Wednesday 15th May
9.30pm
Just heading into London to meet the coach which is to be our travelling home for the next 10 days or so. We are doing this first leg of the tour the grown up way i.e travelling to the next gig overnight so that we wake up in a new city with the whole day to explore. That way, after the show you can party on the bus, go to your bunk when you’ve had enough and when you wake up the next morning, check in to the hotel and decide whether to go sightseeing or go to bed – depending on the previous night’s events!
It’s an 11.00pm leave (yeah, right!) so I’ll be there well in advance so that I can nab a good bunk, well away from the main lounge so I can get some peace and quiet if I ever need it. There’s always a hard core who can stay up all night (usually Ian, Lisa and Mickey) and you don’t want to be within earshot of that lot if you need your beauty sleep like I do
11.30 pm
Mission accomplished! First on the bus and nabbed me a prime bunk. Bottom row, up towards the front. So, this is chez moi for the next couple of weeks.
I’m on the bottom
Once I had all my stuff on board, it was off to the pub for a quick one before we set off and who should we meet in there but my old pal Andy Gangadeen! Andy was Lisa’s original drummer and he has been here at John Henry’s rehearsal studios today with Chase & Status. After a few drinks and much reminiscing, back slapping and man-hugging, Ian the bus driver appeared at the door looking like a man with a Eurostar to catch, so we took the hint and piled out of the pub and on to the bus.
Andy Gangadeen on the right
And a very comfortable bus it is too. I took the precaution of taking a few photos before everyone got on because, I promise you, it won’t look this tidy for long.
And so here we are. On our way to Paris and the first show of the tour at Divan du Monde (Bed of the World .
Good night,dear diary……….
Dave Oliver – Keyboards/MD
Meado – Monitor Engineer & Andrea – Backing Vocals
Downstairs Lounge
Bunk Room