No Fooling

10 Ramadhan, 1444

Decided to give a spin to Gentle Giant's live Playing the Fool this morning and was glad I did. Doing so is turning into a bit of a tradition in this household as a way of celebrating this Great Day of Fools, but I'm a bit puzzled as to why I don't give it a listen more often. I was totally blown away by the stunning rendition of On Reflection, to the extent that I went searching for other versions posted to YouTube later in the day - hence the one in the link for the stunned enjoyment of all with ears. It's pure folly I don't open my ears to the genius of GG throughout the year.

Another foolish thing I must acknowledge today. We're exactly one-third of the way through the fasting month and I'm overly aware of that fact. Each year I do my best to lose myself in the experience of fasting, and each year I find myself counting down the days. Mind you, I suppose it doesn't help that each year I publish the dates for the month in this very Far Place. Doh!

(On a further note - having just watched and listened to the live rendition from the BBC's Sight & Sound In Concert I'm forced to ask whether Ray Schulman (bass, violin & vocals) in particular isn't just sickeningly over-blessed with talent? The answer is: no. His brilliance, and that of his erstwhile band-mates, is a source of absolute JOY.)