Eddie,
A bit belated, but we have spoken via email. I'm sure this is Beryl chatting with your daughter..........
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Best wishes,
Maurice
Today I was reminded about one of my visits to Chicago.
I had met up with Jamie Oldaker, Eric Claptons drummer, and he decided to take me around the Chicago Museum of Transport, or whatever the official title was.
During the visit we were shown an original German U Boat. It was incredible. This U Boat was a centre piece in the museum, and a visitor could walk through it, and it was still just as it was when the U.S Navy captured it during WW2. Everything still in the German language.
The tour guide made a big thing about the capture of the submarine, and I decided to tell him that, as an Englishman, we also caught, and destroyed many German U Boats. An American man looked at me, and said "You had these things in your part of the world?".
"Oh, yes" I said, "We regularly had them washed up on our beaches".
It all went quiet, but Jamie, who is American, and I had a good laugh.
Eddie.
Eddie,
As someone objected to my posting musicians' deaths on the Birmingham Jazz thread, I'm sure you would accept it here.
On 5th May the death occurred of the Japanese synth pioneer, Tomita Isao, of a heart attack. Whilst most of his work involves arrangements of the classics - and superb ones at that - he was also a renowned composer and will be sorely missed. Anyone not familiar with his work should start with his arrangement of Holst's "The Planets", which is available here:-
Sorry I haven't been around much. Jan, my other half, has been ill, unusual for her, and that has upset our arrangements generally. However, she is now recovering and will hopefully be more or less back to normal within the week. Unfamiliarity with the new Forum software also somewhat slows me down, but I'll get there in the end!
Maurice
'Met' her too, she was a doing a shop window in Cov before she was well known, with Chris Tarrant. I say met, they came down to the lounge and I said hello, that's all. Terribly sad and a great loss to the world when we lose anybody with such talents as these people. Who make people happy.The sad passing of 'Prince' today, and Victoria Wood yesterday.
Last week the BBC did a 'same period' comparison for 2013, with 5 'name' deaths, 2015 there were 12 'name' deaths, and this year, at the end of last week, there had been 26 'A list/big name' deaths. A really sad start to the year for those that have entertained us, in one way or another.
Had the pleasure of meeting Victoria Wood, in her early days, on Leicester London Road station, when we were both waiting for a train. Naturally the main topic of conversation was music.
Eddie