One of the best things about living in London is that there is always something to do; another is that you never know when such things will crop up. Late on Monday evening I noticed on Facebook that my friend Hugh had a gig the next day with his band, Saltwater Samurai. It wasn’t too far away, so I popped in to the studio to ask Lyn about it. She was up for it, so last night, at around six, we headed out into the dark London night, first to Woolwich, and from there taking the DLR to the George Tavern in Stepney.

I suppose it was our first proper night out in ages, save the night out with my family. Apart from that, we have just been too busy. We needed a good old fashioned night out, with good music, good drinks and good company – and that is exactly what we got. There were three bands playing, of which Saltwater Samurai was the second: all three were great, and after his set Hugh popped by to have a chat. I think he was a bit surprised to see us there, but as ever he was in good spirits. He and his family are doing well: busy as ever, charlotte is touring with the Harmonettes. Incidentally, the joneses were at the Paralympic closing ceremony, and had loved seeing Lyn and the Paraorchestra play with Coldplay.

In all, then, a very good night out. I really liked all three bands, to be honest. The cool thing about London is that it is full of little niche nooks and crannies where bands play and people party. What’s more, Hugh told me that more of my old uni friends from Alsager are planning to move to the capital, which sounds like a potential source of fun. For now, though, Lyn and I are chilling out today, recovering – nights out seem to take a lot more out of me than they used to.