Foy Vance: Blog

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Days 27 & 28 Zabrze, Poland

10 Oct 2009. 19 comments

We travelled to Zabrze yesterday from Berlin, a mere 5 hour drive, which seems like nothing at this stage of the game. The thing about Zabrze (pronounced Zarbshu - for some reason-) is that it would seem, to all intents and purposes, that no westerner has ever been here. Which, incidentally,would be a great thing in my opinion. I had such high hopes, so the second I saw a McDonalds sign I was devastated!!

When the Tour Mole checks hotels he just goes online and looks at everything available in that particular area. However, when he checked for hotels in Zabrze, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING came up! It took a bit of working to find anywhere at all, but he eventually found somewhere... mmmm somewhere.... This hotel is the closest to Hotel California as it gets. A very bizarre place altogether. It's very clean, the few staff that man the place are very nice, and it has everything that you'd expect a hotel to have but there's just something extremely odd about it. Aside from the staff, Tour Mole and myself, there didn't seem to be anyone else there!

We went into the restaurant which had around 16 tables complete with white cloths and roses...very well laid out, BUT... NOBODY there! Tour Mole and I sat having a meal together, in a very large, and very empty, restaurant listening to Elton John's Greatest Hits full blast. The English menu had things on it like Readies(?), which turned out to be cabbage, and crudes, which meant 'vegetables in general'...odd! It was a real experience though.

The waitress didn't speak a single word of English and we don't speak a word of Polish aside from thank you, so ordering was interesting. I finished the meal with a cranberry flavoured Vodka.....well I am in Poland after all...it was very nice.

We woke up this morning and went to Autswitz. I sort of feel like the less said about this the better really. Enough to say that it was a very heavy place to be, and yet somehow completely unassuming in the cool Autumnal sunshine. Joanne asked me to take some pictures for her so I did, but it wouldn't feel right posting them here, I don't think. It's not a tourist attraction, it's an historical documentation of what to avoid. It was sombre, and I'm glad they've retained that reality for people to experience. I've been to a lot of historical sites and there's nearly always a café close by so that you can relax there for a while, but there was no such thing here, and rightly so!!!

I'm glad I've been there to see it, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to go again, unless my daughter starts studying the holocaust or something.

Anyway, enough heaviness....the world is again discovering hope from East to West, in spite of everything!

The gig was great tonight, it didn't go where I expected it to, mainly because I broke a string. Funny how such a simple thing can change the direction of an entire set! The Polish people are a great audience to play to!! Looking forward to Warsaw....and of course, the road home!

Till tomorrow....THE LAST DAY OF THE TOUR!!

p.s. Matt and John are gonna come out and play the set with me tomorrow night in Warsaw, so I'm looking forward to that....keep you posted...f

Last bit of the Berlin wall still standing (although not for the wrong reasons)

Why have a table for two, when you can have a restaurant ?

This tasted just how it looks - fake! (that's meant to be fish by the way)

Days 25 & 26 - Berlin

07 Oct 2009. 5 comments

Arrived in Berlin last night around 5pm and checked into a hotel room that's reminiscent of a cabin on a cruise ship...in a good way!

We (Tour Mole and I) headed out for a drink and a bit of grub with Evo, Mick and Danny, some guys from the tour, or team Scouse as their commonly known here (scouse being a term for people from Liverpool, for those of you outside of the UK). It was good cráic, I always laugh a lot when I'm around team scouse.

Anyway, it was an early one so I got to bed around 11pm, very proud of myself that I was having at least one early night on this tour. I know this is a ridiculous thing to bring up in a post, but I'm not telling you this to talk about my sleeping routine, but only to tell you this. I then woke up...BING....wide awake at 3am! I don't know why? It clearly wasn't jet lag....maybe it was delayed jet lag or something..... no matter what it what it was, it 3am and I was up and Adam. I tried getting myself back over for about an hour, to no avail. I entered the stage of major annoyance at myself, and lack of ability to sleep. Do you know what I mean? I started getting really pissed off, which made it even harder again to sleep. I decided that the best thing to do was to pretend it was 11pm, stick a movie on and hopefully trick myself into feeling tired again.

I put on Carlito's Way, but no sleep came (although, admittedly, it's not the best film to sleep to)... to cut a tall story short, I eventually fell asleep at 8am this morning.... what a night.

I spent some of that time hanging out the window to get some cool air around me, and into the room, only to notice a plethora of pants, knickers and socks on the roof beneath me. Clearly from when people washed their smalls in the sink and hung them on the window cill to dry, before the wind caught them and they ended up on the roof.

I had a walk around Berlin today: Beautiful city altogether! I sat and had a coffee at Checkpoint Charlie, albeit a redundant checkpoint these days, and couldn't help but imagine what it must have been like!? There's something about walking around Berlin! It feels like a very friendly and hopeful city, and yet the smoke from the embers of it's past still gets in your eyes. Not that it feels austere, just that there's a remnant of austerity. I must say though, that none of this comes from the people, who a clearly as appalled by the whole thing as the rest of the world, but more from my own knowledge the the cities history. even though I was aware of its history, it didn't stop me from falling in love with the city. It truly is a stunning place!

Right, the tour mole is getting upset now, that I'm still here tyoing when he wants to get going back to the hotel, so I'd best sign off.

We head for Poland tomorrow....two more gigs then I'm homeward bound!!!

p.s. it's Joanne's birthday now (8th Oct) and she's feeling lonely, so please stop by her site and leave a birthday wish will you!!!!

This was an interesting welcome to the hotel room!

Evo manning the beer outlet

Mick's new haircut

Danny (flipping a sly bird?)

Tour Mole taking a picture of me taking a picture of Tour Mole

Checkpoint Charlie

This was a heavy place to be.... a memorial to the Holocaust

Days 23 & 24 - Antwerp & Frankfurt

05 Oct 2009. 8 comments

"It's OK, wee man! You've got 'two third tour' syndrome, that's all."

These were the encouraging words of my mate - Steve Jones - on the phone yesterday. I was telling him about feeling a little bit cranky, cantankerous, irritable and just downright tired and ready for the hills. I then spoke to Matt (Tori's drummer on this tour) about it, and apparently it's a well know thing, this old 'two thirds tour' syndrome.

I'm feeling a lot better now though. It only lasted a couple of days.

I knew things were going sque-wiff when the Tour mole and I had a huge row about wind turbines, and whether or not they're a good thing. I was arguing for them. A valid discussion but hardly argue worthy!

Had a good gig in Antwerp last night. It was good to learn a bit of another language. You see, I'm introducing myself each night and saying that I'm happy to be where I am, in the local language. So far it's been OK, but I haven't tried out my Polish yet. It's funny learning things in other languages. It all just seems like sounds to me. I know what I'm saying, but what I'm hearing doesn't sound anything like I think it should. For instance, to say "I'm very happy to be here" in German you use the word 'glücklich', which means lucky. But every time I say it all I can think of is pouring a glass of wine or something: glücklich glücklich glücklich.... anyway...it makes sense to me....

I got evangelised in French at the gig in Paris, by a security guard. I didn't understand everything he said, but I got the gist of it. Essentially telling me about the imminent apocalypse, and my need for Jesus. That's about all I got out of the 5 minute barrage. I always find it interesting with zealous evangelists of whatever religion, that they tend not to ask questions about you. They tend to not be interested in your story or even whether or not you're already a part of they're religion; they just plough into you with an onslaught of quotes from their given book, and speak in a way that only they themselves can really understand. It all seems so utterly futile to me! Whether it is or isn't is hard to say, but it certainly seems pretty useless. It's like trying to interest someone in the restorative power of music by bombarding them with the beauty of minor 5th augmented 7th chords, relative minors and the mixolydian mode... it means nothing right!? Better to play you a piece of music, wouldn't you say?

Speaking of (or speaking around) the afterlife. I'm reading a book at the minute (another one of the many I've brought with me) called 'SUM - 40 tales of the afterlife'. It's a great book with 40 (as the title would suggest) short stories, or fantasies is maybe a better word, about the afterlife. It's often funny and always thought provoking. The guy doesn't have an axe to grind, he's not pitching ideas that he hopes will catch on and become religious doctrine (at least I hope not). He's a Neuroscientist called David Eagleman (cool name eh) how is just musing on the possibilities of the afterlife. It's a very good read if you're interested. And the best bit is, you can read a chapter in about 2 mins...perfect for the likes of me!

So, I'm now being ushered out of the venue, so I'd best sign off. We drive to Berlin tomorrow and have the evening off, so I think we're gonna meet up with some other guys from the tour and go to a Rum Bar that the mighty, and ALWAYS informative, Steve Jones told me about.... till we speak again:

May the wind be always on your back
And the sun upon your face
May you never get a kick in the arse
When you bend to tie your lace

I think that might be Yeats... or Butler...I can't remember....f

Snow capped mountains of Monte Blanco, Italy

Living the rock 'n' roll dream in a Parisian tunnel at rush hour

people watching at a French café

Anyone for crabs?

Days 21 & 22 - Milan & Paris

03 Oct 2009. 6 comments

Days 21 & 22 - Italy & Paris

We travelled from Milan to Paris yesterday, via some of the most stunning scenery I've ever experienced, in the form of Monte Blanco. Is a ski resort in the Northern Italian mountains. Stopped off for a coffee and to soak in the vista!

After this is was a long old drive to Paris (11 hours all in), but it didn't feel too bad for most of it as I've been listening to Ricky Gervais, Steve Merchant and Karl Pilkington. They fairly make the time fly!! It's the old XFM shows that they did a while back but I never got the chance to hear at the time. They're hilarious! Karl is hilarious; primarily because he's not trying to be.

I had the morning off today in Paris, but chose not to go into town with the Tour Mole, but instead set up my studio and did a bit of recording. I of course made some time to find a café and sit down for a bit and write in my journal. I always enjoy people watching in a country where you don't really know the culture all that well. It means you've gotta use your imagination that bit more. Wondering what kind of jobs people have. What does their house looks like. Whether they're happy or not. All that stuff is a bit easier to decipher when I'm at home. What AM I talking about!? Anyone's guess!

I used the little French that I have last night in a restaurant. I simply asked for another beer, using the same words, tone and accent that I always have, when in France, BUT... this time, the girl wasn't having it! She looked at me like I told her she had bucked teeth and a squint! I know my French isn't that good, but it's surely not that bad.

Anyway... had a good gig tonight. The Parisian audience where second to none; enough said.

Till we speak again. Merci Paris, et bonne nuit...f

p.s. no pics today because the old t'internet is playing up here....it's taken over 10 minutes to even load my login page...NIGHTMARE!....well...maybe not a nightmare, but definitely a pain in the arse!

Day 20 - Milano

01 Oct 2009. 3 comments

Oops... forgot to upload the Florence pictures with the last post, so let's start with them. Was asking Tour Mole why - in his opinion - do we call it Florence when it's actual name is Firenze? I always find the local term more interesting than our adaptation. Take Cologne for example. I think Köln is so much better!!! anyway, here are the missing photos...

The alley

Main bridge West

Main bridge East

Church/Chapel in the centre

Scooter central

I wrote the previous post at the venue in Rome, out on a balcony backstage overlooking some ruins, to the sound of cicadas singing their hypnotic twilight songs. I say hypnotic because to me the sound of crickets is associated with being on holiday, but I imagine if you heard it every day in life it may be more monotonous than anything else. The ruins that I overlooked during last night's blog was in the middle of one of Rome's largest venues, which leads me to the conclusion that no matter where you dig in Rome you're gonna find an archeologists dream! What a place!

The drive to Milano (now doesn't that feel better on the tongue that Milan!?) was a mere 365 miles, one for each day of the year. Every time we stopped I drank an espresso, which in turn made me quite the manic passenger for the poor Tour Mole. He's already upset that I'm telling everyone he's an awful driver, so the fact that I was double twitchy today made him somewhat irrate with the very sight of me. So, in an effort to turn my attention from his driving I watched another film. This time it was a film called 'Lars and the real girl", and in my humble opinion, if you have a heart that beats, you will love it! What a beautiful film. The guy that acts Lars is outstanding. Good enough to make you seek out anything else he's ever been in.

Another thing that happened today, that added to my twitchy-ness was getting a call from my daughter's school, telling me I need to come immediately as she has fallen and cut her head open on a table!!!! I was freaking out, to the point of feeling like I might be sick. I didn't know where to put myself. I think it's called parental guilt! My baby's hurt, and I'm not there to do anything about it, to hold her, tell her it's all OK, to say "I'm here".... it was awful! She's a tough wee cookie so it didn't really phazer her that much, but I was at my wits end, calling every other second for updates. If anything she was quite pleased with her new scar. Can you believe it! That wee'n has been in casualty so often that it's only a matter of time now before social services come knowcking on my door... "Mr Vance! What on earth are you doing to that wee girl!?" I'm hoping that this accedent prone stuff is just a childhood matter as I don't think I could bear it into the teenage years; I'd be an almighty shadow of my former self.

Moving on. I'm now backstage at the gig in Milan and listening to Tori go for gold downstairs. She just played 'Winter'... I forgot how wonderful that song is!!

So... here's some more phone pics of today's events, and some pics of crew members, all of which pulled ridiculous faces that make them look either mad or 'not all there'!

Looking forward to a late evening off in Paris tomorrow night... till then...f

Ruins in the midst of a venue

Olive groves everywhere

Danny ( of the Mick & Danny catering extravaganza)

Mick (the other half.... but only in the catering sense)

Bill, pulling his nonplussed face...this guy runs the show!

Evo - always looks like this! Can't see him without laughing now...such an up guy!

When in Rome

Days 18 & 19 - Bologna & Rome

01 Oct 2009. 1 comment

There's something clearly amiss in UK Service Stations that's well and truly present in German ones. The first stop we made en route to Bologna was at a service station that was surrounded by corn fields! Have you ever seen that anywhere else? I certainly haven't...

I walked into the corn field, and although it was in broad daylight I still found that I got flashes of horror/suspense films that I've watched.You know the ones. The innocent victim -usually a girl - is being chased through the long corn by a killer/extra terrestrial sort of affair. Then there's that moment where for some reason she stops, as does her pursuer. Her eyes dart from left to right, in front to behind seeing nothing but the long corn. Then there's that silent suspense where you hear nothing but the whispering of the sun dried foliage rustling in the breeze. It was this very noise that made my walk through the corn today a bit eerie. It actually does sound like whispering. I kept thinking I could hear words(?)

We made it to Bologna, after 13 hours in the car, for a much needed rest. However, though I'd planned to go straight to bed, we ended up having a lovely meal over a bottle of wine, followed by a walk through the village we were staying in.... would have been very romantic if it hadn't have been just me and the Tour Mole.

The Tour Mole started the driving today from Bologna to Rome. Now I don't want to generalise, but I'm going to anyway. Everything you've ever heard about the outlandish behaviour of Italian drivers is absolutely correct! I don't wish to be unpleasant here, BUT....The Tour Mole's driving is.....well, suffice to say that he isn't the world's greatest driver! At the best of times it's hairy, so driving in Italy in excess of 90mph creates in me a feeling of.......mmmmm, how can I explain it? Well, if you tied your Granny to the roof of a Rally Car doing a circuit in the snow, her emotions would begin to capture it.

We stopped off in Florence this afternoon for a coffee... what a beautiful place!

Here's some pics of our journey....f

The ubiquitous kick starter

The whispering field

I was tempted to take this....but I didn't

Coffee Break in Switzerland

Speaks for itself

Gotthard Tunnel - 10 miles long, cut into the Swiss mountains

In between days 17 & 18

29 Sep 2009. 2 comments

My power is about to run out (long story!!) so I can't update you in full right now.... will try to sort out my power issues tomorrow..... till then, here's an anticlimactic picture of today's events.....f

entering Italy

Day 17 - Dusseldorf

28 Sep 2009. 6 comments

Well today's 5 hour drive seems like a mickey mouse affair compared to tomorrow's 13 hour drive-athon. 650 miles from Dusseldorf to Bologna. The up side here as that we don't have to gig tomorrow night so we can get a good night's kip to be well rested for the 240 miles/5 hours from Bologna to Rome the following morning. Is this the rock and roll life style that you all thought I'd be leading? It's certainly not what I signed up for. Where's all the Champagne and late night parties on rich folk's yachts eh? eh? that's what I want to know...

Today consisted mainly of some flaccid conversation due to tiredness, followed by a couple of Ricky Gervais radio Shows that were provided by my mate Josh to try and keep me sane on the long drives; it worked a treat. I listen to them when I'm driving and then watch movies from the passenger seat. Today I watched Eagles Vs Sharks. It's sort of a poor man's Napoleon Dynamite (which is a great film), but without the funny bits. I kept watching in the hope that it would get better but to no avail.

I watched Vicky, Christina, Barcelona last week, which is a wonderful film. Woody Allen's back on form. It's a really thought provoking look at love...essentially.

I've taken a few pictures for those of you that dream of getting from the main hall to the glories of a rock 'n' roll back stage...

...in fact, I'm just thinking this kind of thing probably pisses you off...maybe you want me to perpetuate the myth!(?) Michael Jackson spent his career trying to make people see what artists do offstage as a mystery, and I seem to be spending mine telling you that for every magical moment on stage there are many more very regular (and irregular) hours spent in pretty dull spaces. Maybe that's why all these big name artists have their dressing rooms arranged with flowers and velvet drapes and whatever else... to keep the wool over their eyes.

As for me? I actually quite like the nothingness of backstage areas. I wouldn't want them to look any different. It feels like the right balance. Let's face it, it's not terribly natural to stand on stage singing songs for hundreds/thousands of people that you've never met, and having them clap and cheer for you while you absorb their adulation (due or undue). And to be honest, when you're caught up in that moment, it doesn't feel natural. It feels very comfortable, but not natural in the true sense of the word; it feels unreal. It's a major high; better than any drug!

SO... when you come off stage feeling like you've just swallowed the best high available and see the reality of long empty corridors, boxes of leads, florescent lights and toilets, it's very humbling. It helps you remember what is real and natural and - for me at least - it heightens the experience of what happens on stage, not takes away from it....

Monologue monologue monologue...enough... I'm off to drink pink champagne out of a lily, freshly picked this morning in Provence and flown up specially for the gig tonight, then sack a few roadies and maybe punch a photographer...till tomorrow...f

Toilets

Dinning Room

Empty Corridor

Immediately Back stage

Portable Kitchen

Empty Stairs

Dressing Room (complete with my traveling artwork and pictures)

Days 13, 14 & 15 (oh...& 16 too)

27 Sep 2009. 1 comment

Days 13, 14 & 15

Phew... last few days have flown by. I had planned on updating you daily but, sometimes things in life don't work out how you planned them..... so here's a round up of the last few days.

Day 13 - Belfast

What a day. I'd just played Groningen the night before so didn't get to bed until late but had to get up at the crack of dawn to drive to Amsterdam Airport, 200 miles away! We looked at getting flights from Groningen but they only fly to about 3 destinations in the UK, none of which were of use to me. So we got up (far too) early then hit the road and the morning traffic, but I was still feeling upbeat in the knowledge that I was bound for the green grass of Belfast. I flew from Amsterdam to Heathrow where I had a wait of a couple of hours for the next flight to Belfast. I sat out in the London sun with a cup of coffee and a smile. It was only about 9am but it felt like midday to me (in more ways than one). I caught the next flight to Belfast and felt very proud of myself as I didn't miss any flights...not only that but I was there early.... ridiculous that I should feel proud of that as it should be the norm, but it simply hasn't been the norm for me over the last year or so... I usually get there with a second to spare, sweating like a fully clad soldier in a sauna, or I miss the flight altogether. Well...not anymore... it's the new me ;)

It was such a welcome cool air that blew in Belfast. Having been in warmer climates for the last few week I could feel the nip in the air but to all of Belfast it was like the heat of a Summer evening. I saw a group of girls hitting the town in not much more than knickers and bra, which in fairness probably had as much to do with them being numb to the cold after 'swally-ing' a six pack of Smirnoff Ice as it had to do with the Summer evening vibe.

Anyway... I was so full of beans all day. Joanne came and met me at the soundcheck and we went for something to eat and talked non stop about everything and nothing; it was BLISS! It was so good to see her. So good that I forgot my 'no alcohol before the gig' theory, and had a couple of drinks... this didn't help at all. I instantly became aware of how tired I was. On top of this, the gig got pushed back to slightly later as it was taking longer than expected to get people into the marquee... so I ended up have a fair old wait backstage. I kept drifting off on the couch before realising it was a terrible idea to have a sleep before playing; that would completely mess with my MOJO, so I danced around the dressing room with a G&T until show time.

I'm not gonna go into details about the show here as that sort of thing is about being there. However, I will say a couple of things. Firstly, I LOVE playing Belfast. It always feels like a real homecoming. Like I'm catching up with old friends and I'm under no pressure to perform, which makes me want to perform all the more.
The other thing I'd say is this: SORRY!! I'm afraid that in my 'tired and emotional' state I rambled on a bit about Politicians... BIG MISTAKE!!!! The trouble with feeling so at ease with the Belfast crowd is that I don't filter my thoughts. I may as well be sitting down having a one to one with a close friend. But that's not the case. Although people there know the music, I suppose they don't know me personally and therefore may take what I say the wrong way (a girl Elizabeth commented on this already actually...). What I said about Politicians was a facetious comment, and not meant to be taking seriously. I'm not Bono. I'm not a voice for such things...so sorry if I offended anyone else. The best thing to do is tell me to shut up and sing, at which point I'll agree, then shut up and sing.... ;)

And lastly: thanks for a wonderful homecoming... it was just what I needed!

Day 14
Well, this was a day off at home in London, where I got to see the unbearable cuteness of being in the form of my daughter Ella. She tried to show me how she can now go up curbs on her bike, but in her excitement to share her new skill she went flying into the curb at the wrong angle and ended up on her ear; poor thing! We cycled, walked, talked, cuddled, kissed, ate dinner, got our PJs on, made some pop corn and fell asleep on the sofa, watching a movie...nuff said....

Day 15
Another morning at home. The sun was shinning, the coffee was brewing and Joanne was making up a batch of Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. I really miss breakfast time when I'm on tour. It's a big thing in our house, even on school mornings: coffee, toast, eggs, juice, fruit, yoghurt...the lot...

We went to Greenwich Park for a bit and let Ella round around like a wee'n possessed (wee'n being an Irish term for a kid: a small person - wee one). She was endlessly running from pillar to post and never seeming to tire... do you remember being like that?

It was all going wonderful until I had to say good-bye in a restaurant at Heathrow Terminal 5. Ella was straight into the crying, Joanne straight into the consoling and I, straight into the security check queue trying to keep it together. It was actually harder saying good-bye this time than it was at the beginning of the tour. We're now looking at them coming out to the Paris show, as I have a morning off there...let's hope it works out.

I got into Hamburg around 5pm local time and met my other wife - The Tour Mole - who showed me some sights in Hamburg and gave me a blow by blow account of his sight seeing, complete with a billion pictures....

I'm meeting some record label folk today to talk about releasing my stuff in Germany, which will be great if it all works out. I really like playing here. The people are friendly and LOVE their music... so let's see....

Well, there you have it... whatever "it" is......

Looking forward to playing tonight in Hamburg... I'll update you on how it all goes... till then, goodnight San Diego...and stay classy...f

ooops... would appear that I didn't get a chance to upload the last post today so I have to paste Day 16 here, turning this marathon post into a triathlon post!

Today has been blissfully quite. I got up around 09:30, pleasant in and of itself, and dipped my toe in the cold water that was the hotel's complimentary breakfast. You always know where you stand with a hotel breakfast when the "fresh orange" is in fact diluted from concentrate. I knew it was gonna be bad so I went for the apple thinking it might be marginally better...BUT....wooooh... holy rotten apples bat man, this juice tastes like liquidised horse dung with a shot of apple toothpaste... NEVER again. I quickly retreated to a quint café down the road for a coffee and some form of bread thing (not sure what it was, but it was a darn sight better than hotel breaky). I sat there in the sun for a bit reading my book. One of the many books I've brought with me. It's a book on the world's most famous equation; E=mc2 ... This makes me sound like a swat, which is something I can only ever dream of being. It's really interesting actually. It's funny how an equation like that can be so familiar, so mysterious and around you every day all at once!

Then on my return to the hotel I noticed the pub beside the hotel is called...wait for it....Einstein... I think it's maybe a sign that I should leave music behind and spend my life between blackboards and Bunsen burners... well maybe not, but it's definitely a sign!

Truth is, I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a Bunsen burner. The only time I was near one was in school when experiments mainly consisted of me, John Gibson, Stanley Brown and Ricky Orr sucking the fumes to see who could inhale the most before passing out.

I find that the majority of the things I hated in School are now the things I want to know most about! I don't think it was ever meant to be though. I'm a kinesthetic leaner, and at my school we used to spend whole periods copying chapters from text books in a lot of classes, which is a far cry from hands on, I'm sure you'd agree! I did have some really good teachers though. Mr Tinney - Maths... he was friendly but stern and always smelt of Jovan Musk. Which admittedly was only ever one step above Brutt 33 but at the time we thought it was the smell of a man who knew things...

Anyway, as much as I'm enjoying writing here, I'm sure you're getting a bit sleepy just reading all this, so I'll sign off.

Until tomorrow, take care of yourselves....and each other.... oooh it's all about the cheese round here ;)

f

Here's some pictures of the last few days...

Now we've started

Moments before, tear ridden mayhem

Proof that Squirels smoke pipes

Twilight in Hamburg

Toilet art in the form of a fly... I've seen better

The sign

Day 12 - Groningen

23 Sep 2009. 7 comments

It was Tour Mole's birthday last night and Jackie (manager and co-conspirator at Wurdamouth Records) had laid on a bottle of Champagne in the Tour Mole's room. It was actually very touching to see his reaction, he was genuinely moved by it. I mean it was just a bottle of shampers but he wasn't expecting anything at all so it really took him by surprise.

Anyway, my original plan was to go straight to bed that night as I knew it was a long old day in the car, but how could I do that with there being a bottle of Moet there and Tour Mole celebrating another year in the world. So, we sat up and polished it off. It was good stuff too.....

Really felt it this morning though... I think the mixture of being really tired already didn't help. However it was very much worth it.

We headed to a small café for breakfast. I should have got a plain old croissant, but we ended up getting three big sugary buns and cutting them in half for a taste test...bad move!

Tonight's gig went well, and I've had a word with the promoters about coming back for my own shows next year...see you soon Holland...f

They were kind enough to name the venue after me tonight...good publicity I reckon...