With a heavy heart and a heavier head (Munich was out of control), our touring party left Germany at the weekend after a frankly stellar series of shows. I’ve honestly never had such a positive reaction overseas, and it’s now number 1 in my list of places to revisit as soon as possible. We stopped over for a night in Vienna, playing a show to the good-looking but slightly more reserved Austrians, where I finally sold out of all the merch I brought with me for the whole tour. A chance run in with a very old friend (anyone remember Austrian HC legends Cameran?) led to another night of over-indulgence and sore heads for all.

After such debaunchery, it was with pleasure that the Polar Bears and I noticed that the drive to Milan took us close to some awesomely picturesque parts of the world. A few googles later, we were booked into a hotel in Lignano, a small Italian town bewteen Trieste and Venice, on the Adriatic Coast. I’d never seen this sea before, so I took the time after breakfast to wash my hands in it and think about history, Romans to Venetians to Gabriel D’Annunzio. It made me feel slightly intellectually restored after the weekend.

The tour is over its half-way point, and is going as well as could be asked for. All 3 bands are bonding like it’s going out of fashion, and we have yet to have a duff show. Brian and I have been working on some acoustic duets to finish the set, which has been really great. We’re currently working on a version of the Bragg / Guthrie number, ‘Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key’, a personal favourite. Norwich / Nottingham / Dublin, you have been warned.

Speaking of shows, we enjoyed Germany so much that PBC and I have a last minute extra show: Exhaus in Trier will be graced by our presence on Thursday 26th, which is the day after tomorrow. German info can be found here. Spread the word!