Tony James Shevlin

About a week before I was due to leave Nashville to start the tour proper in Chicago, I called into a well-known car rental company to book a vehicle. They are an international firm, and they have an advert that runs on UK television where they espouse the American virtues of courteousness and are very proud of their friendly service. 

The girl behind the counter gave me a big beaming smile, told me her name was Tammy and asked how she could help me. I told her and she put together a special deal for me as…

It was three days before I felt like I was on Tennessee time. This was just in time for my slot at the famous Bluebird Cafe.  

I could have taken a cab directly to the Bluebird but I took a bus instead. I like buses. Buses show you much more of a city than cabs can. Cabs go direct; buses go where the people who do all the work live. Cities are the same the world over. On the margins, you will find disadvantaged communities, where the rest of society doesn’t go. I have walked at night through rough areas of…

My flight from Heathrow was due to leave at 8.30am so I was at the airport for 6am. This was a great time to drive through London; the city was not yet fully awake; the only activity seemed to be from birds and bin men. The calm I saw from the window of my black cab was at complete odds with the excitement I felt.                                              

It was my first time flying United Airlines. It was hopefully my last time, too. The flight was packed, the seats were cramped (I was in a middle…