Buddy Holly’s 77th Birthday
A strange week.
Returning from a very hot and humid Malta, to find beautiful British
weather, and having to knuckle down to work.
It’s not all bad though. The nurses
who assist me so well with my Royal Bournemouth Hospital cardiac catheter sessions
were by turns both solicitous and curious as to what I would do with the
afternoon off after my Tuesday morning list.
‘Probably go for a swim in the sea,’ I answered. In the event I did, but I felt as though I
had earned it. One of my colleagues in
his wisdom had asked that I catheterise (cardiac not urological) a frail lady
of 98. Do you know what 98 year old
blood vessels are like?
Some friends from Somerset who have never seen Poole came
down to visit us. We call them the Three
Horsewomen of the Apocalypse because we met them on horseback riding beside us
(and frequently far ahead of us) as we slogged over the Andes to Machu Picchu
(see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/southamerica/peru/10266146/Machu-Picchu-the-Inca-Trail-on-horseback.html). Strictly speaking they are the Three
Horsewomen of the Mendips, because that is where they live.
So Wednesday 4th of September was an idyllic
afternoon, and perfect for a trip around Poole Harbour. It was hot and sunny and we swam as usual at
Goathorn, battling against the outgoing tide as in a flume. As we lay there at anchor, we could see the
sea fog beginning to come in beyond the Haven Hotel, and by the time we poked
our nose out past the chain ferry, the whole of Studland and the Sandbanks and
Bournemouth beaches were swathed in mist.
See the rather spectacular photo below, as Brownsea Island castle
appears to be on fire as the mist rolls in.
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| Sea mist rolls in over Brownsea Castle |
Weather forecasters predicted a dramatic change in the
weather by the weekend and they were right.
Dorset had a day’s grace – Friday – but the one day international
cricket match England vs Australia at Edgbaston had to be abandoned without a
ball being bowled.
While listening to the seemingly evergreen Brian Matthew on ‘Sounds
of the Sixties’ on Saturday morning, a communication from a listener who
described himself as the biggest Buddy Holly fan from ‘somewhere or other’
mentioned that later on in the day he would be making his way to Lyme Regis to
play in a World Record Attempt for the largest guitar band ever – playing Buddy
Holly’s ‘Rave On’ on the beach to celebrate Buddy’s 77th
birthday. No sooner heard than
preparations were made, picnic packed, waterproofs gathered, and we were off...
Note for future participation: take camp chairs, take an umbrella, make sure
your oldest guitar and its backpack style portable case is not 600 miles away
in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
I don’t think there is much else to report. Having sat watching some very dramatic clouds
roll in all afternoon, and the organisers distinct lack of nous in being able
to bring the event forward, ‘the rain came heavily and fell in floods’ as
Wordsworth put it. The organisers
themselves and the house band were up on a covered stage, but I noticed some of
them nervously poking their guitars up at the awning to push off the puddles of
water. Eventually, as a reward for those
thousands of people who had registered and gathered, both the rehearsal and the
main event were brought forward and we did it. Photographic evidence attached! YouTube link attached!
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| Yamaha Jumbo at the Cobb, Lyme Regis |
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| Not good weather for guitars. At least it wasn't electric |
The Movie Evidence:
Looking at myself on film and in portrait, I have to report
that I don’t look as exciting as many of the participants, but Lindsay’s
sensitive nose detected strong aromas of cannabis floating above the beach, so
I probably wasn’t as disinhibited as some of the other guitarists. I was however trying to concentrate on the
chords (there are only three – G, C, D – but they do have to go in the right
order) as well as singing the words.
While all this was going on, Lindsay at least had the
opportunity of visiting the Lyme Food festival and a fun cookery demonstration
in the tent above the beach by Angela Hartnett (Murano), Luke Holder (Lime
Wood, New Forest), and Mark Hix (local restaurateur, perhaps most renowned for
serving the last meal that Keith Floyd ever ate).
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| Angela Hartnett in uncompromising mood |
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| Luke Holder, Angela Hartnett, Mark Hix |
So that’s the news from Lyme Regis and Poole, where as
Garrison Keillor would say, ‘All the women are strong, all the men are good
looking, and all the children are above average.’ At least they were on the beach... A six year old sang ‘Over the Rainbow’,
perhaps not terribly well, but Dr Johnson’s comments on women preachers come to
mind. For ‘Over the Rainbow’ fans, the
American soprano Joyce Di Donato sang it beautifully later that evening at the
last night of the Proms, ably conducted by our local heroine (former Principal
Conductor of the BSO), Marin Alsop.
