Old Lady Raymond: "speaks"

Thankyou!
Hello. Good evening. Or morning. Whatever. It’s Raymond here. I thought it was high time I posted a blog here on the glorious Sundown website, to take the heat off Jove a bit. Aren’t I nice?
Well. It’s all getting VERY exciting isn’t it? I’m not talking about Christmas, no no no, I’m talking about HOW MANY ROADS? Eeeeeeee. Never before has Southend seen such a gorgeously unique event. Not even when they do the Eastenders specials and film on the grimy beach. It’s better than that. I for one am gagging to find out which music has inspired our four poets, and I am also ridiculously excited about Jonny Trunk’s compering, as he used the phrase ‘jiggery pokery’ at the Arctic Circle and this scored several cool points.
I’ve just finished the Press Release for this project, which as I type is being converted into a PDF document, check me out alllll technical (I still don’t know what PDF means but I like pretending I do).
This morning it was REALLY frosty and crispy and bright, quite lovely. Far too nice a day to stand inside and sell books to middle aged women. But still. We make a living as best we can. Sorry, I’ve started talking a bit like a posh old lady. Maybe it’s because I just had a cup of tea and a mince pie.
I hope you’re all looking forward to the new year, it’s going to be an amazing one for Sundown what with How Many Roads? and the Luke Wright partnership stuff. I’m so happy to be part of it, yes even down to the PDFs and the accounts.
We have a lot of fun, don’t we?
S’nice.
Ok then chaps, I’m off to view the spangly new press release, have perhaps another tea, and read about the Mitford sisters.
Swell.

Bye for now!
Ray xXx

Coffee and Cakes

I'm beginning to completely take cakes at meetings for granted, and biscuits. Malcolm staged another lovely Sundown meeting recently round his with cakes and flapjacks, mmm. As you may have heard we will be working on a project with the Arts Council England in January. This is very exciting but it is also hard work, I have been working everyday on it and trying my best to plan but already I have learnt new things. Things I would change for next time, things I would improve, things I would do better. Sometimes I feel really snappy at meetings and am convinced that everyone goes home thinking I'm a moody conker but I hope not, I hope they see how much it all means to me and that sometimes, I'm just a bit tired. We are going to be working on the press campaign for our How Many Roads? project, also we'll be scouting the venues for our forthcoming big fundraising PR stunt - 'Sundown-a-thon'. Information coming soon for that one but it will be FUN, FUN, FUN and a little bit er, mental. Not in a mum-wearing-novelty-reindeer-antlers-"Oo look at me and how wacky I am"-mental kinda way but in a more let's-read-poetry-to-angry-white-Essex-men-mental way. Explained?
Good. Time is pressing on already for How Many Roads? and the next Sundown - both taking place on January 27th. A little known holiday called 'Christmas' seems to be getting in the way. I have become mega skint and can barely afford money for the bus. A recent lunch with Luke Wright has taught me that here is one of the most talented young men to come out of the British poetry scene, ever. He has the energy of a child after eating a bag of Haribo and the style of a 50's detective and he has been most supportive of Sundown, you really must check out Luke Wright today on the interweb thing, yeah.
In the bakers the other day, they were selling bags of marzipan, this made my eyes go a bit OOOOOOOO and my brain went "mmm the best bit of cakes!! in a bag!! on the counter!!" and then I left to contemplate whether what I'd just seen was really true. It's really time for a new Sundown podcast soon so look out for that, we're planning to interview Simon Blackman and perhaps some others, in Chris Davison's bedroom again, where he likes to cast pods.
Gremlins grew in pods didn't they? There are Gremlins all over Chris' bedroom floor.
No there aren't. Who said that? Meanwhile we are becoming increasingly worried about the table & chair situation at our venue. At this rate, we may have to employ people to mime as chairs and get other people to sit on them. This could work, we could market it as live performance art. Went to the recent Arctic Circle Christmas Concert and it was brilliant, haunting and unique and Arcticky. www.jointhecircle.net
I've rented Sherry Baby - let you know what it's like. I watched Dawn French interviewing Russell Brand the other day and decided that I quite like Russell Brand. I don't like men in tight trousers though. Someone else really should write a wee blog entry apart from me all the time shouldn't they? I keep spilling eucalyptus oil on me. By accident. It's not something I'm into.
Anyway, the How Many Roads? show must go on but keep your ears around for a new podcast soon and start looking for our flyers and posters, they are OUT THERE. Don't forget to keep checking the website for news of our 'Sundown-a-thon'. There will be clipboards.

Love,

Chief x

In The Name of Pod

It's 12am and currently two of the Sundown team members are travelling back from seeing Arcade Fire at Alexandra Palace, whilst me and our soundman Chris discuss whether seeing Arcade Fire in a tiny venue would be better than seeing them in a huge venue, I quite like the idea of being a few inches away from Win and having the risk of death from his accordian as it accidentally bashes me in the head because we're SO CLOSE, and the rest of the band members teetering on the edge of a stage, having to keep jumping back up again to bang a symbol.
But y'know, taking photos on your camera phone from afar is fun too.
So Friday night we all did a podcast round Chris', Miss B drove us to Billericay, where she told us tall tales of her beloved Billericay nan and we all got to know just Who. Is. Becca? Yes, you'll be shortly able to listen to our podcast where we - basically - talk shit for 15 minutes leaving Chris with an incredible amount of editing to do afterwards. 'Twas me, Chesney (Cherryl or Cherry to you), Raymond, B, Chris and friend - Becca. Becca was visiting B and had been roped into holding a microphone and pretending to be Malcolm for the evening. Malcolm was a-resting his knee. We're going to do a new podcast soon and include some snippets of live Sundown recordings, interviews and special guests. So don't worry, it won't be us talking shite allll the time. A LOT of exciting news in the Sundown camp later which we shall be revealing very soon.

Right now there's footage on the tele of men playing recorders. See, this is what freeview is for, extra late night viewing, I'd never watch it during the day, just at gone 12am.
At our BIG BIRTHDAY BASH on the 25th, Miss B will be dressing up as a tea-lady with rouge cheeks and baggy tights, I'll be performing someone else's poem through the medium of sock puppetry. There will be mens large thermal t-shirts. Raymond is making jelly! Like, in cups.
*note to audience - Raymond won't actually be IN jelly. Although....no, don't go there.
We will be covering our soundman Chris in chocolate spread though and throwing him down a binliner shute. But y'know, that's what we do at every Sundown. He loves it.
Gosh there is going to be so much, balloons and banners, pixies and rabbits, spinning plates, poodles on unicycles, poodles spinning plates, midgets dressed as Ken Barlow, oh what larks!

I may have exaggerated about the last 3 or 4 things.
This blog has made me need to wee.

See you on 25th. Listen to the podcast. Forgive us for our wittering, and I'd like to personally apologise for umming and ahhing on it like the next stuttering Parkinson.
Til the next blog....

Chief. x

Raiders

So this here is a blog that all the members of Sundown can write in to keep you, the beautiful (and some, not so beautiful) public, informed of our doings.
We have had a recent Sundown meeting round Malc's in light of our last event where I can tell you that we raised LOTS for the raffle. That's going straight into the bank where we can save to pay our performers in November and for some advertising and printing. Thanks to everyone
who paid towards it and helped us raise our funds to make Sundown bigger and better!
Ideas for the BIRTHDAY BASH SPECTACULAR are underway including wee birthday cakes, a cake table where we can sell some t-shirts too. Thinking of putting a poetry cd together too, we've talked about this for ages, but never got our arses in gear and done anything about it. Miss B talked about getting a big sheet with the Sundown logo on and passing it round the audience at future events, for people to write on/draw one/poeticise on/urinate on etc. Well, maybe not urinate. We might try another audience poem again. Let us know if you have any ideas?

Have sent our funding forms off, which made me go cross-eyed for about 3 hours because of all the laptop time. Am currently watching Raiders of the Lost Ark because Dave Panter, from WeirdGear, told me it has nods to the Maayans or Atlantis, something about Universal happenings anyway, growing up watching Indy I never noticed this, only ever 'how cool it would be if the big boulder flattened him?' Imagine if every now and then in life we had to contend with a big boulder rolling towards us at full speed? In between catching the bus or topping credit up at Tesco. Woah.

Will report back with full Nov 25th line-up soon. We're recording a Sundown podcast soon.
We aim to have ALL our Sundown members involved. Expect tomfoolery.

Copy that, over.

Chief Sundown x