Opening ceremony 2012

Well that was certainly different ! I didn't realise I would have to wait 64 years to see my second opening ceremony. I was lucky enough to have a seat at the opening of the Games in 1948 and it was a much more restrained affair. We were still recovering from the effects of the war. Rationing was worse than during the war. We could not import many necessities owing to the shortage of shipping and I think it was pretty brave of us to decide to hold the Games. In bad times we Brits always rise to the occasion.

I suppose if you were there last night you would have enjoyed seeing the thing as a whole. Seeing it on TV one got a rather kaleidoscopic view of what was going on. Perhaps my eyes and brain are a bit too old to follow all the various things that were happening. However, the newspapers are ecstatic so it must have been o.k. I hope the Queen had a nap before being kept up so late. I'm afraid I dozed off at one point. It was lovely to see all those happy faces as the athletes went round the arena and I am so glad my hero, Bradley Wiggins, got to ring the bell.

Olympic Torch

Yesterday the Olympic Torch came to Hove. The evening was rainy, cold and windy so , discretion being the better part of valour, I viewed it on TV from the comfort of my armchair, unlike the last time the Torch came to Britain (see my blog for 8th November 2011).

Having just written about Gustavo Dudamel I was interested to note that there was an interview with him on Radio 3 yesterday. His philosophy seems to be that the world would be a better place if we all learned to make music together. Certainly it is a better place for all those youngsters sponsored by El Sistema.

Music

To continue the musical theme  -  did you know that the washboard so beloved of skiffle players was an everyday object of my childhood?  It stood upright in a bowl of hot water.  the garments were soaped and then rubbed hard on the grooves of the washboard.  Rub too hard and you ended up with skinned knuckles. There was always a lot of music in our house.  An old uncle used to sit me on his knee and sing all the old music hall songs. I can remember all the words to this day.
My mother would sing hymns while doing her chores. She was a great one for Moody & Sankey hymns with a rousing chorus. She also liked ballads and bits of opera  -  Madame Butterfly and the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, still a favourite with me. The records on the wind-up gramophone might have been a bit scratchy but we didn't mind.  The radio had a huge battery and the glass accumulator had to be taken to the wireless shop to be refilled regularly. There was just one radio.  Occasionally it emitted peculiar squeaks and whistles.  My brother said it was Morse Code.  I thought he said Moscow and for a long time wondered at this strange Russian language.

El Sistema

I have been very much taken by the results of  El Sistema, the children's orchestral movement which started several years ago in Venezuela taking children from very poor neighbourhoods and giving them musical instruments so that they learn to play together instead of getting into bad company.  The evening the more senior members of the orchestra played at the Royal Albert Hall in London under its charismatic conductor Gustavo Dudamel was a resounding success.  This idea has spread to many other countries  -  notably to Stirling, Scotland.  Who can forget the sight of the hardy Scottish  Mums and Dads in their plastic ponchos in the pouring rain proudly watching their children join in playing with the orchestra from Venezuela?  The operatic tenor Juan Diego Florez, a friend of Dudamel, has started a similar scheme in Peru.

There have been letters in the press saying that children should be exposed more to classical music. I was reminded of this by receiving a video link of a "flash mob"  from my friend in Tokyo.  In a town square in Spain a musician started to play, quickly joined by another. Gradually, to the delight of the gathering crowd, other musicians joined them until there was a full symphony orchestra plus a large choir as they played Beethoven's "Song of Joy". A youthful conductor kept it all going.  What amused and pleased me was the reaction of the children.  This could have been their first introduction to such a thing. There were several small boys who obviously fancied themselves in the exciting role of a budding conductor!  To see the flashmob video, click here.

Miss Ellis

On Tuesday I went for my monthly scan at the Eye Hospital and sadly yesterday had a phone call to say I had to have another injection!  I shouln't grumble but it is not very nice.  However it is over now and as a consolation prize Mike bought me an enormous cream slice which I have just eaten with my afternoon cup of tea.  Such guilty indulgence!!
Going back to the lady who hoped to meet me at the Memorial ceremony  -  we did meet.  We had both watched a programme on TV called "Bomber Boys".  She wrote to the Radio Times magazine to say her uncle had been shot down in Denmark in 1943 ,as had my husband.  So I wrote her a letter and asked the Editor of the magazine to send it on which he kindly did. We have since been e mailing each other and she said she would be with her cousin at the ceremony and gave me her mobile phone number.  What an amazing thing is the mobile phone (except for some occasions when it is a minor irritant such as the middle of a concert or on a train when we are all treated to  someone else's grisly details).  We three met and life is full of coincidences  -  we all three were once called Miss Ellis !!!

Bomber Command Memorial

Hi everyone,  Have not been able to reach you for 10 days because of a technical hitch!!  Have had a very exciting week with visitors coming and going.  Weather variable with last Thursday in London scorching hot where  Amanda and I were privileged to have seats at the Unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park.

We arrived at Victoria Station soon after 9 a.m. It was thronged with commuters amongst whom were many gentlemen of 88 plus years wearing the large hats of the Australian, New Zealand and South African forces and there were other nationalities, also in uniform including, of course, the RAF.

It is not an easy thing to get across London in the rush hour but the London taxi cab drivers had volunteered to drive the veterans and their families to Green Park from the main line railway stations free of charge.  We joined a short queue for a taxi with a most helpful driver and arrived at the Memorial site not far from Buckingham Palace.

On the invitation it said , in view of the fact that there would be a fair amount of walking and standing about, anyone with difficulty in walking should bring a wheelchair. So I invested in a wheelchair!  At the entrance a charming young airman took charge of the wheelchair and we were taken to a marquee where refreshments were provided.  We were then shown to our seats which were about ten rows from the front.  Whilst waiting for the ceremony to begin we were soon in conversation with the people around us all of whom had a story to tell.

The music was provided by the Central Band of the RAF and the choir of  the RAF church of St. Clement Danes.  Flags were paraded.  Members of the Royal family arrived.  First the Queen's sons the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex and his wife, also the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent. They were followed by7 the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Then followed a fanfare from the RAF Band trumpeters.  The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived.  We all sang the National Anthem.
There was a welcome address by the Chairman of the Bomber Command Association.

The Memorial Statues were unveiled by the Queen  -  seven standing airmen who have just returned from a flight.  The figures are beautifully sculptured and are about nine feet tall standing on a plinth. The whole memorial is in white Portland stone and will give poignant pleasure to all who view it.  It brings tears to my eyes just writing about it.

There followed a service of Dedication with prayers, hymns and Bible readings. There was a two minutes silence.

Then after the service there was a flypast of  five Tornados and then the familiar roar of engines as the Lancaster flew overhead dropping hundreds of poppy petals. A solemn but surprisingly happy day.