I'm en route from Cheltenham to Manchester Piccadilly on the 10.12am for a show at the Lowry Theatre tonight. Why the train? First, I like to take slightly greener public transport where possible - mostly the train - when I tour. Second, it's a bit of a potential adventure, given the uncertainty of trains running on time and works to tracks. And then there's the Senior Railcard. On hitting 60, you can reduce the cost of rail travel dramatically and while away the morning with other geriatrics and no-hopers, attached to their mobile phones and punching the proverbial out of the laptop. All of which make my wife's Toyota Pious (sic) definitely a second choice.
Having a long-term interest and involvement with farming, I do rather like to engage with the grand British countryside from the convenient safety of the railway carriage. Like the great, journey-making Victorians, I find the railway offers the chance to reflect on the greens, browns and muddy greys of field, hedgerow and city alike without motorway madness or the stress of the airport, especially the mess which is, at the time of writing, still Heathrow. I'll bet BA's Willie Walsh can't wait for his Senior Railcard. So, from the more-or-less modern equivalent of the Victorian chuff-chuff, meandering through the parishes of once-merry England, I will alight a mere few minutes late, in search of lunchtime sustenance and a quick nap at the hotel before learning the music I must play tonight with our guest-du-jour.
Then to both sound-check and reality-check as the buzzes, earth-hums and hisses are hunted down by sound technicians, lights are focused and systems checked ready to scramble at 19.30 sharp. Roger that and chocks away.
· Jethro Tull tour the UK until 28 May and release a 40th anniversary edition of This Was on 28 April