Booming Banter

We have great music at our Church including really rousing organ music.

Last Sunday for the opening procession our organist played a wonderful piece listed in the bulletin as Hallelujah by Giovanni Baptista.

Now I am no music buff so the fact I’d never heard of Giovanni was no great surprise.

It turns out that the name was really popular in Europe in the Baroque period and could have a variety of spellings. Often it was qualified with an origin.

So thanks to Goggle I first hit on a Giovanni Battista from Pergolesi. No Hallelujah though! So digging a little deeper another Giovanni this time from Lully in France was found and my feeling is he is the one.

I still haven’t found the Hallelujah but have uncovered some other magnificent pieces and two composers for the price of one! Puts new meaning to Buy One Get One Free!

Blessing # 162 – New Tunes

Yesterday, talking about Rory Best and his home club of Banbridge brought back many fond memories of this great market town.

My parents and all my grandparents came from around “the Bann” as it is fondly known and many family and friends still live there today.

The town was originally no more than a little village know as Seapatrick Parish and that is where my Dad was born.

The local newspaper is the Banbridge Chronicle. It is published each Tuesday and I read it direct thanks to Facebook!

In the 1960s things were just a little slower! My Granny Barr would get it hand delivered to her in Belfast every Thursday by my Dads cousin Sammy.

Sammy and his friend Davy brought linen from the mill at Seapatrick to the factory where my Dad worked in Belfast so it could be “ornamented”. In other words folded fancy and boxed for sale.

Sammy and Davy would give Granny the paper and while the kettle was boiling for their tea she’d read the deaths!!!! They’d then discuss the details and lament the passing of those they knew.

This continued long after Granny passed on and as a teenager I’d get a ride in Sammys van all the way to Seapatrick to spend a week or two with my Dads cousins.

Sometimes Carol would come too and we loved it there especially all the good bread and jam that my Dads cousin Susan made and the flowers that cousin Davy would grow. The smells were wonderful and the Dahlias were the size of dinner plates.

Susan loved singing and one of her favorite tunes the Star of The County Down. It tells the tale of a beautiful young lady from the Bann who smiles at a lad as they meet on a country lane.

Wonder did she look anything like this local beauty?

Blessing #161 – Online News & Old Photos

 

This weekend the Irish Rugby team pulled off a great victory beating the All Blacks 16 to 9.

With this victory it is likely the homeland will climb to the Number ONE spot in the world of Rugby. We are the BEST!

This position is down to many things not least the team captain the might Rory BEST of Banbridge and Ulster!

Ironic that two of the greatest sportsmen Northern Ireland has ever produced both have the same, not so common, surname. BEST!

George was the hero of the Manchester United soccer team of the 1960s and early 1970s. He was the fifth Beatle and is viewed as a legend in Belfast. Our City Airport is even named after him.

Our dear Rory surely deserves a similar honor.

Should we rename the City Airport George & Rory Best?

Or should we name the International Airport Rory Best International.

Just imagine that BEST Airports in the BEST place!

Ready for a sporting campaign!

Blessing # 160 – Sporting Connections

Close to our home there is a big farm with lots of animals grazing in the fields just beside the river. It is very picturesque.

Unlike Ireland and the UK it’s quite  unusual to see large numbers of animals outside in Ohio. It’s particularly rare to see sheep and lambs.

There doesn’t seem to be a big market for lamb or mutton and when you do find it it is really expensive.

The farm near us is just beside a main state road with a busy four way traffic stop that often backs up.

The joy of this jam is watching what’s happening down on the farm. Each field has these lovely little shelters for the animals to go to in inclement weather and the whole place looks pristine like a model farm.

They often have rare breeds which makes me wonder if the farms associated with the university.

Today as we waited for the light to turn green we saw some new and very cute little sheep with blackheads. They really look like they had a hood on. Ready for winter and a snow flake or two!

Blessing # 159 – Unknowns in Unexpected Places

 

So wish I had access to BBC today to watch Strictly Come Dancing live from Blackpool.

This show is like the US Dancing With the Stars just a million times better and funnier.

Blackpool is the home of ballroom dancing and way back when in the 1960s it was the place where the original Come Dancing series took place.

The original program was something that you watched if there was absolutely nothing else on TV. It was serious ballroom dancing and to be kind your Granny might have likes it!

Strictly, as it is fondly known in the UK, has a huge audience and a cult following. The judges are such characters but what makes it so good is that the personalities who compete are truly amateurs. Some of them have no clue about dancing when they start.

The participants make us mortals feel that anything is possible with hard work,  determination and a good teacher.

Just need to wait for the upload tomorrow!

Blessing # 158 – You Tube and Dreaming

 

Unless it is melted in mashed potatoes butter doesn’t set my heart on fire.

BUT a post from my friend Charlie yesterday was a reminder that butter is getting a lot of good press.

For years it was demonized as the blocker of arteries and the cause of  many problems.

Today it would seem new studies show its virtues and that those who eat plenty of it are at no higher risk than those who don’t.

While focus on a single dietary item is not recommended this underlines the truth that everything in moderatiin is fine.

Still, even after more than thirty years working in the food industry  the moderation message always seems so staid and boring to me.

Oscar put it so well when he said

BUT look what happened to our poor dear Oscar!

Thoughts?

Blessing # 157– A little of what you fancy does you good!

 

Those of us from the best wee city in the world know that BOUT YE is Belfast speak for « how are you doing today dear ».

Yesterday our Buddy Maggie posted a whole series of sayings from the homeland. This gave me a great laugh. Our language is unquestionably filled with the spirit of the city. We are down to earth, modest, honest and we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

So here is a challenge for those who hope to visit Belfast anytime soon. Translate the following three phrases into the Queens English

I’ll give you a clue!

Krishna may have occasion to say  the following to Aaron when too much sparkling beverages has been imbibed by the lady of the house.

Blessing #156 – Laughing Out Loud

 

 

 

Whether in Fahrenheit or Centigrade the days ahead are going to be COLD!

There is one sign that scares me on the forecasts and that is freezing rain. It is unbelievably petrifying. My first experience of it here in Ohio resulted in the car sliding almost all the way down the driveway. We missed the mailbox. JUST!

So tomorrow I am planning to negotiate with Aaron that I will drive him to school! We will see if he agrees!

There are some joys to cold weather. My cousin Becky reminded me of one yesterday when she posted about lighting a scented candle. A good fire and a glass of wine or a big mug of hot chocolate slip down nicely too.

Those happy Danish people have even a word for these special treats. They call it Hygge! Like a big hot hug!

Whats your favorite winter time moment?

Blessing # 155 – Cosy Comforts

Today Krishna’s brother and his wife are returning home to Indian after their month long stay in the USA.

It was great to see them even if it was just for a day.

We wish them safe travels and look forward to their next visit or perhaps we will go see them sometime soon. It has been too long since we visited India!

Having been an only child it is so beautiful to see how much the siblings in my husband’s family love each other. Even though they don’t meet often they reconnect like they had never been apart.

Kamala, the eldest in the family, who passed away some years ago, told me a story each time I met her that I will never forget.

She explained that as kids they never had money to buy sweets except on very special occasions.

Once Krishna won a competition at school. I think she said it was a spelling bee which would not surprise me!

On the way home from school he told her all about it and he broke the single sweet in two to share with her. She never forgot that gesture!

Even thinking of it brings a tear to my eye and reminds me always of Hebrews 13 1-3

Blessing # 154 – Brotherly Love That Continues

At the beginning of June and in preparation for a new chapter in life I started Blessing Hunting.

This has given me a lot of pleasure. It’s a daily challenge and something that has made me more mindful of the benefits of thankfulness.

This morning Facebook sent me a little message to say we have reached a milestone as the Booming Buddies page hit 💯 likes.

In social media terms this is but a blip in the big bite ocean but it made my day.

Facebook is suggesting that I finance the promotion of the page. I’m resisting as we hit 💯 organically, as the business world would say and I’m sure we can grow even further just by ourselves.

In the food industry we are always thinking about bugs and how we stop them multiplying. We know just one little bug can quickly become one hundred then one thousand then ten thousand. We call this exponential growth and we try to stop it.

So today I ask you to help with an experiment. Pretend you are a bug. Invite one or two of your friends to like our Booming Buddies page and let’s see how far we can grow and go!!!!

Blessing # 153 – Encouragement