3 Teams' Dinner

Another great evening out with friends. Every year we get together with the other two 'Teams of Our Lady' locally and have a meal out together. It started out as a Christmas get-together but has 'evolved' into a post-Christmas outing.

This year we went to South Hatch Restaurant near Epsom Downs and were treated to a wonderful meal with excellent service. I can't remember when we last had such excellent attention in a restaurant.

Despite the icy conditions we had almost a full compliment. The noise level was correspondingly high and, if the sound of chattering and laughter is anything to go by, I would say a 'good time was had by all'!

It's in the genes, I'm sure !

I have a thing about scarves/pashminas/wraps the way some women have a thing about shoes or handbags. No matter how many I accumulate, there's always room for another one and whenever I’m out shopping you can guarantee I’ll see another that I must have of a different colour, design or material.

I’m convinced that shopping is part of the female genetic make-up. Why is it, I wonder, that the ‘shopping gene’ is so dominant in the female of the species and so recessive in the male - almost to the point of being non-existent!

No matter how busy we are, if a friend suggests going for a coffee and a bit of window shopping, most of my female friends wouldn’t hesitate more than a few minutes before gladly changing their plans and going along. In the same way, I suspect most males would rather have teeth pulled without an anaesthetic.

Of course like all generalisations I acknowledge that there are exceptions and I do know women who loathe shopping in any form and vice versa.

Strange, how the idea of doing the weekly supermarket shop doesn’t have quite the same appeal!

A Violinist in the Metro

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were:

In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour:

Do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Hat tip to Sr Anastasia (again!) I think she should start her own blog -she's always sending me excellent material for mine!

A Coal Hole and Carousel !

Very pleased that the frosty weather didn't stop us having a good night out with friends at the theatre last night.

The coach driver made very good time so we were able to spend a pleasant hour before the show in a nearby 'hostelry'. Very aptly named, The Coal Hole, was just the ticket.

The show Carousel was also very good; we recognised the songs but all of us agreed that we had no idea the song, 'You'll Never Walk Alone' originated from this Rogers and Hammerstein show. I'll never be able to watch a Liverpool football match again without thinking of Carousel!

Surprise!

Strange how we're always surprised to wake up to find snow on the ground, even in January.

I didn't have time to take any photos before I left this morning but managed to take a few shots of the church when I arrived. Not too many made it for Mass, understandably. The car park was quite treacherous but luckily there was some rock salt to use on the worst areas which quickly melted the snow.

The main roads are all clear this evening but it's beginning to freeze again so dangerous conditions for driving. Our road, like most cul-de-sacs, is like an ice rink as it doesn't get gritted by the council and doesn't have the volume of traffic to melt the snow.

We're off to the theatre tomorrow evening so hope the weather improves before then.

To dance, or not to dance, that is the question ...

We had a lovely evening on Saturday. The three of us were invited to a colleague's 60th birthday party. We weren't quite sure what to expect but knew food would be involved, and Indian food at that so no question that we weren't going to accept the invitation!

The party started slowly as we had to be there early to surprise the 'Birthday Boy'. By the time the guest of honour arrived we were already feeling more party-like after a glass of wine at the bar!

Super food in abundance and then a few speeches. It was a lovely atmosphere and we were made to feel very much at home by the family. We had Bollywood movies playing on large screens in the background and an Indian DJ who was playing some great music.

I'm not usually very keen on large parties, preferring to socialise with a few close friends over a meal but the music was so lively and everyone so welcoming that we all joined in dancing. Good job nobody had a video camera!

I would love to think I looked as elegant as the ladies in the picture, and indeed as elegant as the ladies at the party, but I think I would be deluding myself. Nevertheless it was great fun.

Well, it's nearly 'nearly-Epiphany' !

The three Kings/Magi/Wise Men have nearly reached their destination. Since the Bishops of England and Wales have decided that Feasts and Solemnities of Our Lord should be celebrated on the nearest Sunday rather than the actual date of the feast this means that this year we shall be celebrating the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord on Sunday 4th January.

It just doesn't feel right! Theological/Liturgical questions aside, there are much more important matters involved - do we take down the Christmas decorations on 4th January which would sure be only 10th Night or wait until 12th Night on 6th January?! We always leave our crib up for a while anyway after the rest of the decorations are packed up and put safely way until next year. It will seem very strange to have all signs of Christmas packed away two days before 6th January.

Taken to it's logical conclusion we could be celebrating Christmas Day on the nearest Sunday to the 25th which would mean that this year we would celebrate Christmas Day on Sunday 20th or 27th December - now, there's a thought!