Sunday, July 26, 2009

LETTERS FROM OUR STUDENTS AND FRIENDS

Dear Miss Malvern

I except that you are probably melting the frostiness of the true “British” person but I believe there are many “half” bloods who secretly want to escape their “British ness” and welcome the easy escape you provide. Wales was always meant to be conquered! How about coffee lunchtime on Tuesday? (in Walthamstow?) I can come directly from work. Hugs Brother…………. Andrew

Oh, I wish I was there in London taking your classes. I'm not even mentioning the milongas afterwards. I know they are not the same as in BA (nothing is the same) but still, it would be fun dancing with you.
I try to go to milongas a lot in NY, 3-4 times a week. I went last night to Lafayette Grill milonga at 11:30 and at 1am it was over. I can't believe this NY crowd. Hmm, it's like these people don't understand the spirit of tango, right? Tonight is la National until 2am.Jak wasza podroz? Widze ze sie zadomowiliscie w Londynie. Wszystko przebiega wedlug planow?
Pozdrowienia wraz z caluskami. Un abrazo grande por Victor.
Andre


Aisha,
Wlasnie kupilem bilety do Polski. Bede z moich synem od 24go lipca do 2go wrzesnia. Do szybkiego spotkania wiec. Zatanczymy, nie?
A


Vilka fina bilder!Jag skickar mina när jag får in dem i datorn från kameran.
Kram Malin


Thanks for that.
I am in London now and sorry not to be there the same time as you. Ifsomething magical chnages, I will let you know.
How was Brecon?
I will send you some pictures when I get home.
Miss you x


Hej Aisha!!!! Det låter underbart med Norrbotten och som att ni har en fantastisk vistelse där! Här är det kallt och eländigt som det brukar vara i juni/juli i Buenos Aires! Jag förstår att svenskarna är imponerade av din svenska! Kul! Njut av midnattssolen och sommaren och dansen. Kram Eva

Yippee!!
I am excited you will be coming back. I will definately come to see you inCambridge. I hope it works out. I have a feeling it will. Congratulationsto you - wonderful people!
Thanks for the photos. I will look at the photos when I get home as thislibrary is soooooo slow.
I am like a cat and will sleep a lot. I will let you know how the auditionsgo, its going to be a busy 2 days, but exciting.
All love and magic
J x

Czesc Skarby J))))))))))))))Wielkie dzieki za Wasza superkochana propozycje..
Ale na razie mam wizje, ze Was w koncu zobacze w Warszawie i odrobimy polroczne zaleglosci w piciu Zubrowki J))))))))) Besos muy Fuentes - Ania

Dear Aisha,
Phew!! what a busy time we're all having!! I hope you are both enjoying yourselves around on tour and locally!I hope to see you tonight in gloucester...in the meantime I thought I'd forward you the email my "members" have been sent about this saturday, hope you like the sound of it, ....Also, we have scheduled one private lesson with you at 4pm ....so far..It should be a lovely evening!
I look forward to seeing you both later,
gran abrazo,ClaireX

Dear Aisha y Victor!
I think you are doing well there and hope you are having as fine weather as here! Just received our two grandchildren Lilly and Assar yesterday, the parents are unimportant!

Will work hard on the "lessons" you gave to me and Elisabeth!Kramar! Jan
(will send more pictures later on)

Tengo Skype ya!Asi que ya podemos charlar gratis cuando estais en Argentina. Y mirarnos!Oue lindooooooooo!!!!!!!!BesoteInger




He smiled.
Hope Victor likes our lovely photo sent by a student.
BTW, he forgot the t shirt and I forgot the flowers
Xb


que legal, aishinha, vc nao para em nenhum lugar mesmo hein amiga? sinceramente eu daria tudo pra poder estar viajando pelo mundo tambem, aqui tá o maior frio e eu não aguento mais, meu sangue brasileiro não dá pro frio. quem sabe em julho aconteça algum milagre.te mando miles de beijinho e saudades tbem.




Z Waszego planu podrozy wynika, ze powinniście być aktualnie w Walii. Jak podroz – nie czujecie się zmeczeni ciągłymi przenosinami?Bo pogoda to nikogo w Europie za bardzo nie rozpieszcza – tak paskudnego lata dawno nie było. Czekam na Was z kolacja, A





Cuanto tiempo sin noticias, leo en el facebook, que estáis en Londres o así, pero no contestaron mi ultimo mail,así no se si les llego, pero bueno, lo importante es que veo que siguen bailando y apasionando a las gentes por donde pasan con sus danzas, sus charlas y sobre todo con la buena onda, es lo que mas hace falta en el mundo, sigan repartiéndola, dentro de los pasos de baile inyecten amor y humor, y será la única manera de ir arreglando algo...la felicidad es el verdadero sentido de la vida, y cuando bailáis y dais la danza sois felices, si esto va unido a la intención de que todos sean felices, pues estáis ya haciendo un trabajo para la humanidad. Y porque no aprovecharlo verdad??? ya que es lo que quiere todo el mundo.Yo sigo dando mis conocimientos de la citlalmina ( se acuerdan la danza tibetano mexicana) ya hace años, solo un dia en la semana, y la verdad mi única intención es de que sirva para que haya armonía en esta tierra que nos toca vivir.El domingo que viene exponemos en el Palacio de Congreso, hice un cuadro de 5 partes, Soy tan mayor, y sin embargo veo que no se termina de aprender nunca....también es bueno...Bueno corto el royo, a ver si cuando estéis en Polonia escribís un poco mas en el blog, a ver que dice Victor de los ingleses..... cariños , la tía..........





I can't believe I'll be seeing you next week ! I'm waiting for you ! I want to show you some beaches , eat in nice places and ...... whatever is right for you. I look forward to hearing from youLove & big hugs H





hello there,
I will write i English as it is business language and in case I need to do a search by some word in the future.
It was lovely meeting you and having fun together - it was almost like a holiday in London experience.
As you realised, the house does not permit longer visits than 5 days and we were a a little anxious to resume the 'normal life' with all the boring things waiting to be done and I am sorry if that was showing a little , I was just so behind with things...


You were really lovely in every sense and my students loved you too, which means I can re-invite you as early as in 2 weeks time - subject to agreement on topics for the workshops.
I also liked your teaching style as it was very friendly and clear and educational (it is nice if my students hear the same things by someone else).
Privately you were also fun to be with and I dont remember ever meeting any woman so similar to me in everything. in the end, I even stopped being surprised by the similarities...
Enough compliments now and lets organise the workshops





Please think about any other interesting ideas and send a list by tomorrow as I must send an email to students Wednesday morning
Hope the journey to Walles was nice and look fwd to see you soon in London

XB





Dear Aisha and Victor My name is S and I have been dancing for several years in C and B, I am very much looking forward to your class in M in July!! I wonder if you will be available to give me some private lessons while you are in C?? It would be a great opportunity for me, as we don't often have visiting teachers and usually I have to travel to B or D! .I look forward to meeting you both, I have been looking at the video on your website....magnificent! Besos Sxxxx





Hi Aisha & Victor,Re. Cardiff, my friend janette will be giving you a lift to Swansea/my house after the workshop ...... I may or maynot be there at the worhshop, depending if I have had to work on that day and I want to prepare supper for you. By the way we will be going to Janette's house for cocktails on Mon 13th before going on to the restaurant (table booked). I have checked your schedule for Sat & Sun Swansea Dance Festival - I know the times I have to get you to places. This is really exciting! On Friday evening ( at the LatinAmerice Assoc workshop/performance) I have arranged with Patrick that he brings Fanny's accordian to you on that evening (Fri).I'll talk to you about other things when you are here ..... by the way we are also going to a nice restaurant Sat evening right on the beach ! My invitation. Hope you are having a brilliant time in London ....See you in a few days !Hugs H





Hej på er båda! STORT JÄTTETACK FÖR SENAST!





Ni finns också i mitt och vårt minne! Nu blir det inte 2 år till nästa gång!Och för min del, och jag tror även för Elisabets del, tyckte jag att den andra privatlektionen var väldigt bra, gav mig en del uppenbarelser! Hoppas att det märktes när jag dansade med dig på måndagkvällen. Jag märkte också att jag släpper loss mera i milongan än i tangon, det är mindre huvud i milongan, tänker ännu för mycket på stegen i tangon, kanske för att jag har för liten repertoar för att kunna improvisera obehindrat. Det ni säger om att lämna huvet hemma och dansa med hjärtat är helt rätt. Som tur är har jag möjlighet att träna vidare med Elisabeth! Härlig att dansa med!


é verdade amiga, não podia ser melhor esta parada na casa da sua mãe, no seu aniversário, todos vcs juntos. é muito mágico. te mando um beijo enorme e boa viagem pros próximos destinos. cariño beso pra su familia e L, S.




That is your swedish lesson for today!You know on Friday came a young women/girl with her parents, her father showed a belt from Argentina and I mentioned about you and Victor, her sister has been living at your place in BA, teaching you swedish and learning spanish and tango from you! Her last name might be Printzell! What a coincidence, I showed her pictures of the two of you. That young girl is working in a goldmine outside Skellefteå, and she also dances tango (5 years, good!) so we took a tango in the shop!Today I and Inger will go to visit Elisabet and Börje in their home outside Skellefteå, she is throwing a party.Well I will think about BA, got 20.000sek as a part of the price I got (for making Norrbotten known in Sweden), not bad at all! The founder of the ICE-hotel has also got that price, so I am in good company! Pictures from the Festspelkonsert given at the samt time.Yesterday I and Inger got a fancy pickup for a local outdoor theatre, one of them wanted to contgratulate me to the price in that manner, (just a tip - I would not mind being picked up by someone in BA for a milonga in BA!!! private jet?)Hope all is working well for you and those two couples I introduced to you are wealthy, Thomas and Eva Wallsten are millionaires and the other couple are not poor! Both couples have done a introductory course with us some years ago. My longterm thinking is that they will want to visit you in BA, take classes and also that Thomas shall engage you for some show in their shopping galleria in Piteå, the newest and biggest, maybe next time. I have already talked to him about it before you came this year.I cannot resist thinking about marketing and business!Kram från Jan (och säkert från Elisabet! jag vet att hon var glad för att Victor dansade med henne i måndags!)





Ha ha! :-D That is sooo funny! The tangoworld is small isn't it!? Your Jan met my parents and my sister Lena apparently. Dancing tango in the shop!...
It was a pleasure to have you staying at my place! And Thank You Aisha for making me see things in a diffrent way. I have been rather sad for some time now and that made me think in another way and made me feel better! :-)
Kram Malin





Dear Aisha and Victor, I am one of the enthusiastic tango learners that is part of T E in Cardiff Last Sunday Jeanette and Heather told me about your brilliant tango dancing and that you would be coming to Swansea next week I am writing to find out - are you doing lessons next Thursday evening at the Dylan Thomas Centre? Any chance for a private one? In hope and with best wishes F






Hola!
(You see, I can a couple of words in Spanish!)I'm glad I have had the opportunity of having you as guests in my house, a part of our picknick and as travel company! Thanks to you I've met a lot of lovely people as well as giving me the opportunity of improving my vals and milonga. It's a pity I don't remember a thing!But I know the knowledge is there, it will pop up from my memory at a moment I don't expect. Hopefully sooner than later. (That's not only for my memory, that's also for our meeting again.)
I will follow your tour through Europe on the internet!
Vile gives you his common welcome bark!
/SvenE





oi amiga, e aí garota como anda tudo por aí? aqui tudo legal."xa comigo".o frio deu uma trégua hoje. que gosotoso. agora to na casa do marcelo me preparando e me encorajando pra ájuudá-lo a organizar o o apto porque esta semana chega o filho dele do brasil. minha irmã e meus sobrinhos não vem mais pra cá por causa da gripe porcina. que pena!! amanhã são eleições aqui.eu continuo com muito trabalho, mais que o normal porque estou substituindo uma professora de português que quebrou o tornozelo.de resto tudo super tranqui caminhando na santa paz de deus. te mando besitos miles , carino , so






Escribí ya hace tiempo un comentario en el blog. no se si lo miráis, o es preferible escribirnos por aqui??, lo que quiero que sepan ,es que siempre estoy pendiente de vuestros movimientos, los disfruto, y deseo que sean siempre armónicos y felices.Anoche hicimos una obrita sobre la noche de san Juan, ,Bueno danzantes,,,,,,,,,, la mejor onda, y que la paz este siempre presente, la tía.

Que pasa? Todo bien? Pues que raro que no hay respuesta en 2 dias.......Os estais matando de trabajo o disfrutando de un lindo descanso?Tiene que ser una de las dos cosas me imagino.Besote,Inger





Que bien! Me alegro que os ha hido biensissimo por lo visto.Pues hoy ha venido el verano a Suecia para darles la Bienvenida!Dicen que ahora y ade´lante va a ser mucho calor asi que os vais a disfrutar la semana en Piteaa aunque va a ver laburo tambien, no?Bueno, me calma un poco sabiendo que vais a pisar tierra sueca, asi no me parece que estamos tan lejos.Ya me contaras como va todo.Besotes en cantidad,Inger





Hola JTo kiedy mam Was się spodziewac w Wawie?Zebym zdążyła przećwiczyć przepisy kulinarne J)))))))Besos - A





Moja kochanaJuz ledwo moge wysiedziec spokojnie , tak juz mnie ciagnie do waszego Bs As.Jeszcze 3 tygodnie i bede juz u was.Pisalam do Tito i odpisal , ze bedzie czekal na mnie. On jest tez kochany. Ze mu sie tak chce doleko jezdzic po takich turystow jak ja. Jeszcze ciagle nie wiem jak dostane sie 11 lipca do domu?Czy T ma klucz? Czy znowu mieszka na dole?Czy M-H mi otworzy brame i da klucz?Jak to bedzie? Napisz prosze. Caluje 100 krotnie i pozdrawiam Jak wasza podroz - tangowa? NApisz pare slow o nowych przygodach. L





Hóla guapos,El ultimo dia antes de volver a mis tierras! Pues, muy bienvenidos aúnque no es en Skaane y aúnque no nos encontramos.Pasalo bien y NO COMAS SURSTROMMING!Me habia gustado ser una mosca en la pared para ver la cara de Juanjo (y si esta) pero bueno, ya mecontaras como fue.De todas formas os deséo una linda semana allá arriba.Ya sé que va a ver mucho laburo pero esto no es ninguna novedad para vos, no?Recibe un abrazo fuertissimo y buen viaje.I






Hej Aisha och Victor!
Jag har varit inne på Internet och tittat på Brzeg. Staden verkar trevlig och det skulle ha varit roligt att komma dit när ni är där. Men det får bli en annan gång. På torsdag åker jag till Berlin och är där till tisdag. Då åker jag till Valencia och är där tre veckor. När jag åker hem via Berlin stannar jag där några dagar igen. Jag är tillbaka i Malmö tisdagen den 14 juli. Kanske vi kan ses i andra halvan av juli eller någon gång i augusti?
Jag önskar er en riktigt trevlig midsommar och en god fortsättning på tangoturnén!
Kramar!
Leif





Moja kochana.I znowu 1000 rzeczy mam ci do opowiadania...ale to musze jeszcze odlozyc na przyszly tydzien. czas, czasi jego brak Narazie posylam calusy, pozdrowienia i usciski , dla was i wszystkich znajomych.za 2 miesiace juz lece do was!!A wy kiedy ruszacie w nasze strony? i pomyslec ze juz rok minal jak trfilam po raz pierwszy do waszego krolestwa!! beso L.





Phew!! what a busy time we're all having!! I hope you are both enjoying yourselves around on tour and locally!
I hope to see you tonight in gloucester...
in the meantime I thought I'd forward you the email my "members" have been sent about this saturday, hope you like the sound of it,





Also, we have scheduled one private lesson with you at 4pm ....so far..
It should be a lovely evening!
I look forward to seeing you both later,
gran abrazo,
C





Vile has barked for the last time... .....today!I had to take him to the vets today, because he encountered more problems.But he got the chance this morning to bark, when we took his last walk!Have a good time i GB! SE





hola!Lo que es el prejuicio: vi la dirección de mail, leí la priemr línea y pensé: "Garufa podría haber hecho otra combinación: o bien Stockholm o Estocolmo, no ese híbrido..."Claro, cuando proseguí y leía que "miraban mis piernas" me dije: no, no es Garufa!Sumérgete en el sueco, disfruta de la Vida y se muy Feliz (by the way, muy bonitas tus fotos del Sur!)Prudish hug? They may be perceived as being uncomfortable with sexuality, nudity, alcohol, drug use or mischief. That's what you are offering to me?No way: lusty and lascivious hug! and both: we are very comfortable specially with sexuality, nudity and alcohol!O


We can imagine, your trip was quite hard and Riga balsam could help.
Places we visited together: a hill Gaizins, lake Kakitis ("a cat", it lookes like a cat from highgt), than Ergli, nearest biggest to our place and Jumurda with lake Jumurda and our "Brille", remember. Dace Viestrus



Hugs to you! You are the real woman in my perception - not too saint, not too avantgard - just a COCKTAIL...not too sweet, not too bitter - SPECIAL !!! H






Tuesday, July 14, 2009

What can One learn at Oxfort University of Laurie & Jan

Special thanks for Larrie and Jan for ' enlightening' us with such diverse knowledge of English language. Staying with them, at their ' castle' in the Forest of Dean was a genuine priviledge-good wine, good company and good stories were had in Glaucester....
These are ' crumbles' that I chose to immortalize.


England & America- two countries separated by a common language ( George Bernard Shaw)


Eccles cakes- eccles is a small town in Lancashire-
" Eccles cakes are very ' moorish' .
CARIAD- the Welsh for heart. Someone might say, " How are you today cariad?" especially to a young person.

" Would Aisha like another whiskey?"
" Does the Pope have a balcony?"

Glucosamine & chondroitin- one helps to repair the connective tissues in tendons, ligaments, the other helps to lubricate and repair the joints, therefore useful for athletes, dancers, older people with osteo-arthritis ( ear & tear arthritis)
You can buy glucosamine on its own, but it is much more effective when combines with chondroitin.

" Are you red-ing or white-ing?" ( red or white wine)

THE BALLAD OF ESKIMO NELL

Gather 'round, all ye whorey!
Gather 'round and hear my story!
When a man grows old, and his balls grow cold,
And the tip of his prick turns blue,
Far from a life of
Yukon strife,
He can tell you a tale or two.
So pull up a seat, and buy me one neat
And a tale to you I will tell,
About Dead-Eye Dick and Mexican Pete,
And a
harlot named Eskimo Nell.

Other stanza:
And the women too his habits knew12
down on the Rio Grande,
And forty whores pulled down their drawers
at Deadeye Dick's command.

Other stanzas:
When Dead-Eye Dick and Mexican Pete
Go forth in search of fun,
It's Dead-Eye Dick that swings the prick,
And Mexican Pete the gun.
When Dead-Eye Dick and Mexican Pete
Are sore, depressed and sad,
It's always a cunt that bears the brunt,
But the shooting's not so bad
Now Dead-Eye Dick and Mexican Pete
Lived down by Dead Man's Creek,
And such was their luck that they'd had no fuck
For nigh on half a week.
Oh, a moose or two, and a caribou,
And a bison cow or so,
But for Dead-Eye Dick with his kingly prick,
This fucking was mighty slow.
Dick pound on his cock with a huge piece of rock
And said, "I want to play!"
It's been almost a week at this fucking creek,
With no cunt coming my way.
So, do or dare, this horny pair
Set off for the Rio Grand.
Dead-Eye Dick with his kingly prick,
And Pete with his gun in hand.
Then as they blazed their noisy trail,
No man, their path withstood.
Many a bride, her husband's pride,
A pregnant widow stood.

The closing stanza mimics the opening:
When a man grows old, and his balls grow cold,
And the tip of his prick turns blue,
And the hole in the middle refuses to piddle,
I'd say he was fucked, wouldn't you?


The Ballad of Eskimo Nell (round 10124) is a bawdy rhymed recitation or song that recounts the tale of Deadeye Dick, his accomplice Mexican Pete and a woman they meet on their travels, named Eskimo Nell. In the view of some, Eskimo Nell is in her own way an authentic heroine and, by the yardstick of the sentiments of the poem, gets the better of Dick in the end. It is certainly true that Dick's manhood is belittled in the end by Nell. Nevertheless, some critics see the poem as an example of sex-hate literature.The ballad makes frequent use of crude and (to some) offensive body-related terminology, with humorous consequences.

OLD WELSH PROVERB:
A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.



MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN
From the musical revue "The Third Little Show" (1924)Noe Coward

In Tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire to take their clothes off and perspire
It's one of those rules the greatest fools obey
Because the Sun is far too sultry and one must avoid its ultry-violet rays

The natives grieve when the White Men leave their huts
Because they're obviously....definitely....Nuts!

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The Japanese don't care to, the Chinese wouldn't dare to
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve till one
But Englishmen detest-a siesta


In the Philipines they have lovely screens to protect you from the glare
In the Malay States there are hats like plates which the Britishers won't wear
At twelve noon the natives swoon and no further work is done
But mad dogs and Englismen go out in the midday sun

It's such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see
That though the English are effete, they're quite impervious to heat
When the White Man rides, every native hides in glee
Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his solar topi on a tree

It seems such a shame when the English claim the Earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haHo=ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho
He-he-he-he-he-he-heHm-hm-hm-hm-hm

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it
In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun
They put their Scotch or Rye down and lie down

In a jungle town where the Sun beats down to the rage of man and beast
The English garb of the English Sahib merely gets a bit more creased
In Bangkok at twelve o'clock they foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun

Mad dogs and Englshmen go out in the midday sun
The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit
In Hong Kong they strike a gong and fire off a noonday gun
To reprimand each inmate, who's in late

In the mangorve swamps where the python romps there is peace from twelve till two
Even caribous lie around and snooze for there's nothing else to do
In Bengal to move at all is seldom if ever done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday
Out in the middayOut in the middayOut in the midday
Out in the middayOut in the middayOut in the midday sun




Tout- to look for business
A ' ticket tout' buys up tickets for a popular show or say Wimbledon and then sells them or touts them.
They ticket touts are rather contemptuous of the people who pay their hugely inflated prices. They call them ' punters' .

Horses sweat, men perspire, ladies glow.

SUBLIMINAL-below the level of consiousness

FOOD in GLAUCESTER ( tipical)
-steak and ale pie
-Gloucester old spot susages ( Gloucester old spot is a traditional breed of pig. Most commercial pigs are just pink. This breed has a black blotch on each flank)
-gammon & pineapple ( cured pig meat)
-tart/pie
-CRUMPET

In Britain we have apple tart, in America the same dish is apple pie - " as wholesome as mom and apple pie" .
In Britain a pie is made in a deep dish with a pastry . A tart is made on a shallow dish with pastry on the dish, then the fruit in the middle and more pastry on the top.

SWANSEA- Sven's Eye, the island of Sven
The Welsh name for the city is ABERTAWE: Aber- the moth of, Tawe-hte name of the river

CRUMPETS
" Aisha is a nice piece of crumpet ( but it is not polite!)

BELLS/BELLringing ( like in Glaucester)

A group of bells in a church is called a PEAL of BELLS.
The BELL RINGERS ring the bells in patterns called CHANGES.
There is a bell CAPTAIN who is in charge and tells the ringers to ring a new pattern which all have old names- like GRANSIRE TRIPLE, BOB TRIPLE- and so on.
This is called RINGING the CHANGES, or CHANGE RINGING. It is only done in Britain. From this we get the phrase ' ringing the changes' as in " It's time to ring the changes' = this is getting boring.

CHEESES
Wensleydale
Red Leicester
Double Gloucester
Sage Derby
Cheddar
Somerset Brie


The tog value of a duvet is how warm it is. The warmest duvet is 14.5 TOGS- a summer weight duvet is 5 TOGS.

WELSH WORDS:
HIRAETH- homesickness/longing
HWYL- to do something with HWYL- with energy-putting your heart & sould into it. With singing-the emotion.

More about bells
" Do not send to see for whom the bell tolls " John Donne

A single bell, rung slowly, is said to toll-some churches ( most?) only have one bell. Before a service someone tolls the bell to warn people that is nearly time. For the last few minutes it is rung much more quickly-to warn people to hurry up. If a single bell tolls at any other time, it means a funeral is about to take place-that is the meaning of the line from Donne's poem- dont' send to find out whose funeral the bell is tolling for " no man is an island" ( the first line of the poem)-we are all connected to one another. " It tolls for thee" - the last line of the poem.

DANCE
Someone who has danced all night with great energy can be said to have " danced her socks off"
dance is connected with social class and with customs.

FOLK DANCE/country dance- these were the dances of the ordinary people. Over the centuries the instruments changes. You can sometimes tell what instrument was used in a village-the same tune from two different places will be structured slightly differently.

Fair dance- in the country " HIRING FAIRS" were held in spring & autumn. Farmers hired labourors for the coming season. A chance to meet in large numbers made it possible to have a dance.
In the towns FAIRS were held on fest days- St. Bartholomew's fair, in London, for example. People came from all over the country to sell their wares. Most of these were stopped in the 19th -the Victorian's thought them too rowdy- too much crime & drunkeness ( too much casual sex?!)

Maypole dances-on May day- the start of spring. These were revived at the end of the 19th- but many had been lost when people moved away from the country and into the towns during the industrial revolution.

Clog dances-these were usually solo dances- a chance to show off. Found especially in Wales and the north -west of England. The clogs made a tapping moice which the dancer exploited. CLOGGING is the origen of TAP dancing.

Court dances- these were danced by the GENTRY-see costume films. Many came from FRANCE. They tended to be slow and stately, to contrast with the fast, exuberant dances of the people. By the time fo Jane Austen these had been codified and DANCING MASTERS tought them. They gentry would pay to build a room large enough for dancing in. These were called ASSEMBLY ROOMS and some still survive in small country towns.




Monday, July 13, 2009

AISHA's ENGLAND & WALES


England! The land of Shakespeare!

"Give me my robe, put on my crown;

I have / Immortal longings in me!"

This is how I felt then. Tis England started for me when London ended. And I saw it precisely... on a window display in Gloucester... MY RED robe, please. JEEVES!It is not quite true that our English story started on a train London Paddington- Malvern Links. It all started a year ago, when we met this special couple: Laurie & Jan, in Wales!It must mean something when you meet special people on a beautiful dance floor in a ... church! Active churchwas lended for tango workshops and a milonga by a very progressive prist of Swansea, who thought that GOD WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO HAVE SOME DANCING IN HIS HOLY HOUSE! And we thought He did! He blessed us with meeting many great people, but especially this unusual couple. " The brain" of this couple is Lauri. This is probably the most true portrait I have of him. With his inseparable pipe ( that he was kind enough to share with me, as one shares mate) and an English ( posh) smile..

When mentioned ' the brain ' it was for a reason: Sir Moseley is an Oxford University proffessor, teaching nothing less but an ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, among other! How about the combination of this and tango? For Laurie & Jan who are crazy about tango themselves, share their knowledge ( and the knowledge to ' pass' this knowledge) with their students.

Jan is a perfect complement of Laurie and not just a pretty face( and legs!): a teacher herself and very much of a LADY. A lady of ACTION. When I think about an English lady, I think about Jan. She has another great ability which makes me laugh to tears with enjoyment- she can act anything. And her best role is being an UPPER CLASS LADY( she puts this Oxford accent on). She is the one who introduced " Jeeves" in our lives! Well, the real princesses need our...in English tradition ' gentelman's gentelman' , thus...We took a train London-Malvern and were double lucky to get it: London traffic made us arrive to the Paddington station 10 min before the departure of the train( we did it, Sasha!). Then,I was quick enough to ask/force a stranger to help us with the express quick purchase of the tickets in the ticket machine ( yes, yes, we are still very beginners about it. Constantly spoiled by our Guardian Angels) And rush to the platform, where... they were just replacing our broken train! AN ENGLISH TRAIN left late!A whole notion of perfect British Railway Reality collapsed for us ( if you only knew that railway in Argentina was introduced and produced by the British...) Not only that: we had over 1 hour delay and the train terminated not, as planned, in Malvern, but in... WORCESTER! The only joy of it was that we visited ( the station) of a town where the famous Worcester souce is produced! No way to phone our Claire to inform her about our troublesome situation. We got off the train and... there is a pretty lady in a green dress, looking like a happy teenager. CLAIRE!
Luckily enough, Claire found out about the irregularity of the train and ventured to our rescue. Her feminine intuition- she claimed she got no specific help from the railway officer(???!!)-led her to Worcester. Confirmed!
WE had our well deserved snack at her beautiful country house ( how many hudreds of years old?!Victor's question)Claire's scones with cream and jam will always be remembered by our paletes! Her garden has a fig tree with real figs you could eat, probably a couple of weeks after we left... No idea that fig trees could grow in England!And then- only half an hour for a shower and off we go.... to the CHURCH AGAIN! Actually, we grew to love tango in the church halls! The first shock: Malvern, a place we hardly heard about, and definitely not associated with tango-there were about 60 people attending each class! It virtually means CROWDS! Those crowds stayed for our performance and the evening, being such a massive success, deserved to be repeated. Both Claire and us decided that we should ' pop in ' on our way back from Wales for a special MALVERN TANGO NIGHT. And so it happened. But before...
Next day, Claire would not let us go without showing us the famous MALVERN HILLS, she was very proud of. But...not before the FAMOUS ENGLISH BREAKFAST, which Clare prepared with a care of detail on her Aga stove ( very very ENGLISH). After London Victor claimed for everything English. Typical English. Real English. English English. I do not think it's healthy, but it was a DELICIOUS EXPERIENCE! Sausages, bacon, eggs & backed tomatos! Live & enjoy!Add to it an expresso coffe and the delicious bread streight from the bakery and the FAMILY was HAPPY ( the ceremony of breakfast was actively assisted by Nick, Claire's husband, and two of Claire' s grown up childeren: Lara & Josh.) Only now were we ready to conquer Malvern' Hills!That's Claire's every morning walk with a dog ( English setter), but it's for something they are called MALVERN BEACONS!The walk was actually a hike! It all started beautifully sunny. But when we arrived at the foot of the mountain it started to rain! HOW DAMN ENGLISH! Poor Victor, trusting the morning sun, left house with his sandals and a T-shirt. How very Argentinean! You should never take sun for granted- we were continuously preached in England ( and Wales). Victor decided to stay in the car and wait for us. I would not leave MALVERN without hill walking on the Beacon, the rain would not put me off! Neither would Claire! Perfectly equiped for the English weather ( famous!), looking smashing with her walking boots, a hat and a raincot, she started to sing:Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun

The Japanese don't care to, the Chinese wouldn't dare to,

Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to one,

But Englishmen detest a siesta


It's funny how often I learn a new ( and useful) song! The view from the top was very rewarding! We were walking up on a sort of an humangous lizard's tail: on one side we had Englad ( Glaucestershire), on the other- Wales. Glaucester was a patchwork of fields and Wales was a hilly landscape with Black Mountains in the distance...I absolutely recommend the hike to all the inhabitants of the area who has never done it yet ( I heard there are quite a few of them..)This was our first ' taste of Malvern' and we had to rush back home, for were were ' handed' over to Glaucester. Our Guardian Angel was waiting for us.Pete was our driver and a guide. But WHAT a GUIDE! First, we had a ' scenic drive' through the most beautiful and interesting places. Victor learnt about the reasons of floods of the river Severn and the correct pronounciation of Tewkesbury. I wish I had a recorder with me! Pete's way of sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with us, made us listen to him with open mouth! And his great ( English) sense of humour! And the faces he makes: after Jan, my favourite tango actress in England, I declare Pete my best male tango actor!But the " boccato di Cardenale" was, literally, the GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL. Before we passed through the Beatrix Potter' s shop (I love my Peter Rabbit ceramic collection!).But the GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL TOOK OUR BREATH AWAY...Victor,the arquitect, either helt long conversations with our guide, or reverential silence... Or took.... fotos ( it does not happen to him frequently!)
Or... was touching and examining the art of building cathedrals in the XII century...
I was looking at the scary details...
Or funny details...I love my gargoyles!We learnt that it was there where " Harry Potter" was filmed. Pete, our guide, showed us even the very door to his dormitory...Then I thought I was having halucinations, for I could see... Harry Potter running through the long corridor...He was dancing and singing! Nobody would believe me but I managed to take this picture:Then, I whispered to Pete: Look, if he is really Harry Poter, I will call him and he should look back. " Do it" , Pete said. I did it. And guess what happened???????

And this is a yard Harry Potter crosses every day:

The whole cathedral complex is full or surprises: inner courtyards with places to meditate,and the labyrinths of the corridors you can get lost in... But it all looks so IMPOSING, simply majestic! MAGIC! As we were in the main part, a choir was practising, and I would gladly stay there for a whole day, listening. It was completely otherworldly... Pete promised us a concert in a cathedral when we are back next year. WE ARE GOING TO BE BACK!

Pete decided we need to ' digest' our spiritual experience in the OLDEST PUB IN TOWN:

Victor had his IPA and me and Pete were faithful to a good old guiness( even if they say English Guiness is different from the Irish. My time for the Irish will come!) It was exactly when it started to rain. What a precision in planning! Our Guardian Angel fulfilled his duty to the utmost:for this very pub was also a meeting place with our next Guardian Angels, or, should I say, Archangels?: Laurie & Jan. They took us to our NEXT STATION:
The very evening we had an invitation for a welcome dinner. IN A PUB restaurant, more English- impossible!
The pub's ceiling was forged with all the wine bottles drunk there. We had our VERY ENGLISH DINNER, recommended by Laurie & Jan. Nothing less than:

steak and Ale pie
Gloucester old spot sausages
gammon & pineapple

We also add one more emply bottle to the ceiling collection...
And spiritual food consisted of conversations on the highest ( English) levels and with THE BEST OF THE BRITISH ACCENTS! Victor's comment: " excellent listening comprehension!".
Afterwards we had a stroll through the emply streets of Glaucester....
An arquitect and a professor seemed to get along very well!
That night we spent in our new English residence. This is how our ' castle' looked like in the morning( relative) with ( relative) sun on...
NEXT DAY was our DAY WITHOUT TANGO, a free day! After a ceremonious breakfast we ventured to explore the FOREST OF DEAN area. Lovely green shallow country roads with high hedges on both sides and stone walls ( with moss on) made us feel like in an English fairy tale story.And the sheep! I tried not to ask the driver to stop a car avery time we saw a picturesque flock of them to take a picture. Sometimes, however, we were forced to stop! English sheep are claiming for attention in many different ways!The first excursion was to the heart of DEAN FOREST. This is actually how I imagine Nottingham forest of Robin Hood!Laurie gave us a detailed explanation about the geological history of the region and mine activity, which stopped with industrial revolution. Here is a geo map, made of local stones indicating the location. The valley between the river Severn and Waye has everything, including gold! The view on the valley of the river Severn making a curve was magnificent.There is always a chance for a chat with an English gentelman walking his dog. We had a chat ( about the wheather) with the gentelman and Victor with the dog.Next day our tango mission took place. We were astonished by the dignified historic building with a huge performance room for our workshops!Later we were equally astonished by the number of the students! It looks like Gloucester tangueros outnumber the London ones! Here is a photo we took for Tangauta magazine in BsAs.The workshops were a total success and the dance floor one of the best we danced in UK!

Next day there was a ' tango dinner' and a milonga in a pub, in ROSS on Wye.

We chose tipically English dishes. Then, independently of our satisfied and full stomachs, we climbed up to the dance room ( with the magnificent view on the river Waye through the numerous windows) where Victor inaugurated our milonga with a tanda with Jan.

Needless to say, there was a whiskey ritual when we got home, as every night...I found our Oxford professor an excellent companion for a shot or two. Keep being a lucky girl! This time double lucky, for Laurie had a collection of very fine whiskeys! Victor had all the reasons to worry about me if we had stayed there longer. But one has her weaknesses...

Next day Jan came up with another special tour: PUZZLEWOOD. This very weird and mysterious creation of nature inspired talkien to write a a part of his " Lord of the rings" series called " Hobbit" :


The Puzzlewood is RELLY A LABIRYNTH. When we saw a robbin, who would not fly away when we approached him at the entrance, we new we were entering an enchanged kingdom...

The old, abandoned mines were overgrown by the nature. Deep and shallow wholes covered by moss and ferns, tree roots entertwines with branches... SIMPLY MYSTERIOUS!


Various times we lost sight of one another and were alone in the deepest of the silences...Thank's God all of us were wearing bright' recognition' colours: Victor- red&blue, me-metalic blue, Jan-light green.Sometimes if seemed as dark as in the night...Sometimes, I thought I saw a hobbit....It was great to have Jan with us. She is a wanderful story-teller and she knows a lot about everything. Very versatile knowledge. WHY? A GEMINI, like me!

AND WE DID GET LOST....We realized we are going in circles...Going back, we recognized, or thought we recognized the places we had just left...
Only then did we understand a happy exclamations of a little group of people when they saw us a couple of hundrets of meters after we entered: " Is the entrance there? Are we near? THANKS GOD!" Victor, the first one who decided to guide us back to the exit, failed. Too much rational thinking, darling!
It was only when the feminine intuition was let to guide us ( apparently irrationally) did we succeed!

The whole adventure was like in a fantasy film, and it had a happy end!

The rest of that day was equally exciting: running in space and time. The action was wanderfully arranged by Laurie & Jan:
we were brought by Jan's in a car to Newport, where we were collected by Mike waiting for us with his car ( Victor said he felt like in " Godfather" kind of films-when the hostages were exchanged for other material in a car park..). With our suitcases we were brought by Mike to Cardiff, where half an hour later we started our workshops.... and about midnight, without unpacking, we were taken further on into the interior of Wales, to Swansea, by Janette, a massenger of our host & friend Heather, whose fear of driving a motorway is greater than her desire to see us immediately when we are in Wales....And that's HOW OUR WELSH CHAPTER BEGAN.

FOR the practical reason, as the Welsh & English chapters entwine and the characters of Laurie & Jan accompany us in both, I leave SWANSEA & Breacon Becons for the separate WELSH CHAPTER.
Surprisingly enough, we had a pleasure to be invited AGAIN to all of the places we had been on our way to Wales, due to the enormosu tango success ( whatever this word means).... Therefore our way back was, the other way round: Gloucester 2, Malvern 2 and London 2.This IMMEDIATE come back is the best reward an artist can ever get! And we appreciate it with our whole heart! Not only for professional reasons. Also, to revisit our new frienships...

Thus, Jan, who was crazy and great enough to come to Swansea with her car, pick us up and give us an unforgettable ride through the Breacon Beacons, back to England, Gloucester, visiting the ruines of the EMPIRE...

England and Wales are full of ruines of the castles, and because of the weather, we had to postpone visiting CAERPHILLY CASTLE for the next year ( the list for the next year is growing long) and we changed it for this ' small' one in Chepstow:


More dinner celebrations and whiskey rituals by the chimney in our ' castle ' in Gloucester. And more SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES ( a man shall not live on whiskey alone, as sb famous says) were prepared for us by Jan. It was our time for TINTERN ABBEY!
The Cistercian abbey of Tintern is one of the greatest monastic ruins of Wales. It was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and the first in Wales, and was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, lord of Chepstow. It soon prospered, until its dissolution in 1536. . Its position well away from the Welsh heartland meant that, unlike Margam, Neath and Llanthony, it suffered little in the periodic Welsh uprisings of the medieval period.
I cannot belive that Wordsworth in his " Tintern Abbey" speaks of everything else in nature but about those MOST ROMANTIC RUINS!But the sublime,romantic sight of the ruins will always remain connected with the Welsh Cakes we bought in Tintern Abby's shop....
Everything has a happy end in our different chapters, this year we said good bye to Gloucester with a " See you Next Year" dinner at Laurie & Jan's place. Obviously, Pete and his Grizelda (once you tell a story about a misterious big German spouse called Grizelda, it's hard to get rid of her... name, Pete!) were invited too! The fun was had, lots of Monthy Python jokes were recalled and laughed about, the wine was drunk and the invitation for the next year was assured...


.... one more puff of pipe for the road,
one more puff of pipe before I go....