A friend and I went to see “Nigel Kennedy plays Hendrix” in the Brighton Dome on November 25 as Nigel is a brilliant and eccentric violinist.
It was organised by the Rye Jazz Festival team led by Ian Bowden (who gave us the wonderful blues and jazz weekend in August with a lot of free events in town) and I met Ian at the theatre where he was busy giving out leaflets for the forthcoming concerts in Rye with Rick Wakeman (December 8) and Mica Paris and the London Community Gospel Choir (December 9), Ian Shaw and Claire Martin (December 14) and Tom Chaplin (December 15).
I was unable to get back home because of the ridiculously early train schedule, so we stayed the night and explored the new tower, the British Airways i360. I have to admit that when it was in the process of being built I was very critical of money being used for this. However, I must say it is a most amazing engineering and architectural feat.
The architects David Marks and Julia Barfield also built the London Eye which after some critical acclaim quickly became one of the the most visited paid-for attractions in London. The idea for the i360 was born in 2000 yet the finances took some time to put together but eventually it opened on August 4 2016.
from right – Richard Morley, Chris Jolly and David Banks
It is well worth reading about the financial partnerships and the various European countries who made different technical contributions. Five hundred questionnaires went out to the public and private sector bodies and, with the exception of just seven, all supported the scheme. Further information is available at www.britishairwaysi360.com.
Now for the journey back which had cancellations of course. A train got us to Eastbourne, then a bus to Ore where we were told the expected train was cancelled, so back to Hastings station, no train – but the trustworthy 100 bus got us back home, late but in time to finish the weekend with great music (left) at the Kings Head Inn on Rye Hill – who have several other gigs coming up, the next being Julie Edmonds on December 11.
Photos: Heidi Foster