Harping and Fencing: The Arts from the Days of Old

Fri, June 29^th - I took the harp out to Freshwater and recorded a new composition.  It was fun to play on the beach.  Because I played by a hiking trail, several people stopped to listen and help out with the recording.  They were all so friendly.  What a fun outing!

https://vimeo.com/45285999 

When I picked up Stef, we decided we would also make a video together.  She likes to dance while I play the harp, so I set up the camera and filmed her dancing to my music.  She is such a talented and passionate dancer.  It was so fun making a video with her!  I’m so proud J

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzkEK7FtSQ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skTHlGHs-3I&NR=1&feature=endscreen

The White Horse

Then I took her to dance, made dinner and fed the kids.  Next, I met Amy and we went down town with Mary.  We had girl talk and a drink at The White Horse in Surry Hills, a quaint nearby downtown suburb with pubs and eateries along the street.  Then we took a taxi to the Observer, a pub in the Rocks to watch a friend play.  Alex is a guitarist and singer and he’s one of Su’s friends I met when I first arrived.  We always like talking music, a common bond.  He played some fun crowd pleasers.  

Sat, June 30th- I went with the family to Mark’s fencing competition.  He plays both foil and eppe.  These are the names of two different types of weapons (swords). 

There is a whole underground fencing society that I didn’t even know existed.  The fencers all gather in a large gym and play throughout the day, determining the best competitor.  They connect their weapon to a cord that runs up their arm and down their back to the charger.  Then, they battle on a silver panel runway.  When they hit the opponent a buzz goes off and they receive a point.   Mark won 2 out of 4 bouts (games).  He played very well against the number five fencer under 15 in the world.  The score was 5 v. 4.  We had fun watching him play and talking with the other families of the fencers.  It was freezing in the gym, so I was ready to go after a few hours.  Stef behaved very well.  We played together and took pictures on my phone.

After the competition, we went to Peter Pan’s Italian Pizza.  We enjoyed our food, wine and dessert.  It was nice being out as a family.  And it was nice not to have to cook or do the dishes.  J

I went out with Amy for Canada Day after dinner.  We wore red and white and went to a Canada Day party in the Rocks.  It was fun, but there were definitely some “interesting” people out for the night.