ANTIQUES and LIVING LEGENDS

A couple of weeks ago, I had a close-enough-for-me brush with a legend-in-his-own-time!

We live in a very small lakeside resort town in the Rocky Mountains. Not too much happens here, except that it can become very busy during the summer and on holidays. That is when the seasonal homeowners and tourists descend upon our valley.
We have been known to have our share of "famous" visitors, as well.
I work in a slightly larger centre, ten minutes away, with a population of slightly under five thousand souls. Main street is barely one-half km long...
Although the town is small, it is the business centre for the surrounding area about the valley.

We are located approximately one hour's drive from the internationally renowned resort town of Banff. That journey from here to there through the mountains and two national parks is a treat in itself!
Most people, if not familiar with, have at least heard of Banff. It is a beautiful mountain town. I know this firsthand, because I lived and worked there for several years before settling here. While living in the Banff area, I had several encounters with different "stars".
All in a days work...

Three weeks ago The Rolling Stones played a concert in Calgary, the nearest large city to us. It is about three hour's drive away and one must drive by Banff in order to get there.
Alas, we were unable to purchase tickets, as they were sold out within a matter of minutes.

One day, shortly before Halloween, one of the fellows I work with commented upon a group of people walking down Main Street. Their look was slightly out of place and the comment given was somewhat along the lines of "early Halloween, is it?".
I gave it no more thought after I watched them enter the antiques store next door.

Two weeks later, as I was reading the weekly local newspaper, an article caught my eye. It was about how a local antiques dealer was curious as to the identity of some customers who had visited his store. Upon further investigation later in the day, he discovered that the mysterious visitors were indeed Ron Wood, guitarist from The Rolling Stones, and his small entourage!
They had inquired about an antique tea chest and were discussing how to ship it back to London. In the end, they did not purchase the piece, but thanked the store owner and left as quietly and unassumingly as they had arrived.

The interesting part of this, from my personal point of view, is I have a blogging friend, Rachel Fuller. She is a sweet, funny, lively and talented singer/songwriter and musician.
She also happens to be the girlfriend of Pete Townshend...
(You may of heard of him - "My Generation", "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Reily", "Who Are You" - yes! That guy).
Rachel is also friends with Ron Wood and his wife, Jo.

It is a small world, indeed...