In England Again Part II
We left off just as The Bluestorms were leaving Liverpool to play their first ever London show. But first, breakfast! Eskimo Blonde and Co. had to get to the train station and couldn’t make breakfast after all. Glen and Deborah found a restaurant in the station for a bite before departing. Weren’t they surprised when Eskimo Blonde and entourage filed into the same restaurant! So, we met up after all. Later, getting off the Tube, Glen heard his name shouted, only to find it was called out by Keith Bohanan, whose photographs are displayed on the Cherry Bluestorms’ website! Keith and his very lovely wife, Karen were in London to see some stage productions. Back on the Tube and to the flat to get ready for the show! Upon arriving at The Dublin Castle, it was noted that only two nights before Alex Lowe of the much missed Hurricane #1 played on the very same stage. For those of you who do not know, after the demise of Ride and Hurricane #1, guitarist Andy Bell took over bass chores for that obscure British band Oasis. At any rate, this seemed a good omen.
The band met the other acts on the bill and set up the gear that the house and the other bands allowed them to use. The Bluestorms played Daisy Chain for the sound check, upon which the other bands, standers ‘round and sound technician all erupted into applause. In like fashion the gig went spectacularly well. At the end of the set, consisting of Bad Penny Opera, By Your Leave, Daisy Chain, Just A Kiss Away, Purple Heart Magic, She Said She Said, Roy Wood, Start Again, As Above So Below and London Bridge, the band were invited to do an encore. Deborah and Glen obliged with a duo version of Sunday Driving South, which prompted the audience to get out their lighters and sway in classic rock style!
The next two days were earmarked for shopping and sightseeing. Glen got to visit Macari’s Music, home of the Colorsound pedals he uses. Having given his guitar strap to Eskimo Blonde’s Mike Lozsak in Liverpool, purchase of a new strap was in order. The band went their separate ways for some seeing of said sights and met up later for celebrations of a traditional English sort at Maggie Jones’, a restaurant in Kensington. The food was absolutely marvellous and everyone had a grand time of it.
On the 25th the band was back in performance mode for the last London show for IPO at the famed Bull & Gate. They were met by a number of fans and friends. The band performed well despite some technical difficulties, seemingly occasioned by a deaf and surly sound technician. They made friends with some of the other bands and left wishing that there were more shows ahead. The band also wished for Chinese food ahead, so they hightailed it by cab for a late night visit to London’s Chinatown, where they had a wonderful meal. London definitely seems to have raised the bar on the comestibles.
The 26th was Steve’s departure date. Deborah and Glen took the train to Swindon, where they were met by old friends Karen and Lance. After a visit with them and a meal at their local, The Plough, they stayed at K&L’s. Next day the four took a drive to Bath, where they met up with MFW and family, who were on a tour of Stonehenge and Bath. Back to Swindon for a visit with K&L and Karen’s lovely Mum and Dad and then the return train to London. Only one night left. Next morning all was packed, dragged to the local café for breakfast and then to the Tube to Heathrow.
The flight was uneventful, except that somehow Glen’s iPhone went missing. As it turned out, it was picked up with his food tray and found by the British Airlines ground crew later. All’s well that ends well!
Winston