After Friday’s gig, I was expecting a couple of weeks’ rest. We’re not normally this busy, this early in the season, but… Covid. The weddings from 2020 were pushed into 2021, which were then pushed into 2022. Not a huge surprise, I’m sure you’ll agree, and very welcome after two years of almost no work.
But then, I picked up my phone on Saturday and was asked if I was available to play for 2.5 hours at a private chateau the following evening. Of course, I said yes.
I wasn’t expecting to play a solo gig of that length until the end of June, so I had to do some revision during the day.
Originally, it was supposed to be outside on the terrace, but a serious storm was forecast, so the whole event moved inside. Which meant I got to play the Bechstein baby grand in the (probably) drawing room.
It’s a real pleasure to play such a beautiful instrument. Although baby grands are loud (I used to play one in a restaurant in the West End in London), so I had the lid down and the soft pedal on permanently. Which meant I was walking a bit strangely at the end of the evening.
That makes five gigs in 11 days, which is about as many as I ever do. And certainly the most since the plague hit.
