Guest Diary: Official Secrets Act, Part 2

16th of April

Galway

So Galway, wow. after a 13 hour commute we finally bedded down in the palace of joy that is the travelodge. We try to tour on the most tightest of budgets (For reference see the awesome documentar "We Jam Econo") and it's rare we even have a hotel for the night, prefering instead the pleasures of friends couches, but we've never been to Ireland before and we haven't made the relevant connections, and it's 10 past midnight....so travelodge it is. I don't think i've ever slept so well in my life.

Back in Galway we are walking through town when a finely attired gent come up to us and asks if we're in Official Secrets Act. His reasoning being that he knew we were in town and no men in Galway wear boots with such high heels. Turns out he is from a local band Disconnect 4 and his guitar player is playing with us in the support band tonight. It really is a small world once you get out into it. He points in the direction of a good pub and we settle down to sample the famous Irish Guiness.

One of our most reliable couches in Britain is in Brighton at the abode of one Matt Harfield, journalist, librarian and all round hero. His Girlfriend is from Galway and by pure chance they are here tonight. They come and join us in the pub and we discuss W.B Yeats, the availability of good oysters, and Aoife (for that is his girlfriends name) teaches us fokl songs about Galway (The Galway Shawl). We have to say that we're rather keen on Galway by this point.

In Britain, venues treat you with varying degrees of respect, but in Europe, and Ireland definitely has a continental feel to it, it's so different. One of the main things you notice is the band flats that are sporadically made available to you. There were some beautiful ones in Germany, but the riverside flat we get given in Galway is pretty lush too. We load the fridge with beers, crack open the buckfast and head down to the Roisin Dubh to play our show.

Despite malfunctioning keyboards it's a great set and we keep to our band law of not saying stupid things about the country your in. (How many british bands must go to Amsterdam and make jokes about how cool it is you can get stoned....BORING, grow up). Alex also debuts his plastic crow which will now accompany him around Europe, sitting safely on his keyboard stand. A big Thank you to everyone who came down,w e really made some good friends and definitely intend on being back soon.

Then it was back to the flat to listen to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper (Voted best song ever by Lawrence Diamond in a poll taken just now) and drink till 5 in the morning. Buckfast is a dangerous thing. A many dangerous thing.

April 17th, Galway/Belfast

I sit at the kitchen tabel, hangover in hand and type this to you. we have a 5 hour journey to Belfast begining the minute i finish typing. We are heading North by the coast road and fully intend on getting some fine oysters and maybe reading some Yeats to each other (ALex wanted to go to Cole Park-please correct me if i'm spelling that wrong) but we partied a bit to long and our culture has suffered. Till Belfast....

Kind Regards

Lawrence

OSA
www.myspace.com/officialsecretsact