Last Friday, Mer and I took part in CVCA’s open house for prospective students and families. I usually hang out in the cafeteria to represent the Royal Fools improv club, and Mer hangs out in the library to represent the English department. This year, I got a bit of a break in that a couple of students were able to cover for me for the first hour of the two-hour event. Then, I took over and got to catch up with another student who popped in and decided to stay. Since the student is a new-to-Fools guy, it was good to get to chat with him. The evening was well attended, with about seventy-five families coming through the school, although the Fools table was a bit slow, with only two families to chat with during the last hour. Mer said the groups in the library were very busy, so that was all good.
After the open house, Mer and I headed home, which took a surprising fifteen minutes in the car – Walsh, the high school across the street from our house, had a well-attended home football game, so the three-minute commute took much longer. We pulled into our driveway to pick up our former student, Sarah, who was waiting. We were all headed over to Kent to see James Keelaghan, a Canadian folk singer whom Mer and I like.
Sarah recently came back from a semester abroad in Jordan, where she was studying Arabic, so it was great to get to talk to her. She had also been in Great Britain, including Wales, last winter, and we had not had a chance to see her since then. So, we had plenty to talk about during the car ride. Sarah had also kindly brought back gifts from the Middle East: she gave me a head scarf, which is very well made, and she gave Mer a belly-dancing sash that jingles as she walks. Mer wore it to the concert, so I could hear her when she was coming back from the bathroom. It is a fun gift.
The concert was quite good, if a little sparsely attended. I think there were about a hundred people there. James sang two sets, and was pretty amusing during his patter between songs. It was just James and his guitar, and it was a good way to end the week.