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MONDAY, JUNE 25TH – SWITZERLAND TO NORWAY: Got 3 hours of sleep and got up to make sure Carlene’s group got off to the airport okay at 5:30 am. Everyone was on time but the hotel forgot to make the “breakfast ‘to go’ boxes”! Iris was there and she was able to get the front desk clerk to throw somethings together quickly. Have not heard from them but hopefully everyone made it home safely. I left with the Bellamy Brothers at 7:00 am and we got checked in pretty quickly. It’s always a slow process in Zurich for some reason. Had a few minutes to eat breakfast before heading to the gate. Our flight to Amsterdam was only 1 hour 45 minutes and we landed on time. Then we had a 3 hour layover. I was able to go into the Lounge there and work that 3 hours. The flight to Kristiansand was 1 hour and 20 minutes and again we landed on time. Gunnar met us with a SUV with a trailer for all the luggage and equipment. But the 16 passenger van he had “ordered” for us did not show up. He ended up calling a couple of taxis and we drove the 10 minutes to the hotel. We are staying at Hotel Norge which is right across from the venue where the Bellamys performed only a couple of years ago. Déjà vu! I “love” Kristiansand. It’s a seaport city with LOTS of great shops. I met with Gunnar during dinner to go over details for Tanya Tucker’s performance at a Norway festival in a couple of weeks. The food at the restaurant was good. We started talking about “ghosts” with David and I opened up my “Ghost Radar” App. The hotel is FILLED with spirits. Not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight. It’s an older hotel so sure there’s lots of “history” here. After dinner, I walked down to the 7-11 and purchased bottles of water. Then worked and worked and worked. I did stop by the “fitness room”. There is one treadmill, one bike, one elliptical, a few weights and a small “ball”. I told Jim to be sure and let me know if he is going to work out so I don’t go at the same time. The room is so small, I don’t think we could both get in there at one time. I saw the video the guys made of me yesterday at Gola’s house. I was completely absorbed in trying to get two of the musicians checked in on the KLM website and not paying attention to what was happening around me. One of the guys shot a gun and I must have jumped a foot in the air. And they got it all on video. Told them “Remember, paybacks are HELL”! Definitely time to get some sleep. We have a press conference tomorrow but that’s the only thing on the schedule. Nice to have some time off here. Jude
TUESDAY, JUNE 26TH – PRESS CONFERENCE IN KRISTIANSAND: Got almost 5 hours of sleep and then went down to breakfast before they closed. The restaurant was packed. David and Jim were in there as well and said there were only about 5 people in the restaurant when they came in. I guess everyone was trying to eat before it closed for breakfast. Plus the breakfast bar is excellent! I worked out “quickly” and then showered and went to the lobby to meet Gunnar for the Press Conference. The interview was with a reporter from the local newspaper and had a very different “twist” on it. A man who has been a lifelong fan of the Bellamy Brothers was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehring Disease) about 2 years ago. His lifelong dream has been to meet the Bellamys. He is only 53 years old and the life expectancy for ALS is only 3 years. So heart-breaking. His name is “Dag” and he arrived a little bit late with his wife. He said the first taxi he called had a flat tire on the way to the hotel. Then went the second taxi arrived at the hotel with him, the driver was unable to lower the “lift” so he could roll his wheelchair out! They finally figured it out and came into the hotel. During all this, I couldn’t find Howard. David and I both called and sent text messages but no luck. We even knocked on his door but didn’t get an answer. Then about 5 minutes after the interview was supposed to start, he called me. He couldn’t fall asleep last night so didn’t go to sleep until 3 am. Then he forgot to set his alarm and was still sleeping at noon. He dressed quickly and rushed down. Howard and David were excellent with Dag – as I knew they would be. Dag had brought a really old album with him to have them sign and I gave him the 40th Anniversary double cd. They talked for over an hour and the reporter did a great job with the questions he asked. Besides Gunnar, our festival promoter and a lady working with the festival were also there. It was a very special interview that I’ll remember forever. The weather is beautiful today and I walked down to the waterfront to take some photos. Then I walked around the town taking photos and going into various stores. There are 2 big shopping malls only a couple of blocks from our hotel. Was back in the hotel by around 2:30 pm and started my “work day” on email! I took a break at 7 pm and David and I walked over to an Indian Restaurant I had found during my walk today. It’s called “Mother India” and it was delicious. I got Butter Chicken again (Susan—wish you were here) and David got Chicken Marsala. The portions were huge and we could have easily shared a dish. I took all our leftovers back to the hotel because I know Howard only had a salad for dinner. I sent him a text and he confirmed that he would love to have our “scraps”. LOL I noticed that when I sit at my “desk”, I was getting unusually hot. When I closed the curtains, I found out “why”! There is a wall radiator and it was turned up as high as it would go. I even burned my hand when I turned it off! So I have had the air conditioner blasting on my left side while the heat was blasting away on my right side. I have to say I am thrilled with this hotel – especially the shower. The shower has a DOOR – not just a drain in the floor and a squeegee to mop up the water! And the water pressure is incredible…very rare for a hotel in Norway! George Wright, who worked for the Bellamys decades ago but fell in love with a Norwegian on one of our tours and move to Norway, came by today. We saw him here last year, too. He looks great and still loves living in Norway. I think that’s all that happened today. Tomorrow is another day off and I’m looking forward to getting in a long run down along the waterfront! Jude WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27TH, 2019 – DAY OFF IN KRISTIANSAND: Got up at 9:00 am today after 6 hours of sleep. It was wonderful. Back at the hotel at around 1:30 pm, showered, and ate a salad that I had purchased and put in my refrigerator yesterday. I walked over to the shopping center and looked around for a few minutes. When I left, I ran into Howard and gave him a “tip” on where to find some good fish soup for lunch. Worked the rest of the afternoon and then had dinner with Howard and David. Some of the other guys were eating at that time as well. The food was good. Overall, we love this hotel, especially the “location”! Be sure and check out the photos on my personal Facebook page (Judy Seale) or my company Facebook page (Judy Seale International). I reviewed a copy of the article that will run tomorrow about the Bellamys meeting with Dag. It’s very touching. Here is a “link” to the special moment they shared yesterday when they met: https://youtu.be/mfhrSrPr_zk Busy, busy few days ahead and will be home for one week over the 4th of July! Jude THURSDAY, JUNE 28TH – SHOW DAY AT THE SORLANDETS COUNTRYFESTIVAL IN EVJE, NORWAY: No time for a run today but got in a short work out with weights. Had breakfast and rushed down to the local bank to exchange some U.S. dollars for Norwegian Kroner. If I don’t use it here, I’ll need it in Norway when I fly back over the middle of July! I also picked up two copies of the local newspaper. The Bellamys and Dag have the entire front page – in color – plus a full two page color spread inside the paper! Met the guys in the lobby at 11:00 am to drive to the festival. The air conditioner was working (if it even had one) in the van and it was very hot. The 45 minute ride turned out to be a 1 hour ride to the festival site. I do remember this site from the days that it was called the Ose Festival and I had Dwight Yoakam performing. Lindsey was also here with Pam Tillis many years ago. I remember that the opening act for Dwight would not get off the stage. They liked themselves much more than the audience did. The promoter finally had to make them leave the stage so Dwight’s crew could set up. Dwight sang 3 songs and all the power to the stage went out! Everyone was rushing around trying to locate the problem. Dwight asked if anyone had a megaphone. Someone did and he sang through it until the power was back on. Turned out that the opening act found the power cable for the stage and unplugged it! The stage is very small but the guys will “make it work”. It’s sad that the festival committee just had this new stage built and they made it much too small for most bands. There were the normal “issues” at sound check but nothing too bad. The guys got everything sorted out and finished sound check by 2 pm…earlier than the 3 pm finish we were anticipating. I’m really glad I went out with the guys for sound check because I was able to get a few things sorted out for the Bellamys that might have been “difficult” had I waited until we arrived for the show. The festival gave us lunch tickets and we ate there before leaving for the hotel. We got back to the hotel at around 4 pm and I took a shower and worked until time for dinner. Ate quickly and worked a little more before leaving the hotel at 9 pm for the show. Bellamys perform from 10:30-12 midnight. A large taxi van picked up the band and I later learned that the driver didn’t speak English or Norwegian and had NO idea where he was going. I guess the guys had to get out their phones and try to give him directions. Camilla picked up me, Howard and David and we had a “nice, peaceful ride” to the venue. At first I was disappointed in the number of people attending but I guess the fans were just waiting for the Bellamys to go on stage. There was a large dance floor right in front of the stage and tables and chairs around that. About mid-way through their show, it was full of people – dancing and sitting. Dag made it to the show and really enjoyed the concert. So glad he was able to come. It was impossible to bring him backstage in his wheelchair but at least he got to sit right in front of the stage. It was a great show – with 3 encores. We left immediately after the performance but we still didn’t get back to the hotel until 1:15 am. It’s 2:30 am now and I’m going to bed. Have to get up at 6:30 am. ☹ Jude
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