I am completely convinced that we sang Noye's Fludde at school but I could be wrong, perhaps I dreamt it, however I do know for sure that we sang Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo because I have the LP to prove it...
and I am playing on it...
Actually nothing more exciting than the guitar and there is a terrible, terrible moment when I very loudly and obviously strum completely the wrong chord, and I remember doing it and cringing, so I am quite relieved in the absence of a turntable not to be able to listen to it.
Rummaging through the LP cupboard fatal. Half an hour of acute nostalging and I found Teaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens which I suddenly and inexplicably really did want to listen to that minute...
To my surprise, (though why, given that this is me and I keep everything) when I took Captain Noah out of the cover there were the local newspaper reviews of the concert where we first performed it in amongst a varied programme that I see also included Mahler, Kodaly, Shostakovich and Haydn along with pupil compositions. We are described as 'a particularly musical institution' with the 'wheel of the girls' musical ability' spinning on 'the hub of genius of one or two individual names'...I'd go with that and I definitely wasn't one of them...
I can't somehow imagine this being written now though...
'There are not enough composing members of the fair sex. So what a nice surprise to know that three Nonsuch girls had each composed the music of one or more of the pieces...'
The orchestra came in for a bit of flak though...
'...not all were up to scratch, the foundations were sound enough and quite enjoyable renderings were given... plenty of 'pep' but a little lacking in colour and contrast.'
Things were apparently 'pleasingly sung', and someone's solo voice was 'sweet', and there was some 'exceptionally attractive part singing by seven young ladies.'
1972 and there we were all on the brink of taking such...dare I say slightly patronising sexist praise out into the world and stirring things up a little perhaps.
Anyway, talking of Noye's Fludde, which we may or may not have sung at some time, what reminded me was that we could have made good use of an ark this week, and I do hope all those here in the UK have remained damage and flood-free, especially on Thursday. The day was so dreadful that Nell and I wimped out and cancelled a much-anticipated meet-up and walk with a friend at Lanhydrock House down at Bodmin for fear of falling trees en route and floods. Bookhound went off to help the Gamekeeper with his shoot (which is never cancelled) and Nell and I hunkered down in the kitchen for the day.
Magnus, in contrast took himself off out for some of the action and reappeared a few hours later looking ...well, like a drowned cat, before drying out and taking up his station with Rocky.
Remember this tiny stray scrap found out on the lane just five months ago, a fur-covered ribcage with a pipe cleaner on each corner, and we were not in the least bit certain he would make it??
Nell meanwhile is bursting out of the puppy-sized bed fondly known as Base Camp and which is actually one we use for cats out in the shed.
She wriggled and jiggled and just couldn't get comfortable, eventually falling asleep like this...
The weather raged on outside and the electricity flickered and then died, and she and I sat there like lemons in the gloaming for half an hour before thinking perhaps it was only us and our famously hyper-sensitive trip switch, which of course it was.
A day of respite on Friday, clear skies and a chance to assess the damage... just a roof panel off the kennel, bit of downpipe absent without leave, nothing major thank goodness. Further across the Shire things are much worse and the West Country currently cut off by train from Taunton down, with lines washed away. We nipped out to get some essentials before the next storm heads our way over the weekend, and stopped off at Pets-R-Us, or whatever it is called, for a bigger dog bed which we quietly substituted only to be faced with this perverse but demonstrative protest of an even smaller cat basket variety.
The cats are now sleeping in the dog bed which they think is lovely, the dog is happiest in the cat bed and it's a mess that they will have sort out between themselves
The lane was awash...
and the Tamar was audible from home, and no surprise when we went to look...
As I walked out with Nell at dusk I could hear the river roaring in the near distance. The field felt saturated and boggy to its limits, soft and spongy underfoot, and even the rising moon looked wet... a pale, watery imitation of the bright clear moon we have become used to in recent weeks.
We brace for more this weekend, so how's the weather your way??
If someone could report on sun and warmth that would be nice... stay safe and dry everyone else.
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