Friday 11th Berlin
We drove back to Hamburg after the show on the 10th and I was starting to feel really tired.This tour has already been the most amazing musical experience of my life, apart from making the albums with Joby, but long drives and sound checks can drain you a little, I am not tour fit yet,
I got up early the next morning to go back into Hamburg and meet up with Lars.
Lars had told me about a really interesting project called dialogue in the dark….the concept is that you enter a pitch black building and get to experience what it feels like to be completely blind…for a whole hour.
I have always feared being totally blind, and have at times tried to put my head under the covers of the bed, but have always failed to stay under for more than minute…however that could be because I hadn’t changed my socks….?
We were given a white cane, and told that at any time we felt uncomfortable we could say and we would be led out in about 20 seconds.as I neared the door I started to feel really panicked, I went in through the door and instantly felt the fear wash over me, there was a little girl in front of me and to be honest if it hadn’t been for her I would have turned back, but I suppose fear of looking scared in front of her was greater than the fear of being blind…stupid really.
I kept bumping into lars and ‘excuse me’ was the most common word spoken…the other issue was that the guide was speaking in German, Lars did translate for me but for most of the time I was blind and completely in the dark with the language..I kept telling myself that I had paid 15 Euros for this and I should relax…deep breathing . Thankyou Gian Carlo!
After 10 minutes I started to actually feel like I wasn’t going to scream and call out for my Mommy, our guide was a 28 year old Iranian, who had lost his sight 10 years ago from a disease, he asked us for our names and constantly gave instructions to us.
Our first task was to walk through a forest, the smells and sounds of birds, and leaves and trees, thank Christ there weren’t any bears or I would have been truly screwed….once the panic subsided and I had stopped whimpering the experience started to become amazing .My ears suddenly realized they were in charge and they rolled up their sleeves and said ..bring it on..I could hear everything so clearly, especially the giggles of the little girl in front who clearly had never seen a grown man reduced to jelly before.
The second task was a walk across the street…..never again will I Iook on if a person who is blind is next to me at a road crossing, it was scary, From the street we went into a grocery store, and to the vegetable section..our guide asked us to describe the different types of fruit that we could find, this I could do, I had worked in my aunt’s veg shop in London and if I say so myself I know a pumpkin when I feel one…ask louise, who also happens to be quite the authority on the said vegetable.
From the store we went into a bar,the barman asked me what I wanted to drink, I haven’t drank for a year now, but the thought of a swift one was now most appealing, I settled for water, I didn’t want to vomit over the little girl, mind you, it would have stopped her laughing……
I cannot explain to you how it felt to lose your sight, of course I knew that it would all end and in a matter of minutes I would be restored to my seeing world again…but it changed me…It is a brilliant idea, I would highly recommend it, however if you can do it without making girls practically faint with laughter you may enjoy it more.
From Hamburg we made the 300 km journey to Berlin, the traffic was atrocious and the journey took about 5 hours, the guys in the front actually found a button that was well hidden we hadn’t spotted it for almost a week, it turns out Mercedes have heard about air con, I could have kissed Lars full on the lips for finding the air con switch regardless if either he or I had brushed our teeth [personal hygiene is not top priority on tour]…
We arrived at a church where many koncerts take place in Germany.It was a wonderful folk club.They had had Show of Hands amongst many others at the venue , and I was really pleased to be playing there.
The concert was a great success as far as I was concerned,a full house, and the band were on great form.I was told there was a really famous German comedian and TV host, his name was Jurgen Von der Lippe, he was also joined by his friend Astrid , who is an actress .He was great fun, and told me many stories about some of the people he had met on his show, he said he also liked the Tim Hortons/ Mcdonald’s story with Emelia .I have a feeling he will use it, perhaps I’ll get a credit, and possibly a free big mac?
After the show we sat round the table with the folk club organizers, Ekheardt and Anita, Giesla, and many others whose names I have forgotten.Everyone was so pleasant and friendly, it reminded me of the halcyon days of the Red Lion Folk club in Kings Heath, when the show ended the crew and the artists would head back to Jim and Jill’s house and we would eat and drink and swap showbiz stories…bliss.
Michael Behr and myself were billeted out to Giesla’s house, and she made us feel so welcome…that I didn’t want to leave, she also had a golden retriever called Kimba.Kimba is the only retriever in the world who actually snaps and lifts her lips to show her teeth…but apart from that she was delightful.
The boys in the band who had stayed at the Berlin Hilton came round at 10 am to pick me up .Saturday was the big drive of the tour…more than 600km, I am writing this whilst still in the van,……its been a long day
