Now this was the day that really broke the bank!! Started early for me and Dave, heading into BK for brekkie before sauntering up to the Dublin Castle. In early with pints half drunk already were Rich and Graham, good to see those pair propping up the bar again! And there was the man of the day, Scat- who was about to see the fruits of all his hard work come together for a fantastic day! Emma and Caz must have got up really early, as they were already up at the back awaiting the vid to go on. Then the place started to fill up. Fortunately we had secured a seat, for there was a long day ahead of us! The vid compilation was great, and had started by the time Mr.G and Suzanne made it in along with Simesy, Chris Mountain and Cheryl. By now the place was buzzing, Sir Swanny had arrived, as had the two Vinces, and so folk were busy chatting away to old faces and making acquaintances with new ones. On one of my trips to the nearest offie for some bru, I spotted graham with a huge grin as he proudly announced he had ticket number 0001 for Crunch! (billed oddly as Nutty Boys) So back to the DC and i ended up going on a ticket run for a fair few folk...on the way bumped into Steve and he came along too, just as Nigel and Sara were making their way up to the Dublin Castle- great to see Nigel again, another veteren from my first madmeet. Tickets in hand and back in the DC, the drinks were a-flowing and the auction about to start, some more folk arrived, including Sophie and her mate. I decided to stay out of the auction for the main- i knew i'd only be kicking myself cos i was too skint to bid...i did manage to shell out for a signed DFF vid which of course a number of us tmmlers were on! I also picked up a Buster bloodvessel pic, a bargain at a quid i thought. On to Brixton where we almost got into a fight with a ticket tout, as Lara questioned wether the money he was making would go to charity. Sustainance was achieved in the form of a Wimpey meal...a quick nip into the pub where we bumped into Mr.Thompson and Mr.Barson, Lee downing a bottle of WKD i suggested he try, and Mike watching Holland play- great stuff. Gig itself was great...although i had to nip out at one of the breaks to search for my hat which i'd planted on the napper of swanny in the pub. It's been on my head for every Madness gig ive been to, so didnt want to break the tradition ;o) finally found it on the fair head of sophie before heading back into the floor. A great set by Madness, i see Vince C said Laziest performance was by Mr.Barson on DFF, well i dunno, i think it was his keyboard which let him down a bit for the solo..at least thats what it seemed like to me at the time....yet again i thought all the lads were in great form- a really good mini set. The rest of the night was The Blockheads with guest singeres..now i cannae mind the precise order and who sang what- i know others will (Simesy) but it was fantastic. Mr Norman "Thats not Bedders, is it?!" Watt-Roy was his usual spectacular best in every song, and special mention too for the sax player- what a bloke, for those who never saw it, at one point he played two at once...what a performer. All the singers did really well, though there were a few wee hicups which were sorted by the blockheads- a true sign of a great band. Cocky Williams did well with Sweet Gene Vincent, i thought he buggered up S&D&R&R a bit though. Mark Lamarr and Kathy Burke were suprisingly very good, and it came as no suprise to me that Phil Jupitus was so good, i stood infront of him when he did DFF with Madness on TFI, and he was spot on with the vocals then. A rousing finale saw everyone on stage to cap a fantastic concert, a fitting tribute to a great man from his friends and fans. For our merry bunch itr was on to a dodgy pub in even dodgier and darker Brixton. Mr.G felt knackered after three flights and so much alcohol both down in London and back up in Scotland..and lack of sleep had caught up- so he headed back for a kip, as did Suzanne and Steve and Lara..a few others did too, Sophie and her mate, Andrew Langmead to name a few. The disco consisted of a smallish pub room, loud Madness, Bad Manners Specials and others Ska/2Tone stuff, and loads of Madness fans. Suggsylia had made it along from her sick bed- fair play to the lass for coming along ill! The dancing was led by Vince Carden in his �175 suit, and the dancefloor was filled when on came 'You're Wonderful' A lot of folk ventured outside for the fresh air and quiet (in Brixton? Surely some mistake) I was one of those folk, taking a quick kip on a picnic table seat, before i heard someone saying cocktail sausagues and i was up and back in! ;-) The journey home was a long one for me and Dave, we got a night bus with a few of the others, we got off at the last stop to find the N1 bus. "I dunno", said the driver, "maybe, dont tknow, could be" when asked if this was the right stop for the N1. After walking up the road we found the bus sat down and relieved our aching feet for a few good minutes until the bus stopped and lights went off. Yes folks, We'd got the N1 going the wrong way. So a trudge round to Tottenham Court Road Station to wait for the right bus ensued, and a long wait it was indeed. Where else would you find two Scots boys, one complete with hat and shades walking round a housing scheme in deepest south London at 5am? An absolutely storming gig matched by the meet- what fun we had! My awards: Most memorable meet moment: The Look on Mr.G's pale, troubled face and his strange stiff looking walk after emerging from the toilets in the Twelve pins. Reminded me of the way he looked after returning from the 'Toilet' on the sleeper last year. Most inappropraite Song sung: My good self, " Englands going home" to the tune of "..Footballs coming home", The length of Parkway, Camden Town. Quote of the week: "If you're late, we wont wait!" easyJet airlines, ask Mr.G. And last but not least, Person of the week award goes to everyone who was there and helped make the day a great event that it was, veterans and rookies alike. Big hand to Scat! And Simesy! See you all at the Crunch gig....... 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