Feb 11th 2016, Before the gig, Journey to Stuttgart I was irritable today. Partly through tiredness. Partly through being a little worried about the long night ahead of me. Partly from people being irritating. The trains to Stuttgart were extremely full. People on full trains who leave their bags and […]
Tuesday February 9th, Gent, Belgium In my hurry to book somewhere cheap this morning I failed to read the small print. I entered something along the lines of “cheap private room” into the “I am watching you” machine, found one almost within budget, within walking distance of the train […]
In 1999 I spent a summer in The Hague. Packing tulips in a factory. A job I found in “Work your way around the world”, a book I bought in Eason’s in Cork. Or maybe I stole it from my sister Emma. Unable to find any form of employment […]
Monday, February 1st, Train from Minden to Amsterdam What a great weekend. I played a Church built in 1683. A breakfast concert in French Cafe in Germany. A 43rd Birthday Party for a Kazakhstani chimney sweep. Another house concert for another Chimney sweep. Schornsteinfeger is the German for chimney sweep. […]
Somewhere outside of Munich, January 26th, 2016 Two days in Munich. I am tired. Back on the train. Munich was really fun. Paul Solecki from Kansas was my minder for the last few days. I use this term only half jokingly. Along the way, I feel very very fortunate to […]
Sunday Morning, January 24th – Train from Cologne to Munich I’m back on the train with heavy eyelids and a happy heart. Last night I played, I think my best gig of the tour so far at Mel and Ulf’s house concert in Niederkassel, just outside Cologne. They’ve been instrumental […]
Monday January 18th, The train from Kiel to Hamburg There is a moment that comes with sitting down on a train. A moment of sheer relaxation. I have found the station on time. I am no longer lugging my bags across town. My job in the coming hours is to […]
Photo by Shel Ly Sunday Morning, January 17th, Düsseldorf The sun is shining on last night’s snow. I played the Düsseldorf Acoustic Festival. What a great night it turned out to be. More of that later. First, I want to capture a few impressions from the last few […]
Once Upon A Time in Cork Twenty years, and at least as many lifetimes ago, I was a student at University College Cork. A picturesque old campus, complete with a river, an old chapel, a bar, some newer uglier buidings, thousands of students, and plenty of trees. As well as […]
Typing at 296km/hr I’m somewhere outside of Strasbourg on a train. Typing at about six words a minute and 296km/hour. Who says men can’t multitask? Paris is behind me. I am glad I went. In all I did three gigs, the final one last night at le Connetable making sense […]