Netherlands

S-Hertsogenbosch

Back from a great trip around the Netherlands. It nice to get out Amsterdam and see other parts of this great country.

All the gigs went well and everyone was really friendly and hospitable. Really enjoyed my visits to Middelberg and Groningen, lovely towns at opposite corners of the country. Den Bosch was a great place to chill for 2 days and gasp at the price of shoes in the shop windows.

There were only a few minor mishaps to report,  starting with my first night in Amsterdam. I got locked out the room in the Hostel on my first night at 4am as the security swipe card lock had broken, fortunately not many folks were about at that time to see me running about in my undies trying to get help. The night watchman was initially freaked out and once he stopped laughing and calmed down enough he took, a painfully slow 40minutes, to find a 'traditional' key. By the time the door was unlocked there were 3 of us all standing about in our undies in the hall way at 4.40am. This did not look good at all.

One great thing about travelling in Europe (or indeed anywhere outside the uk) is the fantastic efficiency of the train system. These trains turn up when they are meant to, have more seats upstairs, free wifi, travel fast and silently across all of Europe. The efficiency is such that trains often get split in two and the 1st few carriges go to where your meant to be going and the rear carriages go to PARIS!!. A heart attack jump and sprint onto the platform to the correct side of the train narrowly averted me eating a croque monsieur for lunch.

In Groningen I played a gig for Wishful Music with the guys from Broken Down Suitcase , a well named, and well performed Canadian/New Zealand old timey duo. However, there was a medical emergency towards the end of the gig where a girl went into anaphylactic shock from eating nuts and had to get rushed to hospital (pleased to report all was ok and she made a full and quick recovery) but at the time most folks thought she was just extremely moved by the music.

So all in all a successful trip, and big thanks to all those who helped out with accommodation food beers and chat - see you in 2012.

Marrakech Express

Daniel and myself returned last week from a successful trip to Morocco to climb North Africa's highest peak - Jebel Toubkal. We are also pleased our efforts managed to raise £1500 (so far) for MacMillan Cancer Support.

Rundown on the trip below -

Having been concerned for some time about hiking up a mountain in the considerable summer heat of Morocco, I was relieved to hear that the forecast for the trip was 44c with a wind chill factor bringing it down to a cool 42c. Nae bother, I thought.

Friday

We abandoned the luxury of the moving oven (bus) when we were all ‘well done’ and the road ran out at the mountain village of Imlil, some 1700m high in the Atlas mountains. I passed up the opportunity to have a mule carry my guitar as I decided that just wasn’t in the spirit of the event and I felt sure I’d be spurred on by my fundraising promise to carry the guitar to the top. As we hiked up through the village, passing numerous stalls selling rugs, trinkets, shoes & tagines, the views steadily improved, from terraced slopes of herbs, spices and walnuts giving way to cooler air and the dry rocky valley walls of Toubkal National Park.

Sweating our way up the long twisting path, passing various fuelling stops where local Berber people squeezed the most refreshing orange juice into a glass for about 20p. My favourite being the Charles Bronson look-alike’s O.J.

Our guide Aziz led the trip with a steady pace up to the packed Mountain refuge (10,000ft) where an army of locals threw much needed pasta at us before we spent the night ‘acclimatising’ or rather just passing out.

Saturday

The 5am alarm hit like double decker bus, marking the start of what was to be an extremely long day, so I downed my high energy shot of caffeine and other ‘stuff’ to help me up and away. So with guitar strapped to my back and cloaked in darkness we tackled the steepest section of Toubkal. The problem with the caffeine shot and the burst of energy it unleashed was it caused me to talk at 100mph and that it lasted for 5 hours oh and I had 2 more bottles of the stuff. There was nearly a mutiny.

As we neared the top the cloud broke and the sun and blues skies spurred us on. There was a party atmosphere as we reached the summit of Toubkal 4,167m (13,671ft), with bottles of Irn Bru being fizzed up like formula 1 winners and bodies lying crashed out all over the place. Once I got my breath back I played the song I had penned for the trip 'Call Me A Doctor' and then savoured the views as Andy Robbie of Glasgow band, The 4/5’s took a turn on the guitar with a few tunes which was much appreciated by all.

By 6pm the group of weary souls & soles had reached our beds for the night at the spectacularly located village of Armed. Not even a huntsman spider stalking the bedrooms prevented me from getting any sleep - the spider was in someone else's room.

 

Sunday

A casual morning stroll of about 2hours the next morning took us through the village and back to the bus-oven, which inturn took us back down into the inferno of 52c of Marrakech where the sweat started all over again...

Armed School

A brilliant trip, with a great team of people so a big thanks from both Daniel & myself for all those donations.

Next year – hillwalking in the Netherlands.

www.justgiving.com/aintnomounatain

Into the Wild

I made it back intact from the wilds of the northwest on Sunday.

The weather was fierce, but the hospitality and whisky as always - more than made up for that. 

I drove home from Ullapool via Torridon, which is one of my favourite areas, spectacular mountain scenery and strange rock formations are quite different to the landscapes around the central highlands. This area always inspires me and local mountain An Teallach had a big part in my song Bridge of Kings. Unfortunately the shear volume of rain and the lack of TVs meant that both the mountains and the lesser spotted Scotland goal remained hidden from view. Shame that wasn’t the case for Wednesday’s game.

I stopped for lunch in the village of Kinlochewe which was hosting a gruelling 90 mile cycling competition through hell & high water. The only cafe was therefore bustling with activity as half drowned tourists and frozen cyclists in need of a heart massage took refuge. As I ordered soup & a coffee the wee wifey in charge made an announcement to everyone that the village had ran out of water (what on a day like this??) and if we must use the toilet only no.1s were acceptable. Highland hospitality at its best.

Not far from Kinlochewe I came across a car stuck in a ditch. Offering my assistance I decided to inspect just how ‘stuck’ the tyre was and bent down for a closer look at the exact same time as the driver decided to give it one last go with spinning the wheel, which gunned me down in a hail of mud. Not funny. After confirming the car was well and truly stuck I decided the best place for the driver was Kinlochewe.

The weather was so bad that even the sheep were looking for a lift.