Saturday 19 September 2009

St Jean de Luz floods

It has been raining hard in St Jean de Luz. Just like everything else, when it rains here it rains to excess. Bayonne and Biarritz have reported widespread flooding and the Nivelle is looking dangerously high near the port. All this in twenty four hours. Early this morning, not at all put off by the clement weather, groups of local lads walked around town playing music to rouse better spirits (see below).

Another unique experience last night. Our choir was giving a concert at a hotel in the nearby town of Ascain. The purpose was to entertain a group from Britanny. The group responded to almost every song by playing their version of bagpipes and dancing to traditional Breton music. The entertainment took place during the course of a lengthy dinner for around 100 people. My singing was probably under par due to excess red wine but it was good fun and I felt rather privileged to be sharing this experience as an outsider.

I am not somebody who is a fan of such things but the world's longest running soap opera, Guiding Light, has come to an end. What high brow entertainment is replacing it? An extra edition of some random quiz show called Let's Make a Deal. American television is so cultured...

Basque of the day:- culture :: kultura