Message From Shane

9 January 2009: Hi everyone, I just wanted to say hello and fill you in on everything that’s been going on over the last few weeks as it’s been a while since you heard from us.

Christmas was really lovely. It was actually a bit of a weird one in a way because Gillian’s granny died the day before Christmas Eve. She was 95 and had lived a great life and seen four generations of the family. It actually brought us all closer together and Christmas Day was really special as we had all the family around us – we had 17 of us here for Christmas dinner. Gillian did the cooking, as she also did on New Year’s Day, when there were 34 of us, including 17 grandchildren!

It was probably the nicest Christmas so far, because I hadn’t been rushing around doing promotion and then hurrying to try and buy presents and stuff, so we could enjoy the build-up properly. I’d been looking forward to it for a long time and it was so nice to be at home with the family. Gillian surprised me with a camera that I’d really wanted for ages on Christmas day, which I was so happy with. I got her some handbags and boots and shoes and stuff. It was also the first year that Nicole really understood Christmas and that was amazing to watch. When you’re growing up Santy Claus and all that stuff really makes Christmas for you, and then you get older and Santy doesn’t come anymore, and then when you have kids the magic starts all over again. She was so excited about seeing Santy – we left out a glass of milk and cookies for him. It was Patrick’s first Christmas, but obviously he didn’t really know what was going on.

I’ve been at home all the time for more or less the last six months, apart from a couple of small trips. It’s been really nice to relax and get to do things like play golf every Sunday with Gillian’s dad. It’s quite weird being at home too though because I’ve been thinking about work loads and I need to keep myself busy. It’s the singing I really miss, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the road. I’ve been chatting to the boys and we all agree that the thing we’re most excited about is performing on stage again.
 
We miss you all and we’re really excited about starting work on the new album. It’s going to be back-to-basics, with all new songs and no covers, like the first few albums. We’ve heard a few of the songs so far and will be hearing the rest over the next few months. I think it’s shaping up to be really good – as it’s the first album of our second decade we want it to be the best so far!

Take care,

love Shane x