Hello everyone,I am proud to say that I am now a member of the Trafford Library in Hale, Manchester - apparently there is no internet cafe in town so this was the next best thing. Plus, I can get a book the next time we are through. These British keyboards are something to get used to, though. Anyway, just wanted to touch base and let everyone know that we are in England and about to embark on a whole wack of shows on the island. We arrived in Manchester from New York the other day and the journey felt a bit easier than last year. Last time we had been recording a demo until pretty much the moment we stepped on the plane so jet lag was harder to shake off. We were quickly reminded of a few of the culinary perks of England as we tucked into an English breakfast and drank some tea - it will only be a matter of time before we hit the ale. We've promised ourselves a full cream tea and are going to make sure it is a meal in itself instead of dessert this time. I can already feel my clothes getting tighter.We spent the earlier part of our first 2006 tour in the U.S. and had some great shows in Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. Performing in Minneapolis at the Cedar was an emotional show for us. Bob Feldman (the founder of Red House), had passed away only a week before and we were feeling his loss acutely as we prepared for the show. The last time at the Cedar had been a completely different experience with Bob bounding around excitedly and making sure everything was perfect for us. This time, the rest of the team at Red House were there to keep it all going. Everyone at Red House had been so busy keeping the fort strong that the show was a chance for all of us to stop for a bit and reflect on why Bob's presence was so sorely missed. He was a bright light and we did our best to sing to that and celebrate who he was. We miss him very much.In general though, there were many little highlights to the U.S. tour. We ate amazing Cuban food in Chicago, played a fair bit of hacky-sack in parking lots across Minnesota, witnessed some spectacular karaoke in Minneapolis and had a good amount of time to hang out with our Red House family in St.Paul. This time, both vehicles were returned to Enterprise and National with no dents or scrapes and we only got lost twice. We also arrived at airports more than 10 minutes before our flights this time (yay!). We ended up in New York city for the final showcase of the season and then Annabelle, Grant and I hung around NY while Ruth went back to Toronto to finish her parts on the recording. It was hectic but well worth it.So now we hook up again with our faithful UK agents, Ken, Charles and Sue and prepare to wave to the same flock of sheep several times as we criss-cross the country in our van. Back in Canada, our team is working on finishing up all aspects of the new record - it should be out in the spring right on time. We'll keep you posted!Take care, everyone.~ Nicky