And a new route!

So I emailed Northamptonshire's Highways Department and complained about the unnecessarily long diversion that we'd suffered the day before ("Pissed-off of Yelvertoft") To my surprise, I got a reply the next day. They'd reviewed the route, and re-routed the diversion. And the new route is pretty much the same length as the one that's blocked by the roadworks! It simply takes drivers through an industrial estate on a course which pretty much mirrors the route it's replacing. I knew about the industrial estate, but hadn't realised that it is open to through traffic. But surely the Highways department knew? I wish I'd known last Friday!

We were back at the house yet again on Monday morning. One thousand CDs were due to be delivered that day, but there was going to be no-one there to receive them. We stepped in to help, and five boxes of the Company of Players CD duly arrived in the early afternoon. Grace and I were the first to hear it. It is truly amazing!

(from their tour gig at Stratford's RSC theatre)

The album launch isn't until February because of the ten members' individual commitments.

Said the Maidens' album launch was last night, at The Water Rats Theatre in London's Kings Cross. It was there that Bob Dylan first sang in the UK in 1962. The Pogues played their first gig there in 1982. Oasis's debut London performance took place there on 27 January 1994. The list goes on and on...

And what a fabulous evening we had there yesterday! Steve, Naomi and Eddie were there, too. Two 45-minute sets from the Maidens had the theatre-full audience spellbound, loving every minute, and every song received loud, enthusiastic applause.

A young man was sitting on his own in front of us. We'd chatted a little when he first shuffled his way into his seat. I looked at him from time to time while the Maidens were performing, and he seemed to be enjoying it all. Come the interval, he didn't move for some time. He sat very still, lost in thought, or so it seemed. Then he turned to us to speak. His face gave a lot away. He was blown away, he said. He'd never before heard anything like their singing, their music. He was very close to tears. He hesitated, looked down, before explaining to us. He'd never heard of Said the Maiden. He'd come to the gig on the off-chance, out of curiosity. And he loved what he heard. He suffered from depression, he said, and he'd been having a very bad time recently. But this performance had lifted his spirits, and given him a joy that he'd be taking away with him. He was really quite overwhelmed by the effect the Maidens had had on him. The glow on his face was lovely to see.

He went to speak with Jess, Hannah and Kathy during the interval, and bought all of their albums and EPs, and took a schedule of their tour, hoping that he'd be able to see them again soon. He left the theatre that night feeling very different from how he'd felt when he entered it. Such is the healing power of music!

The album tour continues until the last day of the month. I'm tired, just thinking about it!

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Please note that another update to "Hints and tips..." has been added to the Addendum Blog.