It had been a long time in the planning but this was to be a special 'Brussels Weekend' to include the premiere showing of 'The Endless Highway', a documentary film about Allan Taylor, followed by a concert with Allan himself. The event was being arranged by Henri Vandenberghe of Brosella (a voluntary organisation who arrange music events) and everything was to take place at the Moliere Theatre hosted by Muziekpublique.
We were involved in the co-ordinating of the 'Brussels Weekend' - ensuring that those wanting to be there and those organising all knew what was happening, where and when. There were people coming from all over Europe, from the UK, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, etc, to be at this special event. Everything was ready... accommodation and travel booked and then, a week before, we received a phone call from Allan's wife, Wendy, that stopped us in our tracks...
Allan had been taken into hospital with a suspected heart attack and it was not going to be possible for him to travel to Brussels. We visited Allan in hospital and decided on a plan. It was too late to cancel everything, and Allan wanted his fans and friends to still have a weekend in Brussels and to be able to at least see the film and, importantly, get to know each other a little better. So the only thing that could happen did - the weekend went ahead, although Allan remained in England.
Allan is at home, well on the way to recovery and keen to get back to what he does best - being on the road performing... we were all relieved to hear that it had been an Angina attack, not as serious as a heart attack, but nonetheless a warning signal to be heeded.
We had a busy week communicating many times a day with different people, confirming arrangements and passing on good wishes for Allan from well-wishers.
When we woke at 7:00 am on Friday morning we were already shattered...we flew from Newcastle to Heathrow, took the underground to Kings Cross and then the Eurostar from St. Pancras. We had neither flown domestically nor travelled by Eurostar before so the whole day was quite an adventure. We arrived safely in Brussels around 5:00pm and made our way to the hotel after working out the intricacies of the Brussels underground Metro system.
Some of the Brussels Weekend party had already arrived with others due to arrive the following day. And what a weekend it was. We renewed acquaintances with old friends and made lots of new friends - everyone was determined this was going to be a special weekend even though Allan couldn't be there to share it with us all.
The film showing took place at 5:00 pm on Saturday 6th June and the theatre filled with spontaneous applause as the credits rolled. It was marvellous. The film is due for release on standard DVD and Blu-Ray within the next few months and we can highly recommend it. Afterwards we all made our way back to the hotel where we had dinner together.
Henri had also arranged with the hotel that we could have live music in their Bar Deco Verre that evening, and so he convened his version of a British Folk Club evening. We were entertained by Guy Stroobant and Didier Courtmans and Anders Mikkelson. Then it was the turn of 'scouse' Phil (who now lives in the Netherlands)... followed by jiva. There was only one way to start our short contribution - we decided it had to be an Allan Taylor song - so began with 'Back Home To You' and the sound of everyone joining in on the chorus was heartwarming. We then sang two of our own songs, 'Some Way Home' and 'One More Song' (again, with more singing along). We were playing on borrowed guitars (two 6-string Martins - thanks Didier and Anders) and, unusually for jiva, as one of the guitars had no strap pin, sitting down. It was great to be playing for Allan's fans and friends, and we received enthusiastic applause and many positive comments about our music. The night was rounded off with Guy, Didier, Phil and Anders leading everyone in a room-filling performance of Allan's 'It's Good To See You' - a moving finale indeed.
Having had a restless Friday night, we slept very soundly when we eventually got back to our room. Sunday was spent sight-seeing and generally slowing down and recovering after the roller coaster of hectic, nerve-wracking, tiring but ultimately enjoyable days we'd been through. So on Monday - having said our goodbyes, shared some hugs and addresses, and made promises to keep in touch and meet up again with friends we'd made - we did the whole journey in reverse, arriving home at around 6:00pm... exhausted, but exhilarated too.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Allan Taylor website
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