Winter 2007-2008
jurassictone 
BRAVE LITTLE SOLDIER!
Paul Cooper, our tambourine player, skis in Italy each year and this year was no different, except in one important respect! Paul was hurtling down a slope in his usual style and, looking over his shoulder to see if the others were still with him, didn’t notice a large bump ahead. He hit the bump at full pelt and took off. As is so often the case, he was perfectly all right until the ground got in the way. His shoulder took the full force of his (dare we say, not inconsiderable) weight and he felt some discomfort.
During the après ski, the pain was not too bad and he consoled himself with the thought that his shoulder wasn’t broken, but decided not to ski for the remaining few days. Shortly after his return home (as his alcohol stream made way for some blood and the anaesthetising effect wore off), Paul felt less comfortable and decided to go to casualty.
Meeting the usual level of apathy in the accident and emergency department of the local hospital, it took several hours for him to have an x-ray and for the specialist to consider it, at which point, all hell broke loose! Paul suddenly became a priority and he was admitted overnight for an operation first thing in the morning.
Paul Cooper’s repaired shoulder
The specialist told Paul he expected to put his shoulder back into place in about half an hour. It was, therefore, with some surprise that, as he recovered from the anaesthetic, Paul realised the view from the window was of the sun setting! Considering the options, he came to the conclusion that the operation had taken longer than expected and the heavy bandaging on his right shoulder did little to alleviate the suspicion.
It was later confirmed that the operation had taken 9 times longer than anticipated because, on opening him up, they discovered he had shattered the top of his humerus. This had to be mended with a plate and a pin to provide enough stability for it to be levered back into its correct position in the shoulder. Needless to say, a tricky procedure. We all hope they made a better job inside than on the outside, where the sewing shows a lot to be desired – the puckering on the skin at the bottom of the wound would shame any self-respecting seamstress.
Brave Little Soldier
Although Paul has very restricted movement until the bone has healed, the prognosis is excellent. We hope and expect the brave little soldier to return to full health within a matter of months. In the meantime, we have bought him a left handed tambourine so that he can continue to fulfil his main role in Jurassic Rock.
Autumn 2007
ATTACKED BY THUGS!
This year had been uneventful until we played at a birthday party in Clare Town Hall on 19th October. Over the past year or so, Lewis Clark has helped us with sound engineering. Although only 15 and still at school, Lewis is already studying to become a sound engineer and is already very good.
He was in charge of sound at the gig in question. The desk, etc was situated on a balcony at the opposite end of the hall to the stage. It was near the entrance and access to the balcony was via a short staircase by the front door. Lewis has suffered threats and other forms of bullying at school in recent months because some of his contemporaries are jealous of his success and ability. Two of them live in Clare and had heard that Lewis was there. They waited for him on the stairs and, as he was going to the desk for the second set, one of them hit him with a baseball bat. Luckily, Lewis put his arm up to protect his head and so only his arm was hit, but this was very badly bruised. Lewis backed off down the stairs and the boys ran away.
Lewis bravely carried on and didn’t make a special effort to tell anyone, only doing so when the first opportunity arrived. We then placed a burly friend on the balcony with Lewis in the hope the thugs would return. They would have been more than a little surprised to find Lewis so well protected, but, like all bullies, they are cowards and stayed away.
I am pleased to report that Lewis will recover from his injuries and that the police have caught the culprits. One of them has admitted his involvement (in fact, he “shopped” his “friend” who actually hit Lewis) and we expect them to feel the full force of the law – our only hope that their punishment is consistent with their crime and that our faith is, at least to some extent, renewed in the justice system.
UPDATE: Lewis’s mum reported the incident to the headmaster of the school that both Lewis and his two attackers attend. Although previous bullying incidents had been reported to him and he had said the boy would be expelled if this was repeated, he refused to take any action saying that it was outside his jurisdiction as the incident occurred off school premises. He didn’t even have the courtesy to speak to Lewis although Lewis did discuss it with his year teacher, who agreed with the headmaster adding that they were all out of school uniform at the time. (What difference does that make? If you are hit with a baseball bat, it hurts just as much whatever the attacker is wearing!)
To add insult to injury, the police decided not to prosecute, but to give a formal warning instead. This is in spite of the fact that the perpetrator was known to them for violent and antisocial behaviour. Although Lewis does not see his attackers often, they continue to act in a threatening manner whenever their paths cross.
So what lessons can any youngster take from this incident:
- You cannot rely on the authorities as they will not take any effective action to prevent serious acts of aggression.
- There are no serious sanctions against anyone that inflicts serious bodily harm on another person.
- Given 1 and 2 above, the only way of preventing someone from hurting you is to ensure you hurt them first.
Is it any wonder that acts of violence are increasing?
Summer 2007
GIGS TO DATE
This year has seen the usual mix of parties, weddings and other functions. There have been some “really interesting” gigs with some unusual reactions. Most unusual was at a recent wedding when we were actually asked to play louder! We had adopted our usual restraint in recognition of the range of tastes and ages at this sort of function, but the “happy couple” wanted the interval music to be played at disco volumes, which made us sound quiet when we came back, so we accommodated by turning up!
The most enjoyable gig was at the Taste of China in Sturmer. This is an excellent venue and was ideal for the dinner/dance to raise funds for a local primary school. The crowd were great and Lin, who organised everything to perfection, made us feel welcome and looked after us very well.
PUBLIC GIG
Our next public gig will be at the Green Man in Chelmsford. This is a sort of leaving party for the present manager and so it will be a really good do. Anyone interested in coming should contact us for details.
Spring 2007
ON TOP OF THE WORLD!
We put some of our songs on “No 1”, a site dedicated to promoting all types of music. Of over 40,000 songs, Bring It On Home reached number 150 and Walking In Memphis number 298 – a very creditable performance given that they were not promoted at all and just depended upon browsers finding us and then playing the songs.
We also received some very nice comments, such as:
“Bring it on home is in my opinion one of the greatest tunes ever written”
“Hope you’re coming with a LOT of other great songs as well!”
“I hope to catch you out on tour sometime.”
“Be sure to come around west michigan!”
“…one of the best songs ive ever heard.”
“Great tunes…looking fward 2 new stuff!”
QUIET START
2007 started quietly with fewer bookings and enquiries than previous years. Bookings will come for later in the year, but, in the meantime, we are using the time to consolidate the new equipment and to lay down some recordings. This is a slow process as we can’t all be in the studio, but we hope to issue some really good tracks later in the year.
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