Monday, 26th January 2015 in Tours & Gigs
The Slapstick Festival is a fabulous weekend of mainly silent films shown on a big screen with live music. It attracts huge enthusiastic audiences and this year featured classic Laurel and Hardy films as well as Buster Keaton’s ‘Seven Chances’ with pianist Rick Wakeman accompanying the film. photo by David Christie There were interviews with […]
Saturday, 11th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
We have a day in Seattle. We skip breakfast and go early’ish into the city. We had been told about Pike Street and there is a market selling all good things to eat – best cheese, wine, cold meats, bread etc. We sat for breakfast in a small red Parisian- type café, and after about […]
Friday, 10th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Another four hours to get to Seattle. Today the weather is not good – not rainy but overcast and cool. We have listened to all our talking books so now decide to listen to one of them again ‘Our Kind of Traitor’ by John Le Carre. The reader does a really convincing job with the […]
Thursday, 9th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Started off well. We walked past the Fisherman’s Wharf and along the docks to the ferry building where Ricky had suggested we met for breakfast. There was a heavy mist over the bay obscuring the end of Bay Bridge and the cranes on the other side. I took a few photographs and then we walked […]
Wednesday, 8th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Have to get to San Francisco today and the weather is all doom and gloom. Cold temperatures, fog and even unstable hurricanes are mentioned. So around 10 am we climb once more into our showmobile fearing the worst. Gradually the morning mist burnt off and the sun came out and it just got hotter and […]
Tuesday, 7th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Wake up early and look across the pantiled roof half covered by an huge Eriobotriya (loquat tree) of the sort I can only get to grow to five feet tall in Suffolk. We chatted and coffee’d and then, realising we had another long drive we said our goodbyes and hit the road….again. This time we […]
Monday, 6th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Tired today but hear from Barney that he has the children with him and we can Skype them before their bedtime. This cheers us both up but quickly I become moody and grumpy taking ages to do what I normally do easily and quickly. Possibly my mood is about coming to end of tour so […]
Sunday, 5th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
To Los Angeles in a cloudy sky and with a lot of traffic going both ways – even though this is a Sunday. I guess those malls do their main trade then, so it is a slow stop -starting sort of drive, to find the HIX we booked had no pool and not much else. […]
Saturday, 4th June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Up at 6 am again for the drive to San Diego. Desert and cacti and mountains but gradually as we left Tucson the temperature dropped and we arrived in San Diego in a modest 71 degrees heat. We drove straight to the sea and had lunch in a sea-food restaurant right on the beach. It […]
Friday, 3rd June 2011 in US Tour 2011
Actually managed to get up and out by seven am with a paper cup full of strong coffee. We had to go all the way back to Kingman, past the Hoover dam and then through endless stretches of desert with just tall green cacti to break up the skyline – particularly around Phoenix. Got to […]
Thursday, 2nd June 2011 in US Tour 2011
GIG today – will be surprised if there is an audience here, although there is obviously a sense of humour. Neil thought I should see the Strip properly so we got a taxi to it and I found myself sitting two floors up in an area called Venetia, by a canal with gondoliers and gondoliers […]
Wednesday, 1st June 2011 in US Tour 2011
To Las Vegas – which Neil tells me I have to see before I die. A long ride with a few hot sorties from the car for water etc – the temperatures climbing into the 90s, which is difficult for us Brits more used to the lower 50s. Again the scenery before and around the […]
Tuesday, 31st May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Last day of May and we are going to get to Williams via the grand Canyon, which is a bit like saying you are going to New York via Canada or Suffolk via Scotland. Thought maybe it wasn’t a good idea to spend the last day off with another long drive but couldn’t get this […]
Monday, 30th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Woke up luxuriously on soft white sheets with red purple and blue woven covers and cushions. Outside the sun was rising above the butte throwing the trees into shadow. We lit the gas fire which sent a warm glow through the room. Had long lazy showers, sorted our confused suitcases and stepped out for breakfast. […]
Sunday, 29th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Was windy yesterday, as in ‘could hardly open car door to get out’ type of windy, but today was worse, even at 6 am as I struggled out of the hotel to photograph some trains. The sun was rising and the trees were almost at right angles and I knew today was going to be […]
Saturday, 28th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Sadly we had to leave the hotel. Went out to try and get small presents for family but all we got was an idea of what to get, hopefully when we get to Sedona. John, Dot and their son Matthew took us to lunch and then we struck out for Gallup, listening to the last […]
Friday, 27th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Now we were getting into the most amazing country. We drove along bits of Route 66 when we could, to see motels, diners and casinos boarded up, virtual ghost towns but with a couple of cafes, motels, one or two shops selling Indian goods, and several large wall paintings of Cadillacs, and guys with leather […]
Monday, 23rd May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Technically we are on holiday now, but we rise early, not at all sure whether we will be able to get through to Tulsa, the first stop on our way to Santa Fe. The rain beats down on the car, the sky the colour of lead and by then we have heard about the devastation […]
Sunday, 22nd May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Another long drive – this time to St Louis – a new one for us. On the way we hear rumours about tornados and huge hailstorms. In St Louis it is hot and humid and a warm wind tussles the trees. Our hotel is, as usual, out of the main town, so have no idea […]
Saturday, 21st May 2011 in US Tour 2011
A long drive to Chicago where we get more deeply into The Paris Wife. Beginning to be a little like what we in England call “an Aga saga’ – a sort of chatty, gossipy novelette, but we persist with it. Neil’s gig is at Martyrs – he usually plays at The Abbey, but last year […]
