Forgive the cheesy title, I spent ages thinking that one up…
Have had a simply wonderful week lolling around looking at the telly which is not something I do very often, mainly because most of the time there is hardly anything on I want to see but this week lots I like. First up, tennis. For years I have had to follow the Wimbledon scores in the corner of my computer screen at work and then watch Match of the Day in the evening and have found this really irritating as when I was at school, I used to bunk off to go home and watch, when I was at home in between feeding children and husband, I used to sit and watch. Well, now I can watch as much as I like. So my schedule this week has been to get up in morning, buy paper, come back and read said paper while eating breakfast, a bit of housework (yes I do do it now and then), have painted my hallway as well this week, and then at 1pm sit down and watch the tennis from Queen's Club. Now this year, even better, I have a digital TV so when the broadcast finishes that nice Sue Barker tells me to press the Red Button and lo and behold I have another two hours or so. That brings me up to about 7.30pm and then over to BBC 4 for Cardiff Singer of the World.
I do occasionally have a pee and make a cup of tea throughout this marathon. Just thought you might like to know that…or not.
I am currently sitting here feeling very smug and self satisfied as I have picked every single winner each night and the five finalists, which for the first time in ages, turns out to be the winner of each heat which does not always happen. Pity I never have the same luck with my lottery ticket numbers.
Last night there was a sensational counter tenor, quite magical. This is a voice that can be rather disconcerting coming out of the mouth of a man and when I first heard this particular sound years ago when I was running an early music festival, I was not at all sure I liked it, but now I do and this singer was excellent. Tonight's winner was a 21 year old Italian tenor and when I heard he was going to open with Your tiny Hand is frozen from La Boheme, one of the most famous tenor arias ever, my heart sank but then he opened his mouth and out poured this simply staggering voice. I just hope he manages to resist singing Nessun Dorma in the final that is all, but I wouldn't count on it. (My personal opinion is that it will be between the Japanese soprano or the Italian tenor as I think they have that extra something, but depends on the performance on the night. We shall see).
Each night we have had Mary King, a voice coach, providing comments and encouragement on each contestant but some of the so called 'celebrity' visitors have been nit picking, and sometimes sarcastic which I think is totally unnecessary. The guest they had tonight, a soprano singing with Welsh National Opera (whose name escapes me) was very negative and unsupportive and I took an instant dislike to her. Mark you she did bear an astonishing resemblance to Hazel Blears, the red haired permanently chipmunk grinning gosh I am so pleased with myself, minister who resigned from the cabinet last week in order to get back to her 'roots' and back to the people of Salford who she really cared about. Now appears they don't care about her and don't want her either which is good news.
Sorry, I am digressing…
Glorious week of song and music and I received a response from the Beeb about my complaints re programming and giving out the results on the website before transmission and it was very helpful and apologetic which has to be a first so I feel quite satisfied with that .
Sadly, I have not yet received a response to my emails to the team at the BBC (they did ask us to write in with our thoughts so I did) when I asked if they would please tell Pat Cash to SHUT UP and remember that we are watching the broadcast because we want to WATCH TENNIS and have absolutely no desire to hear about his injuries, what his son said to him last night, or know that he had just eaten a chocolate brownie from the BBC canteen (all this is true) and asked why the BBC laboured under the misapprehension that just because you play a sport means you can commentate cogently and interestingly when called upon to do so.
I can talk cogently and interestingly (well I think so anyway, others may not agree) about opera, but that doesn't mean I should be singing at the Met…
Oh dear off to bed as I fear I am in full Grumpy Old Woman of Colchester mode.
Night all.
Leave a Reply