The Corona Diaries

It's one of the characteristics of this time of day, especially true at this time of year. The sun is dropping toward the horizon, but in a very languid fashion as if it wants to hang around for as long as possible.Rafa is just about to edge the fifth set, but it's been a rollercoaster of a match. The tension has been building, the crowd is getting more and more animated and every point is like an entire match, wrapped up in time. The very essence of tennis.The man from the ministry has been and gone in a vehicle unknown. He seemed nice, maybe a little older than me, but very affable and he left happy with me and my boiler. Only yesterday I was boarding a plane, half the world away, but now I am back, watching the corn flies in the early evening haze and contemplating the diminishing level of my gin glass.Nothing to do. Nowhere to be. Bliss.And then the familiar ping of a WhatsApp notification.Oh bugger, I should be recording this weeks TCD - now where is my microphone?Love'n'line-callshTCD Merch StoreBecome Purple and support the showThe Invisible Man Volume 1: 1991-1997The Invisible Man Volume2: 1998-2014FacebookInstagramWebsite

Not a lot to report this week, if you listened to Chapter 116 then you know what’s about to happen and you don’t need anything from me by way of explanation.However, and whilst I have your attention, both Ant and I are aware that Ronan Keating was never actually part of Westlife. So if you think you hear us say anything to the contrary, you are in fact mistaken.And it is a well known fact that Seagulls are very proud of their regional accents, and celebrate them most wholeheartedly.Love ‘n’laundromatsh

I hour, 17 minutes and 2 seconds. What were we thinking....To be honest there are three reasons why Chapter 116 of The Corona Diaries is over an hour and a quarter long;We clearly weren't thinking (we were just blathering)I tried to explain what's in my music room...Ant came up with a bonkers concept for conversation, that will probably take us the rest of the year to get through.So I am going to stop typing - so you can start listening - because you haven't got a moment to waste.Love, ghost trumpets, and ukulele-hangershTCD Merch StoreBecome Purple and support the showThe Invisible Man Volume 1: 1991-1997The Invisible Man Volume2: 1998-2014FacebookInstagramWebsite

’ve played a great many gigs since joining the band in ‘89 and quite a few new ones have been added to our “circuit” along the way.Something we haven’t really reflected on much, is how the tour venue choices have evolved. So today we fell into a conversation about the venues on the upcoming UK tour, and how they compare to days gone by.Where do I miss playing, where do I like going back to, and what is my second favourite gig in London.Not forgetting Richie Benaud, (who was a very famous cricket commentator, back in the day) and a chat about the current membership of Showaddywaddy (which will be a mystery for non-Brits) particularly as it looks like the incredibly named Romeo Challenger is a mainstay on drums after all. Who knew?!All perfectly straightforwardhTCD Merch StoreBecome Purple and support the showThe Invisible Man Volume 1: 1991-1997The Invisible Man Volume2: 1998-2014FacebookInstagramWebsite

Lord, it seems like an age since we recorded this and tbh I am not quite sure what we talked about.I can tell you it was the balance of the post-Pompeii chat (and that it happened on #plumday) but life has moved on since then, and recall is rarely linear for me these days. It tends to wash over me in waves.In other news the ICG reissues have finally arrived, and they look bloody lovely. Today, can certainly be classed as one of my 3650 good days.Love’n’first-time-on-vinylhTCD Merch StoreBecome Purple and support the showThe Invisible Man Volume 1: 1991-1997The Invisible Man Volume2: 1998-2014FacebookInstagramWebsite