A belated account of the Ghostship Lanterns outing to the Rhythm Factory on the 23rd December here follows.

Although refreshed from a recent trip to a Carribean island, I had succumbed to the nasty grip of flu in the run-up to xmas, which presented me the ideal excuse to cancel the Ghostship Lanterns show on the eve of Christmas eve. Probably the combination of exhaustion from travel, being couped-up for 8 hours in a metal box, no sleep, lots of booze and a switch from 28 degrees to zero degrees. Anyway, the masochist in me decided to play-on, and so I dragged myself (almost literally) to a rehearsal and the show, by which time I couldn't swallow without considerable discomfort (not that I need to as part of rehearsal, honest). I was completely exposed to the inevidable jibes from the band, having no energy to protest that I looked as though I was watching Emmerdale throughout the evening.

Although the turn-out was good, it was still quite chilly in the rhythm factory, and punters were still in coats and sometimes their hats. For me, it was cold to take off my gloves, so I faced the dilemma of looking like Walter and the softies and playing in my coat and scarf or shivering for the show. In the end I compromised and kept my skater-hat on, which I have seen bassists for metal bands wear, and they're cool, so in the end I think I got away with it.

The show passed-off well, including good feedback for Chris' ballad 'There is a Star', which is beginning to gel nicely in the set. Yet the highlight was the obligatory Christmas number. We opted for  'Blue Christmas' by Elvis Presley, and the King got the crowd linking arms and dancing. This led nicely to to the final act of the evening, a performance from the London school of Samba, which comprised about a dozen percussionists and two luscious dancing girls, together recreating vibes from Brazil, London and New Orleans.

If you were there and got any photos, please e-mail them in.