"It's a long way to Aberystwyth ....."
It certainly was for the Essex contingent! Because of the distance, we went down a day early, setting off at 8.00 am on Saturday, and arriving in Aberwotsit at about 3.30pm. 
We had a lovely hotel on the promenade just feet from the sea, which seemed wonderful until we tried to sleep and were kept awake by the sound of the waves pounding onto the beach! They were VERY loud! Before retiring, though, we had a Casualty-fest in my room (which had the largest TV), settling down with our wine to drool over our man!
Before that, though, we had fun in the bar when a party of Irishmen began singing, unaccompanied, typical Irish folk songs - they were brilliant! Memories of Temple Bar in Dublin .... 
Next day dawned fair and bright, so we set off to explore Aberthingy. A very pretty sea front, with pastel painted hotels and houses and wide promenade. We strolled up to the war memorial, which is a very striking sight overlooking the bay, then beyond to the ruins of the Castle.
We had been informed that the Box Office at the Aber.... Arts Centre was only open for the collection of tickets until 5.30, despite the fact that there was a concert on! It was supposed to be a 20 minute walk from the station, so our intrepid group set off, full of enthusiasm. We had also been told that it was uphill all the way, not too bad but with a short, steep burst towards the end. Wrong! It was steep all the way, and we were getting more and more out of puff with every step. In fact, we utilised the bus stops for a crafty rest on more than one occasion (no buses ran on Sunday, of course). Gasping for air, we finally reached the venue, to find a lovely craft exhibition and sale going on, with loads of gorgeous stalls and lots of goodies. Upon collecting the tickets, we were then told that they would be staying open after all - all that struggle for nothing.
Suitably rested, we decided we had had enough and ordered a taxi back to our hotel, which greatly amused the driver - he said most of the students had never walked UP the hill, they walked down into town for a kebab or curry and got the taxi back! 
We had to be different!
Fast forward to the concert (thank goodness, I hear you cry!). It was a strange hall, but the seating high up, which went around on three sides, was all curtained off. There was a good sized audience in what seats were available. There was a great rake, so everyone could see really well.
This will be a bit disjointed, as I'm putting things down as I think of them, if that's ok.
I don't know what time Lee and the band arrived, but when they started, an electrical man was crawling around the floor beside Mason and his drums. At one point there was a bang behind the screen at the side of the stage, and Lee asked if there was someone at the door! The lighting was very poor, with Lee often left in the dark if he wandered off centre, and a floor light absolutely dazzled us for a while until it was turned off. In fact Lee had to ask them to turn one off as it was dazzling someone, which wasn't on when she had paid for a ticket! 
There was a new keyboard player we didn't know - in fact not so much keyboards, but a very impressive grand piano.
Lee told us of his long journey - apparently he went from London to Cardiff on the train, and then presumably met up with Amanda for the long drive to Aberleewyth. You may have seen his tweet of the picture of Audrey Hepburn - he said it's a cushion in Amanda's car!
Lee sang his usual set, but Amanda came on and did an extra song in the first half, "Over the Rainbow", Eva Cassidy style. Apparently Amanda is terrified of spiders, and naughty Lee suddenly said, "is that a spider?" Poor Amanda completely freaked out on stage, much to Lee's delight!
In the second part, and I forget how this came about, Lee suddenly asked if anyone wanted to take him home?!?! Squeals of Yes, please - to which he said, "I am single" ......
We were absolutely delighted when Lee introduced Anthem towards the end of the show - and, oh wow, did he do it justice, such a passionate rendition! Maybe the reception he had at Southend (with Rhydian) had something to do with it?
There was a lovely Stage Door session afterwards. Because of the distance, there were only a dozen or so of Lee's "regulars" there, so once the locals had had their photos and autographs, we were all able to chat with him about the concerts, Lofty etc. I am at this point desperately trying to remember what was said, as I get Meadmushed and forget everything when I talk to him. I remember he had changed out of his stage suit and was wearing a dark grey T shirt and short slim-fitting navy coat - which he soon did right up as it was so cold. I know several of us all stood around him and the conversation was bouncing around all of us. Oh yes, there was one thing - Lofty is perfectly fine since his bike accident the other week ....
Interesting that you remembered what he was wearing, but not what he was saying . . . hmmmmm . . . 
(I wanted a finger-wag but the wave was as close as I could get. )
And love the Irish singers in a Welsh bar with English ladies. 
Great review - thanks so much for sharing. 
Great review. Thanks A/Liz!
I always remember what he wears, Lin - I ogle from afar even if I don't get within speaking distance of him! Talking of clothes, I forgot to mention the slight wardrobe malfunction, which looked su****iously like a missing button on his shirt, particularly noticeable when Lee was sitting on the stool!
I see Mr Bravenet had detected a rude word that I don't know exists. How informative this forum is! 
Thanks for that lovely long review A Liz.
Thanks for the review ALiz.
I love hearing all about the WJ adventures along the way.
You ladies certainly know how to have fun.
I would have loved to have gone to this one but even if I had got a ticket I don't think I would have been well enough to travel.
So reading your review is a joy. thank you
Just a few more snippets from our visit to Aberystwyth. It is a long, long way but we knew Lee was at the end of the trip, so the journey went quite quickly . So glad we went, Aber.. and the whole area is very picturesque. The castle ruins are on a hill and have upright slabs of stones in the grounds (similar to Stonehenge, although not as many) and from there you can see all round the bay. A bit windy up there, but the sun was shining. The other end of the bay and just a few yards from our hotel was the Cliff Railway.
As A/Liz said, to collect our tickets from the BO we had to climb a steep, steep hill and, after all that, when you we arrived at the Arts Centre there were at least 40 steps to climb to get in! (we passed the local hospital on the way and thought maybe we should pop in and ask Lofty for resuscitation ).
On to the concert, it seemed strange not to see the first few rows filled with familiar faces, but I know many fans couldn't make this one. The concert was held in the Great Hall and when Lee came on he remarked laughingly he'd never sung in a gym before, which I think it was also used for. Not sure if they knew how to deal with lighting or sound though for a concert! A/Liz has covered most of the concert content itself and it was lovely to hear Lee sing Anthem again, hope he keeps it in his set list for the remainder of the tour. He couldn't stop laughing when he was doing the ALAYM duet with Amanda, as he said he finds it strange singing that song to a mate. I think the locals enjo*** the concert, they gave him a standing ovation at the end, but as many of them were conversing with each other in Welsh (well we were in Wales) had no idea what they said.
It was lovely to have a bit of time with Lee at the SD once the locals had gone and he didn't seem in too much of a rush to get away even though Amanda had the car engine running and was setting her satnav. We often stand back, observe and leave it to the locals to SD as, unlike us, they may only get that one chance to meet Lee. When talking about Casualty, Lee said that the lad he had to carry out in last Saturday's episode was older than 14 (I assume he meant he was pretty heavy!). I see from the press article he was 17. I also said how he acts and expresses himself with his eyes and he said acting was all about using the eyes. He laughed when I said we had to come to Aber to make sure he was OK after his cycle accident He said a few other things to us, but I can't remember enough to put into words, he then got into Amanda's car and off they went.
I don't think anyone took any SD picture maggiemay. He did have some SD photos taken but they were with local girls I think.
Sorry you're not well Joan, hope you'll soon be better.
Oh dear, it's a bit more than a snippet isn't it . Bravenet does have funny ideas as to what constitutes spam.
Thank you Ladies for your entertaining reviews. I hate missing Lee's concerts but couldn't make this one. As for the steep hill, I think a lot of help from my friends would have been needed to get to the top 
Looking forward to seeing everyone at Wycombe next week
Thanks for those 'snippets' AnnieB.
Interesting to hear his comments about Casualty.
Thanks for your lovely reviews A/Liz and AnnieB, and I agree it was a very interesting weekend, and we were even lucky enough to miss most of those heavy Welsh showers too, although my umbrella did blow inside out a few times in the wind...
Not quite sure how we managed to climb that huge Welsh hill either! Didn't even have enough breath to 'squee'! when we saw the huge poster of Lee at the entrance road to the 'Arts Centre'... Lol!
I agree A/Liz, 'Anthem' was AMAZING, Lee really did 'do it justice'. So good to see this one back in the set list too. 'Fix You' was also sung with such passion
as well - really beautiful.
It was a long journey, but well worth the effort.
Sorry to hear you have been unwell Joan. Do hope you feel a lot better soon...
Thanks again ladies, and our gorgeous Lee of course.
I believe Joan is feeling better as she now has a lovely house guest to cheer her up.
So looking forward to seeing everyone in High Wycombe next week - especially since Joan has kindly set me straight re the correct pronunciation.
Lin you are certainly learning the names of new & on exciting places every trip you make to the UK.
C.Liz Thanks I do feel better now. Physio is helping.
