Music in the family - trip down south
7th October, 2009
Dear Jeremy,
The good news that Liane's flute examiners have nominated her for Encore made me think of the part music has played in our family.
The Headmistress of Prince Charles School, Frances Baxter said Christopher had outstanding musical ability. We thought if he was so good we must then give him every opportunity to develop his talent. We sent him for violin lessons and Michael bought a piano. Michael, as a boy, had longed to learn to play the violin. He even bought himself his own but never had the chance to have lessons. I think he practiced up in a tree, well if he didn't, that is the kind of thing he would have done. As you know he was a boy soprano. I believe he sang, I quote, "like an angel" but his behaviour apparently did not keep up that high standard. He was even ready to accept bribes from kind ladies to sing for them.
I think Christopher liked the violin, his teacher was young, pretty and blond but he did not like practising and in those days I was very strict about discipline. I remember him playing Wooden Soldiers but not much else.
The principal of the Music School was a singing teacher so Michael decided to have some lessons with her. He sang in a few concerts singing the duet La Che Darem la Mano, Give Me Your Hand My Dearest with Mary Scarr. Mary's husband was in local government and we became friends.
I also had a few piano lessons. I was told my hands were like Quarto (not sure of the spelling) a famous Beethoven exponent but when she asked me to play a Beethoven Sonata in a concert I chickened out. I was not yet ready for fame.
Christopher recalls waiting for his lesson while Dad had his. He found a roll of film in Dads pocket. Was he looking for extra strong peppermints? I'll just look at these pictures while I wait, he thought and was disappointed to find no pictures to enjoy when he unrolled it. Dad was not pleased. Christopher gave up the violin and sang instead, he too had a good soprano voice.
Kitwe had a small theatre and we enjoyed the plays they produced and the music concerts. We considered joining but they only really wanted men as there was a surfeit of budding female actresses waiting in the wings. Also we had a bachelor friend called John who advised us against joining. He implied that Kitwe society was not averse to shenanigans amongst the members. We did not want that.
Dad and I played the recorder and the Fielders son joined us for a while.
Elsie laws joined the college staff to train the girls in Domestic Science. She was also a trained Primary School teacher. She came to live in the "semi" attached to us. Jill won her heart when she told Elsie she must be younger than her Mummie because she was smaller.
One morning Michael was on his way to the Practising School in the township to oversee the teachers in training when he called at the house to collect a book. Imagine the horror he felt when he got out of the vanette to see Christopher advancing up the garden path with his pop-gun aimed at a cobra, already up on his tail. He was going to protect Jill. I just remember seeing Michael push Christopher off the path. Christopher did not realise the cork was on a string and would not hit the cobra. Dad and the driver soon dispatched that snake.
At this time Christopher was attending Kitwe Primary School. It was closer to where we lived but we still had to travel along a dirt road and sometimes in clouds of dust. Christopher recalls, but I have no recollection, that he was pushed over by another boy and cut his head. He was taken to the mine hospital and had stitches put in. I must have taken him to have them removed as he remembers being given his stitches which he kept. How could I forget as I was always so protective towards my children.
Dad's salary was not big and sometimes we had to pull the accounts out of the hat to see who would "win" that month. We only had drinks on special occasions but would share a beer on Saturday nights. Of course when we entertained we would offer beer and sherry. I do not remember wine being much on our menu in those days.
Our local leave was due in the middle of 1956. In order to earn a little extra cash for the trip South to visit our parents, I marked examination papers. On the way down south we stopped at a student camp at Mkushe where we joined in the singing and entertainment round the campfire. It was there that Dad gave Jill a boiled sweet which stuck in her throat and she could not breathe. We were miles out in the bush away from any help. What a fright we got and to this day Jill cannot swallow pills. I think we stayed in a Government Guest House in Lusaka and with Gerry and Val in Bulawayo. We camped along the road in those days, one could just pull off the road and set up camp, it was quite safe. We had a small tent and blow up mattresses but Michael's kept going down and my memory is waking up through the night and hearing Michael blowing up his mattress yet again. The children slept in the car. However at Beit Bridge Dad was told there had been lions about but he did not tell me. He got a real fright when the tent shook in the night. Investigation showed it was an African man walking home. We had put the tent across a footpath.
Next week I will tell of our holiday in South Africa.
Love, Mum
Wednesday 14th October, 2009-10-14
Dear Jeremy,
This is an insert for last week's letter
Though Michael sang many songs, community, hymns etc., the ones I recall as being his favourites were:
The Lost Chord by Arthur Sullivan
The Lute Player by Frances Allitson
The Early Morning by Graham Peel with words by Hilaire Belloc
The Moon on the one hand, the Dawn on the other
The Moon is my sister, the Dawn is my Brother
The Moon on my left, and the Dawn on my right
My Brother Good Morning, my Sister Goodnight.
Also one of my favourites and another of his favourites was Summertime in Bredon.
Thought you might like to know this.
Love, Mum