Bitten by the winter bug

Today is the first day the girls have gone to school this week.

Beth missed last Thu as well, making it twice this term she has been absent. A rare thing for her.

J started off the morning insisting she was staying home, but by the time we'd dropped her sister off, she had reconciled herself to the idea of going to school and didn't object when we pulled up at Wyndarra. She looked reasonably well and alert. Nothing dripping and no fever, or I would've kept her home. She's already had a day off - at the cost of $52! Childcare centres charge you whether or not you turn up, because your place is reserved for you, and they are not at liberty to release your spot to another child.

The whole family has struggled more than usual with the flu this time.

I was out from Thu to Sat with fever and body ache; the mental cloud only started to lift on Sunday. And there's an inexplicable, never-before-encountered sore spot in my chest that feels like a bruise and hurts even when I'm not coughing. Each time I cough, I feel like my whole ribcage might explode.

Then it was the girls' turn.

The last man standing had to take Mon off to recover from his own symptoms and the exertions of caring for everyone else.

On Sat, we farewelled our house guest Annie at the Gull bus stop on Synnot St, then pulled ourselves together sufficiently to attend the rousing rendition of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Beth's school in the evening.

The narrator (Saralisa L) was amazing! The programme says she's in Y9 but she sure carried herself like an adult. I can see her as a teacher or lawyer. Beth of course, insists that the real star is the Y8 guy who played Joseph: Alex R. He was singing in falsetto througout, which was charming and in keeping with his boyish image. Our friend Harrison did very well as a cute, not-very-threatening Ishmaelite slave trader and a doomed baker.

For an evening out, it was money well spent. The show was enjoyable and the actors very talented. The casting was great. Loved the props and costumes too, esp the Egyptian girls' outfits. (Mrs Potiphar reminded me of Cleopatra.) Having the narrator follow the characters through and do her side commentary thing to the audience and the choir was a marvellous dramatic touch. And those 7 fat cows...! :-)

My beef with the production is: where were all the other good songs, like He Will Carry You? That was a favourite for my mates and me in '87-'88 when we were new to the faith - we used to sing it all the time in college - and I was so looking forward to hearing it again.

Or did I make a mistake and maybe He Will Carry You was never a part of Joseph? I asked hubby and he remembers the song and associates it with Joseph too. It was from a cassette recording that was popular at the time...

You know the song...
If he carried the weight of the world on his shoulder
I know my brother that he will carry you



This being a school production with young children attending, why did Pharaoh have to bare his chest in a he-man moment? And what's with the letters EMM inked on his chest?

And why was there no opening prayer before the show, or acknowledgement of God's providence when all other members of cast and crew were thanked at the curtain call? A bit of a glaring oversight for a Christian school, surely.

Enough griping.

Found this old video starring Jason Donovan (woo hoo!). Enjoy.
http://rutube.ru/tracks/1087256.html?v=fbbd4ecce3013865b9c3f2387f6fee15