Goodnight, Sweet Jura...

What a way to spend a Sunday! 

The day was glorious, our trip kicking off with the most spectacular boat ride out to the Inner Hebridean island of Jura, off the west coast of Scotland.  A private charter of the Jura Passenger Ferry whisked us at breakneck speed across the Sound of Jura into Craighouse (I'll post the pictures of the boat ride soon - extraordinary!).  I've taken some really nice boat rides in my time, but this was one of the most picturesque, and we all felt a bit like rockstars, on our very own James Bond speedboat... 

A round of venison burgers later (the only kind of burger available in Craighouse), we were soundchecked and then hit the stage at 8.15pm.  It was absolutely freezing, so much so that I ended up playing most of the set in my anorak and Ugg boots.  We were all jealous of Bill who was sat next to a lamp, the only heat-source in the marquee by the looks of things.  It was sad to be missing Katy - she will have landed in French Guyana (is that how you spell it?) by now. This is our first away gig without Dogfish and it was strange, but Andy and I both agreed that we can still hear her little voice when we're singing our harmonies.

Despite the cold, it was a great night and we had an absolute blast both onstage and off.  The audience were fantastic, bopping along beneath blankets and beanie hats, and were so, so lovely to us all.

We rounded off the night with a loooong session in the bar of the Jura Hotel after the show.  Andy temporarily forgot how to play guitar, thanks to the (how many?!) G&Ts.  We sang the first two thirds of all the songs we knew, spookily forgetting the end of almost every one of them!  The highlight for me was a particularly moving (!) version of Extreme's More Than Words at around 1am, harmonies and all.  Until we forgot the words of that one too...  A lot of fun was had by all, and the locals were nice enough not to lynch us for noise pollution!

One rather more bumpy, and at times precarious, ferry ride back and we are back on dry land - tired but envigorated by the sea air, island hospitality and just a cracking good time.  Huge thanks to everyone who came out to see us, especially to Craig for inviting us to the festival in the first place and Giles for great sound against the odds.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Hull - early start, but a great gig lined up at the Tap and Spile, on Spring Bank.  The music starts at 9.15pm, so if you're in the area please come down and say hi.  I'll be on my jack jones, so it would be nice to see some friendly faces!

Have a great week - more soon.

A  x