I played in two castles last week end. The first was Schloss Elgersburg. I played in the room at the top of this tower. I was the only one staying the night and was given the big key to the front gate so I could let myself out and get breakfast in the morning. It felt good walking back up the hill to this nice old place, knowing I had it all to myself that morning. The castle was (one of many) that used to belong to the Saxe-Coburg Family of Gotha, our Queen’s great grandfather Albert. I did some cello practice in the knight’s hall and made a little video on my phone before I ran out of memory.

Last night I was in a violin maker’s workshop in Magdeburg as part of a songwriter’s festival called Songtage. The only other workshop I have ever played was a coffin workshop. They moved most of the instruments and benches out of the way but I was still afraid something would get broken as the place was full. I was halfway through McPherson’s Rant and had just got to the point where he smashes up his fiddle when I heard a crash. Not a violin, but something had fallen off a shelf. Timing? Immaculate.

Photo by Arno Battke https://www.facebook.com/arno.battke?fref=photo