Amazing Mugenkyo Drummers

White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit, welcome November the ninth month in the old Gregorian Calendar hence novem, Latin for nine.

I have had an extraordinary experience last night (Saturday) at the Hull City Hall watching the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers. Two and a quarter hours of stunning entertainment with drumming of the most incredible timing and dexterity from the performers producing a unique sound I will never forget. If you get chance to see this troupe wherever you are in the country, please don't hesitate if you want to be royally entertained.

Six drummers and one dancer provided unashamed theatre with a hint of fun as well as a spiritual edge, deeply embedded with culture of the far east, particularly Japan. The audience was spell bound and were rewarded with a quarter of an hours worth of encore before leaving me exhausted and thrilled to make my way home.

The set was simple, uncomplicated and the varied drums, large and small as well as their ancillary instruments were moved about by the performers themselves to make room for their athletic performances throughout the night. The drumming represented 'traditional' drumming music as well as modern and audience participation toward the end was encouraged by the use of hand clapping and feet stomping. Breathtaking brilliance.

Visit their website at www.taiko.co.uk (for some bizarre reason, I cannot for the life of me make the link work through this blog, please type it in your browser.)

Have a great November as we look forward to St Andrews Day (30th), Advent (last Sunday), Remembrance Day (11th), All Saints Day (1st), Thanksgiving in the USA (fourth Thursday), as well as the month long awareness campaigns for pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer's, lung cancer, national youth homeless month and dedication to Holy Souls in purgatory in the Roman Catholic Church.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Geek in Disguise

Now, I'm not technically minded to to the point of geekiness, but I can drive a computer reasonably well as a user. What I've never done is fiddled around with a computer's settings just in case it all goes horribly wrong and I can't mend it!

So, the very much simpler Windows 7 has just come out - the new update operating system from Microsoft. I did have the dreaded complex and temperamental Vista on my machine, having said that it never caused me many problems at all and certainly nothing severe. However, because Vista takes a lot out of your computer and uses a lot of space on your disk, I thought I would give it a go for the sake of £65 from PC World, although you can get it cheaper elsewhere by a fiver or so if you shop around.

I won't go into the technical blurb, save to say, read some articles and download Windows 7 compatibility checker. This tells you what will and won't work in Windows 7 on your computer and what you might have to uninstall during the upgrade.

I did exactly what it said on the tin, backed up all my data onto an external hard drive (you don't want to lose all your pictures and music etc., if it all goes bang) and after about two and a half hours it all loaded tickerty-boo without a hitch. It kept all my programmes and settings, so I didn't have to type in loads of passwords, settings or reinstall programmes - wahaaaaaaaaaay!

Performance? Great and so much quicker.

What a horrible day weather-wise? We did some shopping in Hull to upgrade our mobiles after the contract was coming to an end and we bought our son a suit followed by doing the family grocery shop.

This afternoon, through the drizzle, I have had the pleasure of the company of my other half and we've tidied my computer room. This has involved shredding in the main and finding things I thought I'd long lost. We've also had a visit from good friends Shirley Ann and Barry who were in the area shopping. We're going to see a drumming show next weekend with them at the City Hall in Hull by Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers

This is described in the blurb as: A spectacular concert of heart-pounding excitement, and an unmissable opportunity to see this innovative and visually stunning group as they celebrate their 15 year anniversary. Thundering rhythms on huge taiko drums interweave with layers of percussive soundscapes and delicate bamboo flute in a spellbinding display of precise choreography & sheer athleticism. Through years of rigorous touring, Mugenkyo have developed a gritty passionate style that is uniquely their own, retaining the traditional spirit of taiko yet creating a contemporary sound and a modern stage show that has captivated audiences everywhere...

I'll let you know how it goes.

Here are some light bulb lines - 'how many does it take' etc...

How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but the bulb has really got to want to change.

How many actors does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, they don't like to share the spotlight.

How many movie directors does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but he wants do do it 19 times.

How many fishermen does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but you should have seen the bulb - it was this big!

How many divorced men does it take to change a light bulb?
Who knows, they never get to keep the house.

How many divorced women does it take to change a light bulb?
Four, one to change the bulb and three to form a support group.

How does a spoilt little rich girl change a light bulb?
She says, "Daddy I want a new apartment."

Why does it take three women with PMT to change a light bulb?
It just does, ok?!?!

Chat soon, (don't forget to put your clocks back.)

Ta-ra.