Social life

You could be forgiven for thinking that we do nothing other than work and diy, so I thought I'd run through our recent social events...

One thing that stood out was my visit with Leon and Danielle to see a Madeleine Peyroux gig (I hate the word gig! but concert gives the impression that there were hundreds of screaming people or a stern-faced classical affair. It was neither, just a really great time) Madeleine is like a mix of Billie Holiday and Bob Dillon, if you can imagine it! Part smouldering blues, part hippy, but still very much of our time. She's also got a great mythology attributed to her, for instance it's said that she was meant to play a gig in paris and disappeared for a few months, then just turned up one day and started playing! I don't know if it's true, but I can imagine it to be!
Have a look/listen at http://www.madeleinepeyroux.com/

Another little thing I got up to was while Nathan and Laura's neice Leah was staying with them, she's learning to play cello and some years ago so too did I. We both got a lot out of one of her practice sessions, I think I helped her and she entertained me no end. She asked me questions that were very hard to answer, about why this and why that:
Q. why does it matter how many beats there are in a bar?
A. Erm, well it helps you stay in tune
Q. but how?
A. If you count regularly then you know how to split the music up.
Q. Well I don't need to, I just know.
A. Right.
Hard work!
But anyway Anna, the vicar's wife, offered to give her a lesson and it turns out she thinks that she's a very talented young lady; so you heard it here first folks, Leah Collins will be a virtuoso cellist.

Other than that, we have been to a few birthday nights out and had a few people over, the lovely Daniel Cawte came to visit from Ireland, and Milly and Rob came from Bristol, so it's not all been boring diy!
This last photos are lovely, I thought I'd post one of Al Nathan and Emma and one of the happy family playing with Pads in our hallway - aaah!