Hello everyone.

Live music at Robfest 2015

Live music at Robfest 2015

Last Sunday, 2nd August, saw ‘Robfest’ 2015 take place. This was the 10th ‘Robfest’,  and the specially invited audience seemed to enjoy the occasion. There were various live musical acts to entertain the crowds as well as the specially ordered weather.  With a few drinkie-poohs and nibbles thrown in, it all went off smoothly.

Thanks to everyone who attended, hope you enjoyed it and the photos and videos will be up shortly.

BFN,  Jools Robfest

Hello everyone.

Stan Bowles

Stan Bowles

Firstly, some sad news concerning one of my all-time favourite players, Stan Bowles. I was sorry to hear last week, of Stan’s illness.  Stan entertained and gave so much excitement and pleasure to the fans at QPR in the 70s, in our best ever team.  I was lucky enough to have a Season Ticket throughout the whole of the 70s and so witnessed most of the home matches that Stan played in.  One of the most skilful talents this country has ever produced, he was a joy to watch.  Best wishes to Stan and his family.

Talking of QPR, the recent new signings would appear encouraging for the coming season. I do hope they don’t end up sitting on the bench for the next couple of years while some of the players out on the pitch also do nothing.

Musically, I dropped in at Jam Night a couple of Thursdays ago and played a couple of numbers with the house band. It was good to get back to playing again, but my return to regular house band duties are still some weeks away, following my recent knee surgery.  The second Riff Raff album is progressing, but we still don’t have a name for it, as yet.  ‘El Ton’ and ‘Johnny UnKempt’ have both been over to ‘Shabby’ to record recently, but there’s more still to do.

I’ve recently visited The Beck Theatre, on two consecutive Fridays. Last week (19th), me and Rosie went to see “That’ll Be The Day”, a show which features great music from the 50s, 60s and 70s plus comedy sketches. We’ve seen them many times in the past and the current show was up to the usual high standard. Great stuff !  We returned to the Beck last night (Friday 26th), to see the Illegal Eagles for the first time. I went with Rosie, Stuart and Elaine and I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say it was a very enjoyable evening with the band playing classic Eagles music.

Oh well, that’s it for now.    BFN,   Rob.

Mac Poole

Mac Poole

Hello everyone !

Well, I’m afraid there’s sad news this week.  Mac Poole, who I’ve had the privilege of playing with at Jam Night over the past ten years, has died.  I have recorded a few of my own thoughts on the Jam Nights page.

Rob.

Hello everyone.

Rob's Knee - soon to be a matching pair

Rob’s Knee – soon to be a matching pair

The title of this, my latest post, is ‘Here we go again !’  This is because I’m off to hospital for another knee operation.  I’m in on Monday 20th April for a total replacement of my right knee.  So, I’ll have a matching pair and will hopefully be trouble-free for the next few years at least.

In the meantime, Jam Night will continue without me, until I’m fit enough to start lugging my gear about !  The recent Jam Nights have been pretty well attended on the whole, so if you haven’t been lately, or you’ve never been before, get down there on Thursdays and join in the fun.

Right, time to go !   BFN,   Rob.

Hello everyone. Well, Christmas and New Year are now well behind us. I hope you all had a great time over the festive period. So, here’s a quick up-date.

Jam Night has resumed at the Middlesex Arms on Thursdays, but we still need more to come down and enjoy this ‘Marvellous’ evening !  If you haven’t been for a while or if you’ve never been before, come down … You’ll be pleased you did !

On other stuff, I’m just recovering from a heavy cold, which is just as well, as I have an appointment at the hospital this week to see my consultant. Yes, time to review my knees again !  Preparations for the cricket season are upon us – Committee meetings, nets, work on the ground etc.  … all in the pipeline.  In the meantime, I’m back to playing a bit of 5-a-side footie, once or twice a week, chucking myself around between the posts.

Oh well, that’s all for now.  Cheers, Rob.

Hello there !

Rob at Jam Night

Rob at Jam Night

Yes folks, Christmas is now looming large on the horizon, so Jam Night will be taking a break.

The last Jam Night of 2014 will be next Thursday, 27th November.

Jam Night will be back on either 8th or 15th January 2015.

( See up-date  on  the  ‘Jam Nights’   page !

Cheers, Rob.

Rob with The Firedogs

Rob with The Firedogs

Hello everyone.

Well, it’s been a while since I last went ‘into print’. There’s been so much happening. It’s been all go at this end. So, what has been happening ?

Well, Robfest is now a distant memory, but it was a great day, enjoyed by all. And the weather was great again. We’ve been so lucky down the years. Long may that continue.

On the music front, I’ve done a couple of local gigs recently at The Barley Mow in Shepperton, depping with Ed’s band, ‘The Firedogs’. A big thanks to Ed for inviting me along to play – very enjoyable !

Thursday Jam Nights at The Middlesex Arms, South Ruislip, are still going strong, but there’s always room for more. So if you fancy joining in, or just want to hear some live music on a Thursday evening, The Middlesex Arms is the place to be.  The recording of the Riff Raff second ‘difficult’ album is under way. The title has yet to be decided but there’s plenty of time for that.

With regard to all things sporting, the knees are not too bad as it ‘appens. I only played five games of cricket in the season just gone, but got two muscle strains.  The knee was great though. Just need to get the other one done, but that’s another story. I’m slowly making a comeback with the 5-a-side footie too, although I’m not playing regularly yet. I’m probably better off sticking to the Subbuteo instead !  Talking of which, I’m currently making preparations for the new flicking season which will be starting very soon.  I’ve also seen a couple of QPR’s games on TV, but sadly, they haven’t started too well on their return to the Premier League. However, a superb Niko Kranjcar free-kick rescued a point against Stoke on Saturday, in a 2-2 draw. So dramatic !

Rosie prepares for her 120mph ride

Rosie prepares for her 120mph ride

Rosie had her Goodwood experience on Monday morning, with a ride in a black Corvette, reaching speeds of up to 120 mph. We stayed overnight in Chichester so we effectively had two days away, taking a detour and stopping off in Littlehampton on the way home . Great fun at Goodwood though, with all those classic cars, mostly Mustangs ;  experiencing the sounds of those engines and the atmosphere of Goodwood itself.

It was good to see “Little Al” last Wednesday. Having not seen each other for about three years, we had a good old catch-up over a curry in Virginia Water. Looks like I might have another recruit to the Subbuteo League and there may even be a 25 year re-union of the old band … Let’s hear it for ‘Guess’ … < Clap … Clap > !!!  Watch this space for more news on that.

Anyway, I think that’s about it for now.  Until next time … BFN,

Rob.

Hello there !

Well, Robfest is over for another year. Last Sunday’s extravaganza was well attended although there were some notable absentees whose presence was missed. For them, and for anyone who was there and wants to relive the magic moments, just click on this  ‘Robfest 2014’  link to see the video and photos. Yes folks, they’re now available for everyone to view, exclusively on this website !

Ed muscles in on "Riff Raff" at Robfest

Ed muscles in on “Riff Raff” at Robfest

Due to torrential rain, thunder and lightning at around 7.30 Monday morning, the de-rigging operation hurriedly swung into action and took somewhat longer than usual.  There were a few items of equipment that got a little wet and therefore needed to be dried out. One or two minor items even had to be chucked out. This was followed by testing everything to make sure it all worked OK, before storing everything away. Needless to say, it all took a fair bit of time.

For all us ‘Riff Raffs’ that were there to entertain the masses, this was the first time we’d played any of our set together since last year’s Robfest. Taking this into consideration, I don’t think we were too bad on the whole  . . .  Oh well, off to sort out something else now !  Enjoy the video and pics ! !

BFN,  Rob.

Rob prepares for his big comeback !

Rob prepares for his big comeback !

Hello everyone.

Well, having recovered from the late drama at Wembley, which saw QPR return to the Premier League, I watched, like many people, the anticipated early exit of the England team at the World Cup. One day we’ll have a team that can win it again, by which time none of us will be around to witness and enjoy the moment.

Anyway, moving on from that somewhat depressing thought, Rosie and I enjoyed our recent holiday in the Isle Of Wight. The weather was pretty good on the whole and we got round to most parts of the island. We spent Friday evening at King Harry’s Bar in Shanklin enjoying ‘The Hillmans”, playing rock’n’roll covers. Very enjoyable !

Having returned from holiday, I played cricket on Sunday.  This was my first match since my knee surgery last October, and what an eventful comeback it was !  I opened the bowling, with a pain-free left knee and feeling quite good considering the lay off and the surgery !  But it didn’t last long as a niggly groin strain forced me to come off after just 3 overs. Still at least I finished the day with a wicket for just three runs to go top of the club bowling averages. Perhaps injuries do have their compensations after all !  Luckily, the injury isn’t too serious, so I should be back to have another comeback game very soon.

Back on the music front, I recorded with Ian on Monday. He came round to ‘Shabby Road’ to work on his tracks for the new CD.  Still lots to do, but we’re getting there.

Jam Night on Thursday was fairly well attended. Good to get back to playing live again after my week in the IOW !

Oh well, that’s about it for now. ‘Robfest’ is on the horizon, so I’ll be back soon with an up-date of that and a load of other stuff !

BFN,  Rob.

Hello everyone.

Well, its been quite a while since I last wrote. Everything has been ticking along much as before on the whole.  Jam Nights are still going well, with last Thursday evening turning out to be particularly well attended – very busy indeed !

Wembley !

Wembley !

This weekend got pretty busy too.  I went to Wembley Stadium on Saturday to see QPR take on, and beat, Derby County, with a goal in the last minute of the game. Yes, I was lucky enough to get a ticket just when I thought I’d missed out, thanks to Joel’s efforts and his knowledge of getting round the internet and anything else connected with these new fangled computer thingies. And what a great way to mark my first visit to Wembley Stadium since its rebuild. There I was, sat in my seat at the new Wembley, to witness the all-important goal scored by Bobby Zamora.  The ball hit the back of the net and the whole place erupted ( well, the QPR half at least ) with 40,000 QPR fans jumping out of their seats and going absolutely mad, all amidst a massive sea of blue and white flags. Unbelievable !   The goal takes Rangers back to the Premier League and now secures Zamora as a QPR legend. So a great day at Wembley and Rangers will be playing in the Premier League next season – Come on you R’s ! !

Talking of legends, Ed Hamilton was playing at The Red Lion in Shepperton on Sunday afternoon. Rosie and I went along and enjoyed the gig, but sadly, not many people turned up to enjoy Ed’s set.  A shame there weren’t more there – they all missed a good gig at a nice pub.

Well, it’s now Bank Holiday Monday and chucking it down with rain at the time of writing, so plans of a trip to the New Forest have had to be abandoned !  Never mind, Mr UnKempt is coming round tomorrow ( Tuesday ) to record some stuff !

BFN,  Rob.