Take Five, Spain and MySpace

It's rather a strange experience for me, and for Robin, on this trip.
He is so used to travelling alone, and even has his usual room on Crystal Serenity, but this time is sharing it with son number one.

For me, it's odd to be receiving e mails from both of them, and pictures of my eldest, globetrotting around Europe!

To prove they are both there, here is the official Crystal photograph, of them beside Serenity:



The first two days were spent in Venice, and here he is again, sporting a Crystal t-shirt given as a present from a previous trip:



After a day at sea, they arrived in Katakolon, Greece, and spent a very pleasant time having a good look around.

But it isn't all fun.
Robin has also been working hard. Not only on the programme for his recital in a few days time, but also the new pieces and arrangements for the concerts in Spain, with Izzy Cooper, which are on the 27th and 28th of August.
You can see details of the Spanish concerts, including the official poster, here.

Meanwhile, here at Hillhouse it has also been busy.
I have been very pleased with a number of comments recently over on our MySpace page.
Go and have a look, and if you haven't been there for a while, you'll see there is now another track added, 'Footsteps of the Moai', taken from the new CD, 'Eyes That Talk To The Sky'.
Enjoy.

Wife of a Musician - Revisited

Robin and son have been enjoying Venice and the last I heard had just visited the Vivaldi museum.

I am pretty sure that after a couple of hours sightseeing the pair will return to their quarters as Robin will need to start rehearsing.
Whilst son is on holiday, Robin certainly isn't.
He will have a few high profile and high pressure concerts in the next few weeks on Crystal Serenity.

But I, as I completed some regular site checks, was once again struck by the number of followers we have, interested in the 'wife' of the musician, as much as the 'life' of the musician.

So, as I reflect on the trials of the last few days, it seemed an appropriate time to point people in the right direction for posts related to the 'wife' of this particular musician.

For example, 'The Wife of a Musician - Part 1 - The Music' seemed a good starting point.

Neatly followed by 'Part 2 - Travel'. (Very appropriate at the moment...)

Guitarists nails have been mentioned many times here, and this post looks at the problem from a slightly different perspective, 'Guitarists Hands - and Nails'.

'Sound Checks Complete and Wives of Musicians Unite', has always been a popular post.

Or maybe you could try, 'Creativity and the Wife of a Musician'.

Finally, for today, 'A View From The Stage'.

There are others, so if your desperate for more, then take a look around. Alternatively, look at any post and read between the lines - I did after all write them...

Hill and Son on Crystal Serenity

Excuse my absence for a few days but it has been a busy time.
Robin has spent the grand total of three days at home before embarking on a lengthy 4week trip away.

This will be something of an ordeal for all involved.
We have occasionally coped with three weeks but never four.

However, Robin has company for part of the month.
Our eldest son has joined him.
He has seen his Dad in concert many times before, but never on foreign trips, so there has been great excitement here.

Son number one won't be there for the whole time, but his presence will certainly help Robin cope with being away from home for so long.
What started out as a simple 2 week trip, escalated into a complicated sequence of events, which will become clear over the next few weeks, so watch this space...

But for now, they have arrived in Venice, are settling into their room on Crystal Serenity, a territory that Robin is very familiar with, and is looking forward to showing his young companion.

I meanwhile am recovering from a hectic few days.
So I am feeling a little jaded, and yes, I am expecting a great deal of support and sympathy from the blogging community.
Thank you in anticipation.
UPDATE:
I didn't have to wait long - I've already had a message via Twitter and I haven't even posted yet!

From Venice to Southampton

Robin spent the morning yesterday in Venice and sent me some lovely photographs:


A typical canal:



He found a shop full of carnival masks:



And if you ever want an entire orchestra made from glass, here they are:



But then he left, as he was jumping ship, and arrived at Gatwick in the early evening.
This proved rather frustrating.
Knowing that Robin was in the country, only a few hundred miles away, yet being unable to see him, wasn't easy for any of us.
However, he spent the night in a hotel, we watched the news together whilst talking on the 'phone, and he was collected this morning, and driven to Southampton.
Now Robin is on board the QM2, settling into his room, and preparing for the first of his two concerts.

Volume in Venice

Finally, word from Venice.
I have actually had a couple of 'phone calls over the day, mainly enthusing about the delights of the surroundings.
Mind you, who wouldn't be pleased to have a view of the Campanile from their bedroom?

Robin did go out and about for a while, and visited all his favourite places.
Venice is after all somewhere that you can return time and time again, and never tire of.

But, it is also his last day on board Crystal Serenity. Tomorrow he will be leaving for pastures new.
Tonight though, as requested, he attended the farewell concert, and gave a 10 minute performance.

As he took his seat, the lights were particularly strong, and he couldn't see a single thing from the stage.
Not that this matters, other than it is nice to know for sure that someone is out there!
The stage was prepared for other artists later in the show, and Robin got quite a shock when he played the first notes of Asturias.

Robin's guitar is a particularly powerful one, and he's also known for his ability to project the sound of this generally quite quiet instrument.
So he was rather taken aback when he realised that the sound system was set to 'high', and Asturias was being delivered in a manner that Led Zeppelin would have been proud.

It was fine though.
A large theatre, and, as it turned out when the applause rang out, also a large audience, soaked up the excess sound beautifully.
He played two more pieces, accompanied by whoops of delight from some of the audience, and that was it.
Job done.

Now, he can relax for the rest of the evening, and tomorrow he will have a bit more time in Venice before his flight to London.
But, he won't be coming home, not just yet anyway.
You'll have to check back to find out where Robin is off to next...