Ten Years of T Shirts
A Celebration of a Decade of Touring
("Been there ... done that ... sold the T-shirts!")

1996 - A to B Tour (White)

An understated little number featuring the first appearance of the van logo (designed by our own Linda).. Well, it went a bit like this….Kate got a call from Declan, the organiser of a Celtic Festival in County Roscommon, asking if she knew of any bands from Wales who might be “up for it”. Swiftly volunteering to go there herself with a bunch of friends, she then had to come up with a name for inclusion in the festival programme. “Allan yn y Fan” (“going out in a van” in Welsh) was the uninspired (and unconsulted) response….thinking that it could always change to a better name later. The rest is history! And the A to B bit? Aberbeeg to Brideswell, of course (this being one of the few occasions that Aberbeeg gets a mention in print outside reports from the law courts).This first tour is also commemorated in a couple of tunes: “Piper’s Procrastination” and “A Small Hospital” for which we are indebted to Ciaran O’Driscoll for providing the inspiration.

Neeps & Haggis (White)

Picture the scene…Burns Night in deepest Ayrshire - and a Welsh band. Another offer that most of us found too good to refuse, despite the long journey, thick fog and the Dumfries Double Breakdown (a great title for tune still to be written). This T shirt is a collector’s item with only 4 in existence - one of which went to our brilliant hostess, Catriona.

Brideswell Revisted (Black)

Another rare item - particularly if the stick-on picture of a van hasn’t fallen off.

This was our first (and last) experiment with iron-on patches….but and least it was black rather than white and the tour was great fun. Sad individuals who are genuinely interested in T shirt memorabilia will have noted the first appearance of polo shirts for the guys. This tour also provided the inspiration for more tunes, notably “Air Miles on the Irish Ferry” commemorating the unexpected discounts available on this form of transport.

1998 - Oh No…Not Them Again! (Black)

Introducing the first T-shirt that we dared to put on sale. This tasteful creation in black with ochre lettering is STILL a band favourite, demonstrating excellent value for money as they are still wearable. We were over the moon to be invited back to Brideswell - and, of course, our annual pilgrimage to Minnie Sullivan’s Bar in Ballinasloe.

1999 - Czech it Out (Navy)

This was a most unusual tour. Firstly, it was our first forray eastwards and secondly, because as none of us fancied the long drive there, we bizarrely decided to organise our own coach tour that just happened to have an itinerary that exactly matched our tour dates! We didn’t really intend the coach trip to make a profit, so we had to keep offering our fellow travellers perks such as free hot drinks and, you’ve guessed it….complimentary T Shirts. Kate and Linda certainly enjoyed acting as “trolley dollies” on the bus. Highlights of this tour must include the surreal outdoor gig one evening when we were visited by a group of young people dressed in native American Indian costume who executed perfect ballroom dancing routines to our tunes. We have the videos to prove that it really happened! Members of the Platan Band from Pisek proved to be fantastic hosts - even getting up at 4am in the morning to catch and smoke carp for us to eat later in the evening. We also thoroughly enjoyed the company of two guest performers - Scottish singer Catriona Haston and accordionist Luke Goss who stood in for Chris and amused us all with his “unique” style of disco dance. This is where we discovered that Becorovka really is “the Devil’s drink” and were seriously grateful for the help and (literal) support from Michelle (“Mummy to the Stars”).

2000 - The Next Minnellium (Black)

This is the year when we were presented with a certificate authenticating our position as official performers at the Millennium Dome, hence the extra dome feature in our T-Shirt logo. Nuff said - we had a brilliant time there feeling well at home (Geoff said it was “just like Garden Festival Wales with a roof“). And we made it back to Ireland to see Declan and the gang, with Kate delivering a tune to Minnie in Ballinasloe en route (Hoffed Minnie Sullivan). Chris demonstrated a composing frenzy, coming up with some terrific tunes such as “O’Connell’s Extension”, “The Roscrea Triangle” and, one of our favourites, “Declan’s Dilemma”.

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