Have made it to Mexico, after a long long flight, and a sudden realisation that knowing Italian doesn't mean you can kind of guess what Mexicans are saying.

Huatulco is beautiful. The beach is magnificent, the water is 26 degrees celsius, and there is a huge array of birds and scary insects that I don't recognise. The food is, well, Mexican, so lots of tacos and tortas with meats, chilis and guacamole with salsa etc. It is brilliant for breakfast.

It is very hot here, so I counter this by doing very little. I sit in the dive shop, reading, drinking water and Corona, and playing cards with Katie and her dive shop buddies. The heat saps any will to do anything that involves moving. But that suits me fine.

Katie is well, and looking beautiful. She has a gorgeous tan, and her hair has become a stunning blonde from the sun. I think the climate is good for her, even if for me it's too hot at the moment. We've spent some lovely time together, catching up, and just messing about, which is what I've missed most. The stupid things that you can't really do with anyone else. I've been waiting for this for so long that I feel unbelievably lucky to finally be here.

Yesterday, Katie made me rent a bike. I wasn't too happy about this, since I've only ridden a bike twice, and that was on the flats with no cars. We cycled in about 15 to the shop this morning, and although I was terrified, it was a bloody good feeling to have done it without killing myself. I may extend the rental.

I hope everyone is well in Italy, France and England. Am thinking about you all, but not that much, because I'm having too much fun.

x

The last few days have been all about leaving Modena. Getting ready, packing bags, doing all those things I want to do before I bog off for a few weeks in the sun with the lovliest in the land. So on Tuesday I met up as planned with Bastian and Catherine to go to a little restaurant called Aldina where they serve local food at cheap prices, and drown you in lambrusco. The meal was great, and we spent a good couple of hours there. In the evening I dogged it (an Australian term meaning not going out when you are fully expected to), and didn't make it to the Modena City Ramblers gig in the Piazza Grande. Shame shame. But the guys did turn up afterwards, and we drank some wine at mine and I cheered up. It is a real shame leaving the place again, especially as I was getting back into it all nicely. But it certainly isn't a hardship moving about, and I don't want to make it sound like one. It is a great privilege. Spelling?

Yesterday I got up very late, nipped over for a final Schiavoni (keep up, the panino man of legends), a final lard bun, a final wine, all that stuff. I then procrastinated till the very last moment to do my share of flat cleaning and bleaching everything out of sight. I did this to the sound of Franz Ferdinand, dancing while mopping, while Francesco looked on, looking very confused. I packed.

The guys waved me off at the bus stop, and Bastian ran after the bus with a nuts grin on his face. It was great. I'll miss them.

Hello hello hello. I've just spent a great few days with Mum and Dad showing them around Modena and Ravenna. We've been eating our way around Emilia Romagna, drinking balsamic vinegar here and there, and generally having lots of fun.

I'm getting all ready to go to Mexico, and I am super excited. Do they give you free food and drink on long flights? I hope so.

Rob et al have sorted out the house for next year in Bristol and they have all agreed to let me have the nicest room because I am the nicest, most mature and rational person. That is a lie.

If anyone is wondering why I haven't been emailing, it's because I have limited time on line. A fat Modenese man runs the show in this cafe, and he could have bought a Ferarri with the amount I have spent on his computers. But I think he spent it on mozarella and mortadella. In a bun. A big bun.

I introduced Ma and Pa to Catherine and Bastian which was cool. We went out for dinner and had fun. I had a cold on Thursday, and now I cough a lot. And snore too according to Francesco.

There is a festival at the Imola race track in June if anyone is interested in coming. The Pixies and The Cure are supposed to be playing. If this is true, I am going. Will keep you posted anyway.

Ben x

I have a horrible cold, and Mum and Dad are coming today. Feel very antisocial, and my head feels like it is underwater.

Will write when something exciting happens. Am off to get a bus to Bologna airport. I miss Katie, music and something else I can't quite place. Probably clear sinuses.

x

I arrived back in Modena last night after another fun train journey. I was waved off by everyone at Bordeaux St Jean, and thoroughly miss them already. The last few days have been very hectic, and I apologise for not updating, although I'm not exactly sure who I am apologising to. Probably just to myself.

Thursday was the day of the big concert. It was a real success, and we were all very proud of our performance. We had a good reception, and it has kick started our wish to get on with the project. The fact we didn't make it through to the next round was disappointing, but not the end of the world. Music isn't based on competitions fortunately, and the other band (playing french folk) were good. In a french folk sort of way. After the gig I went out with Dan Arnaud and Julie to pick up some free pints grace a la pool competition, and we then met up with Kenza, Nick, Nel and the others in a small club. It was a jolly evening given that I thought I was going to be more upset about the result.

Friday was even better as it was the day of Julien's party. In the afternoon I went to see my old boss in Nansouty, a small quarter of Bordeaux, and we had a coffee together. We caught up, and I got to see Marie and Jean-Baptiste, the two apprentices I worked with for a while. J-B had an amazing knack of being able to electrocute himself at least 4/5 times a day. It was lovely to see them again and to have a chat. I have been very lucky this year meeting outrageously kind people who I hope have had a good influence on me. In the evening we had dinner at Julien and Ben's place, followed by going to the Break pub where there was a strong flow of Cuba Libres all night. Arnaud was dancing on the stools after not very long, and Julien was super happy. This was followed by going to a club on the quais, which was 70% straight 30% gay. It was a good place, and I enjoyed myself loads more than I thought I would. Gin and tonic flowed, and we all had a very alcoholic time. I seem to remember some Russian people buying me vodka. On leaving, there was a big fight, and the riot police turned up threatening to shoot tear gas at us. So we left.

Saturday was another good day, the evening (Dan and I got up around 3 or so) spent at Julie's house eating fajitas with lots of people. It was another great evening. The holiday was coming to a close, and I had time to think about the people I've met over the last few months, and what a pain it will be to start studying again. The music has gone well, and I hope I've grown up a bit. There's a lot of room for improvement still in that area I think.

On Sunday Dan and I went to the market and has chicken and chips washed down with rose. We met up briefly with Maz which was very fortunate. In the afternoon I recorded the vocals for a proper demo which I hope we'll be using to move things forward. A metal guy called Matthieu sorted out the recording for us, and he seemed very clued up about it all. I hope it all goes well. In the evening I hopped on the train, with music crashing round my head, and made it back here yesterday with the same songs on a loop in the brain. Who needs a walkman.

A quick note of thanks to Ben and Julien for putting me up, Dan for the same, Arnaud and Manu for their company, Julie, Julie again, (D)Anne-Helene, Jamie and Clare for putting me up, and everyone in Bordeaux really. I had a couple fo weeks that I'll never forget, and I can't say thanks enough. Oh, and thanks for the video of the gig Julien, and I'll send the keys back soon.

Hello. Sorry I haven't updated recently. Have too little time and access to internet. I have a lot to tell, but I'm not going to do it on this sticky french keyboard where the space bar doesn't work.

A bientot,

x

I had an excellent night on Monday at Julien's house for his birthday. His Mum, his brother, Marie, Benoit and his friend from childhood were all there. We had a superb raclette, and the whole evening was lovely. Everyone had fun, and we were all chatting and dancing and messing about. All the people I have met out here have been very friendly, and they all go out of their way to be kind and make me feel at home. I'll never forget these past few days. I've met more people and done more things in a week than I did in months.

Last night was a great evening for two reasons. Firstly Arsenal lost to Chelsea in the most high profile game of their season. I really dislike the side of me that gets so unnaturally happy when Arsenal lose. Real went out of the Champions League, which must have been good news for Katie's Dad. He also has a strong nature of disliking teams almost as much as he supports others. The night was rounded of by my winning of the pool tournament at the pub, which meant eight pints of beer. I shared 4 with my comrades, and I'm keeping the other four for tomorrow night. Hurrah, free beer. Nothing like it.

The weekend has been excellent. On Saturday we had a party at Arnaud's house. There were quite a few of us there, missing just Manu from the band, and Dan came along too. There was lots to eat and drink, and we had a very good raclette. My best memory from the evening was that everyone was having a really good time, chatting and messing about. There was a good atmosphere, and it was good to get to know everyone a bit better. I love evenings like that.

Sunday was a long day. I was entertained for lunch by Ben's Mum and Dad, and was thoroughly spoilt with some scallops with mushrooms and cheese to start, followed by roast chicken and chips. I really was in heaven. That afternoon, I went to watch Arnaud play for his local football team. I haven't seen that much amateur football, apart from Northampton QPR once, but this game was fascinating. There were two sendings off, the game was stopped for 10 minutes as there was the imminent prospect of a fight between some players and the referee, there were two penalties, and there was some shocking, shocking defending. Arnaud's team won 3-2, he hit the angle of the woodwork with an opportunistic curling left foot shot from outide the area. The difference between the two teams was that Arnauds team, "les rouges" had discipline on their side, and kept their composure, whereas the the other team were essentially diving, complaining, and not really concentrating on their football. Great game though.

The evening we drove with all the amps and "materiel" in Ben's parents' Espace to the radio station TRG, about half an hour outside of Bordeaux. The band we're competing against on Thursday was already in the studio playing a few songs. When our turn came, we introduced ourselves and spoke about what kind of music we like etc. They played "It's your birthday" from our rough demo, and then we played "Strange" live. We then requested Talk Show Host by Radiohead, and finished the show off with us playing "Cold Wind". The sound was good;it was a really amazing experience, chatting on the radio, and even the rather small things like having headphones and the big microphones got me all excited. We had an excellent reception, followed by interest from the presenters, one of whom will be there on Thursday, all emoustille. C'est fantastique!

We got back to the flat, all on a high, had some food, and listened to the interview and all had a good laugh at it. A day I'll never forget.

Good day to you all. Had a pleasant practice today, working on new stuff, and getting on with it all. Have a slight sore throat today which is a pain, and I'm taking care because the radio thing is tomorrow. Tonight I'm off to Arnaud's for dinner with the band and Dan.

Two pieces of good news. The first is that I won my first writing prize with a competition I entered a few months ago. Katie gave me the address and I sent it in. The website is here:

http://www.comune.modena.it/biblioteche/holden/concorso.htm

The second is that Manchester United beat Arsenal today, which made me feel particularly good for some reason.

Toodle pip.

Had a good practice last night with Arnaud (guitar), Julian (guitar) and Benoit (normally bass, but backing vocals for the acoustic radio thing on Sunday). We'll be playing on quite a small radio station in Aquitaine. The plan is that for the first hour, the band that we're competing against on Thursday plays, and then for the second hour, we play. During the hour we play two songs, chat about music, and play some songs we think are really good, like Daphne and Celeste and the Bluetones.

And so tonight, we practice more.

Last night was a good one. We had a potato, sweet potato, lentil and other stuff curry at Jamie's, followed by a terrible friendly at the pub between Sweden and England. I caught up with Rob and Andreas, and it was good to hear from them, and to see what they've been doing. Rob has managed to give up drinking and, ahem, smoking for lent, although the coffee and soft drinks that he is now consuming seem to cost roughly the same as the two more well known drugs.

I slept with Dan on Jamie and Clare's floor last night, which was lovely.

At 3 I met up with Marie, girlfriend of Julien (guitarist in the band) to do some shopping. We were mainly looking for some red fairy lights to wrap around the mic stand for the gig. We found some expensive blue ones. We will look more thoroughly soon.

Tonight at last I'll be playing with the band. Hopefully we'll be working on a new song. Given that this is the main reason I'm out here, it'll be great to start playing with them again.