Hotch Potch
It is a long time since I wrote anything here. Sometimes one event does not seem newsworthy but when you have a few they add up but then you have to make the effort to write more & make it into an essay of disconnected events. So this is a hotch potch of things.
My sax playing is progressing; my tutor is gently pushing me. He gives me harder and harder études each time we meet. I am OK with that, he is wanting me to progress enough to join the Mersey Swing Band, of which he is the director, & I am keen to join. I'm hoping to put some more on SoundCloud soon. (There are some recordings of me on SoundCloud, look for Sax in a Kayak) At present I am working on jazz arrangement of Summertime, from the opera Porgy and Bess and a piece called "What is beauty but a Breath" written by a lute player for John Pierrepoint the MP for Nottingham in 1604. I have also signed up to do a music theory course from the University of Edinburgh, through Corsera, an online educational organization.
We have had Vivien's mum with us for 5 weeks. We took her to see the Halifax International Tattoo, it was spectacular. I have never been to one before. There were military bands and acts from as far away as Korea, Denmark, & Germany. The Paris Police gave a remarkable motorcycle riding display. At one point there were nine bands from different countries playing under one conductor, and they switched conductors!
We also took mum to see/listen to the Mersey Swing Band, & realised that her feet barely stayed still, and when they played American Patrol she was almost dancing. So we took her to the Mahone Bay Swing Band and the Mersey Community Band. They were doing free concerts at the town Bandstands, we had picnics and listened thoroughly enjoyed it. After listening to the Mersey Swing Band I feel excited & rather apprehensive at the prospect of joining them. The lead alto sax player is quite good.
Mum was escorted to Canada by Vivien's sister. She & Nigel went off to see what they could of Canada and re-joined us several weeks later. Nigel taught me how to rebuild our doorstep, which had disintegrated with the winter weather and we had a kayak trip around Blue Rocks with a picnic that would have done Ratty and Mole from Wind in the Willows proud. Unlike Ratty and Mole's day nobody capsized.
Mum, Liz & Nigel have gone home, Vivien and I are working in NL for a while, and our next visitors are due the end of August.
I have an interesting kayak trip planned, I am going to escort a friend who is going to swim from New Brunswick to Prince Edward island, to raise money for Brigadoon Camp, which gives holidays to chronically sick children. My job is to water and feed her, navigate for her and generally look after her, and should things go wrong radio for help & look after her until it arrives.
The distance is between 16 & 18 km depending on the tides. There is a cross current that can be as much as 2 knots. I am hoping the organisers have picked a weekend with neap tides, it will make it easier for the swimmers as well as the kaykers. I would like to do the navigation in advance but they have not given us the start time. I know how fast Holly swims from a training session we did.
Beth and Tom have been having an exciting time with Project Pag-asa. The initial school in their basement has been very successful. The orphanages have asked them to take more children, in total about fifty. They could not continue in the basement so started looking for a building. Several possibilities fell through and a week before they were due to open they were still praying (as were all their supporters) and looking. Then out of the blue a helicopter pilot (Pun not intended) appeared (I don’t know how the contact was made). His wife runs a special needs school in a building they had built. His wife’s school had grown out of it and had moved to a bigger one. The pilot offered them the vacated school, paid for the refurbishment and asked enough rent to cover the costs of having two children at the special needs school. Beth acting on faith had already arranged teachers, and one week later they had the opening ceremony.
Sax in a Kayak