Toys for Tots

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Yesterday, Sunday December 8, Kate and I went into London to see some of the "Toys for Tots" show at the Palasad. Apparently this is the 12th anniversary of the show — the goal is to have some fun and in the process raise funds and collect gifts for needy boys and girls. They have arranged for something like 13 different bands to play starting at 1pm and ending at 9 (see the poster for all the bands and the sponsors). That kind of time line is a little beyond our endurance — we arrived around 4pm and left around 7pm having caught these acts: Stunning, Distgusteen and Boys from Nowhere. Each were great, well worth the drive into the city.

We arrived just as Stunning (with Scott, aka Steven R. Stunning, on lead voice) was starting their set. We had brought a toy to add to the donation pile and found a table near the stage where we joined Rena & Dave (pictured, credit: Kate) who were sitting with Debbie. It turns out that today (Monday) is Debbie's birthday. We were greeted warmly with hugs exchanged. We would have first met Debbie at our London home back in the early 1980's. At the time she was dating Peter from 63 Monroe. It turns out that 63 Monroe was the closing/headline act for the evening, we weren't able to stay until the bitter end.

After the Stunning set (sic!) I bumped into Scott and Oscar at the bar. I bought Oscar a beer and he tells me he's currently playing in three different bands. Scott was pleased to see me, I even got a hug and a peck on the cheek. He asked about Kate and came around to say hello later. I gather Scott is one of the driving forces in organizing this event.

Disgusteen is a very competent Teenage Head tribute band. I recognized the tunes while chatting with Scott and Oscar at the bar. Stunning and Boys from Nowhere are punk/rock & roll. From the stage Scott had announced the tunes they performed were from a soon to be released album. The singer from Boys from Nowhere commented on how the audience was mostly older/mature folk like us and them who still like to rock and roll — we just jiggle now as we're all carrying some extra weight. There were lots of young people as well but mainly aged rock and rollers dressed in leather, denim or ugly Christmas sweaters.

The photos in the album (at least at the moment) are digital. I thought it might be fun to try the old school method and shoot a bit of film with my Nikon F, a Nikkor 80-200 zoom, and a Vivitar 3900 handle flash (see my Senseless Collection (2023)). I must confess that the old school is awkward, heavy and constrained. The Canon t6i with a 18-135 is far easier to use. Kate dropped off a roll of film for processing this morning and asks, "Why would you spend $20 to get film developed when you can shoot digital for free? And then you have to wait until January for the results!". Good question. My only answer is GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) — My name is Reg and I'm an addict.