Newcastle is grand white stone buildings with tall windows. When we're in a city we've played before, I pray for the the deja vu to assist in finding the venue and where to park the van. After the sound/guitar/feedback incident in Wales and being rescheduled to play the Monday night midnight hour in Manchester, I think each of us was ready for something marvelous to happen. Michael bought 4 pizza...read the rest of this entry and more in adrienne's diary.

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Hopped on the road from Manchester today for Newcastle, which is in the northernmost reaches of England. We had a fun time when we were there last year, with the possible exception of when, in a "when in rome" spirit, I decided to order a Newcastle Brown from the bar and was practically laughed away by the bartender. I guess it's similar to if people expected me to eat clam chowder out of a sour...read the rest of this entry and more in chrisg's diary.

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I woke up I looked outside and saw a silver fox hanging up her laundry to dry. I have yet to encounter a clothes dryer in the UK. We didn't have to be in Manchester until 5:30 or so so we had a leisurely morning at Matt's, though he had to leave for work before we woke up. Deal or No Deal was on TV and we watched with horror as "Noddy" (Alex) ended up taking only 5 pounds home with him. The gam...read the rest of this entry and more in adrienne's diary.

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After a day off in Wrexham, Wales, where we successfully answered more than half of the questions correctly at a pub quiz, we made our way to Manchester for a show. On the way, we stopped into Chester to get some breakfast and check email. Chester is an old town founded by the Romans, and it has this big ancient wall that I told was meant to keep the welsh out of england. There are lots of tudo...read the rest of this entry and more in chrisg's diary.

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There's no direct way from South Wales to Wrexham, so we took the road leading to Heresford and then to Shrewsbury and got into Wrexham around 3 pm. Matt undoubtedly heard our diesel engine make its way up his street. We watched a Darts championship on the BBC and ate the tasty pasta dinner Matt cooked up. There was a small debate as to whether we should take the van into Chester for Matt's guide...read the rest of this entry and more in adrienne's diary.

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Owain made us a pasta & pizza dinner and then we went downstairs for drinks. W got the 'rocktail' special: 2 white russians for two pounds fifty. They came with paper umbrellas. I drank Castlemain XXXX, not the local Brains beer whose brewery we parked near in Cardiff.Le Pub is unique in that it's not exactly unlike Long Beach, California inside. It is unlikely that anyone inside Le Pub ate tac...read the rest of this entry and more in adrienne's diary.

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One thing's for sure – the weather this time around is much more "typically English" than when we were here in May. The past several days have been overcast and gloomy, muting all of the colors of buildings and landscape. It wasn't until I moved to San Francisco that I realized how dependent I was on the sunshine. Growing up in Southern California, I cursed the hot summer weather and the fact...read the rest of this entry and more in chrisg's diary.

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We stayed in Bristol at Gareth's after the show at Moles, W in the living room with the horses and G, Dan and I upstairs. Around 11 we woke up and went to 'Tasty Stop' for a £4 English Breakfast. Where I sat I could see giant goldfish and an angelfish swimming in a big aquarium. It was too much food for any of us to finish, and afterwards we swore we'd never eat again. The drive to Wales didn't ...read the rest of this entry and more in adrienne's diary.

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This time around there are three rows of seats in the van. I sat in the first row behind the driver on the way out to Bath, fading in and out of consciousness as my brain adjusted to the new time zone. Right outside the car park we left the van in was the 'Catherine Public Convenience,' which translated to 'Coin-operated self-cleaning public toilet.' Each of us experienced it except for W. Moles ...read the rest of this entry and more in adrienne's diary.

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Wow, we're in London. Took another redeye last night, and arrived into Heathrow at 10 in the morning. For once, I've been trying hard to sleep during the flights, which makes arrival a little bit easier, but only a little bit. British Airways is kind enough to give you a change of socks, an eye mask, and a toothbrush for the flight, which also help. And they still serve food and alcohol. The ...read the rest of this entry and more in chrisg's diary.