Outside, it was quite chilly. Just above fifty on Monday, but the water was still a balmy 75! I could cope with that. I completed everything I needed to do, and then went to work. "You have got to take me!" I shouted to Grant as I espied an email he had received from a ticket company. "Where, when, what?" came the reply, as he had not yet seen it. Peter Gabriel was coming to Austin, and Grant had been picked! Yes, once again, the deal was, "You win, you take the old lady!" We looked at the dates. It was on Wednesday. We both sighed, as Wednesday is our 'group' night, and we never, never cancel for frivolity. "But it is Peter Gabriel", said Grant. I said I would have a chat with Dana. "Of course you should go!" came the reply. Grant's excitement grew. However, at the end of the day, he came up to me and admitted, "I have heard of him, and I know he is a legend, but I cannot place his music". I looked over the top of my specs, with my Mrs. Scott scowl, (remember, the secretary to my infant school principal, more scary than the headteacher himself,) and said, "Um, the other half of Phil Collins in Genesis". Although it was not exactly a jig he danced, the enthusiasm was quite apparent, and he fist pumped the air with a victorious, "Yes!"
Despite being a very cool 42 degrees, outside, the water was still too warm for the wetsuit. I decided to put it on as it seemed like a good idea not to walk down, and back, without some protection. However, about four laps in, I was too hot, and it was quite an arduous swim!
I received a text from the doorman around twenty to the hour of eleven on Tuesday, to say he was early. I arrived home and found him sitting in Raul's shed, in Raul's chair, chatting to said maintenance man, as the man himself was mixing something to finish off when the doorman had completed his task. "They let Gabriel go", he told me. It appeared Gabriel had been less than successful in more than just my door hanging, as the new guy was off to another 'bodge-up' that he had left. Forest sang, and then chided himself, sang some more and finally called to me to come and look at the door. It was beautiful. No gaps, no dents, just a fitted door, with a new piece of trim, and a new baseboard. Apparently, he had driven for hours on Saturday just to find one that was not damaged. "My daddy said, that if you love your job, it aint like working. I love my job!" he said, and it showed! He put on a new lock and deadbolt, and all was well. I was delighted. I headed back to the office to spread the good news.
Grant and I left Dana at the office on Wednesday evening. I had gone home and got changed, then heated up some individual cottage pies, and taken them back with me. We all ate together and then the young boy and I headed downtown. We parked in the same place as last time, walked the relatively short distance to the Moody /Center, and got to our seats as the show started. There was no 'warm up' band, and there was the 'star', sitting on a settee, with some of his group. It all looked very promising. However, we were up in the highest seats and they were set very steep. I put all my belonging into my bag, as I could feel everything slipping from under me! Illusion though it was, I had to get myself situated and talk myself out of the whole unit falling forwards, before I could look at the stage. It did not take long. I am getting better!
The show started with the man himself talking about the planet, etc., etc. He then went on a little bit of a 'save the earth' talk, and it all seemed to go downhill from there! I have no objection to people voicing their opinion, nor to those who use their shows to forward their political agenda, but I was not the only one in the audience to voice their dissatisfaction at the lack of 'known' songs. It was not until the end of the first half did he sing, 'Sledgehammer' with the intimation (perhaps not quite a promise) that the show was split in two, and there would be some 'oldies' in the second half. We waited.
Although the second half started with a new song, he then sang, "Don't give up" with his vocalist, who had the most amazing voice. She was every bit as good as Kate Bush, in my opinion, and played the cello beautifully. In fact, all the accompanying musicians were fantastic, and very talented musically. Even the man himself played the keyboard which made people sit up in awe. However, there did not appear to be much of a hint of anymore 'oldies'. Despite the place being packed during the first half, many had left before the second and it started to empty out. The couple behind were making comments that had everyone laughing, and most of the audience were waiting in anticipation.
Making our way out was not hard, although when I asked one of the ushers if we could exit through one of the doors, he told me, "No, you have to go back inside, sit down and listen to every song!" I replied, "Please, no!" He laughed quite heartily.
We walked up the five flights of stairs, or ten if you count the breaks in between, and Grant took me home. Dana had arrived a short time earlier. Interestingly enough, comments on various sites had all said, "We don't mind the promotion of the new album, but we did expect some of the old songs!" or words to that effect. However, as Grant and I always maintain, if you don't pay for the tickets, what have you lost? It was, as usual, an experience, and we got to see Peter Gabriel perform 'Sledgehammer' and 'Don't give up' live, on stage!
The next morning proved that all was not a waste, as when I swam, all I could hear in my head was the words to 'Don't give up', and if that was all I took from the concert, then it was well worth it!
My living room felt quite cold on Thursday, as it had on Wednesday. The door had definitely made a difference, and I was not losing cool air to the outside! I would have to call the store to find out about compensation! Although the job was completed, it was not in a timely manner and I had been rather 'put out'!
The week wore on and we finished on Friday night, all ready to go home for a restful weekend. It had been a good week, and full of good things!
I drove to Samantha on Saturday as she had a few things going on in the afternoon, and wanted to be home earlier than if she had come to me. I stopped at a petrol station, filled up my car, and went inside to retrieve my change. Playing over the airwaves was, 'Everybody wants to rule the world'. I had to smile. That was the penultimate concert we went to, and how good was that! All's well that end's well! I continued on my way, and we shopped quickly!
Today, the outside temperature was supposed to hit parity with the water, but it dropped slightly below! I braved the water, cleared out the skimmers and came back for some breakfast. I keep thinking I have something to do this afternoon, but I think it is probably because I had so much to do this week!
I have no such grand plans for next week, other than to do the usual, and get my living room back to where it should be after moving furniture on a regular basis, to stop it from getting too dusty from the door work! I will not know what to do with myself once it is all back in place! I am sure I will think of something.
For now, I am going to enjoy a reasonably warm afternoon, perhaps read a little, perhaps swim a little and perhaps doze a little. Sounds idyllic. I hope I can achieve it! I shall let you know in .... another story!
No comments:
Post a Comment