To say that today was eventful would be an understatement.



Waking up in our dreamy resort hotel on the edge of Monte Carlo, the morning swim in France was on the cards so Laurie and I headed down to the local beach for the final time. We were aware of the impending French air traffic controllers strike action and had checked her return flight along with the other visiting wives and families. Unfortunately, while we were in the water there were more cancellations and Tim, our tour manager shouted down from his hotel room balcony to alert us of this. We got the message and swam back but by the time we got to the room, the next available flight was full. Laurie would have to wait until 21:25 to fly back to the UK. This eventually turned out to be a 03:45 departure the next morning after a wait in an airport which simply shut down with no information or facilities for refreshment, just cold hard floors and uncomfortable benches.

The band departure time was in jeopardy by now too. We had a hotel departure time of 4pm which got moved to 4:45, unbeknownst to us, our slot time was being shifted by the minute. When we arrived at the Nice GA terminal, pilot Simon gave us the lowdown. We were looking at a take-off slot time of 20:30 which would mean us barely making the gig. There was a discussion and it was decided that the potential 4.5 hour drive was not a good idea so we boarded the plane and gave the control tower the 'ready' signal. This meant that we were at least in the queue and with flights being cancelled by airlines across Western Europe throughout the day, there was every possibility of us moving up the list.

The biggest unions in France are against it and stranded passengers across Europe are bearing the brunt of what is a callous and utterly selfish act by the French air traffic controllers. They have struck once again for the third time this year over an issue that some say will make their jobs easier. They are angry at plans to unify Western European airspace under a single authority which they fear will mean job cuts and a loss of benefits. Just to rub it in, French air traffic controllers are very highly paid with long holidays...good reason in hard times to keep a low profile. Personally I think anyone striking in this instance should be dealt with in similar style to the way Ronald Reagan handled a US strike in August, 1981. He declared their action to be a "peril to national safety" and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Teft-Hartley Act of 1947. Only 1,300 of the nearly 13,000 controllers returned to work. Subsequently, Reagan demanded those remaining on strike return to work within 48 hours, otherwise their jobs would be forfeited.

There really aught to be some kind of international law to prevent such occurrences. The strike wasn't limited to France as the air traffic controllers' Spanish counterparts were threatening to do the same but the Spanish Transport Minister Jose Blanco (my hero of the day) said the military would take over for air traffic controllers there. Tuesday saw two-thirds of them call in sick in what is widely seen as an undercover strike.



The long and short of all this was that tonight's show in Lyon was seriously under threat. Our decision to wait it out on the plane paid off as whilst I was engaged in a cockpit conversation with Simon, trying to find out info about the families' flights, ATC came on the radio and said we could taxi in 10 minutes. In total, we only had to wait 90 minutes or so and we eventually took off from a strangely quiet Nice airport at around 8PM. The 40 minute flight to Lyon was very bumpy on approach as there was some weather around but thankfully it didn't affect the show.



Gunther was there to greet us and drive us through town to the beautiful Theatre Romains de Fourviere a venue we have visited once before in 1996 if memory serves. We arrived as the wonderful Kate Walsh was mid way through her set. We had a call this afternoon from the production manager to say that Kate's guitars hadn't arrived with her on her flight so could she use ours. She was most welcome and ended up using my Martin HD-28. She had the crowd in the palm of her hand and left the stage to rapturous applause. I was busy on the phone still trying to find out information about Laurie's flight when I realized it was time to get ready and go onstage.

With the band safety in mind, Pete tests the flying characteristics of a Lyon blue bum seat....



After the two surreal Monte Carlo shows, tonight's amphitheater crowd was such a welcome relief. They were SO up for this show, I couldn't imagine the scene had we not made it there in time. Thankfully, the gods have been with us and we were standing side-of-stage at 10PM ready to go. The clouds had dispersed and the night air was pleasantly cool after a run of super-hot and uncomfortable shows, the stage was set. We took to it to a roar which was amplified by the ancient Roman design of this theatre. Built in two stages: around 15 BC, a theatre with a 90 m diameter was built next to the hill. At the beginning of the 2nd century, the final construction added a last place for the audience. The diameter is 108 m, and there were seats for 10,000 people.



Nowadays, the theatre is primarily a tourist site, but it is still used as a cultural venue. The Nuits de Fourviere festival takes place in the theatre every year.





By the time we ended the main set and stood at the front of the stage for our traditional 'toast' to the crowd, the applause was deafening and the seat cushions started to fly. It has become a tradition in this arena to fling the cushions towards the stage as a sign of appreciation. Of course most of them never reach their intended destination but were then 'frisbee'd' further by the folks standing on the floor. No-one in the band received a direct hit but there were many near misses as the spinning blue projectiles whistled past our ears. We left the stage and were heralded back on for the final encore by the crowd. No runner this evening as our hotel was deemed a 'mystery' hotel and besides, the caterers had a barbie going so the band sat round a table outside to chow down on a delightful mixed grill. Mike, Angus and Chris offered up some of the most delicious 'organic' local table wine which was presented in clear bottles with a beautiful thick base. I was the last to join them as once again my prime concern was ensuring my wife made it home safely. Still sitting on a cold airport floor in Nice, I had at least some idea of what she was enduring as this happened to myself and Glenn Saggers a few years ago when we were stranded at JFK on our way to the Boothbay charity gig in the US. Lauries situation was exacerbated as she is suffering a similar back injury to the one Mark has and all the therapy and relaxation of the past four days was being undone with every hour in painful limbo. There wasn't too much I could do on the phone from here in Lyon so I eventually sat with the guys and enjoyed the moment. An hour later we were off to the hotel which was most pleasant and comfortable. I stuck the kettle on, logged on to the internet and continued to do what I could on the phone. Laurie ended up getting home at 5:30am. We both felt sorry though for the many other travelers worse off then her, those with babies, (running out of nappies) the elderly (Laurie said there was an old guy, doddering round all night on his walking stick) those in need of medical attention..untold numbers of innocent holiday makers who's lives have been made a misery by these individuals. I know there's always another side to any story but I can't imagine much will quell the long-term anger felt by myself and so many others today.
Danny and Richard popped round for a bed time cuppa and an eventful day was over.


Pic Nelly Duclos