SxSE
No, not another alternative festival but a 1000mile round trip to London & Cambridge for a gig and two radio sessions. Regular rhythm section, Andy & Dick, were (due to work commitments) unable to make the trip but Ronnie Garrity (bass guitar) & John Bradley (drums) were more than adequate replacements. Chris’s son Robin also joined us on the trip. Read all about it in our diary below and have a swatch at the photovideo of the trip.

Tuesday 15 September
At about lunchtime, Chris & tour manager/ driver, Chester picked up their splitter van from AIG in Glasgow. The gear was loaded and the journey to London commenced. Ronnie had taken on the roll…… sorry, role of chief sandwich provider for the trip South so everyone was fell fed. With only a couple of short stops on the way down and good weather, we were able to make good time to London. Once we got there, however, things changed as we not only encountered rain but also major traffic. We had hit Chelsea just as their Champions League tie finished and the crowd made their exodus from Stamford Bridge. With the boys staying in different parts of London, our wonderful Sat Nav lady was a godsend. A few beers were consumed before going to bed.
Wednesday 16 September
The band met at lunchtime and headed for The House of Mercy, a great little on-line radio station that goes out across the world. Barry Marshall-Everitt & his partner Bex Marshall extended wonderful hospitality to the band who reciprocated by performing a storming set in the intimate surroundings of The Boudoir Studio. The recording should be broadcast sometime towards the end of October. Check out www.houseofmercy.net for details.
After this session, we headed off to Leytonstone where the band was to play a gig at What’s Cookin’ in the Sheepwalk Pub. Timing was again against us as we arrived at rush hour. With a bit of luck we gained a parking space right outside the pub making the job of unloading the gear a lot easier than it might have been. Having been royally fed at The House of Mercy, we were able to relax pre-gig allowing a good sound check to be carried out and, despite there already being two support acts, we negotiated that Robin could perform a couple of songs from his forthcoming album. It is fair to say that the good denizens of Leytonstone were treated to a blistering String Driven set culminating in a raucous version of Circus. The “glass” contribution to the band was appreciated.
Thursday 17 September
After a long lie, we headed off to Cambridge and arrived early enough to do a bit of sightseeing. Strange thing about Cambridge (it may be the bikes), but there are no fat people. Anyway, with virtually no time for a sound check, the band humphed their gear in the tight confines of Sue Marchant’s BBC Radio Cambridgeshire studio. Chester lurked in the corner with his camera and the band adopted the old adage of “F*** it, let’s do the show right here”. Going out live, the band performed several numbers and Chris was interviewed by Sue. The engineer was heard to comment “That was awesome” (No, he wasn’t American). The Flying Pig next door provided refreshments for the band after the session as Chester, our Red Bull fuelled driver, kept looking at his watch. What do you do when six out of seven people don’t want to leave…. you wait for closing time!!

Friday 18 September
Through the night we went, arriving back in Glasgow as the sun came up. Time for a couple of hours shut-eye for Chester before returning the van and then sleep, perchance to dream!!!!
A successful trip all round. Chris doesn’t give them out very often but it achieved a ten out of ten in his eyes. Here’s to more of them.