Autumn is always an especially beautiful time, and this year was no exception.
For the first time in what seems like a long time, I spent three weeks of Autumn on "the bigger island", our neighbour across the Irish Sea.
The itinerary stretched from Stonehaven, on Scotland's north-east coast, to Plymouth in the south west of England, and included my first performances in Wales - in Flint and Llantrisant.
Altogether my travels in Britain covered just over 2,300 miles – a good challenge for my old 1997 Mercedes, bought on e-Bay during a concert in Donegal several years ago. And the “old lady” stood up to the test extremely well. Biggest problem was the demise of the car’s cigarette lighter, which I had used to power both the Sat-Nav and to re-charge my phone. Of course the phone also has navigating abilities but needs a lot of power to handle them!
For some days I reverted to the good old tried and trusted system of following a map! And it still works very well! But that is not always a good option when driving at night with these eyes of mine! Eventually I bought an external power battery for the phone and all was well.
I took some time off the main routes to visit old castles, including Scotland’s royal palaces of Linlithgow and Scone. Another highlight was a trip to the Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, where hundreds of mute swans live together in a managed colony, the only one of its kind in the world.
But, as always, the best part of touring is the people I meet – the audiences, organisers ,singers, musicians, shopkeepers ... and the kindly folks who give me shelter from the elements!
More trips to Germany await in November and Deccember – but first I look forward to a concert in County Tyrone on November 7, when I will be guest of Andrea Begley, the young singer who won BBC TV’s “The voice” in 2013.
‘til soon – take good care!
Ben
Newry, November 2015