Neil feeling completely bushed (relatively speaking) but The Big Apple calls so I walk all the way down 7th, with a minor stop at Macys, to Greenwich Village – Bleeker Street. Think it will be cooler today so don jeans instead of shorts and it just gets hotter. Keep detouring into Jamba Juice for shots of wheatgrass and various energy revivers. Intention is to take photographs and I pass the most poignant reminder of 9/11 I’ve yet seen. Fixed to a wire fence about 7’ high are tiles painted with messages to lost loved ones or comments about the tradgedy. A heartbreaking red heart tile to a three year old who ‘flew into God’s arms’. Also notice messages warning people not to remove the tiles – can you believe people would do that?. Of course you can, but how come they have so little guilt and the rest of us, who couldn’t do that sort of thing, have so much. A little uneven distribution thereabouts methinks.

Then back up to the hotel to take Neil for lunch. He is still tired but he makes an effort because it is difficult to eat later.

Then a quick wander to get an English paper and a siesta. Around 7pm we go to the 15th floor of a building quite near the hotel, onto a huge terrace surrounded on all sides, but not too closely, by buildings. Twinkly lights, nice company, good wine and our hosts Louise and Nicholas Whapshot plug the show at Dillons to the assembled group of friends. We spend a couple of very pleasant hours there and then reluctantly leave – Neil has to be at XM radio by 9.30. So nice to be invited to private houses/terraces when you are away from home. After a meeting with Bill Kates we, in turn, meet Tom and JJ, whose cough has developed flu-like symptoms, and head off to eat at the Malibu Deli on 24th Street. This is entirely retro, the sort of place Luke would love. Bright lighting, a huge menu, good food, mediocre wine but most of all reasonably priced which is uppermost in our list of priorities at the moment.

We finish off the evening in The Cutting Room – a music venue which has a big jam session at midnight.

None of us can believe that these guys do not play together a lot of the time- they seem to stop on the beat together, know all the same tunes etc etc etc. But it is a nice way to end the evening. We walk JJ and Tom back to their hotel and catch a taxi up to ours.