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(from scrapbook 2, page 35)

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Welcome to the working week
by FRANCIS ROSSI

MONDAY

I get up at 6am. And I thought being a rock star meant lovely long lie-ins. The reason for my early bird behaviour is I've got to meet the rest of the band at Heathrow to catch a plane for Madrid. Every morning the moment I wake up I have a fag. When I get up I check to see if my four dogs, who live in various parts of the house, are okay. I've got a Great Dane see and the others are wassnames so they take a lot of looking after. Then I have a long, long shower. I live amongst the posh people in a nice part of Surrey. My house has only three bedrooms and when I first saw it I was looking for places with eight or nine bedrooms. But I fell in love with it. That was six years ago. I paid a fortune for it.

I meet up with the rest of the band at the airport and we fly to Spain first class. In the early days flying first class or by private jet was a "like wow" feeling. Now flying's just a bind anyway. Our manager Colin and me sit by the kitchen and I thought it was a bit of a disgrace. I mean, we're only rock musicians but to the uppercrust who think first class should be something special he's getting really ripped off. Cos we're by the kitchen the whole journey is really noisy. The only thing that makes it bearable is an air hostess whose skirt keeps flying open accidentally as she bends over. Arrive in Madrid. Spain's too hot for me. It looks like a desert with a few bricks on it.

TUESDAY

This morning we have to do a promotion spot on a TV show. I always refuse to play live on telly just because the sound is so bad. The spot goes well but it's too bloody hot and close. Really uncomfortable. Afterwards we fly back to London. Before I go home I stop off and have an Indian meal with some friends at a restaurant Alan always used to rave about cos he lived in the area. It's not bad.

Get home around midnight. Funny coming into an empty house. My wife Jean and I have been separated for a year now. We've been married for 12 years. I always wanted to get married and have a family of my own but over the last few years of our relationship things weren't going terribly well. Suddenly it clicked, we couldn't go on living together. It's great when you can finally admit that to yourself. We've got three sons Simon, Nicky and Keiran. My wife lives round the corner in a house bought for her and the kids often stay with me.

WEDNESDAY

Woke up at 8.30am to the sound of builders on my roof who are busy rolling tiles. My business manager called round in the morning for a chat then I go to the band's Soho office. See Alan and tell him about the Indian restaurant. "Oh no, you didn't go there," he says. "It's been done loads of times for having dirty kitchens! In the afternoon we have to do a spot on Top of The Pops for 'What You're Proposin'. It's the first time we've appeared live on there for six years. Nothing's changed.

After the spot there's always a lot of socialising in the upstairs bar but I've got my son Nicky with me so l shoot home. I'm not much of a social person. I've only ever been to that bar twice since the band first started. I don't really like drinking. I'd rather go home than to a club. Either I'm anti-social or very insecure.

Get home about 9.45pm. Have some lasagne cos I'm very hungry. I'd hadn't eaten all day cos BBC fare is too much like British Rail and squashed tomato and processed cheese sandwiches ain't my idea of heaven. It's impossible for me to eat at set times, but I always try to have a big cooked breakfast.

THURSDAY

Get up at 7am. Bit late in rising so skip breakfast and drive out to the airport again to catch a plane to Zurich for more promo TV spots with the band.

This time we travel by private jet. Much better. Miss the air hostess with the dodgy skirt though. When we arrive in Twizzleland we're met by record company people who take us to our hotel. I have an overnight bag and a Stowaway with loads of different cassettes - I like to listen to every kind of music and the cassette recorder follows me everywhere. After I unpack we go to the TV studio. Again it went really well.

Go back to the hotel after and the record company people invite us out for a meal. We go to the restaurant where all the waiters are done up as British coppers to celebrate British week or something. We all sit around a table but I'm not prepared for one of those long leisurely evenings over a meal. Don't like them anyway and besides I'm tired. I order an avocado to start and then a steak which is unusual for me cos I don't usually eat meat. Then decide to go to my room and phone Nicky cos he's staying at my place.

Nobody has ordered when 1 get back to the restaurant. Finally ordered at 7.50pm. I get my avocado at 9.10pm! I don't wait for my steak. Go back to my room, have a long shower bath - I never have ordinary baths, made a couple of calls and go to bed at 11.30.

FRIDAY

Get up at 8.30am, my favourite getting up time. Feel very bright. Have breakfast in Andy's room and give the very pleasant waiter a good tip. Go out to the airport and fly on the private jet to Vienna. Weather a bit vicious when we arrive. Don't book a hotel cos we got busted last time we went to Vienna. So after another TV film and an interview we fly back to London. When 1 get home see Nicholas who has waited up for me. That makes me happy. He's only 8.

Make myself a nice cup of tea and then went to bed. It's really raining and water starts coming through the ceiling. It then pours through into the dining room and I have to climb onto the roof and spend four hours fiddling around with the tiles.

SATURDAY

Get up at 10.30. I usually go to a football match Saturday's but I'm too tired to contemplate that now. I like to watch Southampton cos Dave Watson and Kevin Keegan are good mates. I'm getting to really appreciate football though I must admit some games I've seen live recently were more exciting when I saw them on telly later.

Have breakfast at 3.30pm. I while away the rest of the day strumming on the old guitar.

SUNDAY

Have a great big breakfast. In the late afternoon my wife rings and asks if I could drive to a friend of Simon's where he had stayed the weekend and pick up some school things he had left behind. Simon is 14 and goes to boarding school. I say okay but I want to be back in time to see 'The Professionals'. Ain't it stupid how they put Shoestring on at the same time? Bloody berks.

I like watching films on telly - but not the horror rubbish - and I like Buck Rogers too. That's about my only hobby apart from playing guitar and piano and knocking a football about with the kids.