"Small Town, Big Fun'"
Kelkheim is a
small town by German standards, about 24 kilometers from Frankfurt, which is one
of the biggest cities in Europe and one of the most important in the world….
mainly because it was the home of The Zoom club, one of the original venues that
launched Uriah Heep in (then) West Germany.
As urban
sprawl goes, Kelkheim is almost a suburb of Frankfurt and many of its residents
do commute to Frankfurt to work, but you wouldn´t even think it was close to any
kind of major city once you´ve spent a few hours there and given yourself a
chance to appreciate the clean fresh air, the dense green of the forests, the
amazing sense of ¨family¨ among the residents and the meticulous cleanliness of
the streets, parks and buildings.
The community,
bound together by strong and considerate leadership, deserves a lot of credit
for making this a place where someone like me quickly feels at home and The
Honourable Mayor, Thomas Horn, deserves much of the credit for inviting me here
to perform with Circle Of Hands.
Our
preparations were smooth and easy, managed excellently by Dr. Beate Matuschek,
representing Kelkheim (as she does in many parts of the world!) and Karola
Breier on behalf of Circle Of Hands (as she always is!).
Every aspect
of my trip here was in the hands of two very capable women….
I arrived on
time, Beate was there to meet me and I was immediately comfortable. Maybe you
know what I mean, there are some people you connect with immediately, others
where it takes a bit longer and those with whom, for one reason or another, you
are unable to connect at all.
Herr Winkler,
our driver (I never did get his first name or I would have used it) got us
quickly and safely to Kelkheim where I first took a quick look at the Yamaha
Clavinova I would use for part of the show. Then to the hotel but not for long.
The Mayor had invited me for dinner and it was almost time to go.
The restaurant
was next to, almost under and to the side of a large building that had been
constructed in 1905 as a hospital specialising in the treatment of Tuberculosis
which in those days was real killer. I know because it killed my Mum´s sister ….
With the
advent of modern medicine and particularly things like Penicilin the hospital
fell out of use and was officially closed in 1950.
The food
and the conversation were great but I was tired so it soon time to retire for
the night, looking forward to tomorrow and hoping for good weather.
