In Sun Studios and Beale street

Photo: Siw Haugnes. Pictures can be used, as long as source is given.

At Sun Studio we entered a museum with antique recording equipment, vinyl without tracks, the "negative" used to press vinyl records, lots of pictures and stories.

Our first encounter was the bartender in the pub that leads in to the museum. He was extremely nice and was desperately sorry when he realized we missed the tour that started just as we arrived.

Afterwards awaited a guided tour of histories, music extracts and film, all imparted by an amazingly enthusiastic guide named Cora. She deserves applause to maintain high spirits even on her sixth tour that day.

On the right you can see Arild try out as an artist, with the same microphone that great performers such as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Orbinson, Ike Turner have used.

After Sun, our stomachs expressed their rights, so a trip to legendary Beale street, Memphis, was required. Dinner was easily found and simple and tasty enough.

But the real experience was on our way back to the car, when we passed a bar with a 21 year age limit and smoking allowed. With temperatures approaching what we had in Kolbotn the last month (14 ºF/-10 ºC), it was very tempting.

The nice bartender could tell us that Tennessee had introduced a ban against smoking in premises where people under 21 are allowed. He also introduced me to The Mississippi beer Lazy Magoulia Southern Pecan, yummia. It was just as good as Newcastle beer, maybe even better.

The bar's artist David Bowen, held a very decent level and did his cover versions with his own style, not a straight copy. Soft music and a sound picture that made the body swing (mine, not Arild's). The planned picture of Bowen was interrupted by a flat camera battery, the last picture is to the left.