I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Sing It Forthwith!)

 

Just learned something new to me!  Believe it or not, I read a book of fiction recently. What was it, something hot and new at the top of the Bestseller list?  No, it was "The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. One of the things that was mentioned was a "coconut shy". Now, I wrote it down on a slip of paper and looked it up later... 

"A coconut shy (or shie, which means to "throw") is a traditional game frequently seen at funfairs and fetes. The game consists of throwing wooden balls at a row of coconuts balanced on posts. A player buys three balls and wins when each coconut is knocked off the post."

Now, the song "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" should come to mind! (And I warn you, it is such a catchy little tune, you will be humming it and singing it for days!) Anybody remember the scene from " The Lion King" when the character Zazu, in a most funny way, sang a snippet of "I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts"?  If you don't remember, I have it for you here...

The song holds another memory for me from my visits to England...but funnily enough, I can't remember who used to sing it. Was it Richard's Mum, in a moment of comedic frolic? Was it his cousin who was also a very jolly soul? Memory is like that sometimes, it might be something so very familiar and yet...you might not be able to place all the details. Is it like that for anyone else or is that just me?   Anyway, the song is very well known in Britain, I think but maybe not so much in America, although it was a big hit in the USA in the 1950's with Danny Kaye and Merv Griffin both having big hits with the song.  (By the way, Merv Griffin...you must know developed many of the game shows on TV...Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, besides having his own talk show.  Good trivia to know- Merv Griffin actually wrote the music that you hear during the "Final Jeopardy Question"!) 

Something else that I wrote down from my reading the book "The Invisible Man" was the word, "forthwith".  He used it quite a lot.  Of course, it means "immediately" or "without delay".  Isn't it funny how it is really not used anymore? I like it and I think I shall begin using it forthwith.  (While we're at it, I miss the word "shall", shouldn't that word be used more often too?)  I shall use it!

Two names that I also wrote down from the book I must share with you... "Miss Cuss" and "Miss Sackbutt".  Sorry, that made me giggle.

Now this post is not actually about coconuts but I urge you to read more about coconuts!  The word itself..."coco" meaning head or skull, with the three indentations at the top resembling a face.  One can eat coconut, drink the coconut milk and make rope from the fibers and lots more!   The Indonesians claimed that coconuts had more uses than there were days of the year. (They should know!)

Should you ever find yourself in Great Britain and wonder what kind of chocolate you should buy yourself, I would highly recommend a "Bounty" bar!  In America, it is very similar to an "Almond Joy" but without the almond! Just pure joy! 

(Speaking of "Bounty"...another fascinating subject: "Mutiny On The Bounty"...you all know how much I love non-fiction. Look it up!)

Now, if you should find yourself humming this song... you're very welcome.

When we visit England, we bring back teabags and chocolate.  Some for ourselves and some to give to family and friends  Looks like I had already eaten all the Bounty bars! HA!

Really do miss walking beside the seaside in Eastbourne, England....

Hope you are all doing well in your part of the world, wherever that might be.

Great Concert Memory- (What's Yours?)

 Even though many are acting as if everything is back to normal, I think it is too soon to be in large gatherings of people.  This reminds me of all the concerts that I have attended in my life.  Now, I dislike naming things as favorite, like my favorite book, film, concert...etc. I mean, it's difficult when you have read a great number of books, seen a lot of concerts and watched a TON of films. How can you choose a favorite? No, but there are some though, that are special, that for whatever reason...the artist (or artists) who performed, the place, the time...all that might combine to make a concert unforgettable.

I am going to tell you of one of my concert memories. (And after I do, I hope you might share a memory of your own.)  Okay then, let's go back to almost 20 years to Aug. 25, 2001...

Many concerts will just have one artist but sometimes if you are lucky enough, you might see several. (For years, Richard and I saw the Oldies Concerts at the Omni in Atlanta which had several groups from the 1960's and 1970's and while we enjoyed them, the SOUND quality was so poor that it was sometimes difficult to make out the songs!) On Aug. 25, 2001, we went to the Z93 BBQ & Blues Concert at Stone Mountain Park The only charge for attending was for the admission into the park! It was outside in what is now called "The Special Events Meadow". Here were the performers:

Christopher Cross  ("Sailing", "Ride Like The Wind", "Arthur")

Al Stewart "Year of the Cat", "Time Passages", "Joe, The Georgian"

Gary Wright   "Dream Weaver"

Ambrosia   "You're The Biggest Part of Me", "How Much I Feel"

Ambrosia was the back up band for the other musicians!  Isn't that something? My husband is the one who remembered that for me...but he would, he is a musician!

  Z93 Music Festival2001 (concertshots.com)   

IF YOU CLICK ON THAT LINK ABOVE, YOU CAN SEE PHOTOS FROM THE CONCERT! If only that drunk couple hadn't gotten up and started dancing, you would see us! We're right behind them!)

 I have given you some of their most well known songs beside each artist's name. They were all such amazing artists! We enjoyed this concert very much. My husband and I were there along with our 11 year old son. It was such an amazing concert that we called Richard's cousin and told him to get there ASAP! He came straight away and so also was able to hear some great music. 

Since we had the latest CD from Al Stewart we took it with us in hopes of getting an autograph! He didn't disappoint us, after his performance, my son and I walked behind the small stage and when he saw us with the CD, motioned us over and he signed it for us! (I encouraged Christopher to tell him one of his favorite songs on the CD, which was "Joe, The Georgian". Al Stewart must have thought we were a couple of country bumpkins because he said, "It's about Stalin, you know.". (I wonder if he thought we liked it just because we were in GEORGIA.)   Well, my friends, this has always been a funny memory in our family...you see, my reply was..."Yes, we know."

My son is VERY funny telling this story.  (He tells it like..."YEAH, AL...we KNOW.")  Of course, the song IS about Stalin but hey, it is a very lively tune and I have it here for you, see if you don't agree! It is very interesting...Al Stewart writes a great many songs that are tied in with history, you should really check him out! Oh! And one more thing...years before this, when I worked for a travel agency, I saw that Al Stewart was performing at Lake Tahoe. I sent him a note to where he was scheduled to perform along with a post card addressed to myself. Hey! I had a stamp on it! I asked him if could send it back to me and let me know when his next album would be coming out.  HE MAILED IT BACK TO ME!  Isn't that great? (He told me that "Last Days of the Century" would be released on Sept. 1, 1988.)  I just looked it up and it said it was released on Aug. 24, 1988...maybe it came out just a wee bit earlier than expected!

                                           Here I am on top of Stone Mountain! It only looks

                                             like I am about to fall off.  I am not anywhere near the edge! (See

                                             Atlanta in the distance?)

                                            It is a tradition to have Easter Sunrise Service on Stone Mountain. 

                                            Cancelled last year, not sure about this year.

                                            

Okay, now...what concert memory would you like to share with me?

Don't be shy!

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Hope you are all doing well! Guess what?!  I got my first Covid 19 vaccine yesterday! It was a real shot in the arm! HA HA!  I was so happy to get the appointment. My 2nd one is scheduled for April 12th, I will be there with BELLS on! You know I will!

 Oh, and also, in my last post, I told you about Aaron Frazer, if you remember. He will be the musical guest on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" tomorrow night, March 22nd!  See, he will hit it really big now that I have mentioned him on my blog.   Tee-hee.

Can't Leave It Alone (Song for March Films on TCM 2021)

Hello, everyone! I just saw the best thing on TV and I have to share it with you! You must know that I have a great fondness for TCM (Turner Classic Movies).  AND I also enjoy that in between the films, someone puts together snippets of the films shown that month along with a song in the background.  For the month of March, it was the following... (And be sure to pay attention to not just the song but how cleverly and seamlessly the song goes along with the moving images and also how the images are connected.) Wait...difficulties.....  Okay, not able to post it here but I have a link below...be sure and watch!

March 2021 on TCM

There! I hope you were able to see the video!  The song is "Can't Leave It Alone" and it is by Aaron Frazer. What an interesting and talented young man!   I had never heard of him or this song but I like them both! (The song is very new, it was released on his album just this past January.) To me, it is like an R & B sound but with a modern twist.  He sings in a falsetto voice and that is most unusual, isn't it? Although, I also am remembering Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons...

Can you think of others?  (The marvelous Bill Kenny of The Inkspots should also come to mind!)

Falsetto! Now who is going to do a post talking about falsetto today? Only me! 

Remember my post where I told you about the song, "Whispering Grass"? I so wanted to show you some photos of whispering grass but here you go, better late than never! 

 

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Hope you are all doing well and that wherever you are in the world, it is a nice day. Take care.

See The Beauty and Romance of Spring

 

March 7, 2018

  Do you look at the outline of bare trees and see the beauty?

  

March 7, 2019

The camellias are in full bloom just now.  I appreciate the beauty of the fallen flowers on the ground also.

We have had some very dark overcast days lately but today...it was one of those days...how can I describe it to you...it was incredibly beautiful, truly it was. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the mid 70's. May I say it was perfect? It was!

I saw my first butterfly today!  I looked it up to make sure that I wasn't dreaming...it was a Spring Azure and from my reading, it said that it is a tiny butterfly (it was) and that it is blue but when it lands, the underside of the wings are white, so therefore- it then looks white. It is very common in the USA and is one of the very first to emerge in the Spring and heralds the start of the season. Pleased to see it? You bet!

When we walk, we love to notice the early Spring wildflowers and it it is such a joy to spot them.

March 7, 2020

If you notice, the photos that I have shared with you today are from this date from the past three years. I didn't take any photos so I realized that I could just go back in time and show you these!

Romance.  If you look it up, it says this:

1- A feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.

2- A quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life. "The beauty and romance of the night".

So, there is the title of this post but rather, I am thinking of the new season upon us now.

"The beauty and romance of Spring."

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What song for you? Why, there can only be one! "Romance".

I do hope that I can convince my dear husband to perform this one day on his guitar for you.  The video that I am sharing here sounds so very MUCH like Richard except...Richard is better. I promise.

It is a lovely song but can you believe it, no one really knows who actually wrote it.

Hope you love it as much as I do.