Further to my post about the different kinds of tears, it was never my intention to cast doubt on the genuine nature of the grief following the death of Princess Diana, nor to deny the tragedy of her life. I myself have felt the same way about the passing of certain people, and if this was not the case for Diana it was no doubt because I had not lived in England for many years at the time of her death. In retrospect, I find it hard to understand why there was so much pressure on Charles to marry in the first place. There were plenty of other heirs in waiting, including the children of "my beloved son" Andrew. And what on earth did Diana's parents think they were doing, pushing her into this marriage?
The point I wanted to make was that there must surely be a difference not only of degree but also of kind between the grief attached to this kind of happening and to that following the death of a member of the family or a close friend. How many people, after the funeral of Diana, then went out for a drink in the evening? Would they do the same for the death of somebody close to them?
The point I wanted to make was that there must surely be a difference not only of degree but also of kind between the grief attached to this kind of happening and to that following the death of a member of the family or a close friend. How many people, after the funeral of Diana, then went out for a drink in the evening? Would they do the same for the death of somebody close to them?
Well, they might!
ReplyDeleteBut of course I take the point you made. My response was instantaneous - and I surprised myself at how strongly I still feel about "all this" even though not drenching hankies.
So who else are you currently seeing off? The Vienna Philarmonic? Have they gone? Well, I'm always very sad to see a good orchestra go. But just as you felt apart from the Diana experience so we don't exactly bristle with orchestras in this country and perhaps individual orchestras from elsewhere are not that instantly recognisable to the likes of me who loves and listens to good music but could never tell you which conducter conducts where.
Good picture, though. I would have guessed a G meeting if you hadn't said.
I was lamenting the lack of women in the orchestra. They seem to take the view, rightly or wrongly, that a woman's place is in the kitchen and not in the concert hall.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever despair at just how slow I am?
ReplyDeleteAh so - pounding the schnitzel then.
But can you be sure from that picture? I know a woman with a very smart "tux", and she scrapes back her hair when she wears it.