I am now a...

certified North Pole traveller ! :))

My certificate arrived today. When I visited the island Grímsey in Iceland, I walked over the arctic circle. And now I have the little piece of paper to prove it.

7 december, what a day !

My oh my, what a fantastic evening did we have ! My boyfriend came over for the charity gig that Simple Minds were going to do at the ABC Venue in Glasgow. The gig was to raise money for 'Cash For Kids'. The venue was also selling exclusive Simple Minds tshirt, made especially for the gig. It was the normal longsleeve tour t-shirt, but with a tweak ;).

We arrived just before 6pm, not that many people waiting yet. So when the doors opened, we were in the middle of the front row. Excellent ! The place was packed, it turns out it sold out within the hour of tickets going on sale !

The gig itself was absolutey awesome, 2 full hours of energy, passion and sweat. A really good setlist, no slow songs, full steam ahead, lots of good vibes and good atmosphere ! Everything you expect and hope for from a Simple Minds gig !

Afterwards, my sweetheart somehow managed to get aftershow passes. Wahey !!!!! Something I`'d never thought of experiencing ! Sharing a drink with Eddie and Andy (didn`t see the rest of the Minds, they probably had an early night ?) and making a young teenager`s dream come true (but that`s another story!).

Easily one of the best gigs I`ve seen from them and for sure one of the best nights I have ever had !

The Gig !

Well tonight was the night ! I went to the SECC during the day and heard Simple Minds' soundcheck. No way of sneaking in though...

Went to the meetup before the gig where I just missed Mick McNeill. Damn! Said hi to familiar faces then had some food and off to the gig.

I thought I had a seat all the way back in the hall but it turned out my seat was on row 14 right in the middle of the stage. Nice ! The people I knew were mostly sitting in row 2, 3, or 4. So I went over there for a chat. We asked security if they'd allow people to stand at the front of the stage ? Yes, but only the people from the first 5 rows. Aha ! So I lingered around talking to peeps, pretending I was sitting in one the still vacant seats. (people were still coming in though). Music started and Viviane said (she had been to the previous concerts on this tour) "it`s starting!" I didn`t quite believe her as the lights were still on and the music wasn`t that loud. But people started rushing to the barriers in front of the stage so I followed suit. Security tried to check tickets to determine if you were really from the first rows, but all of a sudden the lights went out and BAM... "Waterfront" was set in !

So I was able to be on the second row for the whole 2 hours ! A good set was played with "I Travel" being the hightlight for me because I really love that track ! Ghostdancing... aaah I never get tired of hearing that one ! Chelsea Girl was great, Up On The Catwalk and all those other great songs ! They had the whole venue up on their feet and during "Alive & Kicking" I watched the audience and évery single person was waving. It was great.

Afterwards there was a gig by Four Good Men (with Derek Forbes on bass) back in the city centre of Glasgow. They played their set really late, especially for us ! The gig was fun, lots of old Simple Minds songs ! Brian McGee stopped by too (after the gig), that was a nice surprise !

A great evening, one I had been anticipating for for a long time. The Minds played and looked really good. Here`s to the next 30 years of live music lads !

Glasgow !

Hello all !

It has been quiet on this page lately right ? Lucky for you I`m in Glasgow this week for 2 Simple Minds gigs so the much needed update can begin !

The trip started this morning. I needed to be at the airport at 10am. When I got there the flight was already delayed by one hour. Then another half hour. Eventually, we took off at 13.00 instead of 11.00 lol ! Arrived in Glasgow around 15.00 checked in and went shopping. I have been here before in 2006 (also for a Simple Minds concert) and I don`t know where I went walking then but obviously in the wrong part of town ! I can`t remember that there were so many shops and malls here ! OMG ! And they all have autumn sales ! And penguins must be very popular here because they pop up everywhere !

Anyway, some nice pictures to set the christmas mood...