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I was going to call it 'Peace & Leamingtons' but that's a bit long
I think I'll call it-
Lobotomy
I'm writing from a beautiful sunny alcove under the
stairwell in the house of my good friend Gilly Darbey
in Chesterton- just a few miles from Royal Leamington
Spa where our first gig took place. Through the window
it is just so GREEN! Pastureland as far as the eye can
see, dotted with sheep & cattle & one rather vocal
white donkey.
We arrived in London last Thursday morning after a
fairly arduous 35 hours of flying, queueing up for
customs officials & handing over luggage & passports
for perusal. Jetlag is a hideous thing. I thought it
was just a matter of tiredness & adjusting to the
difference in time zone. No one warned me about the
nausea & giddiness; not to mention mental
deterioration akin to what I would imagine a frontal
lobotomy would induce. Still- flying into London was
spectacular! The patchwork quilt of fields & then the
mosaic of suburbs & finally a close-up model of the
Thames complete with the Tower bridge, Millenium
Ferris wheel, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Big Ben...
The next challenge was lugging all our gear up & down
stairs in the tube tunnels- instruments & all. We were
met by the smiling face of our old friend Andy & his
brand new Mini Cooper soon enough & the day rapidly
improved as we settled into our cosy lodgings
overlooking Chelsea Bridge & the famous Battersea
Power Station. For the perfect end to a surreal day we
were taken on a guided tour of the city by another
friend Sue & watched the sunset behind Tower bridge
before wine & pasta on the Thames.
The next day I awoke early & took to the streets with
Joshua(my Teddybear companion- thanks Al!) hanging out
of my back-pack. What really strikes you as you walk
around is how tangible history is here. Everything is
just SO old & well crafted. It really is as neat,
picturesque, quaint & colourful as it appears on
telly. And English people really do live up to some of
the stereotypes. Just contrast the Canadian
air-hostesses all commenting on Joshua as he sat next
to me on the plane complete with sunglasses &
headphones to catch the in-flight movie with the fact
that not one Englishman raised an eyebrow as he shared
a cappucino with me outside an English pub. (By the
way- I'm yet to have a good coffee here yet. The tea,
however, is excellent!)
We're not just here for a holiday, so off to work we
went- once again struggling along the tunnels of the
tube. The money thing is tricky over here. There are
so many things you need to be aware of- for instance
there is more than one railway system as they are
privatised. This meant there was almost £10 difference
between buying our tickets at one place or another!
The journey to Leamington Spa was beautiful & things
have been so relaxed ever since. Gilly picked us up
from the train station & has played host & chaffeur
ever since. (insert attached train platform pic)
The Leamington Peace Festival was a success. A perfect
summers day set the scene & hundreds of people packed
the park & lounged on the fresh green grass as band
after band played all afternoon. We hit the stage
firing on all cylinders with '30 Seconds of Happiness'
& kept the crowd right up until the last rock-star
leap in 'Miserlou'. The kids in particular loved it
when we lay down on the stage & waggled our legs in
the air. (insert Jigzag & fans pic that I sent
earlier)After selling a bunch of CD's & entertaining
locals with our accents we retreated back to our
cottage in Chesterton to eat one of Greg's famous
currys, drink wine & play music late into the night.
Today started off with another early morning walk,
this time across fields, over wooden stiles, through
gates & over quaint little bridges. I walked through a
breath-takingly gorgeous avenue of trees & caught
myself day-dreaming about Mr Darcy striding into the
lane in full riding regalia equipped with a note for
me sealed with red wax containing declarations of his
undying devotion to his 'Lizzie'. With my luck I'd be
more likely to run into Mr Collins! Later in the
morning Caroline & Gilly joined me & we took to the
countryside on bicycles; terrorising the sheep for
miles around with our gleeful outbursts.
The most memorable experience for me so far has been
our ramble through the magnificent Warwick castle. Now
(with distictly wobbly calf muscles from climbing
endless spiral staircases & castle ramparts) my mind
has only just begun to sort out the many amazing
images spinning around my head. Wall-sized tapestries
depicting garden scenes complete with lovingly
rendered greenery & inhabitants. Just stunning
architecture! Churches with delicate fan-vaulted
ceilings & majestic flying buttresses supporting
stately stone frames, kaleidoscopic stained glass
windows, intricately carved furniture, imposing oil
portraits of long dead Earls & Princesses, men in
armour sword-fighting on the green & (the only really
disappointing aspect) minstrels in tights playing
fairly average music on very modern instruments. I
think that I wouldn't have minded being a lady.
Learning the piano-forte & doing needlework all day
long. Beats filing BAS statements & worrying about
whether your car is going to pass rego or not.
Anyhow, that's enough for now. I really
hope you are all well & if you are half as happy as I
am at the moment you're doing well. Just remember
handy hint No.8- Lugging all of your travelling
possessions around the London tube system at peak hour
is suicide, plain & simple. Don't attempt it under any
circumstances.
~elisabeth
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