U2 - I Believe In Father Christmas [U2's contribution to (RED)WIRE]

I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS TOO !!!

Perfect Day - BBC promotion

HAVE AN AWESOME DAY

SLIPKNOT - X-mas Clips 2008 / All Eyes On Slipknot MTV Germany

MERRY FESTIVE DAYS AND A HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE.

The Slipknot Tour

My latest tour was the Slipknot european tour. It started for me in early November driving from London to Helsinki.
List of venues.
Nov. 05 - Moscow, Russia - Stadium Olimpijski
Nov. 07 - Helsinki, Finland - Old Ice Hall
Nov. 08 - Tampere, Finland - Ice Hall
Nov. 10 - Oslo, Norway - Spektrum
Nov. 12 - Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet
Nov. 13 - Copenhagen, Denmark - KB Hallen
Nov. 15 - Berlin, Germany - Arena Treptow
Nov. 17 - Winterthur, Switzerland - Eishalle Deutweg
Nov. 18 - Milan, Italy - Palasharp
Nov. 20 - Amsterdam, Holland - HMH
Nov. 21 - Paris, France - Zenith
Nov. 22 - Paris, France - Zenith
Dec. 01 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
Dec. 02 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
Dec. 03 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
Dec. 05 - Cardiff, UK - Arena
Dec. 07 - Birmingham, UK - NIA
Dec. 08 - Glasgow, UK - SECC
Dec. 09 - Manchester, UK - MEN Arena
Dec. 11 - Newcastle, UK - Metro Arena
Dec. 12 - Sheffield, UK - Arena
Dec. 14 - Antwerp, Belgium - Lotto Arena
Dec. 15 - Luxemburg – Rockhal
In Helsinki we met up with the 3 trucks that had the "pleasure" of going to Moscow altogether there were 5 trucks loaded with the production equipment. The Scandanavian leg went well and we headed south into Germany with the weather being kind to us at this time of the year. In every city we visited we came across sold out shows and very very enthusiastic audiences. The whole tour went very well and we met our load in times at every venue.

SLIPKNOT

At the moment I am on the UK leg of the Slipknot european tour.

a parmo adventure

How to make the National dish of Teesside!

Oh! those were the days!

British Railways

In the past couple of weeks I have been very busy driving around Europe. I have been double driving on the Gloria Estefan tour and the Madonna tour. The fist job entailed driving from Calais to Zaragoza in Spain, flying back to the UK and then a few days later flying to Alicante in Spain and then catching a train up to Valencia and driving one of the Madonna Steel trucks to the port of Ancona in Italy were it would board a ferry to Greece. Then from Ancona I jumped into one of the Budva advance trucks and drove it down to the port of Bari in southern Italy for the ferry to Montenegro. Job done, it was time to get back to the UK. the flights from Bari were full so it was a pleasant train journey up the Adriatic coast on a Italian Euro Star train to Bologna to catch a flight to Gatwick airport England, a six hour journey that cost 53 euro, the train from Alicante to Valencia cost 23 euros. That was the cost just turning up at the stations and getting the next available train! At Gatwick Railway station I purchased a ticket to Teesside in the north of England for £107!!! it was routed via Kings Cross. Arriving at Kings Cross, I was told if I wanted to board the 15:00 train I would have to pay a surcharge of £57 that would make it a grand total of £164 for a journey half the distance I had travelled by train in Italy. But if I waited till after 19:00 hours no surcharge would be necessary. All I can say is Rip-Off Britain is alive and well.

The Blue Canadian Rockies

Well I have just returned from a three week vacation in Canada, I flew from Calgary to Manchester yesterday on a very fast flight aboard a Boing 787 flying at ground speeds of upto 650 mph!8 hours wow! I always enjoy visiting North America, as I have a history of visits going back to 1972 (lost count at 25) and being based in England, I always find, going back to the Colonies is always a trip back to the future! If you get my drift!

Hannibal - The Opera

Simply the Best, thank you Ridley Scott and Hartlepool College of Art,aka, Cleveland College of Art, Middlesbrough.

Italian Belle Vista

Just a few of the shots I took on my last double driving jaunt through Italy. I also had the pleasure of travelling on the Italian rail system, clean, modern, cheap and very efficient, hang your head in shame Britain!!!!!

Double Drive Mania (The Willi Betz way is now a Rock And Roll normality)

Well I have just returned from a double drive that has lasted over two weeks and because of the new 45 hour weekly rest break for truck drivers, touring europe has changed! More and more tour trucks are double manned so costs go up and so does ticket prices and with the added cost of diesel the future looks grim! Driving out of Dover and heading up the hill to the M20 you would think you had arrived in a third world country with all the foriegn trucks parked by the side of the road and the litter and no toilet facilities the UK is certainly not a welcoming country for international or local haulage!

Middlesbrough

UP THE BORO!

Adiós to The Police!

The concert in Valencia was the last show for Gennyworld and the day of the show we were informed that they needed the generators back in the UK in two days time. After a hectic two day drive we were back in England, tired and still suffering from inhaling the dust that was constantly being blown around the gig and the heat and the biting mossies the cool and rainy weather of England was a welcome change!

KATOWICE TO VALENCIA

I set off driving at about midnight on thursday night after the concert and headed for Valencia in Spain ( it is a long way!) I crossed the German border at Gorlitz and headed for the french border at Mulhouse stopping for a break near Hof. My next stop was near Besacon in France then on to the border town of La Jonquera in Spain, it was crowded with thousands of trucks weekending in the numerous truckstops, so I had my minum 9 hour rest stop and headed south, the french were planning a fuel protest on Monday, good luck to them, something has to be done! Driving in Europe compared to the United Kingdom is a far better experience, the germans and the french have certainly realised that trucks and their drivers are important and the autohofs and the centre routiers are to be admired compared to the total lack of facilities we put up with in the UK. Anyway I could go on and on about the british goverment and the politics of greed, so I won't. I arrived in Valencia on Sunday late afternoon in time to watch the Euro 2008 football final in a local Valencia bar close to the stadium that is home to Levante football club. Spain were the worthy winners!

SLASKI STADION CHORZOW, KATOWICE, POLAND

After three days of driving across Europe, mainly Germany, we made it to Katowice in Poland and we are at the Slaski Stadium. I have made several visits to this stadium in the past and it is being rebuilt ready for the 2012 Euro football finals. We are lucky with the weather so far as it is hot and sunny. Poland has certainly joined Europe now, the borders are open and the prices have sky rocketed!

The Police at Stormont Castle Belfast

Well it is show day in the grounds of Stormont Castle and it has not rained yet, in fact the sun is out! The genny's have been here all week and it gave us chance to have a look around this fine city. after the show tonight, its off to catch a ferry to Scotland and start the long drive to the next show in Katowice in Poland!

On my way to Belfast

After Saint-Etienne the next port of call for Gennyworld and the generators will be Stormont Castle Belfast, Ireland. I drove up through France without any problems and boarded the Seafrance Calais to Dover Car Ferry. Diesel prices have hit 1.55 euros per litre on the motorways of France and Germany. The french-spanish border town of La Jonquera is blockaded by striking spanish truckers my sympathy goes out to all owner operators as what the oil producers are doing is criminal, I expect its a sign of the times that governments are finding it hard to govern anymore as the global corporations of greed and greedy speculators run riot. The pics above are of the City of York.

The Police on stage in Saint Etienne France

The Police start the concert in the daylight of early evening.

The Police at the Geoffroy Guichard Stadium Saint-Etienne

We set off for France staight after the show in Dusseldorf, arriving in the late evening of that same day. I drove through a spectacular electric thunderstorm as I went along the Lyon ring road. Today is the day of the concert and it is a mix of sunshine and showers. The venue reminds me of an old first division English football ground.