From New York to Cartoon...

It has been a long time since my last update, but then you all had 712 previous posts to look back through!

Whilst quiet on the writing front it has been very busy on the musical one.
Robin has performed 8 concerts and travelled to many places including the Norwegian Fjords, Italy, Greece, Croatia and finally New York.

Here is the welcoming sight of the Statue of Liberty, albeit a little hazy:




And the familiar New York skyline:



Plus the spectacular Verrazano Bridge:



But despite seeing some incredible places Robin was very sad to be away from home on youngest son's 8th birthday, the downside for the travelling musician is they frequently miss these significant family moments.

Now home again, recording of some 'warming' flamenco style pieces is underway, which has been particularly beneficial given the 'big freeze' currently sweeping across the UK.

Here the poor ducks have been reduced to a minimal swimming area, and believe it or not this is actually a very heavy frost rather than snow!



Another problem with frequent trips away from home is that 'others' take advantage of your comfortable armchair and refuse to give it back....



And if you are wondering how a musician relaxes when at home, well, they draw pictures of fictitious musicians of course!

The Clairvoyant Rabbit and the Turkish Shoeshine Scandal.

Please excuse my absence for the last few days, and apologies to those of you that sent emails asking where I was. It's very nice to be appreciated!
To bring you up to date, Robin is still on the Queen Victoria, and had a very successful first concert.
It was well attended after the passengers had been exposed to a TV interview being played on repeat for the entire day.
They will be ale to watch a second interview tomorrow, as later today Robin will be back in the studio for further questioning.

Today he is in Civitavecchia, Italy, but it was whilst in Istanbul that he uncovered the Turkish shoeshine scandal.
The story actually begins back in August.
At that time, Robin was in Istanbul, and had our eldest son with him.
They set off to take a look around.
One of the first people they came across thrust a baby rabbit into the hands of son number one, and allowed him to admire it:



Like most young children he was very taken with the small furry creature and dutifully cuddled it.
The owner then produced a larger rabbit, (not out of a hat) which proceeded to select a piece of paper form a table which apparently would tell them their fortunes.
Unfortunately it was in such poor English that we are none the wiser.
But then the owner wanted to be paid.
As Robin and son only intended going for a walk they hadn't actually taken any money with them.
So after much arm waving and gesticulating they managed to hand back the rabbit and beat a hasty retreat.

Only to come across a young Turkish shoeshine boy.
As he walked by he dropped one of his brushes, and Robin dutifully picked it up and handed it back to him.
The grateful boy then thanked him profusely and cleaned his shoes - before asking for some money.
Once again the Hill men had to explain their lack of cash and made off as quickly as they could.
The fact that they had only been in Turkey for 10 minutes and already owed two people money, was the cause of quite some mirth on their return home.

However, Robin has since returned to Istanbul a number of times, and on this trip guess who he met?
As he walked through a park, there was the very same shoeshine boy, dropping the very same brush, right in front of him.

"You really are an old butterfingers with those brushes," Robin exclaimed as he went on his way...

As the old Turkish proverb says:

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'

Just a little story for you.

Fernando Sor in the Welsh Mountains

Whilst Robin spent the day in Civitavecchia, Italy, I have been working at home.
It was as I sat at my desk that I had a 'phone call from my Mum and David as they drove through the Welsh mountains.
What prompted the call?
Well, the scenery was gorgeous, the weather beautiful, and they wanted to share with me the mood of the moment.

To enhance the experience they were listening to a Hill/Wiltschinsky CD, 'Les Deux Amis', recorded back in 1988 for Teldec Classics.
As we spoke I identified the piece as 'Fernando Sor: Les Deux Amis, op.41'. This famous work, subtitled "Fantaisie pour deux Guitares", was dedicated to Sor's friend, Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849).
The two guitar parts are actually marked "Sor" and "Aguado" rather than the usual "Guitar 1" and "Guitar 2", which offers a little insight into the personalities of these two maestros.

Rather than listen to the whole thing down a crackling 'phone line, we ended our conversation, and I found my own copy of 'Les Deux Amis', and enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon listening as I worked.

It was very nice to have the sound of the guitar, or in this case two, back in the house again. But was no substitute for the real thing when you happen to live with one of the musicians...
However, it will be another six days before Robin is home, so for now I shall continue with the CD.