Andy and I spent the break in the tour in the French Alps at Christian's favourite location. He arranged for a whole group of interesting people to be there and we all had an amazing time.
I'm a big fan of looking back on my life and identifying small decisions and events that lead to my current position. For example, in my life I can pinpoint three or four events that resulted in me ending up in this band. One of them was reading a particular book and deciding to take on board its advice, another was introducing myself to a random guy who was packing up a drum kit in a rehearsal room. Obviously I can trace things back and say that for these to happen I had to be in London and I had to have taken up playing drums, but it's the decisions I remember debating about making that I like to pick out.
Christian, myself and two new friends were sitting in a boulangerie at the bottom of the mountain. I was thinking how great it was that all these people from different walks of like had been gathered together for an amazing week in the alps. Christian told us the story of how he'd become a Wishbone Ash fan (also known to one of the party as Louise Bonash - a bit of French/Chinese whispers - Le WisBon Ash)
Christian told us that when he was 12 he met a girl who he liked and they began to talk about music. She told him of a band she really liked and he went in search of their music the next time he found himself in a record shop. He clearly remembered the 'Ash' part and bought a Wishbone Ash record. On returning home he listened to the record, liked it, and wrote the girl telling her of his favourite track. To his surprise she wasn't familiar with this particular track. He wrote back telling her of some other favourites hoping to find some mutial favourites but each time was surprised to find that she didn't know those tracks. After struggling to find a song name that they both knew and liked they discovered that they were actually listening to different BANDS. It turned out she'd told him to check out Crosby, Stills and NASH!
So, if wasn't for a bit of miscommunication between two 12 year olds in France I probably wouldn't have been sitting in that boulangerie with those people enjoying the best cake in the country. Isn't it great?!
J
