The thing us lonesome troubadours do. Saturday 15th out with friends. Thai meal, drinks and then some more drinks. Sunday 16th October my birthday. Up at 7.45am to catch a train to Nottingham at half nine! Am I insane? That’s a rhetorical whatsit by the way ‘coz, obviously I’m not. I’m merely dedicated to my art…….
Nottingham is a pain to get to from Liverpool and there’s no Vidar driving today. Happy Birthday to Vidar by the way. He is a Libran child also (though nearer to his childhood than me by the odd year or ten) born on 13th.
Anyhoo, I get the train on my own, slightly grumpy but with birthday cash in my pocket and the tools of my trade in my hands/over my shoulder and egg butties to get me there. A guy I used to drink with many moons ago is the man who waves the table tennis bat thing around at stations (it’s a proper job) and he says he hopes that there aren’t buses instead of trains on some of the numerous changes. Why thank you Batman.
Arrive at my destination at 1.30pm. The Hotel Deux, though i’d pronounced it like Homer Simpson probably would and me and the taxi driver a while to sort things out - maybe I am in France after all?
The Hotel Doh! is near the Open University Campus which for some reason cheers me up and I go straight to the bar and announce my arrival by ordering a pint of Bass. There is a crisis of some kind and Lauren tells me Rob (da Boss) will see me soon. I sit and drink, read my paper (The Observer and I’m sorry but broadsheets should not be allowed to do magazines about pop/rock/whatever music, stick to interior design and overpriced unwearable clothes).
Rob comes to see me and tells me that the Chef has been sent home drunk. Which is as it should be I think. So, Rob has to do all the cooking himself and things will run late. That’s ok by me, I’m here. Rob it turns out can cook up a mean Sunday dinner himself by the way so the diners were well catered for.
Meet up with Shaun Belcher, promoter, poet, writer, songster and nice guy artist and Richard Snow also on the bill. (Here, my browser crashed so the rest of the post might be even more fictional than normal…).
I play my set at about 5.45 to a small (in numbers) but appreciative audience. The Lynton & Lynmouth Flood a tune I have written to Shaun’s wonderful lyrics is aired for the first time and although I forget the middle 8 it goes down well and I’m glad Shaun is pleased with it. ( You can hear a demo version of it at http://www.myspace.com/trailerstarrecords ).
At 6.30 I’m told that my taxi has arrived to take me to the station - train leaves at 7.10 - so I do a last song, flog a couple of cds, shout my thanks and leave, breathless.
At the train station I have time for a swift Jack Daniels before boarding my train, changing every other bloody station or so it seems and I arrive home about midnight to find a bottle of wine and pizza. Bliss.
Set list to follow. (lost my book - grrr)
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