The Monkey House

Please send bike-hastening and dead-poet-appeasing vibes at 8pm tonight.
( Here's why... )

It would also be helpful if you could wish for nobody to break a string, and for Spider to refrain from chewing gum on stage in front of the Headteacher like he did last year.
    

There's a big choir concert tomorrow evening--several Cambridge choirs and a choir from the German twin town, and all three of my monkey boys, even musique_monkey ! (Squirrel's in there anyway. Spider joined because he can't play guitar with a broken finger and it's music. Then musique was giving them a lift and they were short of basses... Wish I could sing!)

They'll be singing this:



The one sad thing about all three male monkeys singing in the same choir is I'll be all on my own in the audience. Anyone want to join me? They sound really good. Also: drinks.

Concert is 6.30pm on Saturday 8th, at Emmanuel United Reformed Church on Trumpington St, with some kind of reception at afterwards at 8.  Oh, and its free.  This is what European Cultural Funding gets spent on.

The Parkside Federation Orchestra, featuring the Not So Little Monkeys, set forth boldly this morning to bring Christmas cheer to Cambridge shoppers (and collect money to pay for PFO sweatshirts).
The music teacher had arranged permission for them to play outside the Guildhall. Rain being even worse for violins than for Small Monkeys, they huddled next to the Guildhall, under the concrete colonnade of Lion Yard.
"Ho, ho, ho, Little Monkeys," said the Jolly Fat Security Woman. "You can't stand under there in the dry because it's private property. You'll have to stand six paces forward where the rain can get at you."
So they did. With various large, kind monkeys holding umbrellas over the little monkeys with wooden instruments.



"This is still not good," said the Jolly Fat Security Woman. "If you stand in front of the colonnade, you obstruct the pavement.  It's not up to me. I don't make the rules and my boss won't come out in the wet, but I'm going to have to inform the police. And they will move you on. Or arrest you. Yes they will."
"Fine!" said assorted, stroppy, large monkeys. "Bring 'em on. The Cambridge Evening News will just love this and it'll be great publicity for the orchestra. Though maybe not so good for your boss and Lion Yard."
"That's not up to me," said the Jolly Fat Security Woman. "I have to call the police."
"Look!" said woolymonkey. "I have a camera. It takes videos too.!"
It's amazing how fast a jolly fat security woman can move. We didn't see her again until she came back to say how very very happy she was that the orchestra could now play under cover of the colonnade.
"But next time, you need a proper permit from the council."
So the band played on while the shoppers shopped and the parents clapped and cheered. They played Jingle Bells.  They played God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  And Instant Concert and Merry Christmas Everybody...  And everyone got very very cold and possibly a bit grumpy.
Then we went home to thaw out.
Phew!