And we thought the weather couldn't get worse....

The second of our outdoor shows of the tour in the Scandinavian Summertime saw 30-40 knot westerly winds as well as heavy, squally showers.  Whilst the crew loaded in to the beautiful Sofiero Palace gardens venue in pouring rain, the band started the day in Oslo in our usual haunt, the 'not-quite-so' Grand Hotel in the centre of the city. One thing I always remember about Oslo is the weekend revelry in the streets. The Norwegians are serious partyers. The weekend nights are rowdier than anywhere I've ever seen and it seems that we always check in here on a Friday as was the case yesterday. They don't really quieten down until about 8am, the sounds of crashing glass and bad singing echoes around the square...I carry earplugs for such instances!











We left the hotel for the 40 minute, painfully slow, drive to the airport. The speed limit in Norway is a strictly enforced 90kmh on motorways and 80 on open roads. That's ridiculously slow, slower even than in the US.. We have driven the airport route here many times on tours and promos so we know it pretty well now. At the airport we boarded the plane and feasted on a local seafood salad wonderfully prepared by Daniella. The one hour flight was bumpy, as predicted but it was the landing which whitened a few knuckles. In a 30 knot, 90 degree crosswind, our pilots stuck the plane on the tarmac at Angelholm airfield with an aggressive authority. They mentioned that these conditions bordered on the recommended limits given by the FAA. It seemed we were coming in sideways. We agreed that conditions such as these are merely a 'bit of fun' for most pilots, also known to be described as 'interesting'.

As always, I look at the trees swaying in the force 7 near-gale and it's all I can do to stop thinking about rigging up and getting on the water, anyway... Bernie, Dom and Fabian were waiting on the tarmac at the tiny airport and Fabian shot some footage of our landing.



Trust me it was heavier than it looks..
The Vaudeville link
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15 minutes later we were pulling up at the beautiful Sofiero Palace and gardens, our venue for the evening. In 1864, Crown Prince Oscar and his wife Sophia bought Skabelycke farm, just north of Helsingborg, in order to build their summer residence there. The palace was completed the following year but had a different appearance then, only being one storey high. Between 1874 and 1876, when Crown Prince Oscar had ascended the throne, the palace was renovated and took on its present exterior. It is the collection of rhododendrons in particular that have given the palace gardens such a name.



The wind certainly wasn't letting up and if anything it increased as another squall came through off the waters of the Oresund Strait which separates Sweden from Denmark. There was some concern as the entire stage seemed to be moving quite a bit in the wind, although though it was in the shelter of the main house in the gusts, the wind whipped around the side of the building and the hundreds of square metres of black sheeting acted as a giant sail, trying to push the structure off it's moorings. We were assured by the locals that it was safe although during the show it was at times reminiscent of playing on a ship in the open sea.

It was local catering today so Mike was attending other duties today and here Mark and he show off their matching caps.



Since it's the start of the England World Cup campaign today, the crew boys were scurrying round trying to find a signal to record the match so that they could all watch it on the bus after the load-out. Unfortunately, not the greatest of games.



Cod, steals a kiss from the wardrobe girl who I must say was pretty miserable all afternoon and didn't iron a single shirt!



Dave Dixon and Ben Byford in between showers



The load-out ramp





Another outdoor show in broad daylight but this evening the main battle for us was keeping our hands warm. I was particularly cold tonight as I was nearest to the opening in the backstage cloth where the wind was coming in. It's a good job I couldn't give a sh** about my hair as the gusts were akin to aggressive backcombing. The other big difference for the band is that we can pretty much see every face in the crowd for a long way back. This is both heartwarming and off-putting so we adopt a slightly different type of focus in order to get through the set. All great fun of course and the show was so well received once more. After the encores, we ran once again but here in Sweden, the police were not at all interested in helping us get to the airfield so when we drove out past the main gate, Pete leapt into action and directed the traffic, held pedestrians back so the convoy could make its escape. We were on the plane again and back in Oslo within 90 minutes and a quick drink or two in Mark's room before bed. Mark had been given one of the themed rooms in the hotel, the Ringnes suite. Ringnes is a local brewery of which the locals are clearly proud. There were many posters and trinkets associated with the beers in the room but the pick of the bunch were the beer-gnomes sitting on top of the cabinet in the main room.




Oslo at 3am on a Sunday morning..