I Have Seen The Future...........

D'y'know what? I'm fit to burst with pride. The band Son#1 plays in were the opening act of a terrific line up in 'The Slaughtered Lamb' pub in Swords Co Dublin this very evening. The pub was built on the site of a long defunct abattoir hence the unusual name. Mind you, the lads' band has a quare name too - 'The Milgram Device.'

The gig was to raise funds for the South African NGO charity SAEEP, the gig's organiser Aoife Rodgers is just finishing her second year in media studies in Colaiste Dhulaigh and is looking forward to her stint of volunteering in South Africa this summer.

Everyone in Dublin (actually in Ireland) has a 'Bono' story and most Dubliners of a certain age (between 40 and 60) claim they were at the now famous Dandelion Market gigs where U2 and the Prunes started out. And everyone just knew they were witnessing the birth of something big - or so they say!

I'm tellin' yiz now. And I'm putting it in print. The Milgram Device will be the biggest and best bands of the next decade. For a start the lads are very easy on the eye - 'cept for them bloody low slung jeans - PULL UP YOUR PANTS boys!! The girls will idolise them ala Beatlemania and the lads will want to be them - I can hear it now -

-'That Seamus has gorgeous cheekbones,'

-'Oh no! I like Liam - he looks foreign - Spanish or from Belgium or something'

-'Isn't Barry just the cutest fella ever - and OhMiGod he is THE man with that guitar - move over the edge Edge.

-'Oh no, I'm mad about Jack he's so cheeky looking. I bet he'd make me laugh all day'

-'What are ye all talking about - Alex the drummer is the main man, and he comes up with most of the original stuff'

-'And what's their manager's name? Ryan? He's not half bad either.'

- 'I'm movin' to Swords - it's full of talent!

Seamus and Liam share the vocals and both boys have a great quality to their voices. They can play too. Seamus and Barry share lead guitar ( and love it) and Jack bouncin' on bass are superb and of course Alex the drummer gives it welly with panache! What impresses me most about these lads is that they are writing original material as well as doing covers of ...don't ask me, I haven't a clue - I think I recognise the name Biffy Clyro but whose names escape me - I'm sure Pete Doherty comes into it somewhere. Anyway the five lads packed in a thoroughly enjoyable half hour slot and came down off the stage buzzin'.

So in thirty years time everybody in Dublin will be claiming they were in 'the Lamb' at the first official gig of 'the Milgram Device'. And I can say 'I told yiz!' Mammy's never wrong - 'cept when she's wrong of course - but she means well!

Bono and the baby blue hot-pants........

I was wondering what part of my boring life I should blog about. I already blogged about window washing and gardening and kids and stuff and I will never,ever, ever blog about the paying day job because that is INCREDIBLY boring. Then I read 'A Novice Novelists' blog - here's a link

http://jayneferst.blogspot.com/


about a lady wearing a pair of purple satin hotpants and it reminded me of my Andy Warhol moment- even thoughI didn't know it was my Andy Warhol moment at the time.

I was a somewhat rotund child, svelte in comparison to what is called chubby today, but I liked my grub and I took no exercise, I was too busy reading. Of course I still wanted to wear fashionable clothes,and in the early Seventies hot-pants were the bee all and end all of fashion. My mother made most of our clothes and she made me a pair of baby-blue hot-pants. I was eleven years of age. I thought I was divine in those bloody hot-pants. Actually when I look at the photos now, I did look cute in them.

Anyway, one day my father asked me to go to the shop to buy him 20 Major. Great, an excuse to walk up the road showing off my hot hot-pants. There were a crowd of boys on the green space opposite our house, some kicking a football about, othere lying on the grass watching 'the match'. Before I got to the shop ( it was no more than 200 yards from the house) a shout went up from the boys.

'Hey Walshie, you've got a fat arse!'

I was horrified, I wanted to be noticed but not like that. I turned on my heel and ran, crying, back to the house. I went to my Dad and told him what had happened.

'Did ye get the fags?' he asked

'No, and I'm not going out again until they're all gone?'

'Which one was it called ye names?'

'I think it was that Paul Hewson from Cedarwood.'

'Little shite.'

And my big brave Daddy went out and defended my honour, he chased Paul Hewson (now known as Bono) around the green aiming kicks at his behind and saying ' Now, fat arse, let's see who'll have a fat arse after this.'

I watched from behind the net curtains in the sitting room of out house, still crying but laughing at the sight. I never wore the hotpants again, which was a shame because they really were lovely. I never confirmed who had actually called me names and I think poor old Paul Hewson got a raw deal, he was hung drawn and quartered without a trial but after he became Bono we decided to leave him as the culprit, why ruin a good story?

I do have a fat arse now, but Bono - I didn't then. Are you sorry? Me Da says 'sorry' for trying to kick you around the green on a hot summers day in 1972.