Aggh, there it was with great big glowing eyes, staring down at me – it was real, it was frightening, yes, it was the last day in the studio. I knew it was coming and after three months, it was hard to know how it would feel, would it be sadness, relief or just another transition from one place to the next, from one project to the next, from one country, one vibe, one routine to the next. In fact, it’s been amazing working with Brian’s Valley of Salt, Fred’s solo record, Jed’s Space Summit, Salim’s Philistines and the mystery project. It’s been incredible working with all the musicians and the engineers, but now it’s time for another phase, and that is Phase 3, the moving of The Archive from England to Portugal with just 16 days to go – it’s a different exciting reality.

Brian picked me up today because Olivia had found a very cool thing to do this Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia – seeing The Lion King film with a live orchestra. For me, Brian and Bill the engineer, we were working on the last vocal, lots of harmonies, a sitar and three keyboard parts and by 7 PM, we were done. Olivia had arrived at the studio about 5.30 PM after her great afternoon and wanted to do some filming and take some pix of us all. It’s about time we did another video about the Sessioneer Series and Bill had some cool lighting equipment, I guess we’ll see some results of that in the future.

We left for dinner and ate ramen for our last day in America, tonight we will sleep in an American bed for the last time, but before that, we had to pack, not so easy after three months. Earlier in the day, Olivia went to the Goodwill store and bought another suitcase, and now they all seem to be full, plus we have to watch the weight, all I can think about is the end of the journey as the beginning approaches.

Tomorrow we will get up for the Cup Final, Liverpool/Chelsea, finish packing, drive to the studio, leave our bags and then hit the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We will return, drop the car off, and take an Uber to Newark around 6.30 PM for a midnight flight. Back in Porto by noon, Monday.

Music today has been George Harrison’s soundtrack to the film Wonderwall (1968). If you haven’t heard this fascinating album, get listening.