Well, I’m not blogging every day … some days we just don’t have internet access or enough time to post a proper blog. But, even though as I write this, I have no connection and it is already 1:20 AM, I still feel like writing. I’m just amazed & humbled by the generosity of the people we’ve met. Some are friends, some friends of friends and some strangers. It seems like people have been put in our path at just the right moment to share something … usually exactly what we’ve needed. Saying that … a quick shout out to some of them … Thank you Davie Green, Bob Collum, Dave from St. Anne’s Castle, Andy Lowe, Barry Everitt & Bex Marshall, Rory, Katy, Nicky, Jo Nean, Simon Evans, Benny Drazen, Oliver Grey, Jill Scherffius and our good fried Niall Connolly. The list will grow I’m sure!

We had several gigs in the London area the past week. The first was right outside London in Essex (The New Jersey of London) at St. Anne’s Castle.


We met up with Bob Collum (an American) who put together the evening of music & played some great tunes of his own.



Bex, Dave & Silbin

Dave, the owner was mingling with the many locals and seemed to really enjoy the music & the company of friends. We had curry that night with Bob … curry is the thing to eat here. It was delicious.


Bob, Barry & Silbin

Bob & Silbin seemed to be separated at birth … sharing the exact same tastes in movies, books, music, favorite actors.

We left the next morning for London. My friend Davie has waited his whole life to come to London. He saved enough frequent flier miles to fly first class to London! Our first show in London was at the 12 Bar Club. Whenever you mention this place, people always seem to take you a little more seriously. Now we know why. This lovely venue truly is a listening room. The sound is fantastic, the stage is high and there is a balcony with seating as well as a lower level with chairs.



I was a little nervous because it was so quiet and the looks on the audience members faces was eager anticipation. They wanted to love you.


Davie & Jill


My friend Jill from NY just happened to be in London that week & came with some friends.


Andy Lowe (above) , the man who gave me the fist booking on this tour, was also sitting in the audience, enjoying the lovely evening he created. We stayed at the Hilton with Dave and I have to give Silbin some props. He slept on the floor that night, also struggling with a cold. Never once complained. A true road warrior!!

Day 2 - London Sight-seeing

Today, after a full day of e-mails & phone calls (trying to get those last few gigs confirmed), and a really long nap (jet lag is tough) Gus & I headed out to finally see a little bit of the London scenery. My first tube ride!!





I love the tube & feel immediately at home. Actually, the tube cars, with their soft cushioned couches, are probably more comfy than my living room. Our first stop … Big Ben!


What a beautiful site at night with just a touch of fog for drama! We walked across a few bridges over the river Tames and got several views of the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel that lights up at night.




We didn’t get to ride the London Eye but I was nice to just look at it. We missed dinner & the only food we could find was at the Fishcotech. Silbin had his 2nd fish fry & I finally got some chips. Yummy!


Day 3 - More sights!!

Today, we got to London much earlier. I felt the sting of being a tourist after changing money in the train station. It cost me about a 12 pound fee!! Silbin eased my pain with a Cadbury chocolate bar (tasty) and a walk to our first stop, Buckingham Palace.


It didn’t look very palace like to me. I did get a kick out of the guards in those crazy hats. The scenery around the palace was beautiful.




Two parks with flowers and lots of locals enjoying the sunny day. We walked to Piccadilly Circus (Times Squareish) and to my horror, saw a poster of Kelly Osbourne in Chicago! Yikes! Silbin was eve more disturbed earlier when he saw Iggy Pop advertising for an insurance company. What has the world come to? Anyway, we saw the Odeon, Palace Theatre, China Town, and lots of other hot spots. We decided to eat in China Town and I had my first Mai Tai! Not my last…very tasty. After dinner, we walked to the London Tower and took n the beautiful London Bridge. We tried to get a pint at the …. Pub (a noose hangs over the bar) but they were done serving for the night … 10:30 Saturday night!! Another full day in London :)

Day 1 - BBC Kent

Today, we drove to Kent Well, Silbin drove … for the first time on the right side of the car and mostly on the left side the road. We got there about an hour early (with only 2 near death experiences) and had a nice time looking around the countryside. There were cute exotic birds all around. One looked like a baby peacock.



We taped the show at Simon Evans home studio & I had my first cup of real English tea. We recorded two live songs “I’m Fine” & “I’m Late”. Pure coincidence about the titles. Simon interviewed us for a bit and then we left.



The town was adorable and some buildings dated back to 1300’s. We celebrated down the road at the “The Swan” (there since 1500’s) with some of their fresh brewed beer. Silbin had some French onion soup with bread & butter. I swear the butter tasted like they churned it themselves.



Feeling pretty good about our first day, we kissed the tom-tom gps that saved us from getting too turned around , returned the car, and headed off to our hostel.



Four hours later (busses are not the way to travel here) we got to Norfolk House and settled in. Yay! Staying here for three days will be a treat!