When I got back last night from an excellent gig at the Ox and Plough in Washington, I had a curious answering machine message. It was from the owner at what I shall call Fawlty Towers. Basil (that’s what I’ll call him to spare his blushes) had booked us last year and had been threatening to do so this year. The crux of his message was that we were too expensive. This is a gig at a very remote location involving total round trip mileage of 164 miles for the drummer and myself in the van and, 120 miles by car for the lead vocalist/sax/harps and bass player.  For each member of the band, it takes approx 2 hours travelling each way. Setting up at the gig takes approx 60-90 minutes and the gig itself takes 3 hours: waiting to start, two 45 minute sets (and often the second is over an hour) and interval between sets. It takes about 45 minutes to break down the gear. That gives a total of 9.25 hours per person excluding loading and unloading back home (for me, loading and unloading the van takes approx. 20 minutes at each end). Then, the gear has to be bought, maintained (think of PAT testing, replacement strings, leads, refrets, reeds, drum skins etc.) and insured. There are the business/admin costs such as booking phone calls, letters, posters, postage, rehearsals, and public liability insurance. I invite Basil to do the maths. So, is our modest fee unreasonable? I don’t think so!