And so it came to pass that at long last after a 2 year Covid hiatus our tickets to see the Queen arrived. No, not the Queen you understand, but Queen and Adam Lambert, who probably couldn’t have played anyway as back then Brian had injured his backside (gluteus maximus muscle) whilst gardening and had also suffered a mild heart attack necessitating the insertion of three stents.

This coming Saturday we will be travelling north instead of in our usual southward direction to the Utilita Arena, Birmingham. This time I had the foresight to check whether Birmingham is part of the rip-off ‘Clean Air Zone’ charge, and surprise, surprise, it is. As we will be staying overnight there will be 2 x £8 to pay in order to keep Birmingham City Council’s coffers topped up (council workers are exempt from the charge apparently). Combine that with petrol/diesel wavering up there at nearly £2 per litre, and we’ll be out of pocket before we even get there.

Never mind, it’s all part of living in the UK at the moment, where the price of most things have ‘changed’. I expect band tee shirts will be selling at a ‘new’ price of around £30 instead of the usual £20 – £25 (no, I’m not going to buy one), and our hotel room probably has a ‘new’ price as well. Have you noticed that it’s always ‘new’ or ‘changed’ prices, and nobody ever tells you that prices have increased (although you know damn well that they have).

On Saturday concert goers have been ordered by the organisers not to take a rucksack and to only take a small bag with 2 compartments at the most, and preferably no bag at all. For any bag over A4 size there is a £12 charge in order to leave it in a storage facility. Who ends up with this money, I wonder? As I usually travel with the kitchen sink in tow, this is going to cause me some hardship. Nevertheless I shall comply, so that I am not arrested. Also nobody at the venue will accept cash on the night, and so it will have to be card only. They obviously assume that everybody has a bank account – what about the people who do not?

Let’s hope the band will be awesome in order to make up for all these inconveniences…

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