A Long New Year

In France the celebration of the New Year lasts a long time.  In fact the custom is to wish a Happy New Year to everyone, the first time you meet them, throughout January.  It can get difficult to remember who you've already met, especially as the month draws on!

Yesterday we went into Gourdon for a free New Year's Concert.

We didn't quite know what to expect, but we discovered that the musicians were a French equivalent of a Brass Band.  The hall filled up, with late arrivals getting more chairs and seating themselves in the aisles, as is the French way; fire risks and Health and Safety don't impinge on the French persons consciousness.  (Needless to say, the audience were mostly grey-haired!)  Of course the front row was reserved for the Town Mayor and the elected councillors

One of the pieces played was interesting in as much as it featured 3 soloists playing Swiss Alpen Horns, which caused a stir as they entered with these 3 metre long instruments.

A footnote to this performance reflects on the Charlie Hebdo massacre and it's effects on the popular psyche.  At the start of the second half of the afternoon, the band played an extra piece in hommage to the people killed, a Charleston entitled 'Little Charlie'.

If we haven't met up with you yet this New Year, we wish you, 'Meilleurs Voeux, Bonne Année et Bonne Santé'