RVA Folk Festival 2015

The star of the show was Ensemble Shanbehzadeh from Iran. Goat skin bagpipes, drums and dancing. These guys came to school first and then we met them at the CD signing. We now know M's name in Farsi.

Curly fries for sustenance and then some dancing on a concrete helipad to Dominican salsa in the sunshine whilst the kids played frisbee. It may have been packed but we had such a  good time.

Music in Kitchner, Canada

Cousins' duet - Mary had a Little Lamb, Hot Cross Buns and Birthday Fun - then solos that were seriously impressive.

Guitar Lessons, Carytown

... and so to the new instrument with it's strings and finger numbers (thumbs don't count for this one), chords, plectrums and metronomes. My brain was scrambled, J observed and M got to the Spanish Theme with backing instrumentation and Ode to Joy in just two weeks.

Project Time, RVA

The 3/4 guitar purchased with advice from the boyfriend of a Girls Rock! camp leader and a token from Granny F.

The case made the perfect setting for the African Savanna ecosystem project, with a meerkat popping out of his egg box mound and just joining the scene - a mangey lion on the horizon. We're not quite straight on the predators & consumers bit but it was fun, apart from the not-so-neat labels.

School Friends, RVA

At recess and with the Whitetop Mountaineers of West VA at the Folk Festival - there were the loveliest small people to be with...

Music Studio on Floyd

So here it is... a keyboard and a bit of Eternal Flame with Bonnie, later Happy Birthday was finessed, as it is the season. Next up (Every thing I do) I do it for you, most certainly without Bryan.

Lessons to come but all this free thanks to Girls Rock! RVA and their new 'Instrument Lending Library'.

Lyle Lovett at Maymont

What's not to love about a man with a gravely voice, outdoors with an amazing band & female vocalist plus beer and veggie spectacular food on the side...

Mozart's Birthday, Carytown

Papagena and Papageno round off the Magic Flute performance at Cartwheels and Coffee, with all the kids flapping their wings and using their beak masks. It was a great afternoon of instrument try-outs and opera all in the name of, a now 257 year old Mozart. Happy Birthday to you! (tomorrow)

Date Night, Gallery 5

We loved the positive force of Rodney the Soul Singer, the melancholic tunes of The Low Branches and the Phil Collins' cover that had P guffawing a little too loudly at the start.

Student Commons, University of Richmond

It was my first time at U of R and it was fabulous. We crossed the campus from art studios to dining hall and down to the lake and along a brick esplanade, until J spotted a scratch-band from Cartagena, Columbia through the large windows of the Student Commons. We found our way in and stole the show!

Tyler Haynes is responsible for this rather impressive piece of 1970s brick architecture that doesn't totally conform to the collegiate gothic style that this unbelievably privileged spot is famed for.

Richmond Folk Festival

It rained and it rained and it rained. The ground turned to mud and the crowd was committed. We cycled (!) and their was valet parking for us. We were pulled in two directions - ours and theirs - The Red Trouser Guys and Kids Craft Zone, but we got a  little bit of joy thanks to amazing Fado (Portugal); Cajun Dance Hall (Louisiana), Appalachian clog dancing (Crooked Road, VA) and Reunion soul.


It was all unbelievably international and spread across four stages, along the great James River with a CSX coal train rolling by and local Phillip Morris as a sponsor - Smoke and Folk, indeed.

Opera in the Park, Caillon

We just got home from an amazing Proms-like Opera In The Park thanks to Richmond City Parks and Recreation. The kids quickly found classmates amongst the crowd and with amazing acoustics in the out-door amphitheatre we were entertained with really good quality, popular opera. The electrical storm passing south of us introduced an element of drama but the announcer assured us it was passing and we should stay.

J recalled the Carillon as the birthplace of Jesus (it's where she's seen the Nativity twice) and on this visit developed the theory he was born in the conveniences; there is more privacy.

We didn't take a camera, so thank these Instagram users for their forward planning.

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First Friday

This was a music night! Whilst the rains washed in, we donned waterproofs and hit the venues along Broad for the monthly art-walk.

At Gallery 5 some punk; outside Turnstyle some electronic-rave, in Candela the RVA Classical Revolution (and a Bernese Mountain dog puppy!) - the girls conducted with the stick remains of soggy pinwheels - and the best was in Pibby's Bicycle and Skate with some fab blue grass...

Oh what a night!

Easter 2013

Easter definitely starts at dawn... so we all bundled up and headed to Forest Hill Park with its pink sunrise glow before gently lightening grey. There were fast-paced hymns, sort of led by a ukelele, banjo, mini banjo and recorder, then a stirring sermon that went on and on, but there was still magic in the air.

Back on Floyd the Easter Bunny was quick. M found a reply to her EB-Helper application, before they both darted about gathering lots of tiny eggs, the odd gold bunny, some hard boiled gems and in the now blooming camellia bush - two cute felt bunnies from yesterday's shorn sheep.

On the breakfast table new egg cups and the bunny ear cozies and upstairs chocolate drop-droppings had been left beside our own scruffy bunny toy.

As the classic 1970s poem goes, 'The Easter Bunny brings eggs to us. / Last night I saw the Easter Bunny / Coming to my window / With a basket full of Easter eggs. / Some were chocolate and some were hard boiled / And he said a Happy Easter to you all.' by CVL, aged 8.

Southside, Richmond VA

A Farmer's Market with Mennonite doughnuts, live music, shorn sheep, spring sunshine and assorted eggs...

Up river, the wide open water at Pony Pasture with canoeists, flat picnic rocks, swooping birds and no bugs (yet!).

Brainwash, SOMA

So you need to do your laundry; have a bite to eat; get a drink; hear live music; chat with folks...

Sometimes you find a place that has everything you need, and pinball machines!

Special thanks to Karney and Biv and the Mnemonics