Two of my Facebook friends are mentioned in despatches today for inspiring tonight’s blog post. Monica Mertz and Wilcey, both fine examples of kindness and spreading good cheer. Monica brightened up my morning with her video share. What fun the Circle Line would be with the odd sing-along – if I could sing, I’d be organizing them. But I can’t, so I won’t … but I know a man that can. Nick and Pendragon are playing a special gig at Riffs on the 30th to raise money for Wilcey’s MacMillan walk. In response to her request for merchandise for the gig, she has been overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and fans. I’ve offered some old photos of Nick, but think I need to do better, so am on the case for something more exciting. So juggling all these things together, we need an operatic track that fits. Monica’s video features Somewhere over the Rainbow, and delightful and opera-like as the Wizard of Oz is, it is not an opera. However, the line “Birds fly high, if birds fly over the rainbow etc.” reminds me of Carl Zeller’s Der Vogelhändler, an operetta we saw at Mörbisch some years ago and intend seeing again next year, that is Nick, Wilcey and self (and MisterMac, of course) – @Monica – we’d be delighted to see you there too! So track 8 of the opera/operetta play-list is Kämpfe nie mit Frau’n ie. never fight with women … but most men already get that, don’t they? It is a lovely trio from Zeller’s operetta. I’ve chosen this recording with Lucia Popp, but there are plenty available on You-Tube and many versions of the whole thing as well. And I think spreading all this good cheer warrants another #milesofsmiles.
