Tis the season to be stressful

I remember when Christmas was a fairly straight forward affair, you know back in the days when I had a regular job. Make it to December > put festive tunes on headphones > not enjoy Christmas party > hang in there till the 23rd, annoyed that I only have four days off. 

Of course, these days I'm totally in charge of my own destiny, and I've treated myself to a bit of a festive break - in fact, I won't be working from 22nd December - 3rd January, which I feel I deserve as, as it stands, I've taught for 25 days in a row. 

So what's the stress? Ah, the usual. Still haven't got 12 venues for our 12 gigs of Christmas marathon day which is creeping up...seems that just as I have 12, a venue pulls out. Cambridge: you're actually starting to annoy me now. 

Two days before that, Vicky H and I are hosting a joint student gig where her singers and my drummers join forces. Should be fun but we've lost half the band due to better paid gigs (well, gigs that pay anything, ours is for charity) and it's a bit of an admin nightmare.

And, I'm trying to organise a last-minute 40th birthday for Josie, who has been so good to me in so many ways over the years. That's two days after Christmas and venues aren't exactly keen to have a hundred drunk people taking over. Surely, as a venue, that's what you want?

And, of course, car issues. This one has it's MOT on 22nd December and won't pass, so I'm teaching seven days a week to save up for a new one. I think I'll just about get there...

Ah yes, and our wedding anniversary is on Christmas Eve, which I should remember, but because it's Christmas Eve, I keep forgetting.

And of course my booking agent wants to know what shows I have for next year, for various fringe festivals. I have so, so many shows, which isn't helpful. 2026 will be busy. There's just a lot of emails at the moment. A lot.

But it's all fun stuff, as much as I moan. The student showcases in the schools have been great so far, everyone loves Christmas songs and I've enjoyed my recent gigs - a nice range from hotel stuff with the blues band, big sell out show with FH, a session gig at a college with a band I've never met before, and today depping for Vicky's band at the Mill Rd Winter Fair. 

Head down Richards. December could go horribly wrong. Let's finish this year on a high. 

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