Rich

🎶 What a nice surprise, bring your raffle prize 🎶

@scrumpymike, just sent you £15 via previous PayPal address, hope it's still your current one 👍🏻

Folks, I've started a new topic for the 2026 Bash. Let's continue discussions over there.

Thought it'd be a good idea to start a new thread for this one, as there's more to organise/discuss.

FANTASTIC You can have my 15 quid now if you want What, even my virtually-intravenous coffee addiction? Can I put in a cheeky early bagsy for a dementia/Alzheimers charity? Sadly, a cause that is very close to home.

Ditto and ditto. Food-wise maybe we could do a bring-&-share? Richard mentioned sandwiches and Geek mentioned a giant Costco cake, and I know Costco also do trays of wraps and things, and I'd be quite happy to make some stuff to bring. Obviously I couldn't hope to make anything as utterly brilliant as The Crumble

Last year I ventured downstairs for a look round, and it's a good job I did because that's where ACG were lurking. I might have missed them completely otherwise. I have a busy gig weekend this year alas, so I won't be going.

😭x1000 And there's me having already sorted out my raffle prize donation for this year. Seriously though... Mike, I cannot put into words how much I (and I'm sure I speak for all of us here) appreciate all the hard work you and Gabs and the Scrumpettes have put into the BFSWBBes over the years. I've only missed one, and spent the whole of that day feeling like I was missing a limb. As an aside, I've been looking into hall hire etc round this way, and the cheapest I could find was smaller, less convenient (i.e. closer to houses) and 30 quid more expensive than the full rate for Cheddon would be. The place was perfect.

I never use the pre-shape on my TE1200 as I'm predominantly a fingersman. The old GP12SMX (still the best bass preamp ever made IMO) had two pre-shapes, one of which was far more usable in the real world than the other. But I still never used it live.

Yes, I have this problem too. "Is that face in pain, or p!ssing itself laughing? *magnifying glass* Ah, apparently it's vomiting."

Pies Without A Face - Billy Idol

Truck Still Works - Brad Paisley

43 years and counting. You'd have thought I'd be half decent by now. 🙄

Easily missed admittedly as it was buried in the 2025 thread. I think it's just one of those unfortunate things. I'll be there in 2027!

Bigger, maybe

Ha ha, not yet no. But it did get very nice Gotoh GB707s and a D-tuner.

I was hoping to do the triumvirate of bashes next year, Midlands, SW and SE. Down to a duo now though.

It's the same day as the South West Bash 😢😭

Puppy Love - Donnie Osmond

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes - Bowie

For a proper grenade-in-the-portaloo departure, I would suggest the following amendment to 2, assuming that there's a D, E and F (or even G, H , I, J, K, L and M if your band is a ludicrous monster like mine) and that they're not party to the skulduggery: 2: Leave the toxic environment completely, but throw that grenade on the way out - "I am leaving the band. For those of you who don't know, there is a secret plot to bin one of you and there is an audition already arranged for the replacement. That's is appalling. A band should be like a marriage - if it's not working you end it. Not try out a side piece first" D to M will now be wondering which one of them is the backstabbee and who the backstabbers are. Kaboom.

Fish, 'Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors'. Gorgeous fretless bass by the utterly awesome and much missed John Giblin. The mid/solo section of this track is an absolute highlight.

Big Country, 'Steeltown'. Tony Butler is an absolute monster on this, superb melodic playing and a HUGE tone. And fabulous BVs too. Another guy to file under 'criminally underrated'.

And about bloody time too.