Dear all,
London today for to launch Incidents and Accidents at the Green Note in Camden, one of my very favourite venues. It’s been one hell of a time with a lot of travelling and playing but I’ve been having a lot of fun on the road. To bring you up to date on the gigs:
25/03 – Faversham Folk Club
A cracking little gig with plenty of my extended family present which was nice! A bit weird playing in front of a mirror but this was corrected midway through the gig by a willing member of the audience…
27/03 – Hales Club, Market Drayton
A lovely little place this and somewhere I have always had such a lovely time. A bloody brilliant night.
28/03 – Bromyard Sessions
Big thanks to Tony Burt for putting on a cracking gig and the people were just lovely.
31/03 – Hoy At Anchor Folk Club, Westcliff
Cosy wee folk club gave me a good night and I was most amiably hosted with beer, whisky and cheese. Must diet after this tour…
03/04 – Brewtown Folk Club, Burton
A terrific folk club with cracking floor singers and then a really warm, friendly gig full of jokes. Brilliant!
04/04 – Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
One of the absolute picks of the tour, a belting gig and a sell out to boot! Thanks to all.
As well as the gigs I should mention some lovely Live Music Now work in Wrexham, mostly at care homes where I had some terrific fun and more importantly so did the residents. It’s amazing how many of them stay in your mind for a long time, some of the most memorable characters I’ve ever come across. I also got to go to a gig last night – the brilliant Rich McMahon entertained us all brilliantly as always at the Market Vaults in Stafford (best pub in the world ever) and we had a real putting the world to rights session afterwards which was an absolute joy.
So incredibly, I’m closing in on the end of the tour. Far from the end of course with a Southwest stint and a Northeast and Scottish stint still to come, my dear old car has been covering some serious miles (PLEASE DO NOT GO WRONG AGAIN….). I’m feeling a little weary but enjoying myself so much and meeting such fabulous people and seeing some welcome familiar ones. Everyone seems to be enjoying the new material which is of course very welcome news for me. Thanks to all of you for your support in making this crazy life possible.
London often marks a return to train travel of course rather than the usual persistent driving. This, as people well know, has had mixed results for my timing/sanity but today it all ran smoothly. Best of all, the most delightful old chap was sat at the table as was a very nice lady and I thoroughly enjoyed a nice chat for an hour or so. Sometimes, when people talk to you on trains you really really wish they wouldn’t. But this was most definitely not like that and made the journey much more enjoyable.
I of course at this point also have to salute a legend. John Renbourne was one of the most exceptional of all guitarists and a really remarkable man. I had the honour of having lessons with him at university and he was truly hilarious and off the wall right the way through his life. He will be sadly missed.
Finally, I have to give a shout out to a lady in Norwich. I arrived at a car park and got out my car and heard the unmistakeable sound of Back in Black by AC/DC. The only surprise it was coming out of a parked car and sat in the driver’s seat was a woman who looked about 80 unashamedly having a bit of a head nod to it. This made me smile.