Centenary up for a Magnificent year

It has been a truly Magnificent year, even by our modest standards, and one which we would now like to celebrate through the medium of words and pictures.

Early on in the year we ventured through the dark of a January day up to "The London" for the first gathering of choirs for the "Voices Now" Festival at the very, very famous London Roundhouse.  We ventured back there for the main shows several months later and in our humble opinion (and others...), stole a large part of the Saturday and Sunday night shows whilst wandering around Camden market and having a blast of a time.

Here are some photos to prove it.  If you click on them you will get a slightly larger format to see more of the dark details.  

From top left then snaking left in the middle then right on the last row, DR Sweeney acts as our tour guide, a view of the assembled choirs in the Roundhouse, on stage with the amazing Sam Burns of Gurt Lush, the blokes waiting around to go on Radio 3's The Choir program and sing live, blokes posing in a fancy dress shop, another view of the Roundhouse all lit up, the big banner on the outside, then more blokes posing, armbands to prove it did happen, even if it was all too much for some!

Another major highlight was our very first Tour to amazingly sunny Cornwall, and what a great time was had by all - the loudest complaint was by a certain individual that he had nothing to complain about apart from having too good a time!

A very BIG THANKS to all our friends down there who made it possible and the organizers who, er, organized it all so amazingly well, even the weather.

From top left snaking to the bottom, blokes assemble at AK Village Hall, Mr Samuel quite literally leads the choir from the pulpit, blokes test their (alcohol impaired) skills back at the Barn, Little Chris and Big Alan, the blokes warm up at St Mabyn, Little Chris and Big Banner in tour van, Cyril and Percy the other gnomes who survived the trip, packing our pirate pants + ear plugs, the blokes in the evening in the barn with Judge John holding court, and blokes on a Cornish cliff top walk over looking Tintagel.

And a few other things happened during the rest of the year, from top left weaving round, blokes get a big hand at one of our many sell out shows, many assemble for the Axis of Spook at Bristol's Colston Hall, the CartoonMeister emerges to unleash his inner cartoonist, Blokes from across the country bump into each other at gigs and buy each other pints, Bill the arch ArtMeister gets his very own beer, best ever BlokeFest!, we release our second CD the rather good "Monumental" with stunning artwork, Bill strikes again with a re-vamped website, further proof that we went to Stonehenge, and sang in a tipi, and were a hit with the ladies in dingy pubs across the land! 

Re-live other dates here and here or just browse back through the pages of this blog.

So that was 2015 summed up, and here's to 2016 which is starting to shape up nicely but still with a few free slots if you want to engage us - but book early as you can see from our Upcoming Dates page http://themagnificentak47.blogspot.co.uk/p/upcoming-dates.html.

A great BIG THANKS to all who make it possible, especially those who beaver around in the background making it all happen.  We know who they are and value them very greatly.

P.S.  And well done to the BlogMeister for managing to squeeze in ONE HUNDRED posts in a single year.  An indication of all the great stuff that surrounds this quite remarkable group.

MAGNIFICENT!

Beer & Carols 2015 great success

A very BIG THANKS to all who came and sang their little Santa Hats off on Thursday.  

The pub was well and truly throng with carolers and a merry time was had by all.  More evidence can be found on our facebook page if you do that sort of thing.

Special thanks to Shirley Danby for being persuaded to do it again and for Neil B for much of the nudging in the background, to Chris Samuel our belovéd ChoirMeister and to Ashton Keynes Village Choir and their leaders on the night for adding so much musicality to the event, and everyone who came and made it such a great community event.

Roll on next year!  But in the meantime enjoy the Yuletide and we look forward to activities in 2016!

Rosie Hood and Alfred Williams on the Radio

It was with great pleasure and to much excitement within Magnificent circles that we heard a local voice on the radio talking about a local hero we much admire.  

Rosie Hood is a very up and coming young folk singer who grew up in our neighbouring village of Minety and was on Radio 4's Front Row program last night speaking about her various projects with particular reference to Alfred Williams.

As long term readers will know we have been admirers of Mr Williams for a good while (see 
http://themagnificentak47.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=alfred+williams) and to hear her singing his praises and songs is a great pleasure.

Check out the clip from the program at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03c7t71 and find out more about Rose from http://www.rosiehood.co.uk/ and watch this space for more news...

More Carolling about

For those of you still in the mood for some carolling, or yet to get fully into the swing of things, then be very encouraged to join the throng down (or up depending how you approach that hill) at The Prince Albert, Rodborough on the outskirts of P.R. Stroud.

The gathering features a notably strong Magnificent presence with many blokes venturing from far and wide to join the throng and partake of the good ale, hearty singing and great company that devour pieces from the "Gallery Carols" tradition.

Much more information can be garnered from the rather excellent http://www.albertcarols.uk/ which has been lovingly put together by a certain Bill H and is a treasure trove about the event and the sub-genre and is well worth a read.  You can find all the materials you need to get all the carols so you can go fully prepared.

Here is some blurb shamelessly lifted directly from the site "The Prince Albert Carol Consort (PACC) came out of discussions in the pub during 2001 among a group of regulars who’d a fondness for singing but no shared repertoire. We described ourselves then, and still do, as drinkers with a singing problem. Some among us are knowledgeable English music singers and instrumentalists and they talked of the surviving traditions of village carols in Yorkshire, especially around Sheffield, and parts of N. Derbyshire and Cornwall. Singing and drinking ticked the essential boxes for us so we resolved to learn some village carols and sing them in the Albert at Christmas."

It is a fabulous resource for a fabulous endeavour and another shining example of a triumph of enthusiasm over the odds that has built many years of special shared moments and lasting friendships.  Rather like The Magnificent AK47...

What a talented bunch of blokes

Not only can the blokes of The Magnificent AK47 sing (and increasingly well it has been commented), but some of them can squeeze musical making bellows whilst singing, and can even stretch their talents to proper acting!

One such bloke is the immensely talented and (not so) secretly rather good musician, one Mr D Watt, who tonight will be treading the boards along with fellow thespians in a production of an intriguing sounding play, Pyrenees, about a middle-aged man is found unconscious in the snow and the plot deepens from there...

Your last chance to see it is at the Beacon Hall in Painswick tonight.

More information from http://painswickcentre.com/whats/events/
and https://www.facebook.com/Hexagon-Theatre-Company-145140584441/.

Seasonal Salutations - NOW you can mention the "C" Word

"Carols"!  'Tis the season to be jolly and full of the joys of song.  

So join us for some Beer and Carols at The White Hart, Ashton Keynes this coming Thursday 17th December, from 19:30 with the singing starting up in earnest around 20:00.

And thank you to our ArtMeister and WebMeister supremo who has been at it again and you can see his handy work in full animation at our primary website at http://www.themagnificentak47.com/ - watch what happens to the robin and watch out for the owl!

It won't look like this tomorrow...

A solitary bloke pretending to be the audience last night in the Sundial Theatre as he puts the Magnificents through their paces ahead of the Big Gig on Friday.  

He may be a bigger than average personality, but he can't quite fill all the auditorium, but on Friday night he won't need to because well over 200 others will do it for him!

We are Sold Out on the regular capacity with only 5 spaces left on the additional seats on the floor in front of the stage.

If you haven't visited https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165 and reserved your ticket, you have probably left it too late.

Here's to a MONUMENTAL night's entertainment.

We're on the telly!

Well, sort of...  We are featuring on a big screen that looks like a big TV to our technologically unsophisticated eyes, and we are indeed featured on it  with a picture and everything.

The said screen is displayed prominently in the Sundial Theatre where we will attempting to grace the stage this coming Friday 27th.

And this will go down in our annals as "The show that keeps selling out"... After selling out the initial allocation of over 200 seats the venue have released 30 more and most of those have now sold so we are looking for a particularly packed house.

Just as well then that we had a full dress rehearsal last night to get used to the location and how to assemble the "man line", which is harder to do than it might look, as we regularly proved last night! 

We also have some fabulous staging to add to the scene and we are certain people will be very impressed by our inventiveness and ingenuity - special thanks to Andy E as PropMeister and all his hard work. 

Those few remaining tickets available from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165 - it's going to be MONUMENTAL.

Scooch up!!

Are you "Norman Nomates" or just a spare person looking for a great night out?  Either way, we have the show and venue for you, for now...!

But only just.

There are quite literally two places left for our gig at the Sundial Theatre in Cirencester this coming Friday 27th November in the regular seating and only 8 left in the additional seats that have been, er, added.

The message is clear, book now or face disappointment of experiencing a double helping of Magnificents and witnessing our new CD entitled "MONUMENTAL" being unleashed.  

Go to https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165 but do it NOW!!

A week to go... Have we been photoshopped?

We are just about one week to go before we unleash a MONUMENTAL evening of song and serious silliness on a somewhat suspecting public with a double helping of Magnificents.

The blokes are busily honing their act, remembering songs we haven't sung for a good while and buffing up a whole host of new ones, the like of which no one has ever seen or heard from us before.  The show will be the culmination of months' of work since we gathered at BlokeFest way back in June this year and began the journey learning the newer pieces.

We have a bunch of aural and visual tricks up our sleeve to thrill and entertain as well a couple of new pieces that will tug at your sensitive side and one that might even scare everyone (a bit).  

And our splendid new compact disk "MONUMENTAL" will be officially unleashed, to much excitement within the group.  This is a marvelous musical artifact for the discerning aficionado of BlokeSong, and and has been a truly Monumental undertaking, having been the best part of two years in the making.  More later.

And the "photoshopping"?  Apparently the printers thought the above photo so ingenious and incredible that they thought it had been "photoshopped", ie faked!  We are here to right this wrongful assumption and affirm that there is nothing "fake" about The Magnificent AK47, it is all genuine "as you see us", as you can witness for yourself at our live shows.

Talking of which, a final nudge that tickets have been selling really well indeed to the point where if you don't get yours by the end of the weekend you are likely to not be able to get one so please avoid disappointment and visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165.

Shining lights in Magnificent-land

Shining a light on the inner workings of those Magnificent men and their well oiled singing machine, we grab the inside scoop from a recent rehearsal at a workshop in darkest North North Wiltshire.

And what a scoop it is!  Yes, the blokes will be taking to the stage of the Sundial Theatre this coming Friday 27th November and will be lighting up the night, quite literally.

Although this is clearly big news, we can't reveal too much information other than to say if you go down to the woods today or your local DIY store you're in for a big surprise - they may well have sold out of torches.

But fear not, all will be revealed at the Sundial as the blokes unleash their treasure chest of new songs, some full of beautiful, sensitive and delightful singing, and one or two new belters.

Hurry over to https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165 where there are a dwindling number of tickets left to snap up, but only if you are quick and if you are coming, let us know so we are forewarned via https://www.facebook.com/events/926818877392800/.

Magnificent MONUMENTAL

At last, we can unveil our new Magnificent CD entitled "MONUMENTAL", and a monumental master piece it is.

The CD is the culmination of an epic couple of years for the group and is very much a double helping of Magnificence, being quite literally in two halves.  Difficult to do on a CD you modern young people might say, but no, it has been done with old fashioned guile and cunningness and no little studio trickery.

The album features tracks lovingly recorded in Mooncalf Studios in the summer of 2013 and our stand out show (among quite a few) of our career so far when we blew away a packed Bristol Colston Hall 1500 strong audience with our tales of the challenges faced by men in the 21st century and other ditties.

These have been blended together in one continuous stream of material, that without any false modesty, we can say is really rather good and a very worthwhile listen.  

All this has been wrapped up in a quite superb package with astonishing artwork from our resident ArtMeister, one Bill H, with shots from our visit to the Inner Circle at Stonehenge earlier this year.

More will be revealed in the run up to the launch event in a couple of weeks' time where copies will be on sale at the Sundial Theatre this coming Friday 27th November.  Tickets still available from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165.

If you go down to the woods today...

... you're sure of a big surprise!  

For one thing you might find a bunch of blokes in the company of a bunch of teddy bears, gazing longingly at their heroes (that's the teddy bears gawping at their singing heroes you understand).

As you can see from the sports equipment in the background the lads have turned their back on their spiritual home and regular rehearsal space in favour of a gym.  No, only kidding (as you probably guessed) but they have been doing copious warm up exercises and lots of limbering up for their next gig in a couple of weeks' time.  

They have also been learning quite a lot of new songs (at least 5 likely to make the revamped set) ahead of their Monumental Big Gig at Cirencester's Sundial Theatre on Friday 27th November.

Tickets still available at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165 - but still going briskly so avoid disappointment and don't delay getting yours.

And the teddy bears??  All will become clear on the night - but you will have to be there to find out.

The Magnificent CartoonMeister strikes again

The Magnificent CartoonMeister strikes again, this time in the medium of moving pictures!  

He has been beavering away to incorporate the latest master works from our venerable ArtMeister advertising our forthcoming Big Gig at Cirencester's Sundial Theatre this Friday 27th November of a Double Helping of blokes.

Not only is there motion but much emotion with a stirring soundscape that represents what is going to be a truly MONUMENTAL evening.

Tickets still available via https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165.

The inspired and inspiring video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCUXLyr-am0.

Dodgy geezer

Why is this dodgy geezer snapped in a seedy Swindon car park looking quite so happy?

Is it because he has a car boot full of hooky loot or has he just taken delivery of something quite MONUMENTAL?

The evidence is clear if you look carefully, he appears to have a box or two full of CDs hot off the presses and he certainly seems pleased with the results.

As he should be!  Nearly the best part of two years in the making it contains a double helping of Magnificence.

But you'll have to find out more next time . . . or scurry over to the Sundial Theatre website at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165 and book tickets to see what all the excitement is about...

The Boys are back in... The Back Room

After several weeks peripatetic wanderings around the village rehearsing in a tipi and school hall because our regular haunt had been taken over for watching the Rugby World Cup. we are back in the Back Room of The White Hart to press on with new and old material in preparation of a very Monumental event coming up soon.

And to mark this fact our resident CartoonMeister has lept into creative action to unleash his inner dark side, as you can see above.

Hopefully blokes can now safely stop practicing in the woods and enjoy a cup of tea or something stronger in doors with the other blokes.  As long as they are doing some form of practicing...

Something MONUMENTAL is about to happen

Something a bit epic is brewing and will be unleashed this coming Friday 27th November at Sundial Theatre, Cirencester.  

It will be a MONUMENTAL Man-moment in music.

All will be revealed, but you will have to make sure you don't dally as tickets are already selling rather briskly from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/198165.

It's not Terry's, it's Bill's

In case you didn't know, this is Bill, inveterate boomer of the bottom end, often tied up with Duct Tape (as part of the show you understand...), and ArtMeister extreme.

He has many of his Magnificent master pieces adoring our main website which the crafty blighter put together himself.

He's been at it again on one of his many side adventures the now world famous Prince Albert Carol Singing that happens each Yuletide to much enjoyment amongst the throng in that very special pub in that very special place of the P.R. of Stroud.

Have a look at this absolute treasure trove of Sheffield and West Gallery Carol goodies he has created at http://www.albertcarols.uk

And the picture?  One of the blokes from The Magnificent AK47 saw this beer and thought of him and brought it all the way down from Scotland without thinking of quenching his own thirst, just so he could pass it on to the man himself.

A contrasting example of "selflessness" can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry%27s_Chocolate_Orange and here at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzZFr3l_u5k - judge for yourself whether beer is better than chocolate at bringing out the best in people...

More about the beer can be found at http://www.caledonianbeer.com/beers/bills-beer.

Ahoy there Wine lovers!

It has come to our attention that there is an event being run in the locality that should appeal greatly to our demographic, ie lovers of quality drinking (in moderation) and quality singing (done responsibly).

It features the return to the village of the hugely talented Roaring Trowmen, who visited previously all the way from their home port of Bristol and entertained many so richly a few months back.

Those of you at BlokeFest 2015 this June will also be familiar with this amazing bunch of guys, as they ran one of the elective sessions and made such an impact around the place with their singing and bonhomie.

On learning that one of them works as a wine merchant, there was only one thing that could happen - a wine tasting with Shanties evening in Ashton Keynes!

The plan is simple, gather in the Back Room of the White Hart, taste some excellent wines (available at special on the night prices), have some nibbles and be entertained by the blokes singing songs about the wines, the journey, their destination, the sea-faring folk who transported them, the people who drank too much of them and any other angles they can think up to shoe-horn in!

There are also plans to carry on singing after the Tasting with a show in the Pub so book your tickets now (you'll recoup the cost if you buy any wine) and prepare yourself for a great night.

Well done the few

The Blokes warm up back stage at the Colston Hall

Well done to the "few" who made it to Bristol's Colston Hall to play our part in the inspiring Bristol Festival of Song.

Wading through big city Bristol traffic on a midweek school night is not for everyone but a valiant and sufficiently large enough number of the gang were able to get there in time to witness The Gasmen and The Filtonaires entertaining the early evening crowd.

As we were on stage, a mystery announcer voice told the gathering throng that the doors for the Steve Earle concert taking place in the main hall would not be open till 10 past 7, which to our benefit meant that some of that crowd started milling about on the stairwell to watch us whilst they waited.  The fact that most of them hung around to listen to us well after the doors opened is valediction of the entertainment value of the blokes in full flight.

Thanks again to Hannah the Director of Bristol Festival of Song for inviting us back again.

Our next scheduled public appearance will be at Cirencester's Sundial Theatre on Friday 27th November and will be a DOUBLE HELPING, double the number IN the group, double the numbers FROM as we do a two full length feature sets - it is shaping up to be a "MONUMENTAL" show.  Already 20% of the tickets have been sold and the best seats are disappearing FAST so if you are thinking of coming, book now to avoid disappointment.

Bristol Festival of Song

An excellent Triple Bill for a Wednesday night as part of the wonderful Bristol Festival of Song brings together, long standing stalwarts and BlokeFest attendees The Gasmen, and also The Filtonaires as we return to Bristol's Colston Hall, scene of one of most epic man-moments early last year.

This time we will be taking stage in the Foyer as part of the many acts performing there.

More info about the whole event can be found at http://www.festivalofsong.org.uk/voices-in-the-hall/ if you scroll down the page a bit.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Pow Wow Now

Tis that time of year when we ask ourselves important questions, and ponder inponderables, such as "what did we do last year?", "was it a good one?", "what should we do next year?", "who's round is it?"

Yes, it is "Pow Wow" time because we in The Magnificent AK47 don't do anything by halves, we do it in pints and then squeeze quarts into those pints.  

We most certainly have had a most Magnificent seventh year and have many plans afoot to continue into 2016 and some even beyond.

So what have we done?

A (shortened) list could include

1. The Hammerman Wold Tour celebrating Alfred Williams
2. Sang on a Windmill
3. Bristol Festival of Song singing in multiple locations
4. Sang on a replica of "The Matthew" floating in Bristol docks
5. Had our first "Boot Camp"
6. Sang in a former Convent
7. Did our fourth "Beer & Carols"
8. Had 3 days' of trips to the big city to sing in London's The Roundhouse
9. Sang on BBC Radio 3
10. Went on our first multi day proper tour to Cornwall
11. Were interviewed and sang on national Cornish Radio
12. Singing in caves at Tintagel Castle
13. Singing on Cornish clifftops to (nearly) abandoned maidens
14. Had THE best time ever at BlokeFest
15. Got our very own Comic Strip!
16. Blooming well sang inside the stones at Stonehenge
17. Did many other gigs around the local area
18. Sang in a tipi
19. Had a rather marvelous time doing it all

So, what next?  We'll find out at our Annual Chewing of the Cud that is known as "The Pow Wow" at the end of our 2nd Boot Camp on Sunday at Chiseldon Rec.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day 2015

There are many of us in The Magnificent AK47 who have been known to don the occasional items of fancy dress on the odd occasion, and sometimes even when on stage.  And pirate outfits are always popular for the donning thereof with especial glee whenever we get to do a Sea Shanty or two.

And taking this just one step beyond, there is a somewhat bonkers idea (even by Magnificent standards) we are prompted to remind you, in case it had somehow slipped off your calendar, that it is International Talk Like A Pirate Day this coming September 19.

There is a whole treasure chest of jewels and general web booty that can be unearthed over at the (not inconsiderable) website dedicated to this daft notion at http://www.talklikeapirate.com/links.html, so put on your Pirate hat, stick your hand in your fake hook and start singing this particular song or this version or even the one recorded by some able hearties at BlokeFest 2015 Cabaret - all together now you swabs!

Throwing shapes with the SpookMeister in a tipi

It is not every day that you get do a workshop with a leading light in your genre of music and the inspirer of the inspiration that got so many of us singing later in life.

It is not every day that you get to do a workshop where you get to throw crazy shapes as if no one else is watching and are told to consider your sound as a row of mangoes (we can explain... we think).

It is not every day that you get to do a workshop in a twin peak tipi in someone's back garden.

But then again, The Magnificent AK47 are not an ordinary, "every day" kind of group.

We are here for the extra-ordinary, the special days you remember for, er, as long as you can remember.

We are MAGNIFICENT, learning amazing arrangements to well known children's songs in our dotage that will emerge from a stage near you in the not too distant future - but more about that soon.

Stand by and brace!

Magnificent Spookyness in tipis

Mr Stephen Taberner, the SpookMeister will be paying us a visit and we have a very special location for the workshop as well... in 2 tipis.  

All "very Ashton Keynes" and the usual bit of the unusual Magnificentness!

Spookyly Magnificent Workshop

There may be a slight change to the published Workshop this Sunday 13th, in terms of location and leader, but we can say no more just now, but you have been warned...

New term ahoy

It's been a while, but we are getting back on board the good ship Magnificent AK47 with several workshops coming up and a couple of gigs in the offing.   

See the Dates page for more info on, er, our upcoming dates.

Magic from MJ-UK

For those of you with good memories or who are such avid followers of our adventures that you just know everything about our general Magnificentness, you may already be aware of our connections with MJ-UK Music & Arts, a youth theatre group based in nearby Cirencester.

Last year the Blokes did a fund raising concert with them in Bingham Hall in the capital of the cotswolds, and this year they are doing another one of their amazing shows, a new production of a new musical that recently completed a decent sized run in that there London Town, called "The Clockmaker's Daughter".

Reports from those in the know describe it as a blend of Les Misérables + elements of Sondheim + Disney, all with a local cast of terrifically (curmudgeons would say sickeningly) talented group of youngsters.  They are all working very hard to make it a great show, so

Watch their feature video at http://mj-uk.com


Follow their journey at https://www.facebook.com/MJUKMusicAndArts and https://twitter.com/MJUKMusicArts if you do that sort of thing

And get your tickets from http://mj-uk.com/index.php/tickets/

And maybe you will see one or two familiar faces there (most likely near the bar!).

Spooky Men on the Radio

In case you had facebook switched off yesterday, or just don't do that sort of thing, you may not have noticed that a crack team of black clad sonic operatives descended upon the nation's hallowed institution that is the BBC, Radio 3 no less, to do some singing and chatting stuff.

But, be ye not sad, the sounds of Spookyness on the airwaves can still be heard via your favourite digital device, or failing that, computer or smart@rse phone via http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06402ny.

And you can, and really should, catch them in the flesh in the real world via their on-going sojourn suffering over-generous breakfasts across these lands - see http://www.spookymen.com/gigs.php for a full list of where you can catch them.

Sound advice from The Axis of Spook

Well, we hope those who were at the awesome Spooky Men's Chorale gig last night in Bristol's Colston Hall have managed to come down off the ceiling! 

To help ease you off a Spooky high we offer a couple of photos from last night and a some sound advice - Wear your wonderful "Axis of Spook" T-Shirt with immense pride and make sure you wash it inside out to preserve the wonderful work of one Bill H.

Spooky Phil R and Bates do a quick hat check (above) as the mighty Axis of Spook assemble behind them (below).   More pics as they come back from the developers.

And another nudge to have a listen to the rough recording from the performance.

Spooky, Magnificent, AWESOME

Well, what can we say...?  2015 has been a pretty epic year already on the Magnificent front (our first tour, starring roles at Voices Now at THE Roundhouse, singing inside the inner circle at Stonehenge) and now many of us singing with The Spooky Men's Chorale as we return to the Colston Hall.

And what an awesome sound the 180 strong troupe made for the final pieces before the encore.

Not bad for one rehearsal - think what they could do with a couple more . . . (sounds of plot hatching).

Judge for yourself.