Well, the New Year duly arrived, bearing with
it news of an even stricter lockdown. Traditionally
yesterday, (5 January), the eve of Epiphany, is Twelfth Night and the custom in
the West is to take down your Christmas decorations. This dismal moment is just
too much for our household in the current circumstances and instead, to lighten
the gloom, we embrace the ancient habit of observing the 40 days of the
Christmas and Epiphany festival finishing on 2 February, Candlemas Day, marking
the Presentation in the Temple. Figures of Santa have now been removed but
tree, lights and tinsel will continue to cheer us. A pragmatic compromise, I
reckon!
……………………………
This talk of ancient religious festivals made
me think of the nature of the EU, now that mainly Protestant Britain has
seceded. An Irish commentator called it “The Holy Catholic Empire”, though of
course Protestants, Lutherans and Orthodox remain within as relatively small
minorities. Three early founders of supranational cooperation in Europe were
Catholics for whom German was their first language, namely Konrad Adenauer from
the Rhineland, Robert Schumann from Lorraine and Alcide de Gasperi from South
Tyrol. Idealists and visionaries in their way. Although the power of the
Catholic Church is waning, there is an affinity between the authoritarian
world-view of Brussels and the dogmatic flavour of the Vatican. Neither party
has a deep sympathy with liberalism or democracy.
…………………………….
We are counting the days until 20 January and,
presumably, the peaceful departure of Donald Trump from the White House. He
really has been an appalling advertisement for the United States, hopefully a
one-off. Yet Joe Biden with untrammeled power in Congress is not a particularly
tasty prospect. He acts older and more doddery than one might expect, and could
imperil the world, when in control of the nuclear codes. He is a
dyed-in-the-wool “Green” Irish-American swallowing whole every old myth the IRA
peddles; he dislikes Boris and has no wish to offer a trade deal to the
demonised UK. Even pushy Kamala Harris would be better!
…………………………………
Boris has his hands full with the new
fast-moving Covid variants and the closure of schools is a heavy blow. There
probably was no alternative but lockdowns are eye-wateringly expensive and
destructive. We can only hope we do not foul up the roll-out of the vaccines
(as an over-70, I expect mine free in mid-February and will be hugely
grateful). Soon after, our economy should start to bounce back, but I guess
there will be a long re-adjustment process as the world finds its feet again.
……………………………
During the lockdown, I have watched far too
much TV. I have seen some films at least 10 times, every episode of the BBC’s Pride
and Prejudice serial at least 5 times and I confess to a low-brow addiction
to Tipping Point, the daily quiz programme, where contestants win prizes
from a coin pushing arcade machine after answering fairly simple questions. It
is entirely formulaic and predictable but I enjoy it.
Another surprise to me is my enjoyment of André Rieu, the
71-year-old Dutch violinist with his talented orchestra. Based in agreeable
Maastricht, he has over the years toured extensively and recordings of concerts
in Sydney, California, Hannover, Vienna and London have recently be screened.
The audience is of riper years, a neglected demographic ignored by the
purveyors of pop with their raucous “gigs”. André in tails and
his orchestra and choir in evening dress are a blessed oasis as the lovely
music of Johann Strauss, Waldteufel, Lehar or Romberg wafts over his audience
liberally interspersed with operatic “lollipops” and heart-stopping,
sentimental songs bringing on many a tear. André is heir to a rich
tradition once mined by Ivor Novello with his operettas, Mantovani with his
lush orchestrations, the strings of Max Jaffa and the voices of Anne Ziegler
and Webster Booth. André carries it off with huge charisma
and aplomb and he has cheered up my lockdown Christmas. Thank you!
Bravo! André Rieu takes a bow
SMD
6.01.21
Text Copyright © Sidney Donald
2021
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