.

So! Happy new year but spare a thought for others who are not so fortunate.

See you up the road

Brutus

P.S there are plenty of people reading the Brutusblog, you are welcome to leave comments as long as they are publishable! and if you subscribe you will get notified when there is a new post.

PP.S A message for unscrupulous online 'pharmacists' your trackbacks will be blocked as this is a blog for people pure of heart.

Well I have to say last night's fundraiser for CF was a great success. If I had to write a script for an evening then last night was the model. I don't know quite how he did it but Clive Cowern came up with a raft of quality raffle prizes and donated gifts. I reckon it is because of the obvious high regard his friends and associates have for him. Some of the prizes were just too big for a raffle and so it was decided that we would have a mini auction and the generosity of those present was nothing less than humbling. The auction, hosted by Bill aka the fat man, was a scream, I don't know what Bill does for a living but he is certainly versatile. Not only did he do the auction, he also sang Johnny B Goode with us in an off the cuff moment. Some mischievous person rang Clive as the auction was coming to a close and bid £100 for the shirt on Bill's back and the poor bugger had to pay £50 to get it back!

There were a lot of our friends present from the days when the Wheel pub was owned by the Goodson family and it seemed to me to be a good opportunity to stich up ex Wheel kareoke star Pez and get him to sing one of the songs he used to sing with the band, I have to say he hasn't lost it, whatever it was! As unofficial fourth member of The Cellar Thieves, I may suggest to Bucky and Jonah that we promote him to head triangle player. The main act of the evening was Daysleeper, good friends of ours and a wonderfully talented act, they turned out for the cause and played some great stuff, their pick of the best recent rock and r&b. For that they get their pic on Brut's Blog.

Awesome set fellas!

It makes me glad that The Cellar Thieves and our friends could help out in some way with all the shite that goes on in daily life, it was good just to have a good old knees up.

Another highlight was the food! Chilli or curry or both with chips, provided by Connolly catering and it was fantastic and I don't think it was this year's most lucrative job if you know what I mean.

Well done Clive Cowern and the family Cowern, another top job.

See you up the road

Brutus

In between the gigs is there is the small matter of a thing called 'work' something that interferes with just about everything, lie ins, the fine art of beer tasting, critically acclaiming Internet porn and so on. Last week I was sent by Hoopers to aid the installation of a seating system for Specialists in seating, the location being the Isle of Man in a small town called Peel. Having never been on a boat before I wondered what I was in for. Two of my very good friends are ex navy boys and they took every opportunity to tell me how rough the Irish sea is and how sick I was likely to get, bless! On the way to Heysham I had to pick up the infamous Big J who for his sins is Specialists head fitter and one of Preston's chief blood spreaders, we set off to conquer the monsters of the deep. We arrived at Heysham on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the wind was a little bracing but the sea looked calm enough to me. Eventually, we set sail for Douglas and all seemed fine, however, when we got out to sea there was a pretty good swell and the headwind meant standing outside for a cigarette was a tricky business because you could hardly stand up, bloody hell it was rough. Although not physically ill I have to concede after nearly four hours of that I was mighty glad to get off that boat! By the time we got to the hotel it was 7pm and so dark as I walked out the next morning I was greeted with this view.

Nice! Anyway the job went OK but I don't think I will be taking up sailing anytime soon. The other half of the gang namely the Chadwicks were also present and Colin the carpet and I have always had banter about the merits of owning a Harley as Colin is a bit of a fan, I have always maintained that if you want a tractor better to go to Massey Ferguson. I once bought Colin a spoof Harley D shirt which was a replica of their logo but with 'different' wording, it read hardly f*****g moving son. Colin wore the shirt but dutifully swore revenge. Some months later we were on a job somewhere and Colin handed me a carrier and said "You gotta wear this next time you play"

I kept my promise! nice one Colin and remember drink ale and trust in the Lord.

See you up the road

Brutus

Sadly, we are mourning the loss of another great musician. Richard Wright, one of the founder members of Pink Floyd passed away this week after a short struggle with cancer. Richard played the keyboards on the music I have listened to most in my life and will continue to do so. Ever since The Wall came out I have listened to the wonderful music put together by Rick and his compatriots a lot, I was 12 then and I am 41 now.

After Roger left the band in the early 80's and Wrighty returned there were many treasures yet to come as his contribution, I think, was distinct.

The Division Bell is one of my dessert island discs and I thank Richard for his part in the very many hours of pleasure I have had listening to their wonderful collaborations.

I always thought it was a shame that they fell out all those years ago, all sides of the arguments have been debated so much and by so many but anyone in a band will know how difficult it can be at whatever level. Roger wrote great lyrics but the melodies and so on needed the likes of Richard and David and of course Nick. When they worked together they were, I think, one of if not the best musical units of the era.

They say that David's guitar can be heard in heaven. It is a nice thought.

See you up the road

Brutus

It gives me great pleasure to announce the third fundraiser for CF staged by the Cowern family. This will take place on November 22 2008 at Worfield village hall (the recreation room).

Top local band Daysleeper will be there rockin ya till ya drop. The Cellar Thieves will play support with an early slot.

There will be a supper available and the obligatory raffle.

Tickets on sale hopefully by the end of September so make sure you get one! tickets available through me or Clive Cowern.

We are hoping to make it a party like we used to, so make sure you are not doing too much on Sunday.

You can check out the CF trust via the back page on the Cellar Thieves website, just click on the link.

See you up the road

Brutus

Have you ever noticed how life's ups and downs seem to follow each other in an almost rhythmic pattern. One day you're a diamond and then you're a stone. It is as if life has ups and downs almost in the pattern of you're very heartbeat. Happy events, all too often are followed by desperately sad ones.

Yesterday, I was informed of the death of someone that I had known ever since what seems like my very first day at school. I never really appreciated what schooling had to offer and while the comparative calm of Worfield school was fine, not long before I was due to progress to the big school Father died and trying to deal with this and the Bridgnorth endowed school at the same time turned me inwards and I did not make too many friends there. But Worfield school boys always seemed to have a type of bond and these people always stayed constant.

Nick was one of these, and although I did not see him often after our school days, he was always the same and I always appreciated that. I will always remember Nick for what I reckon was the worlds biggest grin.

My thoughts are with all those who were close to Nick Wheelan.

God Bless you.

See you up the road Nick

Brutus

Saturday August 9th will stay in the minds of two families for a very long time, for it was the day Paul Thomson swept my lovely niece Mandy off her feet. The day started early for me, as me and the boys, were to meet at the village hall to set up the band's gear in readiness for the evening gig. As I drove there the rain was howling down and the sky was thick and grey, I wondered about the 1.30 wedding.

 I knew that Mandy did not know what kind of transport she was having and as I reached the village hall a smile spread across my face as I saw a couple with two very large horses and a very beautiful cart readying themselves for what was obviously Mandy's lift to the church.

The band set up and sound checked and then it was off to scrub up for my niece's big day.

As 1pm approached, there was still no sign of the rain easing and the 'photos at home' were a real test for the lovely photographer lady, whom I might add was a real star. Then the unmistakable sound of horses hooves came into earshot and Mandy's face was a picture. Off they went my Sister Kathy and Mandy on a trip neither will forget. By the time they got to the church the rain had stopped as if to order. I went and sat in church to await the service, I looked over at Paul, sat in the front pew next to his best man and boy, did he look worried! another smile spread.

Then it was over to my favourite Holy man, the rev Martin Thompson who duly delivered a truly wonderful service. For Paul and Mandy's part, there were no fluffed lines, just words delivered with a feeling that you know they meant it.

Down the pub for lovely meal prepared by Mandy's Aunty Heather and aided and abetted by Roger, Dorothy and Gordon oh and don't forget Burble, whom was wearing the most purple shirt I have ever seen.

Time seemed to fly and it was soon time for all to move venues to Worfield village hall for the evening bash.

By 7pm I have to say I was pretty nervous because I was to deliver Paul and Mandy's first dance. This was something that at the time seemed a good idea, but the closer it got the more stress I felt and I knew that it had to be as good as I could do it. The plan was sing Barry Manilow's Oh Mandy to a backing track for their first dance, oooooh that's brave commented Jonah.

Anyway it was OK! so with that done The Cellar Thieves delivered yet another set, a bit different from last week, with all the right ingredients including a McFly number! wow.

All in all it was quite simply one of life's "Better Days" and I am sure that Mandy and Paul will have a long and happy marriage because he is a top man and she is a top girl.

The photo was taken by Jane Thomson who is Paul's Mother, not bad with a camera eh? I just hope she doesn't mind me pinching it off facebook!

See you up the road

Brutus

Well- another night another gallon! Saturday night was Clive's 50th birthday party at Worfield Recreartion room. I think someone has miscounted because this guy is never that old! Perhaps being boss of a transport company keeps the miles on the road and not on yer face!

The Cellar Thieves were on hand to deliver an hour of live stuff and the PTM roadshow disco got everyone jigging until late into the evening, nice one John & Tim!

Burble the barman was pretty busy too and so a good night was had by all. Another great party in, well, what appears to be the party capital of Shropshire. Happy Birthday Clive and as they say "Cheers big ears"

Brutus

             I have to say, the life of a weekend rock star can be a very pleasant one. Saturday night at The Dog pub in sleepy Worfield saw a party in honour of John and Debs whom had married the day before. The Cellar Thieves proceeded to rock da house with a carefully constructed two and a half hour set that built the crowd into the inevitable chaos.

As dear friends of ours it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of the celebrations and send them on their way in married bliss. We even got them to have a slow dance to 'Beautiful Reward' which was quite a nice moment.

Congratulations John & Debs and thanks for a great party.

See you up the road 

Two thirds of The Cellar Thieves attended Old Trafford last night to check out Bruce and the E streeters. What a fine gig it was too, even if at times a tad damp. Having never been to Old Trafford, I had no Idea how big it was. I wondered whether we would be so far away you may as well have stood outside or wait until it was shown on TV or something. When I bought the tickets I sat at my pc at 8.55 am nervously waiting for zero hour which was 9am. Many times have I been in this situation and still missed out on Bruce tickets! As the church bells struck I feverishly hit the buy tickets button and by 9.03am I was in possession! fantastic. I looked at the seating plan and my eyes nearly popped straight out of my head, Wow we're half way to the Man city ground! I thought to myself. But anyway a ticket to see Bruce is a ticket to see Bruce.

I had been looking forward to the gig ever since I bought the tickets as I had not seen Bruce with the E Street band, saw him at Milton Keynes in I think 94 during the E Street sabbatical and then with the sessions band in 06 and obviously as a fan enjoyed both immensely. I still had an itch though because one of my favourite albums is 75-85 live and I think that is one of the best live albums ever.

So here we are, Old Trafford, much smaller than I imagined and as a consequence much more intimate. Out they come and burst into No Surrender, from that moment on I was somewhere else until the time they finished. What always surprises me about Bruce is the way he communicates with the audience, countless thousands of people, but everyone made to feel he was there for them.

There was a young boy on his Father's shoulders down the front with a great big pair of ear defenders on, I would suspect his dad was worried about the little fella's ears. Bruce cracked a joke about it and played him a song, what a memory in the making.

What a great evening and my gratitude to the man who made me want to jump up grab a guitar, turn it up and rock and roll.

See you up the road

I don't believe it! I muttered as the great Augustus and I stepped from under the veranda at Worfield Cricket Club. It is 8am May 25th and time to go to work on Worfestock. Last year's event had been heavily disrupted by rain and the sky appeared full once more as we went about our business.

As "The rain fell slow, down on all the roofs of uncertainty" we set up and as all the contributors started to appear the rain got heavier. There are however, things that you see at Worfestock that one would stand out in the rain just to witness. The British stiff upper lip was definitely on display as unfazed, Russell Cooks antique fairground and vehicles and mini army got together, the man with the mini quad bikes turned up, a bloke with a load of chickens, Bridgnorth bouncy castles etc.

There were many things that stood out on Sunday, one that made me smile was a very oily and wet Russell Cook appearing out of the mist of drizzle with a great big grin, proudly astride his 1936 Leyland fire engine "what do you think of this then?". Just fantastic.

By the time 1pm came it was really raining and so I retired to the BBQ tent where Adrian Connolly of Connolly Catering was about to embark on yet another burger marathon and sample one of Keith Alderson's marvellous burgers.

As the musicians started to emerge, we all stood around looking at the wonderful stage prepared for us by AAA Scaffold, wondering if we were going to be able to use it. In the end it looked as if it was just going to be out of the question as even when it stopped raining it was still very cool and so Stuart and I took the decision to slim down the musical line up and move the music inside the club house. Out of the seven bands scheduled to play we reckoned that we could get four in, in the evening and so ourselves, (The Cellar Thieves) Rocksteady and the Baz and Jon All-stars stood down.

Quite a crowd of people braved the weather in the end and when the rain stopped we all started to feel a little better about life. Those that came however, were well rewarded with wonderful performances from the remaining bands.

At 5pm The Rise kicked off and immediately got everybody in the mood, front-man Carl Terry's energy is infectious and the lads did a great job of warming up the event. Next up were Worfestock favourites The Dockers who are always popular and this year were no exception. The place then proceeded into complete chaos as pint sized rockers George Goodyear and Jonathon Buck brought the house down with couple of numbers. (Are we in for some fun with those boys.) Next up were our good friends Daysleeper who proceeded to 'rock da house' with a great set. Keep in touch with the brutusblog for more news on Daysleeper that is coming soon.

Our finale was presented by Steel Monkey, whom, I have had the pleasure of seeing before at Church Preen and I knew we were in for a treat. We were not disappointed and their set I thought was simply stunning.

As the evening drew to a close it had become clear to me that we at the club had, in the face of adversity, managed to produce something a little bit special. By the look of the worn out bar staff, Pezzer, Jonah and Sponner I think some ale must have been sold too.

Stuart Buck and I would like to extend our thanks to everyone who helped us produce Worfestock.

See you up the road.

Brutus

Last Sunday in the comfortable surroundings of The Dog public house Worfield, a veritable myriad of musicians met to discuss this year's event. This year will be the seventh one that Stuart Buck and I have organised. It all started off in 02 when we at Worfield Cricket Club thought we had better sort something out for the Queen's golden jubilee and basically Worfestock was born. As our club has grown, particularly the junior aspect it costs more to run but thanks to many people who give up their time, money and effort Worfield is now one of the best places for youngsters to learn the wonderful game. This is particularly true of the above, said musicians who all come and play for nothing and make the day what it is. All at Worfield CC greatly appreciate it.

If you are reading this and do not know, admission is free and so the brief is to eat and drink as much as you can (or dare) listen to some great music and have all Bank holiday Monday to get over it. Demon!

There will be lots for all in the daytime (gates open at 1pm) with too much going on to mention here and the music will start half fourish until late.

Appearing are;

The Cellar Thieves 5.00-5.45

Rocksteady 5.45-6.30

The Rise 6.30-7.15

The Dockers 7.15-8.15

The Baz & Jon Allstars 8.15-9

Daysleeper 9-10

Steel Monkey 10 onwards

Should be good!!

Danny Federici, for 40 years the E Street Band's organist and keyboard player, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three year battle with melanoma.

Bruce said

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together."
—Bruce Springsteen

Danny was a wonderful keyboard player and made a big contribution to the sound of the  E street band, if you click on Bruce's link on the right there is a video clip of a recent show with Danny playing accordian and it is definately worth a look. I hope that this clip is available for time to come.

People can become a big part of your life without you even knowing them and for me, that includes all of the E street band, it must be pretty hard gigging when you have lost one of your mates but the show must go on Danny would insist.

Brutus

Another hangover dished out by WCC's bar manager! to kick off the cricket season The Cellar thieves were joined by The Rise for a musical kick about at the club.

Karl Terry is fronting The Rise and they were fab (several power cuts to contend with) many people asked me if they were appearing at Worfestock and I am pleased to report that they are. Many thanks boys.

I think everyone enjoyed themselves, although Sunday morning was for me, a little foggy!

Barry Nutley joined TCT for a little cameo and that went down a storm, I am not sure though, Barry if those lyrics are quite the ones written!