PF follow-up

You might recall the post from last week about my PF gaffe after my momentary lapse of reason, so to speak.  Well, as embarrassing as that incident was, this week's return journey to Covent Garden was equally fruitful...

With "Inside out" and "The making of DSOM" in my carrier bag, I landed at the Seven Dials at around 4.45pm, to find a sizeable line outside the tiny Rockarchive Gallery.  Damn it, I should have arrived earlier was my initial thought as I found my place at the end of the line.  At 5pm sharp, the security people started ushering groups of 2 or 3 inside and my turn arrived less than 20 minutes later.  I saw the frail-looking Nick Mason underneath a massive print of the iconic Charlie Watts side profile photo.  To think that this character banged the drums with such fistful energy for years and is now nearing his 70s and looking almost very fragile is unreal.

Unlike a similar encounter I had had with Storm Thorgerson in 2010, Nick was typically reserved and quiet but whilst he signed my copy of his own book and I told him that I only had 1 Floyd left to meet, he asked me, "Which one?" and then smiled back at my answer.  I dared to ask if he could sign another book and he answered, "Sure, with pleasure!", which he did and then I ended my brief encounter with, "Thanks a lot, it is such a real honour to meet you!" from my side and, "Cheers, bye now" from him - predictable Englishman.

And thus I only need to find a way to meet David Gilmour and my Floyd encounters are done!  And now that I am still around in London is probably the best time to do so, although I did go to a Roger Waters concert in Malta.  Meeting such giant rock stars is an overwhelming privilege, but listening to their musical legacy is what truly matters and as long as I do not face Beethoven's fate, nothing is going to stop me from that!

Spring time...or not?

As I write this, I have just completed my day's work and it is only a few minutes before the bank holiday weekend kicks off - finally.  Also, as I write this, it is raining outside.  Actually, it has been raining since late morning, non-stop.  And it is quite chilly, too.

Nothing new, one would say.  And this is partially true.  But one must note that this is the end of May.  Summer begins in less than a month's time.  What is wrong with this country?  Especially when one remembers that 2-3 weeks ago, it was sunny, day after day and quite warm actually, with temperatures over 20 being the norm!

Dear UK weather, please decide: if you have deliberately chosen to annoy me for the rest of my stay in this country and lead me into despair, then go ahead and stick to rain and cloud.  But do not dare to give me ample sunshine for weeks at an end when all I do is work, work, work and then pour endlessly during a much-anticipated weekend.

Lapsus

I tend to be quite organised and punctual when it comes to events, both business and pleasure.  I actually find (silent) pride in being on the dot without any reliance whatsoever on iPhones or gadgets or even the old-fashioned diary or planner.  Except for today...

It was one of those sneak peaks at Facebook while at work that I saw this post in my news feed about Nick Mason (drummer of Pink Floyd) and a signing session he will be holding in London, just off the Seven Dials in Covent Garden.  Nick Mason!  That would leave only 25% of the PF - David Gilmour - for me to encounter; Rick Wright I had met in my local Sainsbury's on NYE 2007/8 (incidentally opposite the site of Syd Barrett's former flat on  the Cromwell Road) and Roger Waters, although I did not meet him personally, I had gone to his DSoM concert in Malta in July 2006.  One could mention meeting Storm Thorgerson back in 2010, but he was 'only' an appendage to the Floyd, albeit an iconic one...

Leaving Floyd trivia and back to our story: Mason was to be in this art gallery to sign photos of him and up to one other PF-related memorabilia from fans on Thursday from 5 to 6pm.  At this point, I say only Thursday since I swear I had read 23rd May 2013, but, whatever date it was, I had to come up with a plan to move my weekly (Thursday) meeting by an hour or so to get me enough time to reach central London before 6pm, which proved to be simple.

So today I reached Covent Garden at 4.45pm, happy with my "The making of the DSOM" book ready for a signature.  I popped into not one but two Waterstones to get a copy of Mason's own PF story, but did not find any!  Having those 15 minutes to spare, I went to Fopp and sought any Floyd CD to get it signed and, again, did not find any!  I had to content myself with getting "just" one item signed and headed to the gallery.

Although I did spot some awesome Floyd (and other rock legend) pictures on display, I was surprised to find it completely empty.  The friendly patron there came up to me and asked me if I needed any help (she should have realised that I was not too keen on purchasing any of the £2000+ framed prints there) so gingerly I asked at what time Mr. Mason was expected to turn up.  And her reply?  He will be there on the 30th!  Whaaat?  One week early?

I could not believe that I had misread the date and all I wished for was to log on to Facebook and confirm (or otherwise) that the post did say 23rd May.  In fact, I soon found out that it did say 30th May, which means I will be heading back to the Rockarchive Popup Gallery in a week's time.  And hopefully writing another post with a picture of me with Nick or less ambitiously with my signed copy of "The making".

In any case, every cloud has its silver lining: I logged onto Amazon and bought "The inside out: A personal history of PF" by Nick Mason, which I should get before the 30th, and which I am sure Nick will be more fond to sign than anything else.