New York

We arrived in New York and headed straight for a show called Her Song at Birdland, a collection of music written by women from Billy Holiday to Carole King, sung by 4 talented, enthusiastic young women accompanied by a three piece band. Great way to start our trip. We had a table right in front of the stage, and the seafood gumbo was good too.

We spent the Sunday with Mags’ Aunt, Bridgette and her husband Andrew at their home in Yorktown Heights, New York state. We caught the train from Grand Central Station, which has been completely restored and looks magnificent, to Croton Harmon where they picked us up. The line runs up and alongside the Hudson for most of the way, which is surprisingly largely undeveloped, so it was a picturesque way to travel. Bridgette cooked up a storm and we had a traditional Sunday lunch and generally caught up with family news.

We were staying in Greenwich Village for the first time – very trendy and happening. A bit like Upper Street in Islington times ten. Every place is a restaurant or bar, with many having one establishment downstairs and another upstairs. All have late licences and most have live music every night. We survived on a mixture of live blues and bourbon, which was great fun at the time but don’t ask me to remember what happened.