A little before Christmas but I guess the Friday before can have you billed as a Christmas knees-up with Hotel Lux and guests. Chilly cycle there but Debbie and I are warmed up by the time we arrive. The others are here being Pete, Wendy, Simon, Jules and they have nabbed a table next the old geezers table and they snigger at us as we try out the wobbly stool. Soon enough the first band are on. CratL start off with a traditional Celtic number getting a bit of jigging going but then they go into a electronic set which is interesting at first as are the band with the singer topless and throwing Iggy style shapes. To be honest the 70s electro pop theme is a bit too reminiscent for us old ones and the novelty soon wears off. The young punters love them though and the place is rammed which admittedly is not hard for the Windmill dance floor. I'm wondering if they are famous offshoots from other bands but can't see that after I get home and web search them. Next up are Yowl who are reminiscent of the Libertines which is a damn sight better than 70s electronic disco. They have a lot of energy and Simon is down the front whilst us others loiter towards the back. When Simon returns to the fold he's moaning that no one was dancing at the front and people kept on pushing him to get away from them. What's the point of a dance floor if you don't dance? Exactly! Anyways they are a good band as my memory aka blog says that they were when last seen on new years eve bringing in Debbie's birthday and the year 2019. Supporting Hotel Lux as it happens. We all haven't seen each other for a while so a lot of time is spent chatting and not doing the bands the justice their efforts deserve. As we are missing the Windmill NYE / Debbie's birthday party this year Wendy gives her a present which is a star named after her. There's a David Essex song in there somewhere. Yowl finish with Wham!'s Last Christmas which is a surprise but there again you should be prepared to be surprised at the Windmill. Last up are Hotel Lux who we've seen a couple of times before at least. They play a good dancy set which Simon tries to dance to down the front with the same results. The rest of us jig around at the back interspersed with chatting. Pete and Wendy depart for the long haul home to hugs and see you in 2025. The four left finish Simon's bottle of red before taking leave saying enjoy down under see you in a month and which days to feed the cat over Christmas. Turns out I have a Santa like trip on the day itself so dilemma before or after my full Xmas dinner. So a great night as usual at the Windmill. Only downside is that everyone on stage was male, or at least seemed to be, apart from one woman singing on one track for Hotel Lux which I think was a very guest appearance as I'm sure she was singing I've Forgotten the Fucking Words at one point. So Debbie and I cycle through the Blenheim Gardens estate to the sound of bird song. Hang on. It's the winter solstice and the sun won't be up for 8 hours this can't be the dawn chorus surely. We think it's some weird recording which must weird out the local birds even more than us. On crossing the South Circ there is a helicopter overhead and we see flashing blue lights up the road. At the end of Agnes Riley gardens we have to stop and jump on the pavement as 8 speeding police cards come round the roundabout the wrong way. It's obviously a busy night. I later read that an unidentified object had invaded British airspace and the Met had arrested a tubby bloke for breaking and entering who was stuck inside a chimney. So if you don't get any pressies kiddies sue the Met. And good luck with that!
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Rudolph in hiding
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| Hotel Lux I think |
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| Yowl possibly |
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| Yowl probably |
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| Cratl definitely |
