Andrew Giddings' Diary - May 2005

Hello Dear Friends, long time no write.

These words come to you from the hi-tech capitol of the world, Tokyo, Japan, where the broadband network has a bug that blocks downloads and my global cell phone can’t find a provider! On the plus side however, there are two Starbucks to my certain knowledge and a little more reconnaissance may uncover yet more.

How is everyone? What have I missed since we were last together? If you’re reading this I imagine you must be aware of the forth-coming tour dates, and on that subject I’ve had more than a few emails asking about dates, particularly in the US. It seems that you’ve been doing your homework and found that we’re playing dates that aren’t yet on the website. That’s probably because those dates are in the process of being confirmed. It’s likely though that what you’ve heard is correct and postings will be made on the tour-dates page in due course. So, going back in time a little, you probably read Ian’s posting about Dubai and I’ll just add that it was an interesting visit, even with the bomb scare that drove us all from the rehearsal the day before the show.

A few weeks later we returned to a favorite place of mine, Russia, preceded by Lithuania and Ukraine. Don’t get me wrong, the latter are pleasant enough places to visit, but boys have things that suffer from the cold and I have to report that mine froze off.

We made an interesting journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg by overnight train, and here’s a low resolution photo of my low resolution sleeping quarters…..

No, wait, that’s my Mum. Here’s the photo of my compartment….

Note the ample storage space on the left (the compartment, not my Mum), perfect for Keyboard and ancillary equipment.

A night or two in St. Petersburg were enjoyed before heading home briefly to open the mail, get a few days sunshine in Malta and ultimately my favorite thing of all, laundry…..ugh.

Ian and Co. went off to South America for some orchestral elbow rubbing, and I grabbed some time in the studio in my continuing efforts to record some original instrumental compositions with a view to putting them on a CD and playing them to you. A few days and several crates of the finest German export (Becks Beer) later I emerged unshaven and ghostly white with four tracks completed. Someone asked what genre my collection falls under, and my answer was simple: Contemporary progressive retro electronic orchestral pop doodle rock fusion with an element of elevator ambience. I thought that rolled off the tongue quite nicely.

By now it was time to repack suitcases and head out to Australia, which I did via California. I had a splendid few days with my friends and (you knew this was coming) got an hour or so in the air over beautiful Monterrey Bay in Northern Cal. My friend Pamela and I accompanied by new bud and aircraft owner General John Lotz fired up a Cessna 172S for a fairly rainy buzz around Carmel Valley and the surrounding area. As an Englishman with a European Pilot License I was warned of all kinds of visa requirements and special body-cavity searches in order to fly in the US. Happily none of the above applied and we had a glorious 1.3 even if my passengers didn’t see much through the drizzle.

Pictured; final approach. Work intensive and very satisfying.

Moving forward a few more days and it was time to face the awful reality of a 14 hour flight to Syndey, Australia. I survived it of course, but mainly due to the fact that I left San Francisco in the dark and it stayed dark until we touched down in Sydney. Amazingly and without chemical assistance I managed to sleep for around 10 hours. Quite usual for me under normal circumstances but not always possible in a howling tube in the air.

By the time we landed I didn’t have a clue what time or what day it was, so as always in times of confusion far from home I headed for the nearest Srarbucks.
I was met with all my luggage and equipment by my friend Toni who helped me load it all into the back of her brand new Saab. She’ll think twice about that in future, I’ll bet. Off we went to the Blue Mountains on a staying awake exercise which was successful right up to dinner time.

Up to Brisbane the next day for the first show and back to Sydney the morning after. We had 4 shows in a row in the big city and that meant there was at least some free time in the day, and you guessed it…………

Another jolly, only this time in a Piper PA28 Warrior. You can just make out (past the appalling baldness) the distant but unmistakeable outline of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge, truly magnificent at 1500 ft amsl. Again, no interrogation or Interpol check-ups in order to fly in Oz thanks to Sue, and Andrew Gresswell of Aerospace Aviation.

The Sydney shows were fun and hopefully the audiences there were happy with our set-list variations over the 4 nights. Another plane ride to Adelaide followed a visit to Melbourne, the last 2 shows in Australia. We left it a long time to come back but come back we did, and it was nice to see everyone again. Hopefully we’ll see you again before too long.

That brings us up to about today, Thursday the 12th May 2005 CE.
We have the second of two shows here in Tokyo tonight. Last night’s show went well on a nice stage with nice people backstage and off stage. Tomorrow brings a 13+ hour flight home to our little island off Old Europe where I’m certain we’ll be met by rain and grey skies, although I heard something about spring being in the air.

Our next outing is a fairly local one – the aforementioned Old (Olde) Europe. After all the long-hauls and time changes of this trip it should be a walk in the cake and I for one am looking forward to seeing friends old and new.

So if we’re coming to your town in the next few weeks, do me a favour and have a word about the weather, will you?

Best wishes,
Andrew Tired - But - Tanned.