FIDDLIN' FANTASTIC - AND THEY WERE.

You'll never guess where I was Friday night? Ok, so the graphic might give you a bit of a hint.

Give in?

Would it surprise you if I were to say a Christmas Party? A belated 2009 party as opposed to an extremely early 2010 party that is, she says as if that makes any difference.

Yes, despite the fact that here in England we are having the worst winter for 30 years, temperatures are reputedly only two degrees warmer than the antarctic and Newcastle's River Tyne is starting to freeze over for the first time since 18 hundred and 30 something or other, I was brave enough (some would argue stupid enough) to brave the weather and set off to local social club The Innisfree.

I say brave as if I had miles of icy, iceberg laden, polar bear inhabited terrain to contend with when in fact I had (what should have been) a five minute taxi journey up the road but still it was brave of me given that the roads and footpaths were unbelievably bad and left largely untouched by the road gritters and I'm on crutches.

Getting on with the story (you can all sigh with relief), what possessed us to go out on such a night? Some would say it had to be the free meal but honestly it wasn't. We'd had the tickets for a while, had really enjoyed the event the year before and were really looking forward to the 'turn' who we had heard were really good.

So, after yet another Christmas meal served with all the trimmings and the obligatory game of bingo (which both Husband dearest and I wholly dislike and never play) it was time for the entertainment FIDDLIN' FANTASTIC (whose site I am unable to obtain at present and whose management, in my humble opinion, aren't doing a very good job of promoting them) who were every bit as good, and better, than we had been led to believe.

Made up of two brothers, Ashleyjay and Jonny Rye, Fiddlin' Fantastic are a duo where both brothers sing, one playing the electric organ and the other, the fiddle (traditional and electric), the cello and the electric mandolin. Hard to describe their style, I can only say that they played a wide range* from rock to Abba to traditional Irish to Old Time Musical with, for me, the most memorable piece being Walking In The Air (the theme from the animated film The Snowman) which was played solely on the fiddle - beautiful and haunting simply didn't enter into it which surprised me as, usually no fan of these instruments, I had absolutely no idea they could sound like this.

Friday night talked about, I'd now like to wish a

VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to MOLLY over at Life With The Campbells who celebrates her 60th today.

* To give some idea of the range covered, I bought a CD of their music (Fiddlin' Fantastic On The Fiddle) which, amongst other material, contains the following to name but a few, some of which some of you might know. Lord Of The Dance, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Knees Up Mother Brown, Whisky In the Jar, At The Hop, Let's Twist Again and, Cotton Eyed Joe.