I Am Mine....

There have been so many things that I could have and wanted to blog about recently, but it would’ve been self indulgent whining and that’s not really fair. 

As I type this I am snuggled on my sofa in my PJ Canadian tour hoody thinking ahead to the summer. It will be the start of my 'summer' holidays, which for me, means gigs. I’ve never really been one to sit on a beach for two weeks. I love to see and do things when I visit places, and ‘touring’ as it were, has given me the opportunity to do this in recent years. 

At beginning of June there’s a short hop to London to see The Gaslight Anthem. I’ve liked this band for ages, but it’s only in the last 12 months or so I’ve found myself increasingly listening to them. Brian Fallon has a wonderful tone to his voice, and he’s pretty to look at too!  (Ooh yes indeed he's a skinny tattooed rock star man)

In mid June I head north toward Manchester. Chris Cornell at the Lowry is the first stop, the ticket is a kind birthday gift from a friend, and I really appreciate it. I have never seen him solo before and we’ve great seats, plus it seems like most of the audience are going to be fellow PJ fans. It all adds up to the likelihood of a good night (and a pretty good birthday celebration) in my book. 

I’m not quite sure what I will do in the intervening time before seeing PJ but it makes no sense to trek back home for 48 hours so I will have to amuse myself somehow/somewhere. The Dalai Lama is in Manchester for those intervening days, but only doing one public talk I think, I've read his book and found it interesting so it would be good to hear him speak.

There are two PJ shows at Manchester Arena and I’m looking forward to seeing some friends, meeting new people and feeling that ‘I’ve seen Pearl Jam’ sensation. Lets be honest I could wax lyrical about this, but there is little point as I will write about it after! There is one thing, I so wish I was going to the Isle of Wight festival, and I am pretty jealous of those who are. Despite my aversion to tents, on the whole it would be nice to do the festival thing, and I think the crowds there will be treated to some special collaborations. Mind you, if it is hammering down with rain, I will be glad of watching on the tele! 

The beginning of July heralds an Eden Session with Frank Turner as the headliner, and with Seth Lakeman and Bellowhead on the bill, you may think I am sqweeee-ing with delight, and you’d be right. Apart from..... I shall be in Berlin by the time he takes to the stage in St Austell, so those attending will have so sing loudly on my behalf! 

I am looking forward to returning to Berlin, I’ve visited the last couple of years now and always find it an interesting and vibrant place. Others travelling for the gigs haven’t been before so it will be interesting to see what they think of it, and if they have the same mistaken pre-conceptions. Staying on Alexanderplatz at least I’ll know where I am...just head for the tv tower. It's a shame the gigs aren't at Wuhlheide, that is a pretty special venue but I guess we've now the challenge of making the arena special too.

Stockholm, well what can I say, I’ve wanted to go there for ages, it's on the bucket list. I don’t know why but it always seemed quite magical. I am really excited about visiting and whilst I will not be there long I hope it will allow me time to experience the city. I may not however be experiencing much alcohol at the scary prices mooted.

Now, if I had written this last week as planned I would be saying there is an Eddie Vedder solo tour... But I am not entering for tickets, and I didn’t enter for tickets. I just wibbled like you wouldn’t believe after the deadline had passed for not doing so. My fab friends came to the rescue with a number of routes to take to get tickets, and one very kindly offered me his spare, so this princess shall go to the ball (in Manchester)! 
After all of this I will be beholden to my bank manager for the foreseeable future - eek.

As I alluded to at the beginning of this, I’ve had a little phase where I couldn’t see the wood for the trees. My tendency to worry and to self doubt had been once again been getting the better of me.  

On top of the EV spare offer and the fab early birthday gift, I have been reminded just how lovely people can be after receiving a surprise. It was in the form of a poster tube containing three art prints of Pearl Jam, which are great. As it made me smile, I thought again about how Pearl Jam fans really are some of the best people you can find. It is this and having such great friends close by, that makes me look forward seeing the wood. 

I know that I really need to stop letting people, or my perceptions of people’s actions get the better of me. Hey, if they want to behave in a certain manner then that’s up to them, karma is all encompassing. I am the only one who can prevent how they make me feel and I am lucky to have so much else in my life, I don’t need to fight for people’s acceptance. I just have to remember that!
Ahead of me are good things.

I know I was born, and I know I will die, the in between is mine. I am mine.