Motors

Lowri has just gone out in the New Car to fetch Philomena from visiting a friend. The New Car got off to a bad start (or rather, didn't) because the day after we brought it home, the battery was totally flat and wouldn't do anything. So, I phoned the garage, went down there in the old car to borrow their battery kickstart thing, came back home, started the new car, drove that to the garage, and got them to replace the battery. Which they did graciously and without fuss. I just wish they'd done it before.

By contrast, the lawnmower is rejuvenated since its service. They have even got the self-propelling mechanism to work again, so it springs forward like an eager thoroughbred when I squeeze the handle. We cleared a lot of leaves together yesterday.

Stage

Yesterday we went to fetch Herne from his music course, held in the deepest wilds of the Tarn countryside at the Base de Razisse. The course finished with a half-hour concert, which we and the 28 other proud families greatly enjoyed. Quite an achievement for a bunch of mostly 8 and 9 year olds, put together in only three days. Herne looked thoroughly professional with his trombone, even though his feet didn't quite reach the ground. And, much more important, he got to the final of the course table tennis competition.

Today the wind and rain has stopped, so I went into the garden this afternoon and hacked out a huge amount of dead wood from the rhododendrons. I hope they reward me with a bumper display this spring.

Ragtime

If you're a Scott Joplin fan, this site will be invaluable. It has 50-60 pieces of Joplin sheet music, assembled from various digital collections.

The site also has links to several collections of digitised sheet music, with an emphasis on ragtime and ragtime-era music. How about the E. Azalia Hackley (you couldn't make it up) collection of 19th and 20th Century Sheet Music of Negro Themes, in the Detroit Public Library? It even has an index by subject, so you can quickly browse for (say) "Overweight Women -- Songs and Music" and come up with this little gem, You've Got To Love Me a Lot.


"Miss Susannah Jackson,
was a great attraction,
weighed about four hundred pounds,
Coffee coloured beauty,
and they called her cuty,
a hunk of love that knew no bounds,
Loved a midget nigger,
and he was no bigger
Than a measly black and tan" etc etc

Prudently, the site has a disclaimer:
"The Detroit Public Library presents these documents as part of the record of the past. These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Detroit Public Library and DALNET do not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to some readers."

All in a row

We found these fellows walking along the path in our woods today. They are called 'chenilles processionaires du pin' because they walk in long lines, head to tail. We counted 91 of them in this procession. They develop in nests high up in pine trees where they can cause a lot of damage.

And they're dangerous when they come to earth too, because they have a highly irritating spray which can cause a serious rash, as I discovered last year before I knew this. Apparently they are particularly dangerous to dogs who, being dogs, will snuffle at them and even eat them and then suffer the consequences. So, stay away.

Click the photos to see the full hairy detail.

The town drain

Spoonerisms - uniquely English. Actually, no. The French have had their own version, known as Contrepèteries, for a lot longer. According to my Petit Robert dictionary, the word dates from 1582, but the example they give, from Rabelais, is even older: "Femme folle à la messe" pour "femme molle à la fesse". The contrepèterie is usually a bit rude. One French favourite, which I've heard from at least two independent sources, is "glisser dans la piscine". Work it out for yourself. It all makes the Revd. Spooner (you have tasted two whole worms, etc) seem a bit, well, Victorian.

Of course there are rude Spoonerisms in English too, but Lowri won't let me repeat them in polite company.

I like the unrude one which the French attribute to the Belgians - their version of an Irish joke - "Il est beau et chaud".

Vroom

Classe de neige successfully accomplished. They did have some snow, and Herne returned yesterday with a badge and an official stamped booklet to show that he has reached 'Flocon' (snowflake) level in skiing. His football match against Mazamet today has been cancelled, probably because of the unremitting rain. But never mind, it's the first day of half-term hols.

Transporting a family of five with no public transport has been a bit of a juggling act, on top of which our faithful Audi estate is now reaching a mature old age at 12 and a half. So we've decided to get a second car. Here it is in the garage forecourt. Still an Audi, an A3 this time, smaller but newer. We'll pick it up next week once we've sorted out the payment, insurance etc.

Skiiiiiiiiiiiii

Herne has gone on a Classe de Neige this week. It's the school ski trip, seen as an essential experience in French education. They have gone to a village called La Cabanasse in the Pyrénées Orientales. I hope they have some snow. Here's a postcard of it in pre-global warming days.

In Catalonia

Back last night from a weekend in Girona where the Chuckerbutties were playing a concert in the brand new Palau de Congressos. It's (just about) within driving distance from home, and it was Philomena's 11th birthday too, so we made a family trip of it. We stayed in the smart new Hotel Palau Bellavista and the children had a great time running around and emptying all the soft drinks from the complimentary minibars. There was an overdose of anxiety for three of the Chuckerbutties, since the fourth one (who shall not be named) missed his flight, but he managed to arrive in time......

Family music

Quick update on the family music front.

Fearnley played his Prokofiev Tarantella in a student concert on Wednesday. He's been working hard at it and it went well. He's been promoted into a higher music theory class and is much happier with that.

Philomena has been doing Step (a dance routine) classes at school. And practising at home, with the backing music, so we all now know "Love don't leave me now" better we might want to...

Herne's trombone, on hire from the music school, has gone in to be repaired because a small but important lever has broken. It should come back next week sparkling clean and oiled, in time for the short residential course that he's doing at half-term. As an inducement, the attendees have been promised ping-pong and archery as well as band rehearsals.