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Dad's okay?' she asks.
    'Why shouldn't he be?' I yell back.
    'I worry that he thinks we're taking advantage of him. He's already there looking after Josh most days now and he's there again tonight with all three of them. It's a lot to ask. He's not getting any younger and I think he's starting to get fed up of it.'
    'I know he is. He had a go at me before we left.'
    'What did he say?'
    How much do I tell her? Harry and I don't get on but we try and stay civil for Lizzie's sake. He was not at all happy tonight but I know he wouldn't want Lizzie to worry about it.
    'Nothing much,' I answer, shrugging my shoulders, 'he just grumbled something about him seeing more of the kids than I do. He made some bad joke about Josh calling him Daddy instead of me.'
    'He's trying to wind you up. Just ignore him.'
    'He's always trying to wind me up.'
    'It's just his age.'
    'That's a crap excuse.'
    'Just ignore him,' she says again.
    'It doesn't bother me,' I shout, lying and trying to save her feelings. The truth is Harry is seriously beginning to piss me off and it's getting to the point where I can see us coming to blows.
    'So what did you say to him?'
    'I just told him how we appreciate what he does for us and reminded him that it's been at least four months since you and I last went out together on our own.'
    'He's just trying to get you to react…' she starts to say. She stops speaking and turns around quickly when the lights suddenly fade. The crowd erupts into life as the members of the band walk through the shadows and step out onto the stage. After a few seconds delay the music starts and I forget about Harry and everything else.

    This is the fourth time I've seen The Men They Couldn't Hang. It's been a couple of years since I last saw them and it's great to see them again. I've been looking forward to tonight since I booked the tickets a couple of months ago. I never get enough of the adrenaline rush of hearing good music played live and played loud like this. Hearing these songs again snatches me out of the day to day and helps me forget all the things I usually waste my time worrying about. I hold Lizzie close. As long as the music's playing I don't have to do anything except listen, relax and enjoy myself.
    Six or seven songs in now - not sure exactly how many - and this place is really alive. The hall is packed and there's a brilliant atmosphere here. Swill plays the opening notes to one of my favourite tracks and I recognise it instantly, way ahead of most of the crowd. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I squeeze Lizzie tighter. She knows just how much I love this.
    They've really hit their stride now and it's like they've never been away. Hearing this music again brings back so many memories. I remember the first time I heard this song on the radio just after I passed my driving test. I'd just brought my first car. It was an old heap that cost more to insure than it did to buy and me and a few mates had gone down to…
    Swill has stopped playing.
    Strange. He was strumming his guitar and singing but he's just stopped. The rest of the band have carried on without him. It's like he's forgotten where he is and what he's supposed to be doing. He's let go of his guitar and it's hanging by the strap around his neck now, swinging from side to side. This guy has just spent the last forty minutes playing and singing his heart out but now he's just standing completely still centre stage, head bowed and staring at the microphone in front of him. Has he forgotten the words? Bloody hell, he's been doing this for long enough. Surely it can't be stage fright or anything like that? Is there a technical problem? Maybe he's ill? The rest of the music continues for a few bars longer. One by one the rest of the band realise that something's wrong. The lead guitarist has stopped now, and he's staring at Swill trying to work out what the hell's going on. McGuire, the bass player, comes to a faltering stop just leaving the