Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

A whole month has mysteriously slipped away into the silent realm known as “shows done”. How did that happen? We were in New York, now we’re in Nashville and in between times we’ve been in a lot of other places. For any patient person out there who hasn’t given up checking this space for updates, here is a bird’s eye view of our recent peregrinations (click on the photos to see the full gallery from each part of the tour):

We left New York in mid March and the pouring rain. Very hard to un-velcro ourselves from the Lincoln Center which had begun to feel like home. Good news is the shows went down so well they want us back. We spent a week in New Jersey, which was experiencing really bad flooding. Our shows in New Brunswick were nearly cancelled due to power cuts, but the energy company, who happened to be sponsoring the shows, managed to get things going just in time.

From there we drove to Woodstock, Vermont (no, not that Woodstock, another one) where we stayed in the nicest hotel you can imagine and had some great shows in the Town Hall Theater. Woodstock is a picturesque little town with covered wooden bridges and quirky shops. It was Rick’s birthday while we were there – celebrated in style with oysters and a tennis lesson. The weather was unseasonably wonderful – there was still some snow on the ground but the sun shone all the time we were there.

On to Burlington, Vermont where Rick met up with two cousins he hadn’t seen for many years and their lovely families. Thence to the town of Roxbury, New York in the Catskills. Sleepy village but a lovely venue with staff to match and very appreciative audiences including some real life Elzeard Bouffiers, deeply involved in reforestation projects in the area.

Back in the car and heading for Hudson, New York, where we stayed at the beautiful Country Squire Bed and Breakfast.  We had a great time at Stageworks, a theatre that reminded us of the Netherbow in Edinburgh, as it used to be back in the old days, to standing ovations.  This was organised by Gary Schiro of the Hudson Opera House. According to the guide books, Hudson had been an important centre for shipping and trade, but early last century it had gone into a decline and become a “mob-run den of mayhem”. It is now what is known as shabby chic, with lots of antique shops and good restaurants. One of the cool towns.

It was quite cold there. But a few hours later we were in Texas and roasting. I couldn’t believe we were in the same country. And some Texans tried to convince me that we weren’t. The Lutcher Theater in Orange Texas is a phenomenon. The gift of a wealthy local family (who, ironically, made their money from the timber trade) it is an seriously well-equipped place, and attracts the big names. It is probably the biggest space we’ve played in, though they restricted the audiences to around 200. On the first evening after the show, we took part in a community tree-planting event at a local Methodist church. We fell in love with the East Texas audiences who were really appreciative, and the hospitality of the staff was second to none. Special thanks are due to Jim and Lynae. We even got a special guided tour of Orange’s beautiful Shangri-La Botanic Gardens (endowed by the same family as the theater) including a boat trip on the bayou, with Mike, the director of the garden as our guide.

On to San Antonio, where we met up with Michael and Teresa Holden, our wonderful agents, plus their staff Sarah and Stacy, (who have doen a really brilliant job of organising this tour) and some family members. We were in a big theater again, with a slightly over-ambulatory audience. We arrived at our hotel tired and a little crotchety after a long day on the road, and as a result of my (Richard’s) slight disgruntlement with a noisy ventilation system in our otherwise very acceptable room, we were upgraded to a palatial suite with jacuzzi, separate living room and a balcony overlooking the town square and river walk. San Antonio is like a cross between Amsterdam and Cambridge given a Mexican makeover.  On the second morning the sky was slightly overcast for about half an hour. Ah well, into every life a little rain must fall.

The tour had been fairly relentless up till now. Time for a break. Michael and Teresa took us out to their ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Austin. We now have a new definition of peace and quiet. They showed us around, cooked us a lovely meal, and then the five of us sat in the hot tub beneath the stars and talked of this and that. The next day, after a real Texan barbecue in Llano, The Holden’s took Rick into Austin for the weekend, and Elspeth and Richard headed back to the ranch for three more days of utter tranquility. We all met up again in Austin a few days later, well rested (apart from Rick) and the team set off for Madison Wisconsin for shows at the Overture Center for the Arts.

Madison is a beautiful city, and the Overture Center for the Arts is a splendid place. I think for the first time ever we had a standing ovation from an entire audience. In fact all the audiences were extremely appreciative. It seems like a real theatre-going town. We also got to attend a great Bluegrass concert. There was one hazy day that may have had something to do with a trip to a Karaoke bar. I really don’t remember very much. It was cold again.

And then we flew to Florida and it wasn’t anymore. We stayed in the same hotel for the best part of a week and performed at three different venues. In Clearwater we were playing in the Ruth Eckerd Hall, at the same time as David Gray (remember him? Babylon etc), though not in the same space. (Obviously).  Susan Zelenka and her staff went out of their way to make our stay a joy. Rick’s parents, Dick and Bobbie, drove up from their winter quarters in Fort Myers to see us and we all had a superb time. Oh the stories…

At our last show in Tampa a ten year old boy came up to Richard after the show and said “So how old was Elzeard Bouffier?” I said “Well, he was 89 when he died.” And the boy said, “Yes but how old was he before he died?”

I’m still thinking about that one.

Elspeth and Richard went to visit Richard’s cousin Kevan out beyond Orlando and had great fun playing games with Kevan’s son Brendan. These included various riotous shoot ’em up games and a bizarrely traditional game of hide and seek.

And now we’re somewhere else.
Ah yes, Nashville.
And it’s Saturday.
No shows no drives no flights.
Time to catch up with the blog.