Being the 1st of August 2008

Having dined on a selection of cold meats & savage mustards followed by a cold rice pudding, Mr. Alfred Higgins Esq. pushed himself back from the table, belched lightly into his napkin and addressed his wife...
"Mrs. Higgins, I feel the breath of the muse upon my soul and must exercise my talent..."
Mrs. Higgins stared at her uneaten rice pudding feeling that familiar rising unease that inevitably followed her husband's now all-too-frequent announcement...
"Must you, Mr. Higgins?" she implored earnestly, her fragile composure in danger of shattering at any moment...
"Mrs. Higgins. You know I am unable to control the beast once I have heard its cry."
"Now be so kind as to draw the curtains firmly shut so we may begin..."
Ever the dutiful wife, Mrs. Higgins went about her allotted task whilst Mr. Higgins fished about in his undershirt for the bunch of keys that unlocked the gateway to his personal paradise...
His hands trembled slightly, beads of perspiration formed on his brow...
Reaching under the sideboard Mr. Higgins withdrew a sinister elongated black leather-bound case..
Mrs. Higgins, unbidden, covered the photo of her long dead mother with an antimacassar from the best armchair and offered up a silent prayer for her own salvation...
Mr. Higgins, his eyes popping, the veins on his forehead bulging horribly, unlocked the case, flipped the clasps, threw open the lid, grasped hold of his foul instrument, turned to his wife and said with a leer, "what's it be tonight then Mrs. Higgins..?"
"Every Friday night the same" Mrs. Higgins thought, "Every Friday night the same..."
Then her suppressed rage burst its banks, gushing forth, uncontrollable, unstoppable, the words tumbling over each other in a tirade of unbridled disgust...
"Why can't you and your filthy banjo just sod off up the City Folk Club...?"

Eyes down, look in...

I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper: Yvonne
Whiskery Bob: Mike
Lady Of Autumn: Eddie
The Downfall Of Paris: Jerry
The Month Of January: Jenny
Raining In My Heart: Brenda/Berry
Julia Clifford's Polka: Mick
This Time: Berry
Puff The Magic Dragon: Les
Frying In The Rain: Mave
Johnny Sands And Betsy Haigh: Bill
A Thousand Years: Paul
Jimmy Newman: Ken
Outward Bound: Lynda/Paul
Oh! Susanna: Jane/Dave
His Latest Flame: Paul
The End Of The World: Lynda/Paul
Tomorrow Is A Long Time: Jane/Dave
Butterflies: Mike/Yvonne
The Night Is Young: Eddie
Ian Robertson: Jerry
Blackwaterside: Jenny
As Time Goes By: Brenda
Tickle Dew: Mick
Sea Cruise: Berry/Ken
Stewball: Les
You Win A Hen: Mave
I'll Never Find Another You: Phine
Deep Blue Sea: Bill
It Doesn't Matter Anymore: David

Nice to see Les, Pam & Phine returning after short absences...
So, that went well and nobody had to die...