OK, ok, ok…so sorry for the long delay in the diary. As it sits, I am in the United Kingdom, which means that all technology here is at least 10 years behind everyone else. Now, let’s see…I last left off somewhere in Madrid…ah yes!..ok, we left Madrid and flew to Edinburgh…but we didn’t want to leave Madrid! Spain was so fun and the Spanish are the greatest. The night before we split, we all went out to dinner with Ingrid and her friend, Norah, at a seafood place across from our hotel. Norah was kinda nutty, in a funny sort of way. She’s tall and cute but was telling us about her new love, a short bald guy with one tooth. She wasn’t joking either! She seemed a tad bit “wired” but couldn’t say what it was, although I suspected she was quite liberal with the extracurricular pharmaceuticals. Anyways, we split that place and went to a party where we bumped into one of the guys from the Gigolo Aunts who was kicking it, having a cerveza. So we went up the long stairs 4 flights up and it was a small gathering with a lot of marijuana but we soon split cause it was a dull scene and we had to get up early for our flight n stuff. We all went back to the hotel. I was a little hungry and found a place called PIPS and had a pasta meal and a glass of merlot and it only came out to 6 euros, which is pretty much 6 dollars.

So our flight landed in Edinburgh around 2 pm and we checked into our hotel and then sound-checked n stuff like that. Our show later that night was a good show but the crowd was a little shy, which surprised me cause Paul Barr kept telling me about the Scottish crowd being wild and fun. So after the show, I hung out with Paul for a bit and talked and then Francis from Teenage Fanclub came up to say he dug the show. He and Raymond (also a Fannie) both had fun. Francis was gonna be at the Glasgow show as well as the other guys in TFC, Norman, Gerry and Finley. A few belle and Sebastian guys were at the Edinburgh show and those guys were nice enough to loan us their gear. Thanks! So we hung at the club for a bit and then I headed off on my own to find a kebab place (I found one), went back to hotel and had a bite and a beer and went to sleep.

The next morning, Rusty, Daddyo and I found a pub and had breakfast near the hotel and watched one of the world cup games. I had chilli con carne over rice and it was damn good. Scotland was like that. I knew I was heading to England the next day and that food would really be an issue, cause English food is simply diabolical, so I savoured every bite! So everyone huddled near the hotel until our driver, Andy, picked us up. By the way, we now have 2 more people in our entourage, as well as a great opened act, STEW. So we have Mick, who’s selling all the merchandise (including the famous LOVE knickers), and Ringo, who’s handling the road manager duties, which frees Gene up a bit (but not enough!) and helps us all out in the long run. As usual, Arthur has been excellent every night on stage.

We got to Glasgow around 3pm and checked in our hotel…oh, by the way, it’s been raining ever since we left Madrid. Now you know why we didn’t want to leave! After we checked in, we sent our laundry out to get done and then we all headed to a pub called, NICE AND SLEAZY, to meet up with Francis MacDonald and his asst., Heather, who helps him run his record label, Shoeshine, which comes in handy when he’s on the road. He gave us some free CDs from the label and he’s gonna put out another Michael Shelley CD as well. So after that, we sound checked and then headed back to the hotel where I napped after walking in the damn rain.

We got back to the club and it was packed. Before going on I talked a bit with Paul Barr and Norman Blake and his sweet wife. We took to the stage around 10pm and proceeded to rock the house. Glasgow was way better than the night before and it was so much fun. We hung out later and Arthur hung out with fans and signed autographs just about all night. Glasgow was great and Scotland, as a whole was loads of fun. The Scots are all right by me.

We got our wake up call this morning at 10am and by 11:30 we were on the road, with Mick behind the wheels (by the way, Mick is cool…more on him in the next entry). We’re on our way at this very moment to Brighton to play tonight at a place called CONCORDE 2. Last night’s show in Milton Keynes was great but that has to wait until I get back to the hotel later, as we are stopping at McDonald’s now! So, next entry, Milton Keynes and the Stables theatre! A very wild night indeed…

Mike Randle