Hearing a favourite song on the radio can generate so much mirth and happiness it is explosive -well it is for me at any rate.
Sunday afternoon after I had returned from painting the flat, and set about tidying our home and trying not to put Monday too much at the front of my mind, an old familiar introductory rift came bouncing at me over the airwaves: Rainbow’s All Night Long. And I can tell you now without looking at Google what was on the ‘B’ side: an instrumental track called Weiss Heim. I know because I had the single and would play it over and over, singing my 15yr old passionate heart out to the ‘A’ side and dancing and fantasising about all the ‘loves’ I had, wanted or lost to the moody guitar on the ‘B’side.
At Callanetics, L has a set soundtrack and we all get to know what is coming next – and then she will change it and we have to learn all over again. But the thing is when I hear one of the exercise songs on the radio I can feel certain muscle groups begin to twitch and I have yearning to carry out the exercise. This is usually fine, but not when I’m driving.
Two years ago I went on a school ski-ing trip to Alpe du Huez. This was my first trip abroad with a school group and the pupils ranged in age from 12-18. One sixth year pupil turned 18 when we were there (a blog about illegal booty is for another time). I had an amazing time and even managed a black run at the end.
Of course we had to be on duty and get the lights out at a reasonable hour. I was doing a late night check in the large boy’s dorm where several of the girls had gravitated to. They were having fun, and I was chatting to one boy about his day’s ski-ing, building myself up to become stern ‘Miss’ when Abba’s Dancing Queen started playing. I admit I had had 2 very small glasses of wine at supper several hours previously, but was not even close to being inebriated. It wouldn’t matter, that song gets me every time and even stone cold sober, nothing stops me. So I started dancing, slightly self-consciously to myself, but the group saw me and encouraged me on. I was 17 again – in my head- and just having fun. Of course as soon as it finished I morphed back into the 48yr old teacher that I was and ushered them all to bed.
Naturally, I was then Dancing Queen for the rest of the holiday. I love dancing and singing and I don’t intend to give up that love just because the years are passing by, or I’m being teased by a school party of 17 and 18year olds!
So if you see a bouncing brown haired women in her black car, bopping behind the steering wheel, mouth wide with smiling and singing, It will be me! Join in – let all your favourite songs engulf you.
Songs – a poem
Moody and meaningful songs in my heart
the sound track to my life;
drum solo, saxophone, guitar and bass
45rpm, a long player a special 12 inch.
Dancing and singing, old tracks or new
jolting memories, igniting yearnings
rejuvenating – the years roll back.
Play for me.
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