It’s been a long, long time since I was out on the road and this last month has been an absolute joy! It was delightful to meet up with so many old friends and make new ones too. Hurrah. The journey began way back in May when Bob and I took the ferry from the Isle of Man to the Main Land ... that’s the UK for those of you who haven’t a clue what I’m on about ... leaving behind the beginning of the TT race fortnight ... missing out on all the grease and high octane exhaust fumes ... what a pity! I spent two days with Dave and the 2 Petes (Filleul and Emery) remembering old songs and feverishly trying to learn half a dozen new ones to freshen the set. It was great to be back together.

Dave’s home is in the process of major rebuilding and so the following week when the full band assembled, we were generously welcomed into the wonderful home of his amazingly tolerant nieghbours .... Fiona and Michael Short and their daughters Kirsten and Lauren.

The lawn, and the Thames at the bottom!		The conservatory rehearsal room

We set up in their conservatory (a sauna free with every rehearsal!) and played all day long with no fear of upsetting anyone. Fiona's sister Ailsa was also there during the day recovering from an operation and made the most wonderful comment after our first day by exclaiming we were helping her to heal! It was a delightful experience for us too and we’re hoping it becomes a regular one!

The “full band” by-the-way has changed since our last outing in 2006. We now have a new rythmn section in the guise of Sam Kelly (son of Dave!) on drums and Andy Herbert on bass. Both turned out to be excellent musicians (making the rest of us sound much more coherent than we felt!) and great fun too. Hurrah.

Sam Kelly		Andy Herbert

At the end of our third day we had a “warm-up” gig at the Grey Horse pub in Kingston. What a fantastic way to start a tour. A great crowd and an exciting atmosphere helped us find the extra energy needed to meet the audiences expectations; and their enthusiasm made us feel ready to take on the rest of the tour with our tails up ... as’twere.

The next day we were playing at the Brycheiniog Theatre in Brecon. Dave played here recently with the wonderful Maggie Bell but for the rest of us it was a new venue. The PA and it’s operatives were state of the art.The B and B ... interesting! It all seemed to go well and the audience left with a smile on it’s collective face. lovely.

Onward and in this case downward (geographically speaking) towards one of our favourite concert halls, The Tivoli Theatre in Wimborne. It was a beautiful day and a delightful drive through lush, green countryside. Half way through our journey I had to stop and do a live interview on a local radio station in Suffolk. The interview was timed for 2.40pm ... precisely. At 2.39pm there was no signal on my phone! We’d pulled into a local service area but there was absolutely no signal there and scooted off sharpish to see if there was reception elsewhere nearby ... Bob drove over a roundabout (well round it obviously!) and neatly into a layby and miraculously a full fat greedy signal appeared and the interview was made without a hitch. Phew.

Wimbourne on the left...		and Wimbourne on the right!

Once in Wimborne we were met at the back stage area by the marvellously enthusiastic general managerof the Tivoli and all-round-good-egg, Charlie North Lewis. Unfortunately he had some very sad news to tell. Ashley Thorne, who had always greeted us and every other performer at the theatre with such warmth and consideration had passed away only a few short weeks previously. He will be remembered fondly by many.

With that sad news very close to our hearts we dedicated Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where The Time Goes, to his memory that night; a gesture very much appreciated by Charlie and his dedicated staff. It was a lovely show and one of the few where I remembered to take a photo of the audience! My memory’s not what it once was!

		With the weekend to ourselves and a few days after that before the band played again Bob and I had arranged to spend the weekend with Rob and Jo Selbourne at Prebendal Farm in Bishopstone Wiltshire. For those of you who don’t know ... this is the site of “Party on the Lawn” at the end of June; always a jubilant and wonderful one day Festival hosted, musiscally by the effervescent Chris While and Julie Matthews. I’m sorry not to be able to be there this year but our weekend alone with Jo and Rob was brilliant. We drove up after the Tivoli show and arrived at 1am ... Rob, bless him was still up ... watching the TT races on Sky! We had a deep and restful sleep and met Jo in the kitchen the next day for the best coffee we’ve ever tasted! The rest of the day ... a glorious and steady 22 degrees thank you very much ... whizzed by in no time at all. Most of it spent on garden chairs overlooking the “Lawn” and chewing the cud over several glasses of champagne! I’ll refrain from overwhelming you with details of our time there just take it as read that it was as perfect a time anyone could wish for. Thank you so much Rob and Jo ... we owe you a large box of Manx kippers!!! I haven’t forgotten. Our wonderful adventures on the Ridgeway had to come to an end sometime and so we trundled onto London on Monday and I spent time with Steve Lima getting closer to finishing several original tracks that were started almost a year ago! Slowly, slowly ...
Jo and Bob		and Wimbourne on the right!

We spent a delightful few days in the cpmpany of Bob’s gorgeous daughter and husband, Jo and Mike ... who now live near Worksop, spending time with Diane and Bryan Ansell along the way. Always a pleasure catching up with cherished family and friends.

Our next gig was at The Musician in Liecester on Thursday the 12th. We assembled from various directions and at different times due to some nasty road works but managed to set up and sound checked quickly. Much to my delight David and Jean Suff were able to come and though we didn’t have much time to catch up it was fabulous to see them both. Needless to say they enjoyed the show!

Because we were off to Italy the next day, well all but Sam who had a previous engagement he was unable to change, Bob left early in order to get down to London that night. So I got a lift to the hotel near Stanstead Airport with Pete Filleul. It was fairly late by the time we arrived ... we only got lost the last mile or so!

It was very exciting to fly out to Itay for a day. We were invited to play at a Blues Festival in Trescore near Bergamo north of Milan, run by an infamous Italian promoter named Gigi. He’s worked with so many of the people I’ve worked with over the years it’s amazing we haven’t met before. It was great to finally shake his hand.

Because Sam was unable to do the gig, Pick Withers very kindly stepped into play drums. We had no rehearsals apart from a little run through at sound check which was itself cut short due to torrential rain but somehow ... after the whole thing was re-set up in a nearby historic building ... (are you getting the picture?) the gig was a great success. Very exciting and a bit quirky, to say the least. One of the most memorable things for me, was that my lovely friend Mel Shann, who’s lived in Bergamo for 9 years, was able to attend and she brought her gorgeous 8 (nearly 9!) year old son Ruben, with her. It’s at least 7 years since we last saw each other. It was just brilliant to see her and Ruben again who was a tiny tot last time we met; he’s an absolute delight.

Me and Mel in Italy		"Getting to know you! "

We were all a bit nervous about the gig because we don’t do that many Blues songs in our set, so we threw in a bunch of Bluesier numbers we’d not done in a while, as a nod to the festivals theme ... lucky for us they loved it all! Pick did an excellent job, it was really good to see him again.

Besides the music, the best part for us was the food! We were put up at a local hotel in a beautiful mountain village which was run by an amazing chef. We were treated royally and enjoyed the entire experience even though it didn’t stop raining the whole time we were there! We saw a beautiful and brilliant double rainbow the night we arrived.

We had just enough time for an early lunch before being driven back to the airport around 12.30 the following day. The flight back was quick and painless and Bob was at Stanstead to meet me. We drove off to sunny Suffolk where I’d booked us into a Farmhouse B and B for the next 2 days. This turned out to be a brilliant move.

We arrived at Earsham Park Farm (www.earsham-parkfarm.co.uk) about 7pm and were met by Bobby Watchorn who has lovingly restored this Victorian farm house to it’s present day glory, including the beautiful landscaped gardens all around the house which sits perched atop a small hill giving wonderful views from the bedrooms. Bobby put us instantly at our ease and pointed us in the direction of the Castle Inn in Bungay, just a few short miles from the farm where we enjoyed a delicious meal finnished off by a shared Creme Brulee ... to die for! Yum, yum.

After a restorative nights sleep we went downstairs for one of the most sumptuous and tasty breakfasts either of us have ever had! No really ... it was fab! The fresh fruit salad alone was an experience. Do you think we liked this place?! If you’re ever in the area you must stay ... I can’t recommend it highly enough! We walked the fields around the farm for an hour or so after breakfast and made it back just as the heaven’s opened ... our timing couldn’t have been better.

Sound check was around 4pm and it was still pelting down. The Fisher Theatre in Bungay is a delightful small theatre space that’s recently been restored and newly equipped. The staff were all very helpful and the sound in the venue full and resonant. The gig itself was great fun and we felt really appreciated by the attentive crowd. They all left happy and up beat. So did we! There were 2 days between gigs so Bob and I availed ourselves of Jo and Mikes hospitality for the first of those nights and then visited Bob’s nephew Chris Leech and his lovely wife Di with their young son Billy Bob in their beautiful cottage home in Sutton-in-Craven. The cottage is tucked away on the side of a steep hill overlooking farm land and green, green fields as far as the eye can see. It’s truly idyllic.

We moved on the following day only an hours drive from Kendal and our next gig. The Brewary Arts Centre is an old familiar gig, it was great to be back in the Cellar Rooms once more. It was a filthy day though ... not only did it rain and rain and rain (and rain!) but it was also bloody cold! Hard to believe it was the middle of June!

Kendal crowd # 1		Kendal crowd # 2

There’s now a very nice restaurant upstairs at the brewary and we gathered there after sound check to indulge in a very tasty repast ... not always the best plan when needing to sing all night but it didn’t seem to affect us detrimentally ... energies were high! A great night ensued and some of the best audience participation on the tour. Oh and I remembered to take photos!

Kendal crowd # 3		Kendal crowd # 4

The Maltings in Alnwick was our next destination and a much more pleasing day to drive through some of England’s finest countyside ... lovely. We’d played here on our first outing in 2005 and I remembered it to be a wonderful place to play. This was another fine night where the PA more than helped the atmosphere ... it was a great sound both on and off stage.

		The short distance between Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed, our next stop, is such that we had a whole day to sight-see and wend a liesurely pace up the dramatic East coast. Bob and I opted to visit Bamburgh Castle, made even more famous now by it’s association with the Harry potter films. Though it didn’t rain at all this day there was a fierce easterly wind whipping in off the North Sea which really chilled the bones. Does anyone ever swim here?! We had a great time walking through the rooms and halls of this historically rich place and took great delight in reading all about Lord Armstrong and all his amazing acheivements ... our good friend Dave Armstrong who now lives on the Isle of Man is originally from the north-east and we have great fun ribbing him about the family name and now refer to him as Lord! Lucky for us his Lordship has a sense of humour.
The dramatic Bamburgh Castle
Dave's mysterious historical achievements!

The Maltings in Berwick was another revisit for us and another great performance space to boot. Bob and I also attempted to do our laundry at the theatre when we arrived mid afternoon and had I known before I pressed the Start button that the machine hadn’t been used for 18 months I might have thought twice about it! The dryer turned out to be no better and in the end our - thankfully washed but not well spun - clothes were dried in the late afternoon sun placed on hangers in the apple trees outside the dressing rooms on the secluded side of the building. It was a great sight!

The Berwick Crowd!

Colette - aka Marmalade from the CC Forum made an appearance at Mr Benn’s merch table during half time. It was really great to see her again and still bringing new and enthusiastic CC converts with her! Thanks Marmalade keep up the good work!

We were also excited to see our lovely friends from Carlsbro PA, Andrew and Alison Bishop who not only came to and enjoyed the gig but joined us all afterwards for a drink at our B and B. It was the first and only time we were able to get together and enjoy a chin-wag after a show. The B and B supplied us with a huge tray of very meaty sandwhiches which we ended up sharing with the entire bar ... sometimes you really can have too much of a good thing.

In complete contrast to the previous day our drive from Berwick to Kings Lynn left no time for sight-seeing and although the schlep down the A1 was less scenic it was much more expedient than recent days. I’d played in Kings Lynn only once before as support to Paul Carrack in 2000 at the Corn Exchange in the main square. This time we were in the Arts Centre housed in the Guildhall on Kings Street just round the corner, apparently the oldest building of it’s kind in England dating back to 1442! Local legend has it that Shakespeare himself played here in 1593. I wonder what he’d make of us making a huge din in this lovely old place? Answers on a psot card please and keep it clean!

Pam and Martin Dury turned up for their second gig on the tour ... thanks guys! Always a pleasure to see them. There were no ghostly antics as far as we could tell but the atmosphere was pretty charged and Dave broke a string at one point leaving me more of an opportunity to “share” with the audience. It was another fun night. While everyone else drove back to London to their various abodes Bob and I stayed at a hotel on the outskirts of town and after a deep and restful sleep, left late on Sunday morning and headed towards Wavendon to what would end up being our final gig of the tour.

We made our way to Ely for a lovely Sunday lunch at the Cathedral restaurant. How we managed to resist the wonderful looking sweet trolley is a complete mystery but we did. It was a delightfully bright sunny day if a tad breezy ... it was unusually warm! Has summer arrived at last? OK maybe I was a bit optomistic about that but it was very summery.

And so we arrive at our last gig and one of the best venues in the UK today. It’s always a privilege to work at The Stables in Wavendon where the best of everything is made available to artist and audience alike ... we love it there! I was thrilled to spend a little time with Maureen and Keiron Jones from Hitchen Folk club before the show and equally delighted to see the lovely Chris Howarth at half time. Our good friends Ann and Brian James were also there and it was great to be able to stay with them after the show ... thanks guys!

Dave’s gorgeous family turned up to watch us too - each of them rdiculously talented including their big step-brother Sam of course! Given all these well loved and familiar friends among our biggest attendence of the run I’m sure you can imagine the kind of night it was and a great way to end the tour with rapturous applause and cries for more ... we’ll have to wait and see when that might be but it’s fairly certain we’d all like a repeat performance!

Smiley Sam		'When do I come in?!'
Rhythm section get to know each other		Choose me!
CC/DK and the TGs (thanks to Pete Filleul for the rehearsal pics)

We were scheduled to do a show on July 5th at the Quay Theatre in Sudbury but the venue is in some kind of trouble and unfortunately had to cancel our show at very short notice, which was a great dissapointment to us all. We hope they manage to sort everything out soon and come back stronger than ever.

Thanks as ever for stopping by to read my meanderings. I’m in the States for the summer hanging out with Bob and our friends on this side of the pond and planning to do some live work back in the Uk next year ... I’m really sorry it won’t be sooner ... it’ll be worth the wait I promise! It was wonderful to see so many of you enjoying Dave myself and the Travelling Gentlemen. It was fabulous fun for us. Thanks for taking the time to come see us ... we really appreciate it.

Byee for now ... see you out there sometime soon.

Much love
Christine XX

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