I have just completed the Waterways Weekend. The two afternoons making music on the wharf were great. People came and went, and were very appreciative. The evening boat ride yesterday promised to be really good. We'd got a good song list together. The meal for the "punters" was ready. They had specifically asked for live music and were paying well. The weather was breaking, but a thunderstorm on the canal is a great experience, without being threatening. The group came on board from their coach, and proceeded to drink as much as they could in the shortest possible time. Once they had listened (sort of) to a few of our numbers, and ascertained that we could not (would not) do any Abba or dire straits,they set to and sang whatever came into their heads very loudly for the two hour duration of the trip. The ladies circulated amongst the men, until they needed to throw up out of the window. The waitresses were sexually harrassed to the point of tears. Outside, the tranquility of the canal was enhanced by the storm, but we could neither see nor hear it. We had to put our stuff away for fear a fight would break out. I could not believe that people still behave this way in the name of having a good time. They were by no means teenagers, and one chap told us that, basically, they didn't give a F***. One man spent half an hour telling me about his collie that died aged 18, and how he had had to have the day off work to bury her. Sorry to inflict this on you, but I'm sure others have had to suffer pond life like this, and how do you stop feeling bad about it? I know it wasn't our fault, but what kind of people book a meal on a narrowboat, with live music, with the sole intention of getting legless? Thanks for listening, Bron.