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.

Habemus philosophiae doctor

At exactly this time 24 hours ago, my Ph.D. viva kicked off in #228C of the Skempton Building of Imperial College London.  It proved to be quite an ordeal: a 5 hour long grilling session, faced with many questions and queries related to my thesis.  By the end of it, I felt physically drained.  But the experience proved many things.

Firstly, it is clear that my heart is rock solid, for I faced the stress with no cardiac complications of any sort.

Secondly, truly, where there is a will there is a way.  This was no easy task and was a roller coaster of ups and downs, many tears and much fewer laughs, but, at the end, through persistence, everything can be overcome.

Finally, in the words of the Bard, all's well that ends well.  Or rather, all's well that ends.  Full stop.

Having said that, I have a few corrections to make for the examiners' complete satisfaction, which should not take too long (at least that is what I envisage), but what matters now is that the mission I started back in October 2009 is now complete and that goal has been replaced by an accomplishment: a doctorate.  Finally, I am Dr. Karl Micallef, Ph.D.

Spring...finally

A quick break from reviewing my Ph.D. thesis prior to my viva next Thursday, primarily induced by the 'shouting' outside the window from a handful of children playing in Evelyn Gardens.  Children happily running around in the sun.

Yes, the sun.  Finally, it is warm: 17 degrees by day, 10 degrees at night.  The first 2 digit temperatures in the last 3?  Maybe 4 months?  An unbelievably long winter seems to be coming to an end.

In the same way that this 'mission' I started back in 2009 is (hopefully) coming to an end.  But that is another story...

Monday blues...not

The reader might not be familiar with my 'new' daily weekday routine: get up, bus 14/211/414 from round the corner down to Fulham Broadway Station (6 stops), then a District Line train to Wimbledon (another 6 stops) and then a South West train to Guildford (10 stops) and a short walk from the station to the campus.  'New' simply because this has been going on for 2 months now, but in the absence of any previous posts outlining this procedure, it is still new!

In any case, missing any of the first 2 parts of the commute would inevitably lead to delays to the final time of arrival at the office, which is not pleasant, especially when you have a meeting to attend.  And the Monday factor does not help.  But today, it was a different story.

As soon as I was walking towards the bus stop, a bus drove past me and hey presto I was at Fulham Broadway only 4 minutes later - no lights and almost no stops.  Down the stairs at the station, and the dot matrix board turned from "Wimbledon - 1min" to "Stand back, train approaching".  I was at Wimbledon 15 minutes later after having skimmed through the "Metro", including seeing a biggish Starbucks ad which entitled the reader to a free latte upon stating a 'magic' word upon order.  Superb.  The next Guildford train was due in 6 minutes, just enough time to get a return ticket and the free latte from the Starbucks booth on the platform, I thought.

The turnstiles were open, saving a few precious seconds and the ticket machine was free.  The weather was 'warm' enough not to need gloves, which meant handling the touch-screen was hassle-free and 2 minutes later I was on the platform.  There was a significant queue at the coffee shop and by the time I had placed my order, I could see the train slowly approaching.  As soon as the barista put the lid on, the passengers had finished boarding the train and I was the last on before the doors closed!  Quite a good start to the day...and week!

9 hours later, I was on my way back home, expecting to read all about Maggie's demise on the front page of the "Evening Standard", only to find that the leading headline was on the death of another woman - an unfortunate cyclist crushed to her death in the morning rush hour.  For 2 seconds I was amazed that the ES had failed to mention anything at all about the Iron Lady's passing away, but then I realised that the paper must have long been in press by the time the news was out just before 13:00...

1 week, 2 elections, many changes

As I write this, Pope Francis (I) has been officially inaugurated his Papate following Benedict's surprise resignation last month. Among the hundreds of dignitaries present was newly sworn-in Maltese Prime Minister Muscat, following last week's general election in Malta.  Whilst the first election was meant to be solely driven by divine forces (though many would argue that Maltese politics are at par with the importance of religion on the tiny island), both new leaders seem to have risen to their new posts with tremendous high levels of expectation from their followers...

The first signs shown by the new Pope seem to mark an ideological shift from the traditional Church image of pomp and ceremoniousness, of which the previous Pope was a champion.  I would never expect the Pope to be selling Michelangelo's "Pieta" on e-bay any time soon, but it is obvious that he wants to break away from the Church's 'wrong' association with luxury and grandness.  A welcome break, although in reality this would be nothing more than going back to what the Church really should be like: a continuation of Christ's work in the world, stripped of grandeur and appealing mostly to the needy, the poor, the sinner.  Not necessarily riding a donkey's back, but definitely not adorning more gold than the infamous Maltese man sporting several kilograms of shiny metal who regularly storms the streets of Valletta.

Which brings me to the next election - the Maltese general election 2013.  Following a tiring and sometimes amusing 9 week long electoral campaign, the 09/03/13 election is history: a 37,000 vote majority win (or 12% difference; colossal by Malta's standards) of the Labour party over the Nationalist party.  A break from the 'blues' after 15 years in power (some even argue 25 years, ignoring the 1996-1998 Labour spell).  A new captain who aims to steer Malta for the next 5 years free from traditional partisan politics but with a progressive attitude typically associated with the 'reds'.  After less than two weeks in power, the new premier and his ministers have been quizzed and followed earnestly by the press, almost expectant that the implementation of the electoral manifesto which brought them to power is fulfilled.  Apparently, some are unaware that there are yet another 258 weeks for this legislature to end.

Which almost brings me to the end of this post.  Whilst the Pope's mandate is somewhat beyond his control given that it is terminated when the Maker calls his earthly representative home (although Benedict proved otherwise), the Maltese government has a clear cut-off point (although, again, rebel MPs in the 1996-1998 and the 2008-2013 terms proved otherwise, albeit with a 9 seat majority this should not be an issue).  In both cases, however different in terms of scale and repercussion, the 2 newly elected leaders are expected to bring about significant changes during their respective tenures, ultimately to the benefit of their own followers, us citizens.  However, it is really up to the followers themselves to give them sufficient time and not mount them with unnecessary pressures to realise their agendas, earthly or otherwise, and allow them to steer the 'movements' they lead and efficiently reach their goals, whether they are social and economic ones or even metaphysical, eternal ambitions.