This was an unexpected little trip for us but a really nice one. We were asked to perform in Paris with Naka Akira in Paris. We live 15 minutes from an Airport but in usual style appropriate flights to Paris weren’t available so we first had to drive to Birmingham to catch a flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The airport btw is a bit big and sprawling and it took a while to get to the appropriate customs, passport control and baggage. And then to find the exit and train.
Once we’d found the right way it was only an hours journey on the train to catch a tube to get us close to the venue. Once there the first job was to get cleaned up from the unfortunate ordure of travelling. Sweaty and exhausting. It’s a big of an unfortunate thing that though the flight to Paris is only about an hour, getting from your home to your destination can take over 8 hours of actual travel.
Our first impression on arrival was the huge grins that attend seeing Naka san again. Hugs, back slapping and greetings that make you realise how much you can miss people but also make you realise how many of your friends life far, far away. One friend there we hadn’t seen in something like 4 years. It honestly didn’t feel that long but when you look at it the time flies by.
Not huge amounts to report on the afternoon that was left as most was spent on relaxing, trying not to fall asleep and snore thereby disturbing the class below and then with conversations until going to the home of one of the organisers where I was staying and happily a bottle of wine before sleep.
The next day with flagrant disregard for the weather forecast was bright and sunny. We had a nice breakfast and went to back to the venue with no particular agenda for the day. Being at a loose end in Paris with nothing else pressing to do we did the obvious thing and went for a walk in a graveyard. It was actually quite nice.
Oh I’m going to say while the memory is still with me that the food that Gorgone made for lunch was really nice. I’ve never been a fan of Tofu but that was some really good stuff.
But after all of that. It’s the evening. It’s time for the shows.
It’s kind of embarrassing to write about shows as I don’t usually have a definite memory of what happened or in what order and I’m always slightly surprised when looking back at the images. What I am left with is a memory of the feeling of the show, it’s more a memory of an experience an intense emotion. Shows for us aren’t really rehearsed performances as much as an intense session of a different kind.
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