Angela Bennett 🇪🇺💙🌈💐🌱🐈‍⬛🐓🕊️🐝🧘🚴🏃🧑‍⚕️🎻🪗🐟

You mean your role model wasn't Floella Benjamin? 🤯

Welsh is so difficult to learn as a non-native! But yes I agree, IMO probably more important even than learning Latin and classical history (even though that's interesting too), because it's more local.

The talk of Dickens has got me watching old BBC adaptations of his other books.
David Copperfield - not Christmassy, but excellent.

It's "Muppets Christmas Carol" time again.
I will not hear about there being a better Christmas movie.

That sounds great! I've done some Playford dancing music in period costumes before, that was fun.

I've generally found it easier to join in English sessions on a cello (I'm relatively new to playing sessions though), than Irish. Although I'm also gradually working out how to be in the guitar/rhythm section on cello.

That's probably quite variable? I've only occasionally experienced it. Usually in the same sessions where people would also look at you funny if you bring a cello along. Mostly I go to Comhaltas sessions though which seem much more welcoming.

Let's hope so...or how about we meet up properly?

I would have been there, had not my two treble offspring not been singing in Handel's Messiah! (One had a treble solo). A bit different but just as lovely. One day I will see Magpie Lane up close. X

It really worries me how much influence he has.

If you're still up, go out and look at the moon.
No ice ring tonight but it's a lovely one!

I came here to say the same! Young people are the best people and most of the best fiction was written for them.

What a lovely icy halo around the moon!

OK @johnspiers.co.uk because of you, my brain kept me awake for hours doing this.

A caller in Market Square, Cambridge
Was teaching some students to dance jigs.
Her memory failed her
A new dance was made there
Right hand star and a swing, it's "The Train Bridge".

At least then I could sleep. 🙄

Anyway who are you calling young? I've a half century you know.

Nope, can't do it. Nothing decent rhymes with Cambridge.

Oh is it my turn?

Nice one!

Go on ....

Me grinning inanely with the band in the background and some fairy lights

Me in the foreground, some blurry (almost sober) dancers mid strip-the-willow.

Called another #ceilidh
Only forgot one dance (slightly) so now a new variation of the Walls of Limerick exists - what shall I call it?

Yes! I'm going to catch up later on the bits I missed for singing in a service myself, playing a Mozart string quintet in the afternoon, then going out to a party and my College Carol service.
Lots to listen to!

It was lovely to hear the amazing Welsh band, Vrï, sing a Welsh carol in its original language. They are great!

And at Church later we sang the wonderful "Adam Lay Ybounden" set by Boris Ord. The advantage of a choir in Cambridge is that one of the sopranos is a scholar of old English and gave us pronunciation coaching.

And now monks singing chant! What could be a nicer morning.

Now they're playing the Shepherd's Farewell from Berlioz "L'Enfance Du Christ" which we are doing the whole of on 20th December with the Cambridge Philharmonic.

Really enjoying BBC Radio3's Carols Across the Country, @jackieoates.bsky.social sounding great and they also just played a recording of "Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day" which I'm pretty sure was the Jesus College recording from 2010 which has one of my sons on treble. (They didn't say though)

It's OK. Instead I learned 3 new set dances, did some Italian Duo Lingo, had tea with my parents then went to see Offspring no 6 be a pirate in Peter Pan.
Now I'm making Mac and Cheese to eat when we all get back from Evensong.

Damn. Too much paperwork yesterday to go for a run (also was feeling lazy) and told myself I would go today.
Guess what....pissing with rain now so I have another excuse...

Cambridgeshire rain trying its best to keep up.

I am calling a ceilidh on Tuesday for students, most of whom won't have been to a ceilidh before (a very international group).
Can anyone recommend extra dances I could do which are easy to pick up and still fun? I'm thinking difficulty level of eg Gay Gordons or The Flying Scotsman.
#ceilidh