7 January 2016
First of all a belated Happy New Year to one an all from the Balcony in Karlsruhe where I’m perched in a cold rainy drizzle trying to get back on my feet after a tour that was my most successful in years and also one of the most stressful for a very long time as we fought through a myriad of problems and events that at times threatened to derail us at every turn.
I will be writing up the blogs from the last section of the tour in the coming days but for now I’ll deal with the news as we enter another year that promises to hold a lot of new projects and opportunities and a new beginning.
On Christmas Day I proposed marriage to my wonderful and beautiful lady, Simone and can now announce we are engaged after 5 years together traveling back and forward from Germany to Scotland. Simone will be moving to Haddington this summer with her soon to be teenage son Liam. We’d been thinking long and hard about where we were going to live and after long and careful consideration and discussions with family we decided that for many reasons East Lothian was going to be our home. We weren’t sure for a long time and it wasn’t until Liam told us he wanted to live in Scotland last Easter that the wheels were set in motion. In November Simone was granted custody from a judge after consultation with Liam, his father and his mother and we were finally allowed to bring him over with us to start school in July. Simone’s 2 daughters are staying here in Karlsruhe and attending university and we will be in close contact and visiting each other regularly.
Ramona, her friend Kim, Liam, myself, Simone and her other daughter Tara at the ‘Eastern Eye’ curry house in Haddington the weekend of the Glasgow show
The girls knew I was going to propose to their mother as they had ‘stolen’ one of her rings in October to give to me so I could get the right size. They were sworn to secrecy. My daughter Tara helped me choose the engagement ring when we were in Birmingham on City Hall show day and we picked out a white gold design with an emerald and 2 diamonds as I knew Simone prefers simple jewellery. As the days went by the band and crew 
got to know but I kept the news within a tight circle of close friends. I wasn’t sure when the right time was to propose and had considered and rejected the idea of after the Glasgow show when Simone would be visiting for the weekend with all the kids. I showed her daughters the ring on the day they went home and they were beaming big smiles at the airport when we hugged our goodbyes.I decided to go for Christmas day.
My parents were having dinner with us and Tara was at her mothers in Edinburgh so I had a great opportunity. I picked up my Mum and Dad in North Berwick at midday and came back to the house with them to open presents by the Christmas tree Simone and I had decorated on the night she arrived 2 days before. I opened the gift Simone had given me to discover a white gold ear stud with a green tourmaline stone to replace an ear ring I’d lost months before. Seeing the same metal and green stone in the stud convinced me that she knew what I was planning and that the secret had got out.
Peter Pan pond
I asked her what was her favourite spot in the garden and she said the Peter Pan pond area. We went out and I got down on one knee ,opened the box containing the ring and asked her to marry me. I thought she was going to faint as her legs started shaking. She didn’t expect it at all and it had come as a huge surprise. It had been a beautiful magical coincidence that we had both picked out the same white gold and green stoned jewellery and for both of us it was yet another sign we were totally in tune with each other and meant to be together. We went back into the house to tell my parents who were absolutely overjoyed and declared it their best Christmas present ever. Needless to say we are so happy together, very much in love and looking 
forward to creating our new home together with our extended families.
The announcement was delayed until the 2nd January as we had to inform our kids and other family members and with the sad death of Lemmy and then my daughters 25th birthday on New Years Day we didn’t feel it was the right time. It’s been great coming over to Durlach and meeting up with our friends here and we are both looking forward to Simone’s kids coming back from their holidays this weekend.
There’s a lot of organisation to take care of as I have to redesign the last remaining studio room and set Liam’s room up before they come over for Easter when we have to enroll him at the school. We then have the physical move of furniture and belongings to both the girl’s new flat in Karlsruhe and Liam and Simone’s to Scotland. With Liam starting school in July we both realise that our wedding will have to be put back until probably next year as I 
have to write and record the ‘Weltschmerz’ album and rather than try and cram our celebrations into an already crammed schedule we’d prefer to leave it until we have space and time to organise and enjoy the occasion. We are both just so glad that as of the summer we will finally be living together with Liam in Scotland in a house and garden we both love .