My great weekend started on Friday when I went to a gig with Jon. In itself this isn't an unusual event, as we go to a fair number of gigs. But this was special. Jon and I are both fans (devotees? Addicts?) of Bob Harris, who recently had a Chris Rea competition; Jon won tickets to to a session Chris was recording for Bob's Saturday show. As Lou isn't the biggest Chris Rea fan (her own words) she offered me the chance to go instead, which I jumped at.
So we pitch up at the BBC Maida Vale studios, along with around 70 others, for an exclusive session, which was pretty amazing. Firstly the sounds was great; it is, after all, a recording studio, so has great acoustics. It was a short, but intense session, just over an hour of songs, with Bob interviewing Chris a couple of times during the set. He worked backwards, starting with his newer blues material and going back in time to his earlier hits, all of which were incredible. He's such a great guitarist; it's both inspiring (makes me want to play more) and depressing (I'll never be that good) at the same time. As always, it's truly amazing seeing a musician of that standard.
The weekend finished with a day at Silverstone with Dan (and thanks to Jane who conveniently double-booked herself so let me have her ticket), watching the final round of the British Touring Car Championship. A full day of great racing, with Silverstone at its best for the crowd - almost completely open everywhere. No restrictions on where you could sit, access to the paddock and no tight security or over-protected drivers. Back home to a large pot of stew to watch the penultimate race of the MotoGP with more excellent racing.
So this is thanks to Jon and Lou, and Dan and Jane. I owe you.