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Retiredish. Now 2 Wannabe Globetrotters. Leggi altro Cuckfield, United Kingdom
  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    1
    Giorno 16

    Day 16 - Bonus Day Sightseeing in Berlin

    14 marzo, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Despite the late night, I still woke up at 6.30am. At 9.00am, I went down to breakfast and ate with those of us who were still in the city.

    Lee, Priscilla and I hatched a plan for some sightseeing around Berlin. After updating Josef on my re-arranged travel plans, it was 11am when we checked out of the hotel & put our bags in the luggage room.

    The 3 of us headed to the nearest metro station and purchased a 24 hour travel card for under €10 each. Our first stop was the East Side Gallery, a 1.3 kilometre section of the Berlin Wall that has been preserved and is decorated by artists from around the world. I couldn’t help myself, but to take a photo of literally every section of the wall. We did stop halfway at a cafe beside the River Spree where Lee treated us to a coffee so that he could rest his weary legs.

    After we completed the East Side Gallery, we got on a train to the Brandenburg Gate, an 18th century neoclassical monument. Next we walked over to the Reichstag Building, the historic government building, then through the remembrance garden for those murdered attempting to flee East Germany during the east west divide.

    We then stopped at a Bratwurst kiosk and had a nice cold 0.5l bottle of Berliner Pils, which cost just €3.50 each. Afterwards we walked on to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, with its 2,711 slabs of concrete of varying heights.

    Lastly we took a short train ride to Checkpoint Charlie for the obligatory photo. It was interesting to note that there was no soldier on guard at the checkpoint sentry post, unlike 10 years ago, when Jackie and I last visited.

    We returned to the Mercure Hotel Berlin Tempelhof around 5.00pm, where Priscilla, Lee and I had one final beer together. Priscilla then collected her luggage and after saying her goodbyes, left for her new hotel for the next 2 nights before taking a long convoluted trip back home to Malta.

    Lee was waiting for the rush hour traffic to die down before ordering an Uber to his new Airport hotel, so we went along the road to a pizza joint. We both order spicy meat pizzas for around €8 but I could only manage to eat about half of mine. We returned to the hotel, collected our luggage and said our goodbyes. We will see each other at The Roundhouse in London in May.

    I left Lee waiting for his Uber and made my away across Berlin on the Metro and trains to Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin’s Main Railway Station). At 9.27pm, my train rolled out of Berlin. The train was busy but I did manage to secure 2 seats to myself. The train is a slow train (lots of stops, but travelling at up to 186km between them) and is due to arrive at Ulm Railway Station around 6.00am.

    Song of the Day - Berlin by Lou Reed

    NMA Song of the Day - Innocence (Orchestral Version) Live in Berlin by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 16

    Day 15 - Travel Chaos at the Tour End

    14 marzo, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    It was only a short drive of about 3 hours for the last night of the tour in Berlin. So after a leisurely breakfast I rang my saviour Josef, who confirmed that my bike was fixed and ready to ride away. Hooray, I didn’t ask how much. I told him that I planned to catch an early train and be with him by mid afternoon on Thursday. He told me to ring him when I was near and he would pick me up from the station.

    I then started looking to book my train ticket when horror of horrors, the train I had planned to book had now doubled in price. I needed to consider my options. The Magic Bus departed Poznan at 10.30am, but within 30 minutes, our drivers had received news that their flights to Gothenburg the following day had been cancelled. We pulled over so they could make alternative arrangements. In total 4 of them were going on to Gothenburg to continue following the tour. Luckily there was a day off before Gothenburg, so 3 of them booked their flight for the next day, but Paul Rizos was due to meet his wife who was flying in the next day, so he booked a very early and expensive train to Gothenburg for the following morning. I booked an overnight train from Berlin to Leutkirch for the following night for £89. Sorted.

    We continued towards Berlin, but before reaching the German border, messages started arriving on people’s phones to say their flights had also been cancelled. In fact everyone catching flights received a cancellation message, except those on British Airways flights. BA didn’t bother to send out any notification until late into the evening!! Luckily we knew that they would be cancelled because there was a 24 hour strike all day Thursday (home day) and all German airports were closed.

    We stopped just short of the German border to fill up the buses with cheaper fuel, buy lunch and people desperately tried to make other travel arrangements. The airlines took advantage of the desperation and the flight prices rocketed. I was sitting pretty until rumours started circulating that the train drivers. Oh no.

    We also had a final Magic Bus Tour photo, which was uploaded to Facebook and at the time of writing has got 229 likes.

    We continued to the Mercure Hotel Berlin Tempelhof arriving just before 4.00pm. Most people checked into their rooms then met in the bar to continue making alternative travel arrangements. It was close to 6.30pm, by the time everyone had some sort of plan. A couple of people were getting early trains out of Germany to catch a flight from another country home. Others were forced to stay on in Berlin for as long as Sunday before they could get a flight home. To be fair, the airlines had agreed to compensate all additional costs including hotels and meals, except Ryan Air!

    We headed straight out to the venue, Huxley’s Neue Welt, for the last gig of our NMA Magic Bus European tour. We had a couple of beers en route, then arrived at the venue with about 15 minutes to spare. Despite being a sell out and Germany having a reputation for quite physical gigs, after about 3 songs I headed to the front to join most of the rest of our group. Before long I was roped into holding Jack standing up on several different people’s shoulders and Stu who was sitting on people’s shoulders. It was yet another great gig - they never disappoint.

    The encore consisted of ‘No Rest’, ‘High’ and ‘Get Me Out’ followed by a 2nd encore of ‘I Love The World’. We had the final ‘family’ photo, then a much needed refreshing, but watery beer, but soon we were being ushered out of the venue by the security staff. Not a bad thing.

    As we were leaving, talk spread of where everyone was going for a post gig drink. It was at a bar virtually next door. Upon entering it was really strange to discover that people were actually smoking at the bar and it was quite a smoky atmosphere. Priscilla, Lex, Ramon and I sat at a table next to a table with a few of our Magic Bus NMA stalwarts, Red, Stu and Jo. It was not long before I noticed that Dean White and Michael Dean were now talking to Red, Stu and Jo. Nu the new keyboard player and the female roadie were also in the bar.

    At an opportune moment, I went up to Dean White and introduced myself to him as being on the Magic Bus and my last gig of the current tour on the continent. Dean was an exceptionally nice man, who started off by apologising for not knowing my name. I told him about my journey on my motorcycle and the dramas along the way. He asked me which gig I enjoyed most, which was Bern, because it was so intimate and in such a quirky venue. The two of us spoke for what seemed like at least 20 minutes about life on the road with NMA. I proudly told him that I had assisted in raising Jack aloft on numerous occasions during the tour & it was bloody hard work. He said that the band thought that it was so funny that after attending hundreds of gigs, Jack still didn’t know all the words. Eventually I thought it best that I let Priscilla, who was waiting patiently, get a chance to chat with Dean, but before doing so I asked for a selfie, then made a total tit of myself by taking photos of everyone else but us. Dean had to take my phone from me to switch the view.

    Whilst Priscilla was chatting to Dean, I saw that Michael Dean was preparing to leave, so I grabbed him for a quick chat, introducing myself, being on the Magic Bus and wished him all the best with getting his slipped disc in his back sorted out. Again a very nice and polite man who had the time of day for anyone who wanted to speak to him.

    Eventually we left the bar and walked back to the hotel arriving at 1.40am. I had to strip off and bag up my clothes, then have a shower, because everything stank of cigarette smoke.

    It was a fantastic way to officially end our NMA Magic Bus Tour.

    Song of the Day - From Chaos To Harmony by Ian Brown.

    NMA Song of the Day - Flying Through the Smoke by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 14

    Day 14 - Tales of the Road

    12 marzo, Polonia ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Despite it being a late night, I still woke at just after 6.00am. Hotel Scandic in Gdańsk has had the best breakfast of the trip so far, so I indulged in a full English and amongst other things a panna cotta.

    At 10.00am we boarded the Magic Bus listening to predominantly Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Justin Sullivan on the stereo. After several hours we stopped at Toruń, considered to be the best example of a medieval gothic town. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “The City of Angels”, as the locals call it, is also the birthplace of great Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who made the crucial discovery that the Earth is not the center of the universe.

    We had 75 minutes to do what we wanted to do, some chose to get lunch, whilst others including me chose to sightsee. The highlights included the Old Town hall, one of the most imposing in Northern Europe, the cathedral of SS John the Baptist and John the Evangelist which had a funeral service taking place. It didn’t stop us entering and taking a few photos.

    Other highlights included the House under the Star and the fine brick Gothic house where the astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus was born and the Copernicus Chapel at St. James’s Church, where he was baptized. Toruń is also famous for its gingerbread, it even has a Gingerbread Museum, but alas time ran out to visit it or even buy any.

    The detour to Toruń meant that it wasn’t until around 5.00pm, that we finally arrived at our Hotel Altus in the city centre. There was no time to relax and by 6.00pm, Lee, Priscilla and I were heading out into the pretty Old Town for dinner. We stopped at a Georgian restaurant called Chinkalnia Restaurant Gruzinska, for some rustic traditional Polish cuisine. (There are lots of Georgian Restaurants throughout Poland).

    I chose the Pork Goulash with potatoes, beans and carrots. Lee had a beef stew and Priscilla had Khinkali, a dumpling that you pick up, bite into and suck out the broth. Lee and I were also able to have one each. This was accompanied by a large pizza sized bread covered in melted cheese and several beers. It was all very delicious and dirt cheap.

    Without any dramas we caught an Uber to the venue, Tama in just enough time to drink one beer then get down the front before New Model Army came on stage. It wasn’t too busy so it was a good opportunity for us all to have a dance near the front. The set included 5 songs in Jack’s repertoire to get up on the shoulders of Red. I lifted and held Jack’s left leg for 4 of the songs including the 1st two songs of the encore ‘Where I Am’ and ‘Fate’.

    It is absolutely knackering holding Jack in place, I was sweating buckets, so after the final encore song ‘Get Me Out’, I rushed to the bar to get a much needed beer. Annoyingly by the time I had bought my beer, the ‘family’ after gig photo had been taken. Note : on this tour, only 2 after gig ‘family’ photos have been posted on the Unofficial New Model Army Fan Group page on Facebook for the tour so far and I have not been in either despite only missing 3 of the after gig photos. Maybe they are trying to tell me something!!!

    After the photo, we congregated in the foyer. Ceri and Michael came out to chat and I was now quite blasé about the whole thing. In fact as some of us headed back, Ceri was outside talking to a small group and smoking a joint. Presumably he had shared it around, because I was told it was good stuff and was I interested in trying it. I wasn’t and I didn’t.

    Back at the hotel, we managed to get a final beer before the bar closed. A group of 7 or 8 of us chatted, reminiscing on the tour so far and future plans. It was really nice, because I got to know some of the group from the other Magic Bus better, particularly married couple, Stu and Jo.

    I also learnt that at least some of the band read or are made aware of the content on the Unofficial New Model Army Fan Group on Facebook which predominantly features tales of the road from the Magic Bus or from others following the band around Europe. Apparently they have been asking questions about in-jokes etc. Maybe that is how Ceri heard about me leaving my phone behind!!

    Song of the Day - Traffic by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (Support band for NMA at the Roundhouse, London in May)

    NMA Song of the Day - Tales of the Road by Justin Sullivan.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 13

    Day 13 - Solidarity in Gdańsk

    11 marzo, Polonia ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

    Woke up with a raging sore throat and when I went down to breakfast at 9.00am, I discovered that everyone else had a bad throat. The consensus was that someone had picked up a mosh pit cold & passed it to us all in the Magic Bus.

    After breakfast I rang Josef, my saviour in Germany. I was hoping that he was going to tell me that my bike was all fixed and ready for me to collect. Alas no, but it wasn’t all bad news. He told me that they were expecting the part to arrive later today and it would be fixed by Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

    About 10.15am, Priscilla, Lex and Ramon headed out in the pouring rain to the European Solidarity Centre (Solidarity Museum) just 0.4 miles away. Whilst taking photos of the crosses outside the museum, we were accosted by a couple of Dutch New Model Fans, Marian and Boij who joined us for the audio tour.

    The museum cost about £6 entrance fee, which included a 1.5 or 2.5 hour audio guided tour (we chose the 1.5) & free cloakroom facilities to hang up our damp coats. The audio tour told the story that due to the popular support of the citizens and other striking groups, the Gdańsk workers held out until the Communist Government gave in to their demands. The successful strikers formed the Gdańsk Agreement on August 31, 1980, as an authentic social contract with the government.

    Lech Wałęsa co-founded and headed the Solidarity movement which toppled the communist government. He later became the President of Poland. The 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard Strike and subsequent Summer 1981 Hunger Demonstrations were instrumental in strengthening the Solidarity movement's influence.

    The museum was fantastic with lots of exhibits, photos and video footage presented in large display rooms all in a huge metal box of a building. We were all in the museum for at least 2 hours as were another bunch of our Magic Bus Tour group and other NMA fans that were also following European Tour. It was like an unofficial NMA convention.

    It was still raining when we finished the audio tour. Priscilla and I were the only ones prepared to return to the Old Town to see the parts that we hadn’t seen the previous day. Despite the rain it was definitely worth it as Old Town Gdańsk is very pretty.

    On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Pierogarnia Stary Mlyn, a recommended Pierogi restaurant. I chose 7 different meat pierogies and 2 sweet pierogies. They came with a sour cream sauce and were very delicious. After, we returned to the hotel for just a couple of hours before tonight’s gig.

    We all met up at 7.00pm and faffed about for nearly 45 minutes before we caught Ubers to the venue, Klub B90. We missed the support band, Mulk. apart from their last song so it was hard to decide whether I liked them or not.

    For the first time on the tour the tickets hadn’t completely sold out, so I found myself near to the front, but in space. Justin’s voice had come back and the lighting for the show was far superior to previous shows. Before the encore I headed to front and was asked to assist holding Jack if Fate or High were played. As it happens, the encore consisted of ‘1984’, ‘51st State’ and ‘Get Me Out’, so my services weren’t required.

    After the gig we had a beer and whilst chatting to a married couple, Michael and Tracy Stanners, it transpired that they were also camping this year at Stone Valley South Festival. They were going primarily to see Ferocious Dog. Such a small world!

    Lee (eventually) got us an Uber back to the hotel, where we only had one beer, but still didn’t got to bed until 1.20am.

    Song of the Day - Solidarity by Angelic Upstarts

    NMA Song of the Day - Courage by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 12

    Day 12 - The Carer in Gdańsk

    10 marzo, Polonia ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    The breakfast this morning at Hotel Gromada in Warsaw was the worst yet on the trip. The place was heaving and the very slow machine produced coffee that was disgusting. I had a bread roll with jam and some tasteless watermelon.

    The Magic Buses rolled out of Warsaw at 10.00am after making double sure that everyone had their phones. The journey took us along dual carriageways most of the way of the 4 hour journey. We stopped for a comfort break at a service station, where I took the opportunity to wish my mother a Happy Mother’s Day.

    After checking in to the Hotel Scandic in Gdańsk, some people were going off to do their laundry. One of the girls, Irish Lindsey, later that afternoon sent her roommate Priscilla a photo of her and Justin Sullivan who she had just met in a local launderette. He even does his own washing!!

    Lee, Priscilla, Lex, Ramon and I went off to explore Gdańsk Old Town. It was only a short walk, but it took much longer with Lee ambling along behind because of his multiple sclerosis.

    The buildings in the Old Town were very quaint. We visited several churches, the Amber Quarter and then we arrived at the enormous St Mary’s Basilica. It was free entry to the Basilica and took quite awhile to walk around it. The highlight was its astronomical clock. Before leaving it was suggested that we climb the 400 steps to the top of its tower. There was no way that Lee was going to be able to do that, so I did the honourable thing and took him to a local bar for a beer.

    We were joined by the others whilst on our 2nd beer in a very pleasant little cafe. Lex got up and said he was just popping out to the cannabis shop to buy a puffer for someone else in the group. Lee asked Lex to get him one as well. Upon Lex’s return, Lee started puffing on his newly acquired puffer, but moaned he couldn’t feel a high, so he kept on sucking. Apparently the puffer was supposed to have the relaxing qualities without the high.

    By now we were all hungry & were looking forward to some traditional Polish food. We researched restaurants on our phones and chose GVARA a posh Polish restaurant. We all had the same starter, black pudding with caramelised pear, chokeberry sauce and bread which was delicious. For mains, Lex and I had braised beef cheek with port wine, homemade potato dumplings and caramelised beetroots. It was superb, the beef cheeks were so tender that they melted in the mouth. The others had wild boar, pork chops or stuffed dumplings.

    The only drama occurred when Ramon leant over the table to taste Lex’s beef cheek, but accidentally knocked over Lee’s freshly poured glass of wine straight onto Lee’s dinner. His pork chops, potatoes and sauerkraut were swimming in red wine. The staff took his dinner away, but returned with his dinner now with a red tinge. Luckily Lee didn’t mention it again……..not. Ramon paid for Lee’s dinner including his wine.

    After dinner, Lex and Ramon decided they were going to an Italian restaurant to meet up with some of our group who were celebrating a birthday with some other NMA fans that had following the tour separately.

    The remaining 3 of us chose to return to the hotel. When we got outside the cold fresh air hit Lee and he suddenly became as high as a kite. He admitted that he had sucked way too much on his puffer. As a result it was a painfully slow walk back to the hotel with Lee shuffling along very slowly behind. I felt like his carer!!

    After a quick nightcap in the hotel bar we called it a night.

    Song of the Day - Mother by Danzig (Danzig is the German name for Gdańsk)

    NMA Song of the Day - Nothing Touches by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 11

    Day 11 - There’s Always One …………Only Me!

    9 marzo, Polonia ⋅ 🌙 -1 °C

    Woke up at 6.20am despite my alarm being set for 8.00am. I went down for breakfast, then returned to my room to pack up my gear. We checked out of the hotel at 10.00am.

    After a 30 minute drive north outside of Krakow, I went to look at my phone. It was not in my pocket, not in my coat. Someone rang my phone number, but it did not ring, although I feared that my phone was on silent. Reluctantly, I asked the driver, Red, to please pull over. I frantically rummaged through all the bags in the back, but to no avail.

    Priscilla rang my phone number again and on this occasion it was answered by someone at the hotel. We had no choice but to turn around and return to the hotel. The return journey seemed to take an age, not helped by relentless mickey taking from those in the back, whilst I died with embarrassment.

    We eventually arrived back at the hotel and I retrieved my phone from reception. We then headed back towards Warsaw on the same roads for the third time that morning. After an otherwise uneventful journey, we arrived at the Hotel Gromada in Warsaw just after 3.00pm, over one hour later than the other bus.

    Priscilla and I went for walk, in the afternoon sun, into the Old Town of Warsaw. It has been faithfully restored after being bombed to the ground during the Second World War. I leant that Priscilla was head of an IT department for the Maltese government and that prior to meeting up with the Magic Bus Tour, she had been in the UK following The Editors.

    At 5.00pm, we went to the Nameste curry house, the designated eating place. I had a Chicken garlic masala, rice, butter naan and 2 pints of beer. It was very nice.

    As soon as we had finished eating, JP, Irish Lindsey and I rushed to an Irish bar to watch the 2nd half of the England - Ireland rugby match. It was an exciting finish with England winning by a single point with the last kick of the game.

    After 3 pints of Guinness, we walked to the Palladium arriving just 15 minutes before New Model Army were due on stage. By now my stomach was gurgling & the thought of bouncing around felt quite daunting. As luck would have it, they opened the balcony up at the last minute, Lee and I bagged ourselves a very spacious spot right at the front of the balcony. This was after he had tripped up a step and gone down like the proverbial sack of….. It took the help of a bystander to assist me to get him back on his feet.

    It was another enjoyable gig. The encore was ‘51st State’, ‘Poison Street’ and ‘Get Me Out’.

    Lee and I missed the obligatory photo because we couldn’t make our way through the crowds leaving. Instead we met up with everyone in the bar. Drummer, Michael Dean came out and chatted for ages with some members of our group who clearly knew him well. I joined them to listen to the conversation and Michael was talking about his shoulder problems. He apparently wakes up in absolute agony and is having to take strong painkillers to get through. On one of their coming days off he is flying back to the UK to see a consultant with a view to having an operation between tours.

    Ceri Monger also came out and was happily chatting with the group. I finally relented and had my photo with him. My phone ran out of charge at that very minute, so Lee took a photo of Ceri and I on his phone. Ceri was already aware that some idiot from the Magic Bus group had left his phone at the hotel and he was told it was me. He shook my hand.

    It was at least an hour later, when Lee ordered an Uber back to the hotel, despite me telling him it only a 4 minute walk. Lee, Priscilla, Ramon and I walked to the meeting place, then took the Uber all of 300 metres to the hotel. We had actually walked further to meet the Uber! Apart from Lee, the rest of us were uncontrollably crying with laughter. Lee was charged £2.78 for the Uber, which was well worth it for the comedy value.

    We all had a nightcap beer with some of the group in the Tap Bar that was again further away than the Uber ride. I got to bed gone 12.30am shattered.

    Song of the Day - Die Laughing by Therapy?

    NMA Song of the Day - Reload by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 10

    Day 10 - The Handshake

    8 marzo, Slovacchia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Despite setting my alarm for 06.00am, I woke up at 04.18am & couldn’t get back to sleep again. When my alarm went off, I got up and got ready for the long drive. After a decent breakfast, both Magic Buses pulled out of the B&B Hotel car park at 08.00am sharp.

    We headed north out of damp rainy Budapest, picked up a dual carriageway & and couple of hours later we were in Slovakia, a new country to my list of countries visited. We managed to have taken a different route to the other Magic Bus, which had crossed at a different border 15 minutes earlier. We stopped for a comfort break and I asked Ramon to swap seats with me because he genuinely is asleep for 70-80% of the journey.

    We continued through Slovakia on main roads and not the hairpin bends of the minor A roads through the Carpathian Mountains. Our route was longer, but much quicker. We passed Kosice and discovered we were less than 50 miles from the border with Ukraine. We raced through the snow covered countryside in the Carpathian Mountains, with me now facing forward, & very soon we were in Poland.

    A second comfort stop was made at a supermarket & we marvelled at how cheap everything was. We bought snacks that caused a mess in the back of the bus & then continued on to the Swing Hotel in Krakow arriving at 3.45pm. We were at least 15 miles ahead of the other Magic Bus.

    I checked in and relaxed in my room. Messages on the WhatsApp group suggested a pre-gig beer bar to meet, but no time was set. Lee and I met at 5.20pm, but then realised the suggested bar was 3 miles away. We decided to walk towards the venue for tonight’s gig & hopefully stop in a bar on the way.

    It turned out that our walk consisted of walking through a shopping outlet, over a bridge, then down the runway of Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport, a disused airport in Kraków, Poland, one of the oldest permanent airfields in Europe,

    The airfield has its beginnings as a military airport established in the borough of Rakowice in 1912,[1] one of the most modern and largest in Poland at the time. It was built for the needs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire along with an army garrison. In 1917, the airfield became one of the stopovers in the first European air mail service linking Vienna with Kyiv and Odessa. The airport was in continuous use to 1963, until the relocation of the Kraków passenger airport 16 km westwards, to the village of Balice.

    We didn’t find a bar, so we waited 12 minutes for tonight’s venue, the Kwadrat Klub to open. Once the venue was open at 6.00pm, we secured an alcove with a table and comfy seats, then imbibed in a few cheap beers. Other Magic Bus occupants arrived and we learnt that the other bus had taken a scenic route over the Carpathian Mountains and had had a nice lunch at a historic lodge with views.

    The support Polski Zespot were not great. They started sounding like an 80’s electronic band, but did improve to sound more Goth

    The NMA gig commenced and it became clear that Justin Sullivan was still suffering with his loss of voice. I went down to the edge of the mosh pit. I think the beers helped! During the performance, I acted as a guard for Jack’s 1st foray onto Red’s shoulders, then I held his right leg steady for ‘Green and Grey’ & ‘High’ in the encore. (Note to self- avoid Green and Grey - the song is too long. My arms were aching). The encore consisted of ‘No Rest’, ‘High’ & ‘I Love The World’.

    After the show, we again had the obligatory photo, then discussions took place as to where to go to next. It was decided to have another beer at the venue. Jack introduced me to Rob, one of the ex-traffic cops he had mentioned, who it transpired left the police in the 90s on medical grounds. He now lives in Holland after meeting at a NMA gig and marrying a Dutch girl.

    We were nattering away & l saw the NMA bassist, Ceri Monger, appear and start chatting to people in our group. He was laughing and joking whilst selfies were being taken. I couldn’t break away from my conversation without appearing rude. Michael Dean, the drummer, then appeared followed by Dean White, the other guitarist. They were chatting, posing for photos and signing autographs, particularly on records and cd’s that people seemed to magic out of thin air.

    I was then chatting with Jack, when unexpectedly (and quite unusually) Justin Sullivan came out from backstage with his vape and started interacting with those of us still in the bar. Jack and I watched on whilst people gathered around him, including Lee, who got a selfie with him. Lee then came over to us & loudly said “I should have told him that he damaged my phone”. Probably in earshot of Justin.

    Lee had told us in the Magic Bus about an embarrassing incident he had had at a Justin Sullivan gig about 9 years ago in Gillingham at a small venue. After a few beers, he tried to take a photo of Justin Sullivan mid performance. He was struggling with the zoom on his phone and to take a close up photo he misjudgedly shoved his phone in front of Justin’s nose. With the end of his guitar, Justin thwacked the phone out of his hand and the phone went spinning across the stage. For a split second he thought about getting on stage to retrieve it, but sense kicked in and he went to the back and waited for the show to end before an embarrassed Lee asked for his now damaged phone back.

    Lee was recounting the story again to Jack, who was trying to tell him to stop digging a hole for himself. It transpired that Jack had been at the same gig and remembered the incident well, as did a 4th person who had joined us. Apparently everyone else in the crowd thought that dickhead deserved it!!!!

    Talking of photos, I tried to surreptitiously take some photos of Justin on my phone, but I got caught out when some Poles now with him asked me to take their photos with him on their phones. I suddenly became their official photographer. I could and probably should have asked for a selfie myself, but instead I just shook Justin’s hand. (I’m too old to appear like an excitable groupie!)

    Scottish Louise, who is in the other Magic Bus, I am led to believe is also a good friend of the band members. She was still talking to Dean White in the venue foyer when we left.

    Jack, JP, Lee and myself got a taxi back to the hotel.

    Song of the Day - Magic Bus by The Who.

    NMA Song of the Day - Before I Get Old by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    Giorno 9

    Day 9 - Spa Day in Budapest

    7 marzo, Ungheria ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    It was a leisurely start to the day following a shower & breakfast, we departed the hotel at 10.00 hours. We all sat in the same seats on the magic bus and we arrived at our B&B Hotel in Budapest just over 3 hours later. During the journey the inevitable question came up about what the 6 of us in the back did for a living. 4 of us were in IT, Lee is a jeweller and watchrepairer & it eventually came to me. When I revealed I was a retired copper, actually detective, I got a very positive response.

    After lots of faffing around, six of us decided to the go to the a spa in Budapest, something which Budapest is famous for. Our group consisted of Jack, the Americans Lex and Ramon, Priscilla and a German lady, Ulrike from the other bus. It was 30 minutes ride on a tram and the metro to Széchenyi Bath, which to use we had to download an app. Jack and Lex managed to download the app and log in, whilst the rest of us failed, so lex offered to pay for our tickets on his app. Ideal.

    We travelled on the tram alongside the River Danube, then alighted and walked a short distance before entering the world’s 2nd earliest underground railway. It is 2nd only to London, but is the 1st electrified underground railway system. We got off the train at our stop & were stopped by the guards and asked for proof of payment. Lex got out his app, but it was established that he hadn’t activated his app at the beginning of the journey. We were each fined €30. Great start.

    The Széchenyi Medicinal Bath in Budapest is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Its water is supplied by two thermal springs, their temperature is 74 °C and 77 °C, respectively. Built between 1909 and 1913, the exceptionally beautiful Szechenyi Thermal Spa is the most famous spa in Budapest. The hot spring water is rich in calcium, magnesium, hydrogen carbonate, sodium and sulfate, fluoride and metaboric acid. It is mainly used for medical treatments of inflammatory diseases and joint complaints. Over the years, the charming thermal bath was constantly renewed and expanded. Today there are 15 indoor swimming pools in the interior of the Szechenyi Bath, and in the beautiful outdoor area you will find another 3 large pools.

    We paid our entrance fee of €28, then an additional €11 for a pair of flip flops that were mandatory. I can’t even walk in flip flops!!! We got changed into our swimmers and spent the next couple of hours wallowing in the hot thermal outdoor pool, the numerous different saunas, hot pools of varying temperatures and the freezing plunge pools. Although busy with both locals and tourists, it was a very pleasant experience. Gone 5.30pm, when we headed back to the hotel.

    On the journey back, Jack and I were chatting and he revealed that he was a contractor for a company and he may be losing his current job later this year. He also asked me what I did & after, he went on to reveal that amongst the usual NMA crowd were 2 Police traffic officers & a girl who is a Derbyshire 999 operator regularly seen on the TV programme ‘Police Interceptors’.

    We were planning to go back out to eat, but time was pushing on. We eventually decided to eat in the hotel. I had the Hungarian pork stew and a pint of beer.

    It was raining when we left the hotel for the 15- 20 minute walk to the A38 venue which is actually on a boat on the River Danube. A lady called Alex from Vienna offered to shelter me under her umbrella during the walk. It turned out talking to her, that Alex was on the guest list, because she was friends with some of the members of the band. It transpired that one of her best friends used to go out with Nelson who was a guitarist with NMA for 22 years, leaving in 2012 for personal reasons (too much touring). Apparently that’s why most of the band have left over the years. It was an interesting chat & great insight into the workings of the band.

    The support band, Aznincs, were not my cup of tea and so I sat down with the others in the bar area.

    NMA came on at the scheduled time and it was clear that Justin’s voice was failing him a little bit which he acknowledged, however during the performance his voice returned. According to my source in the know, the drummer, Michael Dean, is suffering with a shoulder problem & is having to take lots of painkillers before each gig. Fingers crossed for the rest of the tour.

    I stayed a couple of rows back with Lee, who has mild MS. I’m glad I did, because it was a particularly lively one in the mosh pit. Jack did his usual thing - not with any help from me. The encore was No Rest, High & Get Me Out. Another great performance.

    After the obligatory photo, we hurried back to the hotel and bed in anticipation of an early start tomorrow.

    Song of the Day - The Voice by Ultravox

    NMA Song of the Day - Rivers by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    2
    Giorno 8

    Day 8 - I Walk in the Cold Air

    6 marzo, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    After a stress free night’s sleep, I woke up at 7.00am. I went down to breakfast and found Jack Cheung, who introduced me to the others on the Magic Bus. They seemed a nice friendly bunch, but remembering everyone’s name will take time.

    At 9.00am, we went down to the 2 Ford Transit mini-buses. In my van, Red and Paul Rizos were the designated drivers and sat in the front, then 6 of us sat in the back, 5 hefty blokes, myself with Lee, JP, Lex and Ramon and 1 poor Maltese lady, Priscilla. We sat in 2 rows of 3 seats facing each other whilst jostling for leg room, with a needless to say decent playlist on the stereo. It was a 2 hour drive into Austria, where we stopped for a comfort break at the border. A group photo was taken in front of the border lap dancing club.

    30 minutes later we stopped again at a motorway service station. Everyone ordered lunch, so I felt obliged to order something - Bratwurst & chips. I couldn’t eat all of the chips. In future I will have soup.

    We arrived outside our Hotel Boltzmann at just after 3.00pm, but it was 3.30pm before I had finally checked in and got to my room. We were due to meet from 5.00pm onwards at the Beaver Brewing Company, just a 7 minute walk from the hotel.

    I immediately headed out for a 1.4 walk into the centre of Vienna for a spot of sightseeing in the cold afternoon air. I found the impressive Votive Church & had a look inside because it was free. I headed towards Hofburg Imperial Palace, but somehow ended up walking away from it. Conscious not to turn up too late, I headed back to the hotel having walked just over 3 miles.

    It was just after 5.30pm, when after freshening up, I arrived at the Beaver Brewing Company. Lee and I shared a couple of pitchers of Witty Bastard beer, whilst a whole large group of NMA fans assembled, most were known to each other. I am slowly getting to know them - a friendly bunch. Around 8pm we all headed the short distance to WUK, tonight’s venue. After watching the end of the support band, Tauren Rosen, who were ok, I headed into the centre of the crowd where most of our Magic Bus were gathering.

    At 21.20pm, New Model Army took to the stage & I was in the middle of the mosh pit, now suddenly surrounded by bare chested men frantically dancing and pushing and shoving. I joined in but soon was boiling in my t-shirt and hoodie. I remained in the fringes the whole evening getting my toes trampled by wooden soled clog boots.

    I was also asked to assist Jack to get up on Red’s shoulders and I held his right leg throughout the performance of ‘If I Am Still Me’. Security staff tried to get Jack to get him down, but others wouldn’t let them near him (us). At the end of the song Jack got down and gave each of us a thank you hug!

    Being the nice chap Jack is, he went off to find the security staff and apparently negotiated that he could get back on shoulders for the encore. The encore consisted of
    ‘1984’, ‘High’, which Jack went up for, and ‘Get Me Out’.

    After the ‘family’ photo in front of the stage at the end, Paul, Lee and I headed back to the hotel, stopping for a huge Bratwurst in a hotdog roll for less than €5.

    Song of the Day - Vienna by Ultravox.

    NMA Song of the Day - Family by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNew Model Army European Tour
    2
    Giorno 7

    Day 7 - Josef Buffler, my saviour…………….

    5 marzo, Germania ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    ………the world’s most expensive parking attendant!!!

    As predicted, I struggled to get any sleep. I was still watching Top Boy, when the Italian got up to go to the loo at 2.20am. My alarm went off at 6.30am & after showering, I went to breakfast at 6.55. To my horror the 50 odd school kids were already in there, but they had doggy bags & left almost straight away for the United Nations.

    My breakfast consisted of just 2 slices of toast, 3 coffees & yoghurt & granola, but I got the proportions wrong & it had the texture of concrete. I then packed in the dark whilst my dorm companions slept and left the hostel.

    I set my SatNav at 7.57am to get to the Holiday Inn Express, Munich City West by the fastest route, but avoiding tolls. My SatNav showed that it would take 6 hours 39 minutes, a distance of 273 miles. I was due to arrive at the hotel at 2.42pm if I didn’t stop. I wanted to get to Munich in plenty of time to make the rendezvous, be totally sorted out for the next stage of the trip & not the one perceived to be unreliable.

    The weather was best described as miserable, drizzly with stormclouds on the horizon. The roads north out of Bern were uninspiring A roads following the Aare River. At 10.30am, I arrived at Koblenz, where I crossed the Rhine River into Germany. I decided that I would stop at the 1st hopefully now reasonably priced McDonalds I saw after 11.00am. Needless to say they went into hiding. I saw one about an hour later, but incredibly there were roadworks preventing me from getting to it.

    I continued onwards towards Munich, passing Lake Constance on my right. This was on a road that Jackie and I had driven the other way on our way back from Croatia a couple of years ago. It was notable for all the vineyards along this stretch of the route. Eventually I pulled into Friedrichshafen, still on Lake Constance & hunted down a McDonalds. It turned out to be a tiny one in the railway station.

    I returned to my bike & opened up the throttle to arrive at my hotel at now just after 3pm. I was speeding east along the A96 dual carriageway, when my heated handlebar grips kept turning themselves off. Next all the lights turned themselves off & I managed to turn on the a slip road, just before my bike whirred to a standstill. I turned the ignition off then tried to-restart by bike, but nothing was happening. I got off the bike & the bike toppled over , knocking me down and prone in the middle of the road with the bike on top of me. Out of sheer absolute embarrassment, I managed to out & heaved it back upright. I then pushed it up a slope to the junction at the top where it was less of a hazard to other traffic. I was in the middle of absolutely nowhere & didn’t know how to describe where I was. All I knew was that I was beside the A96 & just over 100 miles away from Munich.

    After several unsuccessful attempts to start it, I rang Jackie and gave her the good news. Jackie very helpfully provided me with some suggestions as to who to call & she did some research for me. The upshot was that I was not covered with a breakdown service outside of the UK. I rang my bike mechanic in the UK, who got me to try various things which didn’t work, but he couldn’t help without seeing the bike. I then rang the emergency number for motorway breakdowns (not dual carriageways) and they said would get the police out to me who would arrange a recovery truck.

    Several motorists stopped & one recommended I rang a local garage who might be able to help. I rang the garage, Moto Punto, and spoke to the owner who spoke only a little English. I tried to explain where I was, but he couldn’t understand & said that I was too far away. I later rang him back & asked him if I managed to get my bike to him, would he be able to look at it. He said he would. After several more phone calls of almost pleading with the garage owner, he agreed to come out when I finally was able to give him a better idea of where I was.

    Whilst waiting for him, now 3.55pm, the police showed up. They didn’t speak English, but recorded details of my bike, driving licence & passport. Whilst they were interrogating me, my saviour in his beaten up old van arrived. He was an old man with a gammy leg from a motorcycle accident 20 years ago. We managed to get the bike in the back of his van & we drove to his garage 8.5 miles away.

    Back at his garage his mechanic got to work. He connected a large battery pack & the bike fired into action. My relief was short lived when he diagnosed that the ‘reactor’ (or something) was not working. Apparently there are two parts of the bike that keep the battery charged when the engine is running.

    After looking it up, they announced that they couldn’t get the parts until the morning, but they would take me to a hotel for the night. I enquired if I could get a train to Munich. I could & could I leave the bike with them for 10 days & pick it up then. The bottom line is that I loaded up my motorbike gear in the panniers and the owner, Josef Buffler, ran me to the train station to continue my tour. He told me to ring him when I was coming back & he would pick me up.

    My train ticket cost just €26 & arrived in Munich main station at 19.42pm. It was a 2.1 mile walk to my hotel. I could have got another train but I chose to route march to the Holiday Inn Express, Munich City West. I arrived at 8.30pm. It was a 4 minute walk back to the venue, Backstage, so I treated myself to a shower and fresh clothes.

    I arrived at the gig at 9.00pm & it was heaving with people. It was the biggest venue so far. I decided there was no way I would or could find the others from the Magic Bus Tour, so I WhatsApp’d Jack Cheung, the tour organiser and driver to let him know that I had arrived and would catch up with everyone in the morning.

    Another excellent concert seen from a totally different perspective. During the song, ‘If I Am Still Me’ Jack rose up out of the crowd near the front and was stood on the shoulders of others for his usual dance. He did the same for ‘Green and Grey’ and ‘High. The encores were ‘Bittersweet’ their 1st single and was dedicated to the original manager, Nigel Morton aged just 70 & ‘High’ & ‘Get Me Out’.

    At the end I rushed back to the hotel & my bed. The following morning I discovered that I missed a 2nd encore of ‘No Rest’ and ‘Poison Street’.

    I am just very relieved that my tour is still on course. The mechanical failure could not have been foreseen & hopefully won’t cost me a fortune. I rightly or wrongly trust Josef. Either way things could have been a lot worse.

    Song of the Day - Breakdown by The Buzzcocks.

    NMA Song of the Day - Stormclouds by New Model Army.    Leggi altro

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