RALPH, ALBERT & SYDNEY
It's a Long Way
From Spain to Here
Andy received this email from Esteban
Castellanos who lives in Spain, in which he recounts his trip to the UK
to see Ralph. It was too good not to include on the site ....
____________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Andy,
My name is Esteban and I'm writing from
Madrid (Spain). For many years, and now more than ever, I have been a Ralph
McTell fan.
Also for many years I've been waiting to see if he
came over and performed in my country but it seems that he hasn't done it
since 1972 or so (as I learned from his biography). Up to now, every year
whenever I received his tour scheule I just sighed, because due to my
work I didn't have the possibility of flighing to London or anywhere else in
Britain to see him. Lately and fortunately, things have changed and, at last I
decided to fly tro London together with my wife and my thirteen year old son
and to see him live.
Although I don't want to make any comment on the
concert itself because I think everyone knows what his concerts are about, I do
wish to tell everybody how we treated by Ralph, by his wife Nanna and by
all the people at Leola Music. I would not like to make this very long, but I
think it's worth it.
I was intending to see Ralph at his last concert
at the Old Vic on the 19th of May, but as you know, it was cancelled a couple
of weeks before the concert. As I had already bought the tickets for the
concert through the Tickety Boo office (thanks again Neha), and my
flight tickets together with our hotel reservation for three nights, from
the 17th to the 19th of May I had quite a big problem although it was
solved in the most brilliant way by the people at Leola Music.
The week before the concert Sam from Leola Music
sent me a message offering me to take us to his last concert at the Windsor
Arts Centre on the 17th of May. As I would already be in London on that same
morning I accepted his offer. A couple of days before the concert he also sent
me an e-mail confirming that he would leave instructions at my hotel and that
they would arrange everything so taht I woudl be taken to the concert and back
to my hotel when it had finished.
At 5:30 on the day of teh concert, a taxi,
that had already been paid for, took me from my hotel in London to
Windsor. Once at the venue, I went in to collect my tickets, but my name
didn't appear on the several envelopes that the lady at the venue had. Then
somebody from, I think Leola Music, whose name I don't remember said
"Oh, you must be the guests we where just talking about a minute
ago". That was the first surprise. Another young man, Don, came
out to inform me how they had arranged my visit. I would have reserved
seats, Ralph would have a chat in private with us after the concert
(!), and finally Nanna (Ralph's wife) would take me back to my hotel. I
honestly couldn't believe it. It was much more than I could have
thought of, but that wasn't all.
After taking our seats, there was one more
reserved seat besides us that was later occupied by a lady who seemed
to me Nanna May, but I wasn't sure, because the only photograph I had seen
of her was one that appeared in Chris Hockenhull's biograpfy of Ralph. I was
doubting if to ask her but the concert started.
The concert was great; the sound was perfect;
Ralph playing and singing his songs, with stories which he usually uses as
an introduction. More or less in the middle of the concert, he
began talking about "Streets" and that some people always ask
him if he doesn't get tired of that song. After the introduction, he
said something like: "I would like to dedicate this song to some
friends that I don't even know yet, but that I will meet after the
concert, and that have come from Spain to see me. It's somebody called Esteban
and his family." Everybody applauded and we were completely
embarrassed. I was really excited; I can't describe what I felt and it
was incredible to hear the people attending the concert (including
myself) singing along. I wrote down all the songs he sang in order to have a
better reminiscense of it. At the end of the concert, I introduced myself to
the lady besides us that was Nanna.
But the best was yet to come. We went outside
with Nanna who brought us some drinks, until we were advised that Ralph was
ready to meet us. I thought that I would feel nervous, but I wasn't going to
meet any strange guy; it seems to me that I've known Ralph all my life.
And he treated us in the same way. He's a normal person, nothing to do with
those stars that we see one day and that disappear one week latar. That's
why Ralph Mctell stands where he stands. We had a short chat of about five minutes,
he signed me some CD's and Nanna took a couple of pictures of the four of
us.
On the way back to our Hotel I talked with
Nanna about many things, although mainly about what Ralph is doing at
the moment, his long awaited tablature book and other things.
Back at my hotel, I wasn't sure if it had been a
dream or if I had really been there. What I can say is that it was something
that I will never forget.
All the best
Esteban Castellanos