What a real pleasure it was to have Ray Wallen guesting with us this week. It was his first-time with the houseband, but I'm certain it won't be his last! Ray is no stranger to The Coach & Horses and we all know what fine sets he is capable of. Sure enough, he'd lined up some great material - including several numbers that were quite new to us.

With our MC Stevie King having just taken a rather dramatic tumble while attempting to get on to the stage, Ray's opening number - "Help Me" - seemed particularly apt. Mercifully, Stevie reports no serious damage sustained, beyond a slightly bruised ego!

And the good stuff just kept on coming, including one of my favouites: "The Strut". The award for novelty of the night must go to Ray's 12-bar re-working of John Cooper-Clarke's "I Married A Monster From Outer Space". A real beast of a number, sung like he really meant it and very well received by everyone.

Three more numbers of note were "Messin' With The Kid", "24 Hours" and "Fool For Your Stockings"- all played extremely well before bowing out to very well-deserved applause.

No rest for our guest, though. He was immediately invited back to play Harp on the first jam, which was fronted by his friend and C+H newcomer Conrad Di Janni (Guitar/Vocals), who delivered a very slick 50s swing/jive set, playing a lovely vintage jazz archtop - check out the pictures. Sadly, though, we have no video of this set, owing to a battery failure, which is a real shame. Welcome to the C+H, Conrad. Come back as often as you like, mate - we like your style!

Conrad was supported by Ken Cumberlidge (Bass), Richard Stenhouse (Guitar) and yet another newcomer: American drummer Tony Natale. A very pleasant surprise for me to see Tony here, having gigged with him just recently. The man certainly knows his way round a kit, so I do hope we'll be seeing him again too, soon and often.

Another welcome returnee was Reg Patten's mate Adam (Guitar/Vocals), sharing the stage with Super-Harpist Leo Titkov, Dan Smith (Guitar), Vladimir Kosanskij (Drums) and Joe Larner (Bass). Speaking as a fellow bassist, Joe's work impresses me more each week, so it is great to see him becoming quite a regular here. Nice guy, too!

Set three belonged to 'Memphis' Frankie Gibbs on slide-guitar. Cor blimey, things must be bad in the cabby trade if Frankie gave up a working night to be here! Not that we're complaining: good to see the cheeky Cockney twangin' it with Ryan Johnson (Guitar) and our Reg, plus another stint on bass for Ken.

Next it was our MC's turn to front a set on Guitar and Vocals, giving Leo, Joe and Tony their second bite of the cherry, and featuring a welcome appearance on guitar from Darren Ball. Great to see this young man with us once again - and with his mum & dad in tow, too. Darren never fails to impress, both with his playing and his self-assurance.

For the final jam of the night Stevie laid aside his S.G. to concentrate on vocals, backed by Ryan Johnson, Ken Cumberlidge and that man Reg, and featuring a very impressive debut from guitarist Jo, who we just managed to squeeze in as he hadn't long arrived. Nice work, Jo - we'd like to hear more of that!

There was just enough time to get Ray Wallen back on the stage for two final numbers. We'd have loved to hear more, but our old enemy THE CLOCK beat us again. Still, Ray made the best of those closing minutes, sending us all off home in good spirits with a tricky version of Albert King's "I Got The Blues" followed by a very lively swing-shuffle called "Exercise" (what is Ray trying to tell us here...?) Great stuff from Ray, great stuff from all of our Jammers too. Thanks to everyone for yet another highly entertaining evening!

Next week we continue the theme of inviting some of our most regular jammers to join the houseband. It's with great pleasure that we'll be featuring local hero Dan Smith as our guest guitarist. Of course, it'll be St Patrick's Night, so I presume he'll be bringing that most traditional of Irish folk instruments, the Strat O'Caster. All together: "Oh Danny Boy...."

We must send our very best wishes for a speedy recovery to our founder, Ray Bartrip. Already plagued with illness, Ray suffered a mild heart attack last Saturday while at home. Thankfully, he is now recovering well at The Queens Hospital in Romford, and is hoping to be discharged very soon. So let's hope he gets his Mojo Working back here - soon!!

On a happier note: Bundles and bundles of congratulations to our ex-barmaid Elaina on giving birth to a healthy baby girl. No wonder her brother Lee, who is still giving us great service behind the bar, has had such a big grin on his face lately!

My thanks once again to Keith Geddes for supplying me with so many good photos, and to the missus for putting up with me while taking my place behind the camera.

For a really boisterous and entertaining afternoon I'd recommend getting along to The Manor Arms, 150 East India Dock Road, E14 0BP on Saturday afternoons between 3.00 - 6.00pm. This week (13th) will feature C+H favourite Jimmy C, Ronnie Collins on sax, John Monroe on drums, plus yours truly. A great atmosphere there, tasty free food items at the bar - and, just like the C+H, it's NEVER dull I can assure you! If you can't get there this week, then next week (20th) will feature Damien McCabe and Holly Roberts.

• Vocals - Stevie King
• Guitar+Vocals - Conrad di Janni, Adam, Frankie Gibbs and Stevie King
• Guitar - Richard Stenhouse, Dan Smith, Ryan Johnson, Darren Ball and Jo
• Harp - Leo Titkov and Ray Wallen
• Bass - Joe Larner and Ken Cumberlidge
• Drums - Vladimir Kosanskij and Tony Natale