June 16, 2026 – Planning my first trip to the U.K.!

I was holding off on sharing this on the blog since I wasn’t completely confident it would happen, but I am now! The Girl in the Scarf will be making her first trip out to the U.K., specifically, England, at the end of August! I have, without exaggeration, been dreaming of doing this for ages, especially after becoming a prog fan. Speaking of prog, that’s exactly what’s bringing me out across the pond. It’s not for a concert (thought I will just barely be missing Primus’ final few European shows), but rather, a 4-day music camp located in Brighton, hosted by none other than Steve Rothery of Marillion. He announced this event on his Facebook page, and something in me knew that I had to at least try and apply to attend. A few days later, I got an email confirming that my application had been approved. According to the camp itinerary, it’s 4 full days at the WaterBear Music Bar, where we’ll be shown the ways of the force, or, more specifically, taught different aspects of prog rock musical composition, while learning songs that apply those concepts. A few Marillion songs are on the agenda, including “Sugar Mice” and “Runaway.” Don’t tell anyone, but I think I may already know how to play those! 😉 It sounds like a great time and I’m eager for the end of August to come!

With this being my first trip to the U.K., I had to plan to arrive a few days early to check out London before taking the train to Brighton. I haven’t traveled internationally in a long time, the last time being when we went out to visit family in India back in 2012, so I can’t help but be a little nervous. I’ve been devoting lots of time to pulling up Google Maps and making a tentative list of places I may like to check out in both London and Brighton. I know this will also be an amazing writing opportunity for my blog. I fully plan to document my experience there and share with all of you!