When we arrived at Brussels and left the platform there was no one there to meet us. Not even the Belgium agent who had promised to be there. I looked around at the arrivals area and then went and looked outside the station around the taxi area. But there was no one. I came back to the lads and then phoned the festival co-ordinator. She assured me that the driver was there. He has a blue BMW town car, she said. I told her to get the driver to call me and tell me where he was. We left the station and went and sat just outside. The driver called just as he was walking out of the station and I saw him before I answered my phone. Well he came over and apologised for not being at the gate, but he said he had parking difficulties and that he had parked about a 5 minutes walk away.

Well we started to follow him and it became apparent that he did not know where he was going.
He kept stopping and looking around bemused as he tried to figure out just where he had left his car.
I can assure you dear reader that we did not hassle the driver, we just let him lead us in what was effectively a circle before he actually found his vehicle. Well it wasn't blue and it wasn't a BMW!
It was a grey Ford Transit minibus. Well once we had sat down the driver started on the journey.
He went straight ahead and that was a dead end. He reversed back and turned left and went down the road a piece and went round the roundabout and came down the same dead end street from where we had started from. He reversed again, and this time mounted the divider in the middle of the road to turn the other way. On reaching the roundabout he stopped and pondered for a while and then took the exit before the dead end street and we were away, well sort of. We seem to be talking a guided tour of Brussels without the commentary. But as the driver was not from Brussels, he could be excused.

The journey to Geel took 90 minutes and then we arrived at our hotel. Already in the hotel were Julien (Musical Riot), Mark Iration, Danman and our Belgium agent………..Hmmmmmmmmmm!!!
We dropped our bags and went outside to chat to Julien, Mark and Danman at the front of the hotel.

13:30: Well the talk got round to food and how none of us had actually eaten anything. Fuzzy and Aba went back to their rooms to change and I went and asked the receptionist about something to eat.
Well the hotel didn't do lunch so we had to think of something else. The receptionist told us of a fast food outlet which was just up the road in the town, so I went to check what the lad wanted to eat.

13:40: When I came back into the reception our agent, Julien and Mark were gone and when I looked through the window I saw them driving out in a car being driven by our agent. It was her car. I rushed outside and the car stopped and our agent said and I quote, "Don't worry, we will bring something back for you to eat", and with that the car accelerated out of the car park in a cloud of dust…………….Hmmmmmm!

Well dear reader, those that have read my reports before will get see from the style above that tings were not exactly making me smile, and as the song by 'The Crash Test Dummies' goes 'Things That Make You Go Hmmm', precisely!
Well I went back to the lad and told them what a gwan and we retired to the bar area to get a hot drink and await the arrival of our food!

14:00: Fuzzy and Aba played table football as I pondered. Well the time pasted and I wondered where the food had got to. So I went out of the bar to see what was keeping them. As I passed through the corridor I saw Julien and Mark with food, so I returned to the bar and got the lads and we went in search of our agent.
Well the agent was sitting down at a table chomping down on some hot food and when I asked what had been brought back for us, the silence was deafening. You could have heard a mosquito passing wind on the far side of the planet, such was the stillness.. I just shook my head when she sheepishly informed me that the food shop was only a five minute walk up the road.
Well dear reader I am not a man of violence, but neither am I a fool, and the reaction of most people in this situation and I am taking about volatile musicians, would have been to take the food and dash it in her face. Most people, who take my kindness for weakness, find out very suddenly that David was not only a musician; he was also a great warrior. You get me!
But I am a peaceable man, and there is more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes. So I confirmed the directions to the shop and the lads and I went to get something to eat.
As I have already said, musicians can be very volatile individuals and the talk as we were walking along the hot dusty road dodging the scooter riders and cyclists cannot be repeated in these hollowed pages.
Well we reached the food shop and ordered our meals and sat down to eat them.

15:20: Finally fed and watered we made our way back to the hotel.
We were being picked up at 19:00 to be taken to the festival site to sound check and chill (we were scheduled to go on at 21:00), so we had a couple of hours to get some rest.

18:40: I went outside and the driver was waiting for us. I went and rallied the lads and we boarded the minibus. As we were leaving we spotted the agent's daughter and she told us without being asked, that her mother was sleeping. So we left the hotel without our agent………….Hmmmmm!

The trip to the festival was prolonged by a massive traffic jam and the amount of flashing blue lights and sirens that was evident I thought that there had been a major accident.
I said this out loud to the lads and the driver corrected me and said "No. It is due to the festival"!
I looked at Aba and then at Fuzzy and we all smiled.

19:50: We eventually arrived at the festival site and I was finally to meet Bianca, the festival coordinator.
We had exchanged numerous emails, but had never met. We were shown to our dressing room and allocated a runner. Well the runner allocated herself, as she said "I really wanted to be the runner for the people who had all their contracts and especially their rider sorted out. I have never seen anything like it and the fact that you had put down even the type of cigarettes that you required, Bensons & Hedges. I have never seen that on a rider before"! We just smiled and accepted her praise graciously.

The dressing room was kitted out as specified and before we could sit down and chill the runner knocked on the door and asked would we like to eat before the sound check or after the show. I told her that we would like to see where we were performing and then come back and eat before the show. She smiled and asked us to follow her.
The stage we were playing on was a short walk from our dressing room and it did not take long to realise that all was in order and I mean it did not take long, 5 minutes. With that part over we had 50 minutes before we were due to go on, so it was back to get some hot food.

The festival had supplied authentic Jamaican caters and on seeing us and the locks in evidence wanted us to talk, for as she put it "Me love fi hair my people dem talk". Well on hearing us talk she look surprised and asked "You is Jamaican init"? We explained that we were from Caribbean heritage, but we resided in London. The food on offer was traditional Jamaican fare so we ordered what we wanted to eat on our return from the sound stage.

20:00: The sound stage was on ground level with two stacks of speakers and one enormous flared horn array which had been laid on the ground. The sound quality was excellent. The runner and sound engineers asked if it was ok. I looked at Aba and Fuzzy and we all smiled. I nodded at the questioners and we then went back to get our food.

20:20: On arrival backstage, Mark Iration, Danman, Julien and our agent were just entering the production cabin. We said "Hi" and went and got our meals and retired back to our changing room.

20:45: As we chilled there was a knock at our door. It was the runner who on pointing to our agent asked did we want her to come in and to remind us that we had 15 minutes before show time. We said we were ready and left the room and made our way to the sound stage, leaving the agent standing looking bemused. The runner told me as we made our way to the sound stage that the agent had asked the promoter for the key to the changing room, but as there was only one and I had that, the promoter's answer was in the negative.

21:00: Well what can I say that I haven't written in these pages before. It was a wicked session and the sound was awesome. Nuff people from all corners were present. The German, Dutch, French, Italian, contingents were in evidence, and Sister Nicole I saw you, even though you tried to hide from the camera.

21:40: There was an enclosed tent across from us where U-Roy and the Jamaican DJ's were performing, so I wandered over to check it out. Well it was the usual, nothing to write home about, so I won't.
The one thing though that was noticeable, was the sound. The sound from where Aba was playing was cutting through this tent and the bass was shocking up the place. It got so bad for the performers in this tent that one of their managers complained to the promoter about our volume and asked that we be turned down. I smiled when the promoter shook his head and then got the level in the tent turned up. The sound quality in the tent suffered dramatically because of the volume increase and it made the performances pretty dire.

I have a great deal of respect for the pioneering Jamaican artists present here, but when it comes to DJ's I prefer I-Roy to U-Roy. Brigadier Jerry to Ranking Joe, Prince Far-I, Black Skin, Samuel, Zacky, Jah Lloyd, Pebbles, Jah Berry and the whole of the foundation chanters that chat 'sense' rather than 'no-sense'. But this is a personal preference and each one to their own. Classic tracks by DJ's that didn't normally chat sense include General Echo's: 'Even Tide Fire', Mikey Dread's: 'Autobiography',
Ranking Dread's: 'Same Ting Ah Happen Everyday', to name just a few.

22:00: I left the tent and made my way back to the sound stage to take in the vibe and take some more pictures.

23:00: The time running and passing and the people were jumping. Mark Iration was skanking about the place like he was on elastic (elastic is not a new drug, it is a stretchy loop of rubber); such was the energy and the vibe.

00:00: Aba played his last tune and thanked the assembled for turning up. He then handed the baton over to Mark and the vibe continued, albeit inna 'Iration style'.

00:30: We said our farewells to the production people and made our way back to the hotel. What happened to the changing room key I hear you ask?
I gave it back to the runner who declined to hand it over to our agent, even when the agent started demanding it and kicking up a fuss. The explanation given was as 'we' the act had finished, and in the process of leaving the festival site, there was no longer any need for a changing room for us. Makes sense.

01:00: We arrived back at he hotel and had a little conference about the events of the day. We had an early pick up at 06:00 to catch the first Eurostar back to London. The pick up by the taxi had been booked for 05:30.We had to be in Leicester with our sound system, playing by midday. We could not afford to miss the train and disappoint the multitude that were going to be in attendance to celebrate their adopted son, Aba Shanti-I. As it was the 18th anniversary of the Aba Shanti-I sound system playing in Leicester. So we retired to our rooms to get some well earned rest.

06:00: I awoke with a start and the colour drained from my face, I nearly became a negative, as I looked at the time. I flung on my clothes and rushed to the reception to see if the taxi driver was still waiting. I banged on the other two's door as I made my way to alert them to the fact that we were LATE!
On arrival in reception I was greeted by a cavernous void. No receptionist and no taxi driver.
Oh F**K!
I rang the receptionist bell and he stumbled round to the desk. I could see that I had just got him out of his bed. That meant that he hadn't been woken by the taxi driver. I asked the question anyway and got a shake of the head. No taxi driver as far as he was aware of had called at the hotel. Like he would have noticed anyhow.
I am a practical man and took the precaution of getting the taxi company's telephone number and the name of the driver from Bianca, even though she said that there would be no need as the taxi company were very reliable.
06:15: Mark Iration had by this time appeared in reception looking to get some breakfast as he had an early pickup as well. I went outside and phoned the taxi company. The train was leaving at 07:55 and it was an hour an a half to hour forty drive to get to Brussels.
06:20: The taxi controller said he would call me back when he had contacted the driver. Aba and Fuzzy were now in reception looking very bleary eyed.
06:26: A taxi pulled up outside the hotel and I rushed outside to see if it was for us.
The driver said his pick up was Mark Iration and he was going to the airport. Well Mark was having his breakfast and we were ready to go, so I explained the situation to the driver who then called his controller.
06:35: After a quick conversation he said he would take us to the train station and the driver that should have picked us up would be along soon to pick up Mark.
I called the lads and we jumped into the car and we were away.
The driver explained how long it should take us to reach the station, but he would do his best to get us there before we missed the train.
Well I and the lads can testify that the cab driver's best was most excellent. My man bulleted his taxi at some high speeds and we arrived at the train station with 20 minutes to spare.
Our heartfelt thanks to the driver; who risked speeding tickets, and not forgetting the police to get us to the station. To Mark, I hope the taxi turned up and you made your plane, but as you can read we had to catch the train.

Raspects is due to The Taxi Driver, Bianca and the Whole of the Reggae Geel Team, strictly professional in all respects, Mark (For us taking your taxi), DanMan, Fuzzy, Julien, Michelle, JA Caterers, Sis Nicole, The man who gave us the badges (please get in contact), and to all the rocking and shocking people in attedance....One Love.

Well the gate had not appeared on the board as yet, so I went in search of information desk to find out where the check in desk was located. Finding the info desk was a task in itself. Anyway once I had found it, the person behind the desk told me that the check in desk would be in the 'K' area of the airport.
So I made my way back and we all went to the designated, but as yet not notified area 'K'.
Well there was no one there. But as I had it on good authority that this area was correct, we waited.

At 06:15 two women came and started preparing the check in desk and in a very short space of time we had checked in, gone through security and immigration, and we were now sitting at the departure gate waiting for the plane. Nuff smoothness and lack of hassle.
The plane was slightly delayed by 15 minutes, but as we had designated seats there was no mad stampede when the plane did finally board.
I did my usual of getting in some sleep after taking my seat, for who knows when the opportunity would present itself again!
I woke up after about 90 minutes. The sky was clear, the sun was beating down, the sea was a turquoise green and we were preparing to land. Tings were running real nice.The landing of the plane could have been a little better, but I put it down to the pilot having transferred from 'Rancher's Air' and trying to make an impression. But I wish he hadn't tried to make an impression of the plane in the runway.

Well we disembarked from the plane and the weather to say the least was surprising. It was warm and considering where we were that was strange.
We breezed through immigration and were met by the driver from the festival.
We had come a day early on the Thursday (we were playing on the Friday) so we didn't have the stress of airport in, hotel, venue, hotel and then airport out.
The drive to the hotel was uneventful and as we booked in the hotel, arrangements were made to come and pick us up at 18:00 to be taken to see the venue. We went to our rooms to chill.

We were collected by a young lady from the festival who informed us that venue was on an island and that we would take the ferry across to it. That was cool as the ferry stop was just besides the hotel.
The ferry journey was short and soon we were on the other side.
As we walked the short distance to the venue I chatted to the young lady to find out more of the history of the festival and the country.
It seems that the island was once the preserve of the communist's leaders and the disused Dacha we walked passed was testimony to this. The island was now a national park and nature reserve.

The venue itself was the yacht club and the festival was being held in the grounds.We were introduced to the organisers, Andrus and crew and were allotted an ex pat Englishman, Mark, to act as our guide/interpreter. Mark was also a dj and goes by the name of 'DJ Splinter' and had come to Lithuania a few years previously and never left. He told us the history of the place and of the collective putting on this festival called 'Satta'.
They were very happy to have us come and play their festival and we were happy to be there.

All around the marina there were Red, Gold and Green flags. All the boats had them also. I was well impressed, that they had gone to all that trouble for us. It was only when I was speaking to Mark that I realised that the flags were not in our honour, but that they were the colours of the Lithuanian flag.
We chilled for a good 4 hours just chatting and running joke and ting.

Well it was time to leave and go back to the hotel and just as we were leaving to walk the short distance to catch the ferry we were stopped and told that a car would take us back. Well the car ferry was right across the other end of the island and it ran every 20 minutes. It would be easier to return on the foot ferry we arrived on, but Andrus would not hear of it, even though I protested that it was alright as it was not a chore and we did not want to be treated as 'Supers'.
So we were escorted to a silver BMW and were driven back to the hotel via the car ferry. Arrangements were made to pick us up at 15:00 the following day to do the sound check.

The following morning we were up bright and early and went down for breakfast. Well Babar and I were anyway. As we were having breakfast the party of German tourists who were also staying at the hotel came into the breakfast area en-mass. They proceeded to partake of their breakfasts, but they kept looking at Babar and I. When Aba finally surfaced and entered the restaurant the looks they gave us got more intense.
I know what you are thinking, but you would be wrong! Eventually one of their party came over to us and asked where we were from and what we were doing in Lithuania?
We explained where we came from and what we were doing and he explained who they were and why they were staring. They were a group of retired persons who were a cycling club and they had come to Lithuania to retrace their heritage. They were originally from Lithuania and were displaced as children during World War II to Poland, which is very close to Lithuania, and then they ended up in Germany after the Russian occupation of Lithuania and Poland. This was their journey back to see their old villages and where they had come from. He explained that the reason they were staring is that you don't see many Black people (for many read as 'any') in Lithuania, especially Klaipeda where we were. Vilnius maybe, as it is more cosmopolitan. Well he shook our hands and as I looked around the room the stares had made way for smiles. As the cycling group left the restaurant to start their heritage ride, they lined up to shake hands with us.

We finished our breakfast and then went outside to soak up a few rays and plan out the day. As we talked a smiling old man came up and started talking to us. The only problem was he was speaking Lithuanian.
I don't know how, but I was able to understand the gist of what he was saying.
He was welcoming us to his country and saying how good it was that people like us were visiting and we were most welcome. Not like the Russians who he despited.
Well you could say that there is no way that I could have understood what the man was saying especially as I don't speak Lithuanian. But I tell you, that is what he said. (Jah works in mysterious ways, me ah tell you dread). When he had finished talking he shook our hands, hugged us and then departed.
Aba went back to his room to rest and Babar and I went for a wander around the town.

As Babar and I explored the town we were surprised at the reaction we were getting. People, especially women were smiling at us. Example, we were crossing the road and from a shop, women were rushing to the windows and waving at us. We waved back. The woman that walked into the lamp post as she watched us go by. The women that waved to us from the buses and the cars. Strictly nuff niceness!

Babar and I ambled along the canal and went to the traditional market that was there. We then walked till we found a little Russian type market where they sold all kinds of everything and a little more besides.

Also on our travels we found a building with 'Zing' in its name and I know that the rest of you readers will not understand the significants of this and I have no intention of explaining it, but Aba and especially Babar will. Nuff joke ah run about the Gideon chicken and the Gideon burger, with or without fries, and bwoy, not even an offer of a little salad wid it, let alone corn pan de Gideon cob, to rahtid!

We wandered around for a few hours and then made our way back to the hotel to prepare for the pick up at 15:00.
The driver came and collected us from the hotel right on time and we went back to the festival site to do the sound check. He was a big fan of our music even though he had never heard the Aba Shanti-I sound system in full effect, he only had the released music and some live session cd's, which someone had brought back to Lithuania from their travels. But he was a big fan and thanked us for coming to play the 'Satta Festival'.

Well we arrived at the festival site and Aba started his sound check. I was speaking to some of the Satta crew and told them that I had gone for a walk around the town, suddenly there was silence. You could have heard a pin drop and the look on their faces. "Where did you actually go" I was asked?
I told them that Babar and I had gone through the old town in search of a bank to change some money and they started to shake their heads.
They told me that the old town over the last few years has developed quite a bad reputation what with the rise of the Neo Nazi Nationalistic Skinheads, who see any foreigner as a potential target. They explained that a few weeks previous, a man of colour had been brutally attacked in the old town.
Well I said that we did not experience any bad vibes or feel threatened while we were walking around, just the opposite. But I did notice that there were no other people of colour (any colour), not even Chinese or Indians, as we walked the streets. (You see, Jah protects and guides).

Well the sound check completed we were taken back to the hotel in the BMW. As the driver was reversing out of the quayside he ran into the gate.
On going forward he hit the post and on manoeuvring, grounded the front spoiler. He didn't seemed to care about the damage he had done to the car.
I know a few man that would have been in tears to have damaged their stush Bimmer like that.

When we got to the car ferry port there was a massive queue waiting to board. But as Jah would it a member of the Satta crew had just come off the ferry and he stopped when he saw us in the queue. He had a priority pass which meant we could go straight to the front. He gave it to our driver and to the front of the line we went.

The driver arranged to come and get us at 22:30.
Time 22:30 and we are on our way back to the island. The amount of people heading to the festival is quite staggering and three ferries are now running rather than the normal one.
We arrive back at the site and the amount of people was a lot more than the promoter's prediction.
We are shown our dressing room and we deposit our stuff and go and check out the festival.

DJ Mark Splinter was in the block house running a Dubstep session. There is a live beat crew on the main stage and all over the place there are little pockets of music being performed. The night was hot and it was about to get hotter.

Between the sound check and the performance the front of house mixer had blown up! So the promoters had to get a replacement and this delayed the whole programme by one and a half hours.

Aba took the stage at 01:30 and started the session in earnest. I did my usual of wandering around and taking photos. The vibe was just as the previous two days had been, just niceness.

We finished the set at 04:40 to allow a local band to play who had images and video as part of their set and as the sun was rising the images and video would have loss just a little of their impact.
We packed up and went back to our dressing room to await our transport to the airport.
We were booked on the 07:00 flight back to Stansted and the car ferry started running at 05:00.

04:55 We said our farewells and we were on our way back to the airport after having one of the most relaxing and enjoyable trips as touring musicians.
I wish all musical expeditions were of this standard of care and attention. For this we would like to send thanks to Andrus, Mark, our drivers and minders etc, and the whole of the Satta crew of friends and artists. To the people of Lithuania who made us feel so welcomed, especially the beautiful women who could not stop staring at us. To those who might have not been so welcoming, but they didn't cross our path, (Jah guides and protects. Yer no see it!) and to all the festival patrons for such a mellow and pleasant vibe. One Love. The Humble Lion, Aba Shanti-I & Babar.

People who tried to get to us from around 14:30 faced Police cordons at all the street junctions. They nearly had riots with their attitude at a number of locations.This was beyond our control. So next year to make sure of your Roots & Culture vibration, get to our spot EARLY. I cannot emphasise this enough...EARLY!!!!!!

Full reports and pictures coming very soon................The Humble Lion.

SISTER AUDREY.

HORNSMAN DL.

EMMANUEL JOSEPH (KOJAK)

SISTER MIRIAM.

BLOOD SHANTI.

WILL ALL BE IN ATTENDANCE!

From 15:00 on Carnival Monday, these artistes will be performing their latest releases inna PA stylee on the Mighty Aba Shanti-I sound system. Afterwards they will be available to meet and greet on the Falasha stall to sign autographs and ting, but more importantly to reason with you! Yes you! You no me ah talk to you!
This is an opportunity not to be missed! For when was the last time you could reason with the artistes of the music you have admired and spent your hard earned coins of the realm on.
Falasha bringing the live Roots vibes right inna the heart of de ghetto. Giving back to the people who have given to us. You no see it!

Cat No: FR 12004
Side A: Road To Zion
Artist: Kojak

Side A: Road To Dub
Artist: Kojak & The Shanti-ites

Side AA: Jah Lord
Artist: The Shanti-Ites.

Side AA: Jah Lord Dub
Artist: The Shanti-ites

Heartical ghetto man vibes vocalist and Falasha family member, Kojak. You have heard the voice pon Aba Shanti-I dubplates for the longest time, now you can get a slice for yourselves. Roots, and nothing but the Roots! Haile, Haile, Haile I, Haile I. We are trodding the road to Zion.

Cat No: FR 12003
Side A: Forward Home
Artist: Sister Audrey

Side A: Forward Home Dub
Artist: Sister Audrey & The Shanti-ites

Side AA: Blazing Horns
Artist: D.L.

Side AA: Blazing Horns Dub
Artist: D.L. & The Shanti-ites

Both sides feature a dub cut. You know it makes sense!

One Love The Humble Lion

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