I’m old! I went to London over the weekend and I am still recovering from that! As much as it has drained me, I would do it again – just not in the immediate future.
The reason for my trip was to see the only live show that The Anchoress was performing for 2026, in celebration of the release of her new album, As We Once Were. It was a long way to travel from Glasgow but I was committed to trying my damndest to make it there.
As the date got closer there were things coming at me attempting to blight my determination of getting to London. Mercifully I managed to see them off (some luck was involved).
THE TRIP DOWN
Saturday started early with me getting out of bed at 6am. I needed to be at Motherwell station before 9.30am to get the Lumo service to London Euston. This meant a train to Queen Street from Ashfield at 8.15 to then get to Glasgow Central for the 8.50 Lanark train to Motherwell. The first was on time and arrived at Queen Street on time. I got to Central at 8.35. Time enough for a loo stop and to buy something to eat from the M&S before boarding the Lanark train. Arrival to Motherwell was around 3 minutes late – but I had a 15 minute window from original ETA to Lumo departure so it was all good.
During all this time I am a bag of nerves. One sigh of relief once I got to Queen Street. Another sigh of relief once at Central. Another sigh once the Lanark train left Central. Another sigh when arriving at Motherwell.
Motherwell was BUSY. Three trains were arriving on the platform in the space of 10 mins. The first was headed to Manchester Airport. The second was my Lumo train to Euston but just minutes later an Avanti West Coast going to Euston was also due. The platform was packed with people. The biggest sigh was left for the boarding and seating on the Lumo service. At last, I could relax. Phew! The train arrived at Euston about 10 minutes later than its ETA but that was of no stress to me. My hotel was a 15 minute walk from Euston station and I booked in around 3.30pm.
EXPERIENCES ARE BETTER WITH FRIENDS
Michelle was also going to the gig but we had booked our travel and accommodation separately. We’d be arriving within a short space of one another and had decided that we’d eat at a restaurant nearby late in the afternoon.
We ate at Tofu Vegan on Charlotte Street – a fully vegan Chinese restaurant that has a five-star rating on Google reviews and was worth all those ratings. Delicious food and absolutely PACKED at 4.30pm – lucky I had pre-booked our table earlier in the week. We’d have never got a table otherwise. Staff and service was excellent too. If I am ever in that part of London again in future, I WILL return to Tofu Vegan.
We arrived at the 100 Club just around 6pm and there was already a queue of maybe 20-25 people ahead of us. It was good to see that fans were already queuing outside. Doors opened promptly at 6.30pm and we made our way down to the auditorium. The stage is very low and so by the time Michelle and I had our rockets scanned and got inside, the fans had lined themselves along the low stage.
I didn’t much relish the prospect of standing unsupported (no barrier at the front to take my weight and pillars were further away from the stage and looking a little cumbersome to prop oneself up against – not through looking fragile but just strangely placed), nor did Michelle, so we decided to nab a table and chairs to the side of the stage. I had felt a little wobbly outside while waiting in the queue so that was making me nervous too. Best to know I had a seat to use if needed.
THE GIG
Roxanne de Bastion arrived on stage at 7pm and performed a short but entertaining set. She was performing solo and I would love to see her with a full band. I haven’t exposed myself to her music too much. And I deliberately held back from taking a look before the gig but I definitely do need to check out her music.
I am not ashamed to say that what I was really there for was Catherine – of course! She opened her set with a fantastic performance of the album title track, ‘As We Once Were.’ There were also performances of ‘Throw Over Your Man’, ‘I Had a Baby Not a Lobotomy’, ‘Damsels’, and ‘All Fall Down’. There were tracks performed from The Art of Losing as well: the title track, ‘Let it Hurt’, ‘Show Your Face’, ‘Unravel’, ‘My Confessor’, and ‘The Heart is a Lonesome Hunter’ and ending with ‘The Exchange’. There was also ‘Long Year’ from the Confessions album and ‘Once Upon a Lie’ which Catherine says SHOULD have been a Confessions track but her then label had other ideas. The rights return to her in March next year and I think she is determined to mark the occasion in some way. I look forward to that.
The show heralded a change in band line-up. Leoni Jane Kennedy has departed to concentrate on her own career, so that now sees Charlie Cawood taking up guitar and Esme Edwards taking over on bass duties. Keir Adamson is still stellar on drums.
Considering that Catherine broke her arm in May and then ended up with Covid a few weeks ago, it was a triumphant performance. She played keys and guitar – although placing the guitar strap on and off her shoulder before and (particularly) after play was painful – and her voice was still very strong despite being so recently ill. She’s incredible. I stood for almost the entire performance so I could have a relatively clear view. I think I sat back down with just two songs left in the set.
AFTER THE SHOW
There was a signing afterwards and I had to queue. I wanted a memento of the night and decided I’d get a copy of the standard CD with a personalisation on it, and perhaps the line of a song – if Catherine didn’t mind writing it out. I knew I would just about have the funds left. I decided on my favourite line from the song ‘All Fall Down’ – ‘So why Am I still half past three at seventeen?’ It’s such a great ambiguous line and I just love it. We hugged and it was lovely. She thanked me for travelling all the way from Glasgow. But there was no thanks needed. I will always travel to see the artists that I love and support them as much as I can.
There will be shows next year. There have already been two announced so far. One in Glasgow that is being put on by label Last Night From Glasgow at Cottiers on 30 April 2027. Tickets are available HERE
The other has only tentatively been announced. A confirmed date but tickets are not on sale yet. I will provide a link once they do go on sale. It’s for 9 October 2027 at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. I believe there will be a few other shows announced soon – emphasis on the word FEW.
I didn’t take any photos or videos. I just wanted to enjoy the gig.
THE NEXT DAY
I got up out of bed feeling very parched and very hot. The hotel had no air-con and the only relief from a scorching room was: a window that offered very little breeze but did at least open about a foot high (which was good), and a desk fan that basically blew warm air about, unless it managed to catch a bit of cooler air coming in from the partly opened window. I also managed to lose my phone down the side of the bed at 3.30am which had me in a panic worried that I wasn’t going to be able to retrieve it.
It was a sweet relief getting out of that room and into some cool morning air, I tell ya! Having parted ways the evening before just near my hotel – and purely by chance – Michelle and I met each other on Tottenham Court Road and chatted away for a while. Once again we were catching different trains with Michelle setting off a few hours earlier than me. We said our goodbyes and I headed for the Tesco Express across the road so I could check my bank balance at the cashpoint.
Next stop was a Greggs further along TCR. I had a large vanilla latte and a croissant. It cost me £5. It would have cost me that for the coffee alone at any other chain. And I actually think the coffee is better at Greggs than the Starbucks/Costa/Caffe Nero/Black Sheep chains, and it’s DEFINITELY more affordable.
I was so exhausted I really didn’t want to walk far or try and do too much so I decided to head to Euston Road and visit the Wellcome Collection. I wanted to peruse the gift shop as it is bloody good (I was taken with several books but alas couldn’t buy any of them) and then the server at the till reminded me of the reading room.
On a previous visit to London, the OH and I had gone to the Wellcome Collection (it was probably when we were last there for Catherine thinking about it) and really enjoyed our time there. We’d been to the reading room too, I had recalled on my arrival. There are some book shelves there where you are free to read the books on offer (there is a library too but it’s closed on a Sunday). I found a copy of Muriel Spark’s Memento Mori and decided to start reading it knowing that if I got engrossed in it I’d be able to borrow a copy from the library when I got home. Before heading to the reading room I did buy a couple of postcards. I couldn’t resist them! (See below.) I have borrowed Memento Mori from the library.
It was lovely and cool in the Wellcome Collection, esp. In the reading room. I almost fell asleep a few times. I was so bloody tired. Just after 1pm I set off for Euston station. I went to the M&S and bought a large bottle of water and a ‘no duck’ hoisin wrap to eat once I was on the train back to Motherwell. I called the OH and had a wee chinwag. Then I headed into the station proper. It was ssoooo busy! I checked the board and could see that my train – the 2.18pm – was now reading ‘to Crewe’. Erm… why was it showing that it was only going to Crewe? I went to the information desk and they said I’d be changing at Crewe. Ah, okay. No worries. I took a seat for a wee while until the platform was called. At that point it became obvious that the train was terminating at Crewe because of some ‘circumstance’. That circumstance being a lack of staff. Yay! Once on the train we were informed that we would have to change at Crewe for an Avanti West Coast service at 18:09. We were due to arrive in Crewe at 16:20. Oh great! Nearly 2 hours wait at Crewe! The last time I had to change train services, the crew on the other train were not best pleased about it. I was worried!
When we got to Crewe it was later than estimated. I think it was about 16: 38. I got myself into a right muddle. There was a train due at platform 11 heading to Glasgow Central via Motherwell – but it was a delayed service that had been due at 16:09. So I’m reading the time totally wrong and confusing 16:09 with 18:09. I end up at platform 11 and the train is about to depart and in my confused state I just got on. Then I was freaking out, worried that they’d chuck me off the train once we got to Preston – or make me pay more money. Even more people got on at Preston. It was getting packed out.
It was slow going. I had a seat next to a nice man that I got chatting with for a while. In a small world it turned out that he’d grown up in Springburn but now lives in Langbank (alright for some!). Eventually, the train got less crowded and no guards did any ticket checks. They were seemingly aware that Lumo passengers were on the train so it all seemed like it was okay. I decided to stay on the train to Glasgow Central to save myself the bother of alighting at Motherwell, only to delay my journey home further.
We arrived at Central around 8.10pm. I booked a taxi and got home just after 8.30pm absolutely knackered to fook! I’ve been recovering ever since! Lol.
