Tour Over :(
I arrived at the platform just on time. I can see the train waiting and by my watch I have two minutes before it sets off. I put my ticket into the machine but it won't let me through, and there doesn't seem to be anyone around to help. Then a lady appears, takes a quick look at my ticket and lets me through. I'm carrying a suitcase, and guitar and a rucksack so I squeeze through the narrow barrier only to be called back as soon as I'm clear. The lady says she wants to look at my ticket again. I insist it's the right ticket as I hand it over but she's shaking her head and saying it's not valid. I KNOW it is, and I can see the train is about to leave. Then she starts laughing and says 'oooops, sorry it's fine'. I'm really pissed off now and I can't help but mutter 'thanks, now I'm going to miss my train'. I run as fast as I can, dragging my suitcase whether it's on wheels or not, and just before the doors close I squeeze on. It's jammed in there and there's no way I'll find a seat so I decide to stand. I'm sweating from all the running I've done. First there was the run for the Heathrow express, then the run to the circle line, then the run to the Hammersmith and City line when I realised the circle line wasn't running, and finally the run for this train. I usually try to take my time when I'm traveling as I find it's less stressful that way, but today I've been traveling for around 12 hours and I can't wait to get home after almost 3 weeks on tour. As I stand on the train I think about how different my traveling experience was whilst I was in Germany. The trains were much more comfortable, on time, the staff at the stations seemed to be able to do their jobs well etc... Today I traveled from an island off the coast of Germany/Denmark called Sylt, and this journey involved two trains, a tube ride, and a flight. All ran smoothly yet as soon as I get back to England I'm pissed off at how badly everything seems to run. Before I left for Switzerland I already had my train ticket for the entire trip, and this ticket had the times of every train, AND the platform number, yet in England you have to stand around in front of a board waiting to find out where your train will be leaving from. Why? shouldn't they plan that, it's ridiculous, especially when you forget your glasses and can't read the boards. Anyway, I'll stop complaining about the transport system now because that was never my intention. What I wanted to say in this post was that I had an amazing time on tour. It was great to play music with Tom Copson again and the gigs were for the most part much better than we could've imagined. The last two were in Flensburg and on Sylt. The Flensburg gig was a solo show, though Tom joined me at the end. I couldn't believe how many people took a chance and came along. Despite the fact that I've never played in Flensburg and that I'm completely unknown there, we still manage to get around 50 people to come along, and it made for a great atmosphere to play in. Big thanks to Asmus and Dagmar for making that happen. The last gig was in Rantum on Sylt, at a venue called Strandmuschel. Last June it was also the final gig date of the tour, and it again proved to be a sweet way to end the tour. The Strandmuschel is a beach bar/restaurant type thing, and the pre gig food was probably the best pre gig food I've ever had. I don't know what kind of fish it was but it was incredibly tasty. We had the weather on our side too so there were plenty of people there once the music started. After the gig we had a couple of drink and then went straight onto the beach. Tom dived into the sea first, and I followed. It was such a hot day so I was quite surprised at just how cold the sea was. Actually it was so cold that something really funny happened with my wrist. It freaked out a bit and for about 30 minutes I couldn't move any of my fingers, and I was in quite a lot of pain too. It felt like there was a trapped nerve or something. I have no idea what happened but for a while I thought I'd done something serious. Ok, that's it for now, but I'd like to say a huge thank you to Dagmar Brudnitzki for organising the tour, and also to her family who yet again put up with a couple of musicians taking over their house. Thanks also to Caroline Edward at the Gruningen sessions for sorting me out with a couple of lovely gigs in Switzerland. And thank you for reading
