Wet Anundshög show

Margaret and I got free tickets (from VLT, our local paper) to an outdoor show at Anundshög on Friday evening. The show was very good, but spoiled by the torrential rain, and technical problems, almost certainly caused by the rain.

Lena Willemark, folk group Väsen, choir Singoalla and a dance group performed a newly written work in the grounds of Anundshög an enormous Viking burial ground which is a well known landmark in these parts.

I'm not a fan of Lena W, I just don't like her singing, however good at it she is! Väsen are very competent, as were Sangoalla. For me however the best was the dancing. These youngsters combined traditional Swedish folkdans with modern styles, which particularly considering the wet grass they had to dance on, was very impressive, and most enjoyable.

They were so good that for moments I could almost forget the rain. I had nothing to put on my head, although I did have the rest of me well covered. I'd forgotten that I'd taken off the hood part of my rain suit and left it at home!

It had stopped raining before the end of the show, but I was very glad that we were able to get out quickly. A Whiskey-Mac when we got home helped restore me!

Here is the VLT article translated by Google (who obviously don't know the word for evening!)

English conversation classes

I've just been called up by ABF to say that my English class is now full, and when can it start. Since Margaret's beginner's course starts on 9-sep I said I'd start on the same day.

They had rung me up earlier with an enquiry from a person that turned out to be just 12 years old! I don't know what minimum age requirement they have (I couldn't find anything about that on their web site) but 12 seems extremely young to me! Well I was glad to hear that she hasn't gone on the course, I think it might have been a bit awkward.

So now I expect to get a list of names in the post. I suspect that two will be from last year, they were keen to continue.

I suppose this is the first sign of autumn! The rain we've been having doesn't count, we've had plenty since the spring. I've also begun the organising of a visit of players for the Mazer Riddersvik weekend in October, another sure autumnal sign.

Kamus starts up tomorrow evening, so I'd probably better look at the notes I got last time, some of them aren't trivial at all!

I'm trying out a new viola bow, which I'll probably buy. It's made of carbon fibre. I bought a very nice, and extremely well priced (i.e. cheap) violin bow a few years ago, but the maker of that didn't have any viola bows. They've been saying in 6 months for the last couple of years, and now it's gone out to sometime next year! So they may never sell me one.

I love a good Piddle!

I've just got back from three week's holidays, spent in France and England, having driven through Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Holland.

This was on the door of the Cafe de France in Barfleur! The beer there was actually very nice, although I have to admit that we had already started drinking before I noticed the sign!

While we've been away Victor has apparently taken a few tentative steps and looks very uncertain on the back of his mum's bike!

Our holiday was a complicated arrangement with people coming and going. Margie stayed in Barfleur while I went to England for my annual orgy of chamber music (Grittleton). While I was away Margie had the company of first her sister, then a friend also from England. I returned with some other friends for the last few days before heading back home, arriving yesterday (Sunday 9-aug).

Surprisingly all the arrangements actually worked, and no-one was left stranded in the wrong country, and as far as I know everyone involved enjoyed themselves.