Neil and I had good reason to be up earlier this morning as the City match kicked off at 7.30am Florida time. I had no problem getting the stream onto the lounge TV, so we watched in comfort. I really need to start a crowdfunding page to allow me to stay out here longer, as they have now made it four wins on the bounce since I have been here!
The match finished before 9.30am, as we joined Karen sitting by the pool. It was another day without a cloud in the sky. It was blissful again, apart from the next-door villa having its grass cut, which always seems to happen when we are sitting outside.
It is, however, mornings like this that I miss the most when we are not here.
Today’s plan involved a late lunch/early dinner at Planet Hollywood in Disney Springs, using a Groupon I had purchased before Karen and I left Neil to make his own way back to the villa whilst we drove to the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to see Ed Sheeran on the last night of his North American tour.
Karen was in high spirits at the prospect of seeing him live again, whilst I felt guilty about ‘abandoning’ Neil and was quite anxious about the 150-mile round trip, with all the traffic challenges of downtown Tampa, both getting there at a reasonable time and getting away at the same time as 50,000 other people.
Both of those concerns were ridiculous, as Neil is more than capable of sorting himself out (although, as Karen says, we would be happier if he was not on his own), and I have made that journey to the stadium and back several times now.
We were seated immediately at Planet Hollywood. I have no recollection of going there before, but apparently we had done so about 30 years ago. Neil had initially moaned about going there when I said I had got the voucher, saying it wasn’t anything special – and he was right. Although Karen enjoyed her Hollywood Bowl salad, Neil and I both felt our choices were bang average and, even with the heavily discounted voucher, it was still not worth what we paid.
After this, we left Neil to wander. Karen and I nipped off to collect an order we had placed online from one of the shops for her Christmas present from me.
In the car, Waze suggested a journey time of 1 hour 45 minutes to get to the stadium. As I had predicted, it was very much a stop-start journey with lots of traffic. I had pre-booked a parking space but decided to try and see if we could get much closer, as that was a 30-minute walk away. That turned out to be a good decision, as many locals had turned their front yards over to parking for cash only ½ mile away. I paid $20, along with hundreds of other people along the same road. It felt safe and we knew no one would be able to block us in.
There was a real mix of people walking with us to the stadium. Young and old, couples and many families. It was a great atmosphere. The stadium staff were all happy and helpful. Pleasingly, our tickets were actually on the right side of the stadium for where we had parked. Our seats were on the front row of the upper tier, almost set apart on their own, meaning we had no one in front or behind us. We were level with the side of the stage.
The final support act was just about to perform his last song as we settled in. In the past, we have seen the likes of James Blunt and Snow Patrol supporting Ed, but after the controversy a couple of months ago, we were surprised to see anyone.
Now, we had never heard of Isaac Slade, but as soon as he started singing that last song, we recognised both the voice and the song as a favourite of ours and one that is played constantly on the radio over here. He was the writer and lead singer of The Fray, and he played what may have been their only hit, ‘How to Save a Life’. It was a real pleasure to hear it sung live.
It was a 30-minute wait for Mr Sheeran to come on. We worked out that it was the sixth time I had taken Karen to see him, including the third time in America. What a husband I am!
He may not be to everyone’s taste, but he certainly was to the 50,000 people here tonight. His songs take on a different persona when performed live, or constructed live every night. We cheered loudly when he mentioned the UK and booed even louder when he referenced his football club which surprised the people either side of us.
His music spans many genres and Karen loves them all. As ever, the highlights for her, bringing the usual tears down her face, were ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Perfect’. As I have said many times before, he really does make a lot of noise for one man on his own.
I just wish he would play Carrow Road so I don’t have to travel so far to take Karen to see him, but with his allegiances, I guess that will never happen!
We left as the encore started to try and get out of the stadium before the crush began and hopefully get a head start on the traffic.
It is still quite amazing that it is only just over six months since Karen had her hip replaced and that we are able to do all these things, including coming to Florida. However, one thing that hasn’t yet come back is her ability to weave in and out of crowds quickly and accelerate her walking speed for any real length of time. Diligently, she is still doing her daily exercises, but she needs more work on her own confidence and stamina.
I thought she did remarkably well, considering, as we tried to hotfoot it back to the car.
Even so, we still hit the start of the departing traffic, but after 10 minutes we reached the interstate, where the journey back to the villa was still 30 minutes quicker than getting here. Despite it being close to midnight, the volume of traffic along all 70-odd miles was quite silly. Mostly, we were moving at the speed limit, but who were all these people and where were they going at that time of night, and in all directions?
We were back in the villa at 12.15am and I went straight to bed, whilst Karen had to have her compulsory cup of tea before joining me, by which time I was already sound asleep.
