adrienne's Tour Diary

The alarm went off around 8 or 9. I went downstairs and Mike was making tea. We mobilized to Manchester around 10:30, taking the streetcar after walking through Stretford, past the brick houses and the shops. Matt continued on after Piccadilly to the the train station to return to Chester--he'll come to San Francisco this summer I hope, though we may have made him wary with the story of the 5 lb. burrito the size of a baby's arm.
First stop: Affleck's Palace. Manchester seemed much cleaner and nicer than I remembered, with no chilled candy bar dispensers in sight. Is it that only nineteen year old clueless stoners can locate them? Too many shops to concentrate on in Affleck's Palace. CG & CW made purchases. I found a WC but alas, as seems to be the case more often than not, no TP. We ate lunch with Mike at Love Saves The Day, a Sexy Food cafe (unfortunately sporting the acronym: LStD). I had the French Onion soup with bagel & brie. Then Mike led us to a music shop where CW bought a new drum head and we feared we'd lost CG forever but he'd just gone on a wild goose chase looking for an ATM, diverting through Chinatown. Took the streetcar back to Mike's and loaded up the van to drive to Newcastle.
The further north we drove, the colder it got. It hailed on us and rained on us, and then the sun came back out. Saw The Angel of the North, a lady with wings, off the motorway. Wimpy Burgers cost $10 for a meal off the freeway. We decided to snack later.
Martin and Colin met us at the Head of Steam, a very cool underground venue right across from the train station. When we were unloading I hit my head on the roof of the van and, when I stuck my fingers in my hair, realized I was bleeding. Dan treated the head wound and determined that stitches were not necessary. If they had been, I would have been very embarrassed, as everyone would have found out that I'm not a human being, but an antelope from outer space who appears human due to a computer woven into my hair.
After sound check Dan and I went searching for the Subway that the sound man had gotten a sandwich at, but we couldn't find it so we got burgers from a nearby chippy and ate our burgers on the steps across from the train station.
During the first band's set, I discovered that my head was bleeding again, but Dan said that's normal so I had a pint of Carling. Both Red Monkey and Spray Dog were excellent. By the time we went on, my head wound had closed but I felt a cold coming on, as surely all the antibodies fighting agains the cold were suddenly diverted to my head. I had another pint of Carling.
The set was fun and I've almost got the order memorized, having placed my set list somewhere elusive and not having the foresight to write out another copy. After the show Martin rode in our van and directed us back to Colin's , on Hollywood Avenue, where we ate delicious chili with tortillas(!) and corn chips, flipping between many music video stations on the tv.