Dear diary (er, readers). The last few days have been so full of nice things, that I only now found time to write about it. It will be good to put the memories in words though, as I enjoyed it all so much. I’ll start with last Wednesday afternoon, in a café in Heerlen…
That’s where I had the interview for the Dutch magazine ‘Didactief’. It was a good one, although I usually think that. I like doing them. This journalist made me answer questions with: “Yeah… Well, no I don’t think so actually… Hmm, I don’t know really, maybe… Yes”. And I had that same feeling when I was answering the e-mail interview for the Irish ‘Astronomy & Space’. What will I be doing ten years from now? Do I ever say ‘no’? I guess it forces you to think and therefore teaches you a lot about yourself. Which is a good thing.
After that I went home to pack some stuff, as I would spend the whole of Thursday on the road to – and in – Frankfurt. Every year there is this big event about everything that has to do with ‘musik’. I went with the two music teachers from my ‘old’ university, Paul and Marcel, and it was the perfect day for it. Sunny, nicely bright and warm and not too much traffic on the road. We saw the Sun as a big orange ball rising, on our way to musical Germany…
The Frankfurter Messe is actually a big labyrinth (and then ‘big’ is an understatement) full of: musical instrument makers selling their products to retailers, publishers promoting their music books for school children, musical playground material for kids, and it also looks like a sort of festival, with the different bands playing (memo to me: bring earplugs next time). This year there even was a stand with a body paint model. I apparently looked fascinated at the artist creating the living painting, as this lady asked me if I wanted to as well. Get paint on my skin. Er, OK. Obviously they only let people choose between a simple and small bird or rose, but when I decided I wanted to try, I asked for the bigger picture: the one with their logo. The guy – World Bodypainting Festival Finalist Claus Dirscherl – was very charming and it was fun to experience the feeling of the paintbrush on my skin.
Anyway, most importantly we went there to find some new ideas for our music lessons, and we did. And even though the sunny spot near the pond to lie down during our break was very inspiring, I think we’ve found the best idea when driving back home, talking together, as the Sun set.
The tattoo for a day. And it was actually nice ink: you don’t feel it, you could walk in the rain with it, but not that hard to take off again either. (Picture: Marcel Graus.)
The musical playground. (Picture: Hanny van Arkel.)
And the much needed break to think about all the impressions… (Picture: Marcel Graus.)
8 Comments
it was indeed a very relaxing and inspiring day… next year again?
Music and good company… its just a perfect day..(sing for full effect).
Hanny
First granddad off 24 and now a BICK tattoo on your arm! are you still my daughter?
I Hope so!
I must say I do feel some sympathy for Mr (Daddy) van Arkel – Tattoos, Playboy, “I’m Going To Be A Mummy”… whatever next!
Seriously, I love that musical bottle instrument – and the T-Shirt, I love that XKCD site and that is one of my fave cartoons from it.
Anyway enjoy your Easter break… (If you have one, that is!)
Haha, yeah if you put it that way…
Have a nice Easter all! X
Hey, I love the tatoo, have a nice easter, Hanny
Well, not really a tattoo is it (thank goodness!)
..and the examples of body-painting which I have seen before didn’t look quite like that (but then they were apparently in Amsterdam rather than Frankfurt) I’d better shut up now… (but I can empathise with Henny)
Well there was a real model with bodypaint all over her body as well. And he used the same methode to do the “tatoos”. It was fun for a day.