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July 24th 2004
Well, here I am… on board a Russian
Ilyushin 96-300 jet for my Aeroflot flight from Heathrow to Moscow,
having spent a little time in London for a meeting and then some
wonderful (but all too short) time with my family. It was actually
sunny in England on Friday so it must have been Summer and, for
once, my timing was good!
There had been problems with my special visa that would have meant
a long delay getting back to Moscow but that was fixed for now and
we'll solve the other problem when there is time.
It wasn't easy leaving my new wife Monica behind and I also had
to say "au revoir" to the newest members of the menagerie…
three chickens! But we have a deadline to meet which will affect
not only the release date for the first volume of the Anthologies
but also the tour that is being planned to support and promote it!
I had spent a lot of time practising at home so I am about 80% prepared
but we have a lot of work to do, a video to shoot and next week
we are recording with the Symphony so it's going to be a busy schedule.
On the plane I was able to catch up with a bit of reading and I
took time to reflect on a lot of things that have happened over
the past couple of years. All I can say is that I am a very blessed
and lucky man! Sure, as I look back, I can remember the most difficult
of times but I am rewarded with a stronger faith and the lessons
I have learned. If I were able to set the clock back there are many
things I would do differently (sound familiar?) and a lot of pain
that I would have liked to have avoided but I can't help thinking
how it has all happened for a reason much greater than any of mine
and how the real quality of my life has improved. I have a great
wife, a great family, a few great (and real) friends, my health
and strength and opportunities to work and that's a lot to be thankful
for. We all must accept the consequences of our choices and decisions
and I will admit that most of the difficulties I have faced have
been the direct result of some really dumb decisions on my part.
And certainly I regret the fact that a lot of what has happened
has caused problems for others, even though that was completely
unintentional. Ego can be a dreadful motivator and if you can't
get rid of it completely, either you or somebody who loves you very
much had better keep an eye on it!
Many of you have asked what happened to Free Spirit, the band that
Martin and I put together in England… the band I have had many
occasions to miss. That project was but one victim of a set of circumstances
that were put in motion, initially, by my ego and exacerbated by
a set of circumstances that led to one of the ugliest and most painful
times in my life. For my part in all of this, I sincerely apologise
to all concerned and I can only hope we have ALL learned from the
experience! There… I feel a bit better now and I do hope you
aren't offended by my sharing this. You know a lot about the "biography"
version of me but you'll have to read my book to find out who I
really am and I think you'll be surprised to find that I am, actually,
a lot like you. Then again… maybe you won't!
But I digress…… The flight itself was pleasant enough
(it's a nightmare flying anywhere at this time of year of course)
and the food was quite good but, to be honest, I would have preferred
an Airbus. As this thing rattled down the runway at Sheremetyevo
I found myself muttering a few extra prayers of thanks and then
I breezed through immigration and customs to find Alexander and
Egor waiting for me. We went straight to the studio for a strategy
meeting and then to my "home away from home" hotel for
dinner and, for me at least, bed!!
Next
day...
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