Box News #190 November 27th, 2013

Mick talks about, the Big Box in Kempton, stiff necks with ‘Quo,’ the lost phone, the lost credit cards, hands in cement, a good slice of English Rock cake, Sheila returns from her Africa Kids trip, Ocado online shopping, a turn in the weather, and German Xmas markets. He also discusses, Groundhog Day, boring days off, Phil and Mick writing in the hotel room, and the rain forest internet connection. He also talks about, the Quo song ‘Caroline,’ the journey home, and watching Romeo play football.

The show in Kempton at the ‘Big Box’ venue, was absolutely fantastic. From the first note they were with us, and the applause after each song was deafening. They had really come to rock, and it turned out to be our best show thus far.

I guess it had to be, with the venue being called ‘Big Box’ and the hotel being called the ‘Big Box hotel.’ There were ‘Box’ signs everywhere and there was even a ‘Box’ on stage!

We stayed and boogied on down with the ‘Quo,’ after our show, and they really do have a slick, professional show, that everyone in the audience the next morning will have a stiff neck from head-banging all night. They have some great sing along songs, and it is all delivered with a great feel.
A few of us stayed in the hotel bar after, which was mobbed with fans from the show, who were staying there, but I opted for an early night, as I had my captain sensible hat on.

The next morning at breakfast we were inundated with requests for autographs and photographs which was good, but not good for the digestion.

We all jumped in the van to leave, when Vic said did we all sign the hotel guest book, which we hadn’t, so we all trooped back in to sign the book and leave a photograph. Then we remembered we said that we would leave a signed picture with the Italian restaurant down the road, where we had dinner the night before, so we diverted there and left them a signed picture. They came running out to ask us if we wanted a coffee or a drink, and were delighted that we had remembered. As we had a 394km (4hour) journey to Hof, we declined, but it was very nice of them.

About 24 km out of Kempton I realised I did not have my phone with me, and panic set in. I ripped the van apart, to no avail, and Russell phoned my phone, but inside the van there was silence. This was not looking too good. Bernie phoned the hotel, and asked at reception if they had seen it, but the answer was a resounding no! Now I have a new Nokia Lumina phone, and the colour is bright yellow, so it should be easy to spot. Well Vic did a quick about turn, and we went back to the hotel to check. I walked into the reception area and the lady at the desk was busy with people checking out, so I did a quick shifty around the side of reception, and there was my phone, behind the counter. That was a huge sigh of relief I can tell you, and then the penny dropped. The same lady at reception that Bernie phoned, said she had not seen a yellow phone, and there it was. Couple that with Russ ringing it, and that got me thinking that maybe she was hopeful the phone would be a nice Xmas present for someone.

I must of left it there when we went back to sign the hotel guest book, as I signed first, and while the other guys signed, a few couples wanted pictures taken with me,so that was enough to divert me, and I left my phone on the counter.

A couple of things have been out of synch this week in the ‘Heep’ camp, as Russell thought he had left his credit card in the machine at a McDonalds, when we stopped on one of our journey’s, and he was so convinced that he had, he cancelled it back in England. The next day he found it wrapped up in the receipt. Doh!

Bernie lost his credit card too in the van, and eventually found it down the back of the seat. With the two credit cards back with their owners, and my phone found, we were all back in synch, which was a good feeling all round.

We arrived at the hotel in Hof, and because of diverting to find my phone, we had about 1 hour before we were being picked up in a Limousine to go to the Hof Museum. We went to have our hands put in cement, which would become a part of a permanent exhibition in the Fernwehpark in Hof. We were in good company, with stars like Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even Status Quo. http://www.fernweh-park.deIt was a bit of fun, and we would get a fair amount of publicity out of it, so it is all win, win with these things.

We went straight from there to the venue, which was the Freiheitshalle. Oh yes and the thought for the day from our Scampi in the itinerary was, ‘What if the Hokey-Cokey really is what it is all about.’

Well we thought last night’s audience were good, but in Hof they were well up for it, and we had a magnificent show. From the opening chord of ‘Overload,’ you could feel the electricity in the air, and they were seriously with us. Boy on ‘Lady in Black’ they were deafening, andeven in the balconies where they were seated, they were on their feet. It really was amazing, and we had a great time.

After a quick change in our dressing room, it was down to see the ‘Quo,’ boys do their stuff, and they are unbeatable with hit after hit, and they played brilliantly. So the audience really did get a good rocking slice of English Classic rock cake that night.

Well some of us were still in a party mood, so the hotel bar was the obvious place to go. Well that is what I did, and the little voice that you should hear in your head telling youthat you have had too much drink already, well my little voice had gone on holiday to Barbados, obviously! Doh!
The next day was a day off, well a travel day really. We had to drive 508km’s, and Vic did a sterling job in getting us there in super quick time. I received a text from Sheila who was on her way back to Accra to catch a plane back to London after her Africa kids’ trip. I was happy to know she was okay, and I am sure Romeo, Iggy & Biscuit will be delighted to see her back home. They will have to wait, as she will be going straight to work from the airport after landing at 5.30am. That is so typical of her, but I bet she will love to be home eventually.

As Sheila was not home, I had to do some online food shopping, to be delivered on Monday morning, so there will be enough food and drink in the house for the coming week. Now this is really where technology works well, because I shopped on the Ocado Online shopping from Germany, and it was all taken care of in no time at all.

In the evening we all went to a Steak House down the road from the hotel, and it did the job, and was great. I opted for an early night, and so did Bernie, as we both needed to re-charge our batteries. I had a good phone call with Romeo, who was pleased he scored a try for his school rugby team that weekend, and he was looking forward to seeing his Mother the next day.

The thought for the day in our little book of tour information was, ‘Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.’
In the morning after breakfast we went for a long walk and some shopping. We came back unusually empty handed. Then we went down to the venue for lunch which was the Stadthalle Rostock.

I have to say that the ‘Quo’ boys have treated us very well on this tour, and the only other band I can recall being this good, would be the American tour we did with ‘DefLeppard.’ They certainly have excellent catering, and all of the crew are just great.

The itinerary thought of the day from our Scampi was, ‘The difference between roast beef and pea soup, is that anyone can roast beef,’
We have noticed a turn in the weather, and it is so much colder now. Time to get out the winter jackets, and it does get depressingly dark too early for my liking. Also walking around Rostock, we could see all of the preparations for the Xmas Market that will be in full swing on December the first. They do know how to celebrate Xmas, and we love to walk around these markets when they are in full swing.

The afternoon was a quiet one, and it gave me a chance to catch up on my correspondence, emails, and a bit of Facebook, plus I had a lovely chat with Sheila at her work. She did sound pleased to be home after her trip with Africa Kids.

Well the show in Rostock was another really good one, and although it was a predominantly ‘Quo’ audience, they really gave us a good reception. We had to work hard for it, but when it came, it was warm and wonderful. In some ways it is more rewarding that way, but in the end they were on our side.
We stayed for a few numbers, and the ‘Quo,’ boys looked like they were straight in the swing of it, so they were in for a good night. I must say they are very consistent, and that is sign of a good band.

Tuesday the 19th we drove the 382km (4 hours) to Leipzig, and the thought for the day in the itinerary was, ‘Isn’t Disney World just a people trap operated by a mouse?’

The venue was the HausAuensee, and we had a great gig! We had hit that ‘Groundhog Day,’ part of the tour, but the gigs were getting better and better. Both bands had hit their stride, and were very consistent, so the word out was that this was a hot ticket. The Promoters were very happy with the ticket sales, which is always a good sign.

Backstage was always a relaxed fun place to be, and there was always lots of banter flying around, which was cool. The bands, tour managers, crews, catering, and truckers all got on well with each other, and you cannot ask for more than that. It was a good tour to be on!

The next two days were days off and we were in holed up in a place called PortaWestfalica, which was 1hr 30mins from where we were playing in Bielefeld. Now in the itinerary it said that PortaWestfalica was a much nicer place than Bielefeld, with a nearby town centre, Spa Gardens, the Teutoburg Forest Nature Reserve, Cycling, Fishing and Golf. Well for the first time the itinerary was called the ‘Book of Lies.’ It was a one horse town just off the motorway. It could not have been more boring! They did have a Spa in the hotel, but I fear a massage would be done by a bearded lady!

In the hotel they had free Wi-Fi, and they gave you a sheet of paper with the username and password on it. The downside to this, is that it kept running out, even though it said 24 hours access.

This resulted in many trips to the front desk by everyone over the two days, and half a rain forest was supplied to keep us all connected to the internet. Utter madness!
It was very difficult to find where to go out and eat, and on the first night we ended up in a German Restaurant, that took 2 hours to serve us. Okay there were 10 of us, but they were empty, so no excuses there. Still the food arrived and was most welcome. I am not sure if it was good, or that we were that hungry that we could have eaten the backside off of a low flying duck at that point.

Over the two days off, it did give Phil and I some time to get a little more writing done, and Davey was the lucky one as his girlfriend Corinne flew over until the end of the tour.
Thought for the day on the 20th was: ‘A good wife always forgives her husband when she’s wrong.’
Thought for the day on the 21st was: ‘When a man opens the car door for his wife, either his wife or the car is new.’

The show in Bielefeld was at the Stadthalle, and this was a fantastic show for us, and the responses were getting stronger and stronger. By the time we hit LIB it was immense, and they did not want to let us go. Truthfully though no matter how well we went down, Rick Parfitt struck up those chords for ‘Caroline,’ followed by Francis Rossi’s guitar part, and the place was jumping. That is what made the bill so strong, that we did not step on each other’s musical toes.

The next day we had a 5 hour journey which amounted to 470km and we headed towards Heilbronn. This was sadly our last show, so there was both smiles and sadness in the air. The smiles part was from our Scampi, as his quip in the itinerary was: ‘Women worry about the things that men forget. Men worry about the things that women remember.’ The sadness was that it was indeed the last show.

We had a fantastic show in the FesthalleHarmonieHeilbron, and it really was a brilliant way to go out. The audience were amazing and the reception we received is still ringing in my ears. We were sitting in our dressing room popping celebratory corks, when in walked the entire Quo band to shake our hand and thank us for a great tour. Now that reeks of class in my book, and of course there was talk of let’s do it again, and I would in a heartbeat.

Our friends Thomas and Petra came to us see us and it is always a pleasure to see them. We managed to have a few glasses of red wine with them, but we could not stay to see the Quo boys show, as we had a 1hr 30min drive back to the hotel, and an early flight in the morning from Frankfurt. The crew were on the overnight tour bus, and Vic set off early in the morning with our van, loaded with our dirty washing and tour purchases.

The last thought of the day was: ‘If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.’

I arrived back at LHR and had a 1 hour drive home. Sheila was with Romeo all morning playing Rugby, but now she was with him at a football match. I could not resist it, so once home I jumped in the car, drove the 45 minutes to the match and caught the second half of the match, which they won 1-0, and Romeo played very well. While I was watching that, I was receiving the news about the 6-0 drubbing of Spurs v Manchester City.

Ah the Ying and Yang of Life!

‘Appy days!
Mick