Connections

One event stood out for me in a very enjoyable day in London yesterday, and it lasted less than a minute. As I walked through Trafalgar Square to meet a friend for tea I heard the voice of Joan Baez ringing out across the wide sunny plaza. I stopped in my tracks, stunned, and there was a young girl busking while an unkempt man sat cross-legged on the ground not 20 feet in front of her, conducting her with wildly waving arms. I couldn't believe her voice, as pure and soaring as Baez's was in her prime, and still is. As luck would have it Saskia was just finishing, but we had a chat before I had to disappear off. I took her contact card, and told her what I thought of her voice, no holds barred. She really was magnificent. This morning I looked her up and discovered that tomorrow night she is playing at the Fisher Theatre in Bungay. Talk about providence. Of course I rang the theatre right away to book, and they said only five tickets have been sold so far and they are pinning their hopes on people just turning up on the night. If there are too few attending she might not perform. So this is an appeal to anyone within flying distance of Bungay: please get there tomorrow night, 8pm. She really is worth it. You won't be disappointed. But if she cancels I'll be devastated.

The day was fun despite the awful blackness of the night before in Manchester. The Hockney exhibition was so much better than either of us had anticipated, covering his work from college days in the early 60s to his more recent paintings and images of the Yorkshire Wolds. The imagination that has conjured totally new styles, new ways of working in ever-changing mediums over the decades is impressive, to say the least, and we came away with an increased respect and enjoyment of his work.

Paintings, friends new and old, lunch, tea, Saskia, all brought great pleasure, but the highlight of my day was visiting the office of the head of comedy prior to going out for dinner with her, and watching this gorgeous, glamorous woman making just a few last minute calls to clinch deals, or requesting urgent copies of scripts before deciding whether clients should accept parts or not. Thirty eight years ago on Sunday she came into the world, a tiny, pretty little scrap, and now look at her. The gloss is as natural and becomingto her as it's certain it didn't come from me. But a cat can look at a queen!