Felix & LorettaSubject: Some Eel Pie Island memories Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 20:11 WHO, BESIDES ME, REMEMBERS ? Walking out of our room into the hallway one night after dropping a trip and meeting 20 or 40 other people there to play with, people we'd never met before who had also just dropped a trip. The glorious death of the piano, beating out rhythms on the strings with the long pieces of wood attached to the keys, playing it to disintegration till it was a pile of splintered wood which we then burned in the fireplaces to keep warm. The night some bikers/tough boys paid the hotel a visit looking for some action. None of us reacted to their aggressive attitude, on the contrary, tripped out people beamed at them as they swaggered down the hallway. In the end they left in puzzled frustration as a parting gesture all they came up with was to throw someone's moped in the river. Felix writing on the kitchen wall in BIG painted letters: "Loretta is not your mother, clean up your own mess". It didn't work of course, the kitchen continued to be a disaster area. The communal room full of people sitting cross-legged on the floor in a circle, drumming the floorboards with their hands, the rhythm going through us, universal, endless, we are all one. The ducks and swans at sunrise, peacefully gliding on the river and The Incredible String Band. Hearing Tommy for the first time while dancing on mattresses. Liberating roses from some of the neighborhood mainland gardens during full-moon walks. The 5 am bust, when the cops, frustrated at not finding any illegal substances (none of us was rich enough to have a stash if anyone had anything, they took it, ha ha), busted Felix & Loretta's kids (Filip 2 1/2 years old and Ama 1 year old) and took them away by force (only overnight but pretty terrible nonetheless), and also busted Felix & Loretta and Virginie on visa violations (not reporting a change of address within 10 days). There may have been others busted that morning, I can't remember. Eel Pie was a time of amazing beauty and also of terrible harshness for us. NO REGRETS. I feel privileged to have been there with Felix and all the other fearless cosmonauts. It's incredible to me that it was only 4-5 calendar months long for us, September 1969 to January 1970; it's a part of my life so full of experiences, people, and mind-boggling realizations. LOVE 'N' PEACE ! Felix & Loretta Felix died in 2002. I am working on a book about our life and our family and I am collecting photos, stories and any material to add to our own archives from anyone who met us over the years and who has the time and inclination to send it to me. I'd be happy and grateful, at 62 my memory bank is so full that it's difficult to retrieve everything, so jogging it by others who remember helps. Email - leu.family.iron@bluewin.ch |