October 25 - All change!

No blog for a few weeks simply because things have been more than a bit crazy. 

When I last blogged I was in Spain, since when I have been on a flying visit to UK (pun intended) and thence to Peru and am shortly to return to Spain and re-enter Peru in January 2016.

At the start of this month (October) I had decided that I needed to return to Peru as I was missing Nick and felt that I had resolved some of my issues sufficiently to move forward. The space and calmness afforded by Cehegin had done its work.

I had also planned a UK break from Oct 08 – 19, and then my good friend Andy was to come to Cehegin for a holiday.

In the middle of this the Ministry of Culture announced that the next “Convocation” to select the Artistic Director of the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra was to take place from October 15 and I realised that I was eligible.

However, given the complexity and lunacy of airline ticketing, it turned out that the cheapest route for me to Peru was from Heathrow although that route had a first call of Madrid!  Flying from Madrid being MORE expensive!

So I decided that I would curtail my UK visit and fly from LHR on the 14^th.

Leaving Cehegin

All well and fine, but then I had to quickly settle my rental situation In Cehegin, and as per my rental contract actually had to pay the rent up until November 14 and loose my deposit. So calm turned to a fairly fevered few days as I cleaned the house, defrosted the old fridge – a 24 hours nightmare! And prepared to leave.

Patricia my landlord, very kindly said we could do the handover at 05:50 on the 8^th and that she would then give me a lift to the bus station for my trip to UK. Just as well as I had two big bags and a rucksack full of my worldly goods.

Sad to say goodbye to Cehegin. Of course in the middle of all this the purchase of my house had collapsed as the owners – 4 sisters and brother – had not proved their right to inherit the proceeds of the sale as the house was owned by their deceased sister. They had had 5 years to do this! I had to get a solicitor to get my deposit back, which was done in 2 days as the sellers were in such disarray. Sad but fortunate (as it happens.)

So armed with my bags I went to catch the 06:20 bus from Cehegin to Murcia. The bus station was deserted and Patricia was very worried that I had got the time wrong and that there was no bus!

I reassured her, but to her credit, she drove off and then sneaked back and parked at a distance from the bus station, thinking I couldn't see her, and waited until the bus arrived. How lovely.

From the first bus I had 10 minutes to lug my luggage to the ticket counter at the Murcia bus station and buy my ticket for the bus to Alicante Airport. Done with a minute to spare!

I had made a plan for my UK (now much foreshortened) trip which took in Brighton and Hove, London, Hereford, Birmingham and then Heathrow.

I had arranged with Andy that he would meet me at the local train station of Portslade.

On arrival at Alicante airport I managed to misread the indicator and hauled my luggage the entire length of the terminal to check in desk 145 only to find that was a flight to Gatwick but with Easy Jet and I was booked with BA, so I then hauled the bags all the way back to desk 19!

Checked in and only when in the departure lounge found out that all flights from UK were delayed due to action being taken by the French Air Traffic Controllers, so the 2 hour 20 minutes flight was now taking 3 hours and 20 minutes. Suffice to say I got to Gatwick late and then had a fun time lugging luggage from north terminal to the railways station at the south terminal, with unhelpful train staff telling me that I couldn't take my trolley into the railway station and that there was a train for Portslade due in 3 minutes and of course, from the furthest platform. Collapsed into a seat on the train, wasn't told I had to change at Hove (but the connecting train was from same platform) and arrived 2 hours late to Portslade.

Arrival in UK.   Hove .....  Hereford ....... Birmingham

 Andy of course had been tracking my flight and realised I was delayed and estimated my ETA, so all was well. Had a relaxing time with Andy, but didn't go to London as planned as had really bad back ache. Sunday saw me National express bus-ing it to Hereford for my usual Sunday night dinner and sleepover visitation with friends, Michael and Tim and then had lunch on Monday in Hereford with Tony, one of my oldest and dearest friends before taking the train to Birmingham. I have known Michael for 46 years and Tony for around 38 years. Amazing!

Martin was waiting for me at the University station in Birmingham and he and Jean had planned a very lovely dinner party that evening so that I had a chance to meet up with one or two other mutual friends. Tuesday was a trip to the dentist, a filling had fallen out and a problematical tooth needed some attention, a trip to the Library and then a couple of pints with Martin in the real ale pub par excellence “the Wellington”, Fish and chips in the evening then a bit of relaxing television until I was taken to the bus station for my 00:01 bus to Heathrow.

Leaving UK

Bus went via Coventry and Warwick, terminals 1-3, terminal 4 and thence to an almost completely deserted terminal 5 at 03:10. My flight to Madrid was at 06:20 and was the first take-off of the day, transited at Madrid and again at Lima and arrived to Trujillo at 22:30 the same day and took a taxi to the pre-booked hotel. Journey time door to door 29 hours.

Migraciones - Lima Airport ..... One unforeseen complication was that, having cancelled my residency visa last May, I am only allowed to be in Peru for 183 days in 2015 and therefore must leave on 18 November (unless I have a contract for employment before that date) as I have only 35 days left of my 2015 quota.

Whilst I was in England, Nick was in Cologne at the worlds biggest food-fair, where a team from DanPer was exhibiting. It was Nick's first trip to Europe.

Thursday I rested, and fortunately the hotel had a bath so could soak. Had lunch with my good friend and conservatoire director Carlos and patiently awaited the arrival of Nick back from Germany on Friday early morning.

A Pervian civil servant is a master of the first part and never heard of the second part!

LTCL in Orchestral Conducting

The farce begins.

I put in what had now grown to a 40 page application for the Artistic Director of the Symphony Orchestra post. This was: an official form, a declaration of honesty, my CV, all my diplomas in both music and management, letters proving my various work roles and letters of recommendation from UK, India and professional musicians. All of which had to be translated into Spanish – hence 40 pages (20 + 20).

Nick and I had worked on these papers all weekend. I had studied the requirements meticulously and I know that I met them sufficiently to be granted an interview. So feeling confident I put in my application on Monday 19^th.

You can (actually you can't) imagine my shock and disappointment to see that along with the other five candidates we were all judged on our paperwork to be NO APTO (not appropriate) and the process was cancelled. Maestro Alvarez had not applied, actually despite his 30 years experience he couldn't apply, as he had no diploma in conducting!

I wanted to know why I was not granted an interview and was unable to get a satisfactory answer so I have an interview with the Director of Culture tomorrow (Mon 26) to try to get an answer as my first attempt led me to believe that they had made an error (a personnel officer stated that probably I was rejected because whilst I have a diploma in conducting  I had no (Peruvian) municipal orchestral experience – she was shocked when I pointed out that it was not a requirement this time, but was last August. 

So had they used the wrong requirements for the selection process? 

Had an error been made? 

If it has, this will never be admitted.

MOZART - Sorry NO APTO  - you do not have a diploma in conducting

Actually under the rules as they stand, I think that Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Gustav Dudamel and many many other famous conductors would also have been adjudged NO APTO as all might have failed the administrative procedure.

Talent, musicality, professionalism count for nothing. The joke gets better. Had any of us been granted an interview we would have been interviewed by a panel of three administrators, non of whom know the first thing about music, orchestras, conducting or the like and this great interview would have lasted a maximum of 15 minutes. The same amount of time as was allotted for secretaries, cleaners, ticket sellers, an architect and a lawyer, who were also being interviewed the same day by the same panel.

So the Director of culture had better have a good answer tomorrow otherwise I am off to see my good friend Luis, who is the arts journalist for “La Industria”, one of Peru's most famous daily papers.

If there is to be another third and final (?) convocatoria, and assuming I can apply I think this will not be before January 2016.

I have now to concentrate on the fact that, as I didn't get the job  I must leave Peru on November 18.......... cue: sleepless nights.

Ecuador

Celebration

The day of my “rejection” meant that the 21^st which was to be a celebration of Nick and I being together for 3 years was rather dampened, nevertheless we spent the next day (22^nd) going out for lunch, me getting sun burn and have a good a day as possible.

Great lunch in Squalos

Solution

After discussion with Nick, friends here and in the UK, a solution has been found.

I am going to return to Spain, the landlord Patricia has agreed that I can stay on in the house in Cehegin and so I return on November 12/13. Nick will join me in Spain for his holiday from December 19 to January 3. (We had originally thought of a holiday in UK but visa processing times preclude this - 3 weeks for UK visa, 7 days for Schengen visa and Nick is away in the USA in November so can't apply before November 20.

I will return to Peru a few days after Nick and then be eligible for a 183 days visa, which gives us the breathing space to restart our life together and for me to start some enterprise and request residency again.

Friendship

But I am so fortunate to have the love and support of Nick, also  special mention in dispatches to Martin, Andy and Tony in the UK, help and support from many people here in Peru. Including offers of help with lawyers in order to ensure that Trujillo gains from my presence (not my words but those of a colleague) ……. and of course I still have a core group of students who have missed me and want to restart their studies with me ASAP.

So, all in all, it has been a rather eventful October………….. (and there is still 5 days to go!)