In case you haven’t had the memo, today is National Cappuccino Day.
In a previous life that frothy drink would have been at the centre for a whole host of celebrations. I would probably have taken to the airwaves with The Cappuccino Girls Song, I’d have made sure to have had a picture taken with a layer of froth on my top lip as I cradled a coffee cup in my hands. Tonight I would probably have produced a celebration performance of my musical ‘The Cappuccino Girls’. Not today. I might have a small espresso later with a little tot of whiskey for my ongoing chest cold, but it seems, for the time being at least, my cappuccino days might be over.
That’s the thing about taking on a big project. For months, sometimes years, it is all you can think about. It consumes your thoughts and your dreams. You become obsessive, its all you want to talk about and then…and then you move on to something else.
I remember when I started writing the musical ‘Amazing Grace’ about the Welsh Revival I would read everything I could possibly find about the revivalist Evan Roberts. I would go to his house in Loughor, the house he said where he had met the Almighty and spoken to him face to face as a man speaks to another man. I would sit for hours outside Moriah Chapel just thinking about what it must have felt like to be there in those revival days of 1904 and 1905.
Evan Roberts – The Revivalist.
At the time I could have probably claimed to be an expert on Evan and the Revival and Welsh Politics and Culture in those amazing days. But when the curtain came down for the final time in 2006 I moved on. Earlier this year the Welsh Academy of Voice and Dramatic Arts revived the ‘Revival’ musical. Back in 2005 I had all of the answers. Every song lyric had a reference, every motivation had a reason. As the cast questioned me I wasn’t so sure. The trouble was 20 years later it was all a little bit fuzzy.
Last week I was talking to a recently retired footballer and I told him I could understand how difficult it was to find his place in a world where football wasn’t everything anymore. After years of training and games and travelling with your team mates everything stops. You have to find a new reason. In the world of music we call it ‘post tour blues’. During those weeks of rehearsing and travelling on a tour bus and staying in hotels you build up a whole self-contained world. You have phrases or jokes that you repeat all the time. You get a routine of breakfast, travel, rehearse, perform and bed. Suddenly it’s all over and you are back at home waiting for the phone to ring.
Always working on a new project with Michael Bogdanov
That was one reason I moved on so quickly to writing a new musical after the second tour of Amazing Grace. The hole in my life after the first tour ended was crippling leaving me questioning everything. By the time we were planning the second ‘Grace; tour I was already writing ‘Contender’. From Religion to the Boxing Ring.
One advantage about writing a musical based on the life of Tommy Farr was that I had actually spoken to him in real life. In the early 1980’s I was working as a young radio researcher for the BBC. I was told to ring Mr Farr to invite him onto the show to talk about an upcoming World Title fight. I called, he answered, and I gave him the invitation…his response, ‘How Much?’ At the time I was surprised as no one had ever asked me that question before. He suggested I find out and ring him back.
Mike Doyle training with Mario Maccarinelli
I always had that in the back of my mind as I started my research in 2006. The reason for his question became clear as I found out he came from nothing, made a fortune only to lose it all later in life. On a human level it gave me a great insight into the man and his motivation to become successful.. At least during with the Welsh Revival I understood the power of chapel, and charismatic preachers and hymn singing, when it came to boxing I was clueless
The first thing I did was contact Mario Maccarinelli who ran the Bonymaen Boxing Gym. At the time his son Enzo was rocking the world of boxing and Mario had been in his corner from the start. As I continued to visit the gym I saw the levels of dedication required to be a boxer. The running, skipping and punch bag all designed to toughen you up for those 3 minute rounds. I also spent time with Enzo Calzaghe at his gym in Newbridge. What I learnt from those tough men with real hearts of gold helped me more than watching any number of bouts where people tried to beat the living daylights out of each other.
Of Course, it turned out that Amazing Grace wasn’t about religion, Contender wasn’t about boxing and Cappuccino Girls wasn’t about coffee.
My Coffee musical was an extension of a song I had written about the mums in our local school who met every day after dropping off the kids in school. In those days if you were lucky enough to get a seat nearby you could often over hear them sharing some absolutely astounding stories!!! But in the same way I wanted to understand how the world of boxing actually worked I wanted to understand the world of coffee making.
The origin of coffee is hard to pinpoint. Some say a 9th century Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi noticed his flock got energetic after eating coffee berries. He tried them himself and liked the feeling. He then shared the berries with a local monastery where the monks used them to help stay awake in late night prayer meetings.
I seemed to start my coffee journey just as the world of coffee making was starting to evolve into an art form. I soon discovered that there was a competition for the best Baristas in the World and that in 2009 it was won by a young man Gwilym Davies. I spoke to Gwilym to get an insight into the world of competitive coffee making. Again the dedication and attention to detail was incredible. The rest of the time I spent in cafes eavesdropping on conversations!!!
So today I will let my mind drift back to a time when for me coffee was everything. Where I could explain the differences between an Americano and a Macchiato. Happy Cappuccino Day and remember those coffee aficionados, the Italians always say you drink Cappuccino until 11am, from then on its Espresso all the way.