Weekend in London in March 2003.
PART ONE - Written By Me.
On Friday I went to London straight from work and had the most brilliant weekend. My friend Layla had arrived from the United States the day before and she met me off the train at Paddington when I arrived. We spent a couple of hours in the Reef Bar catching up on news and then Johnny phoned to say he could pick me up now. I asked him where he was and we agreed that I would make my way to the Oval underground station and he would wait for me there. Layla and I agreed to catch up with each other at Portabello market the following day. We drove home and it was fantastic to see the family again after quite a long time. We had so much to talk about, especially since I had visited their family in Peru, and they were really impressed at how much further my Spanish had come on. It was probably around 12.30 to 1 am before everyone retired to bed for the night.
When I awoke next morning Flor was already in the kitchen preparing a delicious Tuna concoction which we enjoyed in hot toast with aji amarillo salsa and coffee. Afterwards Johnny gave me a lift to Peckham Rye mainline train station where I could get a train into Victoria easily with him continuing on to the studio, where the new CD just has to be mastered for general release fairly soon. I had already purchased a weekend travel pass enabling me to travel on trains, buses and underground as much as I wanted the whole weekend. Layla had phoned earlier to say she would be a little later arriving. Luckily each of us carrying mobile phones meant we could catch up with each other anywhere if we had a change of plan, keeping each other informed of our whereabouts and times to meet.
A train came along within 5 minutes and 10 minutes or so later I arrived in Victoria where I could easily connect to the underground trains. By the time I got the connection for Notting Hill Gate so it was getting on for midday by the time I reached the market. The first thing I did was check for Andean musicians and was quite disappointed not to find any! However, my main purpose for coming to the market was to find the stall selling the London t-shirts having promised to buy one each for every member of Juan's band in Cusco. I enjoyed browsing the other stalls, had a mug of that delicious Thai spicy chicken soup that I can never resist every time I visit Portabello, followed by an enormous Almond croissant. I was just purchasing the 6 t-shirts when Layla phoned to say she had arrived in Notting Hill Gate and was walking towards the market and we agreed to meet in the Earl of Lonsdale pub which is where we first met up with each other when she visited England last July.
In the pub I showed her the t-shirts I had bought and she wanted to get some as well so we walked towards the stall, looking at others along the way and she too bought 6 t-shirts so that guy did well out of us that morning! By this time Layla was quite hungry and fancied an Indian meal and as I knew of an Indian restaurant on our way back to the underground station we went there, first stopping in a clothes boutique where the designs on the clothes were really beautiful and exotic, everything designed and made by the lady shop owner, all in floaty fabrics in beautiful colours etc. Both Layla and I fell in love with those designs although we didn't buy anything. Skirts for instance were from £85 and I especially fell in love with a long floaty jacket but it was beyond my means at £175. This shop is worth bearing in mind for future reference though. For the right event one could buy an incredible outfit in there.
In the restaurant we chose the Indian buffet which was a lot of different dishes and not as good as Indian food in Bath restaurants. We were both a little disappointed, especially as we both felt full and still had to manage to eat the Peruvian meal that Flor was going to prepare for our return. Although we had planned a quick visit to both Covent Garden and Leicester Square to check out both places for Andean musicians, in the end we realised we would not have time as I had told Flor we would arrive between 6.30 and 7.30. We had to return to Layla's hotel in Shepherds Bush to collect her luggage and by the time we did this and were on our way back to Victoria it was probably too late to find any musicians playing anyway, so we took the train and about ten minutes later we arrived in Peckham Rye where I knew we could get the No. 12 bus which would take us right to Johnny's door. Having asked several people in the street outside the station, which side of the road to get the bus, we were quite devastated when after struggling onto the bus with all the luggage and presenting our tickets, the bus conductor said we were on the right bus but going in the opposite direction! Layla's face was a picture and I exploded with laughter. We got off at the next stop and crossed the road and only had to wait a few moments until the bus arrived. Once we reached Johnny's home, I introduced Layla to them and we all had a coffee and chat, with Flor putting the finishing touches to the meal which was a delicious fried pork dish with yucca and salad which we enjoyed with a bottle of wine. Afterwards we went out again because we were going to Miguel's farewell party at a Peruvian restaurant. Miguel is nephew to my friend Adrian in Bolivia, who came to England in November, living partly in London and partly in Bristol. I met him with Adrian before going to Peru and again several times upon my return. As a member of Rumillajta I am delighted to have got to know another musician in this band - he very kindly gave me Pachakuti, their latest album, which is brilliant.
Julio gave Layla and me a lift to the restaurant and stayed long enough for the three of us to share a jug of Chicha Morada, made with Peruvian purple maize, which is really delicious. After that Julio left but said he would be back later. We chatted to the owners of the restaurant and at our request for Andean music (instead of the Cumbria which was playing when we arrived) they put on the latest CD by Spirit of the Incas - which is my friend Edwin who I had not seen for nearly 3 years. so you can imagine my delight when a white van pulled up outside and Edwin got out of it! It was truly fantastic to see him after so long and after hugs and introducing him to Layla, he sat with us and we had loads to talk about. When we said how much we were enjoying his new album he promised to give us both a copy of it before the evening was over. Other friends were arriving, some known to me and others unknown but very friendly and nice. Miguel and the two Carlos's were among the last to arrive and we all sat on a long table which went right down the centre of the room and had the most magical and fantastic evening. One of the guys there looked familiar but I could not work out where I had seen him before - a bit later on he enlightened me - he was Flor's brother Marco and he remembered me from one of my previous visits, I think possibly when I was there for Johnny's birthday a couple of years ago. The instruments were set up at one end of the room and then they did a jamming session, four or five of them playing at any one time, sometimes more and it was heaven. Layla was enjoying herself so much she said it was worth the flight over just for that one evening and that it was even worth enduring the No. 12 bus! I died laughing at that as you can imagine; her expression was priceless in that moment when we were told we were going the wrong way!!!! Layla had danced here and there to Edwin's CD but when the musicians started playing she changed into her special dress and danced again with everyone enthralled with her beautiful dancing.
Both she and I were taking pictures with her camera and in fact during the evening we used more than two rolls of film and could hardly wait to see the resulting photos. Julio arrived back just as the musicians started and did a really energetic dance to accompany Layla which was absolutely beautiful, and then he joined the other musicians to sing and play guitar. With the charango, flutes, panpipes, guitar and Argentinean Carlos (Che) on his bass guitar, and Julio singing, both Layla and I were in absolute heaven. I was wearing my Virgin of the Sun dress and danced a fair bit too. We decided to eat something as we were in a Peruvian restaurant and we chose a large bowl of the delicious Peruvian chicken soup which I loved so much on my travels and she agreed it was the best soup she had ever tasted in her life. The restaurant owner gave Miguel a bottle of champagne and wished him a safe journey back to Bolivia the following day and after seeing Layla dance so beautifully, asked if she would come back and do her belly-dance routine one evening before returning to the United States. By the time the music finished and everyone was thinking of leaving, it was almost 1 o clock in the morning and Julio drove us back. Layla was sleeping in a room upstairs and sharing with the children and I was going to sleep on the bed settee in the lounge downstairs.
I had just changed into my pyjamas and was sorting out some music to listen to in bed, when I heard Johnny arriving back. He came in and said he had some friends with him and was it okay to come into the room for a while. I said of course and he waited outside with them while I threw some clothes back on, and then they came in and we put some music on quietly and shared the beers they had brought with them. When the beers were all gone, Johnny produced a bottle of pisco from his recent trip to Peru (he arrived in Trujillo just after I left and only returned shortly before our arrival in London for the weekend, having gone there to attend a wedding in the family and surprise everyone in the process - he told me that his grandmother who was in Chimbote when I visited the family in El Porvenir, upon learning I was there travelled back and arrived the day after I had left Trujillo! Both she and I were very disappointed not to meet and to miss each other by just one day.)
By the time the pisco was finished, which we all shared by passing the glass which is the usual Peruvian custom when drinking with friends, it was getting light outside and therefore almost morning. Consequently I did not get much sleep that night and the little I had resulted in me waking up late. When I awoke Flor was busily preparing a special duck meal for our lunch but took the time while it was simmering on the stove to go with Julio, Layla and me to a Peruvian shop called Amazonas on the Old Kent Road where I found Jars of Aji Amarillo paste for a third of the price I usually pay buying these heavy items from the United States. I stocked up on 3 jars plus a jar of chopped rocoto from which I can make the salsa that accompanies Peruvian meals. I also bought some frozen fresh aji amarillo, enough to keep me going for a couple of months. It is fantastic that I now have a source in London from which to buy all my Peruvian spices and with all the dried aji amarillo brought back from Peru, I won't be running out of this wonderful spice for a very long time.
Finally lunch was ready and six of us sat around the kitchen table thoroughly enjoying Flor's Duck Guiso (which was accompanied with rice, some delicious beans and a tossed Peruvian salad) and sharing a bottle of wine. Afterwards we watched Layla's video on which she danced in costume in front of an band called Andes Cosmos playing in Savannah, followed by her dancing to three of Johnny's own band's songs. The whole family were absolutely enchanted with the video, especially the songs where she danced to Kausary's music. Julio said he didn't want to sleep that night but wanted to watch the video all night long! We assured him though that the video was theirs to keep and he was very pleased.
Then sadly it was time to leave and both Flor and Julio were sorry to see us leave and insisted we came again while Layla was still in the UK -we do in fact have another weekend in London planned when I want to buy 3 more t-shirts to send to three of the Huj Maya band in Puno, the ones I am maintaining contact with until my return in 2004.
Johnny took us to the station and we only had to wait 5 minutes for a train to Victoria. I phoned Colin to tell him our arrival time and he agreed to meet us at the bus station. By the time we got back to his house, collected my car and drove home it was almost 10 pm - although we were both quite tired we were really happy having enjoyed such a wonderful weekend. Layla settled into my spare room and we had coffee and relaxed to some music before finally going to sleep. Layla will be using my house as a base to come back to during her visit, her first excursion being to Salisbury where she is staying a couple of nights in a hotel and we both plan to have a day out to Weymouth on the train on Saturday. The weekend after that will be fun and probably the subject of the next story. The band - Kausary - are coming to Bath for the weekend and will all be staying at my house. On the Friday night they are playing at the Pelican Inn at Chew Magna and Layla might dance there also).
PART TWO - Written By Layla.
Hello everyone, it is a beautiful day in England right now! If some of you didn't already know, I have been in England since Thursday March 13. Started out in London, and have now travelled with my friend Angela to her home in Timsbury which is near Bath, in western England, about 2 or 3 hours west of London depending on how fast the buses are moving.
It is beautiful out here in the English countryside and I am falling in love with it all. I cannot believe how nice the weather has been. Clear and sunny every single day since I got off at Gatwick in a fog early Thursday morning, a week ago. Yesterday morning was cold and overcast, but the sun came out in the pm and I walked through 3 villages, probably at least 5 miles or more, looking for an open pub that served food, but never found one. Did manage to get a pint and some nuts in one beautiful big pub on top of a hill (or "down" as British call them.) None of them serve food mid day - which is always when I am looking for lunch. You know, 3 - 4 pm-ish. On the way back, funny thing how this happens when one exits a pub, I headed off down the wrong road and didn't realise it till way later, when I came upon a larger town than any I had seen on the way up - I had what I thought was Angela's only key to her house and had promised I'd be home before she got home from work. Panic sets in, and I asked directions, got two answers, choose one and got some good exercise walking fast. I walked up to her door as she pulled in, and she cheerfully told me she had found another key to her house she kept at work, so all was well. We drank wine and played scrabble that night, me too exhausted to do anything else. Today she dropped me off in Bath, a beautiful old town, and I got an 8 am bus to Salisbury. I am staying for 2 nights here in a sweet little hostel in a room with 4 people, and the owner is so nice, she guided me by mobile phone conversation from the bus station to her little hostel and it is just so friendly and personal. The bus ride over here was spectacular, we passed through beautiful English villages in rolling green countryside, glorious sun shining through mists and tree and hills - in the county of Wiltshire, where Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues lives. Didn't see him, though. Mom, you would absolutely love this, I know. Today I am exploring Salisbury, and I'll eat in pubs. The girl at the hostel told me where the locals go So I will go there tonight, and after this email I will go the pheasant pub in between the touristy section and the more local section. Yesterday I found beautiful English pheasant feathers along the roads, long tail feathers. I have seen a few, in the fields and along the roads, they are very much like our ring-neck pheasants, slightly different. Beautiful.
I am not sure if I wrote about the fantastic party in the Peruvian restaurant last Sunday night. A bunch of musicians from different bands, all friends of a Bolivian guy named Miguel, got together for his send off party as he is going back to Bolivia. We ate and drank, and I had the girl make me a drink of Chicha Morada and vodka. Chicha Morada is a purple maize flavoured Peruvian drink which is vaguely like cranberry juice. She thought I was crazy at first when I asked her, but finally she made it and it was fabulous. It was all I needed to get me to change into my beautiful Andean costume dress and dance when all the musicians started playing. very one loved it and many of the men danced with me. I was in heaven, let me tell you, but thoroughly exhausted when it was finally over around midnight or later. Juan Julio drove Angela and I back to his house to sleep the night, he and his beautiful kind wife Flor are the parents of one of the musicians, our dear friend Johnny. Well, I went up had a hot bath and was feeling SSSSOOOO ready for a good nights sleep, thinking only Angela was in the living room downstairs where we were sleeping. But as I exited the shower with only a skirt wrapped around me, I heard a cacophony of men's voices which promptly told me Johnny had brought the entire party back to the house!!! I screamed, "Oh my god", and then Julio came out of his bedroom and pointed to one of the kids bedrooms and said you can go in there, so in I went, and found the bottom bunk empty, the young boy had gone to sleep in another room and left it for me. So I dressed, went downstairs for a few things, and Johnny apologized profusely for intruding with all his friends, asking if it was ok, saying they'd only be there a moment for one quick drink, etc. (oh hmmm) and I said oh, it is ok, I will go upstairs, and I did, because I really needed sleep. The party downstairs lasted all the night until daylight, but I really did sleep, though Angela was not so lucky as she stayed down with them and ended up not getting to sleep until the morning when they all left. Everyone else except Marco had gone to work or school but Julio said he would be back by 12.30. I got to walk down the street with Marco to a beautiful park where I saw a fantastic great blue heron among the ducks and geese, Marco working on his English and me on my Spanish. He is another real sweetheart, like all these people seem to be. When we got back, Angela was awake and Flor cooked us all a duck dinner. So we had to stay for that. It was so good, Peruvian Duck with nice salad and grains with Johnny finally getting up around 3:30 pm just in time for the dinner. They are such nice people, we really loved them all, and they loved me and my dancing. We finally made it back to Bath on a bus from Victoria by about 10 or 11 that night.
None of the Arabic places I enquired at have called me back for a gig, but the owner of the Peruvian restaurant wants me to dance there again before I leave! How cool. I will try to get one of the Andean bands to play with me again. For those of you dancers reading this, I dance in a long dress with a huge swirly skirt to that music, not a belly dance costume!
Meeting New South American Friends from Holland in Bath.
The following weekend was also a fun one with unexpected Andean music on the Sunday, resulting in both Layla and I having some new Andean friends now. On Friday night we went to the pub and then all day Saturday we went on a train excursion to the seaside - with 6 hours at the seaside and a fine day too. We walked on the sand barefoot on first arrival, then walked around the town, had a nice lunch, browsed in the Peruvian shop, walked around the harbour, and took lots of great photos. We had a typical Dorset cream tea in a quaint little tea-shop and ended up on the beach again. Back home in Bath we went for a drink first and then took an Indian take-away home and enjoyed it with Andean music.
We were on a quick visit to Bath on Sunday morning after a late breakfast - Layla to collect photos and me to buy CD-Rs. and had just collected her photos and were walking to the shop I had in mind to buy CD-Rs when Layla told me to look back at the guy in the yellow t-shirt. I did and when I realised it was a South American guy I doubled back and asked if they were going to play (even though there wasn't an instrument in sight!). There was no way we could continue walking without asking! We were both delighted when they said the instruments would arrive in half an hour and then they would be playing all afternoon. Layla and I had to rush off to meet Colin at the pub in Chew Magna for lunch but said we would be back. After the lunch with Colin, he rushed off to a rugby match and we dashed home so that Layla could pick up her Turkish belly-dance costume, as we had popped into Marmaris that morning and had half arranged to go back in the evening to see if the boss would let her dance there. Meanwhile she changed into the beautiful flowing dress with swirly skirts she wears when dancing to Andean music and I did a quick change into my Virgin of the Sun dress.
When we arrived at the spot where the musicians were playing she started dancing in front of them and they were really delighted and there was a lot of interaction between the flute player and Layla and unimaginable crowds enjoying both music and dancing. Then the band insisted I danced too and I was very reluctant and hoping there was no one from work about, but once I started dancing I was happy. For both of us it was a magical afternoon. When they finished we all decided to go into the pub next to where they were playing. We had a drink there and when we mentioned we were going to the Turkish restaurant one of them said he just adored Turkish food and asked if they could accompany us and we said yes. We had a great meal there and were so enjoying their company. Later on Layla asked the waiters and they agreed she could dance there just for us (the restaurant being in two halves, one around the corner from the other, and apart from some Turkish people near the bar there were no other diners in our half.
That did not last long though. When Layla arrived in her beautiful Turkish belly-dance costume there was an immediate stir of interest and they put on some music for her and she gave us an incredible dance display, with all the waiters awestruck by her dancing skill and the diners from the other side crowded round to watch as well. It was an incredible performance and our three new friends were amazed and delighted. At the end the musicians would not let us pay for our meals, insisting on paying all - which is quite unusual for South Americans. They also gave Layla and me their new CD and one to the people in the restaurant too. I had bought one from them earlier so was thrilled to have both. They had to leave about 10.30 as they were far from their guest-house and the following day were returning to Holland. But they promised to come back to Bath again quite soon.
Kausary's Visit to Bath at the end of March.
Friday and Saturday 28th and 29th March were a magical couple of days as well. The band arrived from London (Johnny, Julio and the two Carlos's) in the afternoon, arriving at Colin's house just before 5 pm, where we were all staying. They arrived just as I was putting the finishing touches to the Peruvian meal I had cooked for them and we enjoyed this with a couple of bottles of wine.
At 7 pm we left for the pub - the Pelican at Chew Magna as I had successfully persuaded our friends Richard and Kerry, the landlords, to give them this gig. It was a fantastic night, the pub packed and everyone seemed to enjoy the music which was so incredibly different to that normally played in this village pub. The band gave a great performance and were dressed in Peruvian tunics and Layla, Ann and I took loads of photos. Layla and I danced a fair bit too. Ann decided to stay overnight as well so that she could come with us the next day.
The next morning after breakfast we all zoomed off to Wells where they played in the market all day. For Layla, Ann and me it was heaven, 6 more hours of their lovely music! Sadly they had to return to London at tea-time that day but I will see them again soon as I am going to London in two weeks time and I will be staying with Johnny and his family again.
I have a whole album of photos of this magical weekend if anyone would like to see them!
On Sunday I drove Layla down to Glastonbury as I knew such a mystical place would enchant her and it was probably the last chance to take her as I knew she was returning to London the following day as she had pre-booked two weeks in a hotel there. It was a fine sunny day again and as we arrived around midday we decided to have lunch first in one of the many pubs there. Afterwards we visited all the little shops in the High street, most of them Aladdin's caves of incredibly mystical things. Layla bought tarot cards for one of her friends and promised to give me a reading later in the day. We both tried on clothes as there are many shops selling the most unusual designs of clothing, in floaty fabrics, velvet, heavily embroidered etc. Later in the afternoon whilst Layla visited the ancient Glastonbury Abbey ruins I spent an hour in the Gallatea cafe which now also has internet access. Colin and I used to go there quite regularly. Whilst writing emails I could enjoy two musicians in the background (guitar and mandoline) and before leaving was delighted to learn that the harp player still plays there on alternate Fridays.
When Layla and I met up again afterwards we decided to have coffee and snacks and I suggested we go to Gallatea. The musicians were still playing and we spent a pleasant hour or so in there, and Layla gave me the promised reading. She is still learning the tarot meanings but what she did tell me was very interesting and seemed to reflect that the Andes are a definite part of my future - I sure hope so!
Easter Holidays.
The two weeks off work were great. The hot weather which has been almost continuous since February continued and I managed to enjoy some quality time in the garden as well as spending a lot of time spring cleaning the house. On the evening of my last day at work Colin and I drove down to Glastonbury (that mystical town I went to with Layla the previous week), having discovered then that John the harp player still plays at Cafe Gallatea every fortnight). We decided to eat there even though all the food was vegetarian. I eventually chose three starters instead of a main course. I was very impressed with the Rose Merlot wine and had three large glasses. It was such a relaxing way to spend a Friday evening after the hectic week at work, chilling out to John's beautiful harp playing - mostly South American music on a Venezuelan harp. We stayed right to the end and intend to go back quite regularly.
On Saturday morning I had just got out of bed thinking with distinct lack of enthusiasm that I had better get started on that garden rubbish clearance, envisaging a busy morning until the tip closed, going backwards and forwards. Then the phone rang and it was Layla ringing from London to say that she had just received a text message from one of the Peruvian musicians that he and two others were at Portsmouth where they were going to play in the city centre. Layla said she would take a train from London to Portsmouth if the idea of us meeting there appealed to me. I was all for it and thoughts of shifting garden rubbish went way out of the window. There was simply no contest between that and whizzing off by train in warm sunshine to the seaside to hear an Andean band!!!! I phoned and found there was no way I could get ready and get to Bath in time for the next train and would have to catch the 10.35 one instead. I phoned her back to tell her and she agreed to forget breakfast and get up to Waterloo station and onto the first available train and that we would meet in Portsmouth. I parked my car at Colin's house and he took me down to the station and we were up on the platform waiting for the train to come in when Layla phoned to say she was already on her train from Waterloo station and would reach Portsmouth at 11.30. The service from there is much faster. The train I was on although a direct one, stopped at 12 other stations on the way and would not reach Portsmouth until 12.45.
I enjoyed the journey though as I always do. I had my walkman and half a dozen Andean CDs and listened to Aire, Agua, Tierra y Fuego volume 1 all the way which is a truly fantastic album. I was also engrossed in a good book most of the way so the journey seemed shorter than it would have done otherwise. When the train pulled in at the station and I got off it was easy to follow the sign to the city centre, and I intended to look for Marks and Spencers first to see if they were there before phoning to ask Layla for directions. I only had to walk about 150 yards and could hear their music and could see Layla waving.
When I got there I went straight up to Dante who is the very first Peruvian musician I ever met and threw my arms around his neck and he was really pleased I had travelled all the way from Bath to see him. We had so much to talk about and he was in his usual good humorous form and had all of us laughing continuously all day. It was fun to meet the other two musicians and when they played again both Layla and I danced and were enjoying ourselves so much.
The live music did not last as long as it should have done though. About 3 pm something went wrong with the sound system, which they knew could not be repaired there and then, and they started packing up the instruments. They were disappointed because it was such a lovely sunny day, the sky a deep blue, and lots of people interested in the music. But Dante said that in all the years of playing there, they had never yet visited the seafront and that is what we decided to do. Soon the instruments were stowed in the car and as they had one of those cassettes that could be connected to a walkman to listen to CDs in the car I put on my latest by Hijos del sol for us to enjoy whilst driving towards the seafront.
On the way we stopped at the shop and they bought lots of beers and packs of different flavoured nachos etc and we parked and crossed a park and up some steps to a nice grassed area looking over the sea. We found a nice place to sit on the grass and really enjoyed ourselves the next 2 or 3 hours, enjoying the beers and snacks and taking photos and just chatting and laughing amongst ourselves. It was such a lovely spot to be, all around us children and families enjoying a relaxing time too, watching jet-skis and boats out in the bay. Dante vowed there and then that he would bring his wife and children there very soon.
We only decided to make a move as the sun was going down as the sea breeze was feeling pretty chilly without the rays of the sun to offset it. We walked back to the car and then drove back to the railway station as I had decided to catch the 7.24 train back, which also meant that Layla could get back to London in time to dance at the Moroccan restaurant near her hotel. The guys offered her a lift back instead of her going by train, so she was very happy to enjoy their company even longer.
I arrived back in Bath at 9.30 pm where Colin met me off the train and we ordered an Indian take-away meal and had one drink in the pub nearby while they cooked it, returning to his house to eat it, eventually getting home about 11.30 pm. On the threshold of summer somehow I think I will be making that trip to Portsmouth now and again which was so enjoyable. Next time I will take my friend Ann with me. It was a lovely weekend - much more interesting than the hard work shifting garden rubbish would have been!!! I still have that chore to do next Saturday though.
Layla's Farewell Get-together at Casbah Restaurant in Shepherds Bush
On Monday I had another brilliant day out in London, this being Layla's last day in England before returning to USA on Tuesday. When I discovered that First Great Western have abolished the day return fare and that it would cost £28 at the advance rate had I gone by train I decided to travel by bus instead at only £15. Much as I would have loved another whole weekend in London it just gets too expensive to do it too often.
I left Bath on the 6.45 bus having asked the driver if I could get off at Earl's Court which saves about half an hour on the journey time. I arrived just before 10 and shortly afterwards Layla met me at the station entrance as pre-arranged. We then decided to go to Shepherd's Bush market as this is one I had not visited before. We spent about an hour looking around the market and then I told Layla that in view of her disappointment with the curry at Portabello Road, I would take her to the best place in London for a really authentic curry. We rushed to get on the underground train and when we fell onto it just as the doors were closing she exclaimed "It seems an awful long way, we are going from the West right to the East part of London!". I said "Don't worry, it is worth the journey time as you will see!"
In actual fact it took a bout 40 minutes and we got off at Aldgate East which is only 5 minutes walk from Brick Lane which is in Banglatown (Whitechapel area). Within five minutes we found an excellent restaurant offering a set lunch with choices at a great price - and it really was well worth the distance travelled. Everything we had was first class and really delicious and when I mentioned to the waiter how much we enjoyed it he said that when we come next time he would make sure it was even better and with bigger portions! Definitely one to go back to in future I reckon.
Our next stop was to Layla's hotel in Shepherds Bush as she still had all her packing to do. When we got to the corner near the hotel, we parted company for an hour - me to visit an internet cafe, thus leaving her in peace to do the majority of packing. When I rejoined her at the hotel later she had done most of it and we left the hotel about 6 pm as we wanted to be first at the Casbah Restaurant in order to greet the others we had invited. As it happened we were way earlier than the others and had a coffee and ordered a starter each to keep us going until our meal with the others. The Moroccan owners of the restaurant were very pleasant and chatted with us, and Layla made good contacts for dancing both there and in other places on her next UK visit.
After a while we were getting quite anxious as Flor, Julio and the children were taking a long time to find us and incommunicado by mobile phone, probably because they were in the tube. We were seriously worried in case they had got lost so were very relieved when they finally walked in. The management gave us a larger table in the middle of the restaurant, with enough chairs for others we were expecting and at this point we ordered our meals and drinks and Layla went off to change into her costume.
When she returned about 20 minutes later, her entree was a powerful one to the intro of the accompanying music and all of us and the other diners were enchanted when she began to dance for us. Her costume was stunning in gorgeous shades of blue with a pale aqua sash which formed part of the dance at the beginning. Belly dancing is fantastic to watch and when it is someone you know performing it is even better. Flor, Julio, the children and I were absolutely entranced and one guy who had just had his meal brought to him let it go cold whilst he watched her dance. Even the waiters who regularly see dancers perform there were enchanted and were busy taking lots of photos, just like we were. Her show really was amazing.
Afterwards she got changed and came and sat with us while we had the meal - most of them ordering Tagines but I opted for Cous Cous which is one of my favourites that I often try to eat at least once whilst visiting Paris. Then Johnny arrived straight from the studio, feeling very happy that the last track for the forthcoming CD was now finalised with only the final mixing to do, with Carlos and his girlfriend arriving soon afterwards as well. At this point Layla went and changed into her beautiful deep red, heavily embroidered with gold, fire dance costume and this too was a wonderful display of dancing - incredibly graceful with the lighted lamps almost being gently juggled as she danced. Her new contacts who had promised to come back and watch her had arrived by then and they were equally captivated with her performance and really regretful that she was returning to USA next day and thus unavailable for other dance performances coming up.
Whilst eating, Johnny told me about the band playing the following Saturday and although I had not planned on revisiting London until after the forthcoming trip to Paris, it did not take much persuading for me to qagree to come to London again and this time for the whole weekend! Finally at 10.30 sadly I had to go as I had no idea how long it would take me to get to Victoria Station and I did not want to miss the last bus leaving at 11.30. I was quite sorry saying goodbye to Layla having really enjoyed the time spent with her during her visit, but with luck she is coming back in July in time for Contigo Peru, Johnny's birthday in early August and she and I will probably go to Edinburgh for a week of the festival. I was quite tired and managed to sleep most of the journey home, which only took 2.5 hours at that time of the night. The bus pulled into Bath bus station at 2 o clock and I was home by 2.30, with just 4 hours sleep before taking the boys to work next day.
Another Fun Weekend in London.
On the weekend halfway through the Easter holiday I went to London again. In fact the whole Easter weekend was lovely. Friday was another baking hot day and after a hectic few hours of spring cleaning in the morning I stretched out on a sun-bed in the afternoon, with a few CDs on my walkman and a good book and those 5 or 6 hours of warm sunshine reactivated my Peru tan which had faded. Then I got ready for the weekend and left the house early evening as I always leave my car parked on Colin's drive whenever I go away. I had time for a quick session on his computer and then we went out for the evening to our favourite pub.
Next day I was up early and Colin drove me down to the bus station where I was pleased to see two buses leaving at the same time, one of them a direct one to London saving more than an hour on the journey time. The bus left on time and I managed to doze a good part of the journey listening to music on my mp3 player (an Apple iPod which holds 500 CDs worth of music). I find travelling by bus so boring when compared to train travel so it is easy to fall asleep just to help pass the time. This one wasn't too bad though and got me to London in just over 2 hours instead of the normal 3. I got off at Earls Court and then made my way to Portabello market - in hopes there might be some Andean musicians - there hasn't been any on recent visits so I was delighted on arrival to find what was obviously a Peruvian with his equipment still stacked on the trolley. I asked him what music he would be playing (just to make sure) and when he said Andean I was delighted.
I introduced myself and stayed chatting to him for the next few hours. When he realised I came from Bath with the name Angela he said he had heard of me as other musicians had told him they had stayed in my house and that I was very kind which I thought was a nice compliment actually. I looked at his CD which I did not have and asked if I could hear a couple of tracks on it before deciding to buy it and he connected a walkman to his sound system and it was playing quietly while he got his equipment ready. Then I watched his stuff while he popped off to get a drink and while he was gone sold one of his CDs for him and when I handed him the money on his return he was really pleased and delighted, especially as I bought one at that moment as well. His name is Shanty which is a nickname derived from the name Santiago - he comes from Ayacucho in Peru.
I listened for a while and then went off round the market and returned a bit later with spicy Thai chicken soup and almond croissants for both of us. A bit later another Peruvian friend Victor arrived to set up his jewellery stall and it was great to see him again and we had a chat. He was being helped by Eliban, a young Peruvian student who is also a friend and it was great chatting to him as well. I stayed until 3 o clock and then said my farewells to all of them as I knew it would take me at least 2 hours to get to Johnny's house from there. On leaving Santiago took my phone number and said that he would contact me the next time he visits Bath. It did indeed take me 2 hours to get to Johnny's - first by underground, then a mainline train and then a bus from the station to his house. I was really glad to get there as it was such a cold day - unbelievable after the 28 degrees on Friday. In the market I had to put on an extra skirt and had to buy socks as my feet were so cold. There was no sun evident and a quite cold wind which seemed to penetrate all the layers of clothing. It was only because Colin warned me that the weather was on the change that I even bothered to take a coat - thank goodness I heeded his advice.
I arrived at the house just in time for dinner and it was great to see the family again who I absolutely adore like my own - Johnny is the eldest son, aged around 30, and there are sisters Tanya 24 and Kaymi 11 and a young brother Clayder aged 9. His parents Flor and Julio are absolutely adorable and every one of them, even the children make me so welcome. I just love going there. Dinner was a delicious spicy pasta dish made with pork and Ceviche, a delicious fish dish which is raw fish marinated in lime juice with red onion, garlic, yellow chilli etc. The lime juice 'cooks' the fish and it is one of my favourites of all Peruvian dishes. After dinner we got ready and Julio took me with him to El Inca Restaurant which is where the band - Kausary - were going to play. Gradually lots of Peruvians arrived as well as the other musicians and I was able to see loads of friends again. I was sitting at a table with Dante and Edwin, two of the first Peruvian musicians I ever met, as well as with Liz who manages Kausary, and Marisol, Paco's girlfriend. It was lovely to see Argentinian Carlos again, who asked the restaurant to play a tape he wanted me to hear which was brilliant. The musician was El Negro Aguirre with his group and Carlos promised to make me a copy of this as soon as he could.
The band started playing about 8.30 and did several sets throughout the evening, finishing up about midnight. I enjoyed it all so much, but the evening did not end there. Music was put on and people were up dancing and it went on until 5 in the morning. Once the children were settled Flor and her brother Marco arrived and it really was a brilliant evening apart from the last couple of hours when I was struggling to stay awake!
The next day everyone slept really late and no one felt like doing much. Flor made a huge breakfast for everyone which was even later than lunchtime (!!!) and we sat around chatting, watching a couple of videos and I helped Flor cook a fantastic chicken dish with spicy potatoes, rice and salad which we all enjoyed in the evening. A couple of friends arrived and after the meal they started strumming their instruments and I was able to enjoy a nice live session in their lounge - Julio on guitar, his friend on Cajon and both Flor and Lydia singing. Johnny was chatting to me and his son but at times joined in on his flute and it was so lovely and relaxing and we all shared some beers as well.
On Monday Johnny was taking the younger ones to a theme park in Tunbridge Wells but I had to unfortunately decline going with them because I knew there was no way we would get back in time for me to catch my bus (and if you don't travel on the one you are booked onto it means paying again). So I decided to stay back with Flor and Julio who suggested us going into Central London and we spent a pleasant day there, mostly on the South-bank which is full of concert halls and theatres fronting a large esplanade by the River Thames - which was full of varying street entertainment - a real holiday atmosphere. In the Royal Festival Hall there was a big jazz and swing band playing - all totally free of charge - and people dancing and having a good time on the dance floor.
We had ice-creams and later stopped at an Italian restaurant and had a meal which I treated them to despite their protests. It was great to have the opportunity to return some of their incredibly kind hospitality which is always so wonderful. In their house I feel as comfortable as I do in my own. When we parted company at Waterloo station for me to continue to Victoria and my bus and for them to return to catch their bus home, I completely forgot about my rucksack bag which Julio had been carrying for me. I had to go down 3 long escalators to get to the Jubilee line and Julio and Flor caught up with me just as I reached the platform, having run after me when they realised I had forgotten it!!! Then after yet more hugs we parted company. I finally got home at 9.30 to Bath and then 10 at Colin's. But when I went to drive home I put the key in the car lock and it broke off in there. It would not work in the ignition so Colin drove me home to get the spare key and then I was able to drive home, getting there just after 11. The spare key is bent so I hope it lasts until I can get a new one ordered which is quite a lengthy procedure getting one from the Toyota dealers.
The rest of the week I was very busy spring cleaning and the house is starting to look a lot better now that I have got rid of so many things. It is much easier to keep it tidy now (which is a continual process with two untidy sons living there!)
Jorge's Visit from London.
On my last weekend of the holiday Jorge - a Peruvian student living in London - came down to stay. It was only a short visit from Saturday through to Sunday but we crammed quite a lot into his visit.
On Saturday morning I drove into Bath and spent some time with Ann until Jorge's arrival and whilst there popped into the train station and booked my return trip to Heathrow and back as two weeks later I would be going to France again. It was great to see Jorge again when the bus arrived and after saying goodbye to Ann, we drove out of Bath as I intended to show him Bath on Sunday after lunch. I wanted to take him to our nearest sea side resort, which is in effect the Bristol Channel Estuary but very typical of English sea side towns. We stopped at the Farnborough Inn on the way and had a nice lunch and then drove the 28 miles down to Weston Super Mare. The weather driving down was pretty good and Jorge was really enjoying the English countryside which he said reminded him quite a bit of Peru with so much greenery and all the trees. We stopped on the way at Chew Valley Lake and managed to get some great photos taken with the swans and ducks who are so used to visitors that they are really tame. I regretted not bringing a loaf of bread with me as sometimes the ducks will even take food from one's hand.
On arrival in Weston it started to drizzle with rain unfortunately. We walked along the long pier first of all, taking photos and visited the huge arcade at the end. Then we walked back and as the rain was coming down harder we decided to find a pub and have a few games of pool. We found a good one which was full of young people dancing and having a good time to loud music and Jorge and I had 4 games - it would have been more but we had to concede the table to others who decided to play. I think the table was only empty when we arrived because one of the balls was missing, but after asking at the bar the bar-tender managed to find a spare one for us. We each won 2 games - exclaiming about the weather outside as we could see through the open door that the rain was really lashing down. Luckily by the time we left it had eased off and enabled us to spend another half an hour in the town before returning to the car and the drive home. I managed to visit my favourite dress shop which specialises in Indian clothes and bought a fantastic skirt and top.
We had barely made it back to the car when the rain came down hard again and the whole drive home was horrendous. The rain was so torrential that even on full speed the windscreen wipers could barely cope with the volume of water and the roads were awash with water, like rivers in places so we had to drive quite slowly. At one point overtaking a very slow car the wheels hit a flood of water and I almost lost control of the car!
We stopped at Timsbury on the way back so that Jorge could meet my sons and I picked up 5 albums of Peru photos to take to Colin's for him to look at. We arrived at Colin's house about 7 pm where Jorge and Colin met for the first time. After showing Jorge his room and both of us having a quick change of clothes the three of us went out again for the evening. We went to a nice pub in Widcombe for a couple of hours and then ordered an Indian take-away meal and took it home and enjoyed the food along with some of my latest Andean music.
The next morning we were up early and I cooked a traditional English breakfast. Afterwards I drove to Camerton as there was a boot sale, but it proved quite disappointing as due to the grey weather not many cars turned up. So we popped round to my house in the next village and Jorge was able to chat to my sons a bit more and we took quite a few photos in the garden. Then we went back to Colin's for half an hour before leaving to collect my Mum. Jorge really fell in love with Newton St Loe and we took some nice photos outside Mum's cottage which looked prettier than ever with all the pink clematis climbing over it. We took several more photos in the back garden because Jorge really fell in love with her house.
Then I drove us to the Stag at Hinton Charterhouse where we were meeting Colin and Mary for traditional Sunday lunch. The five of us really enjoyed the meal there and afterwards I took Mum home. Being so close to the university college where I work, I then drove up the long drive which is incredibly beautiful countryside - continuing on to the castle where I once had my office on the top floor and then we took more photos with the lake in the background. From there we drove into Bath for Jorge's last couple of hours before getting the bus back to London. We took photos by Pulteney Bridge and the Abbey and generally looked round the main part of the town. Unfortunately there were no Andean musicians though! I managed to use up my film, meaning I had taken 35 photos during Jorge's visit but he far exceeded that having taken 105 pictures on his digital camera and I look forward to receiving copies of every one as he has promised to put them on a CD and send them by post. He really enjoyed his visit and I have invited him to come again - the next time for a whole week - which will be the first week of the school holidays as I am off work then. I plan to take him to some great places then - including Stonehenge, Salisbury, Weymouth, Bristol amongst others, with both of us travelling to London on the Saturday at the end of July to enjoy the annual Peruvian celebration of her independence at Contigo Peru. Layla will probably also arrive back in England in time for that. Lucky Jorge then goes home to Trujillo, Peru for a month in August - I sure wish there was room for me in his suitcase! He has promised to bring me back a good supply of aji amarillo though!
My next story will cover my forthcoming trip to Paris to see Inti Illimani on 13th May, my arrival back on the 15th and putting up two of the Kallawaya musicians from Bolivia, the Quimantu concert on 17th May and Kallawaya's Bristol concert on 14th June. Kallawaya are a really top class band from Bolivia who are on tour in England, Ireland and the Channel Islands during May and June and I hope to post details of this tour shortly. If you live close enough to go and see their concert you will not be disappointed. THEY ARE BRILLIANT!
