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

The toy show was incredibly good. It used to be cringe-making in its early days but the kids now are total professionals, and Ryan Tubridy (the presenter) is totally in his element, being a big kid himself. But they did pull some genuine surprises. Lots of planning and lots of co-operation. Ed Sheeran turned up and sang along with a young fan, really charmingly. Chapeaux to all concerned.

Deb

I've heard good reports about last night's toy show. Those at the party all enjoyed it. Mrs G and I went to Dundrum, to the Tapas place. Had a very nice meal with chorizo, goats' cheese salad, spinach and a glass of wine.


Sat 29 Nov

Today we checked out the flowerbed where the apple trees are to go. The soil is awful! Full of roots, rocks and subsoil. So I spent a few hours digging, mixing in peat into the soil and removing the ro C ks and roots. Another 4 hours tomorrow should do it. Now I think we deserve an Indian takeaway.

[Amy P]

with the flowerbed.

Sunday 30 November

Spent about 3 hours in the morning digging out the flowerbed. In the afternoon Mrs G managed to plant 2 of the 3 apple trees, which are going to be espaliered up the wall, so the trunks are planted sloping to the right. I hadn't allowed for this, so I'll have to dig up a climbing hop plant which produces decorative hop flowers. I thought there was room for it and the tree, but apparently not. This will have to be done on Wednesday as I'm singing tomorrow and it will be dark when I get home on Tuesday.

Had another rehearsal for tomorrow's concert. Only about half the choir were able to make it as this was an extra one organised at the last minute. I think we're probably ready to perform now.

So tomorrow is the big day - I've a three hour phone call to India in the morning, so I'll try and take a half day. That will give me time to walk over to the National Concert Hall, change, and be ready for the group photograph and turning on of the Christmas lights at 4:15.

This time tomorrow it will all be finished and I'll be breathing a sight of relief.

[Amy P]

Mr Busy. Exhausting just to read bout your exploits. Sing well!

Good luck with the concert

Deb

Thanks.

After all the rehearsal, I've gone and caught a cold and I've lost my voice. I don't know whether I'll be able to sing at all.

Shucks. Ain't that the durndest.

Oh that's a shame. What happens then? Do you still go along to maintain the line-up but just lip-synch?

Deb

The very bottom notes should be quite effective, though...

When the conductor heard that I'd lost my voice, she gave me strict instructions not to sing during the afternoon rehearsal or the Lighting of the Christmas Tree ceremony, and not even to talk to anyone, in the hope that my voice might recover. She also made arrangements to draft in two extra basses from another choir to replace me.

So at 8 o'clock I went on stage with everybody else, not knowing what would come out when I opened my mouth and started singing. It turned out, I could sing all the bottom notes, but notes above the F# below middle C came out as a yodel. This means I had lost the top half of my bass range. I sang the entire concert restricting myself only to the low notes and mimed all the others.

The concert was a great success, if a trifle long. Starting at 8pm, the normal time for concerts in Ireland, it wasn't finished until 10:40. I think everyone enjoyed it - there were carols old and new, a concert band (brass plus woodwind), an outstanding soprano (Claudia Boyle), and a children's choir.

The Britten Ceremony of Carols went well. There are a few tricky numbers in there, but they went without a mishap. Our biggest fear was tuning - we've a tendency to sing flat, but I didn't notice this happening during the performance. Often the extra adrenalin produced by being in front of an audience is enough to drive the pitch up to where it should be.

There was an audience of about 800 - not capacity, but not bad. The hall holds 1,000 in the main section with another 200 in the cheap seats behind the stage.

well done!

~ So happy to read the good news ~ I wish I could have been there, for sure. . . . .. ...

That really is an ego-boost - if you can't make it they have to get two to replace you! Well done!

So, how did I get on with my GnoJoPoMo?

Started out good, with a long descriptions of a humanist funeral. Although it progressed on a day by day basis, there were still plenty of things to talk about:

A walk in the Dublin Mountains.
Spooky coincidences.
Stuck in work due to computer malfunction.
Cleaning the drains.
Recording a song about the First World War.
Fixing a leak in the car.
Depression due to problems on the site.
A missed invitation to teach mandola.
Comedian Daire O'Briain.
Concert of Tudor Music.
Rehearsing for Carol Concert.
Fixing a leak in the greenhouse.
Broken coffee maker.
Fixing brother-in-law's projector.
Attendant performance of Noye's Fludde
Upgraded major system in work.
Digging.
More digging and more rehearsing.

and finally, on 1st December, the Carol Concert.

So a reasonably eventful November. December should be a lot busier, with more carol singing, a trip to London, and of course Christmas.

I also have to buy a new coffee maker, because the repair shop just rang me to say that our one is unfixable. Pity. It cost €500 and I don't particularly want to spend that much just at the moment. On the other hand, I'll probably spend about that over the next month in takeaway coffee if I don't. Difficult decision.

Add one more accomplishment to the list.


Over the month you demonstrated that NaJoPoMo works quite well with a single thread spread over the month rather than attempting to have 30 single topic threads.

I hope next year more of those participating will use the single thread format.

The single thread would make it harder to keep track, if people were talking about different things simultaneously. For example, if the discussion about humanist funerals had lasted longer and then got in the way of the discussion of synchronicity. But that didn't happen here.