Well, its that time of year again, getting out the decos, washing the tinsel, polishing the fairies and putting on the traditional christmas veg (soggy broccoli) and so its high time that there was another ICE blog on this here segment of the ether.

So, what have we been up to? Dunno, I never look at the tw*tter feeds and can only guess that there have been leaks a plenty, the odd grand prix and a few gigs. Ah, yes, the gigs. Cracker supporting the Herbaliser (note to rest of band, that’s singular) in Manchester. Fantastic audience once they’d all turned up, which in true ICE fashion happened to be just after we’d finished. Still, Babs got some footage, including the now customary and soon to be legendary guitar sword fight (its like a sword fight but with guitars). Its up on youtube and the more enterprising, or at least less moronic, of you shouldn’t have too much difficulty in finding it (clue: herbaliser, ice, manchester)

Anyway, in the spirit of christmas, and to give you all time to save up, this is what ICE want for christmas:

• Paul would like a concrete guitar which Guy can’t beat to death
• Guy would like a bass with a serrated edge and built in angle grinder so he can trash Paul’s guitar a bit more
• Lynn would like some very long sticks, preferably modelled on lump hammers with very long handles, so that she can join in from the other side of the stage 
• OMG would like something shiny and pretty

OK. Talking of pretty the ICE girls are taking advantage of us having 2 gigs on saturday to have an afternoons make and dressing up session - I’m not going to tell you where the gigs are, its a new tactic we’re trying: we tell you all where we’re going to be playing, no-one turns up, we keep’em secret and they’ll be heaving, its logic, simples! Paul will be refereeing the make-up sess, probably not as expertly as Howard Webb and he doesn’t have as big a note book, and I’m sure he’ll post some Mr Ben stylee photography as the girls go through their wardrobes and stuff so’s he can post ‘em next time he does this here blog thing.

Well thats that for now. Watch out for the alien muffins - they’re like ordinary mules except they are green and have tentacles where you would expect their legs to be. Don’t know if they’re worth consulting to see who the winners of races, grand prixes and football games are, sadly I can’t find a features checklist comparing german octopodi with alien muffins - there’s a roswell style conspiracy at work here - the truth is out there! Err hang on, click here (well the underlined bit at the end of this sentence anyway) for some breaking and very sad news . You heard it from ICE first, Paul the Octopus is now hidden in a cage within a secret research facility somewhere in Utah with electrodes connected to his head whilst Obarmy and his mates try to build an army of genetically enhanced 8 legged psychic marines who could predict whether they could win a war before having to fly over to wherever the money (ed. sorry that’s D-ordered) trouble is!

Talking of which - what do you call a barm cake in whatever part of this ‘ere virtual global village you come from? The best answer, posted to the forum with the subject “this is what we call barm cakes where I be from” gets a free copy of the last single.

Like all the best fingers in the cake shop, ICE-on people