Oh Ireland, we so enjoyed the craic!

Hello all you lovely people. Sorry not to have been online sooner to let you know all about our wondrous trip across the water to the Emerald Isle. Truth be told, it's taken me a couple of days to get my breath back!! So, we left bright and early - about 6.00am Wednesday morning in the band van from Malcolm's; picked Jerry up en route and started our excited journey to play at the Tall Ships Race Festival. Weather was clement; the roads were clear; and we arrived at our ferry port with nearly two hours to spare. 'Oh' says I ' We could have had another hour in bed!' Just as well we didn't as we were actually at the wrong ferry port! Mass panic; screech of the brakes; and we drove for another 25/30 miles from Fishguard to Pembroke!! Arrived just in time to join the queue waiting to board! Lovely smooth crossing. Wasn't seasick once - result! Checked in with the Tall Ships Festival office in Waterford and finally arrived at our accommodation in the student Hall of Residence about 9.00pm. Wine, food, more wine, bed. The following day, after a little mooch round Waterford, we caught up with our friends Eric and Sue who had flown over for the event. Eric complete with camera and tripod to capture more footage of us for his documentary DVD. Then back in the van to drive to Cork where we were due to play at the renowned Crane Lane Theatre. Now, you know what they say - the best laid plans of mice and men and all of that - and the venue had looked absolutely gorgeous on their website - all dark wood, velvet, striped satin and chandeliers - and I'd been told that people travelled for miles to come there and that they were known for their late night music. Now, I was the one that booked this gig and agreed to play from midnight - 2.00am which meant travelling back from Cork to Waterford at 3 in the morning. So understandably, I was a little apprehensive as we drove along. Supposing I'd dragged the band out all this way, depriving us of our beauty sleep ( I know, I know , these days it takes more than sleep!) only to play to a couple of drunks singing Danny Boy in the corner? But, oh my! What a gig! The place was absolutely packed - maybe 300, 400 people - and it was even more fabulous than we'd expected with bunting and fairy lights and candles in glass jars and what's more they loved us. They danced, they joined in with our songs, they shook their eggs, they rattled their tambourines, they jumped on stage and kissed us, the manager upped our fee 'cos we'd put on such a good night, we had free beer - all in all, well worth it. And we acquired near legendary status in the Hall of Residence as we were the last band in, stumbling through the doors at 5 in the morning as dawn was breaking! Then our first day at the Tall Ships Race Festival. What glorious creatures those ships are! So graceful and elegant, you can see why people say that ships have souls. Everyone so warm and friendly. We were playing on the North Wharf Stage on the far side of the river. The setting was lovely but at early teatime on Friday there weren't that many people around and we were a little disappointed. Still, we played really well with great energy and all the notes in the right place. Our friends Alan and Julie Vincent arrived (they'd flown over as well) and Alan was suitably dressed in a SoU teeshirt. But, if we were honest, it hadn't quite lived up to our expectations. However, Alan V had good news. He'd managed to blag enough tickets for us all to get in to see The Waterboys. A great way to round off the day. Next day, Saturday, and the sun was shining, the sky was blue and we were all set to hit Waterford once more. We thought we'd try and take in some culture - Malcolm and Liz, Eric and Sue did very well and went round the Waterford Crystal Factory. The nearest Jerry, Keith, Alan and I got to culture was some Guinness in Geoff's Bar listening to the Gypsy Jazz Band! Well, it was too hot to walk any further...Then, we'd promised Eric that we'd do some filming with him down by the Tall Ships. We thought the best we'd manage, would be a couple of shots down on the quay with the ships in the background. But dressed in all our gigging finery and brandishing Eric's media business card, we found ourselves on the deck of a beautiful ship from Norway 'Sorlandet'. We played and sang 'Plenty More Fish in the Sea' positioned amongst the rigging, and the wheel, with a sparkling sea behind us and an appreciative crowd below us. What a brilliant way to spend the afternoon. Then, it was off to do our second and final Festival gig still on the North Wharf Stage but at 8.15pm. Clashing with the headline band Sharon Shannon so we were expecting an even smaller audience than the day before. But how wrong can you be! We had a FABULOUS audience and from the first note of the first song they were with us all the way! And didn't we rock that wharf! The fellas were on fire. Jerry broke a string in The Hangman's Daughter, our final song of the set, but still managed to do a storming end on three strings! I tell you, you can live forever on a weekend like that! We had set off on the Wednesday under a cloud knowing we were going without some very special people who should have been with us. But we did Dorset proud! So huge thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, who saw us off from England and welcomed us into Ireland; who sent us on our way in both directions with the warmest of wishes. We will be back!