Good morning Saint Basil !

Good morning Saint Basil !

and in Hyperstereo …

Well, this is a greeting from Moscow. Waking up to see the sun rise on the Golden Spires of the Kremlin and the wold colours of St Basil’s and Red Square is something still to make the heart jump. I’m so grateful still to be alive and in the World. More than that … being here as a tourist would never quite do it … I would feel that I no longer really had a part to play in this ever-complex, ever-changing world. Last night, playing to one of the warmest and most genuinely appreciative audiences I’ve ever encountered was a reminder that life is still full of wonders, if we are open to them.

It was a beautiful auditorium … all dark red plush and shiny wood and populated with a mostly young audience, who were so in tune with what Kerry and I have been creating, it kinda made me gasp. Yes, they responded hugely to the odd Queen song, and sang along. But truly you guys … the New Muscovites, maybe I can call you, knew, and responded to, and participated in everything we played … making us realise that this was not a casual encounter – everyone out there knew exactly what we are about in 2014.

And the gifts and flowers, that you brought all the way through the show were so touching. I have never experienced anything quite like that in all my 245 years of touring ! Thank you all so very much. We had a ball, Kerry and I. And just the fact that we were there and functioning was a miracle last night, really. I had been at death’s door only 48 hours before, and still very much in recovery, and Kerry had played the night before in Nottingham, and after 3 hours sleep and an Easyjet flight (!!!!), she arrived only just in time to soundcheck. She’s the most amazing professional … nobody would have known. The voice, the performance, the passion … all in great form. I was proud of us, really !

So now I look out over Moscow, wondering what the future may hold. All I can say is, I’m happy we made it out here. I have had a couple of E-mails to the Soapbox asking me “how dare I ?” come to Moscow with the political situation as it is ? Well, I have strong views on this, which hopefully I’ll discuss in a separate message later on. But for now … a huge THANK YOU to all of you who made us smile and brought tears to our eyes last night – we hope to be worthy long term friends.

Cheers ! Nas”darovia !! (Oh … don’t remind me I can’t spell it !!! ha ha!)

OK. Showering time. We move on today … to gorgeous Riga !