Esch/Alzette,
LUXEMBURG 1 - 2 -
3 OCTOBER 2010
Ten
Years After – "Family" Gathering – Fans and Friends
Introduction
Let’s Work
Together -
Come on / Come On:
It
is a simple recipe. You start with a common bond, in this case music.
The band of choice is “Ten
Years After”- add some old die hard fans, along with new Ten Years
After fans, and stir together gently. Book everyone into the same hotel,
where the band is also staying, and schedule a concert for Saturday
night. Give the photographers full photo access and back stage passes
and the results are no less than spectacular. Place the rest of our
music family in front of the stage for good measure and cook for an hour
and a half under hot stage lights.
Third
Sojourn:
The
first journey was on September 6th through the 10th
of 2007 – Luxembourg
The
second journey took place on – November 28, 2009 – Belgium
The
third journey took place on October 1st through the 3rd
– 2010 - Luxembourg
Trying
To Get Away:
Sounds
easy in most cases, but with us it is a very complicated affair.
Brigitte needs to plan our get away weeks in advance. I started
contacting our family of friends a few months before the actual
event.
Giving everyone enough time to make their arrangements and travel
plans. Setting up these event does not happen spontaneously, but our friend
Lionel is always the first one ready to go.
After
every one of these events he just can not wait until the next one. So
all credit goes to him for motivation, interest and keeping everyone’s
spirits high.
Turning
Of The Key:
The
hardest part for us, is getting ourselves out the door, into the car and
hit the highway.
We always feel we left something unfinished,
have forgotten something, or left something on that should’ve been
turned off. We both have to be one hundred percent sure that everything
has been taken care of – our conscience has to be clear before we can turn the key and leave
home.
Now
we’re ready to go.
Not
A Good Start:
I
cut my thumb on my car, we are very late getting started, and the people
put in charge of taking care of Brigitte’s mother, are yes-ing
Brigitte to death, while they are doing everything wrong, right in front
of her. We finally get started, after Brigitte sets our destination on
our GPS…to make a long story short, the GPS is pointing us in the
wrong direction three different times – and we are not even two
miles away from home yet.
Tensions
are high, stress level is building, and we start snipping at each other
for a minute, and then burst out laughing….ah what the hell, we are on
our way – not to worry…you have to laugh to keep from crying
sometimes.
Key
To The Highway / On The Road Again:
The
only other slight problem we had was partly my fault, I wanted to change
lanes and move over to the left, while the man in the left hand lane
wanted to move to the right and I didn’t see his turn signal – you
just can not have two solid objects in the same place, so I yielded to my
miscalculation and all was well once again.
It’s
a full five hour drive to reach
Luxembourg, two hours into the trip we decided to take our first rest
stop at a nice restaurant.
Back
on the road again we only had a few minor inconveniences, such as a ton
of construction and one detour, that only set us back a little time. The
other point of note was the weather, it sure ran the gambit, rain,
clouds, fog, sun fog, rain, sun, sun rain fog, every mile was a
different weather condition every mile or so.
The
Mercure Hotel’s Version Of Rubric’s Cube: For Dummy's
We
arrive at the entrance to the underground parking garage, we are tired,
fatigued and a little numb, and now another decision has to be made. Do
we turn left or right into the garage, we decide left – wrong – we
needed to turn right….damn-it-all ! Now we’re stuck in the parking
garage on the wrong side, along with twenty other people, ten cars and
one mini van that also miscalculated….it took us another half hour to
fight our way out of this predicament. Where do we get a ticket, how
much do we have to pay and now we need to find the one and only person
who has the magic stamp -and get it stamped too
The
trip ending just like it began – so what is next? We ask ourselves!
We
go to check in and who is there to greet us but Lionel. We thought we
would be the first ones to arrive and then welcome everyone else, nope,
wrong again Dave – not only did Lionel beat us to the punch, but
Claudia as well – they arrived around noon time, we got there between
2:00 and 2:30 – depending on who’s telling the parking story.
Lionel
is having a little mid-day meal and Claudia is catching up on her sleep
from her jet-lag.
We
sit, we chat and we wait to see who shows up next.
I
have to tell you, seeing Lionel in person again and being face to face
with him, really warms your heart to its core. We have been friends for
many years now, having found each other on Alvin-Lee’s message board,
we have a very special friendship and trust.
For
those new friends of ours that we met this weekend: Lionel was
responsible for hiring Ten
Years After to play at his “Wooden Bridge” Hotel in Gilford,
England. This was back in the early days of Ten Years After’s career
1967 – 1968. This was a venue where The Rolling Stones – Peter
Green’s Fleetwood Mac Blues Band – Savoy Brown – and many - many
others came to play and got to build their reputations. This was the
fertile ground of the British Blues Boom. Alexis Korner – Graham Bond
Organisation – Cream – seems that everyone who was anyone played at
the Wooden Bridge! As for Lionel, he’s very modest and humble talking
about those days…to him (on the outside) it was business – but on
the inside, he was like a child in a candy store, or a teenager doing
the shimmy-shimmy shake (song and dance of the time), imagine hiring
your music hero’s to come and play for you, your friends and their
fans!
I
asked Lionel this weekend, “were you a music – blues lover yourself”
? He told me that his brother introduced him to music, and explained the
roots and connections to him. Lionel said he listened and learned from
him, and when rock and roll hit the scene, Lionel really caught the
“Rock n´ Roll Bug” – Bill Haley for one he said, really caught
his attention.
Lionel
eats and goes for a nap – Claudia is still sleeping, so Brigitte and I
go for a walk around town, looking
for post cards and a special wine for her boss back home. In
between we find a little bakery / cake shop and stop for a delicious
afternoon snack. Then we finally find the perfect little wine shop that
has everything we need for family and friends, then return to the hotel.
Four
New Friends From Holland Rock:
Back
at the hotel, we just sat down and in walks our friend Peter Mand, from
Holland, with three of his friends, Jaap – Henk – Theo. We have had
contact with Peter for many years now, but this is the first time we
meet each other in person. The initial contact is excellent, and Peter
and I have a lot to say to one another, we just can not talk fast enough.
His friends need a drink and head for the bar, which is in the same room
/ lobby that we are in. Peter and I sit side by side and begin our
swapping of stories, tales and adventures in the world of music and high
drama. I figure this is the best way to break the ice for all of us.
Peter and I start and anyone or everyone can join in at any point. About
6:00 Claudia joins us and we fix her up with a drink, and time to start
thinking about dinner in awhile.
We
make more introductions, for Claudia, who is just a natural at fitting
in where ever she goes. She is our “Ten Years After – Miss
Congeniality High Princess”. What class she has!
As
Herb’s sister, she is the “ Matriarch Angel” of our Ten Years
After family.
Sullen
Discovery:
Back
in 2007, when we first met Herb in person, we had dinner with the band
and the next day lunch with Brigitte, myself, Herb, Lionel and Anita. A
great little Italian restaurant with good service and great food. Now in
2010, I leave our group of eight for a few minutes to go and make
reservations for dinner. The doors are locked but the tables are set up
for business:
table clothes, napkins, forks, knives, glasses - and plants that
turned brown (dead).
I
ask a stranger on the street, what time do they open? They are closed,
they went on a six month vacation – and never came back. That was over a year ago now…. Well that just blew my plans right out of the water,
now for a little creative thinking…Burger King no – McDonalds
no……Chinese Food ? I return to the hotel and ask if Chinese food was
acceptable to the group, they answered with a resounding yes!
Out
the door we headed….but, it’s been over three years since we were
last here. We walked straight up the hill, and right into the restaurant.
As I looked around I began to realize that nothing looked the same as I
remembered it. Now it occurred to me that this was not a Chinese
restaurant at all. I approached the waitress and said, didn’t this
used to be a different kind of restaurant? No, she replied, we have been
here for 30 years. I returned to the group, apologized for the mistake,
then returned to the waitress again. Excuse me miss, just what kind of
food do you serve here? Her reply, “Portuguese”.
Well group, this is a “Portuguese Restaurant”, so what do you
think, shall we stay, or should we go? In a unanimous vote, we stayed.
I
would like to note, that it was at this exact moment, that the original
members of our
Ten
Years After Family, now accepted and merged with our four new friends
from Holland.
We
think a like, we all cooperate together, we respect each others opinions,
we all like most of the same music, and roll with the changes in plans.
This was our first test in community cooperation, tomorrow there will be
other challenges, a little more difficult to overcome, but no real
problems, just a little chaos and confusion now and again.
Ending
up at this particular restaurant was initially a mistake, but really, it
was a blessing in disguise. The atmosphere was friendly, most of the
people there were either related or friends of the related. Babies were
crying, the baby’s mother was our waitress and her mother, the babies
grandma also worked there. It was a family affair, that definitely
fuelled our own extended family.
Drinks
and menus first, that was the easy part, now to order our meals. The
waitress was very patient with all of us, as intimidating as we all were
as a group of eight. She went over the selections with us and explained
as best she could what each one was. We all helped her to identify
choices into different languages, thus helping each other make the right
decisions.
With
this part over, we all ordered with no problem, saving the waitress time
and energy.
The
meals came complete with a huge fresh salad, on a serving tray that
would feed all eight of us. Also included was two large trays of French
fries, one for each end of the table.
So,
we drank, talked and compared notes as we waited for our dinners to be
served.
It
was to my complete amazement, that everything was ready and served
within twenty minutes. This happy group were also a very hungry bunch.
Everyone had their fill, no one was disappointed, in fact they praised
everything about the place. With dinner finished, drinks were once again
served as unfinished conversations were finished and others started.
The
locals who were in the large room with us, started asking us various
questions all revolving around a strong curiosity about these strangers
who entered their world. When they asked questions, you knew we had been
accepted, and strangers suddenly became acquaintances.
The
baby was still screaming, tired more than hungry. The grandmother was
holding the child and I said to gram, please bring the baby to Uncle
Buck (meaning me).
She
walked over and as I spoke the baby stopped crying, I said come to Uncle
Buck little one!
Not
a peep did that child make, as gram and the baby turned and walked away,
the baby kept looking over grand-ma’s shoulder and kept both eyes on
me – and remained silent.
Calling It A Day: Friday Night
Back
at the hotel, we settled into the lobby area. After 10:30 the bar is
closed, so conversation was in order. We discussed the up coming
concert, the dinner we just devoured, and Portuguese not Chinese, as we
all laughed with good humour and fun. After about fifteen minutes most
to our little gathering retired to their rooms for the night…this left
three of us, to finish up the evening, Claudia, Brigitte and myself. It
was more time for me to reflect, as I now had the chance to speak one on
one with Claudia, as Brigitte listened on.
It
went like this:
A
Present In Herb’s Name:
I
didn’t mention this in our dinner out section, because
this needs a very solemn tone for you to understand exactly what
happened after dinner. People were talking all through dinner, there may
have been a slight lull in volume once in awhile, but there was a
constant level of voices and conversations going on all the time, that
started from the time we entered.
When
the receipt / bill was presented to us, the voices started to rise to a
crescendo about paying, when all of the sudden Claudia’s voice was
heard above all others, which surprised the hell out of me at first, and
stunned us when the volume dropped to a whisper. Then she announced to
the entire Ten Years After Family of Friends, many of whom she and I had
never met in person before, that: “I would like to pay the bill and
treat you all to dinner, in memory of my brother Herb. He would have loved to have been here with all
of us tonight”. Shock at first, then a little protest of voices could
be heard rumbling for less
than thirty seconds, and then a reverent silence fell around the table.
This, is when we all realized what was happening, followed by each
individual thanking Claudia. All in respect for Herb’s passing and
Claudia’s heartfelt desire to enhance an already perfect evening. We
are a group that she has come to love, we love her as well. She has gone
out of her way, and well above the call of duty, in helping to solidify
our little family.
Very
rarely were there moments of silence, or that uneasy pregnant pause,
when no one knows what to say next. Our talks most definitely did flow
and move right along from one topic to another with ease.
Saturday
Afternoon:
Brigitte,
Claudia, Lionel & yours truly, decide to ride the train into the
city of Luxembourg. We all get on sit down, and after a few minutes
the ticket-taker says - "Move It, You're In Frst Class". Oh
well, a surprise to us.....four seats makes up a first class section?
This,
at Claudia's suggestion, because her curiosity / yearning to sample the
Luxemburg Special of the House led us there. She wanted to try out the
local specialty, "Judd mat Gaardebounen" (Geräuchertes
Schweinefleisch mit Saubohnen) which is bean's and smoked meat on a
platter with sauce and potato. A simple plan, but try and find the damn
resturant! Up one side of the street and down the other, stopping at a
few bakery shops to take photos of the very unique pastries in the store
windows, looking like art work, instead of something savory to satisfy a
throbbing sweet tooth.
From
the train station, to our present position, is all uphill. We have no
address, no point of reference, and not a bloody clue how far the establishment
is. But, it's here somewhere they insist. After awhile Claudia in her
own subtile way, camly announces, in a monotone bland voice, "we
are there, this is the place".
Mid
Day Dinner:
What
a beautiful place it is, clean and very friendly. We are some of the first
ones to stop in and eat, with
only a hand full of people sitting at
seperate tables. Lunch
was delicious, and we had a chance to relax and compair notes.
By
the time we were ready to leave, the entire place was packed full.
Back
outside again, we work our way back towards the train station. On the
way we stop for coffee and desert at a nice bakery. We pass three
different ones before deciding on the right one for us. In the
front were the large display cases, and in the back, a large room with
seating cafeteria style. Where we wanted to sit was a young man,
who very kindly moved so that the four of us could sit down. After a few
minutes the young man, Kevin, asked us where we were from. I invited him
to join us and so happy he did. He told us that he was from Michigan,
USA of course and a long way from home. He wanted to travel around in
Europe and that's exactly what he was doing. Looking for a school to
attend. We had a long and interesting conversation about Europe,
America, People in General, New York State, Detroit Michigan, the
History of Economy in the Roman and Greece Empires, Politics, Soul Music
in The Motor City, Henry Ford, The workings of a Diesel Engine, Solar
Power, and the pros and cons of Metaphysical Thinking as it applies to
Capitalism Today, along with the Power of Positive thinking....which all
took place in forty minutes! Of all the memories I have of this trip to
Luxembourg, meeting Kevin disturbs me the most. Why him, why there and
most of all why now?
Back
onto the sidewalk, we head toward the railway station once more. So many
people on the street, and all looking so different. I mean a real
melting pot of cultures, attitudes and dress. This along with a pinball
machine of movement, bouncing off of people and getting bounced into
with an impersonal rudeness that any big city has to offer.
But,
Claudia and I are dragging way behind, as Lionel and Brigitte seem to be
on, some kind of a mad sprint to the finish line at the station. They
are now on thousand meters - or a good football field in front of us.
This is the last we saw of them. Claudia and I walked right through the
station, down the long stairway and up the other long stairway right to
the loading platform. A train was just sitting there waiting for us it
seems, as Claudia asked the conductor if this will return us to Esch....yes
he said and get on if you're going. As we enter the train starts moving.
We sit down for a few minutes, when to ticket-taker says, "Move It
You Are In First Class Again". So we haul ourselves to another
section, where the cattle belong I guess. By the way, don't ever buy a
first class ticket - it's not worth it.
We
take our seats, relax for a moment, when Claudia says, what about
Brigitte and Lionel? I reply, they must be on here, because they had a
good head start on us. Then I remembered, we have the train ticket in
the bag I'm holding....Claudia was right, might be a problem here. But,
they could not - not be on the train - because where else could they be?
Nothing could be done about it now. We reached our destination in double
time, we look for Brigitte and Lionel, but no sign of them. We start
walking back to the hotel - this time I got us lost, so it took an extra
twenty minutes to get there.
We
sat in the hotel lobby and waited. I really wasn't long before in walks
Lionel, Brigitte, Patrick, Nathalie and their daughter Juliette. As fate
would have it, they all met by accident at the train station, as Patrick
had to drop off their friend and then they all rode back to the hotel
together. These couple of unplanned events - with a twist of fate, still
disturbs me yet.
Which
Way Did They Go George - Which Way Did They Go!
Losing
Each Other At The Railway Station
Brigitte's
Story:
Lionel and
I were heading to the information desk asking when and where the next train to Esch would be leaving, while Claudia and Dave
were way behind us. In four minutes - they told us. We thought they would catch up with us - but, they
never arrived! The train left to Esch but we waited outside, looking for
them everywhere, hoping to
find them. We were stunned! Then we waited 45 minutes for the next train to
leave, when suddenly I recognized our
very good friends: Patrick, Nathalie
and Juliette - among hundreds of people in the hall way. We were lucky that Patrick had
one ticket for five people,
because Dave had our tickets in the bag he was carrying. Another
twist of fate or was it jut good luck? What are the chances of this
happening in a crowded railway terminal - and that Patrick had a "special
price" ticket for 5 people back to Esch that were not being
used?
Patrick's
Story:
We
came from France and parked our car at the hotel in Esch. Travelling
with us were our two lady friends who were going to visit their friends
in Luxemburg. So, we bought a round trip train ticket for 5 people for a
special price, and rode the train into Luxembourg, to drop off our
friends. Then we would return to the hotel again. In all of this
chaos and confusion, we saw Lionel and Brigitte wandering around the
terminal. Lucky for them we had the extra tickets from the girls for the
train back to Esch!
Meanwhile Back At
The Farm (A little English Humour)
Thomas Henzler and
Misuk Kim arrived. Thomas was kind enough to give her a ride to the
concert. Thomas lives in Munich and Misuk house was on the way to
Luxembourg. When they got to the hotel, both were very hungry and headed
off for some good food in the little shopping mall there. Others of our
group ate next door at a bar / restaurant, others were in their hotel
room, and the rest of us waited in the hotel lounge, and had a few
drinks before the concert.
The
Transportation
Dilemma:
In
2007, we all went to the venue by train, but this time we decided to
drive there ourselves.
Except
I heard that the GPS did not identify the venue on the map. Then some
people were going by taxi-cab, and everyone was coming and going – in
and out of the room, so it was very hard to get information or answers
from anyone. Who was going to ride with who, who was in the lead car,
who after that and so on. Of the entire weekend this was the most
confusing part…making sure everyone was taken care of and on the same
page. But in the end, we all headed to the underground garage and were
loaded in to different vehicles.
It
was a short drive, into an old industrial plant, that was a maze of
construction roads, dirt roads and gravel ones….but we all made it.
Pre
Concert Blues:
It
was all crazy to me. No sense of direction and an atmosphere of
incoherence. It must have been me, because everyone else seemed to be
doing perfectly well. I was working on two hours sleep in 36 hours, this
must have been a factor, and my patience was wearing paper thin about
now.
I
had a good chat with Patrick, and Misuk Kim. As the warm up band "....
" came
on, the place looked packed inside, as we were standing just outside the doors, at the back of the hall.
I
learned that Patrick’s wife had a sore foot, so I found two chairs so
that we could sit, and moved down by the front of the stage.
We
were now ready for the main attraction “Ten Years After - Live In
concert Once Again".
Ten
Years After Live:
Ric
is sick – Chick is sick....although it didn't affect their performance
in the least.
So
it’s up to Leo and Joe pick up the slack this evening, like a run-away
locomotive under pressure. The set list says one thing, but they
aren’t following the game plan. They open up with “I’m Coming On!”
A great song, but compared to the original it's played at a noticeably
slower speed, to which I have yet to figure out why this is so. My
assumption is, that after the opening riff, lead guitar and vocals –
the band settles into a jam format that drops in intensity and volume
somehow, thus like an automobile downshifting, or going into overdrive,
either way, the RPM’s (revolutions per minute) drops to a coasting
speed hum, heading up a long mountain grade. When it should sound like a
tractor trailer whose lost its air brakes on a forty five degree angle
mountain with a cliff on both sides.
It
should sound razor sharp and on hyper-drive! It goes over well, the
audience likes it and it ends well, that's all that matters.
At
the concert, most
of our group stays in the same general area. I’m so proud that all but
one photographer taking photos is from our Ten Years After Family of
Friends. In the end, Jacky took 500
photos, Peter Mand took 425 and Brigitte 700, I’d say we had the
event
covered.
The
audience was good, attentive and a happy group. For a huge room it was
full but comfortable. The sound was excellent where ever you went to watch
or listen.
Joe
was in charge, and it showed right away. The audience responded to Joe
and Leo’s playing and high energy and that set the tone. Ric and Chick held
up their end of things to be sure, but the two front men took over the
reigns and drove the band onward.
The
second song, moved the audience along as well. Every song thereafter
held the set together. On Ric’s drum solo “Hobbit” he gave one
hell of an outstanding performance, if he was feeling under the weather,
you would never know it. Afterwards he stepped forward to talk with the
audience for a few moments, it was then that you could tell the
condition he was in. He should have been in bed and not on stage beating
those skins to death. It just shows you the tenacity these men have
to fulfil their commitments on the road - always professional.
They
will overcome any travail placed before them, this is just one of the
main reasons why they are still active / famous to this very day.
The
show progressed through “I’d Love To Change The World” and
“Angry Voices”.
The
biggest audience response came when Joe announced the next song:
“I
Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes”…. This audience was ready for a
1960’s experience.
Once
again Joe was in charge, as he started off slowly and then built up the
excitement step by step. Some of the interludes between pieces were a
little over extended, and I don’t mean that in any condescending way,
because Joe knows exactly where he was going, and it’s always a
pleasure / adventure to see just how he’s going to get there, this
time.
Leo’s
pumping right along as usual, keeping pace with Joe on every turn. Ric
and Chick are rounding out the overall sound machine, but it’s still
Joe everyone is focused on. Some are watching his body language, while
others are trying to watch his fingers, that are flying all over those
frets. Most people are dancing or just listening – intently, trying to
follow along with the changes. But throughout the song, Joe pulls them
right along with him.
The song almost
becomes a hypnotic-stream
that flows at mach speed.
As
the song came to it’s conclusion, Joe ends it all, in the most
beautiful way – by lightly touching the strings on the guitar, thus
making a pling – pling – plinging - light and beautiful sound, that
just fades away….to the roar of appreciative, respectful
applause.
Then
comes the obligatory -“I’m Going Home” – known, by everyone in
the universe except the yet unborn. Joe is as fresh and active on this
song as he was when he first walked on stage.
He
never looks bored, uninterested or indifferent. He is the consummate
professional at all times, he’s never counting notes or looking at his
watch every five minutes, he gives it his all.
Choo-Choo-Mama…..
Aftermath:
I
returned the chairs that I borrowed, talked with the friends around me,
and then told Juliette that I just wanted to make sure that this concert
is very special for her. This was our first time meeting each other and I
think her first time seeing Ten Years After – Live On Stage.
During
the concert, I took her by the hand and brought her to the backstage
area, then up the stairs, where we sat together on a loading trunk to
watch the band – from on the stage with the band only ten feet away,
on Leo’s right hand side – he looked over at us with that broad Leo
smile of his, that could warm even the coldest of hearts. There we sat
for twenty minutes or so, and then returned to the others out front by
the stage.
Everyone
kept asking me if I was going to go backstage with the band, I answered
“no, I don’t think so, Ric and Chick are both ill and I don’t want
to bother them”. Plus, we have four new friends from Holland along
with our regular friends, so let them all enjoy themselves.
I
went to the bar area, and joined Lionel, Misuk, Patrick, Nathalie,
Juliette and Gaby.
Back
At The Mercure - Saturday After the Concert:
To
our pleasant surprise, Leo, his wife Sally, Ric and the rest of our
happy crew, are outside in the courtyard just beyond the hotel doors,
just as we did back in 2007. Wine bottles, Champagne bottles and Beer
bottles are all being opened one after another. Jacky is on one side and
Cor and I are sitting on the other. It’s a little party, but it’s
also early in the morning.
Dominique
and his wife Brigitte brought champagne to share with everybody! THANK
YOU!!! We all had a great time!
Joe
and Chick are elsewhere, and little by little people start disappearing
and the rain shower comes over us. We head inside to the comfortable
lobby and relax. With Dominique, his wife Brigitte, Patrick, Brigitte and
I….and Lionel, we settle in.
I
asked Patrick to bring along some old magazines in French so that I could
thumb through them.
He
ran out to his auto and brought in two binders that were full from cover
to cover with Ten
Years After memorabilia. To which I immediately said, we need this and
this and this!
Where-by
Patrick started sweating profusely in a panic attack – because these
prized possessions have never left his hands, ever. To which the fun
began and continued at his good
natured expense.
As
Patrick’s wife and daughter were exhausted and went right to bed, he
was left alone to fend for himself. At first I kept his binders and
notebooks close to me, and he kept watching with an eagle’s eye on his
possessions. I said, come on now Patrick, I just want to take them home
with me, scan what I would like to use, and then return them back to you.
Now
Patrick at this point was feeling no pain, he was relaxed and full from
dinner, and having a few more night-caps of wine – or was it champagne?
I was confusing his emotions, and twisting his melon (head) around just
a little bit. As if this wasn’t bad enough (all in good fun as it was)
Dominique’s wife Brigitte saw the opportunity to add a little fuel to
the already blazing fire, by saying to Patrick, “oh come on now
Patrick, Dave is a good friend of yours, isn’t he? and you are
unwilling to let him borrow your two binders?"
Laying a quilt trip on Patrick, was just good clean fun, we just
wanted to see how far we could go to get him to say yes, but bring them
back. Those words were never said, which just goes to show how scared
the band “Ten Years After” is to all of us, we do not part with our
memorabilia collections.
During
all of this Lionel was sitting right next to me, laughing now and then,
but feeling a little sorry to see Patrick trapped emotionally.
At
about 2:30 AM we broke up the party and went to bed.
It was one very long
day that none of us will soon forget.
Good-Bye
Sunday:
Breakfast,
Leo and Joe, as the others in our group choose to sleep in this morning.
We return to our room and pack our things, load them into the car and
we're ready when the time comes. We have a very rare 45 record from
Chick Churchill's solo album, that says on it: "From The
Forthcoming Album "You And Me" released in 1973, that we
brought along to have autographed, by the master himself. He steps into
the breakfast area for something to drink, and then out the door he goes
- with Brigitte in hot persuit behind him. He signed the 45 for her,
right on the record itself. THANK YOU CHICK!!! The band is
gathered together, and Misuk is catching a ride with them.
Next,
we decide to wander across the court-yard to a nice little Bistro, and
sit in the sun while we wait for our other friends to show up. Some
water, coffee, tea serves us all well, after last night. Slow and easy
this morning, now heading towards noon time.
Thomas
and Jacky are leaving next. As some go, others are coming to join our
table. As Lionel and Claudia are discussing taking a taxi to the airport
together, and when is the right time to leave. In twenty minutes, they
too will be gone.
The
mother and daughter who came with Patrick, his wife and daughter, now
arrive and join us. The time is growing short. Stories are told,
questions are asked and laughs abound, and echo off the court-yard walls.
As children play in the water a few yards away. Another round of drinks,
some idle chat, and it's time to leave Luxembourg once more.
The
Garage Fare Thee Well:
This
part is always the most awkward for me, the saying good-bye....the hugs,
kisses and handshakes, is not my strong suit. I hate saying good-bye to
anyone close to me....and it has always been thus. On one hand you want
to get over it and on the other hand you don't want to let go. It's more
bitter than sweet. But life goes on, work needs to be done and family
back home depends on our return.
People
ask me all the time, what really happens at these Ten Years After Family
Get togethers? I reply "Magic and Love"... We can turn
back the clocks of time, to a place we all had in common,
where we first listened to our brand new Ten Years After albums.
A
special Thank You to:
Peter
Mand, for being our friend long before we had
the chance to meet you in person. Also for introducing Brigitte and I to
your other good friends from home that you brought along with you - Theo
Laagland, Henk Verhoeks, Jaap Groot. Great
guys all of them.
Lionel
Webb and Claudia Staehr: For
flying in from UK and USA to join the "Family"....and for your love and
support!
Patrick,
Nathalie, Juliette Bellier......the
pleasure is all ours. You are always welcome to come visit us anytime you
like, and that also goes for everyone of our friends here.
Dominique,
Brigitte and Thibaud Chauvière, Jacky
Moutaillier, Sybille
Wechseler, Gabriele Klebeck, Thomas Henzler and Misuk Kim, Cor Smit, Roland Nilles
and Sabine Trunzer (KULTOPOLIS Agency)
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