Never a band to shirk a challenge, BFC launched into a weekend of almost non-stop gigging which would have had bands half our age shaking their heads saying - "So what?".

TOLLSFEST
It all started on Saturday at 1:45pm at the Tollsfest Festival. This was a great little festival in aid of the Cancer Trust. 700 people turned up to a field in the middle of Tollesbury with only one thing on their minds - Ice Cream. But with the help of some really well organised stage/sound & lighting, BFC and several other bands rocked the crowd mercilessly in the sunshine and reports to date say that nearly £6k was raised on the day. So well done to all the organisers and to the well-oiled, sunburnt crowd for a fantastic day and a brilliant cause!
Come 3pm, we had to pack our gear away and travel to the next gig which was a private party in Harold Hill.

LOTTIES 'BOND THEME' 21ST BIRTHDAY PARTY
When we got there to set up, the Ice Sculpture of a Walther PPK Bond 'Gun' was just arriving. The idea being that the weary partygoer would tip his martini in one end and it would come out of the gun barrel mixed and cooled to perfection! This alone could have set the tone for the night (and morning) to come. The marquee was stuffed to the gunwhales with 21 year old lads & lasses in different (probably revealing - I didn't notice honestly) BOND Girl and BOND villain outfits. We also looked very Bond-Like with our Dickies on show. As Ian surveyed the packed dancefloor he was heard to whimper "Pussy Galore"! We rocked on deep into the night / early hours on a diet of Guinness (and anything else that appeared in our glasses) and lust. An honourable mention must go to Kevin at this point who as one of the most committed revellers did not make it to bed until 5am, but bravely he was up at 9am to load the van ready for the next leg of the 24-hour 'tour'.

CROWN - INGATESTONE (Semi-Acoustic set)
We all turned up at mid-day looking like Death on a stick, but determined to kick some Ingatestone Arse. We were meant to be playing from 1.30pm until 4pm, but as we know no limits, we went on until about 6pm. The Ingatestone Army were all there with the Barrett Clan in attendance. In the break Chris and Greg (baby Barretts) got up and performed a fantastic song that they had written about 20 minutes earlier.

All in all every gig was unique and equally brilliant - thanks to everyone who came to see us especially the ones who came to every gig (you know who you are girls...) Bloody glad we've got next weekend off to recuperate!

When we were asked to play at a charity do at the Warwick Club in the West End last Thursday, we didn't really know what to expect. We were playing with 3 other acts, most of the gear would be provided, and we were elected to go on last (fatal thinking, with a lot of time to drink before going on). However, the night turned into something really special. The first act was a fine singer/guitarist called Tom Norman. It was Tom's first performance in front of an live audience, and he did brilliantly with some great covers including Crowded House and Frankie goes to Hollywood. The next band on were 'The Jagged Eyes'. Unbelieveably this was their first ever gig as well, and they performed a mixture of covers and their own songs to a crowd of amazed and enthusastic fans. We are a little bit biased as Richard Standen (Guitar)and Chris (Guitar) are the sons of our own Chris and Ian respectively, along with the amazing Beth on vocals, Ben on bass and Alan on drums. I have to say that we were completely gobsmacked by the confidence of their performance and the quality of their songs - watch out World here they come! Next up were 'Defend Moscow' who are a fantastic, pro electro pop band. They blew everyone away with their very tight, very dancy stuff - they got everyone on the floor from the minute they started right to the end of their set, they WILL make it - no doubt. Finally, the 'Old gits' (BFC) shuffled onto the stage area, turned everythng up to 11 and went for it!

It turned into a really enjoyable night and we'd like to thank all the organisers for putting on such a great show, the band 'Defend Moscow' for bravely letting us use their gear and finally for you, dear crowd for making it all such fun. Let's do it all again next year!

This years annual outing to our favourite place in the whole of Europe was another great long weekend for everyone that went.
Although lower on numbers this year we still managed to have one of the best days and gigs in all our trips across the pond!
heres how it all unfolded.......

FRIDAY 22nd MAY
Our meeting point at 'chez Standen' at a ridiculously early hour saw everyone bundle tightly into vehicles for the short drive to Dover
Our usual 'fat barstard, gut guzzler' breakfast on the crossing over saw us in Dunkuerqe and en-route to Sluiskil.

two and a bit hours later and the first of the days beers was being 'quaffed' in the beer garden at the Dallinga in the glorious sunshine.
A quick trip to unload both gear and the three 'young uns' that made it over this year and we were ready the sonic assualt on the Ambassadeur.

Not a classic gig by any means but still a great evening and also great to meet up with our 'facebook friend' Godelieve who very kindly came all the way from Antwerp just to see us play!
Thanks Godelieve hope to see next year!

SATURDAY 23rd MAY
Another glorious day in prospect that didn't disappoint. A nice Dallinga brekkie and then a couple of hours just chillin' in the beer garden laughing & joking around before setting off for Groede and the seaside!
That nights pub was literally set at the foot of the sand dunes on the beach at Groede (imagine Camber Sands - but better!)
A nice, no-rush, set up including a sound check for a pub crawling football team that made it feel like a Saturday afternoon at Upton Park and it was off to the restaurant on the beach for a nice meal.
....And then it started to rain! and rain and rain! For two hours it pissed down and we were wondering if any people were going to come out and see us, or, stay safely tucked up in there tents and caravans!
We needn't have worried. The pub filled quickly. The rain stopped and the band were having one of those 'purple patch' gigs where everything is played 'tighter than a gnats chuff'!
The crowd soon got into it and were rocking the hinges of the doors. The evening included a great guest appearance on guitar from Steve and his Peter Green replica guitar on Cocaine, Wishing Well and Black Magic Woman (well played, Steve) and the 'now historic' moment that saw Leena Shalloe take over bass duties on a song that we'd managed to learn just that very day!.
Now, most people, when they start playing usually choose something a bit easy so as to 'ease into it gently'. Not our Leena, oh no! Bloody Hotel California if you will (including the reggae bass lines!). With husband Dave moving over to add a third guitar we were going for it! and guess what?, we didn't cock it up! Mrs Shalloe was a star and the hippy and Kev recreated those harmony guitars with Dave belting out the end solo like he was Joe Walsh himslf! It will now become a fixture in our set lists!



A little after 2am we were done. A sober Dave Barrett (yes, sober - he had to drive!) had whipped the crowd up with his now famous 'Dakota on a chair' (with Ray ready to catch him if he fell)!
A fabulous Comfortably numb including Steve on rythym guitar and a blistering 8 minute solo from Uncle Kevin and we were off into the night, back to Sluiskil. Thanks to everyone that came to see us, you were great. Hope to see you next year!
Now, at 4.30am in the morning we should really be getting to our beds.....but the Boekanier was still open heh, heh!. Time for a nightcap (That should really read morningcap!)
It was 'squabblers' all round (Jack Daniels & Port)! And, as the barman serving was already pissed, these weren't doubles, or even triples, these were half pints of the bloody stuff!
It's important to mention at this point that some of us had'nt had a drink all evening as we were driving so, walked in quite sober. Uncle Ian, who came out of hospital the previous Wednesday after an operation on his leg and who limped like he'd shit himself all weekend (and, it has to be said, was on medication as a result) launched himself into the guinness book of records for getting 'power pissed'
one squabbler drunk and one dropped on the floor and he'd 'gone down quicker than a Bankok ladyboy' Less than an hour from sober to slaughtered! A record surely never to be beaten!
Kev, Stef and Dave staggered out into the early morning sunshine in time for breakfast at the hotel. Gentlemen, we salute you!



SUNDAY 24th MAY
Unsurpisingly, a slow start to the day with many faces not making breakfast, or elevenses....or lunch! Pretty soon though we were back to the 'beer in the sunshine' and watching the live band that were playing in the bikers festival. A nice chilled afternoon, including a visit from the biker boys from Romford who'd been to Verdun and were on the way to Ostend.
Dinner in the evening was excellent, with our usual 20 place table and more fillet steak and racks of ribs than you could shake a stick at! In fact the meal took longer than expected so we didn't start playing in the bar til 10.20pm (sorry for those that had to wait). Unplugged was the name of tonights' game (well, semi-unplugged anyway) after a cautious start we ended up having a great time even playing stuff we didn't know we knew till 2am! The highlight though, without a doubt, was a solo version of Stevie Ray Vaughans' 'Lenny' from Kev. Guitar genius at it's finest!

MONDAY 25th MAY
Sad farewells to Ray, Conny and Shana's super little twins and it was off to Blankenburge for lunch on the beachfront cafe. A quick 'squabble 'with Mr. Standen and we were ferry-bound.
Once on the ferry, the weekend starts catching up with you. A quiet, pleasant trip later and we were all back home safely. Nobody got to bed late that night I can assure you!

A big thanks go out, as always, to Ray & Conny (always great company, thanks for all the organising Ray) Shana & Cheryl (thanks for going nuts on Saturday night!) Bart, Patrick, the twins, Dimitri, Marco, Martin and Berry at the Dallinga.
A special thankyou too, to the 'breakfast lady' that let me into the hotel at 5.30 am after I'd crashed into all the chairs and gone 'arse over tit' in the square (power pissed championship medal still around my neck!) having had to walk just 15 yards from the Boekanier to the hotel!

Can't wait until next year!

PS If you want to see some of the shameful pics from the Holland 09 tour - please click here
These will be added to over the forthcoming weeks as the blackmail letters get delivered...

As you all know, it was the Hippy's 40th last week. We had a mild celebration down the studio where much Curry and Guinness was downed along with acoustic (semi)musical accompaniment. Ian decided that he could not let the occasion pass without giving Neil (Dave) a  'personalised' BFC birthday card (see below). A letter from my lawyer will be forthcoming Mr. Barrett...

Bank Holiday Sunday 1pm. The Plough Car Park had been turned into something like Henley Regatta - all white marquees, Real Ale, Oysters, Champagne and s***loads of people quaffing the lot. You can't get a better recipe for an audience to get well lubricated and ready for an afternoon of singing and lewd dancing (courtesy of the oysters... probably) see pic below:



As the day went on, it was obvious that everyone was enjoying ourselves far too much to finish at the proper time - so we carried on ... and on... until 8.30pm. Ian and Kevin really got into the groove with a cracking version of hideaway - see pic below - they rocked out so much their tongues changed colour ... weird



Thanks to all the special guests - Trev, Pod, Em, Lesley, Dave Major Barrett (now officially the 6th 'Cover'), they all did  a fantastic job and these festival days just wouldn't be the same without you!  Our families and friends also need a big hug for coming to see us yet again - even though they know the songs better than we do (which to be honest is not that difficult...)

Thanks to the lovely Plough crowd who showed us that they really know how to have a good time and can go mental at the drop of an oyster (providing it's washed down with ten bottles of Champers)... Please click here to see more pics of yourselves in all your glory!

Finally, thanks to Ben and all the staff at the Plough for all their hard work/ringing ears and for giving us a chance to play in the first place!