By this Author: Jarmitage

We are at The Highlander in Maastricht, about a 30 minute drive from the campsite. The band have their last gig of the tour here at 11pm. We arrived here at 4:30 for a soundcheck. Managing to sort out any potential issues within the first five minutes, the band proceeded to play a collection of colourful tunes and Beatles songs. The soundcheck quickly turned in to a casual jam. After the jamcheck, Callum and I had a wonder round the local surroundings. Nothing to report really. It's pretty sleepy round here. I wonder how that will impact on the gig. Although, we did stumble upon a rather marvellous shop called Sirius, about three minutes from the main square. A quaint little shop filled with an array of mystical narcotics and herbs. Highs, chills, aphrodisiacs, meditative potions; they had the lot! I didn't know what to do with myself. I ended up purchasing a herbal mixture under the name 'happy'...Well I'm sold on the name alone to be honest! The mixture contains white lettuce and catmint; both herbs that create a calm, relaxed effect. Apparently, cats also love it! Matilda will be thrilled! 

We completely lost time when we were at Sirius, chatting to Henry, the shop owner. What a lovely guy! We chatted about life, laughs, music and the likes. He was so friendly and had such a calm, inviting persona. If we had more time we would have definitely stayed longer to chat to him.

The meal we were served by the bar staff earlier was lovely! Sizzling hot roast chicken, potato salad, green beans in a garlic dressing and a tasty baguette. Tasty, and healthy! And free, my favourite price! The band are due on any time now but nothing has happened as of yet. Hopefully it won't be the same as last night. I'm sure it won't be. It's the last gig, so that alone makes it special. Cheers to our last night!

It's our last full day today, before we set off on the long journey home back to the UK tomorrow. It's pretty sad when I think about it. There's been a few stresses a long the way but generally it has been really fun. Definitely a learning experience. I've not really done anything like this at all. A few years ago I was a charity fundraiser on a roaming contract around the UK. That's the closest thing I can think that compares to this. but already this wins because I was no where near ad happy in myself as I am now. Still got a journey to go on; but the important thing is that I *am* on it. I think for a long time, the boat has been docked in the harbour waiting to go but I've been stuck at the load in gates unable to get past. at least now I feel the boat has left the harbour, all be it experiencing a few difficult wave brakes on the way.

The gig lastnight was...ok. It was not bad, nor ecstatic. It was a shame that the organisation was so out of whack. The guys were due to be on at 11; as in, on the stage playing their first song. It turned out that by that time, the first band hadn't even started. And their sound quality was sub par, so that was a sure sign that the bands sound quality wasn't going to be great. The band finally ended up playing at 12:10am. As it was so late, Alex decided to cut the set list short by three songs. The actual gig itself, again, wasn't bad but it wasn't fantastic. I think leaving four days in between gigs impacted on the quality of the music, meaning the band weren't as in sync ad they usually were. As usual though, I thought Callum was fantastic. I really try to see him from a critical view when I see him play but it's so difficult! He'll always be great to me! I'm trying though. 

After the gig, Alex, Emily, Tom, Callum and myself went back to the campsite after dropping Leo and Harrison off at Arjan's. I was so tired but as it was our last late night, I soldered on for a bit. We collected all the warm things we could find from the tent and gathered in 'the shed' for a late night game of cheat. The shed has become a familiar chilling place over the last few days. Its exactly what it says on the tin; a comfortably sized shed. Equip with a table and some chairs, perfect for playing many a card game. I will miss that shed. After a couple of games, we decided to venture outside the gate for a look around. I say we decided; it was mainly the guys. Emily and I were quite comfortable! Giving in to their idea, we ventured outside the gate, but we made it clear we were going no further. Callum sides with us. His loyalties were string. Alex and Tom carried on ahead, but soon stopped as they realises we weren't moving. The next ten minutes was spent in a stand off between us all, resulting in each group taking three steps forward, reaching a compromise. Ah the utterly pointless banter on tour. Love it! 

After an evening of reminiscing, laughing, sharing and reflecting, we decided to retire to bed. Last day tomorrow, it would be nice to be as refreshed as possible for it. Although in reality in not sure how likely this is; I had enjoyed a fair few drinks over the evening. Damn free drinks tokens!

We are sitting at The Meds restaurant  in Sittart, about a 30 minute drive from where we are staying in Elsloo. I'm writing this blog from a very tired, hungry, headachy position. There has been A LOT of walking around today! After finding out last minute that the band had a sound check, we rushed to the venue and decided to just stay in the area for the day rather than driving back and forth. So today Callum and I have mostly been walking around stocking up on the things that we needed. Which was quite a lot it turns out! Good job there are some nice shops here. It's amazing what two people can build up on their 'needs' list. So glad to have got through it all. We had loads to get through and we neglected eating in the process. In hind sight; not the best plan. Good old hind sight. We are about to have so much food though! Although it will be Mexican, so I'm slightly worried about the spice level. Though I'm do hungry, the spice will suffice! 

The Meds looks like an up town sort of joint. It will be interesting to see what the gig is like later. I've got the feeling it could either be really really fantastic, or a massive flop. Let's hope it's not the latter! I'm quietly confident that it's going to be great. I can feel it in the air!

Today has been bitter sweet comedy so far. I was enjoying a sleepy wake up in a sleepy campsite next to a sleepy Callum when I glanced in to the top corner of the tent and saw a sleepy spider... Well I'm awake now! And Callum is not long behind me when I tell him the news. Well...this is a dilemma. Two people in a tent with a spider, both petrified of spiders. Only the strongest survive! Callum seemed to be dealing with it quite well, and I almost thought he was going to get rid of it, but it was not going to happen. His air of confidence rapidly dissipated when Mr eight legged lingerer decided to have a wake up stretch. Callum was not going to be sorting this one out. Edging back slowly to thr opposite corner, he firmly shook his head; "I don't like it anymore".  I was going to have to step up. Fuck. I said lastnight I'd take a bullet for him. I didn't think that theory would be put to the test do soon. In spider form, brilliant. I hate spiders! Right, this needs to be carried out with military precision. one false move would kill us all. Ok, I'm being a tad over dramatic, but it still wouldn't be great. Far from it. I need to get some sort of cup-like receptacle and a card-like surface to push it in to the cup. A cup and a piece of card would be preferable. Cup outside the tent and a piece of card in my bag; jobs a goodun! Right, time for action. Peach liqueur for Dutch courage. In the Netherlands. How apt. Right Mr spider, you are an unwelcome intruder in our tent. Your presence is not wanted here. It was a showdown; me versus the spider. And I was not going to take any shit. I slammed the cup over the stirring creature and swiftly slid the card over the top. Got you! A swift run out of the tent and s brisk shake of the cup ensures the exit of the spider from this story. Nice.

Being fully awake after the spider episode, I went for a morning shower. And it was hot, the whole way through! Fantastic! Clean, and warm. Two of my top things to be. I was ready to relax in to the morning with the remains of the food I bought yesterday for a spot of breakfast, however, this was not to be how the morning played out today. Alex had received news that the band have a sound check at 2pm for their gig tonight. Right...pile in! Everybody in the van, quick sharp! Next stop, Arjan's house to collect Harrison and Leo. 

We are currently at De Dikke Stien pub in Elsloo. The band have a gig here at 9pm, although they were told to arrive at 4pm for soundcheck. So I'm guessing this will be our area of being for the next few hours. That's cool, there are worst places to sit and be. The place reminds me of a school disco hall, minus the bar in the corner. My school days were awful, and a school disco was at the height of my anxieties, so I'm hoping it will be quite different. I think it's achieved that already to be honest; at school discos I wasn't sat out in the sun writing a blog while my incredibly beautiful boyfriend was inside doing a sound check for a gig. So I think we'll be ok on that front. The weather is weird today. It's set to rain all day but it seems to be random bursts of intense showers followed by sunshine and blue skies. I think the dress weather is definitely over on this tour. It was good whilst it lasted.