Stardom!

I may be over-egging the pudding here, but during my absence from blogging I have been making the most of my retirement plugging away at the different music ventures I'm involved with.

Most of the effort has been put into my duo, H&D, where a friend and I sing many diets along the lines of Simon & Garfunkel, Everley Brothers, The Proclaimers, (but not the bloody awful 500 Miles!), and groups like the Eagles, etc. We've been building our following around the area and now it has paid off as we have nabbed a residency at The BDQ Taproom, bar and brewery, in Puivert, a popular Friday night drinking spot in the ex-pat community and quite a lot of the French residents too. So every last Friday of the month we will be appearing, with a few fellow musicians to bolster us, for an evening of merriment and music making. (Think something along the lines of a music night in an Irish pub). Not paid as such but we will have free food and some free beers and we can pass the hat.

Luckily I have a school mate who is a tour manager, it can only be a matter of time before we need his services, surely! And he's been a bit short of work since David Bowie popped his clogs. 

A Plague of Daughters

 I surface once again.

And indeed I am surfacing following a visit by The Magnificent M's three daughters. The occasion being that of middle daughter's 40th birthday, and M's slightly higher than 40th birthday. They were here for five days. We dropped them at the airport and immediately had to go to the supermarket to replenish our cupboards, fridge and freezer as they has gone through the kitchen like a swarm of locusts. Our wine stock has taken a beating but the economic forecast for the booze industry here has taken a marked upturn. But, despite this devastation, a good time was had by all. Even me. And that says a lot. It was helped though by Marj winning the family quiz on night one, (I was quizmaster), and I won the subsequent nights on my own with two of them per team. A timely reminder to the young whippersnappers that despite them thinking we will be gaga in the next few weeks, months at most, we can still face them down in questions of intellect. 4-0 to the Oldies!

The Anger of the Gods

Yes, I know there is a little matter of the US Election but quite honestly this is much more important.

Having returned from the blogging wilderness I have thrown myself into reading and commenting, at least a little bit. Well, the reading bit is going well thanks to my Mum, Fieldings School and the fact the cataract slowly covering my left eye isn't rushing to fulfil it's destiny. The commenting on the other hand is going less than smoothly. Nor because I haven't tried, Oh, how I've tried. I think in all the comments I have made, one has been successful. I fear I have angered the Blogging Gods who are casting my wise words to the four winds, thereby depriving the world, well at least those who visit Messrs. Masher and Brennig's sites. Am I ever to wander the world wide web wilderness wordlessly waiting?

Answers on a postcard, or possibly in comments.

Scary Little Things

"Do the French celebrate Halloween?" I hear you cry. Well yes they do. American life has infiltrated here as shortly the young children of the village will be making their annual round of trick or treating. Or as they call it in French, Le Trick or Treat. The guardians of the French language are not impressed!

As one would expect of an Englishman living abroad, we do the obvious thing of locking the front door, pulling the curtain across and ignore anyone who knocks. I would be happy to carry on with this tried and tested tradition but we have made the error of inviting friends round. Friends who are happy with kids carrying out their nefarious Halloween activities. We have come to a satisfactory compromise. We will not lock the door and pull the curtain and they will supply the treats. Oh, and if any treats are left over, I am having them!

Those Were The Days.

 Monday evening, as everyone must know, is the BBC's quiz night. I, for one, am more than happy to spend half an hour in the company of Victoria Coren Mitchell trying to work out which hieroglyph to choose to try and get the music question. (My go to hieroglyph is The Horned Viper). 

The quiz either side I can take or leave depending how quizzy I feel, but the real gems of the evening follow on at 9pm over on BBC4. Call My Bluff followed by Face The Music!

These quizzes from 50 years ago are a delight. Call My Bluff, chaired by Robert Robinson, has one team captain, the bow-tied Frank Muir taking on the other team captain, Paddy Campbell, in a word definition game. It is funny and the whole family can play along. One of the interesting things is that Paddy has a speech impediment, a relatively severe stammer. These days he would have to be lauded for his bravery and people championing the cause of having more people on TV with disabilities and impediments. They must have equality. Yet here we were half a century ago, quite happy watching Paddy, perfectly accepting his stammer and just revelling in the word play provided by the two captains and their guests.

Face The Music looks somewhat twee and probably somewhat elitist to many as the whole programme is based on classical music. There'll be no-one commissioning that sort of quiz going forward. Joseph Cooper hosts with Regular panelist Robin Ray and assorted guests, who include the likes of Joyce Grenfell and Joan Bakewell. A round where you have to guess a piece of piano music from the clatter of the keys as no sound is produced may be followed by one piece of music played in the style of a classical composer. Can you recognise both the tune and the composer? Yes they do look a little smug when they get the answers right, but then, when a viewer gets one right there is a frisson of superiority over the general TV viewing audience. Is there a name for that, as there is with Schadenfreude?

For me though there are some major plusses to both programmes. They are gentle, no shouting, no loud music, and they expect that the audience has a reasonable level of intelligence. They are an absolute treat and hopefully we are going to get a long run of them.

It Was 1149 Days Ago Today

Since I last posted. I think that beats my record for being quiet. Many may be disappointed I have re-emerged from my self-imposed exile.

Like young Masher, whom I see has retired having looked back at his posts, I too have hung up my pool managing tools. Well, all but one pool which I have looked after until this year, just so I can say I have worked for 50 years. I may do it again next year just to keep my hand in. I also like the client, although the fact he gave me a dozen bottles of wine a few weeks back may also be influencing my decision.

Life is now full of performing, be it music, (the majority of time), or drama, (the rest of it). Our laptop is giving up the will to live and so I need to set this up on my tablet and I might start posting again.

Still living in France obviously, but spending at least a week a month in St Albans with my Mum who is now 93 and likes the company. 

Everything else will fall into place with upcoming posts, he says optimistically....

It was 20 years ago today...

 that I went to Virginia Water, armed with a yellow Garmin Etrex hand held GPS and found my first geocache. 

I rarely geocache now despite intending to and the game is much changed from those early days. I used to enjoy a five mile hike to find a box with wonderful views. I have little interest in finding a minute plastic container hidden at a roadside or finding loads within a small area. For me it was always quality over quantity. And whilst there are still lots of good caches I am sure, wading through the chaff to find them is more effort than I can muster.

Who knows though. I might still be connected enough to celebrate my 30th anniversary.