Vanessa-Mae's feedback to our 2013 bday questions finally

[Xanthippe]

Much to my surprise, I received an email today from Vanessa-Ma's personal assistance with her feedback to our 2013 bday project, see below questions are and Vanessa-Mae's answers in bold.

I asked to pass our gratitude for this interesting feedback and our greetings to Vanessa-Mae!

1 The first question is of course how are you doing? How do you feel about yet turning one year older - 35 now! Does that thrill you or is it simple another number. How are Lionel and Maximus? We hope you are all happy, and in good physical or mental condition?

VM: 35 does sound super old to me but, since I already felt old at 12, age is only a number for sure. Thank you - we are all busy bees as usual.

2 How is qualifying for the Olympics going? We read about a nasty disqualifying result in New Zealand at the Coronet Peak, but that is the only result we know of. The official website of the International Ski Federation does not provide any more results for you!

VM: Every day is a new experience for me so I make all the usual rookie mistakes and more. Coronet Peak was my first race ever and I had no idea that it was a rolling start so I was expecting a cue by way of an announcement of my name or number - so when I suddenly heard a beep and saw no other skiers in the vicinity, I rushed to the start gate, made it just in time and was chatting to the referee as I pushed off! Once the steep section was over and I reached the flat section, I then inexplicably skied on the other side of a red gate. I learnt a few valuable lessons that day, including there are no short cuts to gaining experience. I was also relieved that I was not nervous before my first race and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, even if there were a few entertaining moments.

3 We've read in a online newspaper that you did some training sessions with the Russian Team. Was that a leaning experience for you? We assume it was great fun.

VM: It gets crowded on snow in the summer and the Russians were one of many teams on the slopes.

4 We are wondering, are you a reader? What books did you read recently? We read once that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of your favourites, especially his novel "One hundred years of solitude”?

VM: Reading helps me to relax. The last book I read was In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

5 Do you still own your apartment in London? Do you plan to move back after the Olympics, or will Switzerland hold your primary residence?

VM: I own a few properties and, with Max by my side, I now enjoy travelling much more than before.

6 From recent concert and videos, we noticed that you almost always wear ankle-length gowns, where in the past you mostly used dresses of knee length. Is there any particular reason for the switch? Both suit you equally well in out view, and we think you always look great on stage.

VM: I prefer to be more demure now - the audience is still often smarter than me!

7 Can you tell us something about your preparation for concerts? About rehearsal, sound checks, and so on? Is there any special routine and time schedule?

VM: Somehow, no matter how many are in charge of setting up the show, there is always some drama so the least stressful moment for me is when I am on stage.

8 We think that we mentioned it before, but are you aware that your website (http://www.vanessamaeofficial.com) has been hacked and contains malware? What happened to the old domain vanessa-mae.com?

VM: The renewal was overlooked but it is still unlawful for somebody to be using my name.

9 Of course a big issue for us as your fans but are there any plans for a new album? Are there any recordings planned, perhaps already a release date? We hope that you will return to music and the violin after the Olympics. Moreover, we all hope that you will go out on tour too next year. Especially, one of us has a 89 year old Grand-Mother in Seville Spain who is a great fan of yours and she would love to hear you play her favourite track "Theme from Caravans" once live in concert?

VM: I hope to play live for your grandmother one day soon. I will need a rest after my ski project before committing to studio time but it will happen so thank you for your patience.

10 The final question, what did Lionel give you for your 35th birthday as a present? Of course if you find it too private, then please skip this question.

VM: A piano stool, which was exactly what I needed.

VM: Thank you once again for your questions and gift!

[Xanthippe]

I want to make a few remarks to some of Vanessa-Mae's remarks.

Q 1: It's funny that she felt old already when she was 12. It is good to hear that age is just a number to her now.

Q2: She sounds very open over her experiences in the first ever contest that she participated in.

Q4: I've read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote as well. The book is a brilliant story about the brutal slaughter of a peasant family Clutter by two young criminals that took place in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. Capote's book represented the first non-fiction novel ever. Eventually, the two criminals were caught, sentenced to death by hanging that was eventually effectuated in 1965. I can recommend the book to you all.

Q6: It is funny to hear that she opted to be more demure on stage today, wearing long gowns these days. I must say, she definitely looks good in these wonderful long dresses. I am glad that she remained to her desire to have a perfect face with beautiful make-up always. She definitely is an adult woman nowadays.

Q8: I am not sure what to think of this. I always thought record companies take care of these registrations. Anyway, the vanessa-mae.com domain was registered to Sony.

Q9: It is good to read that she still plans to go to the studio. I think it is understandable that she needs some time to rest after her skiing adventures. We will see what comes out of this.

[CarrollTowerCX]

Well, everybody!

This is great news to hear!
I, myself had confidence in our Violin Princess.
I knew her Olympic skiing interfered with the response.

Long may she play!

CX

[zeta]

Better late than never!....but we dont know when she answered this.

Anyway, thank you so much!.

[CarrollTowerCX]

That doesn't matter,...................the important thing is she DID answer!

CX

[Xanthippe]

Better late than never!....but we dont know when she answered this.

Anyway, thank you so much!.

Vanessa-Mae's assistant simply forgot to pass our questions to Vanessa-Mae due to hectic schedules end 2013 and early 2014. He only recently followed this up and brought the questions to Vanessa-Mae's attention. Subsequently, Vanessa-Mae answered our questions and asked her assistant to forward her answers to me. He apologized to me for the delay and appreciated our patience.

So, Vanessa-Mae was not to blame for the delay in feedback in anyway. She kindly answered our questions instantly when she received them.

[CarrollTowerCX]

I had all the confidence in the world that the Olympic push was the cause of the delay.

Viva Vanessa!

CX

[Jafo C ! Null]

and the answers to the 2014 questions?

[Xanthippe]

and the answers to the 2014 questions?

Sorry Jafo for the delay in answering to your remark.

I have not received her feedback yet, but I assume we will not hear from her. That is OK as far as I am concerned. Vanessa-Mae's career is more or less over, so there is no need for her to keep in touch with fans anymore. Her site at http://www.vanessamaeofficial.com is not active anymore, and the
vanessa-mae.com domain was allowed to expire by Sony.

I will, of course, post her feedback her if she might decide to react, but don't count too much on her feedback, I guess.

[dougbabbit]

and the answers to the 2014 questions?

Sorry Jafo for the delay in answering to your remark.

I have not received her feedback yet, but I assume we will not hear from her. That is OK as far as I am concerned. Vanessa-Mae's career is more or less over, so there is no need for her to keep in touch with fans anymore. Her site at http://www.vanessamaeofficial.com is not active anymore, and the
vanessa-mae.com domain was allowed to expire by Sony.

I will, of course, post her feedback her if she might decide to react, but don't count too much on her feedback, I guess.

Have a little faith.......

[CarrollTowerCX]

ABSOLUTELY !

CX

[zeta]

That's right, we have half a year ahead!.