Jazz Esquires @ The Porthole - Mussolini @ Alum House.

Miles Watson (tpt/vcl); Tony Winder (ten/clt);  Terry Dalton (tmb); Roy Gibson (pno); Robin Douthwaite (gtr); Stan Nicholson (bs); Laurie Brown (dms/clt).
(Review by Lance.)

After the Hullabaloo and Pageantry of the last few days which I enjoyed - I'm an old sentimentalist at heart - I needed to unwind  and what better way to do so than by a visit to The Porthole and the Jazz Esquires?

For once, the ever reliable 27 bus wasn't and, as a result, I missed the ferry 'cross the Tyne.

With half an hour to wait I settled in the nearby Alum House with a pint of Jenning's Cumberland Bitter and a book about a hypothetical trial of Mussolini - the Italian dictator that is, not his jazz piano playing son.

It's an enthralling book written in 1943 and I got so engrossed I almost missed the next ferry.

Unfortunately I didn't.

A pint of a brew called Doomsday was aptly named. Warm and insipid I thought longingly of the Cumberland Bitter back over on the other side of the river.

The Esquires played a spritely version of Rosetta, Miles sang Breezing Along With The Breeze then stood down to allow drummer Laurie Brown to pick up his clarinet and join Tony Winder for a duet on Stranger on the Shore.

I pondered briefly, thought about Cumberland Bitter and Mussolini - Il Duce won and I just managed to catch the 2pm ferry back to "Rome".

Lance.