Journey Thus Far

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Day Eleven - Delightful Dijon

La Chouette

I arrived in Dijon on the 23rd, after a perilous day's journey (as outlined previously). It's been fantastic to re-discover this little town after four years, and it really is a wonderful place.

Dijon is the capital of the region of Burgundy, has just over 150,000 inhabitants and is famous for its mustard; as well as for the small stone owl (La Chouette) carved into the wall in one of the town's streets, which, when touched with the left hand, will bring you good luck. More fun facts can be found on Wikipedia.

The past few days here have been great, and have mainly consisted of relaxation and songwriting. Today, however, the weather permitted me to head down to the markets and play for a few hours.

Street where I played to a very generous market crowd

The atmosphere was fantastic, and the people very friendly. For those who purchased a CD today: un grand merci :) but otherwise the money dropped in my guitar case over the two hours will be more than enough to last me for the next week of my travels, where I head to Lyon, a town further South.

It's bizarre to be writing in English, as I've found myself slipping back entirely into French thoughts - which has been wonderful :)

Tomorrow is La Fête de la Vigne, a festival in the heart of Dijon, during which I will be able to enjoy musical groups invited from all proverbial corners of the globe. Should be a stack of fun.

Tomorrow afternoon I take the TGV to Lyon, where more adventure surely awaits :)

Lesson 1: How to catch the Eurostar from London to Paris

This is my luggage

1) Arrive at St. Pancras International with your embarrassing amount of luggage, and make your way, smiling, to the Eurostar ticket machine.

2) Do as you're instructed and insert the card you used to buy the tickets. It's a good thing you brought this, because you had no other use for it on your trip.

3) Wait patiently, as per the machine's instructions, until you're informed that your card cannot be read.

4) Grumble inaudibly and glance at the clock. Fortunately, you still have 40 minutes until the departure of your train, so make your way, cheerfully, to the Eurostar ticket office on the other side of the station.

5) Line up in the snaking queue and eventually speak to a nice Frenchman named Victor. Explain yourself to him and smile graciously as he promises you to sort everything out for you.

6) Wait patiently as he scours his computer, making frequent glances at your booking reference number. About 10 minutes later, allow your smile to fade as he explains that he cannot help you, and that the "Order Reference Number" that you have printed out is not the correct one, and that you should have found the other one on another part of the website.

7) Try not to be too argumentative as he tells you that you need to go to an internet café somewhere outside, on the streets of London, in order to access the website and retrieve your real order reference number. Victor will tell you that you can also telephone Rail Europe, but refrain from asking for their phone number, as his reply of "I cannot help you with that" will likely frustrate you, and you will have to resist the urge to swiftly dispatch him.

8) Leave the Eurostar ticketing office and begin walking aimlessly around the station. After a while, glance at the clock and make note of the fact that you only have half an hour before your train is due to leave. Approach a nearby salesman and ask for directions to the nearest payphone.

9) Refuse his attempts to sell you a new mobile phone, and explain that you simply need to make one call and could he please direct you to the nearest payphone. When he tells you that there are no payphones in the complex, and resumes his sales pitch, politely tell him to bugger off and begin walking away. At this point he will suddenly call after you "around the corner to the left."

Stairs are common in train stations

10) Follow these directions to the cluster of payphones and attempt to use the only broken one. When you discover that it is broken, curse quietly and move on to the next one.

11) Telephone the number listed as "free operator assistance" and discover that the only use for "free operator assistance" is to give you the number for "paid operator assistance". Dial this number.

12) Telephone the number given to you by the grumpy operator for Rail Europe, and prepare to be frustrated further, as this is the UK office, and the UK office doesn't keep records of Australian reference numbers, nor can they access their website or give you their phone number. When you impress upon the man named Pat the urgency of your plight, he will put you on hold for 5 minutes and return with the Australian office's phone number.

13) Telephone the Australian office of Rail Europe.

14) When you discover that the Australian office is closed, swear loudly, ignoring the looks of passers-by.

15) Forget your change in the payphone and go back to the Eurostar ticket office, taking note that there remains only 15 minutes before the train departs.

Narrrrrg.

16) Approach the nearest employee and collapse in a heap, begging him to help you.

17) From here, your journey becomes much easier. The employee you approached is the manager of the office, and he pulls out all the stops to ensure you make it to your train. He ignores the fact that your order reference number doesn't correspond to Eurostar's reference number, and rather is concerned with the fact that if you miss this train you will also miss your connection in Paris.

18) Follow this man as he ushers you through customs, puts you ahead of queues and helps you put your bags on to the scanner.

19) As the wonderful man wishes you well for your journey, draw from your pocket your last remaining 10 pound note and wearily extend it to him. Watch as he smiles and says simply, "Give it to charity", turning around and disappearing around the corner surrounded by an angelic glow.

20) Having resolved yourself to the fact that you just had a brief encounter with Jesus of the train station, board the train as the final whistle is blown.

21) Upon being presented with your brunch menu, immediately congratulate yourself on having chosen to travel first class.

22) Travel in comfort to Paris, where a whole new world of trouble awaits you as you try and make your connecting train.

NOTE: While travelling under the English channel, avoid making obscure references to the Disney song "Under the Sea" to the gorgeous French stewardess on the train. She will not find your genius allusions amusing and will ignore you for the remainder of your journey.

Day Four - Lovely London

Well, I'm sitting in Chesterfield, a gorgeous town a few hours north of the centre of London, home of the Crooked Spire (google it). Let me sum up quickly the activities of the last few days:

My first day in London was primarily exploratory. I arrived at Westminster station with my guitar on my back, and was greeted by Big Ben as I walked up the stairs into the sunlight. The experience was somewhat surreal, keeping in mind I haven't been to London since I was a small gremlin child of two or three.

I employed my usual strategy of picking a random direction and walking. I sat down and played in a few parks, including Hyde Park and the Victoria Tower Gardens. I didn't have my amp or microphone with me, so busking wasn't a real possibility with the background noise, but I got a good feel for the place, and scoped out locations that I later re-visited.

Some of the nicest moments were spent lying on patches of green in the sun. That's what I enjoy most about my holidays. It's what I don't expect to see and do, rather than what I plan, that becomes most memorable. I can't wait for the unforeseen that I'll inevitably encounter in each of my destinations. It's exactly why I haven't got a rigid itinerary.

The following day saw me take a trip to Cambridge, which is a beautiful place. I played in a few spots around the place, but kicked myself for having forgotten my camera. I bought myself a Cambridge hoodie, for the purposes of masquerading as a young intellectual in pubs.

For my last day spent in the heart of London I resolved to busk in earnest. I established myself in Covent garden on a street corner. I had been playing a few instrumental bits and getting a few silver and copper coins in my case, when a man in a nice blue suit approached me and told me that I wasn't allowed to be playing in this street, as it was solely for human statues. He told me that I could move five metres to the left and that I would be allowed to play there with no problems. I was very grateful for his help, thanked him kindly, and did so, and had no sooner just got myself re-established (a bit of a mish) than I was approached by an authority from the city of Westminster. He informed me that I wasn't allowed to busk in Covent garden itself without a permit, but that I could play in James Street with no problem, five metres to the right, where I was before. I told the guy about the blue-suited man, and his words were, "Yeah, that guy's a dickhead. He'll threaten you with the police and everything but he's just trying to get you away from his crowd."

My first international busking income :)

Equipped with my newly-gained information (and a newly-found distaste for wankers in ridiculous blue suits), I moved back to my previous position and resumed playing, this time singing as well. The response I got was incredible. I had children sitting down to watch, I had chinese families posing for photographs around me (a little distracting, but that's cool), and I had a guitar case with £10 in lovely silver and gold coins in it, after not even an hour's work.

A magician rocked up next to me at this point, and started setting up. I saw him shoot some nervous glances over at me, and I decided to defy prior street performer precedents and relinquish my spot. Truth be told, I had exhausted my repertoire of originals that I was comfortable singing. I resolved to work to expand my array of covers, as well as to not be afraid to repeat the set a few times. After all, the audience changes every few minutes.

So, all in all, a successful day.

The success dwindled, however, when the weight of my mic stand and stool caused the straps on my guitar case to snap, meaning a very interesting return trip was to await me.

That night was also the night of my train journey out of London, which was difficult. I have established that stairs are difficult with my equipment. Especially when lifts are out of order. I will have to make a plan.

On the plus-side, a man on the train was curious as to my escapades, and was delighted when I told him of my plans ("Fucking brilliant, mate" were his words, I believe), so much so that he donated £1 to the success of my journey. Aside from this gentleman, the rest of London was supremely unhelpful, and distinctly indifferent.

Tomorrow I venture to York, on a photographic expedition, and the following day I leave the UK and officially commence my tour.

:)

Tim

Day One

Sizeable Benjamin

The journey has begun !

I am in London, in the house of Lyn and Ted in Essex. I've enjoyed a good breakfast and am just about to make my first plunge into the heart of London itself.

The weather's beautiful this morning, incidentally.

The guitar is tuned, and I am ready :)

Holy Firetruck ! Digital Distribution !

CD's are officially for sale internationally ! At this point only digital downloads are available, US$10 will get you the whole album, but within a few weeks the little folded, recycled-paper things should be in good supply :)

To have a look, or even to buy, head to 

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/timmontgomery

Or click this big button, if that's what you're into:

Giggity Giggity

Just to say it again: what an incredible turnout to the gig.

Thank you all.

:)

Final Week

Well, this blog is yet to be launched, but I figured I'd put a little something about the current state of affairs for historical purposes.

I'm currently into my last week of recording, after having postponed my deadline several times. With the gig next Monday, however, it is imperative that all recordings be ready to go by Friday night at the latest, so as to give me some time to put them next to each other, do some final tinkerings with volume, and print enough CD's to bring to the performance. Cutting it fine, I know ^_^

The nerves have begun to set in, in part due to the performance, but also due to my impending travel date.

..

Fast-forward to one week later, Monday the 2nd of August. Incredibly, the CD is complete. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but unfortunately I think that was inevitable. All modesty aside, I think it's adequate.

A huge thank you must go to Sean Dillico for his brilliant, last-minute work at mastering five of the eleven tracks for me (Shadowland, Requiem, Phosphorescence, Darling and Winter). You wouldn't believe how much time and effort goes into fixing the volume of the tracks before they can be put on a CD. I definitely could not have done it alone.

In any case, it's done !! What an incredible feeling. Now the performance just needs to go down smoothly and I can dedicate the remaining two weeks to sorting myself out for my big trip.

Lots to do, and less time in which to do it !

:)