Well we certainly finished the tour in style at The Ropewalk in Barton on Humber so big thanks to Liz and the whole team there who made it so special for us, complete with a full Christmas dinner before the show, trimmings and all! Absolutely delicious and wonderful to all sit together for our Aggie Christmas, exchanging gifts and reflecting on what has been a remarkable tour. The challenges and oft times exhausting nature of a 22 consecutive night tour are dissipated by the Aggie family we have. The humour, support, patience, encouragement and commitment to putting on the very best possible show we can make up for the long journeys from one premier Inn to the next, bad weather, M&S salad bowls, basically everything you can imagine about being away from home for over 3 weeks. Chris, Chris and myself know and never take for granted how lucky we are to have the best touring team ever. Richard and Ed are the most dedicated and hard working technical team, they not only ensure the show sounds and looks fantastic, they carry all the gear, instruments and merchandise so that when we arrive at a venue it’s all there ready for us to set up our stations. Their good nature and humour never slips despite the physical hard work involved and we hope they know how very much we appreciate everything they do for us. The same goes for Jil, what a brilliant tour she put together this year, geographically it was exceptional and made for pleasant journeys from town to town. She is always the lovely friendly front of house representative for the band, setting up a beautiful shop each night and doing the daily official tour managing and book keeping. Together these three are the dream team. Thank you fam, we love you all.

And then there’s you and boy did you show up in your seasonal splendour and plentitudes this year, making it possibly our most successful year ever. We have felt so much love and appreciation each and every night and hope you’ve felt it back.

The fundraising campaign we started at the beginning of the month to have a memorial bench installed for David has exceeded our expectations and we can’t thank you enough for your kind and generous contributions. The online JustGiving page closes tomorrow for anyone else wanting to chip in (link in comments). So far, with the cash donations and online page we have raised £2,902 - what a splendid bench this is going to be! And no doubt a nice contribution to a charity in his name too. David would be chuffed to bits we’re sure. We will keep you updated on its progress and let you know when it is installed and ready for visitors!

Thank you to all the venues and promoters who have made us feel so welcome and helped us fill their halls and churches with Christmas cheer and happy memories.

Time to unwind now and reflect on the happiest of days. Until next year, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.

With much love,

Julie, Chris and Chris

The Aggies