Photograph by Susan Porter

I saw a tweet the other day which said try saying No by default to help you focus on what’s important. It’s a fair point but it really goes against the grain for me. Sure there may be some unintended stuff along the way but at least there are consequences! For me that’s part of the adventure. Moreover, mix that Yes attitude with the power of social media and prepare yourself for a roller-coaster.

Take my band for example; Simon asked me if I’d like to learn the bass guitar and start a band to play at his 40th birthday. I leapt at the opportunity and now 5 years on we’re the proud owners of a Banksy original, so how you might ask has that happened. Well, when we started we played at a few outdoor events and I put the footage up on YouTube. In the meantime, and by complete coincidence, Banksy painted a picture with the same name as ours – Exit Through The Gift Shop. We thought nothing of it until he decided to make a film of the same name and contacted me on YouTube. He was very genuine and polite and wondered if we’d change our name. We considered it for a while, agreed and asked him to help us choose our new name. I think he quite got into the idea and picked a new name for us from a couple of alternatives and to thank us for being so accommodating then painted us a new backdrop for us to display at our gigs. True to his word he delivered us a stunning 8ft x 6ft canvas backdrop of the grim reaper driving a bumper car with our new name on it!

If you’d like to come and see it (well a copy) and find out our new name we’re unveiling it at the St Georges Day event ‘What England Means to Me’ this Friday at the Market Place in Brentford. Come along at about 6.30pm.