April is not far away.

 Hi, this is the only new blog post you'll see around here this morning. Robert's blog seems all locked up and Raccoon Man only posts about once a year.

"It's not just my shoes,
my pants feel tight too!
I wonder if Richard or
Rob would like them?"

I think that Rob is pissed off because of this statement that got posted recently, "New Zealand’s Catholic church admits 14% of clergy have been accused of abuse since 1950."

"Those bloody atheists are
always picking on the one
true church!"

So, just to be clear, 14 out of every 100 Catholic clergy have been accused of abuse (since 1950). These are God's representatives of Earth, for Christ's sake!

Ah well, moving right along.

Tomorrow is the last day of March. March 31st.  On that day my elder grandson turns 3. Mum and dad put on a party for him last Saturday. I've saved his present for tomorrow. The main part of his present is a model of his favourite action figure, Iron Man.

Iron Man's preferred weapon.

My younger grandson has been a bit unwell. I'm hoping hugely that he's on the mend. He turns 1 on April 15th.

Well, that's it from me. 

Ciao.

The supermarkets close for two days over Easter.

 I assume that's so all the staff can go and say the rosary.

No post from either of the old boys (Robert and Peter) so far this morning. At least I don't have to read about articles of clothing that don't fit Peter properly or wise fairytales taken from the bible.

No practice for me yesterday on either of my instruments. More important things came up and saying the rosary wasn't one of them. Hey, just for the record, all my shoes fit okay.

I think I might have a piece of pizza and a coffee [and an extra trip or two to the bathroom] for breakfast this morning. Why the hell not! Well, while dealing with events that happened yesterday, I missed out on dinner. This morning's breakfast could be like dinner.

Well, that's it from me this morning.

Ciao.

One day closer to my concert.

 

It's not going to be like this.

Probably more like this.

I guess it might be considered a success if I don't have to stop halfway through to use the bathroom.

Playing improvised unaccompanied music is a lot different from playing with accompaniment. Ah, I won't go into detail. No one around here will be really interested. I'd be better off talking about golf or quoting from the bible. Boring for me.

I'm off.

Ciao.

Playing with myself.

 

Whoops! I need to be careful!

Preparation for 'Playing with myself' is going pretty well. I'm getting in practice on both instruments and I'm working on all 15 tunes. Remember that I have 5 double bass unaccompanied tunes and 10 violin unaccompanied tunes. I'll probably use 7 violin tunes and 5 bass tunes at my (slowly getting) planned first concert. That should make the performance about an hour long. I think that's long enough. Remember that the concert is tentatively planned for late August. Today is day 7 of my practice schedule.

No post from Robert this morning, but Peter wrote a very good post yesterday. Hey, I loved that porcupine joke! What Peter did showed a lot of guts. I'm proud of you, Peter!

My hero!

I think that people who need to speed in their car haven't got much happening in their lives. They should do something, like take up the violin. I see them racing along as I drive to work, speeding over the Nui hill. There are always dents in the road barriers that tell of drivers who didn't make it. Near the bottom of the Nui hill there are traffic lights. This causes a short delay and means that I catch up to lots of speeding drivers. Why do they bother? When I'm going somewhere, I always set off a bit too early. This means that I have no need to panic or rush. Peter obviously uses the same principal when he walks to Moore Wilson's. Remember how long we had to wait, last time, for the post that he promised to write on his return.

Well, that's about it from me. No coffee this morning. God, I love those coffees, but not the extra trip they cause.

Please don't worry about sinning and stay well away from Catholic confession.

Ciao tutti. Ehi, sto ancora pensando a quel caffè!

What if Jesus had been named Clive?

Clive Hoolihan?

Imagine saying that when you stubbed your toe!

"Clive Hoolihan!"

I'm off to do some practice soon. I'll start with the violin today because I actually did more double bass practice than violin practice yesterday. I guess I'm just trying to get my hours up on the bass. Doing an unaccompanied instrumental gig is going to be hard work. There are certainly many aspects of my playing to work on; some are quite subtle but important. 

Okay, I'm off to practise now.

Don't worry about sinning, AND there is no such place as Hell. Just like there wasn't actually an old lady who lived in a shoe.

Ciao tutti.

Sunday, good to not be at church, good to be back practising the double bass.

 

No coffee this morning. I think I might have learnt my lesson. I'll have to be satisfied with the water I get when I take my pills. 

I'm very itchy this morning. It's one of the conditions I have to suffer. Shelley sometimes calls me Itchy Richie. I'll put on some cream after I've finished this post. Itching, to my level, is no fun. I guess it's a bit like being in Purgatory. Boy! The nonsense that a Catholic upbringing can put into your head!

Yesterday was another good practice day, for both violin and double bass. I'm now two days down on my five month journey to 'Playing with myself'. Practice is built around my chosen 15 tunes, with all the important practice things being applied - long notes, tuning and tone, etc., etc., etc.

Okay, time to get this day underway.

Stay away from silly old churches.

Ciao tutti.

Saturday. Sinning is permissible today and you won't go to Hell. Richard 21:16

No post from Peter this morning. Robert has written a post in a language close to English.

Well, fairly close. I think it's called Robrite.

I set a new goal for myself yesterday and did 1 3/4 hours of practice, 1 hour on the violin and 45 minutes on the bass. Yesterday was the 20th. I set a goal that lasts for five months and finishes on the 20th of that month. It will involve me playing a solo concert. Just me. I will play unaccompanied pieces on the violin and the double bass. The concert will be titled 'Playing with myself'. I haven't worked out a venue yet. However, the repertoire for both instruments is set. The concert will be about an hour long, probably presenting five pieces on each instrument, though I do have more violin pieces if needed. Obviously, I will be stepping up the amount of practice that I do. I'll aim for at least 2 hours a day, one hour on each instrument.

I'm having a coffee as I write.

[Stand by, toilet.]

It's a cold morning in the Nui. I wouldn't mind betting that people have their raccoons inside in Raccoontown.

I wonder what Peter did with his preferred hat?

I hope, for his own safety, that he's not wearing it anywhere near his home. Remember that raccoons are a preferred pet around there.

I've finished my coffee, so it's probably a good time for me to go. Well, I'm sure it will be soon.

[Coffee gone.]

Remember that it's Saturday and a bit of sinning is okay. I'm sure that Robert will agree.

Ciao tutti.