When my friends Leo and Cristele wrote to tell me that Inti Illimani would be playing in concert in Paris in May I could not resist going as a result of their kind invitation. A quick look on the internet found return flights from Heathrow for £65 and for a further £30 I managed to pre-book my journey from Bath by train and bus.
When I finished work on Friday with a whole week off work in store and so many things to look forward to no one could have felt happier! Colin and I went to our favourite pub in Chew Magna as usual on Friday and then I stayed at his house to make it easier getting to the station next morning. I caught the 9.23 train which got me to Reading in an hour and from there I transferred to a bus which took me to terminal 3, then the shuttle bus to terminal 4. I had pre-booked the train tickets whilst in Bath with Jorge when he visited from London recently, relying on memory for the flight times and unfortunately got it wrong. On arrival at Heathrow I had three and a half hours to kill and the same prospect upon my return, although there were plans afoot that if Kallawaya arrived from Bolivia on the same day as me I could travel back to Bath with them.
The time passed quite nicely at Heathrow. I was thoroughly engrossed in a good book on the train so decided to get a coffee and read for half an hour in a seating area. Then as soon as the announcement board indicated checking in could take place I did that and went upstairs to JD Wetherspoons for some lunch and a large glass of wine. Then I joined the long queue to go through to departures (and thank goodness I allowed plenty of time for this because the queue was nowhere near that long when I walked past earlier). By the time I got to the departure gate they were just ready to allow passengers to board and I was the first one to get on the plane and was soon comfortably installed in a window seat at the back and looking forward to another take off and landing (my favourite parts of all flights!). It was only a short flight, 40 minutes, but I managed to get some great photos as we took off and again as we were coming into land in France. I was hoping for some aerial shots of Paris but must have been on the wrong side of the plane because next minute we were landing at terminal 1.
I really like Charles de Gaulle airport which is very ultra modern and it's easy to find your way about. A couple of moving walkways later and I was into the area for collection of baggage and in no time walking out of the airport to catch the shuttle bus to terminal 3. Then after purchasing my ticket on the RER train I headed for the platform and was lucky to get there just as a train pulled in and was then on the last leg of the journey to Bourg la Reine which is the nearest station to where Leo lives in Bagneux. I tried ringing Leo using my new mobile phone once on the train but unfortunately could not get through. I thought this was because my mobile would not work in France (even though I had requested it to be usable abroad at time of purchase) but I discovered later that Leo's phones were not geared up to take calls from a foreign phone.
An hour after leaving Charles de Gaulle airport the train pulled into Bourg La Reine. There were no phones taking coins so I bought a phone card, and rang Leo who arrived to pick me up a few minutes later. Back at the house the first person I saw when we went in was baby Claire and I was delighted that she remembered me as it is six months since my last visit. She greeted me with the most wonderful smile and it was lovely to cuddle her again. The other children came and greeted me too and it was lovely to see them again. A short while later Christele arrived home and after a chat and aperitifs she set to preparing the evening meal and this was really enjoyable as it always is. In France dinner time is a really leisurely affair lasting a couple of hours or more. After the main course and wine comes a wonderful selection of delicious cheeses and then desert and finally coffee which is the real McCoy from Costa Rica where Leo's mother and sisters live.
Next morning I went to the local market with Christele and Charlotte - I enjoy French markets as much as I enjoy the ones in Peru. I had taken a couple of my favourite Peruvian recipes with me and wanted to cook the next two evening meals and after getting all I needed for that we had a look at the other stalls outside and I fell in love with the beautiful materials on one stall. (My friend Layla would have a field day and be really spoiled for choice with such a wonderful array of materials available, none of it terribly expensive. I bought 4 metres of some beautiful chiffon material to make a skirt and it only cost me ten euros. I completed my purchases with a couple of bottles of some Estate Bottled Rose wine from Venice and soon we were back at the house. I helped Christele cook lunch and afterwards we watched Leo's latest Illapu DVD which was very interesting - live music interspersed with live footage of them in Chile.
Because I had previously expressed an interest in a similar shelving arrangement as Leo has for storing his CD collection I decided that as I had travelled quite light on this occasion to get the fittings for a similar shelf unit for use at home. So after watching the DVD we piled into the car and Leo drove us to Monsieur Bricolage - a large do-it-yourself shop and I bought the necessary items to build a 7 shelf high unit eight feet wide which will house an awful lot of CDs, including a whole roll of bubble wrap to pack it securely and safely for the flight home. Later in the afternoon I got busy and prepared everything for the evening and made Adobo de Chancho to my favourite Puno recipe which everyone enjoyed immensely. Leo and Christele know I love ice-cream and after the cheeses Camille walked in with a stack of four ice-cream containers each containing a different flavour of ice-cream, with Christele promising to get my favourite - pistachio flavour - the following day!
On Monday after a delicious breakfast (I love French breakfasts too - baguette, delicious jams, the lovely sweet soft brioche bread, and croissants sometimes), we drove into Paris to an area with lots of computer shops as both Leo and I were looking for various accessories and wanting to check out the prices there in France compared to UK. After looking at several shops I came to the conclusion that things were a little more favourable price-wise back home than in France. After we had had our fill of computer shops we decided to go to a nearby Mexican restaurant for lunch which Leo and Christele kindly treated me to even though I wanted to pay. After a lovely meal we ended up in a toy shop to buy some things for Claire and then went home.
The Rocoto Relleno I had decided to make that evening was a lot more complicated and time consuming to make so I got on with it quite soon, with Christele helping me with the preparations. In the afternoon Christele's brother arrived to join us and shared the evening meal with us which again they all enjoyed. Then at 10 pm Marie phoned to say she had arrived at Bourg La Reine and Leo went to collect her. Marie is another of Leo's internet friends like me - she is Portuguese and lives in Central France and plays in the band Musocc Illary. It was nice to meet her and she was quite amazed when I told her I had both Musocc Illary albums in my music collection.
The next day was D-Day - my reason for being in Paris at that particular time. The Inti Illimani concert at Unesco would start at 8 pm but we had to leave the house by 5.30 to allow plenty of time to get there through the rush hour. We got up quite late and had a late breakfast and then a late lunch, knowing we would be eating the evening meal a lot later than usual. At 5 pm Christele's father arrived to baby-sit Claire and at 5.30 we all set off - eight of us - as we were meeting Pierre, Sophie and Felix at the actual venue.
By the time we parked and walked to the entrance it was almost 7 pm and when we walked in, a really officious guard prevented our admittance and made us wait outside, even though we already had tickets. He was so officious that Leo and I were joking that they had got the Chilean Military in to act as the ushers for the concert! It was quite cold and windy outside and I had come out without a coat, and a lady official relented and said that ticket holders could wait inside at the entrance to the main hall where the concert would take place. Marie bought the new CD but this was the only one on sale and Leo and I already had it in our collection. Finally we were allowed inside and our seats were about halfway back from the stage and in a nice central position. Leo and Marie had brought their video cameras and stands on which to film from, so I knew that at some future point I could look forward to my copy of a video of the whole concert.
The whole atmosphere as the hall filled up was very festive, with a lot of the Chilean community in Paris arriving - as evidenced by all the hugs and greetings as friends met up with each other. Finally the concert began at 8.15 and was absolutely wonderful. There were eight musicians on the stage - sadly Horacio Salinas is no longer with the band as he now performs solo, but all the current musicians are excellent professional performers and their show was really superb and a mix of old familiar songs and new from almost 35 years of playing and probably an equal number of CDs under their belt (most of which are in my collection needless to say!)
There was an interval in the middle and then they played two hours more including several encores with the whole crowd cheering and stamping their feet so that the band returned and played over and over again. It was pretty late by the time the whole thing ended and although Leo and I had previously discussed the idea of trying to go backstage and meet the band, in the end we decided against it after the officiousness of that man when we first arrived. Also, it was Sophie's birthday and Pierre wanted us all to join him at a Chinese restaurant after the show to further celebrate her day. We drove a few miles to a nice one and all enjoyed an excellent meal. By the time we got home it was 1.30 in the morning and the children really tired, but they had really enjoyed Inti Illimani's music.
That day the children had had only had one hour of school as it was a one-day strike of all rail and bus services across France. But this 'one day' strike extended beyond that, which meant the children had no classes apart from an hour the following day and therefore did not have to get up too early after such a late night. Later in the day Christele and I went to Malakoff market which takes place three times a week (the local one is only on Sundays) - Malakoff is where they used to live. I wanted to cook for them again and bought the ingredients as well as food items to take home for Colin, including a couple of loaves of that delicious brioche bread, and Christele treated Colin and me to some of our favourite Pyrennes brebis cheese. Back home I got busy, first packing up the items purchased at Monsieur Bricolage and then cooking Adobo de Chancho again for tea as it had proved such a big hit on Sunday. Then as we were all pretty tired from the late night on Tuesday we went to bed quite early as Christele had to work next day and Leo went to work that night.
Unfortunately we discovered next day that the strike was still going on which meant no trains going to the airport, but Leo cheerfully said he would drive me there even though he had just worked all night. I felt guilty knowing he should be sleeping and was very sorry he had to drive so far, because normally it is such an easy train ride direct to the airport from where they live. The lack of trains and buses across the whole of Paris resulted in grid locked traffic and when we set out in the usual direction for the airport we were sitting in a queue that simply did not move. Leo checked a map and decided to take a different route. I suggested going via the Peripherique but he said that was grid locked as well. We turned back at the first opportunity and he had to drive quite far in the opposite direction before getting onto a motorway which we eventually exited at Bobigny and were thus able to get to the airport without too much delay. As we said our goodbyes Leo reminded me that I must come back, bringing Colin as well next time, in September for the Illapu concert which is taking place at Unesco. Also during my visit Christele told me to visit and bring Justin, Ceri and Jasmine so that the two little girls can meet. I really am lucky to have such excellent friends as these.
Even with all the delays I was still at the airport in plenty of time with two and a half hours until my flight. Before leaving Leo's house I had checked my email and got Diana's message that Kallawaya were arriving Friday instead of Thursday. We had been in touch over recent weeks as I had offered to put two of the musicians up as the accommodations being prepared for them were still unfinished and they had nowhere to stay on the first part of their tour. After checking in and a light lunch I found my way easily to departures and was soon ensconced in another window seat next to a delightful Vancouver couple who I chatted to throughout the flight home. Again I took more photos as we took off - yet more as we left the French coast and flew over the channel, and then finally I got some excellent aerial shots of London (with the River Thames, Southbank and the London Eye) as we were coming in to land. I had travelled both ways with British Airways and as always the service was excellent - we were served with delicious snacks and a choice of drinks, free newspapers etc. I think this is excellent when the ticket costs are so competitive.
I had to get from terminal 4 to terminal 3 (or so I thought) in order to get the rail air bus to Reading and decided to go on the Heathrow Express train for a change. Unfortunately I should have kept going until terminal 2. Getting off at Terminal 3 meant I ended up at the central bus station which is NOT where you get the Railair bus! This meant walking to the right terminal which took about 15 minutes. I had the problem of trying to get on earlier buses and trains home - because of that mistake when booking the tickets and getting my arrival times wrong meant a four hour wait at the airport which I definitely did not intend to do. The driver of the bus cheerfully let me aboard but warned me that I might have difficulties when I tried to get on the train at Reading. I was intending to ask the train manager before boarding the train at Reading but when I got there it was chaotic, huge crowds awaiting the trains and then at the last minute our train was delayed outside the station whilst another train was diverted to our platform. So when it arrived I decided to get on it anyway - with the worst that could happen would be the train manager putting me off the train at the next station!
As it happened my ticket wasn't checked until half way home and when I casually mentioned I was on an earlier train than the one I was booked on he was very sweet and said that was okay. What a relief! I then phoned Colin and confirmed my arrival time in Bath and he said he would be there to pick me up. At this point I discovered my welcome message from the French Mobile phone company and realised that I could have after all used the phone whilst in France! Too late for that now though having arrived back in England again!
The train journey was a very pleasant one as it was one of the new trains - the first I have been on - very comfortable and smooth. I arrived in Bath at quarter to seven instead of 10 o clock if I had waited and taken the train I was booked on, Soon I was in Colin's car and we were on our way back to his house. I told him the band were arriving next day in the evening which meant we would not be able to go to the Pelican as usual and suggested we went that night instead which he readily agreed to. After dropping my things at the house we went straight out again and had a pleasant evening at the Pelican including a nice meal - the whole evening out being like a bonus as we were home around 10.30 pm, not much later than we would have been had I caught that later train!
The next day Friday I had off work as well. I popped home in the morning to collect my post, including CDs from my dear friend in Japan, visited some of my family and later visited Ceri and Jasmine, returning to Colin's in the afternoon to cook the meal for the musicians arrival that evening. Of the five Kallawaya musicians two of them would be staying at Mo Fini's house, two with us and Adrian would be staying in Bristol. Diana had driven up to the airport to collect them and it occurred to me that the last thing she would feel like doing after all that driving was having to cook, so I decided to make enough for eight of us instead of four and when she phoned later to say they would be with us by about 7.30 I invited them to dinner also and she was delighted. We had a lovely evening together. It was such fun meeting Carlos Ponce (I have his first CD in my collection) and Manuel Monroy Chazarreta, both of whom were so happy to be in England - Carlos for the first time in 6 years and Manuel for the very first time and it was great to see Adrian again as well. We shared a couple of bottles of wine and enjoyed some of my new Andean music from Japan, and everyone really enjoyed my cooking - Italian meatball soup for starters and Peruvian pork stew afterwards. About 10.30 Adrian and the others set off home and after listening to more music and finishing off the wine, we showed Carlos and Manuel where they would be sleeping and they retired to bed. They were feeling quite tired after a total of 30 hours travelling from La Paz through to Bath. I told them to sleep as long as they wanted the next day and not to worry about getting up if they heard us moving about.
Next morning we were awake quite a long time before we saw them. Luckily I had decided to cook the Pollo Guisado in advance, not being sure if there would be time to do it later, and when they eventually stirred and came down I gave them an English breakfast, something Carlos had really been looking forward to, and Manuel was equally as keen on it when he ate it for the first time! At 11 am my friend Ann arrived and we had fun listening to more music with both Carlos and Manuel trying to teach me how to do the morenada insisting that when Kallawaya would be performing I must get up and do this dance on the stage! They even filmed us dancing and got Ann to film us while I danced with both of them!
At 1.15 I drove down to the station to meet Adrian off the train and then we drove to Mo Fini's house to collect Saul Callejas and Edgar Villaroel, the other two members of the band. When we got there I could see why everyone had fallen so in love with Mo's house which is situated in deep countryside but not too far from Bath and in the most incredibly beautiful setting with lots of trees, including a giant willow tree next to a large pond, ducks etc and huge picture windows in the house. I could not resist taking a few photos. It was lovely to meet the other two and I was soon chatting away to Saul in Spanish whilst Edgar gathered up the instruments to take with us. Mo produced his excellent brew of coffee for us and invited us all to some excellent food he had cooked which was really delicious. His wife Lucy had taken the children to the Quimantu workshop which Ann and I had tickets for but both cheerfully decided not to go after all when we knew the treat in store for us instead.
Soon everyone was organised and we said our goodbyes to Mo, who we would be seeing at that evening's concert, and I drove us back to Colin's house so that the whole band could do their rehearsal there. As we walked in my Nazca CD was playing and Saul was amazed because on the song playing he was both singing and playing charango - very nice it was too! Soon they had their instruments set up in Colin's lounge and for the next three and a half hours Ann and I were in heaven listening and watching them rehearse. We both took loads of photos. About 6.30 I disappeared briefly to cook some rice and reheat the Pollo Guisado, and at 7 pm we all sat down to enjoy the food and share a bottle of wine before setting out for the Quimantu concert taking place at the Michael Tippett Centre of Bath Spa University College where I work. Adrian unfortunately could not come with us as he still needed to sort out instruments ready for the following day's departure to the Channel Islands for concerts in Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Alderney but we agreed I would drive over to Bristol after the concert.
We all enjoyed Quimantu's concert which was a delightful mix of their usual material but interspersed with a lot of new numbers. I was convinced their new CD would be available by now but learned later that it is still not quite ready. When the show ended we went backstage and Mauricio offered us all drinks. It was lovely to see him, Rachel and the others again too. Mo was with us as well as he was one of the main sponsors of the whole event. Mauricio told me that Quimantu would be back in November for a gig at Bradford on Avon which is close to Bath and that he would email me soon with the actual date.
Carlos decided to accompany me on the drive to Bristol and Colin took Manuel and Ann with him, the other two returning to Mo's house for the night. I managed to get to Diana's house in less than half the time it takes during the daytime - where Adrian was very busy indeed sorting out what had to go with them on the Channel Islands part of the tour. A large box of their instruments had not been offloaded from the plane when they arrived from Bolivia - it travelled on to Copenhagen and arrived back in London the next day and the airline couriered it to Bristol at their own expense which is the normal procedure when luggage goes astray. Carlos helped him with the packing up and I chatted to Diana. We agreed I would take Carlos and Manuel to Mo's house next morning by 8.30 where she would pick them all up!
Next morning I was awake early and had time to cook another English breakfast for them before we departed. Manuel very kindly gave us four of his own CD recordings and Carlos gave us his latest CD called Traditional Jazz, much to our delight - Saul having promised the evening before that he would be giving me his own CD also. When we arrived at Mo's house Adrian was packing everything into the van and Mo arrived shortly afterwards with a tray of his delicious coffee for us all. When the van finally departed, Mo said to stay for another coffee so I did and met his wife Lucy and the children. The whole weekend was such fun, meeting the musicians from Bolivia and seeing Quimantu again and getting to know Mo a little. I was really looking forward to spending the following Saturday with Kallawaya. Colin really enjoyed their visit too and looked forward to their return. He missed their rehearsal because of his trip out with his son to see first the cup final and then a rugby match, so he had no idea of the treat in store when he would see them live!
Bank Holiday Weekend.
The following weekend was also very enjoyable. I drove across to Bristol on Saturday morning arriving at the house where they were staying at 11.30 which I thought was our departure time for Hereford. They said departure time was 12 noon and wanted to whizz across to Tesco's for an English breakfast first which was a nice start to the day. Back at the house Diana, Adrian and the twins had arrived with the van and it was a mad dash to load everything in to get on our way. The journey to Hereford took about an hour and a half, arriving at the Courtyard Theatre about an hour before the workshop was due to start. We were allocated a nice dressing room downstairs and shown the workshop room upstairs. At this point as they were unloading everything Saul Callejas, the charango player, presented me with his CD as a gift, much to my delight, making 6 CDs in all given as gifts to me by the various musicians.
The workshop was from 3 to 5 pm and about a dozen people came, some bringing their own instruments. It began with Adrian giving a 15 minute demonstration on how to make an Andean flute, and when finished he played El Condor Pasa on it and later in the workshop gave it to an English flute maker who was there. Each of the other musicians gave a talk on his instrument - Saul on charango, Manuel on guitar, Carlos on pan-pipes, including playing a solo each, and then all five of them played a couple of great songs together with Edgar playing cajon and singing. Carlos is incredible on pan-pipes, holding 4 different sets in his hands at once, including the long ones, switching with ease from one to the other, and with his jazzy influence on the way he plays is amazing to watch. In the last part everyone joined in as best they could on their instruments (after a session of learning the scale and keeping up with the rhythm) and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely including the couple of teenagers who came and who looked bored at the beginning and were entranced come the end. Afterwards we all enjoyed a huge tray of sandwiches, courtesy of the theatre.
Then Diana, the children and I had a couple of free hours whilst the musicians did their sound checking in the auditorium and we drove into town for a quick look round, returning to the theatre with time for a snack in the cafeteria before taking our seats in the auditorium for the concert which started at 8 pm. Just before this a couple of tables were set up in the foyer with their various CDs, pan-pipes, flutes and other artesania for sale, which the twins took charge of before, during the interval and after the show. We had great seats at the side near the front in a box, perfect for taking photos except for the fact that a steward was sitting next to me and when I took the first photo she said 'no photos allowed'! I was so disappointed as the first 15-20 minutes on stage was amazing with their incredible costumes, complete with ponchos huge feather head dresses, and then another lot of costumes with tall floral head-dresses etc. This was the more native autoctonal part of the show - something I have never seen done by any other Andean band - and it went down incredibly well with the audience.
Both during the interval and after their fantastic performance, people were coming up congratulating them on such a brilliant show, and buying CDs as if they were going out of fashion. They were very efficient at getting their equipment up together afterwards too, one or more of them doing this whilst the others enjoyed the acclaim from the concert goers, so that by the time we were ready to leave at 11 pm, it was all stacked up near the door and quickly loaded into the van. By this time everyone was hungry so first stop was a kebab shop in the town where we all enjoyed a take away meal, starting the journey back around 12.15 and getting back to their house around 1.45, with me having to drive back to Bath. I climbed into bed around 2.30 in the morning. It really was a great day out with them and I had Sunday to look forward to as well because when they asked me what I was doing next day and I said I would be free from around 2 pm onwards they said to come over.
I woke up to warm sunshine on Sunday and had breakfast with Colin who was whizzing off at 10 am on a coach trip with his son to Reading for a rugby match final. Shortly after he left I drove down to Mo Fini's house to pick up two suitcases left there by Edgar and Saul the weekend before, arriving back by 12 noon in time for Mary's arrival as I was going to lunch with her due to Colin's absence. We took both cars to the Globe Inn at Newton St Loe and had a lovely meal, saying our goodbyes there afterwards with me continuing on to Bristol to reach the house by 2.30. Once there we all had tea and coffee and I asked if they wanted to see any of the sights and we decided to go and visit the Suspension Bridge which is one of Bristol's most popular tourist sites. I drove via the Centre of Bristol so that they could see it and parked close enough to the Suspension Bridge so that we could walk across it and Manuel got busy with his camcorder and they all enjoyed the incredible views of Bristol. Afterwards we decided to go to Bath as Edgar lived there for 3 years in the 1980s and was keen to see it again and for the others to see it.
Once there I parked and we walked round to the Abbey and from there could hear pan-pipes and so went to take a look and saw the guys from Holland, this time three of them playing - one of them being Carlos's brother, and Ann was there with her Mum taking photos of them! After they finished the song Carlos came straight over with a hug and I introduced him to the Bolivians. We stayed and listened to a couple of songs and then they had a chat before we finally took our leave. Prior to arrival in the city we had detoured to Victoria Park to see if the 'Fun day in the Park' was still going on but unfortunately had missed the main events, one of which was the Sedan chair race which my son Justin won. After taking our leave of the musicians we returned to the car and I drove them to visit Jorge, an old friend of Edgar's and after a half hour or so there we returned to their house in Bristol.
On arrival there they were very disappointed that Tesco's was closed, thinking the 24 hour opening applied to Sundays as well! They put the kettle on but there was only enough sugar for one person which they insisted was for me. The only trouble is that Edgar made me a cup of tea with it, so as there was no milk either I ended up with a cup of coffee with no milk or sugar! I said I did not know which was worse, tea with sugar or coffee without, which they thought quite hilarious! We decided next to go and eat somewhere and the guys said they would treat me as a thank you for the lovely afternoon. After discussing where to go we decided on Casa Sudaca which is run by Chileans, who Edgar knew well. When we got there the Chilean owner was taking a cigarette break outside and was overwhelmed with joy to see Edgar and made all of us really welcome, breaking out the bottle of pisco and giving us all a glass of it as soon as we were seated at a table. We ordered the food, with me choosing a Brazilian chicken dish, Carlos chose Fajitas and the rest of them chose steaks and we shared an excellent bottle of Chilean red wine with the meal. It was a great end to another lovely day with them.
Then I took them back to the house and said my goodbyes, with Carlos promising to phone me later in the week to confirm which day they would be returning from Polperro. They would be leaving next day for the whole week in Cornwall, with the Eden Project concerts on Wednesday and Thursday and Polperro on Friday afternoon, an outdoor event on the village green. Diana was unsure whether they would return on the Friday or leave it until the Saturday. Guessing that they would probably return on Saturday and thus arrive later in the day, I decided to keep Sunday free to spend with them, possibly taking them to Weston-Super-Mare.
Fun with Chan Chan Again.
I had a nice surprise the following Wednesday. I was looking forward all day to getting out in the garden in the sun on arrival home from work. I got home at 5 pm and was stretched out in the sun with a good book and next minute Tristan said someone was on the phone and I was delighted to find it was Gabriel, the Peruvian musician whose family I stayed with in Trujillo in February. He was in Bristol with Oswaldo and Fernando plus a girl they had met that day and were on their way to Wales but asked if Jemma could park her car near my house until Friday and I said yes. I asked if they had time to stop and eat something if I got busy cooking while they made their way across and after a quick discussion with the others they said they would come and stay overnight leaving for Wales early next morning. They had sleeping bags etc so putting four of them up was no problem.
I had just got it all ready when they phoned again. They had arrived in the village and it was quicker to go and fetch them than explain how to find my house. I drove to meet them and they followed me back to the house and it was just great, really great to see Gabriel and Oswaldo again and meet Fernando for the first time. These are 3 of the 4 founder members of Chan Chan. Jemma was a nice fun person as well - she had met them only that day, enjoyed their music and decided to travel to Wales with them as she is on holiday - she lives in the North of England but was visiting Bristol.
We had dinner and a bottle of wine and I showed them my photos of Kallawaya, Paris and Inti Illimani etc and then it was time for Colin to arrive. I had phoned him briefly to check he didn't mind 4 others coming out with us that evening. We drove to the Pelican in two cars and had a lovely evening, and lots of laughs. Back home afterwards we shared another bottle of wine as a nightcap and I finally went to bed about midnight, with them sleeping in the lounge, one on a sofa and the rest on cushions and sleeping bags on the floor. I almost overslept next morning, waking up an hour later than usual and having to get ready for work in just half an hour. I had an almighty headache most of the morning! I left them all getting ready to depart for Wales and would see them again o couple of days later when they returned from Wales - as they would spend one night at Colin's house on Friday before returning to their homes Saturday evening.
They arrived on Friday before I had finished cooking and I left Colin in charge to finish it off whilst I drove down to fetch them. When we got back all I had to do was carry it to the table and after a quick wash they joined us and we had a lovely time. Colin provided some excellent Hungarian red wine from his elite collection and they enjoyed the Peruvian meal. We had Andean music playing in the background, the sun was still shining outside and it was perfect. We were discussing where to go for a drink afterwards and when Colin suggested a walk across the fields to the Packhorse at Southstoke we agreed. It took about 15 minutes and I took a photo of us all walking - across the field, through a little wood, finally exiting in the lane leading to the village - then a shortcut past the ancient village church and we ended up in the pub garden which was full of people enjoying a great summer's evening and luckily we found a table. We stayed there until it closed and had a really enjoyable time, although I wasn't looking forward to the walk back, it being uphill out of the village. As it happened it wasn't too bad, levelling out after a while. We walked back the long way, via the road, as I did not fancy walking through woods and across fields in the dark even with 4 male escorts! Back home I made them all a Dulces Suenos herbal tea as a nightcap - this being something purchased whilst in Peru and it really worked for me. It worked well for them too as they all slept like logs.
Next morning I was up early by 7 am in order to be first in the shower, knowing they wanted to get away early. Then I went downstairs and cooked breakfast which we all enjoyed together. By this time I had decided to get the train and join them at Taunton where they would be playing that day (Taunton being halfway home to Exeter from Bath). I phoned the train enquiry line whilst they were still there to get times of trains so that I could give them an idea what time I would get there. Ann as usual did not have her mobile phone switched on, so once we said our goodbyes to the guys when they left, I whizzed round getting camera, phone, cds, walkman etc ready to take and Colin drove me down to her flat. We had only one direct train at ten past ten and to miss that one meant a more awkward journey having to change trains at Bristol. When I knocked on her door and she answered I said you have two minutes to get ready as we have a train to catch! She was delighted and was ready in two minutes too!
It was a pleasant one hour journey to get to Taunton and then we headed into town after leaving the station. There were lots of shops and we lingered in many of them and an hour later not having heard or found them I thought I had better ring and see where they were. It was only at this moment I saw their text message that some official had stopped them playing and they were waiting for us to arrive before going somewhere else. Both Ann and I felt very guilty spending so much time in the shops, knowing they had been waiting for us. After explaining where we were they said to keep walking in that direction and next minute could see them waving at us. We caught up with them and could see they had made room for us in the car and I got in front with Fernando who was driving and Ann was a Chan Chan sandwich between Oswaldo and Gabriel in the back! (Part of the seat taken up with equipment).
We drove about 12 miles down the road to Bridgwater and they set up their instruments in the town and for the next four hours Ann and I were in our element enjoying their lovely music, with me requesting various songs which they played for me, my favourite one being the first song on their Volume 4 CD. They played until about 4.30 pm, then packed up the instruments and drove Ann and I back to Taunton station for our return trip home, saying our goodbyes there with them promising to come to Bath and see us again soon.
The direct train to Bath wasn't until 7.27 so we decided to get the next train to Bristol which luckily for us we were in time to get onto without having to wait. The journey to Bristol reminded me of the Weymouth run, as it stopped at many stations along the way. An enormous crowd got on at the next station because an earlier train had been cancelled, and it was jam packed in the aisles with people standing and thus took longer for people to get off and on at all the stations along the way. Because of this it was late arriving in Bristol and when I looked at the screens I could see the next Bath train was leaving in 2 minutes from a platform I could see in the distance. We had to run like hell and rushing up the steps to platform 13 I was quite gasping for breath, with station attendants telling everyone to hurry as they had held up the London train due to the late arrival of ours. Then 15 minutes later we were arriving in Bath where I caught a bus up to Colin's house having arrived back earlier than I had told him. He was really surprised when I walked in an hour and a half earlier than he was expecting me!
I had a lovely day with the Bolivians the following day. I left Colin's at 9.30 in the morning, driving to a computer fayre in Bristol first. The next fayre would take place on 6th July when I hoped to have more time to browse but this was a lightening visit. I then made it to pick them up by 11 o clock and had a coffee with two of them whilst the others finished getting ready. The sun was still shining and we set out for Weston Super mare and about half way there were driving through Cleeve when one of them noticed a car boot sale and wanted to stop so I turned round and we all got bargains. I laughed because it started to drizzle with rain while we were there and two of them ended up buying rain jackets - that rain was lucky for those guys selling that day!
In Weston it was impossible to park where I had in mind and we ended up parking in the Royal Hotel which is quite expensive at £4 - we entered the hotel intending to use it as a shortcut to get out the other side but walking through the bar there was a jazz band playing and they were all entranced so we got a drink and listened for about an hour. It was the really old fashioned jazz and they loved it. We didn't stay until the end - 4 pm - because we were all hungry and set off looking for a restaurant that did Greek roast lamb. The only problem being I could not remember where it was and we walked for ages and poor Manuel who has a dodgy ankle could barely keep up with us. I was walking way ahead chatting to Edgar and said I think it is the other side of those buildings up ahead and was worried whether Manuel could make it and he said that if we told him there is a car boot sale on the other side he would make it!!!
Anyhow we eventually gave up and found a restaurant near the sea front but the guys were toying with the idea of going back to Burger King. So Manuel and I decided to stay and eat there and the other guys would go to Burger King and rejoin us afterwards. We had a nice meal but the others still hadn't returned and Manuel said they were probably in a nearby internet cafe! Outside he wanted to walk across the road and see the sea and was enchanted at the views. We walked towards the pier and came across a little train and decided to get on it. I thought it was taking us onto the pier until it drove straight past. Instead we went to the Marine Lake and got off there. The Marine Lake is formed when the tide comes in and fills it up, so that when the tide goes out there is this mini sea and sandy beach which is perfectly safe for children. The sun was shining again, the beach was full of kids complete with families watching a Punch and Judy show and a few children paddling in the sea. We sat on the sand for a while and then he wanted to walk across a little causeway between the Marine Lake and the sea.
I phoned Edgar as they now have a mobile and said we would meet them on the pier at about 5 pm. We took the train back and then walked to the pier, where there was another little train taking you to the end of it so we got on and halfway along we passed the others walking back. It was so funny the expressions on their faces when we waved as we went past. By the time we rejoined them we decided to drive back to Bristol and with some difficulty I found my way out of Weston (I always seem to get lost leaving Weston) but found the right road after a while until offered a choice of continuing on the A370 which is the road we came in on or get on the motorway. We chose the motorway and what a mistake that was as it was jam packed with all three lanes going no more than 20 miles per hour. We had to stick it until the next exit and then I got off and we had a pleasant drive home through lovely countryside, arriving in Bristol about quarter to seven. There we all had half an hour in an internet cafe and I drove them back to the house, saying my goodbyes then as I wanted to get home for a programme on TV by 8 pm. Monday was their last day of leisure before a tight programme of concerts all over the place so I wouldn't see them for a while. What a pity I had to work otherwise we could have gone somewhere for the day. I hoped to see them the following Sunday as well.
Kallawaya at the Southbank, London.
On Sunday 8th June I went to London for the day and had a really brilliant time. The main reason for going was the Kallawaya concert at the Southbank in the evening but also to see Aquiles again who had recently returned from Peru. I left on the 8.30 am bus and the journey did not seem as long as usual as I managed to finish a good book as well as listening to the usual Andean music. On arrival at Victoria, having walked from the coach station to the underground station, I was just about to go down to get the train when Aquiles phoned suggesting I come by bus to meet him as there was no underground station nearby. He told me to get to Elephant and Castle and then get a bus from the nearest bus stop as I exited the station. This proved easy enough and very soon I was on a No. 63 bus headed down the Old Kent Road and when I got off at Tesco's he was there waiting for me on the bus stop.
His flat was just across the road and we went there first where we enjoyed ice cold glasses of chicha morada and croissants and I listened to all the songs that are ready for his next CD which I was very impressed with. Whilst listening I was going through his CD collection and picked out eight to borrow, which he very kindly let me take away with me to copy and then return by post. After the Cd finished we walked along to Amazonas where I was able to buy three jars of Aji Amarillo whilst Aquiles made a phone call to Peru. It was quite a long call so after buying the spices I had time for a session on the internet until he finished. Then we dropped the spices back at the flat and went to El Sitio, a restaurant with an upstairs bar and dance floor, which is the latest Bolivian venue in the area - there are a lot of Bolivians as well as Peruvians living on the Old Kent Road.
At El Sitio we both chose two dishes each. I chose Pique Macho and Piqante de Gallina both of which were delicious. In fact, if anyone knows the recipe for Pique Macho I sure would love to know it! I tried a popular Bolivian soft drink first called something like Mochochinque, and after that we were drinking Pacena beers. We ended up staying there until 6.30 pm with his Ecuadorian friend Ivan joining us for a while later on. After a few beers downstairs we went upstairs to the karaoke bar where we were first entertained by some very talented Bolivian children who sang for us and then the disco started and everyone was up dancing. I even got dragged onto the dance floor by one energetic guy which was fun! But then we had to leave as I was anxious to get to the Royal Festival Hall in good time.
A few minutes later we were on a No. 172 bus taking us to the London bridge nearest to the Royal Festival Hall - although we weren't quick enough pressing the bell and had a long and windy walk back from the other side of the bridge and then down a flight of steps to the Southbank. Once outside I phoned the Kallawaya number and spoke to Diana and she told me where to find her as she had our tickets for us. We had excellent seats too in the fourth row back from the stage. The auditorium was full apart from a few seats at the back.
The concert started at 7.30 and was absolutely fantastic. When they did their introductory part in costumes, wearing the enormous feather head dresses, there was room for them to come down off the stage, along the front aisle and back up onto the stage again, dancing as they played, and the audience was absolutely captivated. Their second song involved a change of costume and huge floral head dresses - so tall that they had to bend really low to get through the doors leading onto the stage. Edgar later explained the significance of these two sets of costumes. After these introductory autoctonal songs, Manuel appeared on the stage and did a beautiful guitar solo - followed by Saul Callejas who enchanted us all with his charango solo - in fact the audience was so impressed with his playing that at times even before a song had finished when all the band were playing, if he did a little charange improviso in the middle of a song, the audience cheered - this also happened with Carlos Ponce who is an absolute virtuoso on the pan pipes - I have never seen anyone play them with his kind of style and it's amazing.
After their solos the whole band launched into Ernesto Cavour's Leno Verde which was a stupendous rendition that practically brought the house down. This band are really superlative. The sound resulting in all these professionals playing as a band is unbeatable but at the same time if one listens carefully one can hear the contribution of each individual performer. Their superb skills were acknowledged with gusto by the enthusiastic audience after every single song.
Halfway through there was an interval of about 20 minutes which was unique in that the Bolivian Embassy had laid on a buffet for everybody complete with wine and soft drinks. I was delighted to see many of my friends there - Johnny, Liz, Dante, Carlos and his new wife Antje, and others and had a chat with all of them. The band members were also out in the foyer mingling with the concert goers and greeting old friends. This was followed by the second half which was equally as good as the first, with the concert ending at 10 pm. At this point Aquiles had to leave as he was meeting Ivan back at El Sitio, but he promised to come down on a visit to Bath very soon. I didn't have to worry about using the return half of my bus ticket because the band very kindly said I could travel back in the van with them - so instead of rushing off I was able to chat further with all the various friends until it was time to go.
It was lovely to be with the musicians again and chat, although I fell asleep about half way home after such a long day. I finally got home to Colin's at 2.20 am with only a few hours sleep possible before work next morning. Despite feeling a bit tired I was happily looking forward to two more of their concerts the following weekend - at Stroud on Friday and Bristol on Saturday. After that the band would be in Bristol just one more week before leaving for Paris on Friday 20th June where they planned to meet up with 100 Bolivian pan pipe players at Cite Universite on Saturday 21st June.
Kallawaya's Stroud and Bristol Concerts.
The weekend of 13th/14th June was especially fantastic with Kallawaya concerts two nights running on Friday and Saturday. On Friday evening we drove to Stroud through glorious countryside and in bright sunshine arriving in plenty of time. The concert was held in the Subscription Rooms in the town centre and was very informal with tables and chairs arranged around the auditorium and one could take drinks in to enjoy during the performance. Being early we chose the table in the centre front opposite the stage. This enabled me to take the best photos yet of Kallawaya performing. There was a large dance floor area in front of the tables and they performed the autoctonal part of the show here, first in the ostrich feather head-dresses and then in the floral head-dresses as before. The significance of the ostrich feathers being that people used to follow the ostriches as they knew where to find water. The feathers on the head-dress are like the feathers on the tail of an ostrich when bending down to drink water. The floral head dresses simply indicate the joy in life felt by those rural farmers living around Lake Titicaca.
All through the first half of the show I was simply dying to get up and dance and waiting for someone else to get up first but no one did. Talking to other people in the audience during the interval indicated that some others wanted to dance as well and they said that if I got up in the second half they would too. It was near the end before I got up the nerve to dance, finally deciding to when they said it was their last number. It was a very energetic song too and brilliant to dance to - that beautiful music is better than Red Bull because it literally puts wings on my feet! Then the encore was a morenada and I got up again, this time followed by several others and we all thoroughly enjoyed that last song. I love the morenada rhythm and am determined one of these days to learn how to dance it properly the way they do in Bolivia.
After the show we had another drink and chatted to lots of people there. Colin also bought me one of the many CDs on offer which is in my collection again for the third time. I originally bought Mallku de Los Andes Despues de 20 Anos en vivo when I was in Bolivia and lost it along with 3 others before getting home to England. Then my friend Jorge in Tierra del Fuego sent me a copy to replace it and in no time at all this also got lost. It is wonderful to have this album again and we listened to it all the way home.
Saturday the extremely hot weather continued and after a quick trip into town in the morning I spent the afternoon sunbathing, partly listening to the glorious array of bird-song in Colin's beautiful garden and partly listening to Andean music wafting from the dining room window as I relaxed with a good book. Colin had gone to see a rugby match with his son at the Ram (an international game that was being shown on video). Later I cooked dinner for us and we enjoyed this with glass of wine and then Ann arrived at 6 pm. We left the house at 6.30 and drove to Bristol, this concert taking place in St Georges Centre at Brandon Hill. Once inside I was delighted that Diana had allocated us three seats right in the front row with the stage just in front of us. The lighting here was the best yet, completely natural with chandeliers above the stage that were lit later in the evening. This venue was formerly a church and the acoustics were excellent.
Again we enjoyed another excellent performance and for me it was a delight to witness Ann's intense enjoyment, this being the first time she had seen Kallawaya on stage apart from the rehearsal at Colin's house just after their arrival in the UK. This concert ended a bit later than the others because the applause was even more thunderous than usual and we did not have to finish at such an exact and rigid time as was the case in some of the other venues. So altogether we all enjoyed three encores. After they finished Ann and I found our way backstage and managed to get photos taken with the whole band, plus a further photo with Mo and Lucy Fini of Tumi Music. Mo said he would be having a party for the band before they left the UK and said he would be in touch as to the exact date. After the equipment was packed into the van, several of us went back to the house where Kallawaya were staying and enjoyed ice cold beers, some music on CDs and chatting for a further hour. Ann and I could not help but laugh because a Bolivian named Jorge and Colin thought they knew each other from the past and then they both suddenly remembered at the same time and were both really animated catching up on years of news.
I chatted a lot to Edgar who has promised to keep in touch (as indeed have all the others) and he said I could travel in the van to the last concert in Manchester the following day if I wished. I said I could only go with them if they travelled back the same night after the concert and Edgar thought they might be travelling back the same night as they had a workshop the next day. He said to check with Diana in the morning to be sure. I was very tempted to go with them to Manchester, even though it was such a long way and that travelling back after the concert meant I would probably get back to Bristol just in time to drive to work Monday morning. But as it happened when I phoned Diana next morning she said that Edgar had not slept all night because the party had gone on all night and kept him awake. She did not want him to risk driving back after the concert on top of the long drive there on so little sleep and had booked them into a Travelodge just this side of Crewe, from which they would have to wake early to arrive at the school in Bristol for the 9.30 am workshop. I knew then it would be impossible to go as I had no way of asking for Monday morning off work. I knew I would be seeing them at least once more before their departure so consoled myself with that.
As it happened I had a very enjoyable Sunday. It was the hottest day of the whole week and I relaxed in the garden for an hour in the morning until it was time to go out for lunch with Colin and Mary ? which we enjoyed in another secluded garden at the Pelican Inn. Then I stayed in the garden all afternoon until 6.30 pm when tall trees nearby blocked the last of the sunlight. Colin prepared us a delicious supper of prawns and avocado with watercress, spring onions and tomatoes which we enjoyed whilst watching a favourite TV programme and then I drove home after another really great weekend.
Barbeque Party at Mo Fini's House.
Three days after their Bristol concert Mo Fini held a barbeque and invited Diana and the twins, Adrian, Saul, Carlos, Manuel and Edgar of the Kallawaya band, Colin and myself which proved an excellent finale to a wonderful month of enjoyment with these excellent musicians. The date for this had been left up in the air the previous Saturday and I did not know it would be taking place on Tuesday until a couple of hours beforehand - thank goodness for mobile phones! By the time I got home I had about 15 minutes to get ready and drive across to Colin's (as he, thinking he had all evening to do it, had shopping to do and a picnic to prepare for an all day excursion the following day). In order to be able to drink at the barbeque I decided to park my car at Colin's and go to work from there the following morning.
We arrived at Mo's house about 7.30 pm where we joined Diana and Lucy at an outdoor table and enjoyed glasses of home-made sangria. Salad, baguettes etc were on the table and almost immediately Saul arrived with a huge platter of barbequed meats that Mo had been busy cooking. We were the last to arrive so were soon tucking in to an excellent outdoor meal, accompanied by home-made tortillas that Mo had also made himself.
There could be no more beautiful setting for eating al fresco than Mo's beautiful garden which so enthralled Colin that he explored every part of it (seven acres in total - in beautiful secluded countryside yet only 3 miles from Bath). The house is nestled within a sloping garden with a lovely selection of different trees including a very tall palm tree near the house. Looking up one can see the thatched summer house almost obscured by foliage in which the barbeque cooking was done.; looking down upon a mini lake complete with miniature island in the middle beneath one of the largest weeping willow trees I have ever seen, ducks and other water fowl completely at home there. The heat of the day was cooled by a breeze and being in such lovely company was really exquisite. I took some nice photos throughout the evening one or two of which will appear here later.
After the meal, several of us followed Mo who was taking the left-overs to feed the chickens. The field crossed by a mini wood and rope bridge (which I crossed quite tentatively in hopes it would bear my weight!) also contained sheep who soon made themselves scarce as we appeared. Also in the field were two goal posts so we all decided to have a game of football with others joining us little by little.
Mo was in one goal and I was in the other, everyone else running about all over the field after the ball. Poor Carlos who was wearing shorts fell over three times and got stung by some stinging nettles and others also fell sometimes but were wearing trousers and thus avoided getting stung. I was wearing the most unsuitable shoes for playing football, nubuck leather slip on mule type sandals and every time I went to kick the ball the shoe sailed in a wide arc in front of me and I had to kick the ball with my bare foot - the reason I too got stung several times diving into the nettles to prevent the ball getting past the posts. It was all tremendous fun and back at the house afterwards Colin was kept busy looking for dock leaves to help soothe the stinging on our feet and legs.
Then because Colin was so taken with the beautiful rustic furniture in Mo's lounge, Mo offered to show him around the whole house and being a normal curious female I decided to accompany them! The whole house is on a Mexican theme, including the sink and tiles in the bathroom which were his own design which were later made up in Mexico for him. For me the best feature was the spiral staircase going up from the lounge made out of a single Ecuadorian tree - to the first level where there are two guest bedrooms and then further up again to the apex of the roof where a delightful little computer room has two enormous roof windows either side of the apex. The bedrooms for the family were reached via a normal staircase in another part of the house. We were both really impressed with the beauty of this lovely house and with Mo and Lucy themselves who are great fun. Mo loves to tease and is always happy go lucky and laughing.
Before leaving - around 10.30 pm as both Diana's and Mo's children had to be up for school the next day - Saul and Carlos gave me their email and postal addresses and phone numbers, promising to keep in touch regularly until I see them again - which might be before I go to Bolivia in July 2004 if they come back in October for which there are tentative plans. It depends on whether enough gigs can be generated to cover the costs, the current tour having cost around £15,000 to execute. They all love England so if at all possible they will definitely be back. Mo said to Colin and me to pop by anytime for a drink and one of these days we will because we so enjoyed ourselves in their home.
