Morning Mirror Edition 194 - 30/ 6/ 2006




In this edition

Smalls



In A SPIN !




IN A SPIN

CULTURE IN ZIMBABWE IS ALIVE AND WELL!

I'm in a spin! Today is the morning after the last evening - the final performance - of the 5th Bulawayo Music Festival and I'm on a high with the strains of Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals still going round in my head. It will take days to recover from the awesome experience of the past five days. It's a curious feeling of fulfilment mixed with exhaustion from endeavours and determination not to miss anything! It was a strenuous, exciting, tremendous, exacting, stupendous, mind-boggling, not-to-be-missed five days. How can one possibly put into words the terrific impact that this wonderful happening has had on our lives? We have gone through so many emotions and pleasures in a way we could never have envisioned. An unbelievable, unprecedented and uniquely amazing period of time that I simply cannot find adjectives to fully describe!

These last few days have been like none other and it's hard to imagine 'Life after the Festival'. But we couldn't go on like that anyway. All good things come to an end and we were getting near to utter exhaustion anyway! How the performers themselves kept going through five days of a rigorous and totally demanding, non-stop programme is a mystery. They were just super human. The energy and enthusiasm, quite apart from the technique and skill of producing this intense musical immersion, is staggering. And their magnetic personalities and constant good humour captivated the audience from beginning to end. It has left us all with such a beautifully warm feeling of well being and a tremendous appreciation of being in the right place at the right time!

Michael Bullivant, appointed Director of the Academy of Music in January 2006, is the indefatigable driving force behind all this. In fact, the success of this fifth marvellous bi-annual event is due entirely to the relentless dedication that Michael devotes to music in Zimbabwe and we owe so much to this wonderful man! And how blessed we are to have such a feast of culture and enjoyment right here especially when almost everything around us is stressful and uncertain. It's been like a shot in the arm to all those music lovers who attended, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more determined and indomitable lot of followers anywhere! Even the esteemed musicians themselves remarked on the enthusiasm and stamina of the Bulawayo audience, which incidentally was made up of visitors from all around Zimbabwe and even some from overseas.

The entire festival was also a delightful social event where people became reacquainted with old friends and made many new ones. Incidentally, there were a number of fellow WIT members which, for me, added to the special camaraderie.

At the same time the visiting performers - Leslie Howard (pianist from Down Under); Benjamin Nabarro (British violinist) and his wife, Russian-born Ania Safonova (viola) and Matthew Sharp (British cellist and baritone) along with our local homegrown talent (of whom there were so many), mingled freely with the public so that by the end of the five days we felt we knew them all fairly well - quite unlike artists in other countries who are generally admired and appreciated 'at a distance'! The warmth and friendliness of people in Bulawayo does not allow for this and our visitors are instantly and completely at home - to the benefit of everyone concerned. I mean, where else would you rub shoulders with famous musicians and actually observe them pitching in doing 'menial' jobs like moving chairs from one area of the Academy to another and shifting pianos across stage!

And what talent was on show for us! The choirs, soloists and conductors, the orchestral players and the world-class visiting performers who all charmed us with their marvellous music and endearing personalities. To try to describe the emotions and passion of their music - not to mention the skill and mental and physical hard work of them all is beyond my capabilities. I prefer to leave that to the experts but I think it's safe to say that all of us in the audience were completely enthralled from start to finish - from the opening Rachmaninov on Wednesday to the brilliant orchestral concert on Sunday evening - and the memorable grand finale with Martin Sharp's fine rendition of Flanders and Swan's Hippopotamus Song (so appropriate to this country and a favourite, fun feature at our festivals) with the audience joining in the chorus of 'Mud, Glorious Mud'. Better than the last night of the Proms! Wow! What a privilege and what a Festival!

PS: So here's looking towards 2008. In the meantime, however, serious athletic pre- festival training is recommended!)
DOROTHY BOWMAN


CONGRATULATIONS



CONGRATULATIONS

Lacey.....To Dwayne and Malila (Lynn ) a son,Senna,born on 14th May in Freemantle,Australia.First Grandson for Wally....


CONDOLENCES

With Deepest Sympathy to the families of the following




SYMPATHY MESSAGES


CONDOLENCES
FATHER ODILO

Matthew 25 : 35 - 40 Peace be with you

mikebelinda@inspire.net.nz

Eve Beeson loved mother of Loretta and Reynolds died on 23 June 2006

SINCERE SYMPATHY FROM NIX AND RUDI

Just a note to let you know that Marianne's Mum, Mrs. Norma Moore, passed away on Pentecost Sunday, 4th June, just 4 days before our dear Fr. Odilo.
She had been at Nazareth House in Harare for some years, but lived for many years (in our time in Bulawayo and for some years afterwards) in Queens Park. We know she will be remembered by many in Bulawayo still.
May we also add our deep sadness at the news of Fr. Odilo's passing - he was a dear friend to all the family - I (John) played the organ at Christ the King for some time before leaving Zim for Ireland. May they both rest in peace.
Kind regards to yourself,
John & Marianne Aldridge
jaldridge@esatclear.ie

KATE HOLLINS
Our sincere condolences go out to the Hollins family, Ray, David and Mandy after the passing of their dear wife and mother Kate. She was such a wonderful lady who didn't deserve all that happened to her in the last few months. She will be greatly missed. Mands know that we are thinking of you and may God give you the strength to get through this sad time in your life.
All our love
Ant and Sharon


TIDBITS



Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. For we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness ... let us rededicate ourselves in the long and bitter, but beautiful struggle for a new world. --Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money,

love like you've never been hurt, and,

dance like no one's watching.
Greta


Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls ... --Robert F. Kennedy


You cannot strengthen the weak
by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the small man by tearing down the big men,
You cannot help the poor
By destroying the rich
You cannot help the wage earner
By pullingdown the wage payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble
By spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage
by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and
should do for themselves.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN




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