Magic Band in London:Salperton To Notgrove (Almost)

Yesterday, Wednesday, 30th of November 2011, at The Scala Theatre, I saw the Magic Band play their first gig of their short winter tour. Three of the five band members, played with the Late Captain Beefheart.

Under the leadership of John French ( drummer and vocalist ), the Magic Band, create with unerring accuracy,  songs from the Beefheart repertory. Last night was the third occasion, that I had heard the band play and apart from minor personnel changes, the core of the band  D.Whalley (guitar), R. Morton ( bass) and J. French (as above) has stayed the same.
It's always an enjoyable romp and last night playing to a sell-out crowd was no exception.
Here is a video extract of MB playing "Floppy Boots Stomp. " The sound quality is poor and you may wish to skip forward.

The  venue was The Scala, near King's Cross, in London.
Here is a pic.

The Scala, itself was an old multi-level building. From the main entrance room/bar, steps led down to the viewing arena and stage; whilst other steps led up to toilets, another bar/gallery and then eventually to an upper floor, where one could see the show behind a glass screen. I stayed downstairs.
The audience, comprised mostly of guys aged 50+. Like me, they were sneaking out for a night of 70s/80s remembrances.
To finish here is a picture of the Magic Band, in session.

At the front, from left to right: Eric;  John; Denny.

≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠

On Friday (2/12), D. and I continued our walk along  The Gloucestershire Way. Our starting point was the War Memorial, just outside the village of  Salperton, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book, as a place meaning " Village on the saltway." Even today, the land was still, largely in the hands of the Lord of the Manor.

The weather was a little colder, than had it had been before; the temperature range from 3- 5 degrees C.

But the sun was up, the colour vivid; all set for a lovely Cotswold walk.

Our route, took us along a road by the side of the Memorial, the fields  having a manicured feeling to them, carefully cut, with little or no weeds to be seen. 

There was an abundance of ' dinner on the feather' with pheasants, partridges and grouse frequently seen. The church and then manor house could be seen, away to the left.

Whilst, on the right side of the road, it was good to see flocks of sheep grazing on the fields  there.

Eventually, by the side of some farm buildings, the road became a bridleway, with this wondrous aspect of the rolling wolds.

Although, the track was muddy, it was joy to walk this ancient pathway on the top of the Cotswolds.

Reaching the bottom of the valley, the path tracked upwards through fields, to arrive past another farm building ( Kites Hill Barn) and then onto a junction with a road.

At this point, rather than turn left and walk into Notgrove village, we decided to retrace our steps and return to our car, by the Memorial.

Here, in conclusion is the attractive sign of  The Gloucestershire Way, which we looked for eagerly on each passing post or gate.

Have a peaceful week ahead and guard your health; you don't want snuffles and sneezes for Christmas do you? 

Ciao4now

Ck.