I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
We never could have come this far
I'll take you just the way you are
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are
I want you just the way you are
Just the way you are, by Billy Joel
Hi
Everyone!
I’ve been a fan
of Billy Joel since he hit the Big Time in the late 1970’s.
Just the way you are – which was inspired by Frankie Valli and the Four
Season’s Rag Doll - was Billy’s first gold single when it was
released in 1977.
He's had 33 Top 10 hits, all of which he self-wrote, and sold well over 150 million records.
He's had 33 Top 10 hits, all of which he self-wrote, and sold well over 150 million records.
Rambling
with Ric Factoid: On his River of Dreams Tour Billy performed at Earls Court on 11 May 1994.
I was in the audience that
Wednesday evening, fully expecting to be accompanied by Lady Piper.
Billy opened with No Man’s Land and then Pressure.
As he finished his second song, there was still no sign of Lady P.
It
was only during his third song, The Balad
of Billy the Kid, that she arrived.
No
word of explanation as to why she was late.
In
fact, no words at all !!
Nothing said until the end of Song 9: Just the
way you are !!
I’ve often
wondered why Dianne was late …
She’s never,
ever mentioned why !!!
El Maestro & Lady Piper
Tithe Close, Codicote
c. 1983
The lyrics of Just the way you are remind me of one of my Objectives for the Camino walk:
Friends’ Involvement
I’ve
been blessed with fantastic friends, with friendships going back through The
Merryfield Years, to ones I’ve met over the years at Work & right back to College and School.
It
is tremendous that plenty of you are already signed up for some Rambling with Ric on
the Camino.
I
hope even more of you will be able to join me, whether out in Spain (perhaps just Bar-to-Bar !!), on the Miles in the Legs’ rambles or by simply by reading the
Blog.
Al
l welcome !!
Talking of
Friends, I’d like to introduce a new feature.
As they say on the
BBC’s Would I lie to you? : This is …
…
This is Nigel
I am really, really pleased that Nigel, wife Kate & their friends Avril & Gareth are joining me for the last week of the Camino: for the walk into Santiago & on out to Finisterre on the Atlantic coast.
Nigel & I met well over 40 years ago on our first day at college.
We went to our
first supervision together.
It lasted barely 5
minutes before the Supervisor said to the two us: "I think we should call a halt
for today, gentlemen".
It turned out
that those 5 minutes taught me two huge Lessons for Life.
If you are in
Finisterre on the late afternoon of Friday 27 October 2017, Nigel & I will
be up by the lighthouse, having a glass of sherry or two.
We’ll tell you
what those two Lessons for Life were !!!
By an odd quirk, Billy’s song
title Just The Way you are is
the clue to how I came to hear of the Camino.
It was about 5 years ago that one Friday morning I was
checking the Minutes of an Audit Committee meeting with the Board Secretary at
one of the companies I “help”.
For once (??), I had got rather more pedantic about
the grammar than was strictly necessary.
“Ric: you do know that I had an expensive Private
Education.
I really don’t need your advice on whether it is Apostrophe S or S Apostrophe”.
I really don’t need your advice on whether it is Apostrophe S or S Apostrophe”.
But the Board Secretary & I liked each other.
Neither of us would have wanted to end on a fractious note.
Neither of us would have wanted to end on a fractious note.
I asked about the forthcoming weekend.
The reply came: “I’m off to watchThe Way, a film
about walking the Camino de Santiago. I’ll let you know what I think of it at
the next Committee meeting.”
The rest - as they say - is History.
A couple of months later I watched the film.
And a few years after that ... I'll be strolling across Northern Spain !!
A couple of months later I watched the film.
And a few years after that ... I'll be strolling across Northern Spain !!
If you haven’t seen The Way, you might well like to.
Amazon –owned IMDb says that the film is “a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends and the challenges we face while navigating this ever-changing and complicated world”
It stars Martin Sheen who goes to Spain following
the death of his estranged adult son, Daniel – who is played by his real son
Emilio Estevez who wrote the script and directed the film.
Father & Son
"Life is too big to walk it alone"
Rambling with Ric Factoid: Martin Sheen’s birth name is Ramón
Antonio Gerardo Estévez.
Miles in the Legs training is continuing. South Downs, The Wandle Trail from Croydon to the Thames & plenty of others.
No space this time for details, but
next time I’ll tell you a WWII tale about The Woolpack pub at Brookland on
Romney Marsh & a very special Land Army Girl.
This is ...
Next Time:
·
Another
one of my Objectives
·
This
is … … another friend who’ll be out with me rambling on the Camino
Hope to see you soon!
Can’t wait for YOU to join me!!
Buen Camino, Ric the Rambler
Follow me on Twitter: @RamblingWithRic
Camino Thought
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long,
difficult words, but rather short, easy words, like, What about lunch? ”
Winnie the Pooh & Friends