FUCKING HELL. I woke at 4:00am this morning and proceeded to spend the next 5 hours doubled up in pain. It would appear that whatever I had for lunch yesterday had decided to grab my innards and twist them around like a twisty turny thing. It's 11:00pm and I'm still sore. No amount of prescription drugs seem to relieve this discomfort. Our bodies really know how to bring us back to earth with a bump don't they ? and I was supposed to play at a singer-songwriter session tonight. where's that emoticon for VERY DISAPPOINTED !

I finally did it ! Rough at the edges but I'm finally doing what I always wanted to do - get up there on stage and sing MY songs. First song is called "Words Don't Work" and it's about someone I'm related to who really needs to get a grip. After a rushed introduction (can you tell I'm nervous ?) I play a song called "Dive" which I wrote with Danny Higgins in the UK a few weeks ago (that Bore Place weekend I enjoyed so much). The last song is for my grandfather Mick. When I was small he could hold me and everything would be alright again. When he was smaller than me and ill I couldn't hold him much as I wanted to. It's called "(I Want You To) Break Me" and I wrote it a few years ago with Dan Prendiville but only now finished it off and understand what it's about. The whole thing is 10 minutes long - a friend video'd it for me. I thought I was signing up for an open-mic night. Turns out it was a bloody competition! Clap-o-meter included. It was great fun. And no OF COURSE I didn't win ! Going on first was probably easier because I didn't have to follow any bands - and there were some cracking bands playing that night. Next week I'm doing two (proper) open-mic nights.