As weekends go - not bad, not bad at all ....

Back from my weekend in Germany. Foolishly, I had left it too late to check out the Christmas Market situation and so flew back the day they opened. Actually, it could be for the best. Financially speaking.

It was great to see Jo and Bob. Friends since 1997 when we met in the Falklands. I watched their romance blossom and one, never to be forgotten evening in London, Bob bought me dinner at the Criterion and I listened to him talk about Jo. I will never forget it because of the room, the food and the wine. Bob will never forget it because we'd schlepped for miles round Bloomsbury first and he was wearing new shoes!

So I have some fantastic German food to work off and a couple of bottles of very good dry German Riesling to enjoy.

It's 20 years since I last lived in Germany. I was in Berlin last year. Huge changes there but not so much in what we used to call 'The Zone'. Those who know will be saying how much that phrase dates me!

The highlight of the weekend was mine and Jo's outing to see Curtis Stigers on Saturday evening. Bob has only just moved out to Dusseldorf and I hadn't realised when the tickets were arranged that he would be there. And because it was the only show in the north of Germany it sold out in a nano second, He generously chauffeured us.


The show was in The Orangerie in the grounds of a Schloss.  Lovely setting. As many of you will

know, or have worked out by now, I am huge Stigers fan and have seen him in shedloads of venues but this just seemed a but special. Jo has seen him in New York - which is still pretty near the top of my To Do List.

He was on great form. His co-performer, James Schofield, is a very gifted acoustic guitarist. He seems very quiet but he has the most expressive face when he's playing. Mr S was his usually, funny, soulful self. He always does a 'meet and greet' at the end of his shows. I don't usually stay.  But I was lucky enough to meet him in a coffee shop last year and since the start of the year we've been in the Tweet conversations a fair number of times. So, we went to say hello. He is just so nice. AND HE KNEW WHO I WAS!!!  He was really welcoming. We got kissed on the cheek . He asked me about QISMA. You know when you can't quite believe something - that!