Kausary's CD Launch Party in London.
On 10th July I finished work at mid-day and headed for London. I had been looking forward to this because in addition to the party, my friend Layla had arrived from the USA a couple of days earlier for a few weeks holiday. We met at 3.15 at Earls Court and headed straight from there to Brick Lane to enjoy one of the best curries available in London in one of the many Bangladeshi restaurants there. We enjoyed this outside in the warm sunshine and it was great seeing that Bangladeshi world go by, although there was one unpleasant incident unfortunately. I did not see what sparked the incident but suddenly we heard the sound of smashing glass and next moment a very irate African girl stormed off up the street, looking back as she did so and glaring at people sitting on a nearby table. The waiter came rushing out to see what had happened. He insisted the police be called and after 20 minutes two foot police, a man and a woman appeared to take statements. A few minutes later, leaving his colleague on their table he approached us and asked if we had witnessed the incident. He sat at our table and said he would dearly love a sip of our beer but that he could not because he was on duty!!! He was very pleasant and we told him what we had seen and he took our details. Layla was very impressed with the politeness and humour of our London police-men compared to those in the USA. She said that there they are really menacing.
All this delayed our meal a little so by the time we finished it was then a mad rush to get to Layla's hotel at Shepherd's Bush so that we could freshen up for the evening party. On arrival there Layla gave me my birthday present of five Andean cassettes (four of which were not in my collection and I will give the other one to Ann). She also gave me a lovely feather hair adornment made of blue and green macaw feathers which I decided to wear that evening. Within half an hour we were on our way again - Layla was eager to get to Leicester Square to be there when they opened the doors, so it was quite a hurried journey with me huffing and puffing up the stairs of long flights of escalators in order to keep up with her! We arrived at Piccadilly Circus at 7.30 and a few moments later found the Sounds club and had to wait a few moments before the doors were opened, so we both felt happy to have got there in time.
Being early, once inside we managed to get a table with a good view of the stage and were soon enjoying large glasses of vodka and cranberry juice (Layla's favourite drink which now also numbers among my favourites - it certainly makes a change from wine and on a hot evening like then it was very refreshing with lots of ice). Gradually various friends arrived and we talked to them and when Eddy and Rosa arrived, the people who run El Inca restaurant, they came and sat with us. Eddy is really delighted that Layla is going to do a full belly dance show at El Inca on 2nd August and told me he had put a poster in the window and that there had been a lot of interest expressed already and that the Peruvians are telling all their friends. Hopefully this will be a very well attended event and financially beneficial for her. Even better, Eddy said that the apartment above El Inca would be available for rent and he offered it to her for the whole duration of her stay. She was delighted about this as it is bound to be more reasonable than paying for a hotel. It is also good news for me because I too have a more central place to stay when I am in London during this summer's holiday. I finish work on 25th July and will be heading for London the following day for Contigo Peru celebrations at Conway Hall, so may stay 9 or 10 days in London and be there for Layla's belly-dance show on 2nd August as well.
The Peruvian Ambassador gave a speech to open the evening's celebrations and at 8.30 the band came on stage. Layla and I had a great time dancing to their music and I recognised Elaine, another fan who loves dancing, who I have seen at previous Kausary concerts. It was lovely to see Sandra and other friends and one by one chat to various Peruvians who I know well. Aquiles finally arrived about 10 pm, about half an hour before I had to leave. Just before this a young professional Peruvian dancer danced twice for us during the interval.
Before leaving I bought a couple of the CDs, one for me and one for Ann and then the second set was starting and I was already having to say my goodbyes to people. It was so hard to drag myself away but I had no choice because I had an important deadline to meet at work the next day. Marco, Flor's brother accompanied me to the station which was a relief for me because Leicester Square was very crowded (and according to Layla who left hours after me it was no different then). Luckily I had allowed myself an hour to get to Victoria station because the underground was crowded and there was an 8 minute wait for the first train which I only just managed to get on, then a long walk to get another train on the Victoria line. Then the 10 minute walk between train and coach station which always makes me nervous when walking it alone. I arrived with ten minutes to spare to find people already boarding the bus and at 11.30 it set off and I arrived back at Bath at 2 am where Colin met me. Although a short night's sleep I was as fresh as a daisy next morning for work, having enjoyed another lovely time in London. I now looked forward to the following weekend when Kausary would be playing at Weymouth, which would probably involve an overnight stay as they would be playing both Friday night and Saturday afternoon, with the proceeds going to children in villages near Cusco. Quipu, the Peruvian shop in Weymouth regularly holds charity events and the proceeds provide everything necessary for all the children in three villages to be educated and hopefully this will be the first of other Kausary performances there.
Kausary Playing for WAWA Charity 18-19 July.
On Friday after work I rushed to Colin's to sort out what I needed to take with me for two separate trips over the weekend, having thrown it all together from home the night before! Then 20 minutes later I was on my way to Bridport. The original intention had been to travel by train as I mistakenly thought both events were taking place in Weymouth. Once I realised this wasn't the case, that Friday night's concert was taking place in Bridport I had to rethink the situation and realised I had no choice but to drive.
Especially as I only found out earlier that day, that Friday night's concert was taking place in Bridport, and that there was no direct or regular bus service between Weymouth and Bridport. My train to Weymouth would have arrived at ten to seven and with the concert starting at 8 pm in Bridport I knew I would miss most if not all of it. It was good news for Layla though who was travelling direct from London. She was still on the train to Weymouth when I phoned and let her know that Kausary were busking in Dorchester so was able to get off the train there and spend a few delightful hours with the band. As she told me later, there is nothing she loves more than travelling by train to another English town, especially when there is an Andean band playing at the other end. She phoned me later when she caught up with them and I could hear them playing in the background and I was happy that she was enjoying herself with them. I knew too that they would give her a lift to Bridport and thus solve that problem.
The drive to Bridport was a pleasant one. Apart from a little traffic at the beginning it was a straight run thereafter. Colin had studied a map and written down the road numbers and names of little towns I had to pass through, making it easy for me to find my way without having to check on maps. I made it to Bridport by about half past six and then phoned Layla who was relaxing having a drink in the bar of the hotel she had found for us - just a few steps away from the little church where Kausary would be playing. She walked down the High street to find me and then I parked up and joined her. I was delighted with the room we had been given which was enormous with two beds in it and a huge bathroom as well. The price was quite good at £55 for the two of us and also included breakfast.
At 7.30 we walked back to the church and chose seats right in the front row so that we could both take photographs. In the setting of this lovely little church we weren't anticipating being able to dance but later on our assumptions were proved quite wrong. The band were appreciated so incredibly well that the aisles and area at the front were packed with people dancing, including little children and bent over older folk. It was amazing the wonderful atmosphere that Kausary generated for everybody.
The concert began at 8 pm and Mary (who with her husband Chris runs Quipu, the Peruvian shop in Brewers Quay at Weymouth). who had organised these charity events, gave a little speech of thanks at the beginning. I felt quite chuffed that her first words of thanks were to me for putting her in contact with Kausary (and earlier that day in her email she had already told me what a great bunch of guys the musicians are and that the school workshop in their village that morning had been a tremendous success, greatly enjoyed by all the children).
The church was quite full and right from the beginning of the show the enthusiasm of the audience was infectious and in no time a very happy atmosphere was enjoyed by all. After a few songs Kausary encouraged people to dance and that was all they had been waiting for - people got up en masse and were enjoying themselves immensely. There was a half hour interval halfway through and we were all led to the hall next door where coffee, tea and squash plus biscuits, chocolate and all kinds of snacks were laid on for everyone to enjoy. This had been provided by the local Coop shop as their contribution to the evening's festivities. Kausary's CDs were on sale also and many people bought them. Then the second half of the show with everyone dancing through most of it. Layla and I were busy taking photos at every opportunity as well. The show finally ended about 10.30 after several encores, with people clamouring for Kausary to come back and play for them once more in the future!
Layla had told me that if we remained out of the hotel after 11.30 we would need to fetch a key to the outer door to get in. We wanted to enjoy a drink with Johnny and the others and as the Managers of our hotel had come to the concert (at Layla's suggestion earlier) and had enjoyed themselves very much, they were really pleased when we said we would like to bring them to the hotel bar for a drink, even though it would not be for at least 40 minutes as all the instruments had to be packed up first. Layla and I being residents of the hotel meant there would be no restrictions on how late we could get a drink. In order to help the band in the packing up we helped them take all the instruments outside, only leaving them to load the van before going on into the hotel bar ourselves.
In there we were something of a novelty attraction to the other residents and local people enjoying a drink in the bar. They were fascinated with Layla's American accent which broke the ice sufficiently for them to come and talk to us one by one. This fascination increased 1000-fold when our Peruvian friends arrived and we had a lovely time interacting with them. One guy went to his hotel room and came back with a guitar which he insisted Julio play so in no time Julio was playing and singing - songs like Condor Pasa, La Bamba and Lambada which they all knew - and it was great. By about 1 am I was too tired to stay up any longer though and said my good-nights to everyone and went on up to bed. I was looking forward to sinking into one of those huge beds and falling asleep to some of my new andean music - so you can imagine my dismay when I opened the CD player carrier to find that it only contained my CD player and that I had left all the CDs in the car!!!! I didn't get up again, I was just too tired and was asleep in no time anyway.
Next morning I was awake just after 6 o'clock and phoned my son Tristan to make sure he got up for work on time. Then I had a nice bath and got ready, later going out and moving my car to a car park as parking restrictions would apply from 8 am and I knew we probably would not be on our way until nearly 10 am. By the time I had done this Layla was awake and told me that she had stayed up a further hour until the band left, that a cricket team had arrived and they were all singing and having a great time. Virtually everyone in that bar were highly regretful that they had not known about the concert and said that the next time Kausary came they would definitely be at the concert as well if someone would let them know. Layla too was regretful because they had been so nice and welcoming to all of us. She said that most of them were in that little bar having a drink when she was there before I arrived and that she greatly regretted not letting them know what was happening just a few metres away.
As soon as Layla was ready we went down to breakfast and this proved really fun as well because some of that cricket team were there having breakfast as well and a lot of the previous evening's teasing resumed! The breakfast was delicious, which we enjoyed sitting at a table in the window and enjoying the view outside - people setting up market stalls all down the street, which normally I would have been eager to browse but we had no time that day. It was gone 10 by the time we left the hotel and we had a 20 mile drive ahead of us to Weymouth. This proved easy enough and we were parking in the long stay car-park near the Swannery by 10.30 am. There we took a few photos as 3 cygnets and their parent swans were together on the grass by the exit from the car park and they did not mind us getting reasonably close for those photos. From there it was a 20 minute walk to Brewers Quay - first stop at my favourite ice-cream shop opposite the clock (where Italians make it daily in the traditional way). Then a walk along the seafront, past many of the shops in the town, across the bridge and around the harbour to Brewers Quay. We got there in time because they were still tuning their instruments. We sat at a table outside one of the restaurants around the square in front of Brewers Quay right in front of the band and about 10 minutes later they started playing. They played until 4 pm with a break in the middle for lunch and their playing went down very well there too. Two llamas arrived and were there most of the day, two really beautiful animals who did not mind people getting quite close to them and stroking their fur. Layla and I danced most of the day and I even got photos of Layla dancing with one of the llamas. Altogether in those 2 days I took 45 photos and look forward to seeing them later in the week when they come back from the Photo shop in town.
When the band took their lunch break we went with them to one of the cafes in the quay area. There the band were given a free lunch as their contribution to the event and we probably could have got ours free as well but we insisted on paying. We just wanted to be there with them, our such dear friends. The Kausary line up this time was all family - Julio, Johnny, and Johnny's cousins Jorge and Ciro who are also great friends - it was lovely to see them again as I haven't seen them for a while.
All the surrounding shops and cafes had contributed in some way to that WAWA event. There were competitions to guess the name of a huge teddy and a furry llama, both of which were the prize, as well as a separate raffle with loads of prizes such as meals for two in the restaurants surrounding the harbour. They were all keen to support this very worthwhile charity. 100% of the funds raised for WAWA go to Peruvian villages in the highlands above Cusco and currently the expenses of 144 children attending school there are met from the funds raised. I have since learned from Mary that £550 was raised from these Kausary events making £1440 raised this year. That amount of money goes a long way in Peru, especially up there in the highlands away from tourist areas like Cusco, and will benefit a lot of school children.
After lunch we continued to dance while Kausary played and were joined by others including two little girls who told us earlier that they had Spanish dance dresses at home and they convinced their Mum to drive home so they could change into them. They arrived while we were having lunch and came into the cafe dressed in them and looked so cute in red and black ruffled flamenco dresses which looked lovely against their blonde hair. They danced with us all afternoon and enjoyed themselves immensely. The whole day went extremely well, with crowds of passing tourists stopping to enjoy both music and some interaction with the llamas, and a lot of CDs were sold. Having played for free at both events as their contribution to WAWA, the only way of recovering some of the expenses of travelling from London was via that school workshop Friday morning and the sale of CDs, and I sure hope they made enough to cover those expenses. At least they did not have the expense of staying in hotels because Mary and Chris put them up in their home - and in her email afterwards said how much she enjoyed having them there, that they fitted in as if they were family, and what a great bunch of lads they all are. I was so thrilled that everything went so well and that a worthwhile amount of money had been raised.
Layla had to leave before the end because her train was at 3.30 pm. Even leaving that late was cutting things fine because she had to return to London and get her belly-dancing costumes as she had gigs in two different Moroccan restaurants that evening, winding up at Eddy's birthday party in El Inca after midnight where she planned to do a surprise dance performance during his birthday celebrations. Layla is really lucky in that Eddy and Rosa offered her the use of an apartment above El Inca restaurant for the whole duration of her stay, inclusive of all meals in the restaurant and they gave her a very good deal. This was also good news for me as it meant I had a place to stay more central than East Dulwich. On Saturday 26th July after finishing work on Friday with 6 weeks vacation ahead, I am heading for London and staying there 9 days, staying with Layla at the flat above El Inca.
I stayed until the band had finished and although they suggested me staying on while they packed up the instruments and having a drink together before I drove home, I realised it would be too late and had to decline on this occasion, especially as I could not drink anything alcoholic before the long drive home! I had promised to be home in time to go out with Colin that evening at 7.30 - for a few drinks in a nice pub in Widcombe and then an Indian takeaway meal at home. Whilst looking in the Peruvian shop, Julio reiterated his invitation for me to stay with the family whilst in London if I wished to, but I explained I would be staying with Layla but would visit Flor and the children from there. Julio was admiring a Nusta hat and I tried it on, and next minute Mary said she would give it to me as a thank you present for putting them in touch with Kausary. I was delighted because it now means I have a Nusta hat to go with my two Nusta dresses (yes I have two now - my dear friends in Ilo sent me a white one for my birthday earlier in the month).
Finally after saying my goodbyes I was on my way home which was also a pleasant drive. It was quite busy getting out of Weymouth but once free of the town it was a clear run home. I made it home easily by 7 pm where I found that Colin had arrived back just before me having spent the afternoon at a cricket match in the town. He said our plans for the evening had changed, that we were going to his brother's place as there was a party for two of his children - an 18th and 21st birthday party combined. This proved another excellent event, with a marquee and between 100 and 200 people and live music laid on. Some friends of one of the birthday girls also played music during the interval of the main band and the music of both lots of musicians was so good that I ended up dancing most of the night away as well. I don't know where I found the energy from but I sure was exhausted the next day even though I didn't feel a bit tired that night. Colin's brother had hired caterers and the food was Roast pork and apple sauce in bread rolls, as much as one wanted, accompanied by various salads. It was really delicious. It was lovely to see Colin's ex-wife Diana again and she told me about the party she is having in the daytime on Sunday 3rd August. Luckily that is the day I will be returning from London, although I have since had to change the time of my return journey in order to get back in time for it. Although it is possible to get an advance return train fare to and from London for only £28 one has to stick to the ticket times otherwise risk paying the fare again!
I finally got to bed that night about 1.30 am and was up again at 7 getting ready for my second trip away. I was going to Torquay to spend a couple of days with Pierrette, my friend from Paris who was over on holiday. She had spent 4 days with us at Colin's house before going on to Watchet where she had hired a bungalow for the week (where I also spent part of last weekend with her) before continuing on to Torquay to spend the second week at a holiday site there. As prearranged with Pierrette I got off the train at Newton Abbot and she met me there (thus saving me a change of trains). This was easy enough as the holiday site was situated about half way between Torquay and Newton Abbot.
Our first stop was to a supermarket where we bought everything necessary to make a roast dinner both Sunday and Monday, plus I bought some French brioche bread and a bottle of Argentinean wine. After dropping this off at their caravan we drove into Torquay and spent a couple of hours in the town first, continuing on to one of the beaches afterwards and relaxing there for a while. We did not stay too long though because although sunny there was a very cool breeze blowing off the sea. Eventually we drove back to the caravan and I got busy cooking the roast chicken dinner we would be having that night. Roast dinners are a safe option enjoyed by us all as neither Pierrette nor her niece Madyson like spicy food. Madyson especially enjoyed English roast dinners and was intently watching how I prepared everything so that she could tell her Mother when she got back home. By this time all the energy expended the day before was catching up with me and I was really struggling to stay awake while the dinner was cooking, and barely managed to drink even one glass of what was a really excellent wine. The plan later was to attend a magic and cabaret show at 9 pm in the holiday club but I had to decline and they went without me. I was in bed by 8.30 and asleep before the end of the first song on the CD!
Next day we all woke quite late and after breakfast decided to visit Paignton, another delightful seaside town. We had lingered in bed that morning because it was raining quite hard, but luckily by the time we finished breakfast the sun came out and it was another warm day. We decided to make the most of the weather and went to the first beach we could find, a small one called Preston Beach and spent a couple of hours there. Then we drove and re-parked in the town and visited many of the shops there. We got back to the caravan at 4 pm and I cooked the second roast dinner for us (Roast pork this time), and finished off the bottle of wine. Finally Pierrette drove me to Newton Abbot to catch the 8.22 train and I was back in Bath by 9.45 where Colin met me off the train. Then back to his house to collect the rest of my things and I finally reached home at 10.30 where I went straight to bed as I had to go to work the next day. I am now looking forward to Saturday morning when I am catching an early train to London - heading for Portabello first. I am hoping to meet up with Jorge (my student friend from Trujillo) during my week in London as well as spending time with various other friends such as Aquiles and Ivan - and Dante as well if possible, if Amaru III are playing anywhere that week. I also hope to visit my ex husband Labu and his wife Rekah, something I rarely have the time to do in just a weekend. Time spent in London always seems to whizz by so fast so spending more than a whole week in London will be really fantastic.
