Ok, where was I? Oh, yeah, twist of fate #4 because I could have
chosen from one of several boats there along the River Thames.
Floating serenly down river, our guide/operator/captain pointed our
various sites along the banks within eyeshot. Then, the young pilot
said that "...and off to the left is the house where Jimmy Page, the
former guitarist of Led Zeppelin, resides", and I just about fell
overboard! I tried to get a picture, but by the time I had my camera
up, trees obscured the view, and it was gone.

My heart pounding and my brain buzzing, I asked the pilot if this
last was a true statement, which he assured me that it was, and he
wasn't joking, and then I proceeded to get directions from him to
that area from where the boat docked about 15 minutes upriver.
Following his directions, I seemed to be lost, when I spied a
gentleman with semi-long hair, in his late 40's or so, walking
towards me on the opposite side of the street, so I asked him if he
lived in this area, and knew where Page resided (I explained who I
was, where I was from, why I was in England, how I happened to hear
about Page's house here, that my intent was only to snap a picture of
his house - I wanted to assure him that I wasn't a deranged fan). He
was very cordial, informed me that he indeed did live close by, and
gave the the corrected directions to get to Jimmy's abode.

After I thanked him, and he was walking away, he turned to say
that "by the way, there's a little pub up the street from Mr. Page's
house called 'The Swan Inn' (no relationship to Swan Song Records),
that was owned and operated by Jimmy's former housekeeper. He let me
know that it was a good place for a brew, with a friendly
neighborhood crew, and not the very young crowd typical at the chain
bars (the drinking age is 18 there). NOTE: Twist of fate #5 - he
told me this last as an aside that he almost forgot about - if not
for this chance meeting on the street, and his last comment, I would
not be writing this story.

I finally found myself standing at the end of a very quaint and
lovely lane in Windsor,
staring between the gates guarding the entrance to his walled
compound. I was getting my camera ready, when I noticed a man across
the street giving me the eye.
I explained everything to him (who I was, where I was from, what I
was doing in England, why I was standing in front of Jimmy's house),
and he seemed to relax, and while getting into his car, said to
me "If you're that big of a fan, why don't you ring his buzzer?" He
took off in his car, leaving me standing there wondering.....

To be continued....

Zepman