During a few days holiday taken from work recently I went to Bridport Arts Centre to see the live concert of a favourite Andean group - Quimantu. Colin and I decided to make a day of it and spend some time in Weymouth as well.
We set out mid morning and although the weather forecast wasn't too brilliant we were lucky that it didn't rain on the journey down. The sun came out here and there and it was a pleasant drive - especially when we went through a pretty village called King Stag and saw a large herd of deer running in nearby parkland. They looked so beautiful that I would have loved to have stopped and taken photographs but even had we been able to stop quickly, by the time I got the camera out they would have been too far away.
We arrived in Weymouth about lunchtime so our first stop was one of my favourite pubs in Sutton Poyntz for lunch. Sutton Poyntz is a picture postcard village with a stream running through and weeping willow trees along the banks of the stream and lots of ducks. When we came out of the pub afterwards, we spent some time with the ducks, many of whom were quite tame.
Our next stop was Quipu - a shop selling Peruvian crafts in the Brewers Quay complex in the town - this shop is like a magnet for me whenever we visit Weymouth because it is full of the most fascinating Peruvian things, as well as good music of course, and I managed to find three albums that I didn't already have in my collection.
From there we went to visit Colin's daughter for a couple of hours and I especially enjoyed cuddling his latest grandchild, baby Lucy aged four weeks. Then at 5 pm we set off for Bridport which was a pleasant drive of about 16 miles from Weymouth. We were very early but went to the Arts Centre anyway to check how early we could get in. We could hear Quimantu practising when we went in and caught a glimpse of Mauricio and Rachel through the door on our way back out again. We still had an hour to kill so went for a stroll around the town and had a quick snack in a wine-bar, arriving back at the Arts Centre in time to get a drink before the concert. Being early birds we were able to choose a table right in front of the stage from which to watch the concert.
I had been looking forward to this concert for over a month and when it began I wasn't disappointed. The concert was in two parts with an interval in the middle and probably two hours of wonderful music which we both enjoyed immensely. It was great to hear many favourite songs but also there were several previously unknown to me so I was hoping these might be on a new CD. Mauricio Venegas was in good form, keeping us humorously entertained between songs and the whole concert was absolutely wonderful.
One big surprise was to see that one of the six musicians on stage was a friend - Ronal who lives in France. I first met him in August last year when he accompanied Claire and Aquiles and me to Edinburgh. He was in England on holiday at that time and had decided to join up and play music with them at both Southport and Edinburgh festivals. Because he returned to France whilst we were still in Edinburgh I lost touch with him after that, so was very surprised to see him again in the Quimantu line-up.
During the concert I took several photographs and these will be added to this story in two or three weeks time when the film is developed. I even had my photo taken with Mauricio in the foyer after the concert, plus had a long chat with Ronal and the others. I was very sorry to learn from them that Inti Illimani - another great favourite Chilean band - will be disbanding in the New Year after more than 30 years. John Williams and Paco Pela are going on tour with Inti Illimani to Chile next month and after that the group Inti Illimani will be no more. I'm sure that countless fans worldwide will be as sad about this as I am once the news is widely known. When John Williams returns to England, the latest Quimantu CD will be finalised as he is collaborating with them on one or two tracks.
Quimantu are still on tour throughout November and we will be going to see them once more before the tour is over at the Jacqueline Du Pre Music Building in Oxford on Friday 23rd November. I phoned and booked these tickets the next day after seeing them at Bridport.
Also hopefully on Friday 7 December another Andean band - Kausary - will be performing at the Michael Tippett Centre here in Bath and I hope that anyone reading this who lives locally will decide to come along and see them. Their interpretation of Peruvian music is really fantastic.
We followed this excellent trip to see Quimantu with a visit to London the following week to meet up with Peruvian friends there. For once the train was bang on time and we had a great journey to London - Colin with his nose stuck in a local paper and me with music through headphones and a good book - and in no time at all we arrived. I had dressed up warmly - just in case - but had to take my sweater off while still on the station platform as it was so warm and sunny. In addition to the sweater I also had a poncho, gloves and scarf in a backpack for later in case it was needed. None of it was needed until much later in the day as it was warm enough to walk around just in a tee-shirt all day, which was pretty good going for November.
On arrival at Paddington our first destination was Piccadilly Circus to find the Malaysian restaurant. Using the Rainforest restaurant/bar and shop to fix our position on, I found the restaurant without difficulty (Colin had missed it by one street on his visit a few weeks earlier). We decided to go in just for bowls of soup and save our appetites for later. We ended up having several beers as well. We had only intended to have one with the soup but because the lady had to move Colin for a few moments to get to a cupboard by our table, she gave him a free beer for being so nice about it and we ended up having three each! Also we enjoyed our soup so much we booked up there and then to return that evening.
From there we walked to Covent Garden which only took about 15 minutes. When we got there we could not believe the amount of police and the crowds. When we enquired we were informed the extra police presence was because Prince Charles was in the market but we didn't actually see him ourselves. In addition to everything else going on at the market there was also a farmers market - with food stalls both within an inner screened off section and all around the outside of the market building.
However we didn't go in just then as I wanted to find Aquiles and Claire. Just before arriving at Covent Garden I had put on my poncho, which was my best one purchased in Bolivia - not because it was cold but because I wanted Aquiles to see me in it! With the Bolivian textile backpack and Peruvian textile handbag I looked more "Andean" than they did! We found them a few minutes later and I managed to snap one photo of them playing which was just as well, because as soon as we arrived and they had finished the song they stopped playing. They seemed really pleased to see us and whereas because I was with Colin, I had only planned to stay a while with them and then go on our way, we ended up remaining together for the rest of the day. We chatted for a while and I could hear an Ecuadorian band playing a bit further down and the music sounded fantastic, Andean but with a different slant. After about 40 minutes, Aquiles said they would just play for another half an hour before packing up the equipment, so Colin and I decided to have a look around the market at this point - me heading straight for the other band and looking at their CD, which I immediately bought.
After that Colin and I spent the next hour in the market - where we were thoroughly searched by the police, along with everyone else, I suppose because Prince Charles was still there somewhere at that point. We thoroughly enjoyed tasting the samples of everything on offer and bought an assortment of items as well.
By the time we got back to Aquiles and Claire they had finished playing and had already packed up their equipment and luckily did not have to take it all home. Because Claire was playing classical music elsewhere the following day, Aquiles would be playing with the Ecuadorian guy and was able to stash all his equipment in his van. We asked Aquiles if he would like to have a drink with us before we disappeared and both he and Claire said they would also like to come with us to the restaurant that evening! So I phoned the restaurant on my mobile phone and changed the reservation from two to four people and Aquiles said he knew a brilliant pub to take us to and we set off towards it. On the way we went through Leicester Square and we spotted Carlos and Julio and went over to talk to them. There was also a fourth member of the band - a new guy on percussion - so it looks like when they next come to Bath I will be putting four of them up! They were telling me they hoped the date at the auditorium where I work could be fixed for Friday 7th December. They had just arrived and Johnny had gone to park the car so after chatting for a few minutes we told them we would come back and listen to them for a while after leaving the pub before continuing on to the restaurant.
The pub was an excellent one and we spent the next couple of hours there and I was delighted to see Colin enjoying their company as much as I do. I was amazed a bit later on as well to realise that Aquiles had actually persuaded him to join us in Peru in February 2003 - he had succeeded whereas all my efforts to persuade him had failed! All four of us will be staying in Aquiles' home in Cusco and will definitely walk the Inca Trail, as well as seeing as many of my favourite bands as possible in Cusco nightclubs. Aquiles knows that I would especially love to see the bands Totem and Amazonas. Colin and I will need to get ourselves into a fitness regime for three or four months before going, in order to be fit enough to cope with the Inca Trail, but what an adventure and what fun it will be to experience it with Aquiles and Claire.
We left the pub about 7 pm and walked back to Leicester Square where Johnny's band were in full swing and we listened for 20 minutes until they stopped for a break. It was great to chat to Johnny for about ten minutes at that point until we went on our way to the restaurant. In Leicester Square all was in readiness for the London Film Festival and Claire and I had fun teasing Aquiles that maybe next time his name would be up there in lights. (He is really pleased that he was chosen to appear in a forthcoming film).
We then had a very pleasant time at the restaurant. Aquiles said we should order wine as it was a special occasion and he was really impressed with the food. We were all in fine form teasing each other, and I think Colin now finally realises why I enjoy their company so much. After the restaurant we all walked to the underground station where we parted company, leaving each other with the promise that they would come to Bath about three weeks later. Claire is playing with classical musicians at the church in Milverton (where Colin and I went to see her earlier in the year) and they will come down that weekend.
The next exciting andean events to look forward to are Quimantu again in Oxford on 23rd November and hopefully a weekend in Paris with my musician friend Leo and his family at the beginning of December, as well as Kausary at the Michael Tippett Centre on 7th December.
