Happy house or postcard from Prague

Dear S2,

I am in Prague with S3 and am staying in the Happy House.

We eat cake and coffee for lunch most days.

As our feet were prodded on the occasion of S3's birthday, we listened to the cheers of the ice-hockey fans who collected on the big square in red, white and blue and watched the Czechs win silver.

Then we ate again.

Love S1

A gush of positivity: SADE in Antwerp

Room 6.2.2. Somerset Place, halls of residence of Bath Academy of Art.

Dear Sisters,

Spring's here. I am feeling LOVED and LUCKY. Yesterday my love took me to see SADE in concert in Antwerp. And what a treat it was. The venue itself, a bit like a Roman forum or Yankee stadium in its scale and refreshment sales (the whiff of sweet smelling waffles everywhere instead of hotdogs) filled us with trepidation at first, for the sheer scale of it, and its carpark-like walking ramps designed to get 17000 people inside in a more or less orderly fashion...but everything went well, and people were generally in a great mood. There were a few fabulous creatures in the audience.

You can tell positivity attracts positivity.

When it happens on a scale such as this, you can only be impressed. Would the essence of the music melt away in the scale of the occasion? No way! The woman sang her heart out and we were all there to witness it. Straight to the heart. I can't tell you how wonderful that was and how important live music is. Also how music can capture and even frame a mood so skillfully, and encapsulate in it, and later unleash, whole passages of our existence, stirring old and new feelings and insights, dreams, hesitations, and healing memories.

Certain songs opened up a window for me onto times when I listened to her CD in 1993 having just arrived in an empty college halls of residence. This music, along with that of L'âme des Poètes, clothed my room and spoke of a new peace and beauty. Sade has an uncommon ability to let a woman feel good about herself. I'd sit on the windowledge looking out at the blue evening and need nothing more than the words and the music.

I can inform you that the concert is full of magic. If you get a chance to go, do. I know they are passing in Prague soon. Sisters, you won't be sorry. These days the possibilities of light and projected images are so much more evolved than the last large-scale concert I attended at Forêt National (The Cure, with you S1!). Here there are bells and whistles for sure but none take away from the music's honesty. I feel truly blessed.

I don't want to give away too much, in case you do go to see her, and her fabulous musicians, who are all featured generously. They also touch on the past visually, which is amazing, and endearing, and she literally takes the music to new heights.
Just take it from me.
S2
Watch a video here to have a taste once more.