Is 'pot' escaping? Is ' Blinying ' escaping ? What is

escaping ? Texting ? Gambling ? Gorging ? Fasting ?

Reading ?...........I learned when I was 10 years old .

World War 2 began for us in England, on Saturday 3 rd

of September 1939. My parents had for the past few

years had been housing several refugee musicians who

were escaping from Europe.

My Father was the ' popular music ' manager of EMI Abbey Road in London. He was in charge of "His Masters Voice", the label with the dog "Nipper" listening to a gramophone speaker horn. The label featured high class

dance orchestras and leading theatre personalities "Parlophone ", a middle class marketed label with continental artists "Columbia", which had a sprinkling of American artists and UK pop versions of USA big bands. Then "Regal Zonophone",the faster selling lower priced 78 records of dance bands and music hall - Burlesque artists.

This is the world I grew up in. On weekends we were in the Abbey Road recording on Saturday mornings, then we would go back home with songwriters, who stayed up all night writing

with my Dad and me helping a lyric here and there. Here's

where the refugees helped with the cooking and entertaining,

adding European influence to our lives and music. My Dad

had met these people in his European business travels. They

were Jewish musicians escaping Nazi persecution. I asked

one "What's it like to escape"?, He said we sold everything

of value even my instruments, to pay for the train and ferryboat.

I bought my mother and father with me, they each had a small case, I had a back pack. We had no place to sleep on the train

or the ferry, we traveled for four days, we shared some bread and apples I carried. Today you see I am wearing your fathers

shoes and shirt. My shoes wore out and I used cardboard for

soles. We walked for two days from train to the boat. To answer

you, " Escape is a nightmare only you are wide awake."

All you have is what you are able to carry. You leave your

world and learn to be a different you. I am grateful to be in England and feel freedom. Your father is a wonderful man, he

understands creativity cannot work in a dictatorship. Laws

cannot govern creativity, laws are to protect it.

How true those words have become and how false dictatorship

has proven to be.

How lucky we are to be in a world where we can look forward to

A Happy New Year and we can look at each other and say