That's to be pronounced in your best Scottish accent by the way. So here I am in sunny Scotland (yes, really, it was *HOT* yesterday...) and it was the longest day - 19 hours of pure non stop (excluding a couple of power naps) action and some 300 miles driving. Today my right shoulder feels pretty bad so I can't wait for Aquafit tonight. As is often the case on these days, I managed one photo, which I'll upload later. I was working at a dead posh venue for a big company and it was a nice gig. I even got to say hello to some horses. Mealtime wasn't great for me as there were about 15 big tables in an area near the main room, and then the bagpipers and military band (who were all amazing) started rehearsing. It was agonising. I was hungry, yet I just wanted to be in a darkened room for half an hour. Needless to say, I locked myself in my car with my sunglasses on for 20 minutes as soon as I'd wolfed down some food. I'm sure my colleagues think I'm a right weirdo but the performance went well, and my responsibility is to do whatever it takes to achieve that.
The concert started with the Flying Theme from E.T. I've played it just a few times but this was a different version I didn't know, as was the edition of the beautiful In Paradisum from Fauré's Requiem so that kept me on my toes. That's the amazing thing about music - as soon as we started playing, I clicked into that part of me that gets really excited and focused and I could see Elliot on his bike with E.T. snuggled in a blanket in his basket. Our audience was strong in males and we were the post dinner entertainment. Their reaction to our playing was half hearted if I'm honest, and I realised they had probably had quite a lot to drink. We went on to play some great arrangements of a couple of pop anthems, and they sprang to life to the strains of Elbow and even more so when the outstanding Rowetta joined forces with us. I used to swing my hips to that one when I went clubbing in Manchester all those years ago!
One of the many things I love about being in this part of the world is the wildlife - I spotted so many buzzards and hawks yesterday, as well as a pterodactyl-like heron in full slow-mo flight, and the promise of a red kite or two as I drove past a red kite centre (love it) was almost unbearable! I have a thing about kites... An owl was too-whitting outside when I left the venue last night and I excitedly spotted it flying overhead. Amazing birds. Then when I got to the hotel some 40 minutes away, I heard another owl there. Fantastic! And I saw my first swallow of the year, always an auspicious omen.
Right, a few Pilates stretches before I face the 270 mile drive - are we nearly at Tebay?!?
The single photo from the gig - if you zoom in you can see the name of the prestigious watchmaker, an indication of the nature of the venue
Bare feet weather. Goodness, my toenails need doing
The best, quietest, most tranquil services ever...
... and even here there's some subtle surreptitious marketing going on. I didn't buy any of these beauties but I could have spent a fair chunk of my fee in the shop...
How many services do you know that bother to plant tulips in the car park?
I still think this is one of the best shots - the accidental one
