I know, I know.  I do apologise; I have indeed been Missing in Action for FAR too long, and I thank all those who've either called me out on it or wondered whether I was OK or just sent silly jokes!  Trouble is, here in Germany, and in fact pretty much across Europe, once the summer season starts, unless you are singing in something like Bayreuth (oh!  I went to Bayreuth, to hear a friend sing, and it just occurs to me that I failed to report on it - duh!  She was absolutely glorious, I have to report), there's not much to say.  I had all these plans to get a tan by spending all my days lazily lounging by the local (and wonderful) outdoor pool - those got a bit scuppered by the weather.  Which was NOT conducive to outdoor-pool lazing this summer.  There were of course lovely interludes.  Normally I'd take advantage of these by hopping on my bike and dragging my beach mat, bottle of Apfelschorle (apple juice and fizzy water mixture - great until it gets really warm, at which point it really can't be recommended) and book down on to "my private Rhine beach".  (I might have mentioned this one before.  Bit delusional calling it private; it is often also occupied by dogs and children and, erm, the occasional naked man - but it is about two minutes' bike ride from my house and has no facilities, just beach and river and peace.  Except this summer, when the Rhine hasn't budged more than a couple of centimetres from the high-tide mark.  No beach!

So there I am, unable to bask in the sunshine and unable (hopefully temporarily but who knows) to practise at the theatre, as has been my almost-daily habit for the last five years.  In the short term this was due to a failure of the loudspeaker system (therefore no-one could lurk in practice rooms as, in case of fire, it would be impossible to contact them).  What to do?

Well, one solution has been to meddle a little in other possible complementary careers.  Never hurts to branch out a little, maybe? (I do wish, however, that my talents ran to branching out into such artistically-fragile careers as, say, accountancy, or plumbing!).  I am enjoying myself immensely; I knew from the start that I hadn't enough talent as an artist to make it per se.  However, mural artistry is different, and I think I may even become good at it one day.  Definitely not as good as my sister, but then she takes at least 14 hours to paint a lifesize but absolutely perfect anchovy, for example (I know; we worked together, giggling, to "transform" together a downstairs loo for our parents a decade or so ago - huge fun, and a wonderful example of different aspects of talent working together, with her providing every scale and fin of the smallest fish, and me enjoying getting the feeling of the octopus leaping at you from behind the toilet door . . .), but this is fulfilling and enjoyable work which might be fun to incorporate with  my opera career. 

So this is basically an advertisement!!  Should you know of anyone who might be in need of a mural anywhere in Europe, please let me know! 

Obviously, with the proviso that my singing work comes first...