S*T*U*F*F* Reloaded

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MOLE!!! My brother just had his first baby!! Baby Crista was born to Michael and Dasha in Cyprus this-morning, which is just the best news. For those that know the Mole, this may come as something of a shock, but there you go… He is ecstatic beyond anything I’ve ever known. Magic!

Some days you can be in the best cities in the world and just want to have a bath and read for a while. Like today - I’m in Madrid, and after a rough old night on the bus where the bunks were creaking like hammocks on a listing galleon, I just can’t be arsed going exploring, preferring to relax and enjoy some pure peace and quiet. Its against my normal tour ethos of making sure I always take the opportunities to see places, do things, but then again, a man whose methods are inflexible is a man in trouble.

What a gig last night in Barcelona! It was a beautiful audience to play to - ultra-warm and appreciative of every nuance in the music. We played well together - its finally, after all the shows this year, sounding intuitive, full of energy and above all groovy. I think to the people watching we make it look easy, and I know that the lights (done by the MASTER Franck Mahaut) are a great part of the show too, so I would imagine its quite a good gig to catch at the minute. However, in a couple of days, I’ll be in Gatwick airport wending my way back to SE26… all too soon yet not soon enough.

The days in Barcelona were almost hallucinatory - sunshine, rioja, tapas, the whirl through Thursday night with JB and our tour manager, meeting everyone else for dinner and a mad club full of transvestites (not us, I might add). Predictably I took off on a wine-buying expedition - ending up with a nice collection of 9 bottles: mostly Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva, my favourite Rioja, but taking in a few lesser known Catalan reds on the recommendation of the owner of the nicest deli I think I’ve ever been in - my friend Janice took me there, well off the beaten track. I love wine shop owners who, when asked for a recommendation, despite having bottles at 40 euros plus on the shelves, will point you towards one at 9 euros if they think that’s “the one”. The guy in Handford wines (in Holland Park, London) is like that - I always finish any session up there by asking for a recommendation of any single bottle in the shop (though if he suggested the 1982 Petrus I may have been forced to kill him) and he always picks out something unexpected yet not pricey.

Anyway - back to matters in hand… soundcheck looms, so I must sign off.