We're off to the UK again soon. It's starting to feel pretty comfortable, touring in the UK, although this will be Heather's first time overseas so I'm sure in some ways it will be like experiencing it for the first time. Nicky and I are very excited to introduce Heather to all of you over there, and of course we're very happy to be bringing Jeremy over with us again as well. Grant will be also be accompanying us as our road-manager and sound-man (it makes all the difference!) and I have a feeling that good times will be had.Last tour was mostly spent in British Columbia and it was nice to be playing in Canada again after so many months. We had a true 'Northern' experience at Crab Fest up in Kincolith/Gingolx, a Nisaga'a community nestled in the Nass River valley, surrounded by mountains. It was incredible. We each saw at least a dozen bald eagles, ate fresh crab straight out of the ocean, and met some truly beautiful people. Oh and we rocked out to Nazareth - how could I forget. We also met Jethro Tayler who, back in 2006, created a video of the Hobiyee celebration of the Nisaga'a nation, using 'One Voice' as the background music. When I found out we were going to Crab Fest I had no idea that we would be so close to where the video was filmed, or, as Jethro informed me afterwards, that some of the children in the video would be in the audience for our set! It's a very moving video, you can check it out here Youtube. Thanks Jethro, it was great to meet you in person.Next came Vancouver where we did a photoshoot for the Georgia Straight (with crustaceans crawling between our toes) and then rehearsed for two days before the festival in the crazy heat (very unusual for Vancouver). It was intense, especially for Jeremy, who is pretty sweaty at the best of times. But we made it through and came up with a pretty cool arrangement for a new song that Heather brought to the band. Hopefully we'll incorporate it into the show in time for the fall tour. The Vancouver Folk Festival was great. I believe it's the only large Canadian festival that doesn't have any corporate sponsorship, and I think that is part of what is so special about it. There is such a feeling of love, support and enthusiasm from the audiences and the volunteers. They are serious about their music and serious about their festival. We got to reconnect with old friends and jam with lots of musicians - one of the great things about playing festivals. We shared workshop stages with The Fugitives, Oh Susannah, Rae Spoon and Dougie McLean, to name a few. We'll be posting some photos and videos from the workshop stages soon.Finally we flew to Idaho for two shows, one in Driggs and one in McCall for the Roseberry festival. Idaho is still such a mystery to us (are we in the desert? what century are we in? where are the potatoes?) but we love it there and always meet the kindest people. And we got to spend some time and share the stage with Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman at the Roseberry festival - what more could you ask for? Check them out at www.karensavoca.com, they are awesome.Stay tuned for the new pics, videos, and hellos from Nicky and Heather soon....Ruth