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Tubular Bells III 22nd May 2010 – Nassau
This album is greatly influenced by Ibiza's energy… I look forward to listening to it with a fresh perspective. Our life then was so different and crazy, just like living in another parallel universe. When I look back to that time of my life, the most important thing that I am thankful for is that I met my husband.
A quiet day at home… Michael had a good work out taking the boys swimming while I spent most of my time studying. Then Jake and I had fun being creative with bubbles. City Market, our local supermarket on the island, is already selling Christmas pudding, so we decided that we should also get a head start. Now, choosing our Xmas card for this year will be easy :-)
 23rd May 2010 – Nassau
The Source of Secrets
What a beautiful day it is, the sky is so blue…
This morning, we took the boys to the playground on Cable Beach. Eugene and Jake ran around like crazy, went down the slide about a hundred times, played with some kids, had an argument, got pushed for half an hour on the swings, let mommy take some pictures of them, and hung on the monkey bars. I'm so glad that I took my camera with me and captured Michael enjoying the sun; he looks so happy and relaxed. It is why we moved here and this picture speaks for itself - we did make the right decision.
It is nearly impossible to stay still while listening to this track… I was dancing in my chair. It starts with a really good thunderstorm and instruments that travel all around my head. The ending with the electric guitar has this "wow" factor; it sounds absolutely magical and passionate.
Sunday dinner, Michael cooked his special roast potatoes. Yummy, yummy and yummy… It was a real treat - we loved it!
24th May 2010 – Nassau
The Watchful Eye
This morning I have been learning about the Punnett Square, and how to determine the phenotype and genotype of two generations of one species of goldfish…. Yeah!
Then, we took the boys to the cinema to see Shrek the Final Chapter, ate lots of Goobers and had a really good time.
I took this picture of Eugene with the 3D glasses from the cinema.
Listening to this track, I can visualize my thoughts flying away like the wind clearing out the sky. It is the perfect tune for meditation and finding our own blue sky.
 25th May 2010 – Nassau
Jewel in the Crown
Today, something wonderful happened… Eugene learned how to click the mouse of his laptop to select the movie he wants to watch on YouTube. Finally! For weeks, he has been driving us crazy with that.
Watching Thomas the Tank Engine's movies is one of his favourite things to do and of course we used to help him select the one he wanted to see. Where it got to be a bit too much is when one of us had to do it every four minutes or less and our baby started to get picky with "This one" or "Not that one". Anyway, it is great news for the Oldfield family :-)
We took Sea Dragon out to give the engines a run and it was the perfect excuse to have a nice swim. This boat is, for us, more than just a wonderful machine; it gives us freedom and allows us to get to some of the most magnificent places of the Caribbean. We call her our mother ship and we love her to bits.
Drums…. yeah! I love it. This is a great track. There is something about drums; maybe they put us in touch with the wild instincts that we repress most of the time.
26th May 2010 – Nassau
Outcast
This track has a sense of humor and the same energy as Caveman. Well, maybe a bit more rock n roll. The guitars are absolutely incredible.
Since Jake started school, he keeps dropping me small clues and hints that he would like Eugene to go to school as well. This afternoon when we picked him up, he made sure to take his brother and his father to the toddlers' classroom, saying that it would be perfect for his baby.
Eugene looked absolutely at home with the other kids and was charmed by all the toys but I do feel very uneasy about the idea; he is still so young.
We took the boys to the pet shop, just to have a look! Michael's face lights up every time he sees a macaw and of course Jake wanted a rabbit, a guinea pig, a fish, a bird… well everything :-)
Dehlia's journey to Nassau is confirmed for the 18th of June.
27th May 2010 – Nassau
Serpent Dream
My snake charmer did it again! I bet he could get them to dance flamenco :-)
This morning, school lost its appeal when Jake found out that I was going to Goodfellow's farm. He loves this place because they make delicious chocolate cakes and he can feed the rabbits. I surrendered to "Please mommy, please" and took my boys out for lunch.
On our way back, we picked up the food that I ordered for Dehlia. We had so many bags in the back of our pickup truck! My friend told Jake to keep a look out behind us, in case the horses that pull the tourists all around town smelt all the nice food and chased our car. He found the idea really amusing and, as we drove home, he did just that, saying "We're good, no horses behind, the food is safe".
Since we came back from St Thomas, I have had a really hard time with focusing and getting on with my biology course. Sometimes, I just want to give up. I feel like a juggler doing too many things at once; I should either grow an extra pair of arms or give something up. Just the idea of quitting breaks my heart but I do get stressed knowing that I don't have much time to finish it. I don't know…
The idea of getting a macaw is growing on me at a speed that is similar to Michael's fingers playing this flamenco guitar. The boys would be delighted to have a bird and it would make Michael very happy.
Training them involves similar techniques to the ones that I have learned during my internship working with dolphins and it would be so interesting to use them again to teach our bird to fly freely on cue. Like in Grand Bahama, when we would take the dolphins out to the open sea so they can exercise and not always be confined to their pens. It is something that fascinates me, and it would be the perfect opportunity to work towards achieving this level of training with an exotic animal.
To have a bird as a pet and still give it some freedom to behave as it would in the wild must be something very special. In short… we are all very excited about this new family member.
We found a new Thai restaurant; chicken satay was on the menu tonight :-) Yeah!
28th May 2010 – Nassau
The Inner Child
We ordered our macaw, a 6 week old blue and gold female that we are going to name Squawk. It will take about 10 days for our new little friend to arrive on the island; one more thing to wait for :-)
Pretty Squawk (picture sent by the seller)
Jake and I had fun this afternoon using a cardboard box and lots of paint to create some nice features for Squawk's new house; her cage will have a nice rainbow as background and a picture of an alien with three heads - yes, Jake got really creative!
I personally envy the people who cannot relate to this track. I hope one day the boys will listen to it and tell us "We can't get it". For me, this track is very sad… It is very similar to The Gate from Light and Shade, but the emotions it evokes are different. It is one thing to be reminded of others' suffering but it brings a completely new range of emotions when it is your own pain and experiences.
Today, Jake was very proud to say to the lady who came about our parrot, that his mommy can train sharks. It was so sweet to look at my baby talking like that about me. And he also said that I was crazy because I touched some sharks :-)
The truth behind that is our trip to the Exumas, when Jake and I spent every day playing with the nurse sharks. We did manage to teach one to target and make a figure of eight before getting some food. When we tapped the water, they would come for a scratch but I was too "chicken" to swim with them; I am crazy within reason.
It was a great time and it is the foundation of my study, to someday work with nurse sharks or dolphins… For Jake and Eugene, I need to find this extra something in me that will get me to finish this course.
29th May 2010 – Nassau
Man in the Rain
 We took the little dinghy to "mommy and daddy's hideaway", our secret little beach where we like to go for a swim. It is so pretty and empty with only the ruins of a wooden house. In the water, there are thousands and thousands of these tiny fishes and a huge trumpet fish that always scares me to death when snorkeling.
While Michael is quiet adventurous by swimming in deep water and having what I might call some nice close encounters with barracudas, I prefer to stay where I can stand and see my feet. It is very common here to be swimming happily in the clear blue water, see a black patch, and, in a fraction of a second, ask yourself "Is it a rock?", "Is it coral?", "No it's moving! What is it?" It is then that you wish you had never seen "Jaws".
The theory is to remain calm if you see a shark, but I know for a fact that it doesn't quite happen that way in my reality. About seven years ago, in Barbados while snorkeling and following a beautiful turtle, I saw a shark. Well… Michael says that it was not a shark and I maintain that it was.
 Anyway, one thing that we both agree on is that it was a big fish and I completely lost it. I was screaming "Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike…" like a seagull in peril, in a complete panic until my hero got me back on the beach and calmed me down. Swimming in the Caribbean is an experience of its own.
We also took the boys to the pool and gave a swimming lesson to our crazy baby. This boy has no fear for water; he honestly believes that he can swim, but he can't! He gives me heart attacks and also makes us laugh; I will celebrate the day he learns how to do it properly. From that day on, my stress level will be reduced by 50% - well, on the other hand, I am sure that he will think of something else to get me worried :-)
This track is Moonlight Shadow all over; it was very strange listening to it! I believe that it is a good example of my husband being a business man, and I have to be thankful that he is really good at it, otherwise we would not be living this privileged life that we have. It takes talent, discipline and intelligence to have a successful career for as long as Michael's; and to keep your money in the process must be even harder. Somehow, it is something that we will have to teach our children. I want them to have, like their father, self-respect by earning money and supporting their family with the product of their work. I want them to know the meaning of words like dignity and honor.
 30th May 2010 – Nassau
The Top of the Morning
The sun rising this morning… So pretty…
"Beautiful" and "happy" are the words for this track and our day. We took the boys out on banana boat for a trip to Rose Island. To go to this magical island is really incredible, what an amazing place where we live. I wonder how the boys' childhood and living here will influence their lives… Will they travel a lot? Will Jake be a fisherman, like he says he will? Will they live on an island? Will they always keep their "free spirit"?
That's it! From July, I will be teaching horse riding to the small children. I am so thrilled about it. I needed that badly; how wonderful it is to feel useful and contribute to the community by doing something that I love… really good news.
Now all I can think about is my biology course; like a gray cloud in my perfect blue sky. I hope to find the answer to that one!
 31st May 2010 – Nassau
Moonwatch
We are waiting, and waiting and waiting…. to move to our new home in august, for Dehlia to arrive in 19 days and for Squawk who is supposed to arrive on the island in a week. Today feels like being in transit waiting to catch our next plane.
Jake is sick with a fever and a bad cold. I honestly don't know where he got that because it is 30 degrees outside! Could it be school? Maybe.
Michael decided that the family needed some cheering up and took us to the pet shop to get Squawk's cage. That was a brilliant idea! We were so happy to choose a nice house for our bird and lots of toys for her to play with - the 'buy a fix-it' worked a charm, everybody had a smile on their face for the remainder of the day :-)
This track is lovely… It is calming and soothing. I should play it to Squawk if she starts making too much noise when she is left alone at home. Michael had a laugh when I mentioned the idea of our bird listening to his music and said "I hope she won't start to whistle Tubular Bells" Can you imagine… it would be so sweet!
1st June 2010 – Nassau
Secrets
The one thing that I really like about this track is the elegant sound of the guitar. I am sure that the whole of Ibiza danced to this track :-)
Jake is still home, and coughing. Eugene is getting better at his swimming. Michael is working in the studio. And I got an 18 week extension for my biology course, a real boost to get me back on track.
2nd June 2010 – Nassau
Far Above the Clouds
Wow!!! This track playing live must be absolutely amazing.
 When the little girl says the words "Tubular Bells"… And the music it is just fantastic. My hair stood on end and my heart started beating faster… wow and wow.
And the guitar… oh, I wish I had seen Michael playing this track on stage. I could not help but go on YouTube and watch the video for this track from the concert at Horseguards Parade. Michael's heart and soul were playing that guitar… He really went for it.
Nobody wants the good things to end; but they do end. If they don't, they will stop being so special. I honestly don't want my husband to go on tour anymore… But if he decides to do so, I will support him two hundred percent - I love him and I want him to be the happiest man in the world. He doesn't feel like playing live anymore and going through hundreds of interviews, he's done it and was fantastic at it! Maybe one day…
In the meantime, I like to believe that he is happy and enjoying life :-)
Copyright © Fanny Oldfield 2010 |
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Join Fanny Oldfield on a journey through her husband's music, set against the backdrop of their life in the Caribbean.
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| Music Of The Spheres |
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| Light + Shade |
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| Tubular Bells 2003 |
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| Tres Lunas |
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| The Millennium Bell |
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| Guitars |
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| Tubular Bells III |
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| Voyager |
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