In a few hours I’ll be cruising through (some of) the Kent countryside through the tunnel and to Lille, my old hunting ground where I lived for a year during University. It’s also the European City of Culture, so I’m expecting a few good things to be going on. It seems there is a free concert to celebrate Black Music in the Grand Place (I’ll avoid the free Pastis this time to avoid getting involved in any tustles with security guards) – with James Brown’s old trumpet player doing a turn. I expect I’ll be revisiting some of the old haunts – the Bateau Ivre, Bar Oz, la Boucherie and of course the revered “Tete dans les Nuages” (read amusement arcades…. ok, ok, maybe I won’t – but a game of Tank Wars is always required….)

Lille is a quality place though despite “le ciel gris, quoi”. Art, Culture, Bars, Restaurants and quality old town, near to Paris and Belgium (some might say the Crossroads of Europe….)

Full report – well maybe next week, probably never!