I think today we both feel slightly down and tired – it hits you around the second or third day. Things get tedious, we start getting tetchy, we forget how incredibly lucky we are to be able to work our way around this amazing country. We forget to look at the trees. We forget to look up. Neil seems tired and I worry that tonight will be a struggle for him. I assume a string will break, that the hired piano will be awful, that one of the batteries will run out . Tonight it is the TIN ANGEL in Philadelphia – a long narrow room that holds around 80 people when full. It isn’t full but the people there are great fans and make up for their small number by their boundless enthusiasm and the gig turns out Ok. Neil’s tiredness ebbs away when he reaches the stage and he deals with it,

enjoys it and the audience always goes away happy. Took some photos around downtown Philly and found Penn’s landing where William Penn (the founder of Pennsylvania) landed. This bit of the city has a warm cosy, funky feel about it. Wish we could stay and explore a bit longer. I think to fill theatres in the USA you really have to use a good publicist, but that costs money. We have a publicist –Rick Geiser working for the Chicago gig at Martyrs – will be interesting to see whether it makes a difference.

Earlier we checked in at the Holiday Inn Express in Mount Holly, Philadelphia – Changing a string at the Tin Angela hotel we have stayed at twice before. This is out in the sticks and off a freeway but it is one place where you can actually walk to the shops if you need to. There is always something – this time I needed a hair brush. Have been walking around looking like a ‘before’ ad. since I got here, thinking I could pick one up from somewhere and finding my path blocked by swamps etc. Also because none of the venues has provided any kind of food – we have had to make shopping a priority. This is a change even from last year. Although the food was never very good it was always offered. Not even a cup of tea or coffee. Must be the straightened times we live in.