My trip to St Albans, Herts, UK, this year was quite a blessing because I stumbled across the concept of open studios all around this picturesque town in Herts, UK. Open studios allow passers-by and the general public to view the artisans and the artistes who showcase their work as well as demonstrate their work. Viewing at the open studios was free and that meant that I got to hang around the town centre on a lovely summery September Saturday, feasting on the lavish art and entertainment put up by the talented folks of St. Albans and Herts.

The musical trio by the curious name of King Alfred’s Cakes certainly mermerised me with their lovely unplugged music, while I drifted around the assembly room delighting in the various works of art and sculpture. Why such a name, I had to find out. Legend has it that King Alfred nearly incinerated the cakes he made, while he was in hiding from the Danes. The nearly burnt cakes look like a fungus by the botanical name of Daldinia concentrica and so named because they look like burnt cakes!

So why did the group adopt such a name? The music trio leave it up to us to be the judge of the reason behind picking such a name whether it be the fact that they consume cakes during their rehearsals or because culinary preparations are the last thing on their mind when they focus on preserving music in its various forms.

When I return to Dubai, I hope to put the video that I’d taken of their music, but for now you can enjoy a taste of their music in the Youtube clipping as below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiTo0v4_zpw&feature=player_embedded
I love the way Carol, the cellist ‘connects’ with herself while she plays her instrument.  Connect-edness is a very important concept to all who want to be true artistes in every sense of the term. More on connectedness in a separate blog post, but for now, here are the photos. Karen on the flute, and Clive on the guitar, are equally brilliant and the three of them put a brilliant musical appearance.

This is what I really love about travelling. Browsing through art studios, fashion sculptures while listening to live local music or even a play. It doesn’t matter which part of the world I happen to be in. These aspects of the artisan and artistes world are what drive me to be in a continuous creative spree that revolutionises me into complete ecstasy everytime I give in to it.

To know more about King Alfred’s Cakes, affectionately also known as the Cakes, visit them online.