Where do you start?
First is Dick, his fabulous wife Diana and his parents for helping make it happen. Dick's relentless happiness and pragmatism in the face of the stress and organisation required is something to behold. Epic and worthy of so many thanks. His attitude towards the meet is the same as his attitude towards the Wikiloops website: a relentless pursuit of making it the best experience possible. And it was an experience to exceed last year's Urft meet in every way.
He and his family were, as always, the ever-present and ever-smiling hosts for whom nothing was too much trouble. Thank you so much. I drove nearly 400 miles (650km) each way from Cambridge to Steinfeld with a car full of kit for 8+ hours. Worth every second of the dullness of the A16/E40! Especially around Brussels which is like being stuck on the M25 surrounded by people with cars that only have a 'Stop' and 'Go!' button. The Kloster Steinfeld monastery was a fantastic setting with no noise limits! It was basically a bigger Urft.
Then there's the 'Loopers themselves. Many faces familiar from last year; Oli, Tof, Marc, TG, Adu, Kimbo, Monika, Ruth, Nilton, Pit Brett, JMRukkers, Cschlote, Jamlady, Uloisious, Fivestringer - it was as if we'd known each other for years, so fluid was the conversation from the minute we said hello. It all just slotted back into place, as if the jam from last year was just being restarted. Then there's the new faces I met for the first time: Nuno, Wade, Marmotte, Pete-Silence to name a few.
And thank you for speaking such amazing English. My German is almost non-existent and my French comical at best.
And this is the key point: once again I met strangers that I somehow already knew thanks to the collaboration we've shared on the 'Loops. It's genuinely unique to Wikiloops and proof of how music reaches out in ways other media cannot. Like meeting Facebook 'friends of friends' for the first time but you already had a connection you can't get by just having a mutual friend.
But I must mention a couple of people I met for the first time:
Nuno: Not just every bit the hugely talented and unique musician I totally expected to meet but one of the funniest and most intelligent people I've met in a long, long time. Every moment with him was laugh-out-loud funny, his humour and love of life so infectious. And his command of English was second-to-none. We argued over politics, Brexit - you name it. He didn't just make his points but he made them with conviction and with hilarious and cleverly ironic humour. A genuinely extraordinary man.
Wade: I challenge anyone to meet a more pleasant or more reasonable, generous and relaxed man. He put up with nearly 11 hours in the very cramped back seat of my car (3 of them spent trying to circumnavigate the lorry blockade in Calais) surrounded by drumming paraphernalia and never once complained, got angry or even uttered a bad word. Just good humour from beginning to end. And that's ignoring the consummate musicianship and total command of his instrument he displayed in Steinfeld (and on the Loops). It has not only been my pleasure to meet him but also to help him reunite with his wife in the UK before returning to New Zealand. The pleasure was all mine for his impeccable and joyous company.
Marmotte: Anyone who can give me the nickname 'Psycho Potato' gets my vote! Such wonderful, animated and eloquent company. And a voice that made the walls of the monastery cry with emotion. An utter joy!
I could go on and I know I've missed people off. I don't want to bang on for too long! But I must say thank you for the welcome you gave my partner too. Elly isn't an instrumentalist but loves music in all forms but none of you looked down on her or treated her differently and she really appreciated it. At no point did she feel excluded or looked down upon.
Next year... If there's a meet next year, just come along. You will not be disappointed. It's worth every penny or kilometre to play with these guys. I loved it. And I'm missing it already.
Thank you.
First is Dick, his fabulous wife Diana and his parents for helping make it happen. Dick's relentless happiness and pragmatism in the face of the stress and organisation required is something to behold. Epic and worthy of so many thanks. His attitude towards the meet is the same as his attitude towards the Wikiloops website: a relentless pursuit of making it the best experience possible. And it was an experience to exceed last year's Urft meet in every way.
He and his family were, as always, the ever-present and ever-smiling hosts for whom nothing was too much trouble. Thank you so much. I drove nearly 400 miles (650km) each way from Cambridge to Steinfeld with a car full of kit for 8+ hours. Worth every second of the dullness of the A16/E40! Especially around Brussels which is like being stuck on the M25 surrounded by people with cars that only have a 'Stop' and 'Go!' button. The Kloster Steinfeld monastery was a fantastic setting with no noise limits! It was basically a bigger Urft.
Then there's the 'Loopers themselves. Many faces familiar from last year; Oli, Tof, Marc, TG, Adu, Kimbo, Monika, Ruth, Nilton, Pit Brett, JMRukkers, Cschlote, Jamlady, Uloisious, Fivestringer - it was as if we'd known each other for years, so fluid was the conversation from the minute we said hello. It all just slotted back into place, as if the jam from last year was just being restarted. Then there's the new faces I met for the first time: Nuno, Wade, Marmotte, Pete-Silence to name a few.
And thank you for speaking such amazing English. My German is almost non-existent and my French comical at best.
And this is the key point: once again I met strangers that I somehow already knew thanks to the collaboration we've shared on the 'Loops. It's genuinely unique to Wikiloops and proof of how music reaches out in ways other media cannot. Like meeting Facebook 'friends of friends' for the first time but you already had a connection you can't get by just having a mutual friend.
But I must mention a couple of people I met for the first time:
Nuno: Not just every bit the hugely talented and unique musician I totally expected to meet but one of the funniest and most intelligent people I've met in a long, long time. Every moment with him was laugh-out-loud funny, his humour and love of life so infectious. And his command of English was second-to-none. We argued over politics, Brexit - you name it. He didn't just make his points but he made them with conviction and with hilarious and cleverly ironic humour. A genuinely extraordinary man.
Wade: I challenge anyone to meet a more pleasant or more reasonable, generous and relaxed man. He put up with nearly 11 hours in the very cramped back seat of my car (3 of them spent trying to circumnavigate the lorry blockade in Calais) surrounded by drumming paraphernalia and never once complained, got angry or even uttered a bad word. Just good humour from beginning to end. And that's ignoring the consummate musicianship and total command of his instrument he displayed in Steinfeld (and on the Loops). It has not only been my pleasure to meet him but also to help him reunite with his wife in the UK before returning to New Zealand. The pleasure was all mine for his impeccable and joyous company.
Marmotte: Anyone who can give me the nickname 'Psycho Potato' gets my vote! Such wonderful, animated and eloquent company. And a voice that made the walls of the monastery cry with emotion. An utter joy!
I could go on and I know I've missed people off. I don't want to bang on for too long! But I must say thank you for the welcome you gave my partner too. Elly isn't an instrumentalist but loves music in all forms but none of you looked down on her or treated her differently and she really appreciated it. At no point did she feel excluded or looked down upon.
Next year... If there's a meet next year, just come along. You will not be disappointed. It's worth every penny or kilometre to play with these guys. I loved it. And I'm missing it already.
Thank you.
