Category: Travels

There is a lot of driving when on tour and sometimes it becomes a pleasure. Today, we drove along the winding roads with view of the hills in from the Welsh border, then across the Pennines and into Sheffield. I’d only ever seen Sheffield before when driving north or south on the M1 so it…

This is the third time Ray has been invited to play in Presteigne. It’s always a delight as he gets to play the grand piano that they keep in very good condition. The Assembly Room is a lovely venue for a concert. Local company Translight have installed a range of lights and we had Soundzaround…

The Prince Albert is a lovely pub on the outskirts of Stroud. After a short drive up from Netley and lunch at Gloucester Services, we were warmly welcomed by Lotte and Miles. The German audio company D&B have a depot in Stroud and have donated equipment to The Prince Albert to give them an enviable…

It was a long drive down from Derby to Netley which is on the south coast near Southampton but were able to stop for a break near Oxford. It was lovely to arrive at St Edwards Church, to catch a glimpse of the sea and to be welcomed by John and Sonja who run the…

We were accompanied on the drive down to Derby by storm Claudia which meant rain and surface water on the motorway. Thankfully nothing like the flooding elsewhere in the country. The Dubrek Studios have facilities for rehearsing and recording as well as a small venue. It’s well designed and sound-proofed so that in the venue…

Wednesday was a return visit to the FortyFive Vinyl Café and Listening Room in the centre of York. The café had only been opened a year when we first visited but it had left a very positive impression and we were happy to be invited back. To read more about this unique venue, please click…

This was the first time Ray has played solo in Manchester and he was especially proud of his debut being at Band On The Wall. It’s an iconic venue, hosting live music since the late 1930’s. It was originally The George and Dragon Hotel when the owner installed a stage high up on a wall…

The Harrison Pub advertises itself as “the best pub in Kings Cross and Bloomsbury” and they are not wrong. Officially it’s a community pub (aka “the local”), but it attracts people from afar. There was a lively birthday party going on when we arrived. The basement hosts live events most evenings. It has a capacity…

A long drive on busy English motorways is one thing but today, firstly we got stuck in a very slow moving queue on the M25 only to discover it was due to drivers slowing down to look at a crash on the other carriageway. Then we were going nicely north on the M11 when we…

As we were packing the instruments into the car, this rainbow appeared. We then had a leisurely drive through the Cotswolds to Leamington Spa. A good start. Ray has played the Temperance before so read this for background on the venue. This visit is a double header with Benji Kirkpatrick who is also on tour…