Hi Folks,
It has been an incredible week in Engand for me. Incredible is probably the best word to describe what I feel. Everything seems unreal, even to be back in Switzerland. I have never had so many radio shows in one week and I gotta say, I got used to it.
It was hard to say goodbye to my team in England and to leave the island as I have the pleasure to work with amazing people over there. I’ve said it before, but once again I want to thank my UK Team Sophie and Glen for all their efforts! You’re brilliant!!
My mind was busy with all the emotion when I passed the security control for the EuroStar – but the security officer brought me back to reality, thanks! The guy on the computer saw something in my suitcase that apparently looked like a sword. So a woman of the staff told me she would have to open my suitcase. I replied that it’s alright as long as she can close it again afterwards… That wasn’t a joke!! It took my a lot of strength to close it before I had left. I was very surprised, usually when having problems with the security staff at airports (or train stations), they act rather unkind and make you feel like a criminal. This woman though was very friendly and when she saw that the “sword” was actually my guitar stand she laughed to the other guy and said “you really thought that is a sword?? To me it looks more like a gun!” Oh dear… I love the sense of humour over there. So we packed my suitcase again and had much fun talking about England, Switzerland, music, etc. Once again I fell in love with the EuroStar. Very comfortable, quick, friendly and last but not least, one always meets new people on there. It’s always interesting to look at people’s faces when entering the Euro Tunnel. Some people seem to be very excited, others rather frightened. At one point, the train slowed down a bit and a lot of people’s faces got a bit paler. But to be honest, it is just the knowledge of having water above the tunnel. I was told that the train staff used to announce the EuroTunnel, but as a lot of people weren’t comfortable with this thought, they stopped doing that. (On the way to England they did, though). I’m not sure if I wrote this in another blog already (probably in the Christmas blog), but I’ll write it again. When I was a child I imagined that one could see fish and water from the windows of the train. Even though I knew it would not be possible, I had (and still have) the image on my mind. Nevertheless, I was kind of disappointed when I used the EuroStar for the first time. It is just a long black hole… but it’s the knowledge of what is up there that makes it interesting. I prefer travelling by train than using a plane because one gets a feeling of distance. Distance… Isn’t it incredible that there are rails all over Europe and Asia? I could take a train in my hometown St-Gall, change some trains and after some days (or rather weeks) I would arrive in Beijing, China? One of my dreams is to use the Transsiberian Railway sometime. My aunt did it once and was very excited about it. Last summer I read Paulo Coelho’s book “Aleph” with is about exactly this trip, ending in Vladivostok though.
I might have to release more “Rail Tracks” albums… I wrote new songs again on the train to and from England. I don’t know what it is that inspires me while travelling. In a recent interview, Peter Gabriel says that he believes in an evolutionary reason that motion influences creativity. In my opinion, writing and travelling are the same things on different levels. No matter if you travel or write, you start somewhere and you’ll arrive somewhere else. I can’t write while sitting on a desk in a lonely room. I need “action” around me to be creative. I have heard that Nick Cave goes to an office every day and works, he doesn’t care if he has ideas or not – he just works… Sometimes I would love to have this talent, on the other hand, it’s good to work and see new places at the same time. I don’t think it’s the passing landscape that inspires me to write but rather sets the creativity in motion. I’m not sitting on a train writing about what is happening in or outside the train. When I’m on the rails I remember things I have forgotten, images come up, stories I was told, things I have seen, heard, felt.
I started working on some new stuff when I came back from England. Experiments for a new band album... There is no release planned yet though. I'm just sitting in a Starbucks (and a Charlie Winston song is on the radio!) in Switzerland and everybody seems to be from England!! Feels like still being there... Wish you all a good weekend and I hope to see you at one of the coming shows... Check out the live dates on www.gionstump.ch/live Off and out... Gion x
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