It's snowing ! In April.......? ?

No, of course it isn't - the wild cherry tree in my garden, twelve metres high, is shedding its blossom with fairy-like petal " snowflakes" on to a bright emerald green lawn, which is sadly in need of cutting - next little jobbet..... Yes, the spring surely is springing here, with miles and miles of brilliantly coloured flowers - mercifully being attended by bees. Some of the more adventurous are buzzing around my front door - why ? Because it sports a Chrome yellow paint job ! The poor bees must think it's a giant flower ! This house is situated alongside a recreation ground entitled "Velvet Lawn", and yesterday morning the usual football practise was played by local lads, breathing very loudly in order to fill the air with some explicit, and often non too polite instructions to their colleagues-----luckily the pupils were not at the two schools on the boundaries of the field, otherwise earplugs would be in order ! Somehow I don't think these lads would appreciate my inviting THEM to have a gentle breathe - "Not on your Nelly" would probably be their retort ! What that means exactly is unknown to me, it simply implies "No thankyou"..! Yes, I know Shakespeare was our greatest creative writer, with a treasury of magnificent words and expressions, regrettably not fully appreciated by most school children who are bored by uninspired teachers, and discouraged to read his plays at a very early age. My first interest was aroused in my early teens when I took a painting to be exhibited in London, and managed to attend a performance of "The Merchant of Venice" at the Old Vic Theatre, close to Waterloo Railway Station, on my way home - that experience was a revelation, to say the least. "Shylock "was played by Paul Rogers, and Claire Bloom was his daughter "Jessica". Until then I had never heard words expressed so incredibly, every nuance imaginatively formed - I find myself , to this day almost begging singers to use their voice as an actor does - singing is simply extended speech......and what a difference good breathing makes to the quality and variety of tones. Some of the finest operas have been set to Shakespeares creations and are still as potent as the day they were written, even when the staging is updated ! Glancing through a book of operatic anecdotes and "tall tales" I came across this gem :- in a performance of "Siegfried" (interesting that Wagner avoided Shakespeare !) in Manchester, 1976, Siegfried approached the prone Brunnhilde, expecting to hear the usual titter from the audience when he heroically removes the shield covering her, and declares "Das ist kein mann" - when he saw a note on her chest reading "DO NOT DISTURB, early morning tea 7.30 a.m." Yes, we English are totally absurd ......and often Phillistine.....tush, tush .....k..p b.......g....