"A Whimsical tale of a lifelong dream realized"  - The New York Times

"Pure Bullocks"  - NME

Well hey i suppose everyone needs to have one or two ill-advised, possible insane adventures in a lifetime.  And this one is mine.
This whole trip actually started back around may of 2001.  ned's atomic dustbin announced they were going to play a few shows in england.  if you're reading this you probably know how big a fan i am of this band.  i had to go see them.
The plan was pretty simple.  but a planet ticket to london.  my email friend MM-xxx* would meet me at the airport and we would hang together for a few days and catch the shows.  easy, right?

Monday 17th 2001 (four days before show)

i receive an email from mm-xxx.  she has to work and ended up with other obligations.  fuck.  my first thought is to cancel my trip.  i email jonn, neds lead singer, to see if the new york city gig would be rescheduled.  no.  its not going to be.  if i want to see ned's, i have to fly to england.

Tuesday 18th 2001 (three days before show)

i manage to make contact with monkeyhands*, another friend i met on the net about a year ago.  we actually met because he was surfing the net a few days before 2000 ned's dudley show and found out about it from the web.  emailed me a thank you, and even sent me a shirt from the show.  i explain to him the situation, and he graciously invites me to meet up with him and his friends for the show, and offers to let me crash at his place.  whew.  hear back from mm-xxx that she can actually meet up with me for saturday.  maybe.  i guess i can play it by ear.

Wednesday 19th 2001  (two days before show)

I have to work thursday morning (i work 3:30-noon at the local tv station).  After work, i do some packing and run a boatload of errands with my girlfriend heather.  she brings me to the Hartford, CT bus station to catch the 6:30pm bus to Boston.  the handle breaks off my suitcase.  a good omen.  we kiss goodbye....
it's a 2 1/2 hour trip via bus to boston, where my friends D and Alicia pick me up.  i'm staying at D's in watertown tonight, and catching my plane tomorrow around 2pm.  we head back to D's house, and are there around 10pm.  We find some rope in her basement and make a new handle for my suitcase.  Alicia splits to her house and heads to bed.  I crash on D's couch.

Thursday ( i wanna be sedated)

I wake up about 8am, as D is getting ready for work.  She leaves for work, leaving me to myself in her house.  I take a shower and head over to Tresca's Diner for breakfast, where D's mom works.  mmmm... pancakes!
after breakfast i lug my suitcase down to watertown square to catch the bus to harvard square.  as i'm waiting, someone shouts my name.  its alicia on her way to work!  cool.  we wait for the bus together.  she gets off after 5 stops or so.  i ride to the end and get on the T (subway) for the ride to Logan Airport.  damn my suitcase is heavy.

Logan is practically abandoned.  i'm about 3 hours early for my flight, and the terminal is empty.  the national guard is standing at the metal detector, a sign of the increased security after the NYC attacks.  the security guy examines my digital camera and decides since i can't cut anyone with it, it must not be a weapon.  i find a comfy seat it the terminal and read a copy of the new york times someone has left behind.

My plane to philadelphia leaves on schedule, but it's not even half full.  it is a quick flight, an hour or so, before we are on the ground in philly.  it is now 5:00 EST.  i grab an overpriced and pretty nasty tasting hot dog, and its onto my plane for the trip across the atlantic.  even though this plane is half empty as well, i still end up sitting next to someone, a female lawyer from near philly, flying over to visit family.  we talk a bit about london and whatnot, and she tells me a few things about where i would come in on the train and what's nearby.  she was rather helpful but i never got her name.  once the plane takes off, she moves across the aisle to give us both some more space.  i sit back and watch a few movies.  "Blow" was pretty good, i think.  i manage to fall asleep for a few hours twoard the end of the flight.

Friday (almost there)

My plane lands at Gatwick just before 6am.  it is a 20 minute wait to get through customs, especially since i am the last one in line.  "so where are you going," asks the customs lady.  "i'm going to see a band, ned's atomic dustbin!" "where are you staying?"  "uhhh... (pulling out paper with monkeyhands' address on it) here!"  "is this person expecting you?"  "i should hope so, he gave me his address..."  we go back and forth for quite awhile.  finally she stamps my passport and says "enjoy your concert.  i didn't even know the neds were still around..."  cool!

i get a train to london, into victoria station.  i have no idea where i need to go from here, only that i don't have to meet monkeyhands in nuneaton around 4pm.  so i stash my heavy suitcase in a locker at victoria and wander the streets of london for a bit.  i take a picture of buckingham palace, and some nice shots of the park nearby.  not a whole lot interesting to look at, in my opinion.  and boy, this whole town smells like diesel gas.  blecch!

after seeing what i could see from where i was at (deciding i didn't need to see big ben or anything else london might have to offer me), i figured i may as well head to nuneaton and find monkeyhands.  i was tired of walking anyway.  back to victoria, and into the tubes.  i catch the 12noon to nuneaton, which puts me there around 2.
I find my way to where monkeyhands works, i'm supposed to meet him there.  hey, i'm a little early but that's okay.  i walk from the train station into town, and find his store.  i go to the counter and ask for him.  "he's not here......"

"are you pete from america?"
as if the accent didn't give it away.  "yes."
monkeyhands had to work at another store for the day.  he wanted to make sure i was okay though, so he left a message that he would be here around 4 to get me.  the girl at the counter dials the other store to get a hold of monkeyhands and let him know i am there.  i chat with him for a few minutes, and he assures me he'll be there as soon as he can get out.  the people at the nuneaton store are nice though, and let me drop my suitcase off in the upstairs office.  i throw on a clean shirt (my "kill your television" shirt) because the blink182 shirt i was wearing was absolutely reeking from all the travelling and being in it for over a day now...
so i am off to wander the streets of nuneaton for a few hours.  first, i have to call my girlfriend.  she hadn't gotten to work yet when i tried to call from london.  i talk to her for a few and let her know that i havent managed to get killed or arrested yet.  but hey, the day is young right?
nuneaton is 2 streets big.  but it's nice.  ther are a lot of stores and whatnot, and after hitting mcdonald's for lunch, i walk up and down the streets, peeking in windows and looking through any stores that might be interesting.  woolworth's sells boxed sets of the A-Team episodes.  very cool.
i eventually find myself back at monkeyhand's store, end end up hanging out in front for lack of anything better to do.  i'm sitting by the window and someone asks me where the cup is to put change in.  i decide maybe i should go across the street and sit on the bench instead.
i watch the traffic go by for awhile, keeping my eyes on the building in case monkeyhands happens to show up.  eventually i see someone run into the building that looks like it could be him.  he's talking with someone out in front of teh store, and they point in my direction.  i watch with amusement as monkeyhands approaches cautiously, not 100% sure if i am who he is looking for.  he comes and sits on the bench next to me and we bs for a few minutes before we get moving.  we're instant friends.
(without going into exceptional detail, i'll just say that monkeyhands was an exceptional host, i couldnt have asked for anyone better to stay with.  he's a great guy.  so i'll just leave it at that instead of going MH did this, MH did that...  i only hope i can make his trip to the states next year as anjoyable as he made mine to the UK)
we head back to his store and grab my suitcase.  hop in his car and take off to catch up with one of his friends who is also going to the show with us, then to MH's place in tamworth.  we get cleaned up for the show, and a few more friends arrive.  there are 5 of us going tonight, but one of the guys doesn't feel well and decides to head home instead.  that sucks.
we head to dudley with steve's friend driving.  i'm in the passenger seat and fall asleep for a snooze on the hour drive (keep in mind i had only had about 3 hours sleep overnight).  we arrive at JB's somewhere around 7:45 or so i think, and park in the rear.
 

(CONTINUE)
 

*names changed to protect the not-so-innocent