TRAVELS WITH THE KNOB: ATHENS 2011
TRAVELS WITH THE KNOB* ATHENS 2015 The KNOB participated in the 2011 European Oompah Championships last May, known to the initiated as Euroompah! On arrival in Athens, we found posters the length of the main drag proclaiming "Euroompah Go Home! And take your hot air with you!" Charming. Apparently the work of the Greek bouzouki players' union. The contest was to take place in the magnificent Megaron Mouzikis, an enormous concert complex with several auditoria and a vast marble atrium where lederhosen and dirndl clad musicians from all over Europe were already gathering on Sunday and meeting up with old friends. Some groups were practising in corners, creating a cacophony of trumping which echoed around the vast space. It was sheer pandemonium, to use an ancient Greek term. Bert, who had flown in separately from Dusseldorf, met us at the hotel with a long face. All the triangles had been lost by Lufthansa. This wrecked our entire plan, as we had rehearse...