Dinner Music

 Waking in a cold sweat, I remember the music that was playing in the restaurant in Brunei as I ate dinner.  (They played it again over breakfast).

 

This track may well have the magical power to assist digestion.  Then again, it may not.

The decision is yours.

(in advance, I apologise for how catchy this track is.  I hope by sharing that I can stop thinking about it for a while).

enjoy,

J

Home at Last

Shrewsbury was a fabulous way to finish the tour, and we even got to see the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain and the New Rope String Band all in one night.  Loved it!  All this after 4 gigs on our final day.  By then end, our voices were a little ragged, but we had fun and made it to the finish line.  The the sleepfest began.

A drive to Essex the next day.

Dropping Nic at the Heathrow hotel and then returning the hire car to Yorkshire the next day, followed by the megabus to London and the tube to Heathrow and the bus to the hotel.  Sleep came readily.

The morning saw us head to Heathrow, check in and fly to Brunei via Dubai.

And then......

Bliss.  Due to a change of flights, we had a 24-hour stopover in Brunei.  A hotel and we just crashed onto the beds.  6 hours later we staggered off to dinner.  Nic went back to bed, and I (with a touch of gloating in my tone) went to the gym at the hotel.  Then I slept too.

We arose, refreshed and revitalised.  Bright and cheery, the hotel shuttle took us to Brunei International and the last flight home.

It was joyful and wonderful to fly into Brisbane, be greeted by a close friend and then (while Nic stayed in Brisbane to visit a recently (and temporarily)  invalided aunt, and prepare her part in a photo and poetry exhibition for next week.  I drove up to Maleny.

I loved coming home to this beautiful house in the hills.  

And so the next day I had a rehearsal for the schools concerts that start on Monday.  Another rehearsal today and an early start tomorrow.

What, and give up showbiz?

Living the life, creatively and with love,

John

Zooming

Nicole Murray and the Wallace Monument (now there's a name for a band)

We left Denmark.

We drove to Kent and played. We drove to Hampshire and played. We drove to Yorkshire and slept. We drove to Lancashire and played and an origami koala watched us the whole night.  cloudstreet under a marsupial spotlight (bet you weren't expecting that expression)

Next day we were off to Scotland and cloudstreet once again appeared in front of the finest backdrop on the contemporary acoustic music scene - the Stirling Folk Club.

Brace yourselves......

We did spend a considerable time on wardrobe choices.

A week's holiday followed on after that mad week of racing up the country.  The rest was much-needed and joyful, the photos are legion.  I'll report back on that lot soonish.

In the meantime, we're off to Shrewsbury today, madly packing for home and wondering if the whole thing wasn't just a dream..........

Love from the road,

John

A Recipe From Denmark

Touring with cloudstreet isn't just about music.  Food is also important.

This recipe is provided with our thanks to Gertrude Romme

Chicken with Ginger, Lemon and Garlic

Cut a chicken in 6-8 pieces, add salt and pepper.

Make a marinade of 50g fresh ginger, 4 cloves of garlic and 50ml of lemon juice (blend in a food processer but not too runny!).

Spread the marinade on the chicken and bake 40 mins at 180C.  Add 100 ml water (pour over the chicken) after 20 minutes.

When cooked, pour the juice from the chicken into a pot with 100ml cream and boil well.  Thicken with flour if needed.  Add salt & pepper and serve with new potatoes, salad and vegetables of the season

(our favourite local salad was a combination of watermelon, fetta, mint, balsamic vinegar and sprinkles of chilli.  Fantastic!)

More music in Denmark

This year's cloudstreet tour has been a long and winding adventure and the journey across to Denmark has been a most wonderful inclusion.

After a great time on Fanø we were on the road across country again, this time to the home of the other founding member of Færd, Eskil Romme. But first, we needed to be up early to catch the ferry back to the mainland. Here's a snap from the docks.


We hit the road and zoomed through the beautiful Danish countryside, eventually arriving at the venue for the second of our three gigs, Halkær Kro, a cafe and concert venue near the Western Danish coast. A lovely relaxed afternoon gig as part of the venue's Sunday afternoon music programme over the Summer. Then it was back to Eskil's farm for a meal, some chatting and then an early night.

Eskil has an organic farm in the North that he's been running for the past twenty years or so, as well as managing to tour the globe with varying numbers of bands, most especially the trio Færd.
He and Gertrude have been wonderful hosts over the last couple of days, introducing us to some of the fabulous local food and welcoming us into their home.

On our first night, Eskil mentioned that a replica of a Viking longship, the Havhingsten (Sea Stallion) would be sailing nearby and he wondered if we might like a look. Would we ever!! The ship is on its way back from a trip to Ireland and was passing along the coast only a few miles away from the house. It was a little too far away on the first night, but the next day we set off in the rain to have a look. We arrived at a bridge a few minutes to late and only caught a glimpse of this beauty under tow by a coastguard vessel. Undeterred, we bounced across a few fields and caught sight of the sail at the edge of the fields. Here's the best of my shots, followed by a slightly more spectacular view from the Havhingsten website:




Today the sun is shining again and we've had a look around Nibe before settling in for a night of good food, good music and new friends. Another drive tomorrow and more music to follow.

There's nothing like an adventure to make life interesting!


Love

John

cloudstreet go to Denmark

After an early start (4.30am, then off to the airport) we arrived in Denmark, picked up our hire car and headed across the country to the island of Fano and then to the Southernmost town of Sonderho, and the home of Peter Uhrbrand, the fiddle player from Faerd.

Peter and his family made us very welcome in this amazing village. The photo above of Peter's place gives you an idea of the thatched house architecture of the village. The houses have been preserved in this style since the middle of the 19th century. And cultural preservation is high on the list for this beautiful place. New houses must be built in the old style, and renovations must be in keeping with the village's existing pattern.

We played in a local cafe "Cafe Nanas Stue" to an appreciative crowd, followed by Peter and two of his friends, Olle and Sonig, playing traditional music from the island, with local couples dancing local dances to the music.

A wonderful night but by the end we were exhausted. Crawled to bed and slept until noon.

Our first day in Denmark was a delight, full of music and new friends.

More to follow.

Love and song,

John

(the video is a little dark, but so was the room)