"Four countries, eight concerts and almost 50
tea bags!"
"My
trip to The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria, August 2009"
Part 2
Day 8
As I write
this I am looking at the waters of the Black Sea crashing against the rocks just
below my hotel here in Sozopol, Bulgaria. There is a big storm passing and the
waves are huge and loud and magnificent. I don´t care too much for the rain but
that will only become a problem when I go out later.
But I have
travelled many miles to get here and, between Budapest and here, a lot of things
have happened, some very cool and some, well, not so good.
By the time
I got on my Bulgarian Air plane in Budapest I was beginning to realise just how
tired I was but I figured that I could rest at the other end and catch up a bit
but, by the time I woke up the following day, I was actually more tired than I
was when I went to bed! Exhausted is more the word actually and frighteningly so.
My hands were shaking and I just felt…. strange. That´s the only word I can come
up with.
By the
grace of God I made it through the TV show and the press conference and now, as
I reflect on this, I am thankful to have survived it. Obviously I am going to
have to be a little more careful when I am approving itineraries in future.
So we began
our drive to Belogradchik, by all accounts a very special place. It is high in
the north-western mountains and quite close to the border with Serbia. It is a
long and boring drive, mainly because the roads are so bad and there is usually
more traffic than the roads can handle, so 200 kms can seem like a lot more.
We passed
through numerous small villages and one or two towns that seemed to me to be
badly in need of repair and it reminded me of how long it takes for the
¨benefits¨ of economic alliances with the west to reach the ordinary people of
countries like Bulgaria and India, just to name a couple.
Then I
reflected that the people I saw, who seemed dirty and poor, may have no need for
my charitable thoughts. They may be perfectly happy as they are, blissfully
ignorant of the lives we lead.
The man on
the cart pulled by a single donkey or pony certainly wasn´t pre-occupied by
concerns about whether or not his hotel room would have a wireless internet
connection.
Apart from
Jesus and His love, I really have nothing to offer these people so I´ll move on.
We
eventually reached the town and it was indeed very spectacular, surrounded by
the most incredible rock formations I have ever seen…. anywhere. Yesterday´s
press conference had been called by the Mayor of Belogradchik, Emil Tsankov, as
part of their campaign to have the rocks officially designated as a ¨wonder¨ of
the world. They have a powerful argument!
Later we
went up the mountain to an old Roman fortress and, from there the view was
slightly overwhelming. Definitely a place worth a visit. I climbed down before
the rest of the group and found a small bar where I enjoyed a Bulgarian beer (Zagorka)
and shared a less enjoyable kebab with one of the many stray dogs that populate
all small towns here. I wish they all had homes so they wouldn´t end up like the
one I saw smashed on the road later.
So, back to
the hotel. The weather was changing now. It had been warm and sunny in the
morning but now it looked rather ominous. The show was planned to take place in
the town square but, by the time sound check was supposed to happen, a big storm
broke out and in the end the gig was cancelled and we worked with the mayor to
re-schedule it for early October. It´s always sad when this happens but even Al
¨together, we can beat El Niño¨ Gore can´t control the weather so we enjoyed a
long dinner and made our plans for the journey back to Sofia and on to Sozopol.
That was
when I met Vili.
I had been
asked to judge a local beauty contest. In the end I didn´t do it and I am glad I
didn´t. The following morning all the ¨beautiful¨ people were busy being as
famous as they could be in a photo shoot on the patio. I noticed they were all
wearing the same clothes they had worn the previous day and I also noticed, for
the first time, that many Bulgarian women have extremely long fingers.
And
Bulgarian drivers pay little attention to lane markings on their roads and
highways…..
Who knows
why I notice such things? I just do.
The
national news reported that 15 or 16 Bulgarian people had died in a boat
accident in Macedonia and the president had declared the 7th as a national day
of mourning. In Bulgaria this means that all parties, festivities AND CONCERTS
are cancelled so it wasn´t only the weather we were concerned with!
The journey
to Sofia was not too bad. It was a Sunday and there was a lot less traffic.
George is a good, kind and considerate host and he had agreed to fly me from
Sofia to Bourgas later so I could rest a while in Sofia rather than driving for
another seven hours. I really appreciated this.
Toni picked
me up in Bourgas and we drove the short distance to Sozopol where I was late for
dinner. As a result, dinner was late for me, but I did eventually get to my room
which was very….. different. This would be a good place to take a vacation and
rest awhile from the stresses of the world but for me it was close to useless.
No phone,
no internet connection, no glasses, no trash can (not even pedal bins!), no ash
trays etc. and the shower was not separate, it was just there on the wall in the
middle of the bathroom which ensured that everything in there would get wet. But
I had help and made some adjustments and, above all, I enjoyed the kind
hospitality of everyone there.
The storm
was very powerful and this is where I began this diary. It was predicted to last
for a couple of days so George was busy re-arranging things. Shame really,
because I know how hard he and others had worked to make all of this happen but
you can never trust the weather 100% when you are planning outdoor concerts and
this was a worst-case scenario.
In the end
I would (perhaps) play one show out of three. I wouldn´t mind this so much but,
instead of eating and drinking my way through so much time, I really should have
been in the studio working on the new CD. Oh well…..
The people
at the ¨hotel¨ (I was in room number 3, if that tells you anything!) had given
me access to a room upstairs which had a useable internet signal and, on my way
up there a lady emerged from a room with a large German Shepherd (dog).
Why do I
even mention this? Because it made me realise how homesick I am! This is
something of a new feeling for me and I have to think about it a bit, before I
decide if there´s more to it.
We cruised
through the day until we all got together for dinner and it was there that I
suggested we do a small unplugged thing tomorrow evening for friends and family.
George and Marietta live here so there are plenty of both!
This was
agreed and at last I had something to look forward to….
After a
quick visit to town to charge up my Bulgarian SIM card and yet another lunch, I
took a siesta and prepared for the evening.
It was a
lot of fun and I confess that I really had no idea how much these people truly
love the music and especially the songs. This happens a lot lately and it is a
humbling experience. I know that I am only the writer and not the creator of
these songs so naturally I give God the credit, but it´s actually quite an
emotional experience for me. After I had finished my 7 or 8 songs, Yasen and
George played Echos in The Dark, Sunrise, Illusion and a whole bunch of other
songs while I listened in silent wonder.
I slept
well after this and after declining a 1am invitation to go to a club in town!
On
Wednesday the weather cleared a little and was supposed to improve throughout
the day. Who knew? Maybe we would finally do a show before I leave.
Actually (and
to cut a slightly repetitive diary a little short), the show went quite well,
the only down side being that I had to drive to Sofia straight after the show to
catch my 07:20 flight to Madrid where I connected to Alicante.
This was
all quite uneventful and unmemorable except for how very happy I was to get
home!
I´ll be
home for all of 4 days and two of those will be in the studio so it´s a little
rough on the home life at the moment but both Monica and myself are, in the end,
deeply thankful for the work.
God bless,
Ken
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