MR2 Kickstarter Project (And no, it’s not a Toyota!)

Some of you may be aware that before this colonial life I sang in a band.

Since my departure in 2011 Morpheus Rising have released an album, Let The Sleeper Awake, performed at the Cambridge Rock Festival, undertaken a second UK headline tour and, more recently, supported Panic Room on their 2013 SKIN tour and signed with an American Independent Label. Oh, and they’ve snagged Nigel Durham (ex Saxon/Oliver Dawson Saxon) as their new drummer.

You can hear (and buy) the debut album here:

The lads are now working on the, as yet untitled, follow up to Let The Sleeper Awake. They’ve written some of the material and are now beginning the process of recording, mixing and producing the album with a forecast release of December this year. They’re also planning the tour to support the album.

For those of you involved in the music industry in any way, shape or form I need go no further by way of explanation.

For those of you who aren’t, the process of recording an album and preparing for its release is inordinately expensive (even considering what is achievable in a home/project studio these days). Certain aspects need to be recorded in a ‘proper’ studio, costing 10s to 100s of pounds per hour, then it needs to be mixed and mastered, the CDs have to be manufactured, also costing hundreds, promotion has to be arranged, you don’t want to know how much that costs, and then there’s the touring… Think fuel, food, accommodation, venues, equipment, drinks, and then double your estimate.

Gone are the days of bulging record label wallets opening up for advances and so bands now need to fund this process themselves. This is where sites like Kickstarter come in.

Kickstarter allows artists, designers, developers etc to let people know what they’re planning and to ask them to stump up some cash in advance of receiving the final product. Yes, it requires a little faith, but it also offers special incentives.

This is where Morpheus Rising are just now. They’ve started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to allow them to complete their new album.

After just seven days of the project’s 30 day target they have raised over 75% of their goal! This is where it gets tougher… All the friends, family and current fans have seen the adverts about the project, now it’s time to spread the word. I really hope the band reach their goal and release a great follow up to their debut.

You can help make that happen.

Visit their Kickstarter page and pledge your support.

Related articles

• Former SAXON Drummer NIGEL DURHAM Joins MORPHEUS RISING (blabbermouth.net)

I’m enjoying the ‘Feast’. So should you.

The new album from Fish.

On the 25th of September 2013 the deluxe editions of A Feast of Consequences, the new album from Fish should start be posted out… The standard CD and download are available now. The deluxe editions should have been shipped by now, but a disastrous experience with the printers has meant that they’re delayed.

By way of appeasement Fish decided to send out a download code for a 24 bit FLAC version of the album to everyone who pre-ordered the deluxe version. This placed me in a bit of a quandary… I’d purposely avoided all the soundbites and videos about the album to keep the surprise on first listen intact until I had my grubby paws on the 100 page book full of Mark and Julie Wilkinson’s artwork, the CD and bonus DVD. One of the things that made me plump for the deluxe version was the enhanced ‘book’ in which the CD would be ensconced. I’ve been in thrall of Mark Wilkinson’s art since the first time I saw a piece of it as cover artwork on a 12 inch single way, way back. The indecision lasted all of about 5 minutes, and two or three other fans’ posts on Facebook.

I downloaded the FLACs over the painfully slow 3G dongle link here in Kenya and started to play it at about 23:30 on the 4th of September. I haven’t stopped playing it since, it’s the only CD I currently have in my Land Cruiser, and it’s on every music playing device I own.

A Feast of Consequences is the first Fish studio album to be released in almost exactly 6 years (13th Star was released on 6th September 2007 I believe?). As with another band’s recent output I’d become somewhat disenchanted with the previous 2-3 releases with both Field of Crows and 13th Star, while having some outstanding tracks, leaving me cold as complete albums (my preferred way to listen to music). I’d read most, if not all, of the blogs and news updates about this new album and, despite myself, was infected by the positive vibe coming from the man himself. Artists often describe their latest offering as the best they’ve ever done, but for Fish to say that this was, in his opinion, the best material he had recorded in this entire career (I hoped) really did mean the bar had been raised.

The album is made up of 11 tracks of which the centre piece is the The High Wood Suite, a 5 track piece inspired by a battle in World War One in which both of Fish’s Grandfathers served. This has caused many to make comparisons with this album and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I couldn’t disagree more. The Wall was a political statement (among other things) woven around the memories of a child’s recollection of the impact that losing his father in World War Two had on his life. The High Wood Suite is a story, a factually based story, centred around a location which saw bitter fighting during the Battle of the Somme. There is, quite simply, no comparison.

The music on the album is far more organic than on the previous one, there’s a rawness which mirrors much of the lyrical content. It seems that much has been learned by Fish during his Fishhead’s acoustic tours about both his voice and the power of ‘less is more’. Don’t get me wrong the album still has balls, and some of the heavier sections of songs are really powerful, but the overall feeling is far more laid back than you would assume. And it’s all the better for it.

I’ll write a review of the album in due course (I need to let it bed in more) but in the meantime I think it’s suffice to say that it’s the best album released by Fish in at least a decade, and possibly longer. It’s worth the entry fee for The High Wood Suite alone, and 5 of the other 6 tracks are on a par with that section’s sheer brilliance.

The album’s track listing is:

Perfume River
All Loved Up
Blind To The Beautiful
A Feast of Consequences
The High Wood Suite
– High Wood
– Crucifix Corner
– The Gathering
– Thistle Alley
– The Leaving
The Other Side of Me
The Great Unravelling

The CD Cover

You can buy the Standard CD or the Download (MP3 or FLAC) now. Or you can pre-order the Deluxe Edition of A Feast of Consequences now and receive a download code immediately. I highly recommend the final option, a work of this stature deserves to be enjoyed as it was intended, accompanied by a work of art to hold, read and enjoy while immersing yourself in some of the best music to be released this year.

Taken for Granted (Not any more)

I was flicking through the channels on the TV…

Something I usually avoid like the plague is awards programmes and those sycophantic documentaries about Royals or stars. Imagine my surprise then, when I plumped for ‘Prince William‘s Passion: New Father, New Hope’ the other night.

I was interested in this for a couple of reasons; firstly he had just announced he was leaving the military to concentrate on his personal interests which I wanted to hear about, and secondly it was about Africa, where I live (albeit with a short time left).

There were several aspects of the programme I liked, not least the fact that William himself seemed so ‘human’. There was more than that, however. I recognised both people and places in the programme having lived here in Kenya for over two years now.

And that’s what struck me the most. I was sitting there, dumbstruck at the views being shown on the screen in front of me without once thinking that I drive through that very countryside every day.

View from Kilaguni Lodge, to the South

Over the last few weeks I have driven from Nairobi North up the Rift Valley and back at least twice a week, coming to rest in the shadow of Mt Kenya. And I haven’t even given it a second glance.

How can you drive along the Southern edge of the Aberdares and not feel you’re somewhere special? Drifting past the banana and maize plantations with Kenyans working away, or through the garishly primary and secondary coloured villages with their breize block equivalents of Western Frontiers towns and villages, balconies draped with laundry over the shopfronts proudly proclaiming the wares inside in handwritten Crown paint signs is an experience in itself, even without considering the backdrop to those usually mundane sights.

Then you head onto the plains up to Ol Pejeta and Laikipia with a landscape and sky so vast you realise, finally, just how small a part of everything you are.

Yes, there was a deeper message to the programme, that of the Tusk Conservation Awards awarded by the Tusk Trust of which Prince William is the Patron. I was humbled by those featured in the programme, and hold those whom I’ve met in a new light. I’d love to have the money to devote my time to a conservation project (and believe me you need it) but I’ve resigned myself to being an onlooker to the fantastic work the likes of Mount Kenya Trust, Ol Pejeta and Lewa Conservancy do. Some of the best experiences I’ve had in Kenya have been those where I was touching distance from one of the ‘Big Five’, especially the rhino and elephant. (Not so much the buffalo, they smell awful!)

Wallking with Rhino in Kenya

When I have guests over and we go on safari, I always self drive. I’m often asked if I get bored? How could I! Every day, even in the same area, it’s different. Four days in the Maasai Mara and you’d see four completely different landscapes and have four completely different experiences… Bored? Never. Complacent? I didn’t think so.

I drove up to Mt Kenya this morning with new eyes. The Sun was rising as I headed North from Nairobi through Thika, past Nyeri and up towards the mountain. The colours seemed fresher, the sunlight brighter and even when the clouds came in they couldn’t diminish my newly re-discovered wonder at this land before me.

I’m going to take my camera with me everywhere I go in these last few weeks of my time here. Especially on my safaris each of the next two weekends… I need to capture some more of these memories before I go.

Oh, and here’s one for HRH ;o)

Related articles

• Kenyan reserve sheltering rare rhinos to launch anti-poaching drone (wired.co.uk)
• Poachers kill rhino in Nairobi National Park (stltoday.com)
• Save Our Elephants! (behinddoublelenses.wordpress.com)

Kenya Airways Flight 117, 5 July 2013 (Part 3)

Are you sitting comfortably? (I would if I was you, this may be a long one!)

OK, it’s been almost a week since my children departed Schipol airport, 60 hours less since they finally landed and 78 hours less since the other 297 (Remember that number) passengers of flight KQ117 finally arrived in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, 66 hours later than planned. Despite having been promised otherwise I have yet to hear from Kenya Airways Customer Relations team. It’s time to name and shame I think?

Those of you who saw my twitter feed during, or read the first two parts of this blog (Pt 1 is here and 2 is here) will already know what happened, or so you think. A quick search of twitter using the hashtag #KQ117 will expose a far worse picture than Kenya Airways would want you to see, and apparently the saga is still ongoing.

From my point of view there were many players in the weekend; the airline, Kenya Airways* (KQ), the booking agent, Hogg Robinson Group (HRG, and the wonderful staff on their 24 Hr Emergency Desk), the ground handling agent, GoldAir**, the British Embassy in Athens (which I mistakenly referred to as a High Commission in my earlier blogs), the Sofitel at Athens Airport and its staff, the support staff at my work and, of course, my children.

* I include KLM and the overarching partnership Sky Team here.
** I’m unsure if GoldAir are part of the Sky Team partnership or merely the handling agent at the airport who ended up responsible for the aircraft once it had carried out its emergency landing.

I’m going to start with the good here…

HRG. In all truth, a corporate version of Thomas Cook or some other travel agent. My children’s flights were booked through HRG with KLM (and KQ operated the second leg of the flight as part of Sky Team). Can you imagine calling Thomas Cook at 0200hrs and asking for their help with the airline they booked your flight on? Remember, I’m not talking about a holiday rep, I’m talking about an office in the UK. I called them at all times of day and night and never once had to wait to be put through, I was never placed on hold and I was always greeted with a cheery voice. The ladies I dealt with over the 48 hour ordeal were quite wonderful, ever helpful, they always called me back when they said they would, were always forthcoming with as much information as they could discern and, I believe, became personally involved in the unfolding drama. Debby, Tracey and Jenny were texting each other and emailing each other even when off duty to see how the ‘two children’ were getting on. It was through HRG that I heard the information that KQ didn’t want the media or, more importantly, their passengers to hear. They all deserve medals!

Sofitel. A luxury hotel less than 50m from Athens airport (apparently?). The staff in this establishment showed themselves to be truly professional, willing to go the extra mile for their guests and, thankfully, willing to act in loco parentis when KQ, who had a duty of care, decided to neglect their obligations. From the Concierge who sought out an Apple charger for my children’s iPhones to the member of staff who arranged for my children’s clothes to be laundered and returned to them within two hours, their conduct was exemplary. And then there was the Duty Manager. No one person put my mind at ease throughout this whole experience more than he. Frequent calls from him to my children, the odd visit and even more calls to me allowed me to relax on the Sunday more than any other player in this saga. Having never set foot in the Sofitel Athens, or to my recollection, any hotel in their chain, I would wholeheartedly recommend considering this hotel as a base for a visit to their capital.

The not so good…

GoldAir. Now, before I get stuck in here, I need to explain… GoldAir don’t usually deal with KQ. In fact I’m not sure if they usually deal with any Sky Team partners. Nevertheless they were the ground handling agents responsible for flight KQ117 during the whole time they were on the ground. Whether intentional or not they misinformed HRG on more than one occasion and made one or more decisions which I don’t believe they should have. As a redeeming factor, their final decision managed to allow my children to arrive home more than 18 hours before the remaining 297 passengers. (Remember that number.)

The British Embassy, Athens. I have no idea what they did, or what they didn’t do in Greece. I do know that the Defence Attaché called back from his own holiday and arranged for something to happen. I also know that his deputy (I don’t know her real title) provided me with her private mobile number should I need further assistance. I also know that someone from the Embassy contacted either the airline or the hotel and that the performance of all involved made my children’s Sunday afternoon in Athens all the more bearable. And that’s all I could ask.

And the bad…

Kenya Airways. Where do I begin? The 49 passengers who only had single entry visas and were abandoned by KQ in the holding room at Athens airport? The faulty landing gear which was never reported? The paperwork required to fly on the Sunday evening which wasn’t submitted? No. I’ll start with what I consider to be their greatest failing. At least 4 children we flying on KQ117 as Unaccompanied Minors (UNMNR) and were, by all accounts, unceremoniously abandoned by the airline which had agreed to carry these children. Two of them had flown from Edinburgh, the other two had flown even further, from Los Angeles!

An airline agrees to be responsible for a child or children travelling as UNMNR from the point of departure where someone (in our case the Grandparent) ‘signs’ the children over to the airline and is meant to remain in the airport until the aircraft departs, and they are then responsible for the child or children, accompanying them at all times, until such time as they arrive at their destination and are ‘signed’ back to the parents (in our case at least). Sky Team (KLM and Kenya Airways) failed in this obligation, and worse, on several occasions:

1. At the point of departure, flying with KLM, the flight was delayed just over 30 minutes. My Father was not informed of this delay and had, in fact, left the airport well before the aircraft actually departed. Not a good start, and it went downhill from there.

2. An hour before the time they were supposed to land in Nairobi the airline contacted me to advise that the flight had been delayed and would land at 22:55hrs instead of 06:35hrs. The fact that, at this time, the airline knew that the aircraft had executed an emergency landing as a result of a fire alarm in the cargo hold and yet didn’t inform me is, to my mind, a matter of gross misinformation at best and negligence at worst.

3. The crew of KQ117 left my children for periods of up to 7.5 hours at a time on several occasions during their stay at the Sofitel (that’s a whole day at school without a teacher) and provided them with no information as to how to contact the crew if something happened. This is wholely unacceptable and can only be described as negligence, or in my terms dereliction of duty.

4. On several occasions the airline advised either HRG or myself that someone would visit my children, and they didn’t, or that my children were somewhere in particular (on the aircraft, in the departure lounge, in the hotel) when they weren’t. That isn’t negligence, it’s deceit. Lying, plain and simple.***

5. With the exception of the phone call on the Saturday morning to say the aircraft wasn’t landing on time, and the Monday morning when they called to advise me the flight would arrive at 08:35hrs, I received only one call from Kenya Airways in the entire 51 hours I was aware of the situation. That call was from a rude, ungracious and completely inept member of their Customer Service team called Grace. For some reason this woman, apparently a mother herself, couldn’t understand why my wife would be concerned that her children were, to all extents, abandoned in a foreign country with no means of contacting those, supposedly responsible, adults charged with their care.

So far I’ve detailed what happened directly related to me. With children travelling as UNMNR I took it personally. There was so much more that went on during the weekend. Here are some more of Kenya Airways deceits:

6. The aircrew left the 49 passengers without visas in the airport with no way of contacting them. I fully understand why they were held, and I understand that the aircrew had to rest before resuming the flight. The fact they went hours without food or water, some were ill and were offered no assistance, it took hours for them to receive blankets to sleep on/with, and so it went on.

7. The aircrew were accommodated in a separate hotel to the guests (except my children) and, other than the time they took my children for a work, saw little or nothing of the other passengers.

8. The aircraft, despite the fire alarm being identified as a fault and then repaired, was deemed unfit to fly due to a fault with the landing gear. This fact, as far as I am aware, was not made clear. (Thank you GoldAir and HRG.)

9. Despite statements to the contrary, Kenya Airways (and/or the KCAA) did not provide the necessary paperwork for the plane to fly on the Sunday as they state. It may have been submitted, but definitely not in time for the departure window the aircraft was allotted that night.

10. 17 people were not flown on the Sunday’s KQ117 to Nairobi as stated by the airline. There were only 7 seats available on that aircraft and only 4 of those were used. By the four UNMNR passengers mentioned earlier. Remember that number? 297? That’s how many people were left to fly on the Monday (unless some passengers paid for their own onward passage to Nairobi, which I don’t know).

And then there’s the arrival. When I collected my children from Gate 9 in JKIA there was not one word of apology. That shouldn’t have surprised me, no-one had apologised throughout the whole weekend. (Except the staff at HRG and Sofitel who had nothing to apologise for). When I asked the member of the aircrew who finally delivered my children to me to see someone from Customer Services he asked me why? He then asked if I would go to their office rather than them come to me. When the young lady did finally deem it necessary to see me she, at first, refused to provide me with a complaints form. She also advised me that under no circumstances would any compensation be paid:

We don’t pay compensation under these circumstances.

And still she refused to provide me with the necessary forms. I’ll admit here to having raised my voice slightly. Eventually she relented and went to the office to get a complaints form. On her return she advised me that there were none in the office and that she’d have to go up to the main office to get some. (Hoping I’d give in and walk away?) Needless to say, I left JKIA with my children in tow and complaints form in hand.

Since all this I’ve heard nothing from Kenya Airways. I’ve still to hear one word of apology.

I have, however, been contacted by Katie from Sky Team who took my email address and advised me that Kenya Airways would be in touch.

They haven’t.

And I’m not surprised.

I am now beginning what will undoubtedly be a long, drawn out, complaints process. And I am a tenacious, patient and determined little bugger at times. (Just ask my Mum!)

*** I may be wrong here. This may only be a result of the compunction to tell you what you want to hear that I mentioned in Part 1, but then again…

Kenya Airways Flight 117, 5 July 2013 (Part 2)

After a few sporadic hours sleep I was up again at 0600 on 7 Jul 2013, wondering what the day would bring.

As it was a 24 hr service I called the HRG Emergency Desk for some reassurance.

HRG advised me that the airline had advised them that they were still awaiting confirmation that the spare part would be leaving Amsterdam today and wouldn’t know anything until later in the day. Bear in mind that my children were advised by the Captain of KQ117 that they’d be advised by 10:00 what would be happening.

I called Kenya Airways Operations (KQO from here on in as I’m getting lazy!) and they basically confirmed what HRG had told me, with their own little twist; they stated that nothing could be confirmed until after 12:05 as that was the time the KLM flight was to leave Amsterdam.

I had spent a few hours planning an alternative for getting my children home and needed to know before 11:00 if things were going to plan. Looked like I was going to have to wait.

08:00 Called the children at the hotel to see if they’d slept well regardless, and to ask if anyone had visited to check on them since the Captain spoke to them last night. Yes, they’d slept well. No, no-one had come to see them.

08:05 I called my support network at work and set the wheels in motion to put the rocket up someone’s arse in the aircrew.

08:10 I called Sofitel Athens and asked the receptionist to put me through to a member of the aircrew. She wouldn’t (and quite rightly so in hindsight). After a short volley of ever more heated retorts from both of us she advised that the only person who could allow this was the Duty Manager.

I asked to be put through and she acquiesced, obviously explaining the situation before patching me through. I cannot put in to words how much the next few minutes set my mind at ease.

Koromidos (I think?) was polite, courteous, professional and empathised with my situation hugely. He promised that he would personally take over supervision of my children and that were to feel free to contact him at any time, he would ensure they were fed and watered, had access to snacks etc .

In the next 25 minutes I had 3 calls from the Sofitel Duty Manager (I can only bring myself to get his name wrong once!) advising me that the children were safe, that he had gone up to see them, that they were on their way to breakfast etc. That’s more contact in 25 minutes from a man who was going out of his way to help than I had heard in 28 hours from KQO who had a legal obligation to keep me informed.

Oh! I forgot to mention that last night’s Concierge had located an Apple charger to allow my children to charge their iPhones. (More Brownie points for Sofitel!)

12:10 I received a call from HRG confirming that the aircraft had indeed taken off carrying the spare part required for the landing gear. There was still no mention of this further fault from KQO.

12:20 I called the children to ask if they’d had the update from the aircrew. No.

12:28 I received a call from my employer advising me that they had contacted the British High Commission in Athens and gave me a contact number should I need it.

12:35 I called my children and told them what I’d found out.

All we could do now was sit and wait…

14:10 I received a call from the Sofitel Duty Manager asking me if it was okay for the aircrew to take my children for a walk… Of course it was.

14:24 My children called to say they’d been bought ice cream by the aircrew and that they were going out for a walk. I sense something has changed, don’t you?

15:40 My children called to say that, while the aircrew had taken them out for a walk, apparently the crew had been mobbed by passengers from the flight who saw them leave the hotel and, for safety reasons, one of them had returned the children to the hotel. Anyone who has been in Africa and has seen a mob, riot, emotionally charged situation, will know just how sensible a decision this was.

At 15:10, having been advised by the hotel and HRG that everything was looking good for tonight I went down to some friends to watch the Wimbledon Men’s Final.

16:35 HRG called to advise that the part had arrived in Athens and that everything was on schedule.

18:30 HRG called to advise that the aircraft had been repaired and was currently undergoing safety checks, however there was a requirement for some additional paperwork to be sent from Kenya (KQO or KCAA, I’m not sure) and this was being worked on. Once this was received all would be good to go. HRG also advised that the children were to be collected from the hotel in a short time and taken directly to the aircraft, where they would be given VIP treatment and had been upgraded to Business Class.

19:40 HRG called to advise that the airline had stated children were on the aircraft, they’d be waiting about an hour, but would be departing on time.

20:30 HRG called again to advise that the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority were still waiting on the necessary paperwork for the flight to depart, but the flight had a departure slot at 22:30 and things should be ok.

21:00 My daughter called to see if I knew what was happening as they were still in the departure lounge. At this point I almost explode, as far as the airline had told my booking agent the children were on the aircraft almost 2 hours ago!

21:10 I call HRG and ask them to find out what they can. They’re as confused as I was and promise to call back in a short while.

21:20 HRG call back advising that the children are indeed in the lounge but the intention is that they will board soon, and the aircraft still has a departure window tonight (somewhere before 00:30), but the necessary paperwork still hasn’t been received.

You’ll notice at this point that I have received no phone calls from KQO all day. I’ve called them once or twice but they seem totally unable to provide any information.

23:40 HRG called to advise that the flight had been cancelled. The necessary clearance had not been received for the aircraft to fly over specific airspace (more on this in my notes later) and therefore it had missed it’s departure window. The handling agent had advised that the children would be returned to the hotel where they would receive a late dinner and then sleep and, after breakfast, be returned to departures to be ready should the aircraft be allowed to depart.

23:54 I called my daughter to advise her what was happening, they hadn’t been told anything. While I was on the phone a member of the aircrew made the announcement to the remaining passengers and I heard all hell break loose. My daughter advised that she had to go as it was getting rowdy in the lounge.

00:31 I called my daughter again to make sure that she was ok. A security guard in the lounge had decided that the lounge was too volatile and moved my children and other Unaccompanied Minors to an office upstairs. They were to wait there and a member of the aircrew would come to escort them to the hotel. Yet again, one of the few good decisions made during the whole mess.

01:02 I called HRG to find out what was going on. They had been told the children were in the hotel.

01:10 HRG called to confirm that the handling agent/airline had confirmed that the children were on their way to the hotel.

01:34 I called my daughter to confirm that they were safely in the hotel and find out what room they were in. They were still in the office above the lounge.

01:36 I called HRG to find out what was happening. They had no further information.

01:47 I called my daughter again who advised that a member of the airline had told them they were trying to get them on an alternative flight.

01:54 I called HRG, who had not been advised of any additional flight at all. This could not be done without contacting either myself or the booking agent. They advised they would call back shortly.

02:07 I called my daughter who advised that she was on a bus on the Tarmac heading to another plane with two other Unaccompanied Minors. I asked her to give the phone to the member of aircrew accompanying her. There wasn’t one. I asked her to tell the driver to stop the bus and put him on the phone. The driver explained that tonight’s KQ117 from Amsterdam had diverted to Athens to collect cargo and that the Captain had stated he had sufficient spare seats to carry the Unaccompanied Minors to their final destination. Seeing light at the end of the tunnel I told him to proceed.

02:10 I called HRG who were completely flabbergasted. They accepted my decision and stated they would confirm what was happening.

02:15 HRG called back to confirm that KQ117 had diverted that night’s aircraft from Amsterdam to collect cargo and the Captain offered to carry the Unaccompanied Minors.

02:34 HRG called back to confirm that the aircraft had departed Athens and that they would be landing in Nairobi between 08:30 and 09:00.

And rest… Until 05:38 later this morning at least.

With the exception of the burst of energy in the middle of the day from the aircrew, KQO had again been totally uncommunicative. I received more calls from the hotel’s duty manager in 25 minutes than I did from the airline in 36 hours.

The reason for this apparent recollection that they had a duty of care to my children became clear once I had spoken to my children this morning. The British High Commission had called the hotel and spoken to the staff and the aircrew. The aircrew apparently misconstrued this interest as indication that my children had diplomatic connections (they don’t by the way) and, on next meeting them after lunch, were bowing to them and shaking their hands and saying how nice it was to meet them ;o)

This bit of light humour and enjoyment for my children was the only good news from KQO for the day. There was a spate of incorrect information, misguidance and even, to my mind, more negligence than there was yesterday. What annoys me even more is the fact that they were willing to make changes to their plans without advising their parents or the booking agent, which I’m fairly sure is a breach of several IATA guidelines and any covenant or charter an airline has with it’s customers?

Having lived in Kenya for some time now this shouldn’t surprise me. There is an inherent desire in employees in all Kenyan companies to tell you what they think you want to hear. When they don’t know what that is then they simply don’t tell you anything. That still doesn’t make their behaviour any more acceptable.

The next part of this blog will fill out some of the gaps in info on these first two parts, and detail some more the KQO responses via Twitter and Facebook during this dėbacle, and also what happened when I collected my children from KQO at JKIA later in the morning.

I will also highlight the heroes and villains throughout this whole experience. There are several of each, and the heroes are solely responsible from keeping my wife and I sane throughout this whole time and, with the exception of a 2 minute wobble around 09:00 – 09:30, managed to keep us from descending into blubbering wrecks at the thought of our children alone and unsupported in Athens.

More to follow…

Kenyan Airways Flight 117, 5 July 2012 (Part 1)

Last Friday, 5 July 2013, my two children finished the Summer term at school in the UK. We’d arranged for them to finish a day early so they could catch the Sky Team (Kenya Airways/KLM) flight from Edinburgh to Amsterdam and on to Nairobi on KL4141/KQ117 arriving at 0635 on the Saturday morning.

Well, that was the plan at least. They finally arrived, along with 2 others from their flight, in Nairobi at 0830 this morning (8 July 2013) with over 290 other passengers still stranded in Athens, Greece, awaiting further information as to when they will eventually get home, or to their holiday destination.

The events of the weekend have highlighted to me the failings of ‘partner’ airlines and the utter incompetence, bordering on complete negligence, of Kenya Airways whose slogan, rather ironically, is “The Pride of Africa”.

Here is what happened, to the best of my knowledge. (Items with ‘~’ include information I became aware of after the fact, either from my children (who were flying as Unaccompanied Minors on the flight), other passengers, my booking agents (whose staff all deserve medals!) or the handling agent at the airport.)

5 Jul 2013

Flight KQ117 departed Schipol Airport (AMS) en route to JKIA (NBO), due to arrive at 0635 on 6 July 2013.

6 July 2013

~ 01:08 – KQ117 landed at Athens Airport, Greece, after a fire warning alarmed in the cargo hold and the flight was diverted for safety reasons. On landing the pax were advised this was due to a fault and that there had been no fire.This part of the saga I’m happy with. Kenya Airways followed protocol and dealt with the matter swiftly and professionally.

~ 02:20 – Pax were disembarked and led to a waiting area within the airport while safety checks were carried out.

~ 05:00 – Pax were advised the flight would not be resuming and that they would be taken to local hotels while the situation was resolved.

~ 05:10 – My children arrive at the Sofitel just outside Athens Airport.

05:18 – Kenya Airways Operations call me to advise that flight KQ117 has been delayed and that it will now be landing at 2255 on 6 Jul 2103.

08:00 – I receive a call from a friend asking if I have seen my daughter’s Facebook update.

08:01 – I check Facebook and find the following update:

“We left your luggage in Amsterdam by mistake”
Okay…
“The plane is smoking but we don’t know why” I’m worried
“Emergency landing in Athens, get off the plane”
What!???
“Free food and wifi” I’ll live. ;)

08:01 and a bit… Now I’m worried. Delay? An emergency landing is NOT a delay!

08:05 iMessage my daughter to confirm she wasn’t joking. No joke.

08:06 Called Kenya Airways Operations to ask about the emergency landing, they confirmed the event, without an apology, and advised that the fault had been repaired and that the flight would still be arriving at 22:55.

At this point my children’s phones were running out of battery so I told them to turn them off and contact me when they heard more or if there was an emergency. The airline couldn’t tell me what hotel they were in, but I was content that they’d be home the same day…

Or so I thought.

12:38 Received a call from the children advising they had not eaten since the last night, they had been told they were not allowed to watch the TV in the hotel room and that they had seen no-one from the aircrew since being ‘dumped’ in their hotel room. I advised my children to call 0 and ask the hotel reception for assistance.

~ 14:15 – Children collected by a member of the crew and taken for lunch. This is the first they seen any crew member since 0510 and the first they have eaten since before midnight on 5 July.

~ 16:30 Children due to leave hotel and board KQ117 for onward flight to Nairobi.

18:45 Received iMessage from children advising that they were still in the hotel despite being told they would board at 16:30. No-one from the airline had been to see the children since 14:15. Advised children to go to the hotel reception and get me the hotel details including phone number, name, website etc.

19:15 – Called Kenya Airways Operations to ask why the aircraft wasn’t departing as planned. I was advised that aircraft had developed further fault and the aircraft would leave no earlier than the night of 7/7/13. Asked why neither the children or myself had been advised of the further delay, they had no explanation.

19:25 – Children called from hotel reception providing all the info I requested. At least now I can call them any time.

20:06 Received call from Grace at Kenya Airways Corporate Customer Relations asking what the problem was? Advised that no-one was accompanying the children, who were flying as Unaccompanied Minors. Advised that Ishmael, from the air crew, would be with the children shortly.

20:15 – Called the Sofitel at Athens Airport and asked some questions as to what the children could/couldn’t do. The receptionist was excellent and very helpful. Was then put through to the hotel room and managed to calm the children down. At least they can while away the hours with TV now!

20:20 Called my booking agent, HRG, to gather further information and request assistance.

20:25 HRG called to advise that they were in contact with the handling agent in Athens and that the further fault was related to the landing gear and that the aircraft was unfit to fly, and Kenya Airways were planning to fly the spare part from AMS tomorrow and this would not arrive prior to 1630 hours on 7 July 2013. Note that this information has not been made public to the best of my knowledge. HRG had been advised that Ishmael or Monica were with the children and that they were being looked after.

20:36 Called the children to confirm they had been seen. Again, no-one had been to see them.

20:37 Called Grace at Kenya Airways Customer Relations to demand someone saw the children, was told someone would be with them shortly. This was after Grace stated that we should be relieved the aircraft landed safely, and that she couldn’t understand why we were concerned.

~ 2040 Children were taken to the hotel restaurant for their evening meal.

21:13 HRG called to advise they were unable to offer an earlier flight and advised waiting for KQ117 to be rescheduled. HRG confirmed children were flying as Unaccompanied Minors and that aircrew, hotel and handling agent would, from now on, look after the children.

21:33 Called children to confirm that they had been seen by any staff and that they were now being properly cared for. They advised that, after dinner, they were taken to see the flight’s Captain and were told they would know more by 1000hrs on 7/7/13.

21:45 I called Kenya Airways Operations to confirm when the spare part would be in Athens. They were unable to confirm this as the part was still to be located and KLM were still to confirm it would be on a flight.

22:00 – 01:00 Various phone calls and FaceTime calls to the children to make sure they were ok and to reassure them as much as possible.

This is only the beginning of the saga but already it shows some total failings in the policies and procedures of Kenya Airways Operations and Customer Services staff.

I called KLM at some point during the above timeline to ask what their policy was regarding Unaccompanied Minors in these situations. They advised that, as with airlines such as BA etc., their policy is to make sure that the children are accompanied 24 hours a day. When I asked if their partner airlines (Kenya Airways in particular) had the same policy I was advised that they couldn’t confirm this, Delta Airlines and Air France do, but they couldn’t couldn’t confirm regarding Kenya Airways.

Between 05:00 and 20:40 on 6 July 2013 my children were left alone for at least 13.5 of 15 hours. This is not acceptable.

My employer has an excellent support and welfare network and I spent much of the time between the calls detailed above trying to arrange an alternative onward flight, or a return to Amsterdam or the UK. With the best of intentions we couldn’t have achieved this as, even with the shortest connections, it would have taken them 25.5 hours to reach Nairobi. And they were due to arrive 24 hours later.

This wouldn’t have worked anyway as my children were flying as Unaccompanied Minors which meant the airline ‘owned’ them until such time as they signed them back over to me. While this may be annoying it is also reassuring as it means someone is legally responsible for my children and no Tom, Dick or Harry can take them. Well, not in the case of Kenya Airways, who apparently took absolutely no responsibility for them.

Kenya Airways provided me with no information directly other then the call at 05:18 advising the flight had been delayed. They did not advise my children what room the aircrew were in at the hotel or how to contact a member of the crew if something was wrong. This is negligence, pure and simple. The airline had a duty of care to those children and they failed at every turn.

At around midnight on 6 July I looked up Kenya Airways on Facebook and Twitter (I can’t believe I didn’t do this earlier, I’m an IT professional!). Their Facebook page only allows comments on their own posts and does not allow users to post their own status updates. Twitter, however, is another story.

The Kenya Airways twitter feed (@KenyaAirways) was awash with irate tweets from abandoned passengers, uninformed parents, family and friends and a number of bland, uninformative, posts from JM and MH of Kenya Airways. The passengers tweets painted a bleak picture, at least 49 passengers were stuck in a waiting room due to visa issues and were receiving no support from the aircrew or handling agent, some were ill and were refused medical attention, and no-one was kept abreast of the situation at all.

There was a link to a press release on the twitter feed, however it was not posted on Kenya Airways public page but an employee’s private page so it was not viewable by anyone other than the employees friends. I asked Kenya Airways why on their Twitter page and received this by way of response:

@KenyaAirways: @grae2x5 This was necessitated due various inevitable circumstances and agreed internal communications, we note your concern though.^jm

I don’t even know what this means!!

As if this is not bad enough, the next 24 hours would prove even worse.

More to follow…

Inspiration for 2013

This premise is so true and yet, having fallen short of so many things I aimed for in 2012, I firmly believe that, while they may have to be slightly more than attainable, they must be realistic. To constantly fail through the setting of unrealistic goals is detrimental to you overall wellbeing.

The Daily Étude

I found a great meme on Facebook yesterday that says, “If your dreams don’t scare you, then they aren’t big enough.”

As we’re jumping into 2013, I’m really taking that idea to heart. How many times have we given up something truly great for something simply attainable? For how long have we been conditioned to always hold a little bit in reserve, never giving 100%?  And, most importantly, how is that holding us back?

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Missing the Bells…

The Daily Post asked a question today… As for me I wasn’t going to be where I wanted to be anyway. I was on duty and therefore unable to drink but that turned out lucky as I ended up having to rush a friend to A&E and spent four hours pacing a hospital on New Year’s morning. The good news is she seems to be on the mend, although still in hospital, the bad news is I missed the opportunity to kiss my wife and children at the bells and wish them a Happy New Year… again!

2012 Music – My Top Ten Albums

I set myself a few ground rules for this list; no live albums, no EPs, no re-releases… It’s just as well I did as the choice (apart from 3) was extremely difficult to make. (And made all the more difficult by my noticing some people were including EPs in their lists!)

So, without further ado, here’s my top ten albums of 2012:

10 – Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth. Despite all the rumours and the aborted previous attempts at reformation I held out little hope that Van Halen would get back together with their original vocalist, Dave Lee Roth. After reading Sammy Hagar’s autobiography even my little glimmer of hope was diminished and yet, despite all the odds, here it is: the first new VH album in many a year. What I like about it most is that it picks up almost exactly where the last DLR VH album left off. There’s no attempt to modernise their sound, there’s no attempt to reinvent their style. It is, quite simply, a testament to those first 5 albums and the sound they created. Despite the terrible (but fun nevertheless) attempt to recreate Ice Cream Man I find the whole album enjoyable to the extreme. It’s just a shame the mess with Mark Anthony couldn’t be resolved and the tour fell apart… But I suppose it’s to be expected with DLR and EVH back in the same room?

9 – Flying Colors – Flying Colors. Neil Morse, Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue and the relatively unknown (to me at least) Casey McPherson, seemed like a recipe for another bloated, self-indulgent prog supergroup and, for that reason, I almost avoided it completely. Oh, how wrong I was! Despite the pedigree of those involved there is very little showboating here, most notable to my ears is the positive reserve of Mike Portnoy and the only occasional flamboyance of Steve Morse. The songs are solid, and varied, with the fault only being perhaps too much of a balladic feel as the album progresses. Stand out tracks for me are the opener Blue Ocean, All Falls Down and the 12 minute closer Infinite Fire.

8 – Rush – Clockwork Angels. And here we come to the disappointment of the top ten. So why is it here at all? Well, the fact that this is perhaps the best Rush album in at least 20 years, perhaps even over 25, is reason enough. The music is classic rush, the concept classic Peart, and it all works extremely well. The title track, The Anarchist and The Garden should be enough to convince any non-believer to visit Rush’ back catalogue, they’re sublime! So, why so far down the list? Quite simply the album suffers from terrible use of some kind of maximiser in its production. There’s no dynamic. A friend described it as ‘the sausage factory’ effect, and he’s right. It’s a shame as, if this hadn’t been the case, then Clockwork Angels would have been top 3 material. As it is, I struggle to listen to the album as a whole because my ears hurt after a while.

7 – Stolen Earth – A Far Cry From Home. Despite their pedigree Stolen Earth have managed in this, their debut album, to avoid becoming a tribute to their previous endeavours. The songs are strong, the music excellently written, and performed, and Heidi Widdop has managed to produce a performance across the whole disc which I find beguiling. I likened her voice to that of Chrissie Hynde‘s on the album release and yet I now feel that does her performance an injustice. While there are hints of that tonality the overall result is far stronger than anything I’ve heard by Ms Hynde. I’m looking forward to hearing the next chapter from this band. The fact that they’re the only band from the stable of other related acts should not go un-noticed, of all the MA related bands releases over the last 18 months this is, to my ears, by far the strongest.

6 – Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials. What can I say? When I first heard Flo I wasn’t sure, I saw her live and wasn’t sure, then I heard Drumming Song and fell in love with her quirky style. Ceremonials is a different beast to her debut, Lungs, and yet, while it follows a different vein it remains true to the overall style of her music. It’s an immensely uplifting album drawing on church music as its inspiration (apparently) and definitely cements her as the top of the pile of quirky, indie, female acts. The opener, Only If For A Night, Breaking Down and Spectrum are my personal favourites but the album is strong from start to finish.

District 97 – Trouble With Machines

5 – District 97 – Trouble With Machines. Another find from TNIMN (with thanks to Dave Cooper for this one) what we have here is hard to categorise; Rock? Yes. Prog? Yes. Jazz? Yes. Fusion? Could it be anything else? D97 were an instrumental group originally and approached American Idol finalist Lesley Hunt… If I’d known this prior to hearing the music I may well have responded exactly as I guess you just have; disgust. Never fear, Miss Hunt has proven Simon Cowell wrong (I understand he was the one who cast the deciding vote on her elimination) quite emphatically. Even without the vocals the music really is quite amazing with a mix of all genres mentioned above and musicianship which is of the highest order throughout. The Perfect Young Man and The Thief are the stand out tracks on an outstanding album.

4 – Headspace – I Am Anonymous. Another album I almost missed, saved again by TNIMN. I heard murmurings of Headspace a few years back but dismissed them when I heard that it was Rick Wakeman’s son on keyboards. Then, perhaps only a month or so ago (if that?), someone posted about the album so I checked them out on Spotify. There are many reasons I rate what I heard so highly. The first is the theme itself (I’ll let you listen to find out for yourself), there’s the musicianship, the production, the writing, in fact the only piece of the puzzle which doesn’t sit perfectly for me is the vocals. They seem, at times, to be at odds with the music which is modern while the vocals have an almost eighties feel to their production? When all is said and done though, it works, and works very well. This is the album Queensryche have been trying to write for the last 10-15 years.

Marillion – Sounds That Can’t Be Made

3 – Marillion – Sounds That Can’t Be Made. I’ve been waiting for this album for years, literally. Now it’s here I’m relieved, very much so. I’ve stuck with Marillion since Marbles was released despite growing increasingly disenfranchised with their output. From the opening riff of the politically charged Gaza to the closing refrains of the emotionally charged The Sky Above The Rain this really is their best release in a very long time indeed. What I like most of all is the fact that there are no two songs alike and yet they all work together, seamlessly. I’ll admit I struggled with Montreal, a travelogue about H’s experiences on the journey to the last Marillion convention in that city. Then I received the deluxe preorder edition and saw the artwork, and I understood. It is also one of the best produced albums I’ve heard in a very long time. This album could teach the Clockwork Angels production team more than a few things about dynamics and the artful use of a maximiser.

2 – Anathema – Weather Systems. I used the word ‘uplifting’ earlier in this blog, and I’ve used it before when describing this, but I heard a better description of it from Kim Seviour a few days ago… Spiritual. And now I struggle to think of it as anything else. I’m a latecomer to Anathema having first heard their We’re Here Because We’re Here album and then Falling Deeper before delving in to their, much heavier, back catalogue and I’d struggle to put the two together if it weren’t for the latter, a reworking of earlier material in their new style. This album is my current ‘self help’ treatment, it really is that good, it makes me feel good about myself and there’s no higher praise for a piece of music than to say it affects you emotionally, is there?

Mystery – The World Is A Game

1 – Mystery – The World Is A Game. This one may raise some eyebrows and, to be honest, it was a bolt from the blue to me as well! Having ‘gone off’ Yes a good few years ago I was unaware of Benoit David until they released Fly From Here last year. While I liked that album I firmly believe that this is where he belongs. Like most, I assume, who were unaware of Benoit’s work with Yes, I was also unaware of his previous work with Mystery. I discovered this again through TNIMN and I will be ever grateful for this. It surpasses Fly From Here by a country mile and I can’t hear a weak point on it, anywhere. The instrument sounds are fantastic, I love the chorused, distorted guitar sound, it’s one I want to reproduce myself, I love the instrumentation, the lyrics, the writing and the production. Strangely it’s the ballad Dear Someone which I feel is the strongest track on the album, closely followed by Pride and Another Day. To say that this has been firmly at the top of this list since a week or so after I heard it can only demonstrate how highly I regard it.

So, there you have it. My favourite albums of 2012. It was another great year and I’m already looking forward to 2013 (with a couple of pre-orders already in place!). I’ve enjoyed reading everyone else’s lists and am constantly intrigued by the vast differences in those despite so many of us being fans of similar bands, it’s what makes music so interesting to me.

As a final note I’m going to tell you my top 3 EPs (in no particular order) of the year and my biggest disappointment…

The EPs

The Fierce and the Dead – On VHS. I have all of Matt Stevens’ releases and, despite being a huge fan of these, feel he has made a wise choice concentrating on his band this year. Rather than lose his solo attraction by joining a band I feel that this new format has enhanced the experience and taken it further than he could perhaps have gone on his own… We’ll have to wait and see as I’m sure there will be releases from both over the coming year.

Trojan Horse – Fire EP. I always forget how good these guys are, and then I revisit one of their releases and am blown away all over again. Their eclectic style keeps me ever interested and their interaction with their fanbase* is superb, as is their attention to detail when packaging their albums.

Craig Hughes – Hard Times, Vol. 1. This one’s the odd one out of the whole shebang. It’s dirty, low down blues with a Glaswegian bent (Sorry Craig, I know you’re not from Glasgow, but I think you’ve been there long enough to be considered such!) and it’s great! There’s everything on this, banjo, alt-blues, what I can only describe as ‘slit yer wrist’ blues, and I love it. With track titles like He Loved Her and She Sent Him To Hell and Cave Full of Woman Blues you’ll get the gist ;o)

And the disappointment…

In the 80s I liked a band who seemed to come and go in a flash. Three great albums and then very little for decades. Fast forward to the mid noughties and a band called Kino evolved which released one of my favourite albums since the turn of the century. With the exception of Pete Trewavas, who returned to the fold of Marillion, the members of Kino decided to continue as a reformed It Bites for that, in essence was what Kino were. Then there came The Tall Ships… What would IB be like without Francis Dunnery? Surely it couldn’t work? Oh yes it bloody could! The Tall Ships was utterly, utterly, brilliant. Four years later, after what seemed like an interminable tour promoting the comeback album (great shows by the way), we were told that the new album would be a concept album called Map of the Past. After Kino’s Picture and It Bites’ The Tall Ships I had extremely high hopes for this one… Unfortunately, despite trying on several occasions, I just can’t get in to it. It comes across as a flat, lacklustre and emotionless performance to me and I’m bitterly disappointed to have to admit it.

So. On to 2013…

Related articles

• 2012 Music – Cast Adrift (grae2x5.wordpress.com)
• What are the big albums of 2013? (bbc.co.uk)

2012 Music – Cast Adrift

It’s been another great year for music; my kind of music at least. Several bands in the 3rd and even 4th decade of their careers have released albums which, for younger bands, may have been considered as watershed albums. In addition quite a few of those bands I follow who are still, for all intents and purposes, independent artists have also released albums which have raised the bar on their previous releases. It’s made it extremely difficult to whittle the list down to a mere 10, I could easily have extended it to 20 or even 30, but where would be the fun in that?

I’ve had to depend on recorded material for my entertainment these last 12 months as not many artists make the journey to East Africa on their tours, not even the ‘big’ ones! Normally I’d be able to comment on the live experience of the material for many of the albums in my list however this year it’s based purely on the recorded material. Not such a bad thing I suppose, it allows me to concentrate on the production as well as the songwriting in its purest form, but it also means that at least one album in the final list has suffered as a result of this ‘clinical’ review.

As a result of my time spent on the Facebook group Thursday Night Is Music Night over the last few months the shortlist grew longer as the year drew to a close and several albums I had firmly in my top ten for the year at their time of release found themselves adrift as I started making my list…

Before I get into what finally made my list, here’s what I’ve chosen to drop:

Panic Room – Skin. An overall impressive album with some great songs but, in my opinion, it lacks the vision and grandeur of its predecessor, Satellite.

Mostly Autumn – The Ghost Moon Orchestra. An excellent showcase for Olivia Sparnenn with some great tracks but too much ‘colour by numbers’ to crack into the top albums.

The Producers – Made in Basing Street. Excellent writing, excellent production but overall it struggles for any one track which is ear worm material.

Soundgarden – King Animal. A welcome return for one of my favourite bands of the 90s, but too… clinical(?) in execution, I’d hoped for a return to BadMotorFinger and the halcyon days.

Muse – The 2nd Law. I love this, it’s there most consistent release in years but just not quite good enough when compared to the top ten.

Shadow of the Sun – Monument. An excellent collection of songs which I’ve watched grow from Dylan’s Soundcloud demos to a polished release. There are some belters, notably Halo and Who Cares? but as a whole the album needs something ‘more’?

Threshold – March of Progress. I haven’t given this enough listens to fully appreciate it, but I keep coming back to it which, in itself, justifies a mention in this list.

Kompendium – Beneath the Waves. A brave and bold project from Magenta’s Rob Reed this is, as intended, reminiscent of those concept albums of the 70s and 80s. Not only with the music; the packaging is something to behold. Unfortunately, despite astounding tracks like The Storm and superb performances from all involved, there are elements of this which grate and cause me to want to skip ‘bits’.

Kamelot – Silverthorn. I’ve never paid Kamelot their due despite having most if their back catalogue. I love this album when I listen to it, but struggle to remember any hooks when I’m not. Perhaps it will grow on me over the coming months and rise above the noise of everything else I’ve listened to this year?

The Reasoning – Adventures in Neverland. Written and completed during a difficult period for the band this album bodes well for the pared back version of the band we now see. My impression is that there’s a disconnect between the musical style and the vocal stylings of Rachel Cohen at the moment. I can’t define it, but the two don’t sit well for me on this release.

Each of these have songs, and in some cases the entire album, which are very strong, but when it came down to it they didn’t hold my attention to the same extent as those which follow…