JT rocks Gloucester

World Superbike star James Toseland has started ‘blogging’ about his life as a top racer for the Ten Kate Honda squad, and superstar musician, and he’s kindly said he’d share it with you all…

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

“4am, I hit the road and picked my off-track PA up from her house. I’d already got one passenger as a journalist from Cosmopolitan magazine has been following up the centrefold article that was published back in May/June. Today was a big day of promo for me and in the evening with Crash, so I wanted to get there nice and early.
It didn’t take long to get to Cheltenham. We had to go to Cheltenham to meet with the Martini World Circuit TV people. They were filming ‘a day in the life…’, it was hectic. The minute we arrived there, I was on set.
I only had a minute to get back to the hotel and check in before I was off to the local Honda shop for some signings and promo. Naturally it’s all good, especially this week as it’s the Brands race and a great day for race fans.
By now I’m exhausted and suddenly living off plastic wrapped sandwiches and snacks. I told my PA I’d be half an hour and when I returned, journalists in tow, she had fallen asleep sitting up through a lack of energy, I felt guilty but had to crack on: there was so much to do still and no time!
“Can you be onstage for eight forty five?” the guys at the leisure centre asked. Oh yeah, I thought. A shower, shave and I’m out the door, but when I got back to the hotel room it was already 8pm and the driver was coming to pick us up… I was knackered.
My PA had ironed my stage clothes thankfully and after the shower I was off.
Leon (Haslam), Gary (Mason) and a couple of local kids were on the stage when I arrived as the event was all about raising funds for Riders4Health and for my book PR girl Rebecca’s birthday. Rebecca was well in control of the event and it was already a success as a few hundred people filled the leisure centre.
The crowd! When I got onstage, they went wild and we got on with the job in hand: rocking Gloucester! I knew that my voice was going to be a bit shaky; earlier in the night I’d swallowed piece of service station sandwich that went down the wrong hole. Trying to sing on something that wanted to be a part of your throat is a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully, no one noticed me struggle through ‘Highway To Hell’.
My head hit the pillow that night and I was gone apart for a few private thoughts and some stuff I was clearing out of my head in prepartion for Brands.
Sunday came gently: no early morning. My PA was eating breakfast on the terrace with Gary Mason and his girlfriend when I sat down. As we began to eat we must have upset a Wasps’ nest somewhere for there were about 14/15 Wasps flying around us trying to eat our breakfast: needless to say we gave up in the end and it looked like Sunday would be another service station sandwich day.
We drove to Bristol for the next installment of our trip, the meeting at the recording studios. A sense of fear, excitement and not knowing filled us both as we got there…”