It’s intense here at Bryn Derwin Studios – with the snow still thick on the ground and no access to the outside world we’re all getting a little tapped. The three bedroom Cottage is starting to feel more like a bedsit.
I can hear even the quietest of whispers and it seems I can’t move anywhere without one of the fellas being in my way. Max is obsessed with scrabble, Mule is belting out shanties as if enjoying the freezing cold dribbling shower and Dan’s relentless commentary on the crap TV is becoming all too much. Tash is worrying about how he’s going to get up North for Christmas and if he’ll make it to Oz to see his sweetheart. The soles of his new boots are starting to wear thin from the pacing. To top it all, I have a terrible hangover now after trying to capture some Christmas spirit drinking a bottle of sherry to myself yesterday lunchtime. Oops.
I sadly missed out on the night time expedition of Mule, Tash and Max. They had some downtime and ended up going for a “quiet” drink in Bethesda. Hmm…I was awoken later that night to a rowdy bunch laughing about their adventures…Max had been told he looked like Sting on Benefits, Mule the son of Jack the Ripper and Tash, Poirot. The folk they met sounded like a friendly bunch with good humours – though I think the naked man, the tongue in the ear, the licked face and the tugging of the Tash scared the boys a little. Thank goodness they made it home.
Next morning was a little less filled with cheer but I managed to get the boys up and diving face down in to the snow. The proper way to get over a hangover surely?
Other than this little bit of excitement, life generally consists of thinking about what to eat, crossing the snow to the studio to do some recording, what to eat again, crossing the snow to the studio again, then what to eat again and then killing time waiting to hear the results – all the time shivering and coming up with new ideas of how to keep warm.
The hard work and suffering is paying off though. We’ve achieved a lot over the past nine days and what’s down so far sounds brill, even if I do say so myself. With finishing touches going down at the moment, I’m preparing shepherds pie and mulled wine for tonight’s shanty session – a far cry from the ravioli and hulahoop sandwiches of the festival season! Hurrah!
Let’s have another cuppa…
Lorna x