I have had no less than three phone calls from charities today.That is a record, as I usually only get one, when I do get them.
The first one, and the one I am writing about, was from a charity I used to support, but have not been able to for some time. They still send me the usual paraphernalia, which I think is a huge waste of time and resources. I also think it is bad business to ring people to tell them that they are going to receive a communication in the mail. The conversation went something like this,: Me. "Hullo". charity worker, "Could I speak to Susan please?" Me. "Susan who?" "Oh, she's not at home." "No. I said, Susan who?" "Susan Ham." "Speaking." "Oh, Susan, this is .... from .... I am ringing to thank you for your past generous support, and to tell you there is a letter on it's way to you, as we are supporting the relief effort for Burma. (Myanma)I informed the lady I was unable to help at this time, and she assured me, there was no pressure to send a donation. Yeah, right!
I have NEVER had a phone call to alert me to the fact a letter from any charity was on it's way to me before. I think this is a very bad use of their charity dollars, and an insult to all who donate for these appeals.
I had a chat to the third lady about the fact I had so many calls today, and she told me that they have to work much harder to raise funds, as the government did not give them anything in the budget. I said I thought it was obscene, as the Treasury is bursting at the seams with the surplus. With interest rates and every other commodity on the up, it is harder for us to make ends meet, and I for one, hate to turn these deserving causes down.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
For Yu-Jin.
Hey Yu-Jin, how are you today? I am going to try to post a picture of some of the sheep and lambs on our farm. I have not done this on my own before so hope it works.
I believe it was a warm day over there, today. It is quite cool here. Grandpa will be warm, as he is cutting wood again.
See you soon.
Name sakes
Today, in our daily paper, there is a picture and short story, about a young female postie who is going to Beijing to help deliver mail to the athletes. I was surprised and delighted to see she has the same name as my mate Sue. And it is spelled the same. I thought, 'I am going to have some fun with Sue.'
When Sue arrived to take me out, I said to her, "You have been holding out on me."
She of course, had no idea what I meant. I thought I would be able to show her when we arrived at the coffee shop, as they usually have a copy of each day's paper. Not this morning. I had to let her in on the secret, and she played along with me. She said, "I have to have SOME secrets." Then she said, "You are forgetting the quiz we did yesterday. I said no flying." I said, "Are you going to swim, then?" She just laughed and said, "Oh, sure!"
I showed her the article when we went to the news agents. She was quite surprised to know there is another Sue M......
There is another lady in town now who has the same name as myself, though I have not met her. I know there are several others in this state alone. Never met them, either.
When Sue arrived to take me out, I said to her, "You have been holding out on me."
She of course, had no idea what I meant. I thought I would be able to show her when we arrived at the coffee shop, as they usually have a copy of each day's paper. Not this morning. I had to let her in on the secret, and she played along with me. She said, "I have to have SOME secrets." Then she said, "You are forgetting the quiz we did yesterday. I said no flying." I said, "Are you going to swim, then?" She just laughed and said, "Oh, sure!"
I showed her the article when we went to the news agents. She was quite surprised to know there is another Sue M......
There is another lady in town now who has the same name as myself, though I have not met her. I know there are several others in this state alone. Never met them, either.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Letter to Andre Rieu.
Dear Andre,
I first became aware of your existence late last year, when I purchased your 'New York Memories' CD. I love some of the tracks on it, particularly, Pie Jesu and Yackety Sax. I will be honest, I was not immediately enamoured. I must say, although I did enjoy your rendition of The Music of the Night.
I was in my local Post Office a couple of weeks ago, is it only so short a time, and saw they had some of you DVDs for sale. I purchased your Live from Dublin, and watched it that day. I was instantly hooked! I purchased the only other one that was at the Post Office, The Flying Dutchman, and loved it too. I love the Dublin one so much, I have played it nearly every day since I bought it.
I have since acquired seven of your DVDs and was fortunate enough to be able to buy the last copy of New York Memories DVD. What a joy that is. It is so much better to be able to see what you did, and there is so much to see. The lovely young Saxophone player is brilliant! You and your orchestra obviously have a great time when you do these concerts, and I pray you will be able to do it for a long time yet.
Akim Camara is, as you say, adorable and a prodigious talent for one so young.
I intend to buy everything of yours, whether CDs or DVDs, that I can.
I have read recently there are some who think what you do is irrelevant and 'over the top' pure schmaltz and showmanship. That you are dishonouring your classical training. In other words, wasting your talent. What a load of garbage!
I have also read that the 'purists' think Johann Strauss was a light weight in the music genre.
Well, what a lot of snobby, stuck up stuffed shirts. I am a lover of music, that is, anything with melody and tunefulness. There is a lot of so called classical music I would not give you tuppence for. It is lots of clanging noise, and not worthy to be acknowledged as music. I could not possibly sit through an evening of such a racket. These people are of course, perfectly at liberty to 'enjoy' this kind of classical music. Why do they think it is necessary to criticize those of us who do not like it?
What you do is wonderful. You make people feel happy.You touch their very souls and, make some of us weep with the beauty of the melodies you play. I wept when I watched your Romance DVD, and you played the Nightingale Serenade. Don't ask me why, I just did.
I also laugh at the antics of members of the orchestra. They are so funny. I 'crack up' every time I watch the Dublin DVD, especially the poor lass running out of the theatre being chased by the fake bull. I am still not sure if that was a 'set up'. I love The Chianti Song, The Red Rose Cafe and the Marino Waltz.
My all time favourite though is, Carmen Monarcha's rendition of, O, Mio Babbino Caro. It has been a favourite of mine for over thirty years, and always moves me to tears, because it reminds me of my late father.
You said once in an interview, you had reached a place where you are happy in your skin, Bravo!
You are living your dream, and you are very fortunate to have such a wonderful wife, who supports you and who gives you the freedom to pursue it, even though it means lengthy
separations.
I firmly believe you are doing what you were put on this earth to do, Please keep doing just that and ignore the stuffed shirts and knockers. There are millions who love you for what you do.
God Bless you and your orchestra and the people behind the scenes,
With affection,
Susan.
X X X X X
I first became aware of your existence late last year, when I purchased your 'New York Memories' CD. I love some of the tracks on it, particularly, Pie Jesu and Yackety Sax. I will be honest, I was not immediately enamoured. I must say, although I did enjoy your rendition of The Music of the Night.
I was in my local Post Office a couple of weeks ago, is it only so short a time, and saw they had some of you DVDs for sale. I purchased your Live from Dublin, and watched it that day. I was instantly hooked! I purchased the only other one that was at the Post Office, The Flying Dutchman, and loved it too. I love the Dublin one so much, I have played it nearly every day since I bought it.
I have since acquired seven of your DVDs and was fortunate enough to be able to buy the last copy of New York Memories DVD. What a joy that is. It is so much better to be able to see what you did, and there is so much to see. The lovely young Saxophone player is brilliant! You and your orchestra obviously have a great time when you do these concerts, and I pray you will be able to do it for a long time yet.
Akim Camara is, as you say, adorable and a prodigious talent for one so young.
I intend to buy everything of yours, whether CDs or DVDs, that I can.
I have read recently there are some who think what you do is irrelevant and 'over the top' pure schmaltz and showmanship. That you are dishonouring your classical training. In other words, wasting your talent. What a load of garbage!
I have also read that the 'purists' think Johann Strauss was a light weight in the music genre.
Well, what a lot of snobby, stuck up stuffed shirts. I am a lover of music, that is, anything with melody and tunefulness. There is a lot of so called classical music I would not give you tuppence for. It is lots of clanging noise, and not worthy to be acknowledged as music. I could not possibly sit through an evening of such a racket. These people are of course, perfectly at liberty to 'enjoy' this kind of classical music. Why do they think it is necessary to criticize those of us who do not like it?
What you do is wonderful. You make people feel happy.You touch their very souls and, make some of us weep with the beauty of the melodies you play. I wept when I watched your Romance DVD, and you played the Nightingale Serenade. Don't ask me why, I just did.
I also laugh at the antics of members of the orchestra. They are so funny. I 'crack up' every time I watch the Dublin DVD, especially the poor lass running out of the theatre being chased by the fake bull. I am still not sure if that was a 'set up'. I love The Chianti Song, The Red Rose Cafe and the Marino Waltz.
My all time favourite though is, Carmen Monarcha's rendition of, O, Mio Babbino Caro. It has been a favourite of mine for over thirty years, and always moves me to tears, because it reminds me of my late father.
You said once in an interview, you had reached a place where you are happy in your skin, Bravo!
You are living your dream, and you are very fortunate to have such a wonderful wife, who supports you and who gives you the freedom to pursue it, even though it means lengthy
separations.
I firmly believe you are doing what you were put on this earth to do, Please keep doing just that and ignore the stuffed shirts and knockers. There are millions who love you for what you do.
God Bless you and your orchestra and the people behind the scenes,
With affection,
Susan.
X X X X X
Friday, May 09, 2008
Humans. We're funny/strange creatures.
I thought i would note down some of the odd things people have said to me, or I have seen them do.
Last week, an elderly couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. I happened to walk down the street, something I have not been able to do for some time. I passed their house on the way home, and as the lady was in the front yard, I stopped to chat, and congratulate her on the occasion. I said it was a wonderful achievement, and wished them well. I then said,"1948 was a good year," and she said, "Was that the year you got married too?" I laughed and said, "No, that was the year I was born." She must have felt a bit silly for her faux pas, but we do these things and wonder at our stupidity.
This week I was in hospital overnight, as I had to have day surgery on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon at three o'clock, the RN in the day surgery recovery room rang my husband to tell him I was ready to go home. An hour later he had still not arrived, so she rang him again. Five minutes later, Linda, the ward clerk brought him in to where I was waiting. He told me later that when he came to collect me the first time, he went into the ward where I had been, but of course I was not there. He then asked one of the nurses where I was. She said I was still in theatre, so he went home. The second time, a nurse asked if he was looking for Mrs. Plumb. He said "No, Ham." She said there was no-one there by that name. Linda must have happened along at this point, and brought him to me. When Linda rang the next day to see if I was OK, I told her about this, and she said they did have a patient called Mrs Plumb. I don't know the lady.
Yesterday, while I was doing my shopping, I was walking down an aisle, keeping to the left, as there was a young woman coming the other way, with a small child in the trolley. Next thing, and elderly woman came barreling down the aisle, head down and going full steam ahead. She never had any intention of stopping, so the young mum had to back pedal to avoid a collision.
As we passed each other, I pulled a face, and said, "Oh, excuuuse me!" She just laughed. When I told the check out operator, she said there is one old woman who rides a Gopher/motorised scooter through the forecourt and around the supermarket, at top speed, and is a bloody menace to everyone. She said if she hit someone, it could be very serious.
It appears thoughtlessness is not just the perogative of the young.
Last week, an elderly couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. I happened to walk down the street, something I have not been able to do for some time. I passed their house on the way home, and as the lady was in the front yard, I stopped to chat, and congratulate her on the occasion. I said it was a wonderful achievement, and wished them well. I then said,"1948 was a good year," and she said, "Was that the year you got married too?" I laughed and said, "No, that was the year I was born." She must have felt a bit silly for her faux pas, but we do these things and wonder at our stupidity.
This week I was in hospital overnight, as I had to have day surgery on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon at three o'clock, the RN in the day surgery recovery room rang my husband to tell him I was ready to go home. An hour later he had still not arrived, so she rang him again. Five minutes later, Linda, the ward clerk brought him in to where I was waiting. He told me later that when he came to collect me the first time, he went into the ward where I had been, but of course I was not there. He then asked one of the nurses where I was. She said I was still in theatre, so he went home. The second time, a nurse asked if he was looking for Mrs. Plumb. He said "No, Ham." She said there was no-one there by that name. Linda must have happened along at this point, and brought him to me. When Linda rang the next day to see if I was OK, I told her about this, and she said they did have a patient called Mrs Plumb. I don't know the lady.
Yesterday, while I was doing my shopping, I was walking down an aisle, keeping to the left, as there was a young woman coming the other way, with a small child in the trolley. Next thing, and elderly woman came barreling down the aisle, head down and going full steam ahead. She never had any intention of stopping, so the young mum had to back pedal to avoid a collision.
As we passed each other, I pulled a face, and said, "Oh, excuuuse me!" She just laughed. When I told the check out operator, she said there is one old woman who rides a Gopher/motorised scooter through the forecourt and around the supermarket, at top speed, and is a bloody menace to everyone. She said if she hit someone, it could be very serious.
It appears thoughtlessness is not just the perogative of the young.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)