Originally Posted by
David House
We went to a Filipino party in a neighbouring town which I expected to be quite a small gathering but turned out to be a pretty big event, with a marquee in the garden and maybe 30-40 Filipinos, mostly Filipinas, plus husbands and kids. Lots of Filipino food and, of course, karaoke. This was loosely based on an organisation centred in Peterborough so if you live in that area and are not already a member get in touch and I will pass your details onto Connie.
We could only stay for an hour or two because Connie had a gig last night and we had to leave to set up. The gig was in a very rough pub, the first time she had been booked there and the first time they had tried live music for a few years. A new landlord was attempting to raise the profile. It was a disaster! Hardly anyone turned up. Sometimes she was singing to only 4 or 5 people but that was not the problem. A small group of lads started to fight between themselves, and although the landlord continually tried to sort it out, he was pretty drunk himself and the trouble went on and on, both inside and outside the pub. It was an intimidating, nasty atmosphere and there was no-one in control. Connie just sang on through it, and I stayed out of the way, but we both felt very uncomfortable. Apart from anything else we have some quite expensive equipment and with wrestling matches happening around us the possibility of it getting knocked over was always there. It was more like a wild west brawl than an English pub. Respite only arrived when the landlord got them out and locked the doors. We packed up but could not leave until we were quite sure it was safe to do so. Why on earth the police were not called is beyond me. Needless to say, we won't be going back. Next week she is in our own local, which ought to be like arriving in heaven by comparison.
