Strange encounters at Bourton

Strange encounters at Bourton

Thought I'd grab a few minutes, from a mega busy day, to write about our recent exhibition and concert at The Victoria Hall, Bourton-on-the-Water.  The show was well attended, and I would like to thank all of you who turned up for the Time Winds event.  The "Autumn-meets-Winter" theme seemed to go down well.  Hardly anyone left empty-handed, whether it was one of the original pencil sketches (drawn especially for the occasion), another print for the wall, placemats for the Christmas table or a mug with their favourite band image. 

Pencil Sketches and Mugs

We unveiled a commemorative Time Winds jigsaw in conjunction with Wentworth Wooden Puzzles (other images are under consideration for puzzles - I'll keep you posted!) 

Time Winds exhibition

A Magnum original pencil sketch for Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies was snapped up by a customer, who made off with it under his arm (and yes, he did pay for it).

Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies pencil sketch with new owner

For me, the highlight of the three days was Oliver Wakeman's solo piano concert on the Saturday night. 
Oliver Wakeman
This ex-YES musician and composer performed brilliantly (as we have come to expect), but there were some strange happenings:
Having set up his gear on stage and run through a couple of numbers, Oliver descended a dark staircase at stage rear to find a dressing room.  Instead he found a pitch black room, still set up with various bric-a-brac, toys and dolls, from a charity sale earlier in the day.  To his alarm, the toys and their lights spontaneously started to go on and off.  Thinking they must be light activated, he switch off the only light there (the torch on his mobile phone) and sure enough the toys stopped.  Breathing a sigh of relief, he switched his torch on again and waved it at the toys, expecting them to come to life once more ... nothing happened!  Very weird!  Then all of a sudden, they started up and a doll let out a spine-chilling laugh - "HA ... HA ... HA!"  Beating a hasty retreat (and Ol is a tall bloke), he cracked his head on a door lintel with such force, that for some minutes, he was unsure as to whether he could meet his musical obligations. 
Oliver Wakeman on stage in Bourton-on-the-Water
Then there was the stage-lighting - a tad half-assed I thought, but even worse, the lights seemed to be sound activated, so that we were treated to a strange flashing effect all the way through - the faster Ol played, the more erratic the lighting became!  Apparently, the lighting had been set in pantomime mode and no one knew how to alter it!  Later, as I apologised to Oliver for this fiasco, he remarked "Just like a YES show.  I didn't really notice it!"  The words of a true professional.
Rodney Matthews and Oliver Wakeman
See all the photos from the event on my Facebook page Rodney Matthews Studios
Learn more about Oliver Wakeman on his website
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1 comment

It was an excellent event, even with the rather odd lighting. My second Rodney event, and already looking forward to the next one!

Bill Sandalls

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