Bar mitzvah

Nathan and I have just done a gig at a bar mitzvah, teaching a group of people to sing Shine by Take That. Friends who know me as a wannabe/quasi/part Jewish person will be surprised to hear that this is the first bar mitzvah I've ever attended. What can I say? There were no Jews in Northamptonshire, and my Jewish friends these days are mostly gay.

I always thought that bar mitzvahs were these rather mystical occasions and as a result, I was actually expecting slightly more religious content during the afternoon, to the extent that I nearly wore the emergency skull cap that I used to carry around when I was dating the MP for Enfield Southgate! I was slightly disappointed, therefore, to discover that it was actually just a party with a higher than usual percentage of bad dresses! I've seldom seen so many 13-year old girls in grown up cocktail frocks and 4-inch heels!  

We did our thing in a noisy room as best we could, and I sincerely hope they enjoyed it as they seemed a genuinely lovely, caring bunch. Nathan was an inspiring voice coach. All I had to do was sit and play the piano and smile a lot. I felt like a mormon! Or a moron...

Other than this, the day's been pretty uneventful. We had a much needed lie-in, watched a cookery show on the telly, did a few hours' work, had lunch in a local caff and ironed a couple of shirts for the gig. My black shirt has gone that sort of green colour and Nathan's looked more purple. What is it with black clothes?

As for Pepys, we're not really sure. Whatever he was up to this week 350 years ago, was condensed into one whinge- tactic entry bemoaning the pain of rural living, and longing to return to London from Huntingdon, where he was somewhat trapped on account of the death and funeral of his uncle, whose will wasn't nearly as generous towards Pepys as had first been thought! Still the water meadows near Brampton at this time of year are absolutely beautiful!