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Entry #24 - The Magic Pencil Rolled Down The Hill



This morning was about sorting through a large pile of lyrics and paper I have kept for ages. There is a lot of paper so I'm going to shred it and use it for bedding for the menagerie. I am glad to relieve my brain of this extra weight. When the pages are gone I know there will be much more space to move on and keep writing new things. Some things I kept, others I threw away, it just seems to me that I do hold onto a lot of paper and lyrics, I wonder if I'll look through them someday and find something new to add. Sometimes I do but the material that had no potential has been picked out, sifted through, the good bits have been kept. Strange scribblings from 2001 and other times make their way through the metal teeth of my confetti action cross cut shredder today and I free my mind of them ever being created, I set them free and move on to other possibilites, saying goodbye to the things I know I can't improve or make into something new and sparkling.

I found various photographs that I forgot I owned, some of the guinea pigs, Ninja with his pieces of apple and sawdust stuck on his nose ! I miss him, he was the cutest of all and would lay down when I stroked him. I am going to buy frames for them. I must frame my Mark Ryden Quadratum pictures too and a photograph of my Sister, my Mother and I sat in a restaurant on my Brother in Laws birthday last year.

I found something that made me laugh. Do you remember those stories/games where you write one line on a piece of paper? It can be anything, absolute rubbish that makes no sense, or short statements. Anything that comes to mind goes down on the paper and then after you've finished you write one word on the next line, fold the paper and pass it on for the next person to write something else which is usually completely irrelevant. One of my friends and I used to do this all the time.

It reads -

In the night in the magic pencil rolled down the hill, but
then I found out I was
a rabbit / sheep combination creature, that was known to all
as my left arm is hitting someone else
in the whole place was suddenly covered in jelly, most of which went
into darkness, the fridge I set on fire was the pain of
a powerful force of ROCK ! which rattled the entire building, the worst area
being a heron isn't easy, it flies in
the brown envelope, which contained the most magic thing ever, it was
containing dustbins, in the fridge of chips, mainly. But it wasn't just chips, oh no, it was
also known as the night carrot, it
went to get more biscuits, which was important,
because I cried, ra

Onto more pressing matters -
I have recently been looking into requirements for airport baggage, what you can take, what not to etc, and have found it to be slightly confusing. Everything is measured in linear centimetres and you get charged for excess baggage by the pound/item. There are also stricter new guidelines on what you can take and what to avoid. As the rules on carry-on luggage have been adjusted you can now also take small liquid items on the flight. I have spent two seperate afternoons looking at luggage and according to the new sizes allowed it seems I won't be packing much ! I am going to go out this afternoon with my tape measure and notes to make sure I don't exceed the 157 linear cm for check-in luggage or the 130 linear cm for carry-on baggage. This is not helped by the fact that most luggage manufacturers list the capacity of their products in litres also !

So, I am making lists of what I need, what to take with me, small reminders of things back here at home I will miss. Of course, I will be taking plenty of english tea bags as I don't like Lipton. I will be taking my yoga-to-go cards and I will take my songbook and some picks in a small metal tin. I will pack my favourite mascara and my tweezers but leave all the other stuff like showergel and shampoo 'til I get to where I'm heading. I wonder if I should take my video camera. My iPod will also be packed too with an all new 'fit everything you can on there' playlist that will probably contain most of my favourite songs/artists. The last time I went to Henry and Chris' house I took my tiny CD player, at least music can now travel light.

This is all just a tiny part of planning for the tour that my good friend Henry Doss and I will be embarking upon a short time from now. We plan to take in various states playing to as many people as we can. We are very excited to have the opportunity to play to people in this way. We also have various shows lined up at Borders Book stores, The Sidewalk Cafe in New York and house concerts with a more relaxed and intimate atmosphere where we can play to a whole bunch of new people in their homes.

There will be a lot more info coming up on the main website soon along with links to a new tour website amongst other things so you'll be able to keep up with our progress while we're playing shows. I just hope I remember to pack my capo !

Tomorrow I will delight in drinking cappuccino with skimmed milk, find small windows/moments of time where I remembered something I forgot and I need to remember to pick up some milk before any of that happens.

I'm so going to bed now -
Emma xoxoxox

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Entry #26 – The Motherlode / It’s All Good !


Visit - www.directionstour.com

March 26th - 3:30 PM

Tomorrow morning at 5AM we set off for Manchester Airport bright and very early. I am currently sat in the middle of what can only be described as an organised mess. There’s a list of stuff to pack, something is tumbling around in the dryer and the windows are open and have been for over 2 hours. It’s not freezing and I’m not sat in 3-5 different layers of clothes wishing I was lying somewhere on a beach sizzling to a frazzled crisp (not advisable) just to feel warmth. Last week it snowed and there were random/bizarre sun/hailstone showers throughout the week. It’s nice to have such a good day, especially seen as this will be the last one spent here for a while.

Henry, Chris and I have worked hard to get everything organised for the tour, there seemed a point at the start of the year when all this was just an idea - now it’s real and tomorrow it will be even more real ‘cos everything will begin. During a phone conversation last night Henry pointed this out and also how the time has flown by so quickly. Henry and Chris have organised the tour dates and in the hundreds of emails we’ve sent to each other we’ve managed to sort out artwork, websites, mailouts, songs, setlists, badges, clothes and all the minute details inbetween.

Just a thought …………………………………….
One of my closest friends told me lately “when you’re young, you wish your life away, when you’re older, you wish you hadn't and that you had more time.” Life is short and sometimes, even at the best of times it’s easy to forget. (I seem to be veering off into a kind of morbid conversation, but I suppose it happens) These thoughts resonate around my head from time to time.

Anyway, I think I’ve got it covered, just packing, waiting and practising left to do. It’s all good.

We had a family dinner the other night, it was fun and lovely to see everyone. We played Nintendo Wii games and even my Mum had a go ! I've also enjoyed playing the last few shows here before setting off and seeing friends. Yesterday we had a barbecue in the morning even though it was windy/freezing !


March 27th - 3:00 AM
Luggage has been packed now and I'm going to spend the next hour or so sitting down, relaxing and probably reading the lists I made over and over until I am sure I didn't forget something. I will film something for our video blog before I set off too. 2 hours to go ! Time to get excited / freaked / off on one.

The new tour website is now online at www.directionstour.com (thanks to Chris for making this !). Henry and I will stop by at the site to upload video blogs and add diary entries. There will be new content from day-to-day so be sure to visit !

If you happen to be in one of the states we're playing in then I hope you can make it to one of our shows ! I'm going to go and get excited !!!

Hope you're well -
Will write soon,
Emma xoxoxox

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Entry #28 - Wanderin' Around In The Dark



Has it really been that long ? It really has ! It's been time and a half since I wrote anything here, probably because I've been busy writing other things - songs. So I'm sorry dear diary that I left you alone out there in the big world wide web on your own. Judging by the lack of silence I suppose you're quietly pleased to see me but my computer did crash a minute ago and I kind of wondered - was it you ? I attempted to write a new diary entry around Xmas time but was distracted by wrapping presents, bathing guinea pigs and playing far too much Guitar Hero 3. Indeed, I could probably now claim for incapacity benefit (and yes, obviously this is a joke) as between them my real guitar, piano, computer and Guitar Hero have somehow managed to slightly injure my wrists up to this point on a regular basis.

I went out to the computer store this morning to acquire some things and on the way there my iPod - which seems to be developing a mind of its own - started playing one song from my playlist over and over again. It was strange and almost chilling as the song it had picked out was more than relevant. If technology takes over we are all obviously doomed.

Anyway, I've been working on new material, writing late into the night, tidying my office and buying computer equipment (which seems to be the thing to do). Around Xmas my friends and I built a new computer and now all that's left to do is buy stuff like monitor speakers, sound cards etc etc. It's all good.

Going to Amsterdam for a while was a good idea. I booked flights for what could have been possibly the worst day to fly of the whole year and 80 MPH winds prevailed. Standing still on the runway the wings of the tiny plane bopped around like trampoline enthusiasists caught in the throes of a jumping obsession, indeed, weebles wobbling would look more civilised. Schiphol airport was a mere 45 minutes away once in the air and a train to Centraal Station was the quickest and easiest way to get to the centre of Amsterdam.

Walking for hours, getting lost in the many small streets leading from the Dam Square and upto Vondelpark, stopping for cake at De Taart Mn Van Tante, sampling Febo, cruising the canals by night and wandering off around town in the dark was all good. By the third day it became clear that you could set off with a map and get distracted by mostly anything exciting so it took a while to realise just how easy it was not to walk in a big and confusing circle around the whole city.

Stepping outside in the morning from the apartment, Oudezijds Achterburgwal was sunny and full of people in transit. If you stop for a minute in Amsterdam you may want to make sure you're not stood in the path of

1. A tram
B. Cyclists
3. Traffic



Indeed, to contend with all these various modes of transport you have to have your wits about you. In the city centre trams come and go every few minutes right down the middle of the street, followed sometimes by cars and if you're in the way you will definitely know about it. Pedestrians seem to have the least space to move around in and cyclists appear from every corner, in all directions at alarming speed.

The dark and mysterious feel of Amsterdam seems to suit me well, the tall buildings peering down at you, the many strange windows and doors, the ornateness of everything, the lamps that twinkle by the sides of canals, the light on the water, the small side streets that lead you somewhere new, the adventure of not knowing where you're going.

Taking pictures at the Hortus Botanicus of butterflies flying around in their own special house was almost like being in a dreamworld, I've never seen so many in such a concentrated space. Buying small glass owls from La Iittala and going on a tour of a diamond factory were exciting. I've never seen so many diamonds and got to see how they are cut. In a locked room along the corridor from the main workshop a lady showed me some of the biggest diamonds I am ever likely to see in my entire life ! Needless to say they were stunning.

Walking along the red light district at night was fun and bizarre, a trip to Nam Kee on Zeedijk for chinese food was followed by much more wandering around in the dark. Indeed, there is much more wandering around Amsterdam to be done, another time !

Emma xoxoxox

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Entry #29 - Driving Around In the Dark

Dear Diary -

Aaaaarrrhghghghghghghhhhh, something happened to my tour video and the hard disk it was on corrupted. The back up of it is not worth sorting through as it was hard to fit so much footage on individual DVDs so I'm going to find a way to start again, such is life, I was upto the credits (sob). It's been a busy month so far, lots of songs being written, mostly about red-light windows and absinthe but that's another story. The birds in the garden have all fledged out of their boxes in the back garden, the illusive crying cat is back (yes, the one that sounds like a child crying and stands on the roof mostly at 3AM spooking me out, although I kind of do like it when it calls by) and it's Thursday (but it feels like Sunday).

I found out this month that doing yoga in the sea is altogether more challenging than doing yoga on a level surface, much harder to keep your balance when everything is waving about and your feet are sinking into the ground ! Maybe it's kind of like what Karate Kid does but less dramatic and not standing on a wooden post, it also didn't result in me totalling someone with the crane move in a knockout karate tournament (oh well).

My friends and I went to Mallion Spout recently and had a great time walking up and down near the waterfall, we however went up a very steep bank. After changing, balancing on some large branches and trudging through lots of mud we were greeted by a very private looking fence and a path too steep to get across. We all leapt over the fence and sort of walked off in a random direction, hoping not to get snipered by some irate farmer, we got to the other side of the stream and decided it was a good idea to cross, but we were wrong. After some grazing of the knees, wet feet and realising that none of us were Indiana Jones we decided to find a better place to cross, we walked on and the bank of the stream disappeared into a bed of slimy rock. We had no choice but to try to get to the other side. We all crossed, I took my shoes off and waded in until I had nothing to stand except lots of green slime, I got my ass wet, but only down one side which was kind of half lucky I suppose. After staring at some sheep and walking up a lot of steps we went home and tried not to play Trivial Pursuit. Only go to Mallion Spout if you intend to do the right things - i.e, look at pretty waterfalls, staring at sheep, go and have a nice pint in the pub etc, it is now viewed as our own forest horror film set, if we had taken a camera with us and decided to stay 'til nightfall it could have been Blair Witch ! lol

A few nights later we decided that it would be cool to go to Spurn Point and take a telescope with us to stare at the sky, we even had professional advice on the phone from Sir Patrick Moore who told us to go and find Saturns moons, it was such a shame that it was overcast so we just stood and watched some rather creepy looking ships, sailing in the dark.

We thought it would be an excellent idea to go to Alton Towers, to go on some rollercoasters, be 10 again for the day and have fun but it wasn't much fun when the tyre on the car burst and it was even less fun when upon inspection, the spare was knackered too. Sitting on the motorway verge for a whole morning was really not cool, I saw one bunny rabbit and was happy that I'd brought a flask of coffee. The only thing we could find to do was to try to throw stones into an old wheel fixing from a truck. After being rescued hours later we went home and then went to the pub for some tea.

Nights later we all went to Welton and the Humber Bridge and stood on the edge of the road staring at all the lights, the trees look especially good when headlights shine through them at 2AM in the morning. The bunny rabbits however do not, they look freaked and as they run away into the bushes or from the edge of the road I feel like getting out of the car and going to see if they're ok. Rabbits seem to be everywhere, especially at 4AM in the morning and they should be more scared than they are. I was happy to get home and see my Bunny - Rufus. The next day he drank from a glass I was keeping next to me on the floor, and he seemed to like the taste of mineral water a lot.

Going to Robin Hoods Bay is good too, but on a windy day it can be frightfully cold, so you should drive to Whitby to buy some chips ! Note, if you park in the car park, it's not a good idea to put fish or chips on anyone elses car as the seagulls (which are the size of cats and not small ones either) are relentless eating machines that will swoop down upon anything and carry it away, maybe not the whole car, but still, you never can tell.

I spent the night of my birthday drinking a bottle of 2000 vintage Moet & Chandon, at 5AM I went to bed. The next day I saw someone I hadn't seen for ages. It was strange and good at the same time. I went out to buy liquid eyeliner, I went to Cross Keys in Cottingham for a drink with friends and came home to eat lasagne.

Seeing the new Sex & The City film was both excellent and sad, the ending is good but I won't spoil it (just in case someone hasn't seen it yet (I'm not saying that you like SATC, but maybe you do ?!?!?!). Going out shopping the next day was fun, I bought new shoes, a top and some jewellery then went out for cocktails with friends in the evening.

I played at the Lamp with King Creosote, and made a trip down to BBC Radio Leeds to play on-air which was fun. Durty Nellys was good too. If you happen to read this Adam, I'm looking forward to you coming round with a cake this week and yes we will play Guitar Hero ! The Springboard Festival in Cottingham was good this year too, it seems to have come around so quick, but I think it may be just because the month of the event has moved to June instead of August. Indeed, there were many people out and the weather was good too. I played at the Lamp the other night on the same billing as Circus Envy and Nova-Caine, it was a great night and I didn't want to go home :(

Anyway, reading this, a lot of crazy things have gone on this month so I tried to compile a slideshow of photos, Rufus is in there also !

I am going to go and not write in you diary, I am going to go and put the kettle on. Maybe in the year 3000 (I won't be alive anyway, unless I win the lottery or cryogenic freezing becomes available on the NHS) you will write yourself maybe, or be able to talk, or something - not that I don't enjoy it, writing you and all but think of it, the year 3000 ?????!!!!! Maybe iPods will be able to put the kettle on and computers will run you bubble baths, be able to make gourmet dinners and drive cars. I don't know.

Maybe in the year 3000 all donuts will have no holes, what a shame that would be, and maybe cats (due to evolution of course) would all cry like children on every roof, how cool that would be, maybe cartoon jam will be able to be made for real, how groundbreaking that would be and maybe ED209 will live next door with his wife the coffee maker.

Anyway, I should really go now and not write in you diary but if you are still here in the year 3000 I hope someone bookmarks you xxxxxx

Lots of love -
Emma xoxoxox

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