Van trip band tour cancelled

The prodigal son arrived home this weekend after venturing off into the world for a few weeks and the first thing he said after dumping half a ton of dirty clothes in front of his mother, was, "Dad, can I borrow your van?"

Not an entirely off-the-wall request you might think, but the problem is, the apple of my eye hasn't passed his driving test yet, and although he's a bit of a Jack-the-lad, one thing he won't do is break the law by driving uninsured.

So, I'm thinking the request to use the van probably means he'll need the man as well, and that means me!

So, there I am, on my weekend off, lugging his new girlfriend's band's stuff down to Brighton for their first paying gig because I'm the only one they know with a van big enough to cart the guitars, amps, drum-kit, and microphones anywhere, and I'm certainly the only one they know mug enough to do it all for the price of a pint of beer – which I enjoyed when we got home of-course.

However, I don't think it'll be a regular thing, because despite the band's enthusiasm and obvious dedication to the cause, they didn't exactly raise the roof of the dingy little place they performed in for 45 minutes last Saturday.

And although I'm no Frank Sinatra meself, I recognise that as a lead singer, hitting at least a few notes in tune with the rest of your band mates is possibly a good idea.

Still, my son obviously likes the girl, because he did most of the heavy lifting and even paid for the van's fuel. But in terms of another van trip on their world tour of the South Coast, I don't think I'll be getting the job because I couldn't stop laughing while the love-of-his life caterwauled her lungs out – and sad to say, as I was one of only five people in the crowd, I think she may have noticed.