Total Pageviews

Thursday, November 18, 2010

I was warned. A tale of woe.

It's not really a tale of Woe.
I used that for dramatic effects.
It worked, didn't it?
I was warned that if I didn't tour the UK right I would lose my shirt.
Well jokes on you sir, I kept my shirt. I just came back with no money.
Ha, ha...oh.
Well I tend to jump right in to things whether they are going to go smoothly or not and going the UK was something I wanted to do for a few years. So I was quite willing to travel on this bumpy road.
If you've ver been to the UK, you've probably been been hit with that sad feeling when you go to the bank to exchange your hard earned Canadian dollars (or whatever currency you use) into the British pound. It's like some one stealing your toys as a kid.
I went with $1000 dollars I ended up with 575 pounds.
I know it's a different currency and you can get drinks for 2-3 pounds meals for 4 pounds etc.... but I didn't know that when I got the exchange done. All I notice is that 500 is half of 1000 and it saddens my heart.
By the way my attention span for writing today is low this may take 2 or three parts to write about.
Hey, I've got other things to do!
Another thing I tend not to think about. how much my luggage weighs.
I brought a large backpack and my guitar. the pack had all my clothes and merch in it. Jammed as full as I could get it. It was quite heavy. A little too heavy according to the older gentleman at Thomas Cook airline. about $100 to heavy. I was 5 kg over and it's $20 for each kg over.
The only bright side to that was that they said I could upgrade to first class for the same amount and that 1st class allows the extra baggage weight. So I got my first time in the front of the plane, Rosa Parks would be proud!
That's a horrible joke.
I show up to a pillow blanket water, free booze, and a decent meal. the chairs were more comfy but didn't seem to stretch out anymore than the coach seats. Maybe I was only in mediocre first class.
I arrive in London at 645am, and have to wait until my friends get off work at 7pm until I can get to their place and relax. So I got to wander London exhausted from little sleep on the plane (I just can't sleep sitting up) I saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the guards with the q-tip hats, but I didn't really care so much as I was dead on my feet.
 Luckily my friend got of at 3 instead of 7 and I was able to get a nap and shower.
my friends live in Brixton, it's very cultural there I liked it a lot. It hosts Electric Ave. The one from that Eddie Grant Song. Loads of Jamaicans. My friends likened it to the Harlem of London. I learned later that I was ignorant to the constant attempts at drug sales, the clicking noises people make are the signal for narcotic purchases.
I had a show that night I was recording 5 songs at The Abbey. The Abbey is a cool venue, I ended up going there twice, with really good musicians.
I'll be posting a song or two at www.eyeswide.ca in the near future.....
Met a fellow Canadian who just arrived a few days earlier so a got a touring partner for the next day.
HOw about that horrible cliffhanger? I really have to get to some other things right now hopefully it will not take me a month to get to it. Scotland, the oddities of Liverpool, my failure to book plane tickets......