Language Learning Journal - Somali #4 - Making life more simple

A very good evening to all

I'm going to start this post of on an unusually personal note to explain a little the direction my blog will be taking in the near future.

To get straight to the point, It dawned on me a few weeks ago that I may have been suffering some symptoms of depression for a little while, and really not been taking the best care of my emotional/psychological well-being.

I'm no expert, so I couldn't say exactly the true cause for these feelings, but my routine at the time was clearly not helping me - my life had become a never-ending list of things I wanted to achieve, with no thought whatsoever going in to why I wanted to achieve them.  I was functioning more like a machine than a human being, and so I've made a huge effort to simplify my life and enjoy it more; be more spontaneous.  As a starting point those "to-do" lists have been mostly scrapped and I must say that feels LIBERATING! :)

So you'll see a lot fewer tourism/general interest items on my blog going forward - sorry - as I take some time out to focus on one goal at a time, and one language at a time - Somali.

And the rest of the time?...

...who knows?!!  Whatever I feel like doing at the time.  :D

Somali Language Learning

This new philosophy transfers also to my language learning.  I'd gotten into the habit of making endless lists of words to contextualise - lists so vast that I was never reasonably going to get through them.

My new tactic?  Smarter thinking.

Am I up to date with with my personal Memrise vocabulary lists?  Then sure a few extra words couldn't hurt, but why not select words that I'm struggling to contextualise instead of trying to cover everything?  Surely that will help me progress faster, and in a more meaningful way.

So, bye-bye, mindless lists!  Hello "little grey cells"! (Apologies for the Poirot reference there).

Vocabulary Lists for languages surplus to requirements.  Destination: bin

Problem Vocabulary

waryaa; and

la

...are two pieces of vocabulary that consistently confused me, so I scratched the surface a little....and learned quite a lot:

• Waryaa is commonly translated in vocabulary lists as "hello/hi", but in reality it can come across as closer to "oi!", and so is best used with caution, or to address people with whom you have that kind of camaraderie.
• I came across the following YouTuber, who I may revisit when working on my pronunciation:
• la is a form of passive expression, as there is no real passive tense in Somali.  So...
  Goorma la dhisey?
  (literally: "When someone built?")
  Would express the English idea "When was it built?"

Success!

And with that, I'm off to bed early to watch a documentary about F***ING DINOSAURS!!!  :D

Take care y'all!

Reading Proust - French #1 - Language Learning Journal

I've had a few short sessions now tackling another 20 pages of this behemoth.

This time I've tried to immerse myself in the time period by listening to music.  Not everyone can read and listen to music without getting distracted, but I'd recommend it, if you can!  Try to avoid songs with lyrics, though, and opt for "mood pieces" instead.

One of the reasons why I love learning languages so much is that they connect to everything, so there's always something to be learnt just by doing a little research around your materials.  Wikipedia is fine for this.  I know that in education you're advised to avoid it like the plague, but for casual research it's honestly a great way to get a general overview on a new topic.  You can always diversify your learning with other sources if a topic really piques your interest!

So I looked up the date that Du côté de chez Swann was written - 1913 - and researched French music from that decade.  I learnt that Erik Satie was very popular in this era - whose Gymnopédies are still very well known - and also picked up a new name, Albert Roussel, who seems to specialise in very dramatic symphonies in the minor scales; filled with crescendos.

...then our wireless connection went to pot because my boyfriend was downloading another crop of b-movies for us to watch (check out my instagram for more on that! @saywhat_uk)... so in the Erik Satie vein I searched out a classical piano CD from my collection - Lang Lang.

I've amazed myself by how much I've understood these last 20 pages so am able to abridge slightly for a change rather than focusing on little details.

Things I've learned....

• Aunt Octave is nosy and a gossip, and gets very concerned at seeing people, and even dogs, that she doesn't know.
  
  
• Aunt Léonie is very specific about her company.  She has ailments that she feels others either preach to her about it or are too grim about it.  She takes comfort confiding in Eulalie, a local Deaf lady who understand her predicament.
  
  
• Our narrator is partly (though innocently) to blame for a rift between the family and Uncle Adolphe - his grandfather's brother (on his mother's side).  He used to frequently visit Uncle Adolphe, though chaperoned, at a time when he was interested in the Theatre, though not allowed to go.  
  
  
  At this time he would go every day to see the new shows that were being announced and took joy in viewing the posters; his imagination filling in the other details.  He learns, at this time, that his "uncle" has many actresses in his social circle, something that the family does not approve of.  
  
  
  On one occasion he visits his uncle unannounced and on his own when his uncle is entertaining one of these actresses.  He's reluctantly invited in and later asked never to mention this to his parents.  Our narrator, though, feels indebted to his uncle and, naively, doesn't understand the need for secrecy.  He blabs and his uncle gets ostracised from the family unit.  He does see his uncle once more, but turns his head away in remorse.  Then his uncle dies alone.  Grim.

Vocabulary

On the subject of vocabulary I have a bit more advice for fellow readers - especially if your content is a little on the old-fashioned side...

• Note page numbers when you're recording vocabulary to look up later.  You might need this for context if the word has multiple meanings
  
  
• Otherwise, note the word class for more clarity (e.g. noun, adjective, verb).  In some languages, such as french, many nouns are formed from adjectives, so this can be important.
  
  
• Don't overburden yourself.  Pick out just a few words from those that you've noted to add to your vocabulary learning.  You'll never have time to learn every single word, and many of those you come across might be overly specific or dated, so pick wisely!  You probably don't need to learn words for turn of the 20th century garments that are no longer in fashion and not likely to return!

I've taken the following words to learn from this session:

mander - to summon

un flocon (de neige) - (snow) flake

un paon - peacock

irisé - iridescent

grognon - grumpy

le massepain - marzipan

une cocotte - mistress

embarrassé - ill-at-ease, bothered, discomforted (not embarassed!)

un fardeau - burden, load.

A Long Weekend in Bristol

...so it's Tuesday now and I've just about recovered from a cold, wet, tiring but marvellous long weekend in Bristol with friends.

This city really is becoming my home-away-from-home!  If I were to ever move away from Birmingham it would be sure to be top of my list.  I wasn't surprised at all to learn this weekend that it's been voted the Best Place to live in the UK for 2017!

On this trip we visited some old favourites as well as some amazing new places, which I'm going to try to get around to blogging about eventually.

Until then, here's a few photos that capture some of my favourite moments, just as a taste of what Bristol has to offer!  Click on any of the thumb nails to view the set at full-size images:

Language Learning Journal - Somali #3 - BBC Somali

BBC Somali is a resource that I'm already leaning heavily on.

One of the reasons for this is that, as a reputable organisation, I know that I can trust the quality of language being used...certainly more so than most sources for Somali on the internet (which are few and far between already in comparison to most foreign languages that I've worked with).

I also know that by dipping into this source I'll be learning from a variety of lexical fields, and be picking up vocabulary and phrasing that is current and relevant.

Even at this early stage in my learning I'm using the BBC Somali website to push myself to read Somali.  At this stage I'm just looking at headlines - short, succinct text conveying the essence of an entire article - to see what I can already understand, and what I can learn.

Learning a little about current affairs in the process certainly doesn't hurt.

Yesterday I was confronted with the following headline:

In ka badan 30 ku dhimatay weerar lagu qaaday cisbitaal

...and I must admit that I was darned proud (if a little bummed) to link one word - dhimatay - to death.

Following some of my usual vocabulary-learning techniques, I used Google Translate to get the full sense:

More than 30 killed in attached on hospital

...and to pick up some useful new vocabulary - just the basics for now (nouns):

cisbitaal - hospital (phonetic)

weerar - attack

...now I'm just hoping for some happier News to learn from!

Language Learning Journal - Somali #2 - Noun Plurals

Further to my previous entry on learning vocabulary, this one relates to a note that I'd made to learn more about Somali plurals.

I'd noticed that a couple of plural nouns in my memrise vocabulary list seemed to follow the same pattern of an "-o" ending, so looked into this over the last couple of days.  One example:

albaab - door

albaabbo - doors

I often view learning a new language like tackling a puzzle!  Indeed, perversely, it's this aspect of language learning that attracts me the most, far more than the social aspect.

In this way, my own curiosity is a great guide to follow.  I'll spot patterns and strive to understand them so that I can apply them freely in new situations.

Curiosity did also kill the cat, though, and boy-oh-boy do I wish a little bit that I hadn't bothered unraveling this particular ball of string so soon!

I read through a couple of neat websites, some of the top hits in Google that, rather than being simple grammar guides, turned out to be LINGUISTIC ESSAYS

Source 1: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Spring_1998/ling202/nouns.htm

Source 2: http://www.linguist.univ-paris-diderot.fr/~nlampitelli/lampitelli_14IMA.pdf

It seems that the "basic rule" is indeed...

"add o"

but there are also a shocking number of exceptions including...

"double the last consonant and add o" (after certain consonants)

"add yo" (after certain consonants)

"change the final consonant altogether and add o"

"lose a vowel and add o"

"repeat the last syllable"

"change nothing"

"add ooyin" (if the singular already ends in "o")

my notes on Somali plurals.  Shortly after this my will to live diminished and anarchy overran the page.

As a beginner, this can be pretty daunting to tackle.  I've coming across a lesser extreme with German previously and will be tacking Somali in much the same way.  And that is to learn the plural form of the word along with each singular noun that I add to my repertoire and test both at the same time.

As someone who likes to analyse and understand, I do not agree with the school of thought that grammar is something that should be avoided when learning a new language.  In this instance, though, I will aim to build up a sense of Somali's pattern and become comfortable with it through repetition.

That said, I could not have come to this decision and formed my "plan of attack" for Somali nouns without first researching this grammar rule.  I'm hoping that over time I'll be able to revisit the linguistic essays above and better understand the grammar behind the rules....or better still, develop an instinct for the exceptions.

Language Learning Journal - Somali #1 - Vocabulary

A very good Sunday to you all!

I'm aware that I'm not posting too often at the moment, so I'm trying my hand at incorporating my blog into my language learning a little more ...to document my techniques and give you all a little insight into what works for me (and perhaps also what doesn't).

I'm going to try not to reflect so much on my posts being so polished and allowing them to be more ephemeral; to show a journey.  After all, making mistakes is key to learning a language, so I'd be a hypocrite to preach about language learning without showing my own!

I'm also hoping hereby to shame myself a little into progressing a little faster than I have been.

This evening's learning is Somali - a language that I started looking at around 18 months ago when I found myself suddenly unemployed and reflecting on the lack of applicable language skills that I possess - believe me, French and German do not get you very far in the jobs market!

I've not got very far - due to my being very much settled in a new job and also as Somali's a very tough nut to crack - but my desire to learn new languages never completely fails so I'm prepared to attack it with fresh vigour!

I'm finding that one of the complexities with Somali is the lack of available materials - be it text books or online resources - so here's how I've been going about learning new Somali vocabulary thus far: 

1 - Memrise

There are some decent user-created lists already to hand on Memrise (example: https://www.memrise.com/course/52251/somali-for-beginners/).  Unfortunately there aren't any sound files attached to aid with your pronunciation, so that will require a different approach.

2 - Google Search

In order to try and keep my vocabulary contextual I've been using Google to help me to further my learning on Memrise

This means simply typing my memrise vocabulary - one word at a time - into Google along with "Somali" to see what word combinations come back.  The top searches are likely to be the most frequently used combinations in the Somali language, so I record any complete ones.

3 - Google Translate

Whilst not an ideal tool for all types of translation, this is still a valid tool for garnering a basic understanding.  If I type my newly discovered phrase into Google Translate and it doesn't make sense then I can try breaking it down until it does.  This way I can learn new words and - more importantly - new constructs that will help me to build up my comprehension of the language.  If I understand the phrase but something still doesn't quite make sense I note it down for later - there's most likely a grammatical rule that I don't yet understand that's causing this!  Reversing the source and target languages often helps reveal things too!

4 - Back to memrise

Finally, I load my new vocabulary into my own vocabulary list on Memrise

5 - Repeat

To illustrate how this works...

I learnt from memrise that dayuurad means plane (1).  My first hit on Google gave me dayuurad ku burburtay Soomaaliya (2).

 which translated to "plane crashes in Somalia" in Google Translate (3).

This sentence makes perfect sense, but I still haven't learnt any new words.  I already know ku to mean "to", roughly, Soomaaliya is Somalia, so the only unknown is burburtay, which is a verb, and I don't yet understand enough about verb constructs to understand how this has been conjugated, or surmise an infinitive form.

...so I make a note to look into the basics of verbs in my next grammar session, and I will learn this phrase as a whole until I am able to understand its components (4).

If anyone reading this is also learning Somali I'd be very interested to hear how my own methods compare with your own!  I do also use mine for other languages, especially in the early days where my level is not sufficient for me to read longer texts.

Baltika Cooler Light - From Russia, No Love

I'm afraid that this post might come across rather inflammatory, given the title and my final opinion, but I will try to be fair.

Before I get started on subjective matter, though, a little background...

I say "a little" background, as I have dug up very little of interest concerning Baltika Breweries' methods for producing this, or any of the other beers in their range.  My research was brief, but most breweries these days will push information on their methods to the forefront in an effort to market themselves as "wholesome" or innovative and compete with the increasing popularity of craft brews.  Baltika's website, however, is more focused on advertising the success of their brand, and other top search hits do likewise, or simply sell the products.  The only innovation that I can see being pushed is Baltika Cooler Light's pull-off lid....inspiring!

Even advertising seems to be more about making noise about the product and it's "cool" credentials than anything more substantial.

Here is what I did learn: Baltika are part of the Carlsberg Group, following the privatisation of the Baltika Brewery in Saint Petersburg in the 1990s.  They produce several well-known brands including Carlsberg (obviously), Kronenbourg, Corona Extra and Asahi Super Dry.

According to Carlsberg's Group's own site, Baltika Cooler Light, a Pilsner, was launched to "strengthen Baltika's lead in the Russian beer market", which currently stands at over 34%.  Baltika's brand recognition is already very high in Russia.

This was all surprising to me, because - as you might have guessed - I did not enjoy this beer.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's probably the worst beer I've ever tasted - both in terms of personal preference and quality.

There was a familiar smell to it when I cracked it open that, for some reason, was overwhelmingly reminiscent of the dog we had when I was much younger, and the smell that used to come from the metal "bin" in which we kept his supply of dog biscuits.

The taste was not awful, to be fair, but there was a definite lack of flavour.  I couldn't really give any tasting notes, other than to say that the after-taste was slightly medicinal in quality, as this beer was so incredibly bland.

I don't believe that I'm alone in my criticism.  I've looked up other user reviews of this beer on YouTube and there opinions are much the same as my own...maybe minus the dog biscuit revelation...I think that one's specific to me.

I tried to salvage something more from this experience for this blog post, but I'm afraid my research into the Russian alphabet only served to confirm that the Russian characters on the bottle are a phonetic translation of  "Cooler".  I failed to distinguish enough of the remaining characters to make any translations elsewhere

к = k

у = oo

л = l

е = e

р = r

So, conclusion:  I didn't dig this one, and am irritated that I didn't even manage to learn anything culturally from it

Still, don't take my word for it, feel free to judge for yourselves.

You can find out more about Baltika here, and buy Baltika Cooler Light (and many other much better brews) at Beers of Europe

German Treats: Brause-Brocken Sherbet Tabs

If you follow my blog you may have seen a couple of older posts where I reviewed Candy German's box subscription:

Candy German December 2015 box

Candy German January 2016 box

Since then the flat has been so full of German treats that I've decided to write shorter posts focusing on individual items in more detail, as my box review posts were becoming rather rushed and I wasn't getting them out on a very timely manner either...

...and because the mother lode arrived!

My amazing friend and former flatmate, Inga, clearly decided that she could do better than Candy German, and sent me this INCREDIBLE care package from Germany full of some old favourites, some items I've never seen, and some that were very, very strange.  I'll be posting about these gradually, and as I've naturally returned the favour, there's a photo of my own English choices below. 

What would you send as a care package to represent your own country?  Which food items would you miss the most if you were to move away?  The photo below might give you an insight into what I would miss!!!

...but now on to my first item from Inga's box.  Brause-Brocken are tiny sherbet tabs that form part of Frigeo's "Ahoj Braüse" range of products.  Their slogan is "mach was prickelndes".  You can just about make the little guys out in my photo of Inga's box.

die Brause = sherbet

der Brocken = lump/chunk

machen = to do

etwas = something

prickelnd = tingly

Mach was! = (imperative tense - a command) Do something!

was prickelndes = something tingly (-es ending demonstrates neutrality, as "etwas" has no article)

Frigeo's Website

They are quite intensely sweet, sour and fruity and dissolve in a mouth-watering (and eye-watering) fashion, releasing the flavours as they break down.  Don't be a ninny though (as I was) and attempt to dissolve these in water.  Nothing happens!

 They are available in four flavours:

Orange = Orange
Zitrone =Lemon
Himbeere = Raspberry
Waldmeister = Sweet Woodruff - a flavour I've only come across in Germany - a herb used to flavour wine, beer, spirits, teas and confectionary.  It's really quite pleasant but not very comparable to anything I've tasted in the UK.

Frigeo's advert for Ahoj-Braüse Pulver (powder) is quite fun too, so I include that below:

Trau dich was translates roughly as "go for it" in the sense of "daring to do something"

sich trauen - to trust oneself

On a final note, Ahoj-Braüse are a range that I had encountered before, in powder form - though not in Germany

It turns out that they are not just for kids, but can be served too as accompaniments to vodka shots.  I'd come across them in Bristol's "Bavarian Beerhouse" (review pending) under the charming name of "Porno Brause", which it turns out, is totally authentically German....and probably doesn't need translating! ;)

Ahoj Brause Pulver certainly improves the flavour of vodka shots, but trying to ingest both at the same time presents its own challenge!  The mixture proves rather fizzy and intense (sweetness, sourness, alcohol) and we simply couldn't decide on which order worked best!

Adults, kids, enjoy!

More Tips for Reading Foreign Languages

These posts are (not so) quickly becoming a lesson in how not to read a foreign language.

I last posted about my Proust journey in April 2015...and have advanced no further since.  Not a single page.  Its pretty embarrassing really. 

enjoying a flat white at my favourite coffee shop - a treat for my troubles!

 I could reel off a whole bunch of excuses for my lack of progress, but why would I do that when I could jump straight back in to telling you about the magical world of Proust instead!  I've read a whole extra 20 pages now!!!

It is pretty hard going, but I feel like I'm making some progress and getting to know the characters finally.  Of course, I've been following my own advice from my last post also.  I treated myself to a flat white at my favourite coffee shop, then later enjoyed sampling a new variety of loose-leaf tea, put on some classical piano music to suit the tone of the story and lit my new favourite candle.  Little things. 

After all, it would be impractical to book oneself a trip to Disney Land as reward for getting through just a few pages, tough as they may be.

...maybe by the end!

...you may also notice the lack of dictionary!  Give the girl a gold star!  I'm still learning new vocabulary though.  I just noted new words down quickly along with the page number.  That way I can still revisit to retrieve the context.  

Keeping a note to check back the context is important though.  On a page describing smells (yes, a whole page! - Thanks Proust!) I came across a verb that, when I looked it up, seemed at first glance to have an awful lot to do with the use of a dildo (below, for your viewing pleasure).

I also remembered to make an effort to engage with the story.  In this instance this involved reading outloud (in non-public places) to keep my focus, making notes (as amusing and irreverent as I could manage) and taking the time to write this blog (hi!).  All to consolidate my learning.

So...consolidation ahoy!  Here are a few things that I took from these 20 pages.

Character - Grandmother

Granny is the original hipster!

She actively rejects anything that does not have enough layers of the intellectual about it.  A few examples:

• She thinks that simple reads are as useless and dangerous as sweets.
• She prefers old items, as she feels their disrepair makes them more useful (as items that can be learnt from).
• She will only accept photographs if they demonstrate something historic, such as a monument.  Otherwise they are vulgar.  She'd prefer a painting - even an inaccurate one - of a landscape to a photograph of one, as artistic expression at least adds an extra dimension to appreciate.
  
  my notes.  There was also a whole page for loose-leaf tea!

Character - Protagonist
Well...he's still a grumpy sod!  Every adjective relating to his emotions denotes some form of sadness.  

In these pages he discovered that he likes tea and madeleines.  The problem is that after three mouthfuls he finds that he can't match the euphoria of that first taste explosion, and is bitterly disappointed.

Upon reflection (which he does - a LOT!), he believes that what he enjoyed was not even the taste, but the association:  His Great Aunt had offered him a madeleine earlier that morning, so the experience held souvenirs of her, and by extension his house, his town, and - I imagine - the country, planet and universe.

remember to keep notes irreverent - rewording them and adding humour will help you to consolidate the text's meaning

Character - Great Aunt
Oh boy is this one doolally.  She will only speak softly because she's afraid that speaking loudly will break or displace something in her head.

She also likes to pretend not to sleep - at all - but has to constantly remind herself to run with this lie, and does so out-loud when she believes that no-one is listening.

Imagery

I encountered some beautiful imagery on this reading.  Below are a few of my favourites relating to a moment where the protagonist feels that his sadness is finally accepted by his family, rather than fought against:

"puberty of sadness"

"emancipation of tears"

He describes that this has the effect on his mother of making the "first wrinkles and first white hairs appear on her soul".
He also speaks of his world being "painted in different colours" then, to how it is now.

Vocabulary
...all hugely positive and life-affirming:

un bourreau - persecutor, torturer

immérité - undeserved, unmerited

un serin - dimwit

mesquin - petty, mean, miserly

dodu - plump, podgy, chubby
remâcher - to brood, to dwell
dévot - bigoted, sanctimonious, pious
un casanier - homebody

Colmore Food Festival, Birmingham

Colmore Food Festival takes place annually in Birmingham's Victoria Square.  It is a free-to-attend two-day event (with dishes capped at £4 each) that aims to showcase local business and Birmingham food.

Colmore Food Festival website

I attended this year, and found it to be a relaxed affair, with a traditional British summertime theme heightened by overcast weather, deckchairs and 1940s vocal harmony singers that would be sure to delight locals and tourists alike.

Victoria Square's floral war memorial

A British sense of humour was also present, courtesy - ironically - of an old-fashioned ice-cream cart being pushed by two French-style waiters blasting the theme tune to Fawlty Towers.  Occasionally they'd stop to tease passers-by with romantic gestures and dance routines set to "classics" by Boyz2Men and Peter Andre, before abruptly turning the Fawlty Towers theme back on and trundling off.

...and I haven't even got to the food and drink yet!

Chase rhubarb, vanilla syrup, lemon juice and apple juice cocktail from Bar Opus(One Snow Hill | Website)

My favourite part of this event, was finding a spot to sit amongst the picnic benches and white picket fences, or just on the concrete steps of the square, taking in the diverse smells around me as others ate and compiling my thoughts for this post.

Now, I'm only one person, so there was only so much that I could reasonably sample.  I couldn't possibly review all that this event had to offer but I've included below an account of my day's feasting (and a little more from my day's viewing) for your pleasure...

a flat white to go from one of my favourite local cafés, Java Lounge (124 Colmore Row | Website)

First up to tickle my palate was the handiwork of Miss Macaroon (Website).  This was actually my first macaroon experience - I'm a little late to the party.  I've seen these dainty delights gradually popping up and becoming staple treats in cafés, though, and noted that there now exist countless books dedicated to their art.

I wouldn't say I was disappointed, as such.  As the picture above demonstrates, these were very pretty and tasted wonderful - as advertised - and with a pleasant texture that reminded me of the chewy centre of a good meringue.  I can't help feeling, though, that with this variety of macaroon you're paying as much for the craftsmanship as for the taste, and personally I prefer my macaroons warm and of the coconut variety.  These were just a tad too sweet for me.  

I was impressed, though, with the array of flavours on offer by Miss Macaroon.  I sampled Strawberries & Cream, Chocolate, Salted Caramel and Lemon.

My macaroons accompanied a very informative wine-tasting talk by Hotel du Vin (24 Church Street | Website).  The session was presented from a kitchen set erected by the main stage, with a sommelier on standby to serve those taking part.

Even those not sampling the wine could reap the benefits of the experts' advice, as they broke down the taxes placed on wine, thus elucidating the benefits to spending just a £1-£2 more on a bottle of wine.  Not at all cynical and highly informative.

I had the pleasure, also, of sampling one of Hotel du Vin's dishes:  Piccante Chorizo Corndogs with Salsa Roja (above) - a marriage of spicy and sweet, served on a bed of rocket.

I also tried an offering from Nepalese restaurant Jojolapa (59 Newhall Street | Website).  Their Chicken Special (below) was coated in a crispy batter, and served with a sweet, tangy tomato sauce.  It actually reminded me of a staple crisp of my childhood: Wheat Crunchies.

...but I'm afraid that was all that I could fit in my stomach, folks!  Before I sign-off, though, I will share a little from the main act of the day, The Glamophones (Website), who I alluded to in my opening.

I very much enjoyed watching and listening to The Glamophones.  Their aesthetic was floral, feminine and summery, despite the weather, their routines synchronised and their harmonies uplifting and temperate - not too bombastic or loud as festival performances can sometimes be(though usually this is down to poor selection and/or acoustics).

Photographer:  Shaun Joyce | Website

The overall "vibe" was one of balance and harmony with the event.  Their set list comprised traditional tracks as well as more modern entries, but even the vintage numbers got everyone's feet tapping (my own theory on this being the reintroduction of such music into pop culture through video games such as BioShock and Fallout 4).

The strangest and most enchanting moment for me was a sublime rendition of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, yet not all tracks were low-tempo.  Walk Like an Egyptian of Bangles fame also saw an outing, and Rihanna's Umbrella was another surprise hit.

The only negatives for me - though the performances were still solid - were a Britney Spears medley, which I've just heard too many live bands pull out of their sleeves by now, and Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass; a track that I happen to personally dislike a lot.

All-in-all, though, a thoroughly enjoyable event with well-chosen, broadly-appealing entertainment and great food at reasonable prices.  I'll certainly be looking to attend again next year!

Nosh & Quaff's stilt-sporting and glamorous lobsters

(130 Colmore Row | Website)


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