Did Chopin ever play the Beach Boys?
‘Noooo!
I am not going to interview that awful old man!’
‘Yes, you are’.
‘No,!
I am not going to see him for a thousand years!’
‘Yes, you are’.
‘Absolutely
not!’
‘Fine,
do you still want a job?’
She paused, and then subsided into an angry silence.
‘Right, that’s
settled, then. You go off tomorrow, and spend a nice weekend at his
house’
She snarled.
‘
‘Or, you can go back to writing, Oh? what was it? The Importance of the
Herefordshire cow to the local economy’. Or the other one, ‘Desperate
Friesians in search of a Bull’. Or even, your best piece on ‘Do
Organically-Reared Hens have better dreams than Battery Hens?’ My case
rests’.
‘Grrrrrr!’
So Penny Bright found herself, the next day, on a train to Brighton,
still muttering darkly under her breath. The last thing she, as a young
local reporter, wanted was to interview a famous but horrible old architect,
whose houses had excited the press with all their ingenuity and hidden
secrets. His reputation as a bad-tempered, rude old man, insulting
to his clients and indeed, to women in general, had made him rich and
famous, but it had also made him a lot of enemies. So here she was,
a slender, small dark-haired young woman of barely twenty-one summers,
going to confront the old lion in his own den. She was definitely not
happy.
Later that day, she stood
at the front door of a large, white Georgian house in one of the more respectable
parts of Brighton, but which at least did overlook the sea-front. She rang
the bell. After a minute it opened, and there stood a short, rather tubby man,
with grey hair brushed back from his forehead, and dressed in old jeans and
a rather grubby grey cardigan. The expression on his face was not friendly.
In fact, most people would call it a dark scowl.
‘Mr John Welkin? How
do you do? I’m Penny Bright, from the London Echo. I’ve come to
talk to you’. And she tried to put on her most engaging smile. He stared
at her even more blackly, but said nothing. Behind him the hall was twilit.
The silence seemed to purr like a cat. For several seconds, he stood there,
then grunted and motioning his head to her, turned and walked back into the
dimly lit hall. “In there’. he muttered, as if she was trespassing.
She entered a very large but rather shabby living-room, which had at least
a fire burning in an enormous stone fireplace. It was filled with enormous
and shapeless sofas and armchairs, and some very dingy old oil paintings. But
she did notice some very small sketches of the outside of buildings that she
recognised as the work of this renowned architect, that were dotted at random
around the walls. She turned back, to find that he had disappeared. So she
sat down on one of the edges of a dingy sofa, and waited.
She waited, and she waited.
There seemed no sign of him returning. So she sat, trying to make a friendly
appearance, and began to feel very bored, and rather cross. It was only after
twenty minutes had gone by, that she heard his footsteps out in the hall. ‘Come
on then. I’ll show you where you’re sleeping’. She picked
up her overnight bag and followed him, feeling more and more like an unwanted
guest. He literally kicked open a door after having gone up what seemed like
endless steps, and said abruptly, ‘You’re in here’. The bedroom
was small and contained only a narrow single bed, a small chest of drawers,
and a bed-table, bearing, in a rather forlorn way, a bedside light with a bent
cloth shade. There was only a little bare carpet on the floor. ‘Main
light doesn’t work. The bathroom’s down the corridor. Supper’s
eight, in the dining-room. You’ll find it.’ And before she could
speak, he turned his back and disappeared through the door.
She sat down on the hard little
bed in a fury. She had just been treated like a servant-girl. She tried the
ceiling light. No.It didn’t work. She had better luck with the dismal
little bed-light, which cast a dim gleam over the room. The window, was dirty,
with flimsy cloth curtains, which she felt wouldn’t even pull together
without falling apart, and the view was a yard with only a collection of old
dustbins. Remembering what she was here to do, she went to find the bathroom
which was right at the end of the landing. It was old-fashioned, but spacious,
and did at least have some hot water.
Back in her miserable little
room, she began to wonder. Why was such a rich and famous architect so uninterested
in his own house? Did it have some secrets that she didn’t know about?
Why was he so rude and uncaring about his visitors? She began to worry about
talking to him. Was he going to be like this all the time? Would she even get
an interview? With a start, she realised it was nearly eight, and she didn’t
even know where the dining-room was! She hurried down the main stairs, and
saw, at last a chink of light under one of the doors in the hall. She tapped
on it and went in.
‘Didn’t you ever
learn to knock!’ You lot are all the same! No manners! Get yourself some
food, and find a seat! That is, if you can recognise furniture. Over there’,.
and nodded towards a sideboard laden with silver dishes. Muttering a few nasty
words to herself, she went to the sideboard, and found, much to her surprise,
roast chicken, new potatoes, gravy and a variety of well-cooked vegetables.
She brought her plate back, sat down, and began to eat. She was very hungry,
but he clearly was not going to starve her, though he sat in silence, eating,
and sometimes glaring at her from beneath his rather bushy eyebrows. A fruit
tart followed and then coffee. Very welcome.
Then she sat up and listened,
Partly because he might be rude to her for not sitting up straight, but also
because she heard something rather special. It was music, piano music, played
very softly and gently, and seemed to come from the room next door. It was
sweet and very lovely, and she put her head to one side and listened. She glanced
across at Welkin, and was amazed to see the expression on his face. It was
very soft and dreamy, quite unlike the scowl he normally had. Then he noticed
her looking at him and scowled again. ‘Those two, always playing that
wretched music!’
‘I
thought it was very beautiful. Who is it playing?’
He snorted,
and shouted loudly. ‘You two! Come
here and present yourselves!’
The music
stopped, then there was a scrape of chairs. The door opened. Two
young people stood there, smiling. One was a girl, who looked as
if she was Chinese. The other was a tall, rather thin boy, blonde
with a slightly vacuous expression. ‘Can’t you two ever give
anybody any peace?’ This is, I always forget – oh’ Shan-Lin.
And the silly-looking one is Peter. They’re musicians’,
he added with distaste. ‘This is Penny Black, from a newspaper’.
‘Penny Bright, actually’.
‘Whatever’.
The two
smiled at her again and vanished back into the room from where they
had come. What was their position in this house? Were they servants
or just entertainers? Nothing really seemed to make sense. Anyway,
what about her interview? She needed to ask some questions. Opening
her bag, she pulled out her mini-tape recorder to ask him if she
could use it. Penny certainly didn’t expect
what happened next. As soon as he caught sight of it, his face went
purple with fury.
‘How dare you, you stupid little trollop! How dare you think
you’re going to put me on that, that thing!’
His voice was shaking in fury. He banged both his fists so hard on
the table that all the cups and plates rattled.
‘I…I’m sorry! I didn’t know…I was
going to ask you first….’
‘You didn’t ask me! You impudent little schoolgirl! Don’t
you even know how to write! Even someone like you must know how to
make joined -up writing on a piece of paper! You disgusting, disgraceful
little brat! I’m not even going to give you the time of day or
night! I’m going to bed! Breakfast at seven! Don’t expect
me there! Go out for a walk or something!
Good-night!’
He walked out, slamming the door very hard behind him. Panny just
stood there, amazement and despair filling her up.
Later, that night, she lay
miserably on her bed, shivering with cold under the thin blanket. What had
she done wrong? She probably wouldn’t get any interview now. The editor
would heave a great sigh, roll his eyes to heaven, and not give her the chance
to take any important opportunities again. So much for her career. She lay
there feeling sorry for herself. As she looked up at the ceiling, she began
to be aware of the invisible noise of the big house. She heard the hiss and
buzz of a fly trapped against the window. She could faintly hear the small
echoes of traffic noise in the street outside. Far below her, she could even
hear the soft whisperings and murmurings of the furniture, settling itself
more comfortably. And she could also still hear that lovely music –was
it by Chopin? – playing below her. Or was it her imagination? As she
listened, there was a little sound of laughter, just for a second, down below.
It sounded too deep to be Shan-Lin and Peter. She gradually fell into an uneasy,
broken sleep.
Next morning, she got up,
washed and dressed and went down for breakfast. Penny was surprised and worried
for two reasons. The first, that there was a delicious hot breakfast waiting
for her in the hotplates in the dining-room, together with a fresh pot of tea,
and toast that had been newly made. The second was that there was absolutely
no-one around, even when she called out. But someone had been up before her
and made breakfast. There was no sign at all of Welkin.. By her plate, on the
table lay a key, which, when she tried it in the front door lock, fitted perfectly.
Her spirits rose. Perhaps he might give her an interview after all! But for
now, she had nothing to do, and no-one to talk to, so she went up to get a
coat and decided to walk around Brighton, which she had never visited before.
It was a late winter’s
afternoon, and it was almost dark when she came back, and let herself in. By
this time she was cold and hungry again, and she was quite definitely in a
mood not to put up with Welkin and his insufferable rudeness. So when
she saw the light under the living-room door, she marched straight in. There
was Welkin, sitting in one of the armchairs, reading a large book, with the
aid of small spectacles perched on the end of his nose.
‘Where’ve you been, you nasty little piece of stupidity
and incompetence! I’ve had to wait for you! Just pack your stupid
little bag, and clear off! Now!’
For
Penny, this was the last straw. She no longer cared about her job,
or about her career, nothing, but to tell Welkin what she thought
of him.
‘You horrible, vicious, hopeless, rude, unreasonable, ridiculous
old man! You conceited, arrogant, untidy, miserable old fool! You disgraceful,
pathetic excuse for an architect! I wish I’d never come here
and had the bad luck to meet you! You have the manners of a pig, you
don’t even know how to treat anyone with any courtesy, because
all you do is insult them! I don’t care if nobody remembers you!
You don’t deserve to be remembered! I really hate you and you
should never have been some kind of genius! As far as I am concerned,
you don’t deserve any of that hero-worship! You’re just
a bad-mannered, nasty old rogue! And now I’m going!’
Her fists were clenched by her sides. Her face was scarlet with rage
and humiliation. She turned to go. What stopped her was a sound behind
her. It was the sound of two hands clapping together vigorously.
Slowly she turned. There,
was Welkin, still sitting in the armchair, applauding. But his face was different.
It bore now a wonderful, wide beaming smile. He had changed completely. ‘Is
this some kind of joke?’ she finally asked. ‘Because if it is,
I do not find it funny!’ ‘No,’ he answered, still laughing
silently. ‘Listen’. She listened. Behind the door from which the
two young people had come the day before, another two hands could be heard,
clapping. And then two more pairs of hands joined in, all behind the door.
There was a short deep laugh also, exactly like the one she thought she had
heard in the night. Then the door opened.
A smaller, more slender figure
than Welkin appeared, but sitting in a wheelchair, that was gently pushed by
Peter, with Shan-Lin walking along beside him. The man in the wheelchair was
clapping as well, together with Shan-Lin. He stopped in front of her. ‘Hello,
my dear’. he said gently. ‘Come and sit down beside me’.
Peter wheeled him to one of the sofas, and helped him out onto the sbabby,
but soft piece of furniture. She sat down by him, and the others all took their
seats in armchairs around. No hostility and anger was there, just a kind friendship.
‘My dear, Penny, isn’t it?’ The man in the wheelchair
said to her. ‘I am so sorry we played a bit of a joke on you,
but it was well-meant. I will explain to you now. This is Peter, my
companion, and this is Shan-Lin, who plays wonderful music for me’.
He paused. ‘And this is Simon Welkin’. She had no words
at all. ‘Simon is my brother, He deals with all the reporters
and the other people, and pretends to be me. Myself – the …how
did you put it?….the bad-mannered, nasty old rogue’.
‘Who
are you? she finally asked.
‘Well, you see, I am John Welkin, the architect’.
Penny at last found the words. ‘Why did you trick me? Making
me think that he was you! Why were you so cruel to me?
‘I am very sorry. but I do not like people coming to see me.
I have my brother to protect me, and also Peter and Shan-Lin. I did
not mean to hurt you, because I know and believe that you really wanted
to come and talk to me. We made a little test for you, and I was pleased
and happy that you had the courage and the determination to stand up
to my brother. He was very impressed.’ He smiled at his brother,
who smiled back.
‘But why? I don’t
understand!’
‘My brother enjoys being an actor. That was, and is his profession.
He is my other side, my bad side, that I like to show to the world
to keep them away. You see, there are many, many people in this world
that I don’t like, and I want to keep some peace and quiet for
myself. Not from you, because I have seen how strong and fiery and
determined you are, and I feel that that is wonderful to have in yourself.
Your own faith and confidence, and your refusal to allow others to
treat you badly. That is what I like about you. You have the goodness,
that comes with true confidence, and you are also someone that I feel
I can talk to. I have built and designed wonderful things, but I will
never know whether the people who I made them for will ever appreciate
them. This is why I trust you, to give a true picture of what I feel
I have achieved in what little time is left. I am dying, and it will
not be long soon now. We all know that, and now you know it too. Please
forgive us, for not trusting you before, but it was truly necessary.
I would like you to come and sit with me, tomorrow and talk, and then,
perhaps, I can provide you with your ‘scoop’ he smiled
at her, as if he was a father to his daughter.
Penny,
at first, did not know what to do. Then she turned to his brother. ‘I’m
sorry to have spoken to you like that’. she said sadly But Simon
smiled and said mysteriously. ‘I’m an actor’. The
she turned to Peter and Shan-Lin. ‘Will you please play some
more music for us? I would really like to hear it again’. They
grinned and nodded, and walked through the door. A few seconds later,
the wonderful sounds of the piano began to float through the door.
John Welkin leaned back and sighed with pleasure. ‘Now, then
Simon. I think that you should put Penny into a rather better room
than that you gave her. She can have a good night’s sleep, and
then we can begin talking after breakfast’. Simon nodded and
his face became a good face, totally unlike how it had been before.
Then Penny and the famous architect lay back on the sofa, listening
to the music, feeling at peace.
The next day was one of the most wonderful in Penny’s life. John
Welkin talked for hours about his work, his life, his ideas and his
love of what he did. At lunch, the others joined them. Penny had lost
all dislike of Simon, who was altogether a different person. Peter
and Shan-Lin talked about how they were devoted to the ‘maestro’ as
they called him, and played more music later in the afternoon. She
found out so many things about John Welkin: about his love for music,
how it inspired his work, the love he felt for life, and how he had
tried to put so much of it into his buildings. She told him about herself,
and he told her what were two amazing things. One was that he had always
put secret rooms into his buildings, not showing them on the plans,
but leaving the owners to discover them on their own. ‘Most of
them never have’. he chuckled. The other was how he felt about
his work. ‘One of the most wonderful things in the world is to
know that you did it right! Also how you got it right! And when I leave
this world, I shall know this – I did it right!’
When she finally returned, she presented her written interview to the
editor. His eyes nearly bulged.
‘This
is fantastic!, How did you do it?’
‘’I don’t know.’ she
replied honestly.
It was only a few weeks later. It was Peter, in fact, who phoned her.
She put the telephone down quietly, and looked out of the office
window. The editor burst in. ‘Penny, I want you to write his
obituary! You were the last person to interview him, remember? So,
do it fast, before anyone forgets!’ She nodded absently. She
turned again to look out of the window. She still heard the buzzing
of a fly, the little creaks and groans of furniture settling, the distant
roar of traffic far away. She also remembered all the secret rooms,
that nobody might discover for many, many years to come.
Dedicated to David Watkin, who died on February 19th, 2008..
Frank Jackson ( 26/02/08)
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