Some days seem like weeks and some weeks seem like days..today I suppose was a bit of both. As often when we're on the road, the travel leaves you a little disoriented. A good friend of Mark and I. Emanuele Pirro came to the concert last night in Rome and came with his wife Marlene and their two sons for breakfast at the hotel, so it was one of those rare occasions when I actually wandered downstairs to the beautiful Russie garden for breakfast. There I met up with Pete, his wife Tina, Crocks Glenn and Matt who had all eaten so I quickly ordered some poached eggs and coffee. Another rarity, coffee, as I always drink tea in the mornings, and afternoons, and evening. In fact I drink tea all the time. Addicted. Mark came wandering down at 11 and I went to the front of the hotel to meet Emanuele. We sat and chatted for well over an hour. Along with Mark, Emanuele was one of the drivers at last years Goodwood revival and I met he and Marlene when in the driver's enclosure whilst hanging out with my neighbour and friend Derek Bell. We had said back then that they could be our guests at the Rome concert and here we are. Needless to say they were full of praise for the show and had many questions for Mark and I, predictably, we talked much about cars too. In particular, a project which Emanuele is involved with right now. The Edison2 concept car is the only remaining contender in a fuel efficiency contest called X Prize with a first prize of ten million dollars. In order to win, the car has only to 'successfully pass various safety, efficiency, and emissions tests designed for “real world driving” while also being “safe, affordable, and desirable to offer consumers more efficient vehicle choices' according to the X Prize website. This all takes place in the final stage of the competition next week in Michigan. The car, driven by Emanuele has already performed beyond the specification and so all that remains is to repeat the performance. Read more about this amazing car here.



We bade our farewells and it was off to pack the bags for our departure from Rome. Out of the frying pan and into the fire as our destination, Milan, was even hotter than Rome. We arrived and stepped onto the tarmac at Linate airport and gasped at the humid heat. Bernie and the team drove us to the venue, a lovely outdoor sports arena built in 1807 and a classic example of Italian neoclassical architecture. As we flew towards Milan, a few of the band spotted to huge anvil cloud which we seemed to be heading towards, it looked to me like a thunderstorm brewing. The sun was now being obscured by the monster cloud which in the event very slowly dissipated and provided us with no relief from the intense heat of the evening. By the time we took to the stage, fully covered in mosquito repellant, the temperature was still around 30 degrees but there was just the merest hint of a breeze which made all the difference. Apparently, the insect life underneath the stage is where all the trouble is. Ben went down there to find a cable this afternoon and came back covered in bites. The show was, guess what...great. A fantastic, excitable Milano crowd who absolutely relished every note...as did the band. we had a great gig and Mark was in fine form tonight.



There's that cloud...



Civilized transportation..



and more...



Jason Brandt (sound), Chris and Mike (catering) grabbed some of the local sponsor girls for a photo op. It was all we could do to get these ladies to smile..I won't tell you how we managed it...



all enforced by Crocks of course...



The dressing room guitar, a gift from the Little Kids Rock foundation has been in use for the whole tour and do you know, it sounds lovely and Mike's guitar playing is really coming along.



Glenn being eaten alive by the local bugs..



Staying here in Milan after the show, we made our merry way to the Bulgari, a boutique hotel we have stayed at before. we joked in the car about the bar being closed and we arrived to find it absolutely heaving. This is clearly a high-rolling hotel and the 300 euro bar bill was testament to that. Utterly ridiculous, Mike, John, Richard, Danny and I vowed NEVER to drink in the hotel bar again. We split it between us and retired to my room where the old faithful NHT S20 Sub woofer is back in action. The hotel must've known I was coming as my room is the most isolated in the hotel. We drank tea into the small hours and listened to fabulous music, quite loudly I might add. No complaints and at 4am, we decided enough was enough. I got out the tennis racket, not to practice my backhand topspin, but to try and clear the room of mosquitos. I failed.