TEACHING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

I was truly honored in the fall of 2011 when I was asked to go to Brno, Czech Republic, to teach master classes in piano at the Janacek Academy. The occasion was the 100th anniversary of the birth of my beloved teacher Rudolf Firkusny. He was one of the great pianists, and I was honored  to have had the privilege of studying privately with him for five years, both at his apartment in New York City and his summer home on the Hudson River.

For some time I had wanted to study with him but I was told that he didn't teach. I found out later that he didn't even like teaching! However, after an audition in Stratford, Ontario, where he was appearing on the Summer Music program, I was accepted as his student. I was thrilled and immediately made plans to move to New York

The rest is history. Four years later I was giving my Carnegie Hall recital debut and embarking on a career.
Rudolf remained my dear friend until the end of his life. My husband Andreas and I were in Austria when I heard that he had passed away. He died in Staatsburg, NY, so it was impossible for me to attend his funeral.

 Left to right, Anya, Mme.Maria Vegara, Rudolf Firkusny, after Carnegie Hall recital


Rudolf Firkusny was one of the most refined and gracious human beings I have ever met. As one critic once said, "He has the manners of a diplomat", and I certainly agreed. The times I spent with him were magical, and even though he didn't like teaching (and he told  me this) we had great lessons, and I really learned so much about music. He had no time for teaching technical "stuff", as he called it. He just wanted me to get to the core of the music."Always follow the composer's intentions."


In the spring of 2012 we found ourselves bound for Prague and Brno, his birthplace, where the big Festival took place .I taught some very talented pianists and had a wonderful time. I had the feeling that the Maestro was always looking over my shoulder. I was one of several pianists from different countries who came to teach. Pianist Carlo Grante from Italy became a great new friend, and I renewed my friendship with Sara Davis Buechner, one of the greatest pianists we have performing today. Other fine pianists came from Belgium, Austria, Japan, the USA  and Switzerland. I know how pleased Firkusny would have been to see so many of his former students (he finally relented and taught at Juilliard in later years) take part in such a gala in his honor. That week will live in my memory forever, as does the memory of my beloved teacher.

WONDERFUL INDUCTION SERVICE

On Sunday, November 3, my husband, the Rev'd Andreas Thiel, was formally inducted into the ministry of St.Matthew's Anglican Church in Windsor. The service began at 4 PM and was followed by a dinner in the parish hall. We were thrilled to see some of our former parishioners from St.James,Clandeboye, and St.Paul's in Stratford.The Venerable Kim Van Allen inducted Andreas on behalf of Robert Bennett, Bishop of Huron, and the Venerable Tanya Phibbs delivered the homily. It was a very moving and exciting time and it took us a few days to come back to earth.

                                                   The head table


Although Andreas has been Rector of St.Matthew's since September 15, this service made it complete. The homily was on the subject of community and the church being a family. Archdeacon Phibbs illustrated this concept by telling two wonderful stories.She was Andreas's mentor at St.Paul's Anglican Church in Stratford while he was a student, and she remains a very important part of our lives.

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POETRY

I have often been asked if I have written any serious poetry, and, if so, would I please publish some.
So today I am doing just that.

                                          

SOMEWHERE

Somewhere, under the ages, stardust lies

Somewhere 'neath the endless skies.

Somewhere, threading the eons, ageless, old yet new

Somewhere falls the Immortal Dew.

Stardust, wisdom of sages, ashes of error, lies,

Stardust, soul of that which dies.

Stardust, substance of living, death and life anew

Stardust, Breath of Creation too.

Somewhere, beyond all horizons,

Where the Infinite dwells,

Somewhere, mid uncharted cosmic cells,

Somewhere, universe on universe

Non-ending, forever to be,

Somewhere, the throbbing

Heart of eternity.

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I don't think that I will add a rhyme from "Doggerel" this week.

See you next time!

Anya

THANKSGIVING AND FRIENDS

I just returned from a wonderful church service. Listening to the homily I was reminded of all the things for which I am thankful. There are the obvious ones, of course...food, shelter and freedom, but today my mind turned to the many good friends I have in my life.

I have a friend who was in Grade Eight with me (many years ago!). Although separated by distance, we are still in touch and it seems when we talk that we are back in those great days when we had all the energy in the world and really enjoyed life. Thank you, Betty, for all the years of friendship...without an unpleasant word ever coming between us.

                                           Woman's best friend

My friend in Toronto, Janet, has been a wonderful friend for many years...probably forty. We email  every day and still have a great deal to talk about.We are even farther apart now since we moved to Windsor, but the daily conversations keep us close. I love her dearly.

Mary Helen is a girl I met when I was eight years old. She has moved to Mexico but we are still in touch. When I was living in Guelph I spent many a weekend at Mary Helen's lovely home in Lawrence Park, Toronto.I can't recall ever having had trouble in our relationship. For this I am grateful.

Betty is another friend I have had for years. She lives in Owen Sound and was, at one time, one of my piano students. We always had good times together and I have to say that Betty is one whiz of an emailer. Every day there are two or three  forwards from Owen Sound and I look forward to every one.We also telephone each other and always have pleasant times when we get together.

Ben is a Christian minister who has his doctorate in history. I met him, and his late wife Elizabeth, when I was teaching at the University of Guelph. His son Jonathan became one of my students.Throughout the years we have had good times together, and most of our conversations are sprinkled with joyous laughter. I have appreciated his sense of humor and his tremendous knowledge. How blessed I am!

Willem was a colleague of mine at the university, and also became my piano student. He played in many of the recitals I held at the university.  Now retired and living in his native Holland, he has visited Canada several times and we have enjoyed a truly happy relationship for over thirty years. Thank you, dear friend.

There are other people who come and go in our lives...some for a few years, some for a few months...but all make up the fabric of friendship. Today I am thankful for the ones who have been true friends and have shown their love in many different ways. I can only hope that I have been as kind and loving to them.This is what life is all about.

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I have been asked if I know anyone who does psychic/medium readings. As a matter of fact I do and she is very accurate. Her name is Tracey and she may be reached at: whatcomesnext.channeled.4Uall@gmail.com Her phone number is 519-284-4251.Tracey lives in St.Marys, Ontario, and does telephone and in-person readings.
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 From"Doggerel" c 2000 Anya Laurence

The Spitz
A fine old dog is the Spitz
With lineage straight from the Ritz...
He walks tall and proud
And stands out in a crowd...
After all, he's a son of a bitz!

Keep well until my next blog.....hot topics!!!!!

WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEK!

This last week has been one of the best in a long time.Windsor is proving to be a great city and the people are extremely friendly. Last Sunday was our second service at St.Matthew's and there was a barbecue afterward. We ate inside, and after all that terrific food we waddled out to the yard where the games were already in progress. Water balloons, three-legged races (The Rev'd and John Rossi won that one) and any number of other activities were in full force.We had a a really great time.

Throughout the week there were many more places to explore. Andreas and I found the Blue Danube restaurant, where we sampled delicious Hungarian food...my favorite being the Country Cabbage Rolls. On another occasion we had lunch at a superb Chinese Restaurant...the rest of the time we ate at home.  : -(

A new friend took me to lunch at a cute place down by the river, and we spent the best part of the afternoon  sitting and talking. What a blessing it is to have friends! On top of all this, we have received several invitations to dinner and it looks as if we will have quite a social season ahead!

The high point of this last week was the birthday reception for Dr.Gordon Drake, principal of Canterbury College. It was a surprise event masterminded by his wife Mary Lou. The food was delicious, the company was inspiring and the guest of honor is obviously held in high regard by everyone.Our music director, Michael Ricketts, had composed a setting for Psalm 121 especially for Dr.Drake which was performed by four ladies from the choir.  This was also sung at today's church service. 

On Friday, my friend from St.Marys, Dr.Barbara Lee, arrived for the weekend.We had a great time together and our dog, Luca, went crazy when he saw his former dog walker come through the door. Barb is a true friend whom I have known for about eight years, and I have never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. I do miss her, but she has promised to make many return visits.

All in all this week was spectacular! Now I can hardly wait for next week when we are dining with friends on Tuesday and I am having lunch with another lady on Friday. Wednesday morning Andreas is beginning an hour of discussion about that week's scriptures. I am really looking forward to it.

So that was our week. We hope that yours was just as happy and that your upcoming days will be full of joy and love.
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From "Doggerel" c 2000, Anya Laurence

The Mexican Hairless

I loved my Mexican Hairless
Until his barber got careless.

Until next week, when I shall be writing about terribly important things, keep well!

NEW BEGINNINGS

We have moved!!! To the left is our new home in Windsor, Ontario. The house is really beautiful and almost big enough to house our vast array of books! Although we have moved, it is going to take a while to get settled and have everything in its place. In the meantime we are having fun (!) emptying zillions of boxes. It is amazing how much we have accumulated through the years and we really need to bring it all with us. Unfortunately the good friends we have made during the same time will be left behind.

When we arrived there was a beautiful chrysanthemum plant in front of the house. So inviting! The  shepherd figurine in the center was given to Andreas upon graduation by Audrey and Hugh Jeffrey. Audrey has been a wonderful friend and student for several years and I will miss her positive attitude and sense of humor.
The plant on the left was sent to us by Bernie and Cathy McCormick. It arrived a couple of days after we moved in.Cathy was my Avon representative in St.Marys and we became close friends. We had a farewell lunch at Nika's Nook before I left, and Nika is another gal that I will be sorry to leave behind. She is great fun, a terrific cook and baker and runs the best tea room in St.Marys. Next door to Nika's, Eden oversees the Crafters Market. I enjoyed shopping there and consider Eden a good friend. I will truly miss her.

My hairdresser, Norma, is the finest hairdresser I have ever had, and that includes Toronto and New York. I will miss her styling expertise as much as I will miss her honesty, warmth and kindness.Karen, from the library, is another lovely lady whom I had the opportunity to spend some time with...but not enough! You will have to come and visit, Karen.In fact you will all have to come and visit!

Last, but definitely not least, I will miss my dear friend of ten years, Barb Lee. A medical doctor, Barb is also a licensed acupuncturist and reiki practitioner.I can't count the number of treatments I have had with Barb...and all of them very helpful. She is my friend, Luca's dog walker and part of our family. I am sure that she will make the trek to Windsor many times to renew her loving relationship with Luca.

Leaving good friends behind is difficult, but the people of our new parish have been so welcoming and friendly that we feel quite at home already.
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The Pit Bull (From Doggerel, c 2000)
You were snoozing the day we passed by,
And you looked like a real nasty guy...
Big and hairy,
Vicious and scary,
So we thought we'd let sleeping dogs lie.

NO MORE HONEY BOO BOO.....PLEASE!

A few days a go I was watching TV and came across  something that was unbelievable. Apparently it is a very popular show about a chubby little girl named Honey Boo Boo and her obese family members.It started with family members weighing in at 370 pounds or more.Everyone seemed very happy as they were laughing their heads off (probably because nitwits watch their show every week). A couple of minutes into the show a huge woman started to talk about the amount of gas passed within the family.She was hysterical because one of her favorite pastimes was to pass gas in an elevator and get off at the second floor, thus leaving the other passengers to choke to death before arriving at their destination.Talk about fun! She was really having a great time just thinking about it.She did not use the term 'passing gas' however. The initial on the picture will fill you in as to the word she used.And she used it many, many times.
We've come along way since the days of innocence, morality and simple consideration of other people,  but the more of these shows people watch, the more they are accepted by the general population as being hilarious.Rolls of fat are not funny. and to have this little girl in the middle of it all is disgraceful. She will grow to be as obese as her other family members and will pass gas whenever she feels like it. Honey Boo Boo is not a cute little Shirley Temple-ish girl who can sing and dance. She is an overweight child who is being raised in a terrible environment...and millions of people watch this and cheer. To think that she is 'cute' is a real stretch of the imagination. It seems that TV is obsessed with hoarders, fat people and violence. What a shame this is when the medium could do so much good. But we've gone way past that and we now wallow in this type of mental sludge that is presented as entertainment for the masses.
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From "Doggerel", c 2000 Anya Laurence
The Great Dane

The King of the bow wows...the Dane
Is regal, imposing and vain.
When he's old and weak
And past his peak
He'll strut with monocle and cane.

Until next time, when I will write about more earth-shaking events, keep cool!