Why 4,998 other folks came to Augusta this weekend with us…..

The hotel was full and noisy this weekend. The visitors were here for a special event happening Sunday morning. David was performing “A Prisoner of Passion” at 10:00am in the centre of town. Had they come to see him?  We had to get to the church early to park as the streets around the church were being closed at 9:30am. As we drove down the tree lined street, handsome Georgian Sheriffs were already manning the traffic lights and directing the gathering crowds.

It was raining so the Sheriffs all wore plastic bags over their Sheriffs hats. Not very macho. I’m glad our British Bobbies aren’t  ever seen wearing plastic bags over their helmets. Their US conterparts  could learn a thing or two from our coppers about the drainage value of a cone-shaped hat as opposed to one with a water collecting hollow in the top and a large rain gathering brim. It is the first rain they have had in the state for ages so they maybe can be excused.

I guess in Georgia the aim is to have a hat to protect from the heat and sun. In England of course this is rarely a problem. Police head gear that deflects rain water and blows from drunken football thugs is the order of the day in our beloved motherland.

Anyway, I digress. The local, national and even international media were covering this event that had drawn so much attention to Augusta this Sunday.  There was a lot of activity outside the church with tables being set up with first aid posts, water bottles, bananas and other intriguing items. Even the major was very involved. Had they all come to see TT perform at church??

Not exactly. Margaret Thatcher was dubbed “The Iron Lady” and “Paul the Apostle” was put in iron chains but these folks were here for “The half Ironman “ . “Which half?” I wondered. This event had attracted more than 3,000 triathletes competing in a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike race and 13.1-mile run.  The run took the contestants right by the church several times as they looped around the down town area.

By the time church was finished the leading runners were already puffing by having done their swim and mike race. A lovely lady and her gorgeous children were in church from Florida. Her husband was competing in the Iron Man and after church she got out her lawn chair and sat on the edge of the road outside the church with her children to cheer on the competitors especially her husband.  Many of us from the church joined them to wave, cheer and generally encourage the weary courageous athletes.They had come armed with cow bells and flags to cheer on the competitors and especially their dad.

A team of helpers was loading “BB”, aka Big Blue, our van. BB was parked across the street from the church. So they had to dodge in and out of the runners. TT, aka David, my husband even got out the video camera to capture some action, which included me running alongside some of the handsome contestants.

We were so tired after all the excitement that we rested all the afternoon and moved out of our hotel at lunch time today just as one of the Iron men was leaving too.

Here he is with Maggie his supporting lady and new bike, as yet un-named.  He beat his record yesterday to do it all in 5hr something. He has also done the Music City Marathon in Nashville.  Our home town and it starts at Vanderbilt Uni. my previous work place. We all had a nice little chat as we were leaving our hotel together.

We are now in the Radison hotel near Raleigh Durham airport on our way back to Virginia for a show tomorrow.

We drove through Charlotte, NC for the 2nd time in 3 days. It was stormy and rainy and they mentioned the “T” word, (as in Tornado) having been spotted. Hey ho you know when you are back in the south when you hear of Funnel cake and Funnel clouds!!

TT is out getting some food at Panera, subway or Food Lion.

We are in such a posh hotel. There is even a remote control that alters the firmness of the mattress. Unfortunately there is no ‘fridge or microwave. I would gladly swap the magic mattress for a microwave to make cups of tea and hot honey and lemon. Yes my cough is back    Not as bad as before. I’m just seeking sympathy. TT and I have had the sniffles as we have obviously succumbed to a USA cold bug.  Atish ooooo.

Love and hugs to all.

Please send cough drops, Kleenex and Vics vapour rub as soon as possible.

RG and TT. xx

Tender, tearful, Tennessee State Line sighting.

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Yesterday and today I got a bit emotional. “What’s new?” I hear my family and best friends asking. In just over three weeks, we have traveled over three thousand miles and have lived out of suitcases, computer roller bags and a mobile fridge.

Our hotel rooms have looked like this.

Hotel room = Organized chaos?

We have had a fantastic time but it has been busy and even stressful with deadlines and 13 performances so far.

Niagara Falls was a wonderful break. We packed an awful lot into a few hours and had a nine hour plus journey afterwards to get us to our next “gig”.

TT’s plan worked. After this wonderful treat I would never dream of leaving his employ or even our marriage for another “Roadie” position. It certainly made up for the hectic, slightly crazy times when I just wanted to pack up and go back to sleepy Somerset and retire.

Like the time I mislaid the Brylcream just before the show or made his tea with Redbush/Rooibosh tea , just before he went on stage with it in the teapot. I  should have used Yorkshire tea bags.

Poor “C.S. Lewis” had to pretend to enjoy this African grown tea instead of that distributed by the U.K. Yorkshire tea company!

Back to Niagara . I haven’t even told you about the boat trip, right up to, and into the spray of the falls.

It was AMAZING!!!

Those of you who have done this “Maid of The Mist” trip, know that each passenger is issued with a big blue waterproof plastic Macintosh with hood to keep you dry. Well of course it doesn’t completely,  which adds to the fun, especially if like us, you were on the top deck right at the front.

Excuse me I should say the ” Bow” or “Poop” for my nautical readers. (If there are any) Actually I think I have one. My sailing son Daniel, who knows his “poop” from his “stern”!

Anyway it was fantastic ! Have I used that adjective before? I yelled and screamed my lungs out as we got closer into the falls and got soaked with the spray.

Everyone should do this before they die. Unfortunately I dropped my new camera while I was taking pictures of the Falls and broke it. Another emotional high and low all mixed up together.

Happily TT has ordered me another one from Amazon. He is working hard to keep me on an even keel, emotionally speaking . See I am keeping with the nautical theme!

Yesterday I was feeling a bit travel weary on the 8 hr drive from Virginia to Georgia. Then I had an attack of “the warm fuzzies”. Why? We were crossing the state line into Georgia, when I realized that our beloved Tennessee is the next state to here. I even saw a sign for the I40 and Knoxville!

I nearly made TT swerve off the road as I suddenly burst into a rousing chorus of “Good Ole Rocky Top. Rocky Top Tennessee. Click here and sing with me. Yeee Hii!!! Here are the lyrics.

“Good ‘ole  Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee!! You’ll always be, Home sweet Home to me!!”

So… I’m feeling very comforted to know that we are so near our Nashville home and will soon be seeing our dear dear friends from there and even our house in Mt Juliet!  Deep joy!!

We arrived in our Augusta hotel a few hours ago. We are unpacked and my lovely jubbly husband is out visiting Panera to collect our supper. Veggie soup and “Orchard Harvest Chicken salad” for me. He will have their wonderful French Onion soup and a Panini.

Bon appetit and good night all,  from The Paynes in hot hot Georgia.

P.S. May have another outside swim before I go to bed. It’s still in the 90deg F/?30+C here.

Love hugs and prayers.

From Marilyn aka Roadie Grandma and David aka TT “The Talent”! xxx

Hey Man, look at me rocking out. I’m on the radio

TT and RG rockin' on the radio in New York state

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Good evening from the Holiday Inn Express, Webster, New York.

TT and I have just returned from Calvary Chapel Webster where the 5th performance of this tour is now under our belts. Another good performance and a great bunch of people.

We arrived in this area yesterday and did a Radio Interview for “WZXV, The Word”. Patrick, The Production Manager had interviewed TT by phone several times but wanted me to join him at the microphone in the studio. Oo my whatever next?

Anyway I wasn’t too nervous as it wasn’t live and I had my hot honey and lemon to sip and dear Patrick was so friendly and helpful. He put me entirely at ease. He even said I could cough and sneeze if I wanted to and it wouldn’t matter.

The radio station was on the campus of Finger Lakes Calvary Chapel which seems to have acres of land. There is a Bible college and school as well as the church and radio station on the complex. Loads of parking spaces and play grounds. O if only some of this parking and play ground space could be shared by our churches in the U.K. where space is a real problem!

After the interview I checked out the bookstore and sat in the café drinking coffee and using their free wifi.

We then followed Patrick back to his house for supper. 3 of their 5 children gave us a fantastic welcome calling out to us from the upstairs window.

Addie, age 3 introduced us to her two brothers, Elijah 10 and Ben 8. She explained later that her two big sisters were out.

Judy, Patrick’s wife is delightful and they cooked us the most amazing supper of Cornish hens with stuffing, double baked potatoes, green beans and salad. Bread pudding was the dessert and they made tea with PG tips in a tea pot served with digestive biscuits. They had gone to a lot of trouble to find out what an English couple abroad would like to eat. It was scrumptious.

We arrived at the hotel here in Webster after the lovely supper and will stay here until Monday morning. Deep joy. 6 nights in one hotel is wonderful and cuts down on the packing and unpacking.

We have got 6 shows in 5 days here. Most of them are in this area with 2 at Calvary chapel Rochester N.Y. on Sunday. The two churches have got together and arranged that we can stay in this same hotel for all this time.

Tomorrow we are going to Williamsport Pennsylvania. It is a 3.5hr run and some people we met today said it will be a lovely journey but we may loose our GPS connection in the mountains. Dear George, we will miss his voice, ROADIE TIP  Remember to check the route before hand and have the good old fashioned Rand McNaly US road map to hand.

We had a brilliant journey here from Massachusetts, driving on I 90 through New Hampshire and into New York. Lovely coastal route with little harbour towns, lots with English names. We turned round at one point when we saw an elderly lady setting out some things on a table to sell at the side of the road.

We were attracted by a pair of antlers. On closer inspection the only things she was selling were hand made wooden decoy ducks and these fabulous antlers. I asked how she came to have them. She said she had 6 sons and they were all hunters and she was trying to cull her antler collection. These were covered in soft fur and were from a caraboo that her son Michael had shot in Nova Scotia.

We bought them for $20 and may well fix them on to the front of BB. Don’t tell our son Jonathan, but we are going to try and get Santa to deliver them down the Old Mill chimney at Christmas. They will not fit in his stocking so and getting them down the chimney may prove difficult but I’m sure Rudolph and the other reindeers can come up with a solution as they are expert in antler maneuvering.

Today I felt much better cough wise. Thank you all for your prayers and the folks at Ellsworth Calvary Chapel prayed especially for me after the service. We stayed with Pat, in her log home for two days. She is a retired physician as well as a wonderful gardener who has a great knowledge of “green pharmacy” using herbs and plants to provide healthy nutrients. Anyway she gave me some homeopathic bits and bobs.

These helped I’m sure, as well as spending Monday with her. I did our laundry and we hung out washing together, wandered around her garden feeding the chickens and picking green leaves for our tea and supper. She also too me to a great homesteading little supply shop where she bought some feed for the chickens and I bought some Gardeners Hand cream at 50% off.

The hotel has a fitness centre, indoor swimming pool and hot spa. I used all three today. Didn’t stay long in the spa as it was too hot.
Outside our hotel window is a lovely pond and walking trail. I thought it was Lake Ontario. That is quite near but about 7 miles away. We are very far north here. The weather is lovely, about 60F. Sunny today with just the occasional tree changing colour.

I’m off to bed now. TT is still asking me what’s to eat. He is always hungry after a performance. The Pastor and his wife took us out for supper earlier at Panera Bread. I love this place. David had French onion soup but saved his sandwich until now. He is still asking for “something nice”. I have just given him strawberry yoghurt that we squirreled away from our complimentary breakfast this morning. Maybe a final cup of tea is what he needs.

Talking about tea, I made a terrible faux pas this evening. Instead of using his fav. Tea brought from England to make the tea he has on stage,  I used my red bush S. African Tea bags. What a Roadie ruinous moment. I discovered the mistake just before he went on stage. TT was NOT a happy man. I offered to make another pot quickly, but the star of the show said it was too late and he would just have to drink this. After one sip tonight, I noticed he never really took another swig only pretended too. ROADIE TIP. Check T bags are Yorkshire Decaff in the Props box before leaving hotel.

I have some wonderful photos to put on the blog, but at the moment have lost the power to add posts so am having to get son Jonathan to do this and give me the password. I am not a roadie/blogger of the 21st  century. However, today,  my sister Maggie and I Skyped each other with video for the first time ever from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. She is 70 today and I am only a few years behind, so that not bad for a couple of OAP’s with a free English bus pass. Happy birthday Maggie dear. You are the BEST sister any body could have. I love you.
Night all.

1st Show done and dusted…. good night!

It’s 12:30am Eastern US time and we have just got home from a lovely supper with the friends who arranged the show as a fundraiser for Atlantic Christian School. They took us to Applebees after the show and we lingered, chatted and giggled over our meal. This roadie grandma is v. tired and about to fall asleep.

Highlights of the day?

1. Roadie points for me for recharging the batteries for the mikes.
2. More Roadie points for finding 2 umbrellas when Hurricane Earl started to make us wet. It was not much of anything by the time it reached here although someone said at the school tonight the waves were 10ft high off shore.
3. Iced raspberry tea at Applebees. Ahh I have missed that.
4. Discovering I am NOT going blind. I had trouble reading the menu tonight. Thought it was the dim light and tiredness. I was adjusting my bifocals to check that I was looking through the right bit of the lens only to discover one lens had fallen out!  Joy O joy what a relief! Thankfully my new found friend Carol across the table lent me hers and my sight was restored.
5. A “chance’” meeting with Barbara the lady in the room next door in the car park. She is a fellow believer in The Lord Jesus and was off to see a very sick brother. I told her what we were doing and we prayed for each other right there by her Cadillac!
6. The skateboard bible verse moment.  Sounds weird I know – tell you about it later. I will try and take a picture too when I get a decent camera.

Night night. Thanks for your comments and prayers. Keep both coming please. It is very comforting.

Next stop tomorrow – Ocean City, only a few miles away. I think they have put us in a hotel near the beach.

The Talent has finished his midnight feast and wants be to “blogg off”. O dear that sounds impolite. Must find the correct term for this.

Up up and away to the great USA

1st September on Continental airlines flight CO77 from Bristol U.K. to Newark N.J. Somewhere over Canada.
I’m new to this blogging malarky but my family have persuaded me to give it a go. So here is a little about me and my man, aka “the talent”. I got my dream job at 63 and am now trying to win The Guinness World Records for the oldest Roadie.
My lovely jubbly husband, David and I, are in the great USA for 6 months. We lived in Nashville Tennessee for 18 years and moved to Wells Somerset U.K. in April this year. David is an actor, hense “The Talent” and is touring with 2 shows in the USA : “An evening with C.S. Lewis” and,“Prisoner of Passion”, a play about a day in the life of Paul the Apostle when he was under house arrest in Rome just before his death.

I help with front, back and in between of houses.

My responsibilities include:

• Giving encouragement from the passenger seat of our touring vehicle, Big Blue
• Answering phone calls
• GPS monitoring
• Handing  my darling,  who does the driving, food on demand etc etc.
• Most important of all, I must always be repaired to make my hubby a nice cup of tea at any time of the day or night.

We have one suitcase nearly filled with Yorkshire Tea bags bought at Tescos in Wells.I hope they don’t smell like drugs and give us trouble at the border. The Talent refuses to drink any tea that is not bought in a UK or Eire grocery store. Even if it comes with the words, “Finest English Breakfast” on the label.

We were able to do a U.K. warm up show for the tour last Thursday in Wells, at The Little Theatre . It  went swimmingly with an almost full house and a wonderful responsive audience. It was put on by The Connect Centre a prelude to their Alpha Course. So lovely to do this in our new home town which in just a short time we have come to love.

Next stop- New Jersey: Egg Harbour (Eng/Eng) or Harbor (Am/Eng) then Ocean City by the sea. Great place. I have packed two swimming cossies for water activities!
You can follow our trail on Facebook (davidpaynedrama) and this is a link to the schedule on our David Payne Drama website
If you click on the venue and map, it will give you more info, should you be interested.

Ooooh  it’s suddenly got very bumpy up here above Canada. Could it be hurricane Earl that has made my coffee spill all over the place? Will have to stop writing and mop up. I can’t stand an untidy messy tray table. Now where are the handy wipes when you need them? Ahh jolly good! A nice flight attendant has just handed me a bunch of napkins!
Cherrio for now.
Psalm 121 – The travelers Psalm.