ANZAC Day Eve.

 Why did Australia and New Zealand pick a fight with the Turks? I honestly don't know. I guess it was all part of some bigger picture. Was Istanbul still Constantinople back then? In those days our young soldiers fought for king and country. Yes, I know, in Aotearoa we don't have a king as such. 

We also have a National Anthem that starts off, 

"God of nations! at Thy feet. 

In the bonds of love we meet, 

Hear our voices, we entreat, 

God defend our Free Land. 

Guard Pacific's triple star, 

From the shafts of strife and war, 

Make her praises heard afar, 

God defend New Zealand."

So, according to our song, we're supposed to have a god who defends us from wars. That should make attacking Turkey a waste of time, if a god was there to protect us.

Anyway for about ten years I've been playing by trumpet at ANZAC Day and Armistice Day services in Nuova Lazio.

2018 on Armistice Day.

I do it as a community service. Sort of like The Curmudgeon doing crossing duty. On Armistice Day a treaty that was signed in 1918 is celebrated. It's a little funny how we're still going on about it 100 years later. 

Anyway, it's a reason to get out my trumpet twice a year and do a bit of work on the best way to blow it. In a comment on a recent post I mentioned the three things that can go wrong with a bottle of wine the three things that can improve your trumpet blowing. Just for the record, there are actually four things that can go wrong with a bottle of wine - it's also possible, besides the other three that The Wine Guy informed me about once, that you could drop the bottle onto a hard surface like concrete.

Anyway, to reiterate, here are the three trumpet things:

• A good supply of air (correct breathing).
• The placement of the lips.
• The angle the trumpet is held on.

I've noticed lately that Peter has become a bit obsessed about what I'm having for dinner. Robert (the quite a few different things) started this 'what's for dinner' thing and it seems to have caught Peter's fancy. 

Well, I do cook a lot but didn't think that anyone else would really give a shit about what I cook on a regular basis. I think I'll leave the 'what I'm eating' thing to people who post their meals on Facebook and Robert (the quite a few different things) who likes to give us a quick written description of his meal after that guy with the beard who plays the violin has talked to us.

Well, that's about it from me for today. 

Enjoy your Sunday and don't forget to do some thoughtful violin practice.

Ciao tutti.