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Monday 24 August 2015

G is for Joyce Grenfell.

Stately as a Galleon. By Joyce Grenfell.

 Famed for her hilarious monologues which she would perform on the radio, stage and television.


 


Joyce  performing Stately as a Galleon on her T.V. show,  I loved her, she was such a clever, eloquent and witty lady.



 She wrote The Belles of St. Trinians, which starred herself and Alastair Simm.

 The list of her works is endless so I am just including Stately as a Galleon for your glee!


..
(this is a monologue which can be set to music, it is a humorous description of ladies indulging in Old Thyme Dancing..If you Google Joyce Grenfell, there is a host of information about her and also clips of her live performances on You Tube, Well worth looking at, if it grabs your attention.) 

Stately as a Galleon.

My neighbour Mrs Fanshaw, is portly , plump and gay, 

 she must be over sixty-seven if she is a day.

 You might have thought her life was dull.

 It's one long whirl instead,

 I asked her all about it, and this is what she said:

I've joined an Old Thyme Dance Club, the trouble is that there,

 Are too many ladies over, and no gentlemen to spare,

 But still it has to be,

 Some ladies have to dance together,

 one of them is me.


Stately as a Galleon, I sail across the floor,

 Doing the Military Two-step, as in the day of yore.

 I dance with Mrs Tiverton; she's light on her feet, in spite of turning the scale at fourteen stone,

 and being of medium height.

 So gay the band,

 So giddy the sight,

 Full evening dress is a must,

 But the zest goes out of The Waltz

 When you dance it bust to bust.

So stately as two Galleons as we sail across the floor,

 Doing the Valse Valetta, as in the days of yore.

 The gent is Mrs Tiverton and I am her lady fair,

 She bows to me ever so nicely and I curtsey  to her with care.

 So gay the band,

 So giddy the sight,

 But it's not the same in the end, for a lady is never a gentleman,

 though she may be your bosom Friend!

So stately as a Galleon, I sail across the floor,

 Doing the dear old Lancers, in the days of yore.

 I'm led by Mrs Tiverton, she swings me round and round

 And though she manoeuvers me wonderfully well

 I never get off the ground .

 So gay the band,

 So giddy the sight, I try not to get depressed.

And it's done me a power of good to explode,

 And get it off my chest!


My sincere thanks to the GORGEOUS Denise for devising ABCW and also the GENIAL Roger for his GREAT efforts in overseeing the smooth running of ABCW,
Thanks also go out to the GLADSOME team of helpers who support the running of ABCW,

Best wishes to you all.
Di,
ABCW team,




 

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Monday 17 August 2015

F is for FABULOUS FABARES

As we head into the dog days of summer, my mind started to focus on the summers when I picked berries at the farm across the street from us.  Those were the days of the mini transistor radios and there was always one playing CFUN's top tunes.  One of my favourites was "Johnny Angel," that I had watched Shelley Fabares sing on the "Donna Reed Show.  I was probably around 10 years old and she was my idol!! How many of you remember her?
After the "Donna Reed Show," she seemed to vanish from television, but apparently, she did do a lot of work in TV and movies.  She even starred with Elvis Presley in some of his lesser-known movies. Do you remember the movie "Brian's Song"?  Oh my goodness, I cried my heart out at the end of that movie where she played the wife of Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), a football player who died of cancer.   In 1989, she won the role of Christine Armstrong on the ABC sitcom "Coach," starring Craig T. Nelson.  In 1993 and 1994, she won Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actress for this comedy series.  Check her out on Wikipedia to see the entire list of her works and awards.
She was a lifelong friend of Annette Funicello, whom she met in catechism class in the seventh grade and was at Annette's bedside with her family when she died of multiple sclerosis on April 8, 2013.  Shelley was married twice, her second husband being Mike Farrell, best known for his role in MASH.

Unfortunately, Shelley Fabares had some serious health issues and in October 2000, she had a life-saving liver transplant due to autoimmune hepatitis.  She is doing well, but I must admit that I was a bit shocked at the most recent photos I could find of her.  She seems very thin and her hair...well, do you like it?  I hope she just had it done for the 2004 Screen Actors Guild Awards show. 
Shelley Fabares started her career as a pretty and talented teenager and morphed into a beautiful and still talented woman.  She remains a favourite memory of my youth as I sweated during those hot summer days listening to "Johnny Angel" on a mini transistor radio, dreaming of my own future "Johnny Angel".  And now for your viewing and listening pleasure, may I present Shelley Fabares singing "Johnny Angel" exactly as shown on the "Donna Reed Show."


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Monday 10 August 2015

E for Expressing

Hello and good day, dear participants at ABC-Wednesday in round 17 for the letter E

Today I've chosen the word "expressing"


Each week we try to express how we feel about the letter which turn it is, and every week I am pleasantly surprised by the number of entries.

So first of all I want to thank every participant for his/her effort in searching an applicable photograph, making a blogpost and linking it here at this weekly, wonderful and challenging photomeme.

"Expressing" is what everyone of us does, 24/7 in word, behaviour and gestures. Its what defines us, its what people tells something about us and its also one of the first things which influences what people think about us which on its turn determines of one person likes another or not.

Everyone "expresses" him/her-self on his/her blog, in many different ways, one of which is our photomeme ABC-Wednesday. It always a surprise what i get to see after opening the link of a participant. Sometimes i get intriged, sometimes mystified, sometimes something else, but the surprise has never been disappointing.

I enjoy very much to 'get to know' my photomeme-loving fellow bloggers a little better, little by little. Of course, not only the person behind the blog but I love also the 'journeys' I get to undertake, all over the world, in the total comfort of my own home, sitting on my couch, here in a relatively small town, in the northern parts of The Nederlands, the 2nd province from above on the right side of the map.

I want to wish you all a very nice day with lots of love and happiness. Also, lots of fun in ABC-Wednesday in this entry and I hope, many more to come.

P.S... if above...the spelling is not entirely correct, please forgive me. The English language is not my native one.

♫ Mel☺dy ♫
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Monday 3 August 2015

D is for Delta blues

Delta is the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet.

A river delta is "a landform that forms at the mouth of a river, where the river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, or reservoir." In the United States, when referring to the "delta," one's usually talking about the delta of the largest river in North America, the Mississippi.

The Delta blues is "one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta... that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south... The Mississippi Delta area is famous both for its fertile soil and its poverty. Guitar, harmonica and cigar box guitar are the dominant instruments used, with slide guitar (usually on the steel guitar) being a hallmark of the style. The vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery."

Read more about the delta blues at this PBS site.

There's a Delta blues museum in Clarksdale, MS, founded in 1979.

Read about Delta blues artists such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson.

Listen to two hours of delta blues.
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