Thursday 30 July 2009

Wednesday 29th July 09

A hearty but not brilliantly healthy breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, fried mushrooms, fried potatoes, fried hash browns, baked beans. Coffee, fruit juice. Left at about 9.30 and cycled along the not-very-nice A607 to Grantham. The first few miles seemed slow, gently up onto a sort of plateau, but then it was level with a following wind, and towards Grantham, some wonderful hills, one of which I sped down at at least 30mph, and saw a recent car accident at the bottom... a chap who'd driven his van into a hedge/tree and was walking away from it, phoning someone on a mobile. Then I passed a notice saying how many people had been killed on this stretch of road. I didn't enjoy this cycle ride that much and was glad to soon be in Grantham. I bought a ticket, a single up to York, for just over £30 and waited for the 10.46 to Doncaster. But there'd been a fatality on the line at Stevenage and the train didn't come in til after midday.

I got lunch in Doncaster, a pastie and a sandwich, and then the 1.15 to York, and was home by 2pm. I saw the results of another car smash on the way up the Hull Road... I felt quite lucky to have got home in one piece!

Gill was delighted to see me. But she'd had a phone call from the chap who booked me for Sunday's Sewerby Gala gig in Bridlington. They were seemingly expecting me to do big shows with huge audiences, and I on this occasion did smaller one-to-one and small-group workshops as this seemed more appropriate for the type of event and the space I'd been given. So this is the second complaint about my work I've ever had in 16 years of working! I also made a negative comment about the American Car Rally which was going on next to the Gala to the wife of one of the organisers who'd offered to take me into Bridlington afterwards, and that didn't go down well. So the organisers were not willing to pay me the full fee agreed, and were offering a lower fee, not much less, so I accepted as I want an easy life and don't generally like causing trouble. But I am disappointed that the organisers said nothing during the event, as if they had, I could have done something different, got a different spot in which to perform, with no-one behind me (my original request) and a better 'stage' area. But I won't get another booking there, but I'm happy with that as it was difficult to get to and had lots of additional expenses.

Gill made a super tea, a stew with ciabata bread, and we had a cozy evening.

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