Dublin, Ireland

I awoke this morning with only a few hours of sleep behind me, threw on some clothes and tumbled out into another glorious, sun-drenched, Edinburgh morning. Stopped in the first cafe and had a soup-bowl sized cup of coffee then found a great record store called Fopp. Never felt better with three hours sleep. We are moving along this afternoon and everybody wishes we had a few extra days in this great city.

A short hop on the Legacy to Dublin where us Yanks were treated to a real Irish airport adventure as we had to clear passport inspection. A special car and driver picked us up on the tarmac and drove for what seemed like miles around and through runways to a special back entrance of the incoming passengers building. We were then escorted through another mile or two of winding corridors arriving at last at the window where our passports were stamped. Out the front door we went, by then the rest of the guys were already at the gig.

We're not playing our usual venue, The Point, as it is being renovated. As we drove by it, we saw they've retained the outer stone walls of the place, using it as a shell, and are building upward. I suppose it will be an arena when completed. Tonight's show was at the RDS, an exhibition centre of several complexes. We were in the main hall which was nothing more than a long, large, flat area that was enclosed. No seating. It says the capacity is 4,500 but it looked like many more folks were crammed in than that. Regardless of the count, the audience was nothing less than what we've come to expect in Dublin....fantastic. A great up-beat show. Our road manager, St. Peter McKay arranged freshly pulled, pints of Guinness for us all when we came off stage for our first encore and another round when we came off at the end of the show. St. Pete is my shepherd, I shall not want.

We're staying in Dublin tonight so it was a quick runner to the hotel, juggling our pints, and a full band showing down in the bar where the Guinness continued to flow freely 'til the wee hours of another morning.

So long,

Richard