Nice to reflect on what was or wasn't as it were.

I have lots of memories of the club at the Sun in the late 1970s & early 1980s when I became a regular whilst working at both Middlesbrough and Northallerton.

Some of the tales might be saved for my best selling autobiography when it appears but I will share this one with you.

Ron had a very catholic booking policy and this could also cause some debate at times. He also had an operating policy of hiding his best floor singers on guest nights for some reason!

Any old how, one of Ron's guests on a fairly regular basis was Rosemary Hardman, who as most people will remember was a rather large lady specialising in self penned songs of unrequited love (hers!). She was a good singer and more than adequate guitarist.

On one particular evening she regaled us with fact that the guitar she had was one which she had only recently bought - and not cheaply!
She explained that she was still becoming familiar with the instrument and had not managed at that time to perfect accompaniments to a couple of her more recent songs.

That was alright though as the songs were eminently suitable for singing unaccompanied.

This she proceeded to do whilst having her new guitar in front of her with her hands resting on the top of the neck. About half way through the second song she leaned further forward and must have put more of her weight than she intended on the guitar.

There was a loud crack and there was her expensive guitar with the neck at a very strange angle.

She immediately burst into a flood of tears but, fair play to her, she borrowed someone's guitar (after promising not to lean on it) and finished the gig!