April 2003 Archives
Listen to it here, courtesy of BBC Radio 3's Making Tracks.
Credits:
A Windmill in Old Amsterdam by Dicks & Rudge
Performed by Ronnie Hilton
CD details: EMI CDS 7 93253 2
The little ditty I tend to recite occasionally (I'm trying to work out what prompts it) turns out to be the chorus of "A Windmill In Old Amsterdam", discovered by googling "A little mouse with clogs on", which brings up 4 pages of results....
Poppyfields.net was the first one I got to with all the words though:
A Windmill In Old Amsterdam
A mouse lived in a windmill in old Amsterdam
A windmill with a mouse in and he wasn't grousin'
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus:
I saw a mouse!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
A little mouse with clogs on
Well I declare!
Going clip-clippety-clop on the stair
Oh yeah
This mouse he got lonesome, he took him a wife
A windmill with mice in, it's hardly surprisin'
She sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus
First they had triplets and then they had quins
A windmill with quins in, and triplets and twins in
They sang every morning, "How lucky we are
Living in a windmill in Amsterdam, ya!"
Chorus
The daughters got married and so did the sons
The windmill had christ'nin's when no one was list'nin'
They all sang in chorus, "How lucky we am
Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus
A mouse lived in a windmill, so snug and so nice
There's nobody there now but a whole lot of mice.
and the Poppyfields' credit seems to point to Dicks & Rudge.
After much indecision on my part, I finally booked with LastMinute last night a 3 night stay at the Hotel Trianon Bastille, plus Eurostar return for £159 each for this coming Bank Holiday weekend. Not at all bad! Am now feeling v pleased, and have been seeking out useful info, like:
- Public transport with RATP Metro map, the travel planner, and ticket prices (and smiled at the link to "How to print our maps ? with a Macintoch".
- The Hotel Trianon Bastille.
- And info on the 12e arrondissement, which is an unfamiliar part of Paris for me:
"Residential neighborhood bordered on the east by the Bois de Vincennes. What was formerly a humdrum neighborhood (Bastille area) rapidly gained chic art galleries, shops, theaters, funky jazz clubs, restaurants and bars, and is now one of the trendiest sections of Paris." (1st Paris Hotels)
Met up with Linz last night and we had v civilised drinks and nibbles in the OXO Tower, and I subsequently routed home via Asda (yes, I know I swore never to darken their door again, but they were open, and I needed stuff for entertaining Myles tonight.... ) and a) it wasn't busy, b) they had lots of check outs open (!) and c) I have a fine haul of reduced trays of onion bhajis in my freezer.
So Hazel won't starve when she lodges chez Mez.
Also found birthday cards from Barney and Rosa (with a little help from Jo) on my doormat- lovely!
When I came through CJ though last night, it was crawling with Police and police dogs in the ticket hall area - wonder if it is drugs they're after. And then on the way into work this a.m. I went past the Royal Festival Hall as usual, and there were 6 police vans there, full of police with bullet proof vests on and everything. Plus a couple of silver cop cars, and lots of RFH security. All I could see was that the BP AGM is being held there. Looks like they're expecting trouble....
I have spent today, Easter Monday, "nesting" in the peace and quietitude of Barnard Road.
Viz:
- Shopping trip to Woolies/Superdrug (washing up gloves, birthday presents for Rosa, Guardian - for TV guide - and idea of using white spirited toothbrush for removing white paint smudged on glass panels in false kitchen door)
- Cutting down bedroom blinds pull cord (to prevent catching on shoe rack)
- Taking measurements for dad DIY
- Tiding up edges of bath panel paintwork
- Giving the hallway a finishing coat of Crown Ivory Cream matt emulsion (before 1 & 2 - after 1 & 2)
- Painting over water stains on bathroom ceiling
- Dusting bedroom
- Replacing sheets, pillows and duvet cover
- Hoovering partout
- Not one, not two, but three loads of washing, and drying outside on the roof terrace
- Trying in vain to take down bird box (in fear and loathing of finding dead bird remains therein)
- Ironing existing washing pile
- Window cleaning roof terrace door, and all picture frames
- Getting details of alto sax to send to Broadway Music (in search of a second hand sale)
- Writing Haddock reviews for Cloudstreet, The Mulberry Empire and The Road to Jerusalem/The Knight Templar (and discovering that according to amazon.co.uk, I
Have spent today painting the roof terrace railings - and have black gloss spotted hands to prove it. 8pm on Easter Sunday and zero zippo tv for the rest of the night - bah humbug. all i want to do now is veg out and nothing's on and nowhere's open.
Plus just picked up an email from Hazel, and Riobamba sounds much more fun - complete with bulls and hair-raising travel to and from. Hope she has pics!
Dad and Jean sent me a cooking timer for my birthday - so once i get the hang of this timing business, I should be able to offer carbon-crispy-free-cuisine. yeah right. That's about as likely as me getting my cambodia photos done (which was one of the plans for this second half of the Easter bank holiday)
Phil's mum and dad got me a Thornton's easter egg so I'm going to eat that now....
The plan for tomorrow is to give the hall it's ivory top coat, I think... dad's coming on 12-14 May to do DIY, which I've just realised might clash with when hazel's lodging, but i'm sure we'll work it out.... hmmmm, in fact I bet he'd appreciate a second pair of hands!!! Can't see H being quite so keen!
OK, just before I log off, time to channel hop in seach of someting better than dodgy 50s Darling Buds Of May clone.
yawn
...that or snooker...
.........or heartbeat.........
...................gawd - american idol.....
dire all dire....
Right - that choc egg calls
Stef's not going to Etcon, and has offered Phil the opportunity to fill (Phil?) his shoes.... which is fantastic for Phil, but means that he jets off to San Fran on Sunday, to join with what feels like the rest of Haddock camping in Danny's back garden and/or chilling out with the lovely Leslie.... leaving me to while away the second half of the Easter holiday on my own.
BUT that is vastly outweighed by the plus points that:
1. I get to spend my whole birthday day tomorrow with TLP;
2. Phil gets to go to Etcon.
and it gives me the perfect opportunity to complete my Cambodia photo albumming mission.....
I've no idea where this originates from, but Jess emailed the "Lawyer's Diary a la Bridget Jones" to me today, and it is a very accurate representation of how I spent March 1995 to July 1997, as the world's most miserable trainee.
Stayed over at Tom and Jo's last night, after pizza and nibbles tea, which was lovely, booked train to take B to dad's on 9/10/11, and slept on the sofa bed straight through to 7.30am when everyone rose and shone and barney and rosa drew pictuers of me in the desk/pocket diaries i got given by the conputacenter guy who's just left us.
And today's bright and sunny and i'm just back from al fresco lunch in west smithfield park with kate and janette.
... involved Phil's introduction to the assembled Print clan.... Not only did he survive, but passed that test with flying colours.
The photos can't really convey the assembled brummie characters and noise levels!
Dorian's mate Simon came up trumps tiling my bathroom floor.
I've just got to paint the side of the bath (that's tonight's job) and hey presto - transformed!
He's a definite recommendation for decorating and tiling (and he says he also does a bit of woodworking):
Simon Haddock - 020 7254 1346
ACE!
Went out with Ann and Emma (Vert girls) on Monday, and emailed all and sundry when I got in, v pissed, at about 11pm. We had a great evening out at Mar i Terra, a great tapas place near to Southwark tube (map) - ended up learning flamenco dancing with the old guy who owned/ran the place and his waiters. And have photos and video to prove how unco-ordinated I am!!!
Ann reckons it's just the spot for Em's hen night.... I think she could be right....
A few weeks ago I introduced Lucy to the delights of fotopic, and synchronicity struck and dad mentioned how impressed he and the Albutts had been with my online photo album.
And a fortnight later, Lucy's got the Lamberts collection building up nicely, but dad has yet to make great use of photos.loosemore.com (which James and Manar set up between them).
Received in a "broadcast email" to the favoured few (including some who she'd failed to tell about her plans....) and saved here for posterity..... check "Where's Hazel" for regular updates....