Surviving a sinking ship !

I have met the VandA piano player in the museum by chance as all the best events in life happen by pure chance. This article is about the story of the piano player of the VandA who survived a sinking ship and survived to tell me the story over an evening of hot chocolate and mince pies in the restaurant of the VandA .

I have had the good fortune and luck on my side during lockdown by having had a fantastic support bubble. I now shall talk about my greatest love which is the Victoria and Albert museum combined with my love of piano. I love fine dining in life I am often to be found in the VandA restaurant sipping my soup. When I am sipping my soup I am sipping in the sound of beautiful piano music. The museum is lucky enough to have their own resident piano player.

When we meet in the summer 2019 the museum was in full strength a marvel a seven wonder of the world. It was breathtaking to see the museum at its peak of its glory. Before the lockdown I had just started playing the piano so it was a honour and a treat to learn directly from the resident Piano player how he wrote his music and how he got to where he is now. I learnt a lot of information about music and how special the new piano player was at the museum.

I love the special atmosphere in the restaurant during the late Friday nights. I arrived after sundown from the 14 bus to meet my artist friend Carlos in the beautiful ground floor Morris restaurant. It was beyond belief to be able to casually stroll around the sculpture gallery in the darkness as it was winter time. It felt that I was walking with ghosts from times past. As I sauntered via the main bookshop having Aspergers I tried to resist the urge to by every book in there bookshop.

I just managed to resist the temptation. It was special walking through the museum after hours. It was a treat and a half walking through all these wonderful galleries. As I wondered via the sculpture gallery I would see members of the public take selfies with the selfie stick. I think that they would enjoy the experience more if they only took one photo then learnt what they were seeing. It was exciting seeing the museum at night wondering around the sculpture gallery towards the restaurant. That's when the magic begin the music echoed and floated passed the corridors. It enamored me completely the music was angelic.

I met the special Antimo Magnotta via my old flatmate Carlos Salvador Mira a old flatmate of mine. Surviving the sinking ship caused him a meltdown and loving piano saved him from drowning in depression. I like to think that we were on the same current with our love of music. Having Aspergers being a borderline case means that you do not feel a great sense of belonging in many place. Yet with this special museum I feel part of the building. Almost that I am a custodian or a caretaker of the museum. I feel accepted even with my many flaws . I hope that one day we can all meet again after the lockdown and learn more piano from Antimo Magnotta a mentor in music.

I see myself as a Culture Vulture, I love the idea that my nest is the museum and with each new twig or object that I learn about the museum my mind grows or the nest expands. Friday Late Night once a week the museum has a late night where they were open till 10 AM in the evening. The museum gave me a new lease on life. I learnt a wave of new information during the Friday late nights. I was with my flatmate Carlos talking about the old masters in Spanish Art.

Even during these difficult times when my museum is closed due to lockdown. I still learn history and the history of music. I have learnt so much about music at the museum. Having Aspergers means I learn in a new perspective. Most normal people believe that the museum is just for history. I say no its more than meets the eye like myself I am a trapezium many sides. There is more than lies beneath the surface. I hope to learn more about music in the museum and dig deeper and find out interesting objects so that one day I can do a music tour for the museum

There is Hope at the end of the Tunnel. Hope is fickle and it is so easy to fall into depression. I realise that with my own mental health it can be so easy to fall into depression. Yet when I started volunteering it uplifted me into being hopeful about the future. Hope are like rays of sunlight the dance around you and it is like false gold. Yet hope is like finding a sweat at the end of the sofa. It gives one a bit of sugar to survive the rest of the day. One can bounce back into life with all of its ups and downs. I hope that this article has given you hope to keep on having positive thinking.