h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh dear. Late again. another Hawaiian journal. I'm glad I don't live on Hawaii or I wouldn't have this way of cheating. But, if I lived on Hawaii, I wouldn't be so tired all the time and fall into bed straight after dinner, before I've got round to writing my November Journal Entry.

My cough is now coming from less far down my chest (if that makes sense) and my nose is far less bunged up and I slept better. I think I may be better, now., so no more excuses to creep into bed as soon as I get home, and leave everything in the kitchen. The place is a tip!

Saturday morning means school. Everything went fine, although it all seems far less structured than last year. Because of a slight change in the curriculum, our year has been considerably disadvantaged. The year before us and below us both have had subjects that we didn't and so we have missed out on some vital areas of things like voice training, general musical knowledge and harmonics. Whatever. It's voluntary, we don't pay an awful lot for the training, and get individual organ, piano and singing lessons thrown in, and the people are really nice.

The teacher seemed to realise that she had rather messed things up for me last week. Then, I had started to conduct my piece which I had prepared well, and it turned out, as I said, that I have a terrible conducting technique. Because the teacher last year hadn't given us much practical experience, this had been mentioned once, but not really rectified. Last week, after a few bars, I was replaced by someone else, then everyone in the class had a go at conducting my piece. This was most frustrating.

However, this morning, I got to have another go. Despite being ill, I had practised a bit and got a bit better during the week at the actual conducting, but at least this time I got a chance to show that I knew the piece and had thought about it a lot. There was time to get my teeth into the things I had prepared: to iron out some of the difficulties in the individual parts, play single parts, play the accompaniment and give directions with regards to dynamics, breathing, intonation and articulation. She praised a few things, helped with a few things, and, although this way, I hogged the entire lesson and will probably not get so much time in the limelight again for a good while yet, I was pleased to find that I was able to talk to the choir without much hesitation, deviation or repetition, and was getting some response from them.

The 24th is also my mother's birthday. Because of the time difference, I can't phone her before I leave in the morning (6 am GMT!) and the phone was engaged most of the afternoon. I had sent flowers, and left a present for her (a 1000-piece jigsaw of an Alpine scene. Lots of grass and cows and a chalet with geraniums on the balcony). When I finally did get through, in the early evening, my sister had arrived and they were just drinking to her health with the family favourite: gin and tonic. The flowers were a great success, she opened the jigsaw whilst I was chatting to sis, and she was in the best of spirits. (My sister had had the present in safe keeping since I was over a couple of weeks ago.) She'd had lots of phone calls and 12 cards. My youngest from Berlin had rung, which she was most excited about.

This is turning into a very long journal, but I must just add this little laugh we had. Never mind "Things children say" - here's a gem from a (now) 93-year-old.

Youngest son, D, was last in England when he left for Mexico, in February 2011. At the time he had dreadlocks, but these have now come off since he was in Berlin. She said she was looking forward to seeing him without his "ringlets". This started me giggling, but then she corrected herself, realising that that was not the appropriate word. "Dreadnoughts" she said. I couldn't correct her for laughing - that really cracked me up.

Oh dear. I still can't tell jokes very well. I'll have to remember not to tell any when I'm in front of a choir.

[Amy P]

ringlets Dreadnoughts , sounds like your Mum had a great birthday and I do approve of the tipples, my Mum would too

Glad you are feeling better and that you had a good lesson.

Yeah - I mean, when did you last hear the word "ringlets" outside of an Enid Blyton book?

well there was a phase for them, *thinks* about 9 years ago, but just couple at the front, that was followed by crimping making a come back