There are so many things to write about. ….

It is hard to believe that my long european tour is over. I played over 40 shows in Denmark, Sweden and UK. When I was on the plane from Toronto over to Copenhagen, it seemed like a pretty long journey. Now that it’s over, it seems so short. ….

I started off the tour in Denmark, backed up by the lovely danish band ‘the Sentimentals’. I couldn’t believe how professional they were. They all knew all the songs when I got to our one and only rehearsal in Copenhagen the day before our first show, and I instantly felt like it was going to be a fun 10 days. And it was. Jacob, MC and Eva are incredible musicians and just really really good people and great to work with. I felt so taken care of, and was pretty impressed by their red couch in the back of their van. : ) I am looking forward to coming back to Denmark next year. It is such a beautiful country and lovely people. ….

Then Tim came and we had a holiday slash really bad luck week in southern Sweden. We hoped that the easy jet flight over to London would be able to escape the bad luck shadows….and we did escape them………..as soon as we came to the UK, we were lighter somehow. Even though it started with Tim getting stuck in immigration and we almost got stuck at Gatwick over night because we only had 5 minutes to get to Budget and pick up our rental. It all magically worked out. ….

The tour magically worked out. ….

We zig-zagged around the coutry like we were posessed by the music devil, and somehow pulled off eating too. (According to our booking agent, Tim pulled off eating very very well….haha) British food is ok, most of the time. Roadstops actually have decent supplies in the UK. : ) I think we may even miss M&S. ….

We played small pubs, festivals, clubs, theatres, halls, restaurants. We even played a train that went up a cliff. All across the board. Grapevine, our agency, worked really hard for us to put it together. Thank you…..

We played with some lovely people too. Kimmie Rhodes, Otis Gibbs, Po’Girl. Kimmie Rhodes’ tour-manager Rebecca turned out to be a really wonderful angel who helped us along the way. ….

We also figured out where you can get good coffee in England. ….

Tim and I spent a month together in a small 2009 Peugeot. I got really attached to it, and almost shed a tear when we had to give it back. This always happens to me after every tour……….maybe I should buy a car soon to prevent the constant heartbreak…….

After Tim went back home, I jumped into fellow canadian band and good friends Po’ Girl’s van. This was a great experience, and I got to play some great new places, and extra special for me was to sing with Awna and Alli on ‘Ramblin’. And with Awna on my other songs. xo. Great 2 weeks. I hope we get to play more shows together. After 5 weeks with Tim, I felt nervous about playing without him, but after a few shows I realized that I can stand on my own. A hero is a person who dares to stand alone. Courage is to go on despite fear. When asked to sing a Townes song I never had heard before, Kimmie asked me if I was courageous or stupid. Maybe both. Hopefully mostly courage. I think I pulled it off, Haha. When I was sixteen I tattooed the word courage on my back, having no idea then how much this tattoo would remind me and challenge me throughout my life.Or maybe I knew somehow…..

I sold out of all my cd’s 2 weeks before the tour was over…………I guess this was a pretty good problem to have………..but still frustrating. But people were really good about trusting me to send them a cd. I think it helped that Awna has such blue eyes when she told the audience to trust me. : )….

IF YOU PRE ORDERED A CD AND DIDN’T GET IT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I think that I sent them all, but there may have been mistakes. Sometimes it was hard to see the postal code or the name. (sarah at sarahmacdougall.com….

Also, in the last shipment I couldn’t sign the cd’s, because I had to leave the country before the cd’s arrived in the UK. So you will just have to come to my shows next year and get them signed… : ) ….

Now I’m on a 2 week vacation in the south east of Sweden, looking out at the Eastern Sea and relaxing and writing. I can’t think of a better place to unwind. It is so peaceful here. Then on Canada day, I head to Toronto, and Vancouver Island…..

Until next year………………………….xoxoxoxo ….

Sarah….