Tomorrow morning's post.

 (PLEASE DON'T READ UNTIL SATURDAY 5th. JULY, AM!)

Good morning - another wet, cold one. 4 degrees here.

Thank Zeus for my heater!

"No probs, Richard of Richard's Bass Bag."*

The ABs play this evening, and I intend to watch it. It'll be a very interesting match. I've heard that the French have turned up with a bit of a second rate side. That's their problem.

As I said, I set up The Curmudgeon to cover my morning post but, as I should have suspected, he fucked up and posted it on Friday. Hey, they're not on a different time zone up in the Rei.
He went to a restaurant last week and the waiter asked him two questions in quick succession.

"Have I given you enough food on this plate? What's your IQ level?"

The Curmudgeon answered both questions with one word, "Moron."

My backing music gig went pretty well last night. It was nice not to have to drive home in the rain and cold. 

Still no news from Robert, though I did hear that he's posting his religious nonsense on Facebook. You can't see it, unless you're one of his three friends - that's really getting the word out there!

Well, that's just about it from me this morning.

Hey, please be nice to The Curmudgeon as he's getting old - he turns 73 next month.

Bloody hell! No wonder his proofreading isn't up to scratch.

Enjoy your Saturday and don't miss the ABs!

Ciao tutti.


* the original bass bagging site

Should I take over Rob's biblical messages, now that he has buggered off?

Luke 1:5,6,7 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.

Luke 1:8 Zechariah prayed to the Lord. He asked for a son. For the first time in our words of teaching God swore. "Sheesh!" he said, "What the shit! You're both too old!" The priests of Abijah tried to justify the Lord's words, but none of them could work out the word 'Sheesh!'. "Did he mean to mention sheep?" some of them wondered. "Did he also mean to say, "What a hit!"? The priests of Abijah decided to blame it on translation. 

Luke 1:9 Elizabeth prayed to the Lord and asked for a virgin birth, but the Lord said that was just not possible. 

"It wasn't me who swore!"

So, I'm off to play Irish music and Jazz tonight on my violin (with backing tracks). We're staying the night, so there won't be a post in the morning. Maybe Peter could write one? He could just write one of those short ones, with a video and a picture. That wouldn't take him long. He'd only need to write a few words. Hey, here's an example he could just copy, if he'd like.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

THE CURMUDGEON

IT'S UP TO ME THIS MORNING

So, Richard is off on a sleepover. Inconsiderate of him really because he normally writes a bolg in the morning. Yes, I know, we'd be better off without his Wainuiomata attempts at humour. 

[Video of a song about making people laugh by a 70s rock band]

Well, locally I am writing this blog to myself, now that Bob has disappeared again. Fortunately, I have many overseas readers.

[A map showing many countries and the numbers, in thousands, that follow TC's blog]

Well, that should cvoer my obligations. I don't want to show him up too much, poor old 3G guy!

COMMENTS

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

I put in two typos to make it realistic. Thanks, TC, for filling in for me.

Ciao tutti.

There are some underpants that men used to pull right up.

That was before the low slung pants of the 1990s and onwards.

Listen to these chords and see if you can pick the tune.

One famous pair of men's underpants, in the old days, was called 'Over The Rainbow'.

Try singing these two lines to the first four bars of the chords.

"Some wear Over The Rainbow, 

Way up high."

How did you go?

Leave a comment, if you like.

Ciao tutti.

The 'Kumara Is Gone' was really into writing out lyrics to songs last night.

On a post, that started out interestingly, he wrote the complete lyrics to a song. He also left this comment on my last post.

"There you go, you can do the rest." Thanks, The Kumera Is Gone, but I'd rather write this one...

The Curmudgeon forgot to buy his veges,

Now the kumara is gone.

For songs he likes to write away,

After too much Chardonnay.

He should really keep a clear head,

Like he does when he washes his chin.

Wasting money on fancy wine.

He'd be better off with Cleanskin.

* * *

There you go, TC. Now you can sort out the chords. Probably best not to use the bagpipes to do that.

I've been asked to play double bass in a folk band. I thought it might be a challenge to practise listening for chords and to supply some interesting rhythms to the band - I listened to a couple of their tunes. I'm playing Neil Diamond music Jazz and a fair bit of Irish music tomorrow night. Solo violin with backing tracks. I'm trying to practise violin and double bass for an hour each, each day. 

No news from 'Bob's boring bantering'.

At times he has told both Peter and I that he loves us. Now he doesn't want to have anything to do with us. Is that how old friendships work when you're a Catholic? God only knows!

Ah well, that's me for today.

Ciao tutti.

I'm a pearly.

 

Oops, sorry, I meant to say, "I'm up early."

I got up at 6am because my feet were cold. Hey, it's nice sitting by the new heater.

Not quite this grand, but you get the idea.

I've been asked to play at a mid-winter dinner on Friday. The guy who once put on Neil Diamond when I was taking a quick break will be there, so I'll have to be careful with the jazz selection. I've pulled out my Irish music charts and started practising them yesterday - my old mate Aidan is Irish, so this will get him on my side. I was playing a well known old tune when Shelley passed through the room. I asked her, "What type of music is this?" She replied, "French?"

I guess she's just preparing me for some of the silly comments I might get on Friday. 

Robert's posts have all gone again. I think he is putting all his religious stuff on Facebook now. He evidently has three readers there. Actually, I know the three people and I know they're not really into religion. Maybe he can convert them?

I guess it's up to me to write about religion here now.

Here's a picture of Adam and Eve with their belly buttons to get you started.

Humans and their ancestors have been walking the planet for about 6 million years. Homo sapiens, who are the modern form of humans, evolved 300,000 years ago from Homo erectus. Human civilizations started forming around 6,000 years ago. So, the Christian god must have plucked Eve from Adam around 300,000 years ago. God left human civilizations alone for about 4,000 years before he made himself known. Weird. Think about it. Those early civilizations worshiped things. The list of gods in ancient Greece runs into the thousands. Here are a few you might have heard of - Apollo, Areas, Dionysus, Hades, Hephaestus, Hermes, Poseidon, and Zeus. 

Ancient Egyptian gods are recorded on tombs and manuscripts beginning in the Old Kingdom of about 2600 B.C.E. and lasting until the Romans conquered Egypt in 33 B.C.E. Here are some of them - Anubis, Bastet, Bes, Geb, Hathor, Horus, Neith, Isis, Nephthys, Nut, Osiris, Ra, Set, Shu, and Tefnut. For anyone who is not sure, B.C.E. stands for Before Common Era and is now often used in place of BC (Before Christ).

Okay, okay, I can hear Peter asking, "What about your double bass playing?"

Well, I practised 'il mio contrabbasso' for an hour yesterday. I've been asked to play in a folk band. Beggars can't be choosers, so I said, "Yes." The first job is to harden up my fingertips. They're probably a bit soft at the moment through lack of practice. Here I am in the early stages of warming up.

Firstly, pizz.

I'd better do some arco too.

Before Peter makes any 'pizz.' jokes, this is short for 'pizzicato' - to pluck with the fingers. 'Arco' means to use the bow.

I mean, Peter would have left a comment saying something like, "Where are you? Have you gone for a pizz.?"

Well, to be fair, he is practising jokes he can use when he comes to the Nui.

That's it from me.

Ciao tutti.

Gesundheit!

 I heard this quite a lot when I was young. I think my mum might have said it when someone sneezed. 

Gesundheit!

Please let me assure you that it has nothing to do with these.

But how can we be sure that my mum wouldn't have said it if she entered the room where Peter was doing this?

"Gesundheit!" said Gloria.

Well, my mother's grandfather was German.

auf Wiedersehen für jetzt.

Gig done.

 

                     Home again now,

                    My regrets are none.

                    Posting again,

                    Gig done.

The play at the open mic seemed to go very well. I got very enthusiastic applause. I was the only violinist there. Everyone else was a singer with a guitar. The lady running the show offered me a double bass gig. I took the opportunity and said, "Yes."

Driving home to the Nui, this morning, I remembered this song I wrote in the 1970s.

Dickery dickery dobits,

I'm the man from Murray Roberts.

I'll deliver your grog,

You can drink like a hog,

Dickery dickery dobits,

I'm the man from Murray Roberts.

[slower pace] Man from Murray Roberts.

* * *

I used to sing this when I was out doing deliveries.

Hey, like Robert, I've got to go. Don't worry, I won't delete my posts.

Ciao tutti.

It's a while since my last gig.

That was on May 3rd. Two months ago.

Hey, but more importantly, here's what I had for tea (aka dinner) last night. I've taken a liking to croissant burger buns that you can get at most supermarkets. Here's what I do:

I don't add tomato or lettuce or onion.
That's too complicated.

• Turn on the oven, after getting the oven tray out.
• Line the tray with baking paper.
• Get a frozen cheeseburger patty out of the freezer. There is a whole packet of them there.
• Put the frozen cheeseburger patty on the oven tray.
• Put the oven tray into the oven.
• Leave it alone for 15 minutes.
• Pour a glass of Cleanskin Chardonnay.
• Taste the Chardonnay but don't drink it too quickly.
• Laugh at the thought of Peter having to drink that expensive Pinot Noir.
• Take one ready cut croissant burger bun and layer the cut sides with some tomato chutney and a bit of cheese.
• Take out the oven tray and place the two bun halves on it. Leave the patty where it is as it needs to cook for 5 more minutes.
• Return the tray to the oven for 5 to 7 minutes. 
• Bingo! It'll be ready to eat.
• Take the tray out of the oven.
• Get a plate from the plate cupboard.
• Get a knife and fork from the knife and fork and spoon and potato peeler drawer.
• Place the 'bottom' half of the croissant on your plate, using the knife and fork. Be careful not to drop it onto the kitchen floor.
• Transfer the cheeseburger patty onto the half of the croissant that is already on the plate, using the knife and fork. Be careful not to drop it onto the kitchen floor.
• Stop for a quick sip of wine. Smile at the idea of Peter having to drink Pinot Noir.
• Carry on.
• Now put the second half of the croissant on top of the patty. Be careful not to drop it onto the kitchen floor.
• Turn the oven off.
• Finish the glass of wine and pour another.
• Carry the plate to the dinner table. 
• You are now ready to eat. 
• Do Not Say Grace. Just eat the bloody thing and sip some wine.

Okay, you can also make a side of baked potato and some peas. Sometimes I replace the spud n peas with these frozen cauliflower things covered in a sort of breadcrumb batter. They take 20 minutes to bake too, so it's an easy option.

Oops, back to gigging.

So, today I go to Newtown for my 10 minute (or slightly less) gig. I see that Robert decided to leave me some advice in the comments section on my last post. I'll be ignoring that advice. My main worry is getting the form right for the first piece (The Accordion Lady) as it has some subtle little chord variations. Hey, but the audience won't really know if I scuff up because they've never heard the piece before. The second piece (The immigrants) is faster and a less fussy piece to play. It also contains a few 'show off ' bits that are fun to play. 

On the rare occasion that I get to play an encore (though I did get one last time I played there) I'll probably pull out The Orange Blossom Special. Audiences often like hearing something that they know.

So, we'll get to the Newtown motel at about 2pm, or a little bit later. The gig starts at 5.15pm, so we'll have time to have a look around the Newtown shops and maybe even have a Cleanskin. Afterwards it's a short walk back to the motel. Hey, that saves a long drive home in the dark. It's also good to get away from home every now and then.

That's it. Give my recipe a go.

Ciao tutti.

I got an email from Peter yesterday evening.

 

This is what he said, "Hey, I'm very keen to know what you'll be playing at this unclosed Michael gig on Sunday. I'd also like to know how you organise a totally solo tune on the violin. How about a post on this, if you've got time. Sheesh, I'd be very grateful."

Okay Peter but firstly, let me explain to my readers that by 'unclosed Michael gig' you are referring to an 'open mic gig'. An open mic gig is where anyone can come along and sing a couple of songs, read a poem or play some instrumentals. Actually, at this gig everything is acoustic and there are no microphones.

Okay, down to business.

Firstly, as I've mentioned before, I'm playing two of my original tunes - The Accordion Lady and The Immigrants. In 2001 I was walking around the shops one evening in Tauranga. There was a lady busking with an accordion. There were a lot of people walking around and no one seemed to be paying any attention to her or her music. Most of us musicians have experienced this at one time or another. I decided to write a tune about her and sort of immortalize her efforts. Unfortunately, I've only ever played it once before (this year - not the solo version) in public, so her immortalization has been a long time coming. However, I have played this tune, many times at home, over the years. The second tune is a tribute to people who move to another country. When I was at college, I didn't make it into 3P and was put into 3G (3 General), I made a lot of Polish friends whose parents had immigrated to Aotearoa after the second world war. Throughout our lives Shelley and I have had many close friends who started life in another part of the world. One Sri Lankan family even call us their Kiwi parents. My tune salutes these people.

Okay, I've written a lot of 'tunes' over the years, mostly to be played on the double bass. The double bass is tuned (low to high) E A D G. The violin is tuned G D A E. The double bass in tuned in fourths and the violin in fifths. So, all you have to do, to play these double bass tunes on the violin, is play everything back to front!

I'm just going to quickly talk about playing The Accordion Lady this morning.

Okay, the number one thing that people want to hear is the tune. So, I'll start and end with the tune, which is 32 bars long. Though, I'll drop a few chords in too and also maybe start the final tune a bit later. I'll also try to hint at the tune at other times when I'm adding other stuff. I'll be adding chords (mainly double stops) and arpeggios. The chord progression is a bit tricky, so I've been practising it over and over so that, hopefully, I can drop into it naturally to outline where the piece is going.

That's probably enough for now, Peter, but I can answer any questions you have in the comments. 

Thanks for your interest.

Ciao tutti.

Peter finds time to comment on Bob's blog in the morning, but not mine.

 

Please note that the dates and times are wrong, and some of the grammar isn't much better.

"He knew if he took his mind of it..."

Maybe this is because Bob loves him?

Friday Morning

 I wonder what Peter is up to this morning?

It was very windy at tennis yesterday, but they had a good turnout.

He also had a lunch that he really enjoyed - ham, cheese and tomato sandwich made from a freshly baked loaf.

Could it be golf today?

We can only wait to find out. Let's just hope that he stays away from those banks and, while at home, that attic ladder.

They cut down the old pine tree.

 They cut down the old pine tree - LISTEN HERE.

Sorry, but that was the only 'cutting down a tree' song that I could think of. Hey, if I remember correctly, my mum used to sing that song.

We had a tree that was badly damaged by the wind. Yesterday I cut it down. We have professionals coming, at some point, to cut down three more trees. Then they'll take away all the cut down trees. Great stuff.

 

In other good news, I don't think that Peter fell out of the attic yesterday.

"I haven't been under the house either."

Good boy!

I've made a commitment to go to that 'open mic' session on Sunday. I've booked a motel in Newtown to save having to drive at night. I'll play, as I told you, my two original solo violin pieces. I did an hour on them yesterday before cutting down that tree. Obviously, I'll do more practice over the next two days. 

No other bloggers have posted so far this morning. I won't tell you what's going on around the blogs. You can use our LINKS service if you want to see. Hey, but nothing to see really.

I think I'll write a bit in Italian, just to fill up the post.

Stamattina non fa troppo freddo. È un bene, perché presto devo consegnare il giornale al mio vecchio vicino. Indosserò la mia giacca. Va bene, credo che per stamattina vi lascerò qui.

Ciao tutti.

Tree fellas wanted.

 

I've got a guy coming around early this afternoon to look at some of our trees. One has blown over and there are 'tree' others that I want removed. It'll cost a bit, but it'll be good to be rid of these four trees. 

I'm thinking of going to an open mike concert, in Newtown, on Sunday evening. I'd like to play the two original tunes that I have been working on - The Accordion Lady and The Immigrants. The Accordion Lady is quite a tricky one, so I'll have to put in quite a bit more practice. I did 30 minutes of double practice yesterday. I have a couple of originals (well, four actually) on il contrabbasso that are sounding pretty damn good. Hey, but it's much easier to lug a violin to one of these concerts.

In a comment on my last post Robert gave me an English lesson.

"It's a gerund and is considered to be singular. If I bantered I would be having light hearted conversation once."

Yes, a gerund is a singular word BUT I can find no reference to 'banterings' anywhere. Boring bantering can be something you have a habit of doing, something that you do more than once. Bob's boring bantering CAN be a regular occurrence.

"People dancing are fun to watch." Should this be, "People dancing is fun to watch."? No, not necessarily.

Ah, why am I bothering? Unless Rob decides to become an English teacher, most people are safe. Though, judging from the bad grammar I see on Facebook, there is worse grammar out there.

Spell it however you want, Bob. Just go easy on the banter because your latest posts are a bit boring.

"A lot of you're posts are boring to Richard!
Get of your hi horse and support gay rights!"

Okay Rob, you've got me there.

Ciao tutti.

All roads lead to Rome, but most don't go anywhere near "Bob's boring banterings".

 

Do you see the little picture of The Curmudgeon below? If you click on it, you can get to The Curmudgeons Ink blogs. (Obviously, clicking on this copied picture won't work.)

This doesn't work if Bob leaves a message and you click on his little picture.

You just get this.

No way in from here.

The only way I know to get into his blog is via our famous LINKS service.

Are most people going to go to that much trouble to read a blog that will probably be gone in a week or two, if not sooner? Anyway, the name of the blog speaks for itself.

Actually, you don't need an 's' on bantering because it is already plural.

Is it healthy to go around telling non-Catholic men that you love them? Okay, it seems that I'm out of favour but really, I'm the lucky one!

It appears that Peter wasn't impressed by my last post.

Peter after biting his lip.
He was probably excited
about Robert loving him.

"Sheesh!
Over on Richard's blog his post today is all about getting up and driving to work.
Well that'd be OK, boring but OK except that he disclosed that he talks to himself, in the car, in Japanese. WTF?"

That's actually a misquote. I talk, in English, to a lady who rattles on in Japanese. Peter won't understand but that's called being friendly.

Let me say, right here and now, "I don't love you, Peter."

Hey, no hard feelings. In fact, I hope that you didn't get hard at all!

Well, that's pretty much my lot for today.

Ciao tutti.

Mercoledì.

Still dark here, but it will light up over the next half hour. Then I will go to work with my violin and my very big bag full of music.

My violin. You'll have to
imagine my very big bag
full of music. Sorry about
that.

I get to work early so that I can spend at least half an hour warming up. I start with long bows and getting the first finger of my left hand in tune. An old violinist saying is, "Use long bows and you'll sound like a professional." I've found this to be really true and, when my students arrive, I make them do a few long bows.

I haven't touched my double bass for a few days, but I'll try to put that right today. Today is a short day at work, so I do have time.

The new heater is working really well. Hey, I'm warm! I've had my coffee, so it is now time to do my last chores before heading off in my Note.

I never feel alone in the half hour plus that it takes me to drive to work because there is a lady who talks to me in Japanese. It was nice of Nissan to think of this little bonus. When she talks, I reply in English like I understand her. Hey, it doesn't take much to be friendly.

Well, that's it from me.

Ciao tutti.

Martedì.

Il blog di Roberto non esiste più. Nessuna grande sorpresa.

Il suo blog va e viene. Forse è meglio farne a meno? Forse Gesù gli ha detto di toglierlo? Sembra che Gesù voglia unirsi a Roberto e alla sua donna per un rapporto a tre. Dio onnipotente!

Per stasera è tutto.

Ciao tutti.

Evidently there are only two university degrees held by people around the northern bays of the Rei.

 3 degrees in Wainuiomata. I was cold in bed. Now I'm up and wearing lots of clothes. Fortunately, we have the new heater.

I must get some double bass practice done today. Violin: I read a thing online that said that jazz musicians know very little about music theory but Classical musicians know a lot.

Che stronzata!*

I have an Honours degree in Classical music, so I think I'm qualified to comment. I have learnt so many things at Jazz clinics, normally run by well-known American musicians, that I bet Classical musicians have never heard of! 

Hey, back to violin practice! 

Not much to tell really. I'm putting a lot of work into my four unaccompanied pieces. You won't want details, I know.

* * *

Robert is safely back from further north where he's in a 'manage a trois' with Jesus and a nice lady. He drove back smiling and undressed (bare), as Peter pointed out in a comment on his blog.

Things are not looking good in the Middle East with Trump getting in on the action. 

It's a mad, mad world at the moment.

* * *

I can't think of anything to write, so I think I'll give Peter a ring.

Ring, ring, ring.

Peter: Yes, Richard, what is it?

Richard (of RBB): How's the weather up there?

Peter: You didn't just ring to ask me that, did you? I was using the bathroom.

Richard (of RBB): Oops. I hope you didn't drop your phone in the bath.

Peter: No. I was just dealing with the call of nature. What do you want?

Richard (of RBB): Well, at least you weren't coming down the attic ladder. Have you an opinion on Classical musicians and their music theory knowledge?

Peter: As I just said, I was answering the call of nature and, in that moment, I can't say that I give a shit about music theory. 

Richard (of RBB): Ha, ha! Still going for those puns, eh?

Peter: No. What I am saying is that I had other things on my mind when I heard my phone ring.

Richard (of RBB): So, you had your phone in the bathroom? I hope you washed your hands before answering it.

Peter: No. There wasn't time. I had put the phone on the side of the bath, but the bath is empty. Hang on. [flushing sound] 

Richard (of RBB): Sorry. Bad timing on my behalf. Go wash your hands and clean your phone. Bye.

Peter: Bye. I'll try and do a post later today.

* * *

Okay, that didn't really work out as planned. I guess I'd better get a bit of practice done.

Ciao tutti.

* That's bullshit!

Sabato.

 I slept in. Beh, è Sabato!

I'm working very hard at applying my violin Habits to my four unaccompanied tunes. I want to be able to swap easily between the tune, chords and arpeggios. It takes a bit of practice - knowing the tune and chord progression thoroughly. I'll hopefully get some double bass practice done today too.

This evening we have the Super Rugby Pacific final. I don't really care who wins, but I like these two guys.

Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie

May the better team on the day win. Hey, I know Robert will say it's just grown men throwing a ball around and touching each other, but he's actually getting confused and thinking of Brother Benedict.

'Bennie the B', as students sometimes called him, used to enjoy kicking a ball, at short range, as hard as he could at his 11 and 12 year old rugby players. He thought it was funny. He never managed to hit me, but he did get his hand up my pants a few times.

I haven't got much planned for today but tomorrow will be busy. I have a brunch with Nef (my daughter) and her friends and then I'm big boy sitting for about four hours. It'll be great to catch up with my best pal Harrison. Nef intends to come around and help. Shelley will be there too, so I reckon the three of us can sort him out. (A bit of a joke there.) Well, I mean, his dad sometimes calls him Hurricane Harrison! Ah, but we all love him dearly and it will be great to spend time with him. 

The guy who likes to be called The Curmudgeon never proofreads what he writes, "but It doesn't mean that I have to become involved." Well, I'm only trying to help. He doesn't need that capital 'I' after 'but'. 

Okay, okay, Rob's grammar is often worse. Here's an example.

"Have fun and don't sin (if you do go to confession and get back on the path to the Kingdom and righteousness)." 

Is he telling us to not sin if you're going to confession? I think what he meant to say would be clearer if he had put a comma after 'if you do'.

Ah well, I'm only trying to help.

That's it from me this morning.

Ciao tutti.

Matariki.

 

I was at a farewell function for a friend, at my old school, last evening and a Maori friend asked me what I was doing for Matariki. I replied, "I don't know."

I just read this, "As the midwinter sky darkens over Aotearoa, a cluster of shimmering stars begins to rise in the early morning horizon — marking the arrival of Matariki 2025. Falling on Friday, 20 June, this special day is now recognised as a national public holiday, offering all New Zealanders a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what truly matters."

That's nice. I like that. I'll do my best to comply with that.

I've been getting both my violin and double bass practice done. As well as doing my 'Atomic Habits', I'm working on four solo (unaccompanied) pieces for both instruments. For the double bass I have four original pieces - Almost Blues, Gypsy Feet, SMD and Sii Gentile. For the violin I have two original pieces - The Accordion Lady and The Immigrants, and two others - Manha de Carnaval and The Orange Blossom Special.

Most cleaners probably wouldn't like these pieces and would not choose to listen to them at morning tea. Hey, that's okay. Everyone to their own. For the violin pieces, I'm presenting them in the style that a solo jazz guitarist would probably use - dropping in chords and arpeggios, but being careful to give the melody full attention. This is where those Atomic Habits really pay off, as chords and arpeggios are two things that I practise daily.

* * *

So, what are the other bloggers up to lately around here?

Robert - nothing.

Peter - writing some interesting posts on world affairs. Good on him.

* * *

So, Matariki is a time to, "pause, reflect, and reconnect with what truly matters." I like that and I will respect the sentiments of this time.

Ciao tutti.

The blog that's not popular with cleaners.

 Good morning. 

I'll have to make this fairly quick this morning because I have to be places a little later on this morning.

A place I don't have to be at
a little later this morning.

I'm sure that there are people who are quite happy reading this blog. It seems that cleaners are not among these people. One of them wrote, "Robert sits having a coffee in the staff cafe. He's reads part of RBBs blog to Tau. She shows no interest apart from a polite chuckle and puts on some Pacific Island music. It starts with a trumpet call."

I must admit that I don't listen to a lot of Pacific Island music, and I don't know whether Robert is referring to a European style trumpet or some form of traditional Pacific Island horn. 

I do know that they use this instrument.

This is not a traditional
Pacific Island instrument
and the way the notes are
'placed' comes from Europe.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I have no problem with cultures progressing their art forms by borrowing from other cultures. The instruments I have at home were not invented in Aotearoa, but I was. Though it is good to acknowledge the overseas influences on the music you like to immerse yourself in. When you use a guitar, a tempered instrument, your 'traditional' music is going to have to adjust. It's going to have to be quite a bit more European.

So, how does all this fit in with reading, and enjoying, Richard's Bass Bag*?

It doesn't really. 

Hey, but maybe Tau was a bit fast to judge? Maybe morning tea wasn't the best time to be ignoring your workmates and putting your thoughts into reading? I don't know. Maybe the blog just wasn't Tau's cup of tea. No morning tea pun intended.

Well, Robert is a cleaner too. So far, as far as I know, 2/2 cleaners have not liked this blog.

Maybe I just need to issue a warning?

Caution! This blog it not recommended for cleaners!

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Though, on the positive side, it does seem to get people listening to different styles of music.

Ciao tutti.

* the original bass bagging site

Free zing? No, I paid.

I bought a heat her (and hopefully him). It is bigger and more powerful. You can feel heat coming from this machine.

Double bass will be my first job today. Tomorrow I have work, so there will be less time. Then violin, as usual.

I don't remember the last time Rob commented on this blog (actually, it was 11/6). Normally the little 'avatar' that comes with the message can be clicked on to reach the sender's blog. See the little yellow face at the top?

It doesn't work on Rob's one. This makes it nearly impossible to reach his blog from my phone. Ah, maybe he doesn't want visitors and he's really just writing to Jesus and Mary. Beh, mi ne frega una sega.

Poor old TC only got one comment on his last post. He likes to skite about his overseas readers, yet he struggles to get comments. I've decided to ring him to see if I could help.

Ring, ring, ring.

TC: Hi Richard. This is quite an early call for you!

Richard (of RBB): Hi Peter. I just wanted to ask you about your blog. A few posts back you put up a table that shows you getting tremendous readership around the world. You even criticised Poland for only giving you 1.91k of readership or looking at your blog. Shit with holes in it!

TC: Did you mean to say, "Holy shit!"?

Richard (of RBB): But you say that 123k Americans are looking at your blog?

TC: That's the number.

Richard (of RBB): Wouldn't you think that even just one of these 123,000 people might leave a comment? That's the sort of shit that comes from a bull!

TC: Did you mean, "Bullshit!"? I think those Yankees prefer to talk about my blog among their friends.

Richard (of RBB): Your last post has one comment and guess who wrote it. Me! God's mother is full of holes!

TC: Did you mean, "Holy mother of God!"? Are these phrases you are screwing up Wainuiomata jokes?

Richard (of RBB): I feel like time is becoming just like my waist as we talk!

TC: Do you feel like you're wasting your time here? Sheesh! I'll certainly be giving Wainuiomata a wide berth when I make it back to Wellington!

Richard (of RBB): You can't get to Wainuiomata by boat.

TC: Sheesh! What did they teach you in 3G in 1966? My blog is interesting. That's why many people overseas like to take a look. I bet they don't look at your bass shopping bag!

Richard (of RBB): From what I understand, only one person in Wainuiomata looks at your blog. That's me! I bet that the same situation is in place in Moera, though the looks would be much less common. 

TC: I prefer to work with facts. That's what they taught us in 3P. Though, they did go on about all that religious nonsense. Mea culpa. Anyway, I've got a meal to plan. Crum baked asparagus and cheese pie with homemade chips. I'll probably do a post on it. The readers in France and Sweden will like that. Get back to your post and try to make it more interesting. PLEASE, no more rambling on about your violin practice! Bye.

Richard (of RBB): Bye.

Well, I guess I might as well just go and practise.

Ciao tutti.