My son is making a film for his A level coursework and he wanted to incorporate video clips of him as a child, so on Sunday evening I sorted out the old video camera and we took a trip down memory lane. It is a strange feeling, like looking through a window to the past, but I feel very lucky to have those memories. I watched my son aged about 5 or 6 wearing his Buzz Lightyear pyjamas, opening his birthday presents with his older sisters looking on. It was interesting to observe the dynamics when they were younger and to realise that they may have grown up, but the dynamics haven't changed very much. Next there were clips of all three children taking part in school and Music School concerts, it is confusing those images were so familiar, yet at the same time so remote, as if they happened in another lifetime.
All this looking back on the past led me to wonder if it had been possible to tell back then how the children would develop and what paths they would chose to follow. I think to some degree the answer is yes, it was clear early on that my older daughter loved learning for it's own sake and it came as no surprise that her early love of reading and writing developed into a passion for English. We knew early on that our second daughter would work hard to achieve her goals, she is ambitious and she has her father's love of life, she lives life to the full. Perhaps my son's future path was the most difficult to predict, he was always bright but his early ambition was to be a 'trolley pusher' at the supermarket and he resisted any attempt to change his mind. When my aunt suggested that perhaps he would like to be a vet he told her rather sternly that he liked animals from the outside but he didn't think he would like them from the inside! I guess there were indications early on that he would develop a passion for film, but it wasn't clear to me at the time. The thing that was obvious was that he needed to do things in his own unique way and to find his own direction. Perhaps that is the key to successful parenting, to give them as many opportunities and experiences as possible, to encourage and sometimes cajole, but to allow them the space to discover their own strengths. I don't think there are hard and fast rules when it comes to parenting, it is just a case of always doing your best even at those times when you don't think your best is good enough.
Robbie headed off to work still feeling a little sorry for himself and not entirely forgiven. A few weeks ago I asked him how old his colleague Richard was, at first he shrugged and said 'indeterminate' then he shrugged and said that he was about the same age as me. Having read a recent comment from Richard where he admitted to being almost 60, Robbie realised that he was in a hole (bit of an understatement!) and started digging furiously. He assures me that Richard looked very good for his age. I suppose that there is a vague possibility that he has a painting in the attic, but it seems far more likely that life with Robbie has aged me dramatically! If you are wondering about my age, I'm younger than George Clooney. Robbie has meetings in London today so he can finally collect Sam's lost jacket from Euston. The saga with the car continues, I am feeling far too frustrated about it to write any more on that subject now. I will update you when I have more information.
Laura doesn't usually get much of a mention in the blog, but she has had a good few days so it is nice to have something positive to write about. She has got a weekend job at a large toy superstore and she starts her training tomorrow evening. Emily worked for the same company, but as she is off to university she will only work for them during the holidays from now on. I think it does the girls good to learn the value of money and to get some idea of real world, as long as they keep things in proportion and don't let it get in the way of their studies.
She got tickets to go to the Paul O'Grady Show in London, it wouldn't fill me with enthusiasm but Laura was really excited about it. She rang me after the show to tell me that she had been given a nodding Buster (dog). I wish I had known that a nodding dog would have given her such pleasure, I could have saved a fortune on Christmas and birthday presents over the years!
Robbie is going to a concert this evening, a group called Blood Red Shoes, the girls will be out too, so Sam and I will have a nice quiet evening.
On Sunday evening Robbie and I went to the Guildhall in Northampton for the last UK concert of the year for The County Youth Brass Band and The County Youth Concert Band. The Guildhall could not compete in size with the Festival Hall in Birmingham where they performed on Friday but it is the most beautiful hall for a concert. It really makes you feel in touch with history. You can view the Main Hall at Northampton Guildhall on this link, it is well worth a look.
http://www.opticalfx.co.uk/virtual_tours/conference-meeting_rooms/guildhall.htmThe Brass Band presented their program in the first half and the Concert Band took over after the interval. I am one of the least musical people in the world, but this concert held one big attraction - no strings! Even well played violins don't float my boat and when there are loads of them playing together it makes me want to run for cover. No doubt it is due to my own musical ignorance, but I am too old to change now. The brass band was amazing, I particularly enjoy brass bands and this band is exceptionally good. My favourite piece was an arrangement of Crimond and it was really beautiful.
The Concert Band are incredible and that isn't just me showing bias just because Emily plays in the band. They have won their class in National Concert Band finals and in the National Music for Youth Festival, so they are the best County Youth Concert Band in England. I was a little apprehensive about their performance as I knew they were going to play a new and difficult piece called Extreme Makeover - Metamorphoses on a Theme of Tchaikovsky. I knew the band had found it very challenging to learn the words 'minimalist' and 'experimental' had been used to describe it. I struggle to cope with run of the mill stuff, so the prospect of weird stuff terrified me, but I was so wrong. I loved it, it was very long and it kept me absolutely spellbound from beginning to end. The played a number of other pieces including Klezmer Classics which I loved.
The concert was especially poignant because it is Emily's last with the band and with the County Youth Music Service, because she will be off to university in the Autumn. She has played in county music groups since 2001 and it really does feel like the end of an era. As always I found myself wishing that her dad could have lived to see her now, he was much more musical than me and he was so proud to go and watch her in concerts and competitions. At this concert there was an added sadness because Emily's special friend Charles is no longer there. He came up through the various county groups with Emily and he was an exceptional Oboe and Core Anglais player, but he was also a rather exceptional human being. He died in a car accident in February and we still struggle to come to terms with his loss.
As I have mentioned before both bands are due to leave for Poland on Monday for a 9 day tour, they will be playing at a number of different venues. After the concert I had to help Emily with her last minute packing and make sure that she had all the essential travel documents, money etc. Fortunately her white concert blouses had not been given the tea bag treatment, I am so glad they had already been washed.
Robbie has been very tired this weekend after his travels last week, hopefully this week will be a little calmer. He has gone to a concert this evening to see Emily in the County Youth Concert Band. He looked really smart and he was carrying the 'man bag' that my mum gave him for his birthday, he looked like 'Man at C&A'. I know that Emily really appreciates Robbie going to all her concerts and Robbie feels so proud to when he hears them play. The band is going on tour to Poland in the summer, but I think that is a bit too far for Robbie to go to hear them play.
Sam has been driving me mad. He has actually been quite civilised and helpful this weekend, but it is the way he dresses that does my head in. He favours the 'un-ironed' look and because he spends hours playing with his pets he is usually covered in dog or guinea pig hair. Overall it makes him look a real scruff, as if I don't look after him. Robbie says that I should let him do his own thing, but I can't stand it, he looks like an unmade bed! He has managed to loose his third memory stick since September, that boy costs me a fortune in lost items.
Robbie was a pain at the supermarket yesterday. Sam was being uncharacteristically helpful and Robbie just couldn't cope with his routine being changed and ended up having a mega sulk! He likes to push the trolley, pack the trolley and he absolutely has to be the one who has to pack the stuff at the checkout! By the time we got home I needed half an hour 'me time' to avoid harming him. Maybe we will have to give home delivery another try!
