Late finishes I mean!

I always try to arrive at a job at least an hour before starting. If it's the first time I've ever visited a venue, add at least another half an hour - just because it's better to be safe than sorry.

On Friday I was covering a 90s night at The Village Hotel at West Allotment (near Silverlink) for CK Entertainments. I wasn't due to start til 7 but made sure I was in good time ready to start long before. It was a great night & I dug deep in my crates of music - I'd not played a 1990s night since the 90s! One big change for me was the 1am finish. I'm used to finishing at midnight or earlier so it was well past my bedtime when I got home & unloaded my gear.

On Saturday I'd been booked to play a sergeants' mess function at Catterick Garrison. The original start time was 10pm - I arrived well before 9pm, signed in & was directed to the mess hall. The load-in was a dream - a mere few feet from car to venue door.. I got all setup & met the booker who told me the start time was now looking more like 1030pm at the earliest. No problem... It started to look like the 1am finish time might get pushed back too.. By 11pm the room was almost full & there was dancing aplenty. Time marched on & 1am just flew by. The official finish time had slipped to 2am - and thanks to Google Maps' navigation taking me off the base by the most scenic route it was 3.15am when I finally arrived home.

Both 'gigs' were amazing fun & made a lovely change.