A great show at Dumbleton

We set off for Northampton just after 3 in the afternoon, collecting Cozy & Bob, fuelling up and then heading cross country via Daventry, Leamington and Evesham.
The venue was in a tiny village off the beaten track and it seemed that the crowd travelled up to 30 miles to get there. They were a really friendly bunch who made us welcome (and a nice cup of tea as well).
We had to play three sets of 45 minutes and Nicki soon had the audience hanging onto every word and every song. The really took to her and applauded when she told them about visiting Iraq to entertain the troops a couple of years ago, following up with a superb rendition of "The White Cliffs of Dover" that had a standing ovation.
We played a couple of songs for the first time, including Bob & Nicki duetting on "I remember you" which was a hit for her sponsor Frank Ifield back in the 60s. Nicki has a single of that song out now, produced by Bob, that features Nicki and Frank, in a lovely performance that spans the decades.
The third set included Nicki's mike failing twice while she was singing "An Australian Trilogy". Luckily the crowd knew the chorus to "Waltzing Matilda" and roared her home.
It was a rousing success and they've booked her again for next year.

All too soon it was over. Nicki was surrounded by well wishers as we dismantled the kit. When that was done I sat in the van while everything was loaded. We managed to get away by about 12.30 and we were home a couple of hours later.
My ear infection and ulcers made it difficult to swallow and I couldn't hear myself well enough to sing in tune. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I'm coping OK but I'm glad of a day off on Sunday. On Monday I see my specialist and have some blood tests. I won't know until then how much more of the tour I can undertake.