Still Saturday 14 December

Last September the St Jacob Amish market was destroyed in a fire. Today they opened a new dome shaped market, so we went after lunch. It’s not as big as before, although they will be adding to the buildings next year, but at least they got up and running before Christmas. The zipper on my travel purse broke on the way over here so I was able to pick up a cheap one to replace it. The snow continued to fall ... cold and windy.

We’ve just returned home from a Yuletide Spectacular tonight by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony at their Centre in the Square. We had to park a block away and walk to the theatre in the snow – along with many others, of course. You always wear your outside shoes and take your inside shoes for these events, so your good shoes don’t get destroyed by the salt.

The concert was absolutely wonderful – the symphony orchestra, a philharmonic choir, a children’s choir, a ballet school, a female soloist, a drum band. It was similar to a proms type of atmosphere, hilariously funny at times.The stage was lavishly decorated with Christmas. After interval, the conductor gave his baton to a volunteer from the audience to conduct “Sleigh Ride”, while the conductor solved a rubics cube! For an excerpt from Mozart's Toy Symphony, he got three children to volunteer to play instruments – duck whistle, ratchet, nightingale whistle while the viola players played slide whistles – we were in stitches.

The absolute highlight was Craig Courtney’s “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. Have a look at it on uTube – it’s based on a musicological journey through the centuries and is an incredibly clever arrangement while being hilariously funny when you see it performed live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68DCtn_4Jlc.

Santa turned up but not until right at the end of the last number - lots of traditional carols. I was impressed: Jesus got top bill. Santa almost an afterthought and he didn't even get a big ovation when he did turn up, not like when he arrives at our big carols events. 

The snow continued heavily while we were in the concert, so it was deeper to walk back to the car and lots to brush off before we set off home, via Victoria Park which is decorated with lights.