adrienne's Tour Diary

The travel clock alarm went off at 8, or maybe it was 7. Whatever time it was, I wanted to sleep more. I decided to force my contacts into my eyes and felt a little bit more awake. CG and I loaded up the van while the other 2 were in computer land. Owain wasn't awake yet so we left a thank you note with him on the top floor, above the sun tanning salon.
Leaving Cardiff was a real challenge, as all signs, in Welsh and English, seemed to have disappeared overnight. I called Matt in Gresford from a roundabout as Dan drove us around and around, all of us unsure what to do. Matt told me the directions: the M5 to the M4 to the M6 and then smaller roads and to call him from Birmingham. CG charted another route through country roads that Matt's dad was familiar with, so we took that, though Nantwich and Crewe, eventually, after stopping in MichaelWood for snacks and the toilets, where CG gambled some coins.
Matt met us in front of the local Spar and hopped in the van. We drove back to his parents' house where his mom had made us a wonderful lunch and TWO desserts! Being big fans of the whole dessert family, we were delighted to encounter double dessert in Wales. The view from the back garden was so beautiful, it would have been great to spend a few days there, as I did one summer years ago, visiting Matt when we were both at Uni. in Hull.
In the van on the way to Manchester Matt asked, "How many of the next 10 cars will be driven by women?" Only two I remember. Then "How many of the next 10 cars will be driven by men with facial hair?" We forgot to count. At the city outskirts we passed a car wash that claims to offer "The best hand job in the North." What?
The load-in to The Phoenix was a physical test of hauling the gear up three flights of concrete steps, across an overpass, and into the venue. Luckily, I was assigned the job of watching after the van while said unloading was in process. Molia Falls, from Sweden, were parked near us unloading their gear as well. During the sound check Mike arrived with his friend Daniel--hadn't seen Mike in many years but he looked the same as when we we flew with the other UC students from LA on a 747 and began our junior year abroad, both us of going to Hull, battling rain & voltage conversion and regularly sampling the local pharmaceuticals and intoxicating beverages.
It was a five band bill but went quickly--each band playing 30 minute sets. Flamingo 50 went on before us and then we had our five song set before Molia Falls. Matt sold our merch and it became clear that we need a resupply of CDs. After the show we thanked Daniel, the promoter who set everything up & made the cool poster (he's off to play in Brighton w/Molia Falls tomorrow) and then we hauled everything, including our suitcases (we learned our lesson at Coachella last year), back across the overpass and down the stairs into the van, where 7 of us piled in and drove straight to Spicy Hut for take away curries & chips. Not only did we get great midnight food from Spicy Hut, we also were given a plate full of strawberry and mint mentos AND Indian dumdum-like lollipops, which Daniel suggested we take with us, so I slipped some into my jacket pockets. So glad I brought this jacket, as it's quite cold in the north.
Mike's house is outside of Manchester town center, in Stretford, and it didn't take long to drive there, the van smelling of delicious food. A Spicy Hut buffet was assembled on Mike's kitchen table and we ate, smoked, and laughed. I had trouble keeping my eyes awake. I looked inside Mike's copy of "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" to see Lucy, Edmund, Peter and the other sister whose name escapes me now, eating dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. I showed Matt. CW delighted in Mike's book collection and it appeared that he wanted us to go upstairs with him and read him a bedtime story. CW slept in the Spider Man bed, CG in the Princess Canopy.