Our Italy Diaries.....

 

Spirit of the Planet 2007

Click here to see photos from our Italy experience.

Once again we returned to the Lazaretto in Bergamo, Italy for the Spirit of the Planet Cultural Festival. This year we stayed in Villa Sant Antonio in Lonno, near Nembro. As usual we were well travelled, met many lovely people and learned a lot about other cultures. This year we performed along side Aztecs from Mexico, Apache Indians from the USA, Massai from Kenya, Bolivians, Mongolians and people from the Congo. What follows is a diary of our fortnight at the festival.

 

 

Thursday 31st May 2007

           We got up at 4.45am as we were getting picked up by Gianni at 6am to travel to Pisa, which was a four hour drive.

           We arrived at about 11am and went straight to Miracle Square to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Torre Pecante as it is known locally. We wandered around the market square for a while and took the typical tourist pictures, the ones where you take the photo so it looks like you are holding up the tower!!

           That afternoon we visited a local school where we gave a talk about Scottish culture, Charlie gave a bagpipe demonstration, and then we performed the Sword Dance. After that we taught them how to do pas-de-basques as Charlie played a tune. Next the children had the chance to ask us questions. We were asked things such as Do you eat dogs? and If you keep your swords in one bag does that mean you live together? – Lets hope there was a language barrier!! Either that or they teach them some strange stuff about Scotland!!

           At night we had our first show. Due to the bad weather they had been having the venue was changed and was much smaller than it would have been originally. It was a really nice place, very relaxed, with candles and cushions on the floor. The show was done without Kev, one of the drummers, as he had taken ill the night before. Thankfully the show went really well, the first show is always a worry as it sets the standard for the rest of the fortnight!!!

           That night we stayed in a hotel just round the corner from where we had performed.

 

 

Friday 1st June 2007

            We left Pisa at 8.30am. On our way home we drove through a huge thunder storm. The rain was torrential and it was difficult to see the car in front. It was a very frightening experience.

            Finally we arrived back at our hotel and had an hour to get a shower, change and get new outfits before we all piled back on the bus and were driven the two and a half hours to Cantalupo.

            Unfortunately the rain was so bad that the venue had to be moved to a sports hall. This venue was also unsuitable as there was too much of an echo, so the show was postponed until the 5th of June.

 

 

Saturday 2nd June 2007

            This was officially our day off!! We went into Bergamo centre with Saor Patrol and Stockbridge Pipe Band to promote the festival. The guys played and we handed out festival fliers, with the help of one of our Italian friends, Yuri, who was looking very fetching with his kilt over his jeans!!

            Next we went on to a huge shopping centre where once again the guys performed and we handed out fliers to the shoppers.  

            That night was Stockbridge Pipe band’s big show in the Lazaretto and once again the weather forced them to perform inside.

 

 

Sunday 3rd June 2007

            It was our big day today!! At 4pm in the Lazaretto we took a Highland Dancing workshop where we had the audience up dancing with us. We taught them a few of the steps that they would be seeing later on in the show, such as the first step of the Hard Shoe dance, the Highland Fling and Flora MacDonalds Fancy. We also spoke a bit about the history of the dances. We finished off the workshop with a huge Strip the Willow.

            That night at 9.15pm it was our Big Show in the Lazaretto. Before we performed, Stockbridge Pipe Band had a five minute slot. Just as we stepped onto the main stage the rain started. We managed the first number and then had to move inside. Basically we had to grab everything and run so by the time we got to the undercover stage all our costumes and props were mixed up! The rest of the show was a bit disorganised. We also had nowhere to change so Ivano (the organiser) and some of the guys from the Aztec group held huge umbrellas round us to let us change in privacy!!

            We finished the show with a dance we named the Flag Dance which is danced to the tune T.O.F.T. We dance with Scotland flags and then right on the last beat of the music we dropped them and lifted the Italian flag which was hidden among the drums. The cheer this got was amazing!!

            Afterwards we got a taste of the rock star lifestyle as everyone wanted their picture taken with us and we were signing autographs and CD’s – its a hard life!!

 

 

Monday 4th June 2007

            Today started off roasting, finally!! We had lunch in the Lazaretto and afterwards we played rugby (or a version of it) with the Aztecs but the game was cut short by….yep you guessed it….the rain!! We took shelter in the Mongolians tent and were stuck there for the next three hours!

            At 5.30pm we left to go to a place called Filago. We were performing in a gazebo set up in public gardens. The stage had a polythene/plastic covering over it and also had gaps underneath the stage where the boards had not been joined together properly. There were three steps down from the stage that lead onto a raised semi-circle of concrete. For the Hard Shoe dance we danced on the concrete as it made a better sound. Then it all went wrong….       

            As we were dancing to Black Bull, Arlene slipped on the plastic covering, her foot went down a gap in the stage and she went right over on her ankle, causing serious damage to the ligaments in her foot. She was then taken to the hospital in Bergamo, where she was told she was not to dance for three weeks. We all went home feeling deflated.

 

 

Tuesday 5th June 2007

            The day started off nice and we managed to get some sunbathing done at the Lazaretto!! Round about 3pm we got on the bus and went for dinner at Sergios house. Sergio is one of the guys who is very involved in the festival and also has a stall there. There we relaxed and watched the film Apocolypto. For dinner we had prawns and black rice. We later discovered that the rice had been dyed black by octopus ink!! We would thoroughly recommend it though, it was lovely!!

            That night we returned to Cantalupo to do the gig that had been cancelled on the 1st June. It was the first show without Arlene and was done during yet another thunder storm!!

 

 

Wednesday 6th June 2007

            Once again we had lunch in the Lazaretto then went for a walk (or in Arlene’s case, a hobble) to the local internet café to phone home and check our emails. On our way back to the Lazaretto we got caught in (guess what?) a thunder storm so we went into the nearest café and had our usual latte macchiato – we become addicted to these when we are in Italy!

            We arrived back at the Lazaretto eventually, soaked by the rain! We took shelter in the Aztec’s tent, where Chick and Roberto (one of the Aztecs) decided to swap clothes!! There were a lot of photos taken but these are not for the faint-hearted!!

            That night we had a show in Palazollo and once again the venue had to be moved due to the bad weather, so we ended up in another sports hall. Arlene sat in the audience and took photos all night while Jayne was dancing. After the show we headed back to the Lazaretto for a kebab!! We were back in time to catch the tail end of the Aztec’s big show.

 

 

Thursday 7th June 2007

            For the first time we were allowed a long lie today!! Although we awoke to more rain!! We went to the Lazaretto and watched the Apache group rehearse for their big show. We decided that our show was not flowing the way we wanted it to so we re-wrote the set list and created a story out of the music and dances.

            That night we had a show in a place called Dalmine. We went with our translator, Romana. The show took place in a youth centre which was run by the local church. This was our first show that followed the new set list so we were all a bit nervous as to how it would go, but it was fantastic!! Everyone really enjoyed it.

            We managed to get back in time to see the last 15 minutes of the Apache show which was amazing. They can do things with hula-hoops (not the crisps!) that you would not believe!!

 

 

Friday 8th June 2007

            Yet another day which began at the Lazaretto!! Round about 3pm we went back to meet Sergio, Pacy and Alessio and they took us to a place called Silver Ranch where Alessio goes horse riding. We were told that it was tradition to shoot a (fake) deer with an arrow before you could eat, so out came the bow and arrow!! People were cowering with fear as arrows went flying in all directions!! I wasn’t aiming at that deer, I was aiming at the one behind it - could be heard for miles….!! After the massacre of the surrounding trees, we went inside for dinner. For dessert we had Pacys homemade Tiramisu which had been made on a very large scale as it was Sergios 50th birthday!!

            Later that night we had a gig at a place called Venegono. It was outside in a park, but the stage was made of concrete and was terrible to dance on. All in all it was yet another successful show. The guys were shown up by a twelve year old boy who asked to play drums with them for the last song – he drummed Saor Patrol out the park!!

 

 

Saturday 9th June 2007

            Today was one of those rare days when almost all acts are in the Lazaretto together, so after lunch the Scots, Apache, Mongolians, Aztecs and Bolivians got together and had a jam, it was amazing to hear everybody playing their traditional music and for it all to come together. We taught Violet, the girl from the Apache group some hornpipe steps and she taught us how to Fancy Dance.

            At night we travelled to a place called Omegna, Giardini della Torta in Cielo. It was up the mountains, about the equivalent of three quarters of the way up Scotlands highest mountain, and took two and a half hours to get there. The gig was in a field next to a sort of rangers station. The grass was a total nightmare to dance on as it was uneven but Jayne managed (Arlene was still affectionately being called Peg-Leg at this point) and even had the local kids up dancing!! It was our last individual gig and we enjoyed every minute of it, despite being eaten alive by mosquitoes!!

            Afterwards, after sampling the local home-made alcohol (well it was only polite), we began the drive home only to find that the motorway, or autostrade, was closed. It was four hours before we arrived back in Lonno, desperate for our beds!!

 

 

Sunday 10th June 2007

            Our last day at Spirit of the Planet. We went to the Lazaretto already wearing our outfits that we would be wearing for the final show later that night. During the day we had a meeting about the final show and it was decided that the groups would come to the main stage from separate designated areas. Our area was the Celtic Village. We spent the rest of the day buying presents, drinking coffee (those latte macchiatos again!) and relaxing on the grass.

            The idea behind the final show is for each act to have their own 10 minutes to perform and then once everyone has done this all the acts go on stage together, play music, sing and dance. It symbolises the Spirit of the Planet and underlines what the festival is all about.

            About twenty minutes before the final show was due to start the heavens opened and our old friend the thunder storm made his appearance!! The rain was so bad that by the time we had ran from one corner of the park to the undercover stage we were soaked to the skin. Undeterred by this we simply wrung out our skirts, scraped our hair back, shook the water out of our highland pumps and got on the stage!! Three of our Cree friends from the 2006 show came to see us and it was brilliant to see them again.
         
            The final show was great fun and went really well, despite one of the Aztecs losing her balance and nearly splitting her head open on the drums, and the drum of one of the Congo guys going flying across the stage!! Everyone danced together, Arlene tried hoop dancing with the Apache boys, Jayne tried Fancy Dancing with Violet and danced with a Massai. The party continued well into the wee small hours… 

 

 

So here ends our 2007 trip to Spirit of the Planet in Italy. The next day, after a six hour delay due to another (yes, another!!) thunder storm, we headed for home, exhausted, without suntans but with plenty of stories to tell and many new friends.

 

Click here to see photos from our Italy experience.