Monday is usually a day to avoid on the road. No-one really wants to go out on a Monday so the audiences are invariably smaller than they would be any other day Also we have a four hour drive to Chester, just south of Liverpool to Telfords Warehouse. The weather is predictably June, as Ken so rightly remarks ‘just when you think it is OK to pack away the jumper hat and scarf’. You Californians have no idea.

When the guys get to Telford’s Warehouse, Neil walks in and walks straight out again. The stage is even smaller than Cox’s Yard. Mickey can not see how he will fit his keyboards on the stage which is again low. Tom’s double bass is inches below the ceiling so less bouncing for him tonight. Together the band work out exactly how they can cram themselves on. The venue is a lovely place to go for a drink right on the edge of a canal and again a good gig for Neil + Friends if they put seats in. The manager decides to seat half the audience and let the other half stand which actually works well. The dressing room is not good however, tiny with no space for stage clothes or bags and nowhere for a very tired John to sleep for an hour before the show. We go up to the restaurant to eat but the food takes so long to arrive that Neil, Tom and JJ have to leave most of it. However Neil’s first set goes down really well and afterwards I cover up the merchandise and go down to the side of the canal to cool off. Get back half way through the Rutles set and spend the rest of the set dancing. The manager has put a huge fan at the side of the stage so the band are relatively comfortable although maybe a tad claustrophobic. Later we get back to our rather grand hotel. Most of us have ground floor room with a large doors opening onto the lawn – you can get good deals on a Monday night if you know where to look. A guy called Brian Saunders (Roadrunner) does the booking for us and he is amazing. We never know what to expect and there is only the occasional naf hotel which is amazing when you realise what a low budget we are on. It is good when the hotel has a lounge and a nightporter/barman so you can relax without having to go to a bedroom. I gather one or two guys stayed up late but Neil returned after half an hour exhausted.