Loverock...

Hey! It's Tom here... This is my first blog, so I'll keep it short, sweet, informative and educational. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who came to Joanna's first show on Thursday night, it was a great show, the band played great and we made £10 off the door. We have put this money towards a new shirt for Toby, as he seemed to take no notice to my strict dress code for Thursday's show and turned up in a Motorhead t-shirt. Adam, Sam and especially Jo, all looked extremely stylish.

Their has been much speculation over the past few months, even years, over the origin of the name Loverock. Especially in my head, where weird and wonderful things happen. So, I took it upon myself, to do a bit of a 'Tony Robinson' and do some research into the history of the name. It proved to be a gruelling exercise but ultimately a rewarding one, as you will no doubt agree! So, here it is...

The family story, according to several branches, is that Robert and Hannah were advised by the local schoolmaster in about 1800 to settle on Loverock as the spelling of their surname. Prior to that the family had been recorded with a wide variety of spellings. As far as is known, all living Loverocks are descended from this couple. Robert’s grandfather also Robert married in Staffordshire in 1715, but it is still not known from whence he came. As a result the study has been widened to include all possible spellings.

There are two contending suggestions as to the origin of the surname. Either it is derived from Leofric, Earl of Mercia, whose wife, Lady Godiva, is probably better known! Or the name could have arisen from an ancestor who was a blithe singer from the medieval word for a Lark. There is no connection with Caerlaverock Castle in Dumfries, according to the present custodian. The castle was built by the Maxwells in 1215 and was owned by them until they recently “give it to the nation”. The name of the castle means Lark’s Nest.

The Office of National Statistics database contains a list of surnames in use in England, Wales and the Isle of Man in September 2002. There are: Laverick 2542, Laverack 620, Loverock 117, Laverock 71, Leverick 37, Liverick 18 and Lavarack 17.

Interesting stuff, I'm sure you will agree!

Lastly, It looks as though we are getting close to finishing all the tracking for the album... So, it's into the mixing stage, artwork, track listing etc etc... Fun times!

Anyway, I shall leave it there, as I have to go to the post office and post some stuff... The Sun is out, so I am thinking a beer would be good. Easter is fast approaching, so get those eggs ready...

Love & Rock to all...

Tom