Last Thursday was a great day. Heather Dale, a singer of whom I am very fond, came back to our place to give her third house concert in two years. Her partner, Ben Deschamps, was along as usual, and he is a pretty fantastic musician, playing guitar and cittern (a large, ten-stringed instrument kind of like a mandolin). Heather plays Irish drum, piano, and various whistles, and she gives a great concert. She always tries to remember people’s names, and largely succeeds. She has a vibrant stage personality, and is engaging, and encourages lots of singing from the audience. But I get ahead of myself.
Heather and Ben came to our place right from their home in Canada, and had some backup at the border. So, they got here a little before six, with the concert starting at seven. They unpacked their instruments and various wares, and then ate a quick supper. I had made supper for me, Mer, Heather, Ben, and even for Ellen, who was coming in for the weekend, starting with the concert. Sadly, Ellen got off late, so she did not show up until about eight, during intermission.
I had been worried about the audience – I had had trouble getting people to commit to coming, so I was afraid there might only be ten people or so. We ended up with about twenty, which is a solid turnout for a house concert. We had several colleagues come, including Nate and his wife Rachel – this was a happy surprise, as they had just had their second child a few weeks ago. He slept most of the concert. We had several former students come, which is happy – I like to get caught up. We even had five or six current students come, which was very kind of them. We also had one young woman who came as a result of seeing the concert advertised on Heather’s website.
The concert involved about an hour and a half of actual singing, with one intermission. I had spent the entire evening on Wednesday and a good amount of Thursday baking, so there was a ton of food. People seemed to enjoy themselves, and I know I had a great time. Good food, good music, good friends.
Ben and Heather had a big gig in Columbus on Friday and Saturday, so they left Thursday evening instead of spending the night at our place. They took their time packing up, and Mer got to sing a couple of songs with Heather after most people had left. I took back the chairs and keyboard that I had borrowed from CVCA, and we saw Ben and Heather off. We helped Ellen get settled in her room, and then called it a night. For some reason, I never took any pictures of the concert – it did not “feel” right.
Friday was a special in-service day at CVCA. So, the kids had no school. Ellen slept in, and Mer and I went to work as normal. This was a great in-service day – teachers were given a couple of hours in their rooms, there were short department meetings, there was a worship time, and then teachers and most of the staff were allowed to leave at noon as long as they did something social with at least three other teachers. CVCA even gave us all $100 each to help the process. Some people went shopping together; some went running or biking. Mer and I picked up Ellen, and met Zach, Matt Akers, and Lesa DiPaolo at Eddy’s Deli for lunch. We had a great time chatting while we ate, and then all of us but Zach (he had a conflict) went back to out house to study and discuss three Gerard Manley Hopkins poems.
Hopkins was a Catholic Jesuit priest, and he wrote wonderful poems about God and nature and some other things. His poetry was radically modern at the time (late 19th century), and it can be very difficult, but very rewarding, to study. Mer and I were introduced to him by Ellen, who is a huge fan. In fact, as much as I would love to think that Ellen came out to see me and Mer, I suspect that a chance to have a group discussion on Hopkins was the deciding factor in her coming out to visit.
The study went well – we had a good discussion. Sadly, I had to bow out of the last poem of the three we looked at. I had felt a migraine coming on since just before lunch, and it had gotten to a point where it was making me sick to my stomach. I asked everyone’s understanding and retreated to my bed. It sounded as if the study finished up quite well.
I had planned on taking Mer and Ellen to see My Fair Lady at EJ Thomas Hall in Akron that evening, but I was still ill. Mer and Ellen went, and were able to give my ticket to a former CVCA student whom they encountered in the lobby. Mer said the musical was quite good, with strong leading characters, although she had misgivings about Mrs. Higgins, the mother of the main character; Mer thought she was neither aloof enough nor warm enough to pull off that role. However, she said the rest of the play was quite good, and she enjoyed it.
As for me, I tried to get some sleep, as that is the only thing that clears up migraines when I get them. I did get some sleep, to the point where I was feeling much better by the time Mer and Ellen got home, and by Saturday morning, I was fine again. I was sad that I could not go to the play. Next time, I guess.