They call them The Belfast Boys

'Two of Us'

Ray and Jack went to see a production of Let it Be at the Grand Opera House this week. Holding a Doctorate in The Fab Four (Mark Lewisohn has my cousin's number on speed dial), Ray would have been making copious notes throughout the evening: was Macca holding his thumbs aloft at the right angle? Was George doing that little shimmy he used to do just before he played a solo? That sort of thing.

Jack on the other hand would have been considering the pros and cons of crowd surfing. And whether or not they were selling tubs in the foyer at half time.

A Hard Ray's Night

My cousin Ray has been around these parts on at least one previous occasion. Not not only do we share the same set of grandparents, but also a love of all things Beatles; in particular A Hard Day's Night. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of conversations we've had that hasn't contained at least one line from the film: 'He's very clean, your grandfather' being a hardy perennial. Last Saturday, on a trip to the seaside, we found ourselves in what can only be described as a Hard Day's Night carriage - so with a little help from his son (my second cousin, I think) Jack, we tried to do a little FAB re-enactment. I'm out of shot holding Jack's feet. 

A little later we took our guitars down the corridor to the mail carriage and played 'I Should Have Known Better'.

The Day The Music Died

As a young Frank Sinatra once said: 'It's nice to go trav'ling, but it's so much nicer to come home.' After a few days in Bonnie Scotland, with a night in Berwick-on-Tweed thrown in for good measure, it's back to life, back to reality.

So, what have we learned?

1. Keep 'em peeled on the A1 - there's a killer on the loose.
2. The Barrels in Berwick keeps a magnificent pint of Jarl .
3. In said hostelry I learned that the door of No.10 Downing St has 6 panels.
4. And that the Paramount Pictures logo is surrounded by 22 stars.
5. Ray, my cousin, doesn't have anything on his iPod recorded after the 70s. 'Music died the day John Lennon was gunned down' he laments. Cue this framed photo, again from The Barrels.6. Margorie McCall lived once, but was buried twice: True Story!
7. Currie's and Kebab's (sic) are wrong on so many levels.8. I don't do gardens. But then I saw Drummond. Quite stunning.
9. Jack, my first cousin once removed, should be on the stage: he kept us entertained for the whole holiday. Can I have my hat back, Jack?10. The walrus was not Paul. It's Ray. I have the picture to prove it.

John Otway: I Am The Walrus