Went down to the lobby around 10 am to write some notes that I use for diaries, and ran into Daddyo. We decided it was a nice morning and one just right fro a good stroll. We walked about a mile to Sarzana and found the markets, which had everything from meats and cheese to knickers and pencils. We decided to find a quiet Italian café which didn’t take long, and ordered two “americano” with milk on the side. They were the dog’s bollocks so I ordered two more; it was then that Daddyo waved at someone over my shoulder. I turned round to see Jimmy’s brother, Mario, waving back. He went over and said hello and then turned my attention back to my coffee.

When we were done I went to pay the bill. Mario said something in Italian and the woman behind the counter waved us off. He had picked up the tab. Jimmy and Mario were good people. As we left I noticed the cash register and read € 3,20. How cheap! We left the café and walked to some markets where I bought an old-looking sweater, red and white with silly boxes in it and begged for a home. We the walked back to the hotel. There were no restaurants near the hotel so I didn’t eat any lunch- then I remembered the bread and cheese I had in my hotel fridge and chased it with an ice cold Pilsner.

Around 3 pm I walked over to the club, JuxTap, and said hello to Paolo. Took out my guitar and practiced amp and jammed for a spell. Chapple came over and changed his strings; Kose worked on the microphone setting for a long time and we were soundchecking by 6 pm. The singer came over and then Jimmy and Mario served up dinner after soundcheck, right in the club. I was delicious pasta al pesto, tortellini, wrapped sausage and pork slices. We washed it all down with Chianti and Arsenal lager; some of us committed ourselves to one or the other while others dabble in bath.

During dinner – and I only bring this up because the guys found it so hideously funny (I did not) – I told the guys my story of my laundry day yesterday. See, it was such a hassle and so expensive to send laundry out that I washed my laundry myself in the bathroom, hung it out and then sent it out to dry in a proper dryer. I told the guys I used the baby bath sink. They laughed and corrected me: that was no baby bath sink, dumb-ass, that was a bidet. Ok, I made a mistake… I swear it was clean!

So, Martina, at the hotel, charged me 10 euros for the wet clothes to be transported to the place that dries the clothes. I tried to continue my story but no one cared except for the part about the bidet. Everyone at the table laughed except the singer, who didn’t know what it was either, and Max, who was too busy eating. Max, by the way, works for the promoter and is travelling on the bus this whole weekend.

Showtime was 10:30 and we played till about midnight. A shame we didn’t play “Que Vida”, as that was Umberto’s favourite song. The crowd was the best Italian crowd so far. Afterwards, we all had some Guinness and signed autographs. Antony had to go to the toilet so I sold cds and t-shirts for about ten minutes! We drank some more with Paolo, Umberto, Jimmy, and Mario. Then it was bedtime; I changed into my Brian Wilson t-shirt and was fast asleep: it was 2 am on the clock.

Mike Randle