East Neuk of Fife
 

So after saying farewell to Sundae on the boat Mr Limey and I set off across Scotland for a weekend glamping. I am one of 32 horn players involved in the world premiere of a piece by John Luther Adams called Across the Distance tomorrow. With a rehearsal today we decided to make a weekend of it and arrived yesterday in brilliant sunshine.
We went out for a pub dinner (no Sundae to cook for us ) returned to our tent and lit a wee fire in our fire pit.
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Drank a couple of whiskies in the gloaming and went to bed happy.

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Nice!

And then... and then... you're leaving out the juicy part. :haha:

Well. That would be telling.
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If ya can do that with any regularity, ya got half of Life beat, right there.

:cool:

:jig:

Woke up to appalling rain. Rain. RAIN. Eventually we got up and managed to prepare coffee and banana sandwiches for breakfast. Drove to St. Andrews which is gearing up for the British Open Golf Tournament in a couple of weeks. Thanks rain stopped and we had fun in the shops. Ate a fabulous curry (sorry, no pics) and then I had a rehearsal to get to.
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which went very well.
This evening we went to a concert (part of the same festival) of Bach and Handel by a very well respected outfit paying period instruments. Mr Limey and I were the only people to walk to the gig, I reckon.
And tonight - bread from an artisan baker and lovely local cheese and wine by the fire under the trees by our tent.
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I get the impression you and Mr Limey hear a slightly different drummer than the masses, and a very hip drummer he/she is. :thumb:

Thanks Bruce. Life is for living.


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oh hellzs YES !!!

I'm with King Zippy.

I love t'internet.
I feel like I'm still with you, even after leaving!

Glamping suits you marvellously.
And of course Bruce is right (he almost always is). The drummer you march to wears a kilt, glitter, sensible shoes and a leather thong.

Oh my... That looks so wonderful. Couldn't happen to a nicer couple.
:D

East Neuk of Fife
 

This morning I cooked us bangers and beans in the communal kitchen. I used the gas hob - I think campfire cooking is something I'd need to bone up on first, although all the facilities were there.
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Mr Limey manfully washed the pots and then we went for a tiny little walk.
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On our return we encountered a robot lawn mower (sorry no pix) and this sign:
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East Neuk of Fife
 

I drove Mr Limey to a concert he wanted to attend (Bach's organ works) and hied me off to our last walk through. One of the festival organisers kindly fetched Mr Limey back in time for him to hear the festival finale in which I took part.
The performance took place in a truly magnificent and beautiful large walled garden. I'm afraid I was so involved in my part of it that I took no pictures apart from these two:
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What could be better than a bunch of horny people in a walled garden. :haha:

As you can see there were a lot of horn players. 28 to be precise including several of Scotland 's top professional players alongside amateurs and students.
We started in a group surrounding the audience quite closely. Each of us had a series of "horn call" type phrases to play and in between them we walked away a few paces at a time towards the perimeter of the garden. The audience could stay on the lawn or move around the garden as they pleased. At the end of the piece all the horn players were at the very edges of the garden passing a few last notes to each other Across the Distance.
It was a truly wonderful experience, a lovely and imaginative piece, and a pleasure and a privilege to play with the professionals. The kids all held their own marvellously, too. I'm thrilled to have been involved and sorry that is over. Mr Limey enjoyed it too.
Then off for a bite to eat in St Andrews (there's nowhere nearer really) and back to the tent. Just in time. The rain held off for our outdoor performance but it's chucking it down now.
Homeward tomorrow.

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Does that explain your earlier picture of the horn players stretched down the path from the horn on the ground?

Yes. That was yesterday's rehearsal. The nearest horn is mine. A beaut.


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That's an amazing camp. Is it a public business renting out spaces like a motel?

What an awesome time! I love that onion shaped tent. Looks very civilized but still lets you get away from it all.

you can camp out like a sultan in your onion shaped tent...

The "camp" consists of two tents, separated by the shared "kitchen" and scarcely visible/audible to each other. It is in woodland in the grounds of an enormous estate which has been in the hands of the same family for several hundred years. The house is a Victorian pile which they have now divided up into holiday accommodation for groups of various sizes (also available for functions). Don't wince. Although I didn't inspect these premises, some were already self-contained (upper and lower servants' quarters, for example) and I am certain the rest have been very stylishly handled, too. All over the place there were bits and bobs completely I keeping with the house because they clearly were part of the family's history/life story. It reminded me of the Art Deco hotel in a way, clearly privately owned because a corporate owner would have skimped somewhere to improve the bottom line, while private owners are able to see that improving the visitor experience with authenticity is a better investment. That being said the family owners have several generations' worth of quirky family knick-knacks to exploit for character.
It was in the magnificent walled garden of this pile that the concert I played in was held. Google Cambo Estate for more info. I wouldn't be surprised if the same family also own the adjoining golf links and newly opened distillery. They also manage a farm (potatoes, cattle).
I picked the glamping because it was the nearest affordable accommodation. St Andrews (nearest town) is the home of golf which is a rich man's sport and the accommodation over that way is a little pricey accordingly.


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The only two photos I have of the interior are fireplaces.
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in the entrance hall.
And
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in what was referred to as the "ballroom" but seemed more like a library to me.

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Lucky to get one of the two tents, with all those people involved in the concert. Of course a call to M would smooth the way. ;)