This was some years ago and one of the most memorable days ever. We were on a Great Rail Journey holiday to Switzerland and Austria and were probably getting towards the end.
Our tour manager John was quite posh and an ex company secretary. We got on well with him and in Austria he had a free day. He said it was his day off but if we wanted to go somewhere with him he could promise us something unusual and special.
So about five or six of us tagged along and got a cable car up a mountain (no idea which one thanks to the mists of time). At the top of the mountain was a shack which was owned by Uli Spiess who we found out was a World Champion skier. His mother was also a world champion. Uli welcomed us as if we were old friends and there were a few of his mates there all having a good time and singing Austrian folk songs and banging their tankards on beer barrels. I'm sure you can imagine the scene.
They were also peeling apples and we were told by our tour manager that we just had to try what he called Nurdle dumplings and which turned out to be massive dumplings covered with hot apple and custard. It would have been impolite not to try one. It wasn't humanly possible to eat two though.
Add the heady atmosphere to the singing, the food and the general bonhomie and you can see why that day has always stayed with me.
It does show that memories are made of moments. Each day can be a memory. To be honest most aren't but just occasionally a day throws up something - and it is often something totally mundane - that you remember years later long after the photographs have faded or just got lost.
That particular holiday stays in my mind. I remember buying some chips in a takeaway in St Moritz and being given a cooking lesson into how to season and fry chips (three times). They were expensive but also delicious. I remember the mountain trip. I remember John stopping a tram in Switzerland so that we could get on. I remember having two minutes to load about 30 suitcases onto a train. I remember the mountains and the stunning scenery and meeting some very nice people. I even remember the awful stewed coffee we were served and complained about in an Austrian Hotel. These are the things that memories are made of.
* * *
Was sad to hear of the passing of John Miles. I know he was a close friend of one of my regular readers and a very talented guy. I have his song "Music" on quite a few of my playlists. It's one of those classic pieces of music that transcend pop and integrates folk and classical and is a bona fide classic.
Music was my first love
And it will be my last
Music of the future
And music of the past
To live without my music
Would be impossible to do
In this world of troubles
My music pulls me through
How true those words are.
Yesterday was also the 41st anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. I always remember this because Lennon has the same birthday as me (October 9th). He was born in 1940 and died in 1980. It's difficult to think that Lennon would now be 81. But it's not difficult to imagine Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as being in their 80s. Probably because they are still alive.
* * *
It's difficult to write anything today without making reference to a certain party in 10 Downing Street last Christmas! I have shouted about this today because it has annoyed me so much. I'm afraid our country is led by a mob who care nothing for those they are supposed to serve. I'll leave it at that otherwise I might get carried away with words such as morally bankrupt, arrogant and liars.