Cultured Views

The wedding - on, off, on…for now

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My young nephew and his fiancee have been engaged for about 2 years now; while they are obviously very devoted to each other there is one thing they cannot agree on - the date for their wedding.

This has become a running saga in our family as they have set a variety of dates only to change their minds each time. They definitely intend to get married but are starting to try the patience of us all - we are starting to take bets on whether they will stick with the current date or postpone yet once more.

I have already bought my nephew a nice gift for the big event and have just gone to some expense and ordered his fiancee some really exquisite bridal lingerie which is being imported from the US.

There’s another problem…her weight goes up and down like a yo-yo these days and it is amazing how much difference an inch can make around the waist - ain’t that true girls?

But fingers crossed that in eight months time, that little baby boy who I used for practice before my own babes came along, will finally become the happy groom.  My, how time flies.

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Children SHOULD be taught to swim…no excuses.

Here’s my angry rant for this week… 

Yesterday I was swimming at a local popular spot; I turned and less than ten yards from me saw a very small child frantically treading water and disappearing below the surface. I lunged and grabbed him - he would not have resurfaced had I not seen him at that second. He made no sound whatsoever, no splashing, no noise at all and it was just sheer chance that I turned in his direction when I did. His parents were sitting on the shore about 30 yards away from us under an umbrella and yet did not see a thing…because they were not watching him.

I took the child to his parents and explained what had happened to their son and they were shocked; had I not seen him they could have been grieving tonight. He was about four years old, could not swim and was not even wearing flotation bands - ALL children from the age of 12 months MUST be taught to tread water at the very least. It should be compulsory - a child drowning is the most unnecessary tragedy and yet the most easily preventable.

In the past week two British toddlers have drowned in unfenced pools at rented holiday villa’s in Spain; why people would rent a property with an unfenced pool when they have a) small children, and b) small children who cannot swim, is completely beyond me…

Parents are often overly-indulgent these days; their kids have every gadget that modern technology can produce, they take family holidays each year - so why in hell do they not spend that bit of money and put their toddlers in a course of swimming lessons? We all learn to walk, to talk, to feed ourselves…learning to swim should be considered just as vital a survival skill.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Dr Who and his Daleks storm the Royal

This was certainly a Proms with a difference; no Beethoven, Mozart or Messiaen in sight - but the most famous Doctor in the world paid a visit…Dr Who stormed the Royal Albert Hall last night via the famous tardis of course!

This event boasted the hottest ticket of the Proms after Nigel Kennedy’s Elgar last week; over 3000 hopefuls on the waiting list with just 1,400 tickets available to the lucky ‘few’.  The Royal Albert Hall was transformed into the futuristic world of the Time Lord and and Dalek Music was the order of the night.

Conductor Ben Foster was suitably hypnotised by the Daleks and the audience - what more devoted fanatics are there besides Dr Who fans? - young, old and everything in between paid rapt hommage in what was undoubtedly a monumental success. What better way to introduce youngsters to the world of music and orchestras than using Dr Who clips, theme music, surreal imagery and just sheer magic?

My kids would have loved this…in fact I would like to bet that members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and London Philharmonic Choir would count this as one of the best gig’s they have ever done!

Music and imagery; wonderful sounds and imagination; excitement and anticipation…this is what music is all about. This is taking the Proms to newer and younger audiences, taking the Proms out of the past and securing it’s place in the future…where it definitely must stay.

Popularity: 7% [?]