And this is where the adventure starts; thus far there has been no mention of weather but as I left home, with the forecast of snow in mind (well, more in Scotland, actually) I slung a shovel in the back of the van on the off chance. This shovel can be seen in the video “Five Push Van in Newcastle” elsewhere on this website; for as we left a snowy Haydock Travelodge next morning, our northward progress up the M6 became steadily whiter. The Lakes, Borders, Hamilton and the road to Kinross increased their wintry coat as our speed decreased; nice driving, Mark. The only hairy moment was coming down the slope on the other side of a very icy Forth Road Bridge, where the rear wheels wanted to catch up a bit with the front ones. It seemed much steeper slope than it is. Eventually we pulled into the Green Hotel, Kinross which looked like a Christmas card, welcoming lights, fires, whiskies, etc., calling. The lovely, big concert room, stuffed with intelligent Rock & Roll memorabilia (if that’s not a contradiction in terms), is hosted by David Mundell, a bit of a legend among roots performers – his Famous Bein Inn, at Glenfarg, has seen an awful lot of “greats” grace what passed for a stage. (I recall “A Night Off with Peggy & PJ” spending a couple of lovely nights there – we were soundchecking/running through material in the afternoon when in walked Martin Taylor, a local resident. You have never seen two guitars put down so quickly…).
After a day of rest, snowy walks, rehearsals (really!), hearty meals, drinkies, etc., we played the next night to an audience of 29 intrepid souls who had come from as far away as Glasgow in blizzard conditions, yet another foot or so having descended that day. It was quite a party, a most musical and enjoyable gig – we even did a number of requests. Thank you David for the best three stranded days a chap could wish for.
P.J.
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