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CHRISTINE's TRAVELLING DIARY.... Spring Solo Dates 2006

The solo tour started at the Ravenswood Hotel just outside East Grinstead; organised by the delightful trio of Peter, Paul and (I want to say Mary but I won’t!) Martin. The same trio who promoted the gig in the area last year. This new venue is something else! An old Baronial Hall complete with several stuffed stags heads – and that’s not easy to say!

For some reason I was feeling a bit jumpy that night. It probably had something to do with being under rehearsed! The time between the band tour and this had been spent mostly in bed feeling completely rotten. I was also performing in front of the roaring log fire and ever so slightly roasted – the stag immediately above the fireplace was done to a crisp! Excuses, excuses.

For all my bumbling through and falling off the guitar on a couple of new songs the audience were very generous and gave me an incredibly enthusiastic response. It was a good way to kick off the tour.

 
The Stage, Ravenswood
The Stage, Ravenswood

The following day I drove into London early to see Barb Jung and to have a hair cut (too much information?) and later that afternoon have a singing lesson with Oleg Lapa (my teacher for the last 14 years!). When I left Oleg’s I had an urge to call my aunty Sheila to find out how my uncle Ken was faring … he’d been fighting cancer for the last 9 months and had recently been given bad news about his health and everyone in the family was in shock. I spoke briefly to my cousin Kevin and realised that uncle Ken was fading very fast. Without much thought I found myself booking a flight to the Isle of Man that evening.

My mum picked me up from the airport and drove straight to Sheila and Ken’s home. Though it was heart wrenching to see him in such a vulnerable state it was also amazing because he was so pleased to see me. We hugged for the longest time. Just over 24 hours later he passed away. I felt incredibly privileged to see him and to be able to say goodbye. He is very much missed by us all.

I played at Salisbury Arts Centre that night, Thursday April 30 th. Still in a daze I was calmer than the first night and somehow sailed through the first half until I dedicated “For a Dancer” to my uncle Ken for the first time (and every night subsequently this tour) and don’t really know how I managed it but it felt like the right thing to do. Bless him.

I broke a string in the second half and found I’d used up all my jokes and in a panic (and the dark of the stage) put the wrong string on! Someone in the audience was bullied by his mates (!?) to help but he in return was helped by the stage manager who thankfully got me out of the mess while I sang “Simple Again” … phew!

I stayed with my good friends Martin and Pam after the show and was treated to a veritable feast (washed down with lashings of port … well a glass or 2) and felt very cared for. Poor Pam had to get up early for work but Martin was around to let the boiler man in so cooked scrambled egg on toast for breakfast the next day … how lucky am I!?

Friday 31 st was a night off but Bob (the-boyfriend!) was in Cambridge with Corinne (Bailey Rae) and I had a guest pass to pick up! Hurrah. We’d managed to persuade our good friend Chris Howarth to come along too – he didn’t take much persuading it has to be said; a gig-going man of some standing, he’s always interested in seeing new artists. We met on the crowded floor of the Junction just as the opening act was starting up. I was just getting into the band when Bob came up and asked me to come back stage with him; it looked important so off I went leaving Chris to bop on his own – bless.

In the relative quiet of back stage Bob asked if I might have a “little black top” Corinne could borrow? Erm … yes I did but it was in the car in the adjacent car park, so I ran off to fetch it. I came back with said top and triumphantly handed it over to his Bobness who looked at me as if I were completely bonkers! What’s this? He asked … a black top I replied … like you asked for. It turned out Bob meant anything and everything I might have for stage for Corinne to wear, as the tour bus, which had broken down, had been taken away for repair and ALL Corinne’s stage clothes were on board! As she’d only discovered this with 20 minutes to show time there was a mild panic going on.

Once I understood the situation properly I went back and brought my entire touring wardrobe with me … the very nice bouncer on duty backstage let me drive into the venue compound and decant my stuff – it’s not what you know …

Anyway … Corinne tried on my lovely Karen Millen black lacy dress and looked absolutely stunning in it! It was all very exciting let me tell you. The band and crew who are used to my turning up at the weirdest places, were all rather bemused as to why I would have such a lovely bit of kit with me … they know I’m a singer but no more than that … I enjoyed mystifying them and more to the point saving the day … gig-girl to the rescue! Hurrah.

Needless to say the gig itself was fabulous and the capacity crowd were mesmerised by Corinne’s enchanting performance – the band aren’t half bad either! Chris was impressed and a confirmed fan now.

Bob and I stayed at The Lamb Inn in Ely that night, courtesy of our lovely friend Paul Leitch who unfortunately wasn’t available to join us for the gig, or breakfast … we enjoyed his generous hospitality non-the-less. Thanks Paul.

The following morning (Saturday April 1 st) was bright and beautiful. After a quick walk round the grounds of the Cathedral we drove off towards Brighton, where Corinne was playing that night. Bob wanted to catch up with her towards the end of a photo shoot she was doing for an American music magazine, whose music editor is Sir Elton John (!).The photographer was Mary McCartney! Oh how the other half (well my other half!) live!

 
Ely Cathedral

I carried on towards Fareham where I was performing at the Ashcroft Arts Centre … scene for one of the gigs we recorded with Dave Kelly and the Travelling Gents last May. I really like this venue; I’ve played here on and off in many guises since 1993, the first show was with Hell Bent Heaven Bound when Helen Watson had joined us and there have been shows with Howard Lees and Rory MacFarlane as well as numerous solo dates over the last 10 years or so.

There are several ways of using the 2 spaces in the centre and this night we were set-up incorporating the bar area … my favourite! It always feels more user-friendly than the studio theatre, which can be a bit dry, though both rooms are of a similar capacity. Basically I was a happy bunny. It was a great show with lots of laughs and good cd sales! Always a sign of a happy audience.

I’d made arrangements to stay at Pam and Martin’s lovely home once again, even though they would be getting down with their funky selves at a family wedding somewhere in the midlands; however, because cds had gone like hot cakes and this was the first of 5 gigs in a row, I thought I’d better make the trip home that night and re-stock for the remainder. It was a surprisingly quick journey and I was glad to be back at the ranch after such a turbulent week.

I had lunch with the Ansell’s before driving off to Hitchen on Sunday afternoon; I am blessed! I love playing at the Hitchen Folk club; more than that, I love the two delightful people who run it … Maureen and Keiron Jones. They are stalwarts of the acoustic scene and run their club with amazing love and dedication, along with their many helpers of course! It was a joy to play there again and I’m happy to say it was a full room. I stayed at the venue - “The Sun Inn” and enjoyed a lie-in on Monday morning. It was a beautiful sunny day and for once I had time to walk around Hitchen town centre; the old church just off the market square is lovely.
I was playing in Colchester that night, not too far to go and took my time driving there. This is another old favourite and another hard working and dedicated organiser … Elaine Barker has been running this club for more years than either of us care to remember. The Colchester Arts Centre is a great venue, an old church with fabulous acoustics and even better sound equipment along with a sound engineer who knows his stuff … Chris, another stalwart! Add all those ingredients up and it makes for a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment. Hurrah and thanks Colchester.

I was really missing Bob at this point; he would normally do the driving and set up mister Benn’s corner and generally look after me but he was also working hard on the road with Corinne whose own tour was going fantastically well. We spoke a lot and sent encouragement via texts to each other but it’s obviously not the same. Oh the price of success … I think we can handle it!

So … Tuesday April 4 th … it must be Tewkesbury! This was only my second visit and once again it was a sold out show … we like these! Hurrah. The Roses Theatre bar is a strange space but it works a treat. I arrived with plenty of time to spare and wandered off to see the Abbey, which is wonderfully peaceful. I found myself sitting quietly in front of the most beautiful modern stained glass windows in the deepest blues and greens, it was more like a fairytale scene out of a fantasy book than a religious depiction … I loved it!

The gig itself was a riot and good-fun-was-had-by-all and, unbeknown to me, there was a local reporter who gave a glowing review (you can view it on the message board). I decided to drive home again even though it was a late-ish gig but it meant the drive the following day would be much easier.

And so to the last of 5 in-a-row … Scholars bar in Scarborough. Mark Gordon has been promoting gigs here successfully for the last few years; because of commitments to family and a full time music degree he’s slowly winding down and will soon stop. He promised that he’d still put on a few gigs over the next year or so … artists he particularly likes – I am one of those! Hurrah. One of my favourite pastimes on the road is eating out and I arrived with enough time to sample fresh caught fish … and chips … for tea. Yum!

Scholars Bar is part of a hotel which is at present being converted into numerous flats and so my usual bedroom/dressing room turned out to be a carpet-less empty room with builder’s dust everywhere; actually the landlady was mortified that I wanted to use a room and hastily wiped round the bathroom, for which I was most grateful.

There were fewer people than expected at the beginning of the evening but it swelled out as the night progressed. My lovely friend Helen Knight (wife of the equally delightful Ollie) and several of her mates turned up en masse … thanks girls you’re the best! Though I was feeling tired the audience response perked me up no end and it was a great gig.

(thanks to Ian James for these fab pics)

I was travelling over to the Isle of Man the following day for uncle Ken’s funeral, which was taking place on Friday, so I booked a Travelodge on the M62 making the drive to Heysham on Thursday morning much less arduous. Bob, bless him, was having to miss one of Corinne’s gigs in order to be able to attend – he was flying from Liverpool Thursday afternoon. We met up later that night and dined with our friends Dave and Christy who, as is often the case, were putting us up for our short stay. Uncle Ken’s funeral was set for 2pm at Douglas crematorium on Friday April 7th.

We met at Aunty Sheila’s house about 1pm. She looked gorgeous and was incredibly brave the whole day – we were all so proud of her. The service itself was not a great experience … the vicar was more for preaching his beliefs than celebrating the life of the man we all loved. I’d offered to sing and aunty Sheila said that would be lovely but not a sad song … so I sang “What the world needs now” … it was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do but I’m so glad I did it.

There was a gathering at my cousin Kevin’s house where his lovely wife, Sara and her family had prepared a feast of sausage, mash and peas – uncle Ken’s favourite meal. It was delicious. There were lots of old photographs of Ken and the family, which everyone reminisced about … much laughter among the tears.

My boat left for Heysham at 8.45 on Saturday morning and landed about midday. I continued on to Kirby Stephen in Cumbria to a very well known gig: The Rattan and Rush tearooms - but in true soap opera style, you'll have to wait til the next instalment to find out what happened next!! :0)

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