What a state we are all in – worldwide – and Covid is everywhere.
WE MUST ABIDE BY THE RULES.
I think most people are and with the vaccine promising an improvement in the frightening numbers of new cases and deaths, I hope there is hope.
Then there’s the Trump affair. Unbelievable scenes captured of rioters running amuck by our own local, now international, cameraman Mark Davey, how brave is he. It’s terrifying what Trump might do next, the one thing I can’t understand is that only now is Nancy Pelosi and her mates talking about their president being ‘deranged’ . He’s been deranged for years and no one was brave enough to face up to him. Now look what’s happened – chaos is an understatement and impeachment too late. As for removing him from a scene in film Home Alone 2 when he meets a little boy looking for directions, leave him there as a warning to all adults and children – don’t ever ask him for directions to anywhere or anything ever again.
And then there are the repercussions since 1st January 2021 and Brexit. There are empty shelves around the place not because of panic buying but lack of goods coming from the other UK countries and the EC. Just a matter of getting paperwork sorted? I hope so, like the vaccine we’ll see.
Am I sounding pessimistic? I suppose like everyone else my mood swings from despondency to happiness, learning to make a reasonable nut roast makes me feel good, clearing out cupboards is exciting when you find long lost treasures, children’s letters, the one elusive earring, a crown coin with Queen Victoria’s head on it. Worth a fortune maybe? Sadly not according to antique sites on the Internet.
MOVING ON
The Christmas Tree came down during the week as per tradition. At the moment there’s a movement to keep trees and decorations in place for a few more weeks in order to keep us cheerful regardless of the needles all over the carpet! Other people argue that there is a specific date for tree dismantling and unlucky if you take it down too soon, but when should this be sooner or later?
Twelfth Night when I was growing up was the ‘down’ day, twelve days from Christmas day therefore midnight on 5th January, others cling to the belief that tree, decorations and nativity should not be packed away until Epiphany 6th January, last Wednesday, an important date in the Christian calendar as it was the day the Three Wise Men arrived at the stable with their gifts for baby Jesus. Epiphany comes from the Greek meaning to reveal and so the day Jesus was revealed to the world; in some countries it’s as important as Christmas Day and is celebrated with presents and festivities, parades and fireworks to mark the occasion in other parts of the world, especially in Spain and Mexico.
The subject of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night has nothing to do with Epiphany it was written purely as an entertainment for the close of the Christmas season, however, before the actor Robert Baddeley joined the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1762 he acted at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin and he was a generous man who bequeathed £3 per annum to provide wine and cake in the green room of the London theatre to mark Twelfth Night. Sadly it’s doubtful this long term tradition of sharing Baddeley Cake was celebrated this year.
Over And Out
Christmas is long gone, some of us are back to work, some in lockdown, all the wrapping paper away with the bin lorry and turkey soup a thing of the past thank goodness.
And, if you still have it, what to do with your tree? We keep ours and put it in the garden where I can watch it change from forest green through golden days and eventually that lovely rusty colour over the next 12 months – I will certainly get my money’s worth!
A Joyful Noise Onto The Lord
What a sad world it would be without a song to sing and the ability to sing it. We might belt it out at a pub singsong or we might favour karaoke or, best of all is to sing in a choir. It has long been recognised that group singing helps in reducing stress, improving memory, breathing, posture and muscle tension and promotes friendships. It can also take you round the world and back as in the case of Cappella Ceciliana a local choir of 18 voices with a reputation second to none, a choir, like many others that is made up of amateur singers, teachers, doctors, engineers and musicians. They have sung all over the UK, Ireland and Europe as well as the United States and although their voices have been silenced since lockdown their recordings are much in demand.
David Mcartney is chairman. “This has been a challenging year for the arts sector and this New Year we are absolutely delighted that some of the worlds leading artists have agreed to collaborate with Cappella during January and February for the “Cappella Caeciliana Prestige Winter Series, possible through the loyal support of Kathryn Harries who is a vocal coach for NI Opera and our choir members.”
In this latest incarnation during this their 25th Anniversary year they are hosting a number of zoom workshops with an top-drawer cast list – Dame Felicity Lott; Sir Tom Allen; Welsh baritone Wynne Evans the Go Compare character Gio Campario, who lost five stone and now needs a padded body suit for his television recordings, Sir Simon Keenlyside and Brindley Sherratt and for the first workshop on 10th January Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Although these workshops are aimed at serious musicians the hope is they will be recorded and available to the public, especially in support of aspiring young musicians, to enjoy later in the year, something of a coup to have such an elite cast who, together with host Noel Thompson, will talk of their experiences and pass on their vocal advice. “We were prepared to record these workshops so the artists would have some control over the end product but they all insisted in going ‘live’ which is something of an honour.”
Have a Giggle
Having a laugh as well as singing can be a very positive thing, getting tummy muscles working and iron out the wrinkles. I hope this works for you. Thanks to Philipp who claims this Irish Medical Dictionary proves the we have the lowest stress rate because we don’t take medical terminology seriously. That’s stretching it a bit these days Philipp but I like your style.
Artery, the study of paintings. Bacteria, back door to cafeteria. Benign, what you be after your are eight. Cauterize, made eye contact with her. Coma, a punctuation mark. Dilate, to live long. Enema, not a friend. Fester, quicker than someone else Fibula, a small lie. Impotent, distinguished and well known. Labour pain, getting hurt at work. Morbid, a higher offer. Nitrates, rates of pay for working at night, normally more money than days. Node – I knew it. Post operative – a letter carrier. Recovery room, a place to do upholstery. And finally, Urine, opposite of you’re out!
