Monday 31 May 2010

Happy Holiday?

Today is the Late May Bank Holiday. For many people this means spending the day in traffic jams trying to get home from a rainy long weekend somewhere nice, or rather somewhere that would have been nice if it wasn't for the rain and the other hoards of people.


I'm planning to spend the day in a more relaxing but productive fashion. Naturally I'll be keeping up with events in the Greek speaking world, but I have also decided I should be more familiar with Mozart's opera Cosi Fan Tutte and I ordered a vocal score from Amazon which has just arrived.

You will doubtless recall that this is the one about "wife-swapping". Two young men are madly in love with (and engaged to) two sisters. The men are convinced that their girlfriends are completely devoted to them and that they would be eternally faithful. Their older, world-weary friend says this is impossible. All women are the same. Faithless, fickle and flighty.

Eventually the question is settled in the time-honoured fashion by a wager. The men agree to let the old man set up an experiment. This involves them pretending to be called up to fight a war, disguising themselves as exotic foreign travellers, and then trying to seduce their own girlfriends.

But it all goes horribly wrong when they manage to seduce each others fiances. Don't you just hate it when that happens?



I wonder how you're planning to spend the day? I suppose most of you will be going to work. If so, then think of me relaxing in my armchair.

One of you will, I hope, be doing something special today. Or at least getting some time to relax. After all, it is her birthday. I'd like to pretend that's why we're have this Bank Holiday, but apparently they were started in 1871, which I think is a few years before she was born.

Happy Birthday, Jean Knee!

7 comments:

Super Happy Girl said...

"You will doubtless recall that..."

First the math, now this. I don;t feel cultured enough to read your international/fancy blog Brian!

And the May Bank Holiday? I googled it, it's real!

Jean Knee said...

well it's still yesterday here because of the time and all but I'll come back today when it's really my birthday.


did you get that?

thank you for the BD wishes. Can't decide if I'll go up a number this year or not

Jean Knee said...

it's a holiday here today too.

which is really tomorrow

you know

Brian o vretanos said...

SHG:

I didn't realise that traffic jams were considered high-brow.

Jean Knee:

A holiday in the US too? That's terrible. It means that I won't be able to gloat at Bee about having the day off when she's got to work. That was the main thing I was looking forwards to doing today.

Ed & Jeanne said...

It's also my four year, 1000th post anniversary too! Oh, and a holiday here. Oh, and the Beatles are reunited too. Oh, and they found Jimmy Hoffa at a bingo parlor...

Unknown said...

I spent the day in an armchair.

Bee said...

Oh that Mozart and his pranks!

I went to see Robin Hood on my *bank holiday* and fell asleep right at the fight scene. What does that say about the movie? Or maybe it's just my lack of sleep?

jean knee and I made a pact to remain ageless.