Sick

I'm sick.

I've been off work for three days, with one ill advised sojourn back into the World of the Working for Wednesday. (It was all those 'w's you see, I couldn't resist.)

I might have Swine Flu. Well.......I might! Some people in Adelaide do have it you know.

Such a shame it had to be 'Swine' Flu though, isn't it? I mean, I wouldn't mind getting 'Tiger Flu' or 'Gazelle Flu' or even cute little fluffy 'Kitten Flu'. Heck, I think I might even want to get 'Swan Flu'. But 'Swine Flu' is just not attractive.

Which just about sums me up at the moment.

So, what have I been doing with my forced R&R? Well, Monday I slept and watched 'The Sound of Music.' We had been to see Prof J's daughter performing in her annual school musical on Friday night. (Say, come to think of it, last time I saw you Prof J, I came down with a cold the next day!!!!! Hmmmm. Suspicious methinks.)

But back to 'The Sound of Music': an ambitious project for a High School Musical, especially an all-girls school.
Prof J's very beautiful and talented daughter (let's call her J Jnr) was, slightly to her chagrin, cast in the role of 'Rolf' the telegram boy. She had wanted Leisl. You see kid, being five foot eight never got you anywhere in the world of show business!

She took the stage confidently and flawlessly delivered a beautifully sweet version of 'You Are Sixteen' etc etc etc. During this time I fumbled for my camera and got a few fuzzy still shots before I remembered that I had video capability; just in time to record the entire performance of the other girl.

.......Who turned out to be a 'belter'! Shame they couldn't have swapped voices for the roles actually. Or height.

I kept my camera at the ready however, remembering the powerful scene at the end of the movie where the Captain and Rolf 'face off' in the churchyard. I was determined to capture her performance for posterity.

Well, I did.



Unfortunately, the stage show and the movie vary on this point, amongst others. I guess you don't get the nuances of the emotional interchange from a distance....

All in all though, it was a fine effort for a school production. You had a whole family of beautifully attired Von Trapp children, you had hills (look, up there behind them!),
you had a wedding,you had politics,


and of course you had nuns. Something for everyone.

Speaking of which:

The Baby Angel and I were fascinated to see a note from Maria Von Trapp in the program! Apparently, someone on the school board knew someone who knew the lady in question and so an email was sent and a congratulatory telegram received wishing the girls 'good luck' with their production and thanking them for keeping alive the Von Trapp family name. Now, I had thought she was dead......and the BA hadn't known she was a real person at all.....so we were intrigued by this. The BA spent most of the show whispering "Did this really happen? What about this bit? Did THIS really happen?"

Of course my nosy, 'history geek' streak took over and when we got home I hauled out my 40th Anniversary DVD Edition of the Sound of Music (now with MORE special features!). Sure enough there was a Von Trapp Family documentary. It turns out there was a daughter called Maria (nicknamed Mitzi) in the family. It was this Maria who had written to J Jnr's school.

Now, for those of you just as interested in these movie/real life things as I am:

• Maria married the Captain at 22, he was 47.

• They were married in 1927.

• It was not a marriage of love initially on her part although she' grew to love him' over time.

• The family lost all their money in 1935 in the collapse of an Austrian bank.

• Performing as a family choir was initially a way of making a living.

• The Von Trapps did not flee Austria over the mountains but rather quietly took a train out to Italy in 1938. They had been asked to sing at Hitler's birthday party and declined. The eldest boy had been offered a job as a doctor in a position left vacant by the sacking of a Jewish doctor. The family saw what was coming and chose to leave before things got worse.
• None of the children had the names assigned to them in the musical
• Maria was reputedly a bossy, domineering woman with a quick temper while the Captain was a quiet, depressive man who whilst never working again after the end of WWI, somehow kept the family together with his gentle nature. He died of lung cancer in 1947.
• Maria Von Trapp sold the rights to her book and story for a mere $9000 when the family were in financial straits. She was given a small percentage of royalties as 'goodwill' by the film makers. She always regretted having given away creative control of the story.

There now, you see what you learn when you are sitting at home sick?

My second day at home involved ironing. A LOT of ironing.

And today I have been sorting photos and playing on the internet.

At some point I will have to do some marking......