William Wordsworth and his Oriental Daffodils

A young lady playing in the street, I don't know the name of the instrument


'I sit, all a-drip, definitely not floating on high o'er vales and hills', to misquote William Wordsworth ! The temperature today is 30 degrees and the humidity almost 90%. It is life sucking weather if you hail from the far north where it sleets and snows and blows. ( Sorry friends in Paradise, I hope it is knee deep in snow and -5 degrees when I get home ! With deep apologies to my post lady).

When I finally get home, I hope not to see the thick haze of humidity mixed with air pollution when I leave my front door, and my craving in terms of nouvelle cuisine, would be a plate of Baked Beans on wholemeal Toast. If I had a handy Arabian lamp that would be my simple wish to the Genie!

The duets of yesterday were on the whole very pleasing. These young ladies are taught to be so sensitive and musical, something for which they are not much credited in the West I think. They work together beautifully, and communicate so well. Infact I have had two sets of twins in the classes and obviously, they sound quite alike, but they breathe in synchronisation and think like one mind. Most of the couples are, of course unrelated, and yet they are so well rehearsed, or so used to singing in small ensembles that they work together with total ease and with an unsaid trust. Therefore the music they make is often very touching and at its very best, incredibly moving.

Having said that, 16 year olds are the same the world over, and a few always slip through the teacher vetted net, and sing badly, and with all the enthusiasm of a whipped dog! It rather pleases me to see that girls will be girls, the world over.

I cannot believe the standard of the class I have had of the secondary school solo, 16 and under girls. In the end, out of the 45 performances, I could have justified any one of 5 singers as 1st place. They were so musical, so excited and sang with such poeticism, and this, in a foreign language. In the end, and after much wrangling I simply had to give the prize to number 1 ! One always questions oneself when giving a prize to the first singer, you think to yourself, ' have I forgotten what she really sounded like?', 'can I remember that far back ?', ' am I remembering with rose tinted spectacles?' and on and on.

This young lady sang beautifully, as did many, she sang with flawless English, not so many, and she sang every long phrase in one breath, two or three singers at the most.

Mostly though, she won because she made me cry.