I currently have grandson number 2 staying with me, along with three other members of his six member band, Raksha. So, that’s four staying, and the other two are currently visiting for the day, along with the boyfriend of the lead singer.

How did this come about, I hear you ask? And I’m asking myself the same question.

It went like this:

When Josh came down over Christmas I said,

“The garage would make a pretty good place for the band to stay should you ever get a gig in Busselton, all you’d need is some air mattresses or camp beds”.

The idea of band rehearsals was briefly raised. I said,

“No, we live in an oldies area, it’s a place to stay, but not practice, at least not with any noise”.

However, I think what Josh heard was,

“Look at our garage, wouldn’t it make a cool place for band rehearsals, as long as you only practice at half volume.”

At the time of the discussion Josh was staying here along with Number 1 grandson, and Alice and Paul. The caravan was offered as a place for someone to sleep at that time, but at that time was declined. Now, not much more than two weeks later The Battle of the Bands is on in Busselton, and you guessed it – Raksha entered the completion.

Along with having worked out the garage was a perfect place for rehearsals, Josh had also worked out the logistics of the sleeping arrangements for the entire band for three nights. And so, I have four of them staying here, utilising the caravan and the two spare bedrooms. Today the other two band members are visiting, along with the boyfriend of the lead singer. And, there is talk of these other three also dossing down – still to be decided!

So, here’s how it’s gone so far.

What I wanted to say was this,

“Okay, guys some basic rules:
Beds get made,
Towels get hung out to dry,
You all help with dishes,
The toilet brush is to be used should you cause a need.”

However, thinking that might clearly sound like someone speaking in tongues, I decided to only go with two, the dishes and the towels.

Dinner dishes were done last night.
Late night dishes were left for the morning (an act of consideration apparently as they may have made too much noise) – that’s cool.
Breakfast dishes were good.
Lunch dishes with three additional dinners – not a chance…… I could see it clearly didn’t cross any ones mind.
And  two towels have been hung to dry. Goodness knows where the other two are.

I’ve closed the bedroom doors, best not to look! I’ve no idea where the other two towels are, but should they be screwed up wet on a bedroom floor I’m sure the lesson will be learned when they find out this little household of only two people doesn’t have any more spare towels.

So, apart from being shell shocked as my peace and tranquility has been shattered, how else is it going? When there’s only four of them, it really is good, no problems worthy of mention really, and in fact, good company. Manners and thoughtfulness, are in evidence most of the time, and they are respectful. However, when the numbers swelled to seven I was feeling a bit like the intruder. The thoughtfulness previously in evidence diminished considerably. I guess seven people channelling all their energy into their creative talents overshadows all other thought.

They have now gone out for a few hours, so I’m enjoying the quiet, no radio, no TV and definitely no band practice in the garage. Absolute bliss. Before they left, I gave them a gentle reminder about ‘the dishes’. A couple of slightly embarrassed faces when they realised that yes, they had jumped up from the lunch table and rushed back to band practice without a thought to their plates. I think they took it on board.

Oh – and the Battle of the Bands, they had the heats last night. I tried to take some photos during the night but most turned out to blurry. My new friends and neighbours, Kay and Brian came with me. It was freezing and we only stayed long enough to give our support to Raksha. It was great to have had some company, I really appreciated it.

We came home before the finalists had been decided. It was good news when the boys came home. They’re in tomorrow nights finals along with three other acts. They seem to think the others are pretty good, so although they’re hoping to win, they know they’ve got to work hard it, and even then perhaps they may need a bit  luck on their side as well. And then if they do win, they have to hope they don’t get disqualified. The competition is open only open to residents of the South West, so they’re illegal entrants. They’re looking on the bright side, should they win, and  their Perth residency status be discovered, they could get disqualified. They’ve decided should that happen, disqualification will only serve to get them noticed even more. Gotta luv ’em.

Watch this space for tomorrow nights results. Hopefully I’ll manage to get some clearer pictures of the band on stage, which I’m sure you’ll all be eager to see.