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Our experience in Rennes lasted five days, from Saturday 9 October to Wednesday 13 October. Over that time, a total of sixteen people (and one baby) from six different European countries (France, England, Holland, Germany, Spain and Portugal) came together to share their love of the music of Supertramp and, in particular, Roger Hodgson. This report presents a diary of the events that took place while we were there.

Saturday 9 October. Saturday was a day spent travelling to our destination: a beautiful farmhouse in the French countryside just outside Rennes. It was a very peaceful place to be - you could hear birds singing in the trees (so happily, joyfully, playfully...) and there were chickens and cows in nearby fields. Christophe had found the house for us and he had done us all proud. It was perfect: a big room with huge tables for eating at; a sizeable kitchen; and three large bedrooms, each with their own private facilities. The beds were made-up with comfy-looking covers and the whole place was very homely and welcoming.

It was so exciting when people turned up. I turned up first and eagerly awaited the sound of cars coming down the pebble driveway. Monique and her family (Hans, Kimmy and Andy) were next to arrive. They came with Christophe, his wife Claire and baby Gaulthier, who had driven out to find them after they'd rung to say they were lost somewhere in the French countryside! We were having bets on who would turn up next! Next came Johan and Gertrude with Peggy from Holland, then Claudia and Gudrun from Germany, who had stopped off in Paris to pick up Jérôme on the way. The Spanish contingent, Jordi, Jorge and Luis (from Portugal) arrived last, having had the longest journey. Before they arrived, the rest of us had eaten a meal of take-away pizza and wine! When we had bought the wine, I was concerned that there may not be a cork screw in the farmhouse, but Christophe reminded me that we were in France!

Finally, we heard the sound of a car outside. We were so excited when the Spanish contingent arrived that we all ran out into the dark to greet them and because there were no lights, we couldn't tell who anyone was! Jorge got very excited, because he thought that Hans was Rick Davies! I think he may have been a little disappointed once we went indoors and he could see Hans in the light!

Sunday 10 October. Our first breakfast in Rennes was a delicious Dutch apple cake, which Monique had brought with her, together with plenty of coffee and tea. After breakfast, we decided to drive to Mont Saint Michel, a beautiful place on the coast. We drove there in a convoy of five cars: a French car, two Dutch cars, a German car and a Spanish car. Amazing! We were all singing as we were driving along. Peggy and I invented a game where you have to mime the song that is playing to the people in the car behind you (yes, we had some wonderfully childish moments!!). Jorge, Jordi and Luis, who were in the car behind us, correctly guessed "Crime of the Century"!! Oh dear - what would Roger make of it all?!

Unfortunately, Jérôme had to leave that night, as he could not get time off work to go to the concert... :-( His train was leaving in the evening, and we did not know if he would make it to the station in time. We managed to get very lost coming back from Mont Saint Michel... we even had to turn around a couple of times! Goodness only knows what a local farmer thought when he had a Dutch car turning around in his driveway, then another Dutch car, then a German car, then a Spanish car... all full of people singing loudly!! After stopping to read the map in the headlights of one of the cars, we eventually found our way back to the farmhouse. We said our goodbyes to Jérôme and Gudrun rushed him to the station in Rennes.

The rest of us drove into Rennes at a more leisurely speed and met up with Gudrun at the station. We all parked in the station car park and walked around Rennes to find somewhere to eat. After a good meal, we drove back to the farmhouse.

When we got home, we were talking about the way that John Helliwell 'plays' a wine glass in one video clip of "Dreamer". As there were plenty of wine glasses in the kitchen, Peggy, Claudia, Luis, Gudrun and I started to 'play' them. We discovered that this also works with coca cola, but is not so good!

Monday 11 October. When we got up this morning, we were greeted with a very special breakfast, provided by Christophe and Claire. The table was full of croissants, baguettes, coffee and tea. Before we ate, Jorge had the idea of recreating the "Breakfast In America" album cover! The only problem was, we didn't have enough newspapers, but then he remembered that there was an Andorran newspaper in the car! He divided it up between us (not forgetting baby Gaulthier) and we took some pictures!

After breakfast, we drove out to a place called Carnac, where there are some mysterious stones, all placed in lines. Unfortunately, the stones are all roped-off, so you can't walk among them or touch them. So, we decided to follow a sign to a Crêperie and have lunch instead. When we got there, the Crêperie was shut, so we went for a walk in the woods by the side of it. The wood was like a fairytale wood, with a little cave in it. It was a good place for taking photos.

After our walk, we drove to the beach and had a snack from the back of Johan and Gertrude's car (they were very organised and had brought food and drink with them). By this time, it was getting quite late, so we drove back to Rennes and to Le Liberté, where the concert was taking place the following evening.

We were very lucky, as Alan Simon was there and took us into the concert hall. We sat and watched the soundcheck. Roger also came over to chat to the guys on the mixing desk at the back of the hall and then he looked up and saw us! He came up to see us and spent about half an hour talking with us. It was great to see him. We talked about our love for his music and how it had brought us all together. He seemed to be very touched by the support that we give him. He also came back later on with Nikki Matheson and they both spent some more time talking with us.

It was so wonderful to see Roger again and we all had big smiles on our faces. He said that he would see us after the show the next day. He also told us that Karuna was in Rennes with him and was looking forward to meeting us. There was a real air of excitement and anticipation. We saw him rehearse "The Will of God" and a new song, on which he sang backing vocals with Nikki. Later, we asked him what he was singing (it was in French) and he said that it meant "It is not necessary to die before..." but he could not tell us before what?!!

It was also great that some of our 'absent' friends were not so absent: Lorna, Anne, Walter and Koen all rang to see how we were getting on. They seemed as excited as we were. It was good to be able to share some of the experience with them.

After the soundcheck was over, Roger waved goodbye to us from the stage and we went outside in search of Luis, who had left earlier to find us all something to eat. (When it comes to food or Roger, there is no choice, so by this time we were all very hungry!). As it was so late, the only place open was McDonalds and Luis brought us bags of burgers and fries! We ended up having a McDonalds picnic outside Le Liberté! It was great! We got blankets from the cars and spread them out on the grass outside the concert hall. We sat in the light from the street-lamps, surrounded by McDonalds bags, burger wrappers and bottles of coke and water! The French people out for an evening stroll, were walking past saying 'Bonsoir' to us! It was just crazy!

Tuesday 12 October. The day of the concert. And it was a beautiful day: clear blue skies and bright sunshine. We were all wearing our Rennes T-shirts that Jordi had organised for us and we sat outside to have breakfast. Everyone was very excited about the show that evening.

After breakfast, Jordi, Peggy, Johan, Monique, Hans, Claudia, Kimmy, Andy and I went shopping to get some food and lighters and sparklers for the show that evening. We were in a supermarket in a shopping centre just outside Rennes and there was music playing in the background. Suddenly Johan noticed that "Even In The Quietest Moments" had just started to play! We were thrilled to hear Roger's voice come over the speakers for everyone to hear! Overcome by the moment (or just plain mad), we all joined hands in the supermarket and started to sing along! We must have looked a real sight to the other shoppers, standing there in our identical T-shirts, singing along to the music! Ah well - at least it cleared a way for us to get to the checkout!! Having stocked up on food, lighters and sparklers, we all drove into Rennes. Christophe had arranged for a French television reporter to meet with us, so we waited by the Houses of Parliament in the centre of town. The man turned up and we went to a Cybercafé, where he wanted to interview some of us. By this time, it was getting a little late and we were hungry (again) and wanted to make sure we got to the concert hall in plenty of time to secure a good spot inside, so Jordi, Jorge and Christophe stayed with the reporter to show him the websites, while the rest of us went to get something to eat (another McDonalds - they always seem to do so well out of our trips to see Roger!!). Outside the hall, a journalist spoke to us about who we were and why we were there, and he took some pictures of us!

Luckily, we managed to enter the concert hall by a backstage entrance. Roger and Karuna were there and it was great to see him again (well, it had been a whole day since we'd last seen Roger!). It was also very special to meet Karuna. I think Jorge was the only one who had met her before, so for the rest of us, it was great to finally meet the woman who Roger credits as bringing him back to life. We have so much to thank her for. If it wasn't for Karuna, then there would be no "Rites of Passage" CD and no Roger Hodgson tour last year. Without these things, we wouldn't have found ourselves sharing a farmhouse and going to the Excalibur show. More importantly, Roger would not be standing before us looking so happy, healthy and contented. Even he seems to be amazed at the new success that he is enjoying. It is certainly very wonderful for him, for Karuna and for all of us who have experienced such a deep connection with his music for the past twenty-odd years....

I digress.... back to the show. I think it is probably true to say that none of us would have bought the Excalibur CD, had Roger not been singing on it. However, I think it is also true to say that we are all very happy to have discovered another talented musician because of Roger: Alan Simon. Alan is one of these people who seems to be bursting with energy. He also clearly loves playing and performing music. Alan was very much the laid-back performer, coming onto the stage in jeans and a T-shirt to greet the crowd of 5000 in much the same way as you'd welcome a group of people arriving for a party at your house! He played, sang and generally bounced around the stage, encouraging the audience to clap along with the music. He looked like he was really enjoying himself, which is good, because Excalibur is a great CD and also makes a great show.

The stage itself was beautifully lit, with the Prague Symphony orchestra at one side, and Fairport Convention at the other. The lighting was excellent, with green laser lights shining out into the crowd in such a way that you felt you could reach out and touch them. It was a real spectacle. The show more-or-less followed the CD, although there were some songs that were not played and some new songs. Alan Simon has assembled some wonderful musicians to appear with him, not least James Wood, who was present on stage the whole night, playing guitar, singing backing vocals and standing in for Martin Furey on "Camlann".

But, needless to say, Roger was the star of Alan's masterpiece. When he first came on stage to sing "The Elements", we cheered really loudly and waved our lighters and sparklers. I think he was so amazed to see us like that, that he fluffed the first line of the song! After the show, he told us that he'd thought to himself that he mustn't look at us and must concentrate! Roger also sang "The Will Of God" and the song we had heard him rehearse the previous night. Then, there was a very special treat: Roger has a song called "Brother Saint Paul" and Gabriel Yacoub sang the first verse of it with French lyrics, then Roger sang a verse with English lyrics..... it was beautiful.

At the end of the show, Alan introduced everyone and he saved Roger to the last! Roger had a big cheer from the audience! Then they all went off-stage and there was a backdrop of 'credits' rolling, projected onto a screen at the back of the stage. We all cheered when Roger's name went past!! The show was recorded for a live double CD and there was also a British company there, recording the show for a video, which will be broadcast in the USA sometime (keep your eyes, peeled, all you American fans!).

After the show, we met with Alan, Danijela, Roger and Karuna and gave them each a T-shirt, which we had all signed. Roger also took a call from Walter from Brazil, who telephoned my mobile phone to speak to him while he was surrounded with people wanting autographs.

Roger spent more time with us than with the "official" people there. He even agreed to do the Breakfast In Spain interview with Jordi, Jorge and Luis, while other people were doing "official" interviews, etc. It was just so special.... Finally, we had to say our farewells and head back to the farmhouse. It was great to feel on such a high after the show.

Wednesday 13 October. We had to rise early, as we all had long journeys home ahead of us. Gudrun found an article in the newspaper about the show and there were two pictures of us in the paper, together with some writing about our trip to Rennes.

As you can imagine, we were feeling a little sad that our wonderful time together had come to an end. We were sitting together having our last breakfast, when Monique's phone rang! Guess who?? Yes, it was Roger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He called to speak to each of us. Unbelievable! And so very kind of him. So, it was a n