Today we had breakfast and Hans made our children very happy with a ukulele each and me with a Mini sopranino!! And I gave the children nose flutes, which came in very handy when we went into Augsburg we couldn’t get lose each other this way! Augsburg is a beautiful town, and just like ‘s-Hertogenbosch it has water running through it the Lech.It flows a lot faster and is much less deep ánd colder!
We wandered around and when we got back to the house Hans rode in front of us on his motorbike through some lovely flat countryside with different kinds of wheats and Grains, lovely. a short drive and we arrived at Barble's house. I find everybody here is very friendly, they liked our show, we played with our carpet on their carpet! we had a funny improvisation inspired by Hans and his motorbike!
The dog Balou watched ever so calmly, and our children watched a movie upstairs!
Barble plays ukulele herself also and has a very nice collection!!!
Here a picture of the first performance of the uku nose boys: very funny! ofcourse one can't play noseflute when laughing!!!and here's our audience
Thanks for having us, even if your windows are so clean that our little Ea runs into them, we enjoyed staying here! Jyoti
Today we woke up next to the motorway! (the Autobahn) smelly and loud. We had a long way to go so that’s what we did! We drove! Well Vincent that is, the rest us us hung around making postcards drawing playing reading maps and/or books!
At 4 we arrived at Hans dudels house: a lovely crazy ukulelebuilder who has his house filled with crazy instruments!!
We sat around talking while the boys had a great time playing with all the swords that hung around the house!
We were supposed to play at seven but nobody but Hans and his son Gunther was there yet so we waited a bit, We are in Bayern so Hans provided a table full with beer, on stage….. When I arrived with the carpet one of the neighbours was still fighting with the small barrel…. I waited, it was very funny!
Some pictures:
They sang us some beautiful ununderstandible Bayernsongs! (after some of those beers!
And it has started raining now after everyone went home!
Yesterday, we slept near the Rhine near Worms about 60km from Darmstadt. When we woke up It was beautiful weather and the children played with sticks and stones in the water while we made coffee. We visited Worms, a beautiful Old town with a big church. The road was fairly flat so we could drive quite quickly (to our standards).
When we arrived in Darmstadt we had a few hours to hang around in a playground.
Catharina had cooked us a very nice dinner, vegetable quiches and lovely salads, not bad for somebody that says she hasn’t much experience with Vegetarian cooking.
Seraphina and Ea were best pals from the first minute and they were giggling and cuddling all the time, (when we left Seraphina cried for nearly an hour!).
Mieke a very good friend had contacted Giga another friend but then one who I hadn’t seen in nearly 20 years! In Darmstadt, he really wanted us to come but… he was on holiday when we passed that way… so he arranged for us to play in his house for neighbours: Catharina & Kalle Seraphina and a lot of friends!! The show went really well we all enjoyed it!. It doesn’t cease to amaze me that one can feel so at home in somebodyelses home with people you haven’t met before!
It was very warm and welcoming, and after our show they sang for us! Such beautiful voices!
Thanks everybody it was wonderful!
We left at about 00.00 and drove for 60km because there was so many to go!
After a long long day of slowly, very slowly moving forward! in our big bus! (That I haven't been allowed to drive!) We finally arrived in Trier at the time that we should have been 'on stage'. We started an hour later, and oh such a different publikum! Everybody was enchanted, The Germans, at least these, clap a lot! that was very nice. It's so much fun to look at similarities and differences!
Here some Pictures:
And our photographer only took our hosts: And the Camper:
We slept really well, and were taken care of superbly! What an adventure!! Jyoti
We are on the road!! and it is raining! altough we didn't sleep much, we are in good spirits. This is such an adventure!!Just had our first break, Roelof phoned just as we were leaving 's-Hertogenbosch, and Odette at our first stop, they might be coming to see us in Trier
with their son Tomas! Tuesday night was the end of school musical of Dries and his class, Big school for him next year, It was all quite exhilerating for him and us!
Suddenly..... Wednesday!Thé wednesday arrived, the 22nd of july, the day we had been looking forward too for all those months of preparations!
It looked as if it was going to rain andeverywhere people asked us what we would do if it was raining for our neighbourhood party! I just answered I won't!
And it didn't!! well not untill we had to start cleaning! in the dark....
I found a magic computer man who magiced my computer back to life! Thanks Perry!!! He brought it back just in time,I'd put on it was deleted, but I had it back!
We ran around like crazy getting all the last things, and I had a fit of panic just before people started arriving, poor people I live with (sorry ...).
I hope I can mellow a bit now we are on the road!
so many things to be done, Packing etc, I even managed to bake a savoury pie. And then there was that night! People came from the neighbourhood, but also some very good friends from Brussels! At one point I stood there in front of all of those people as Gertude and the realisation that this was really going to happen that in fact it was allready happening swept through my being. Looking all these neighbours and friends. The show went really well! and it stayed dry! All the neighbours were very happy that we'd organised someting like this!
So here's the pictures!:
It's getting frightfully near! 3 more nights and we will be on our way!! How exiting! We went to get the bus/camper! and it is very very big! and beautiful, I haven't driven it yet but I would really like to! we will see. I bought a small laptop to do the blog and things but it crashed (help) one more thing to do!
And we played fridaynight at Kris and Jan, Bart and Koos's house. In the garden with stairs as a backdrop and washing lines to play with. We got eaten alive by the mosquitoes, which was funny!
Our photographer Dries forgot to take a picture of the audience so ....
here comes:
It was a lovely night, we went with the camper to test....;)
And then we play one more time !!! wednesday in the parkinglot accross the street hopefully it will be dry!!! Jyoti
Sunday we took a lovely boatride (google translate calls it a cruise but it's a tiny boat and it doesn't sound right) on our very own dieze, a canal that goes inbetween and under the houses here in 's-Hertogenbosch My mother had invited all of us (my brothers and sisters) before we all take off on holiday, it was very nice although it rained a little.
And after that we went to Brussels to inaugurate a space called "the empty space" In the backyard of a house of friends of ours. Which they'd just fixed the roof and a put in new floor. We felt honored to be the first ones to play... the space is meant to create/rehearse in. Thanks Kevin & Rachel!! and thanks Lea (their daughter) for the wonderful soup!
We played a nice little show including a dancing hippy!! we were planned to start at 19.00 but at 10 to there were only two guests!!!! So we were delighted to play for about 25 people. an hour later.
Kevin who is a clown/performer introduced us with a little show in itself. which we didn't see because we were hiding behind a screen. It sounded good though! Kevin our Host!
And then our Audience:
And we ended our evening with a lovely jam!
It is really starting to get real now, thursday we can go and collect the bus, pack it and get it ready for travel!!
We've got some more dates on the road! that first week will be very busy! that'll get us into the right frame of mind, And our children also...
Saturday we played at a neighbourhoodparty not far from here so we got our Carpet costumes instruments and suitcase loaded it all on our bikes and cycled there!
There were a lot of kids, but they, their parents and other neighbours enjoyed themselves so we're happy!
I've added a Video Here! check it out!
We had a very Busy weekend, Saturday we Played at a surprise party, for a friend who celebrated her 60th Birthday, well she wasn’t going to If Patrick and company didn’t organize this!!
We we’re hiding in a shed(we do have a knack for unlikely changing places!)
And everybody else was hiding behind a corner, she got delayed, trains… and we thought we had lots of time when suddenly somebody shouted 3 minutes before she arrives! We’ve never changed soooo quickly!
It was great, It can be quite a task to play for friends but they loved it!
(check facebook for more pictures Jyoti Vennix) and also Here Jyoti
The next Morning! at Ten !!! we played in a restaurant in Merksem Antwerp,for another Birthday, 60 plus Married 40 years!
The place we changed was extraordinary again, through the kitchen up a little ladder under the roof!
We never played in such a small area, but It was good! Thanks Stef!
two pics not very clear but it's all I have right now
In the Evening we played at Pien And Bruno's house, a beautiful house with lovely tiles for quite a few people And again we had a good time altough we started to feel the fatigue of the weekend, Thanks Bruno and Pien and ofcourse Max,Clara Adriaan & Seb for filming, photos, playing with Ea and general Enthiousiasm! (I hope I spelled that right!!)
And there was an Answer on one of my Postcard it's beautiful!! Card 11 go and have a look!
want to receive a card? send me your address! postcard@vonck-vlam.eu Jyoti
We have news from the Mystery Girl! over in the Guestbook! I'm glad she did enjoy it!
Yesterday we played in a little park, which was far to big to my liking but we did our thing and the kids ran wild. Thank you Sabine for asking us over! I'll add some pictures videostills most of them:
In a heatwaved Amsterdam we played, and we must have sweated several liters!!! especially Vincent in his wollen suit! It was funny we took the train, parking in Amsterdam being next to impossible!
When we hit Central station the tourists nearly drowned us, so many and so oblivious of other people!! Is it only in Amsterdam with all the coffeeshops? or are all of us like that when elsewhere? Hope not....
we couldn't figure out what bus or tram to take so we walked with the heavy carpet and suitcase...
Luckily the space that Nele found us was sort of cool, and slowly our Audience started to arrive. and we got ourselves ready:
We met some lovely people again, thank you Nele!!! The funniest was I started the show and the doorbell rang, so I went, Gertrude went to open the door, and showed the girl a seat, but she left as soon as we finished.. nobody knew her... She was our mystery guest... (If you read this, hope you enjoyed the show.....)she's not on the pictures, there were some more people in the middle we met some people who have a site called spotted by locals ( www.spottedbylocals.com ) go check it out there were some people from couchsurfing.org also! great have you not heard of that organisation? check it out!It really is great, the world is filled with friends we haven't met yet!
Oh yes other great news: we have a camper!!!! we rent it for 7 weeks! here she is: Yippy yay!!! Istanbul here we come!! Still looking for some spots though: Trier or Koln! Rumania Bulgary and we'd love to play in old Istanbul!! so please wreck your brains!!! Thanks,Jyoti
We had two dates on one day, one for a Lady who celebrated her 86th birthday!! In the house her father built that she has lived in since she was 8! so nearly 80 years! It was amazing to play for an audience where the songs and the audience were the same age!!!
The Livingroom suited us very well, apart from the heat!!! It really was too hot!
Very different yet again, fun. Ea (our daughter of 5) got along very well with the old ladies! We tried some new things... some may stay others maybe not.... Some pictures:
After playing we had some lovely cake, they do know how to make them in Belgiummmmm! Then we raced back to 's-Hertogenbosch for the opening of the very first Kunstnacht.(Art night,) We played at the door is was fun & short, we just did songs! no pictures but somebody did film, so maybe later.... handed out a lot of cards..
Hopefully a few more dates come out of that! Our hat still needs filling!!!! We still have a lot of possible dates contact us !!!! we only leave the 23rd of July!!! jyoti@vonck-vlam.eu Jyoti
Yesterday we played 3 songs at an openstage here in 's-Hertogenbosch which was a lot of fun, it went down very well. I don't have any pictures though.
There were very different things, Music, Dance, performance, things that had been put together in a day. the turn out was nice too! there were about 60 people plus a bunch of kids from the neighbourhood. Jyoti
This evening was actually a miracle that it all worked out! Ana send me an Email last wednesday asking me if we could come and play monday I answered immediately but my email never arrived... I managed to figure out how she got to know about us and who might have her phone number, so I could phone her Yesterday afternoon!!! and get address and time sorted. It was our first time in a flat. We had a great time, she wrote I don't live on your route but we are from Portugal so it's a bit foreign anyway. and it was (Portugese, Turkish, British, and Dutch people there). And then when we got there she told us it was her birthday!!
There were only 6 people but there was Kelly, the dog! She was disturbed by us! She wasn't actually barking, it sounded more like she had a cough,hahahaha I was happy that she was taken somewhere else during the first song!
I really think it magic being in somebody elses living room, playing for people you've never met!
And then she'd cooked us and her friends a beautiful tasty vegetarian dinner mmmmmmmmm
some pics: Jyoti
Sunday In the Garden of Yves & Cecile in Brussels They ‘d invited to many people to fit in the Living! And even in the garden they were spread over two gardens We were very lucky with the weather and it was very nice under the apricot tree! I sat on the swing at some point! Thanks again Yves Cecile for having us! Jyoti
Busy weekend! Again! Munster on Saturday on a stage in the rain so the people were very far away but they enjoyed it very much, or so they said! It’s so different every time, This time the audience was too far away, I prefer them to be closer! Jyoti
It was wonderful! very exiting to play at somebodies house, where you know nobody!! but it went well. we had very little space, which made it very exiting, and the Flemish people are a very quiet people, so sometimes It made me a little insecure.... But they did like it! and it just makes me very curious about all the different countries we will go through, how will people react?
some pictures:
Thanks Niomi for having us!
And of we go to Germany where we will play tonight!
Yesterday we played at a Conference for people that work in Prisons in Amersfoort, Very different than our usual scene but a lot of fun! I didn't get any pictures so I'll add one of the airing of our costumes today!And I went to bed at 21.00! I needed it! Tonight we are playing in Antwerp at a friend of Nele's House, Thanks Nele for spreading the news!! Jyoti
Tonight Gerard and Gertrude were invited to present the music evening at School, and I don't like to use the word cute but in special cases... Tonight was definitely a case of Cute! Lots of Fun Again! Thanks to Annemie my, and the children's singing Teacher (the whole school) some of our audience! but all the kids had a go at some point. It says a wrong date! It's Dries his new Camera! he hasn't quite figured it out
And tomorrow we play in Amersfoort! Today I got another date near Pecs in Hongary! now we have 10 dates!
fantastic!!! And a reply from the Mayor or the person in charge of Trier! So that's also happening, Must go to sleep now, the Flyer I'm working on is taking more energy and time than planned.
and here's our audience
And the Camper:
It was a lovely night, we went with the camper to test....;) 
Kevin our Host!
Yippy yay!!! Istanbul here we come!! Still looking for some spots though: Trier or Koln! Rumania Bulgary and we'd love to play in old Istanbul!! so please wreck your brains!!!
