A grey bank holiday here

The seemingly unremitting grey dampness is continuing for the bank holiday in my neck of the woods. Prospects for East Devon in the lee of Dartmoor sound more promising but even just a glimpse of the sun here would be cheering. There is so much moisture around that some local roads have moss growing out of the centre of the tarmac where vehicle wheels aren't tracking! When I was a paid employee it was certainly frustrating to find oneself stuck indoors when the sun shone and then be greeted with rain at the weekend! Now at least I have a degree of flexibility enabling me to enjoy the sun when it does make an appearance; there is plenty of outside work that needs doing but the cloudy skies don't help one's motivation.

Having made a point about the rather depressing weather I am hearing the news of the devastating forest fire uncomfortably close to Los Angeles in which a couple of firefighters have lost their lives. Recently too there were bad fires near Athens and not so long ago the south end of the lovely island of La Palma in The Canaries also suffered a bad blaze. Having been to the last mentioned I can visualise where this was. In this instance it is believed a stray firework was the instigator of the fire. The news bulletins in the UK are good enough at reporting these fires but I never get a sense of how long it takes to get them finally extinguished. I suppose the problem is that when a fire ceases to threaten life and property it stops being noteworthy so far as the media are concerned.

So would I prefer to live in a hot sunny climate with my home under risk of being consumed in a firestorm or would it be better to live somewhere such as the Tamar Valley with less sunshine than one would like. A no-brainer really: I'll stick with my valley!

UPDATE: Monday evening. I shouldn't have been so pessimistic in this morning's post! At lunchtime it brightened up, all right not wall to wall sunshine but quite good enough to get some essential work done in the garden. I know that many people, especially if they have families living elsewhere, want to get out and about over the bank holiday but I've never felt the compulsion to use the extended weekend in this way. One reason being my dislike of crowds allied to the fact that I just don't want to do the same as the majority.

Rubber band entertains

Yesterday evening we had the pleasure of being entertained by the Calstock Rubber Band. I should explain that these are a group of local talented musicians covering a wide spectrum of instruments. Amongst these are accordions, trombone, saxophone, guitars, harp, xylophone, percussion, washboard and recorders although not all of these are at every performance. Every 4th Thursday of the month sees them at "The Rising Sun" pub which is within handy walking distance of my home.

There is something compelling about live music in a traditional pub setting, even more so when one can slake one's thirst with ale brewed in Cornwall! My friend who is a very proficient flute player brought her flute along and joined in the merriment. Towards the end of the evening the band was joined by a couple of men with accordions from I believe Bere Alston if my informant is correct. How I wish I could play a piano accordion! I remember seeing and listening to a band of accordions on the island of La Palma in the Canaries. Nearer home there is nothing but nothing more stirring than the accordions, melodeons and drums at Padstow on May the First.

Why the appellation "The Rubber Band". I believe the reason is that a rubber band is elastic and the ethos of the band is to accommodate however many musicians want to join in.

Personally speaking I don't like wall to wall music 24/7. I much prefer to hear it occasionally but when I do to listen with great intensity and pleasure. But sadly that doesn't seem to be the modern way, more emphasis on a constant stream of music as a background because modern technology permits it. For instance I have no interest in music in my car, I want to hear it when it can involve my full attention. And as for ring tones on mobiles - yuk!