A Down for the Count Road Trip!

In September 2011, we had three gigs, in three days, in opposite corners of the country – the perfect excuse to hire a van for a long roadtrip!

The long weekend started, as ever, at Tesco (if you're ever at a loose end on a Saturday afternoon, come along to Colney Hatch Tesco, as there's a good chance you'll find us there...!)  We loaded up the van with food - some healthy, some less so - before hitting the road.

The first gig was a wedding in Somerset.  We had been looking forward to this gig for ages, because we were being joined by Simon Selmon from Swing Dance UK, who took the guests for a swing/jive lesson (we couldn't resist joining in!) before we started our first set.

At the end of the night we were swung out, so it was off to Leigh Delemere Travelodge for a snooze, followed by brunch....

...before driving to the next wedding in Buckinghamshire.  As we were early we took the opportunity to have a pub lunch before heading to the venue to set up.

The wedding was for a couple who had seen the band at Down for the Count Live - and they insisted we had a glass of champagne whilst they were finishing dinner - we were only too happy to oblige!

After we had performed it was back to London for a sleepover at Mike's before driving to the final gig in Suffolk.

By this time the travelling was taking its toll - with some people needing a 'disco nap' in the van:

The event was a 40th wedding anniversary party in a beautiful house on the seafront - before we set-up we had 30 minutes to enjoy the views - and for Steve to do a spot of birdwatching.

It was then time for the final two sets of a fantastic weekend.  There was still one more surprise in store as we were joined by a relative, who gave an absolutely fantastic rendition of three Frank Sinatra numbers.

Our three-day, 508-mile road trip was a fantastic experience - one we hope to repeat several times in 2012!