Where am I today?

It’s one of those funny schedules at the moment where I am currently in Italy having left home last night, stayed at Stansted, got up at 4am, flew to Torino on the 6.45 etc

I am here until early on Monday morning when I return briefly, go to Andy’s Tuesday night and fly, early to Berlin, on Wednesday morning. I’ll stop there as there’s another country after that which I can’t get my head round at this time but at least when it does happen it’s holiday.

Anyway, this morning Mr Cutting drove us from the hotel across to the parking. Mid term parking, 3 mins from the terminal and job’s a good’n.

I travel with a huge grey suitcase. In it are my tenor and soprano sax, clarinet, stands and any beauty products that need to go into the hold. It hurts every time you see your babies go off into the hold but it’s joyous if they are returned in functioning order. I’ quite happy when the instruments are in one piece too !! It doesn’t always happen. I also have a small black suitcase with my clothes in and a shoulder bag with documents, books etc

At the bus stop in the mid stay car park they seem to use standard, although helpfully single story buses, with about enough room for four suitcases only and serving predominantly a holiday clientele. Imagine then a bus catering for ‘normal’ tourists when three musicians carting my stuff, a bass guitar, two Accordions and two other suitcase/bags. Chaos.

One time, in the days of separate flight cases – otherwise known as the jurassic age I came out of some airport somewhere on my own and got the bus to the car park. Had I written down where my car was? – no. Could I remember? – no. Eventually I was practically crying with the pain of lugging too many things and eventually gave up. I left them standing on their own, as dust and tumble weed rolled by, while I looked. Fortunately the fact I’d given up seemed to conjure up the happy view of the car and it wasn’t a mirage but an actual oasis. Never again will I forget to write the location.

We were discussing all this like you do and it reminded me of a time coming back from France with Andy and Barn and Andy’s car broke down …so badly that we crawled on to Euro star and opened the bonnet – where upon all the alarms went off and a man came running and told us to close the bonnet as we were setting the heat sensors off.

You think that would be the end of the story but no. The AA said they would meet us off the train. We came out. Were they there? No. Andy phoned and they said – ‘we’ll send someone now’

It wouldn’t have mattered too much except that we were on our way to Towersey and I was due to play a dance with the Old Swan Band.

Then once we were hooked up and on the road guess what? The AA van broke down. Not engine trouble but he couldn’t close the passenger window . The electronics had stopped working and he wasn’t allowed to continue without it working.

Eventually we got to Towersey on a different truck and Andy couldn’t leave until the Tuesday at the end of the festival as he had to wait to get the car fixed. I meanwhile had made it to theOld Swan gig but a little late – they were already in the full throws so I just got my instruments out and joined in as soon as possible. Nice gig from what I remember.

Blowzabella are now chilling at the festival – all except Greg he is still 100 kilometres away. We did the sound check without him – but with a load of hornets instead (I’m not joking) but they don’t have the finesse of Greg, obviously, despite the buzzing. Dinner is being served to the masses and we are on at 00.45 until 2.30 am.

Probably tell you more about the festival next week.