Rob, you are da man!

Well, as you know, Rob (my younger and very inventive brother) posted a video (on his blog) of him and his son delivering a birthday present to me.

I wasn't supposed to open it until tomorrow but I cheated.

It's a very special T-shirt!

I took some photos and I'm sorry about the quality - it has been a very long day.

Front.

Back.

I now have a violin t-shirt, which I will treasure!

Thank you so much Robert and Sue. I intend to wear it at every appropriate (and maybe inappropriate)  occasion, and, you know what, I will!

I'm a very lucky man.

Ciao tutti.

"I'm getting low on Cleanskins!"

 said Richard (of RBB) as he drove home to put in some double bass practice after work.

As he walked up the drive, a courier showed up and gave him a big box. At first he thought it might be toilet rolls but then he noticed it was far too heavy. Was it something from the Presbyterians for mentioning them in his last post? Cleanskins, maybe?

No, it contained 6 bottles of wine he had never heard of before.

Church Road! 

At first he wondered if this was from Father Patrick - the grinning Catholic.

Then he saw the name McDonald.

It was his old mate Peter McDonald from 3P!

The docket confirmed this.

AND the wine suppliers had gone to great lengths to use recycled packaging!

Cut up cardboard instead of bubble wrap. Well done!

Thank you so much Peter and Lynn!

Much love to you both. xxx

Back to Himatangi.

 

The saga continues. We'll be heading up for Thursday and Friday. That means a physical workout, providing it's not pissing down and flooding again, and a night in Palmy. Palmy has won out, for me, over Foxton as the place to stay. Hey, there are too many foxes in Foxton. Well, it did use to be New Zealand's own fox town.

I practised pentatonic scales on the violin yesterday (as well as doing my bass practice). Pentatonic scales are used by lots of guitarists but you don't hear them much on the violin. They're great for traditional blues and have a place in jazz. 

I wore thick socks to bed last night and my feet stayed nice and warm. I wonder if TC wore four slippers to bed?

Well, I'm off to NLHS so I'd better get moving. 

Ciao tutti.

A busy time at the Presbyterian church shop and when a person wears four slippers.

 "Tell Robert to hurry up." said a Presbyterian who was carrying a bag full of condoms," Time is getting on and we need to have the church shop open before the service finishes."

As usual Robert, who was there to clean, had been taking a bit of time to find fault with his fellow Christians who had a few slightly different weird beliefs to his own. He'd even spent time trying on a holy crown.

Actually, the truth was that this Presbyterian church shop made a far bigger profit than most of its Catholic counterparts. There were far less statues, no rosary beads and only a small stock of altar wine. They seemed to concentrate on carrying a good food range - things like sandwiches, milkshakes and hot chips. As Robert walked past the shop, on his way to mass and carrying a bucket and a mop, the aroma of the hot chips made him think about how much better his life could be as a Presbyterian. After this thought he made a mental note that he should make a quick confession to Father Patrick after mass.

Fr. Patrick - the grinning 
Catholic.

He thought up a little song as he walked out into the cold morning air.

Father Patrick, the grinning Catholic,

Doesn't empty bins.

Father Patrick, the grinning Catholic,

Takes away your sins.

Father Patrick, the grinning Catholic,

Doesn't eat hot chips,

Only a communion host 

Passes between his lips.

Robert thought that, later that day, he might dress up as Ivan the Terrible and video himself singing this song.

* * *

Peter was still in his Dutch oven (bed) . He had stayed up to watch a group of grown men throwing a ball around - the game was known as rugby.

He had taken to wearing his favourite white cap to bed - hey, don't forget that this is they guy they call 'old four slippers'. 

Not a guy with normal habits. Remember also that this guy made his fortune in the 1960s selling communion hosts.

He hasn't needed to buy snacks for years.

Peter was happy that the All Blacks had won. At school, many, many, many, many years ago, he'd played in a top notch soccer team.

Well, when I say 'top notch', I'm talking about boys who had medical certificates so that they didn't have to play rugby. There was blind Johnny Franks, Willie Docks with his one leg and the extremely fat Brian McKenzie. Peter, with two legs and pretty good vision, had been one of their star players.

* * *

For Richard (of RBB) practice time was approaching. He'd found himself awake in bed last night, before the rugby, and had thought about pentatonic scales on the violin.

He was pleased when the All Blacks won because he'd felt sorry for their coach and captain. He was sure that they'd both done their very best. He wouldn't be going to mass this morning and he wouldn't be wearing four slippers at once. You see, Richard (of RBB) was a normal guy who ran a very successful bass bagging site - a place where both Robert and Peter came to learn about grammar and writing. 

Ciao tutti.

I'm thinking of becoming a Presbyterian.

 Robert cleans their churches so they must be good.

"Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that traces its origin to the Church of Scotland. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterium form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Many Reformed churches are organised this way, but the word Presbyterian, when capitalized, is often applied uniquely to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War."

It seems that Presbyterians wear very stylish clothes.

John Calvin - a stylish dresser.

Basically, a lot of Scottish people looked carefully at the Roman Catholic church and decided to make a better church.

Hey, just kiddin', let's get back to talking about basses.

I'm doing a lot of bass practice because I intend to put on a concert of my original tunes some time soon.

The format will be double bass, guitar and drums. I've got two very fine musicians lined up - Wade Reeve and Shaun Anderson. All I need now is a venue.

I'm doing lots of practice but today I need to kick off with some violin practice.

Actually, I'd better get cracking.

Ciao tutti.

Here's one for the Catholics. Atheists and Presbyterians can have a go too.

 

Leave a comment answering these questions...

1. Who is your favourite parish priest?
2. What is the worst sin you've confessed at confession?
3. Who would you like to see as the next pope?
4. Is it okay to sell communion hosts?
5. What is your favourite hymn?
6. What is a prayer that you detest?
7. At what age should someone be baptised?
8. Is it good to swallow the body of Christ?
9. If every country had a Noah's ark, would all wars cease?
10. Is the Holy Ghost male or female?
11. Should the ten commandments be updated?
12. Should a Presbyterian be the next pope?
13. Is the bible a load of old shit?

Good luck. Hey, and no praying for assistance.

I take tuning seriously.

 I was just reading The Curmudgeon's latest post.

He has a bit of a moan, which is all good - remember that the old guy is 70!

But then, to finish off, he has a go at me and musicians!

That's not two of the Beatles in the picture.

"Stay tuned." he says!

Why is TC picking on musicians?

I know he once played the bagpipes (and what a racket that probably was for the neighbours) but that put down of musicians came out of the blue.

blue

Personally, I keep all the instruments in my house in tune; especially my number one violin and my double bass. Let TC ring any time and check. I challenge him!

The Curmudgeon: he who made a joke recently about my five violin strings (there are four). I bet he doesn't even know what his clothes dryer is tuned to! 

It is going to be a long road now that he's 70. I might start calling him grandad.

Ciao tutti.

Addio nonno. (That's 'bye grandad' in Italian)