Was home from the EuroTour, where we took in five cities in Germany, three in Holland, and Ostend in Belgium, for three nights before rehearsing with Barry and James for a new set for the UK acoustic dates. The mind just switches, click, from one mode to the other. The original take on Make Me Smile came to me on stage in Tunbridge Wells, the other guys knowing nothing of it. They knew enough about me, though, to take it as part and parcel of my approach, and improvise, brilliantly I thought, without over-clouding the lyrics. Some of those dates were special, memorable. In the north they come with me, word for word, and further south – as a general rule – the rooms can be a little more restrained. I take it as it comes. The surprise package was in sleepy Suffolk, my home county. To Bury St Edmunds, to the new Apex Concert Hall. It’s a fabulous mini-Symphony Hall, seating 500 with the most perfect acoustics. This packed house was with me from the moment the lights came up. Not so sleepy Suffolk, after all! Those big, church rooms, Islington’s Union Chapel, and Bristol’s St George’s are the perfect spaces for acoustic shows. I could have sung all night at those too, as well as Bury, because for a singer the domed roofs and wood and stone surrounds give a natural resonance and are all-forgiving. Wouldn’t really want to play them with a drum kit and electric guitars, but in the acoustic setting, perfect!

Then a 30-minute set to 12,000 people in the Sportpaleis, Antwerp, back in Belgium again. You play these short sets and get the same adrenalin rush as you get when playing two-and-a-half-hours. You come off, high and happy, but wonder where it all went. Where did it go? The concentration is so intense you barely get a chance to settle. But they sang en masse to the hits, and took in A Friend For Life too. Strange, being on a bill with several other acts, mostly acts that are used to those events. I’ve turned down countless offers like that over the years – not for me, I’d say. But this one, for some reason, did the trick. I’m very glad we went and played. It’s different with that rock band behind and around me, different to the intimate acoustic sets. The coming weekend will bring more rock joy: The Brook and the Robin – two of the UK’s great rock venues. And Holmfirth on New Year’s Eve: my plan is to play until close to midnight, take a break and get the bells chiming through the PA; sing Auld Lang Syne with 750 stranger-friends, then finish our set. Can’t think of a better way of bringing in the new year than raising a glass with those who keep me out there, on the road...those who give back so much. Type in Auld Lang Syne and print off the words. Let’s get it right, all together. It’s the adventure.....

And Gregor Koenig took the Children In Need Auction all the way up to £10,000. What a guy. My deep thanks are with those who pushed him that far. In Manchester, Jim got it up to £3,500; in Reading we reached £6,000, and from then on, via the website, the bidding kept climbing. To Cologne next May, to sing (Love) Compared With You to Gregor and his family, as promised. Will travel with a guitar, and come back without it! Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all.