A necessity: I do a lot of touring, so to make sure that I can remember a particular gig I tend to take a lot of books with me and use them as markers for different stages of a tour. I find that stories act as brilliant memory prompts and help me recollect where I was and what I was doing at a given time. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a particular favourite of mine - even though I've never quite managed to get all the way through it.

A luxury: It's a bit of a girls' thing, I suppose, but I love taking aromatic things such as incense and aromatherapy oils with me on the road. They can come in handy when you're on a tour bus crammed with blokes. I have even managed to turn a few hardened roadies on to the benefits of lavender oil - although, of course, they would never admit it.

A memento: I love taking photographs of all the places that I visit. I've got a whole stack of photos from my travels - everything from shots of Mount Everest to a travelling chapel in Texas.

A lucky charm: I've got a tiny, centimetre-high carving of cat that was given to me by a fan in Japan. I think it's meant to bring good luck. Luckily, I haven't lost it yet.

If only: I would like to be able to take my cat with me because she's such a character. She's a British blue, and her name is Bobbi. She's mates with all the local squirrels and the baby birds, and seems to have trouble reconciling herself to the fact that she's a cat and not a person. I miss her a lot when I'm away.