Tonight was a big night …. last year when we arrived after a few months we were invited by a school mum to the local Teleton. We had no idea what a Teleton was….. so we went. Luckily for the boys it was mainly a dancing Teleton, which meant groups of younger women gyrating to very innapropriate US and UK Rappers – I dont think the parents were truely aware of the lyrics meanings surely ? and then later on there were the older generation Line dancing, there was terrible food and almost no alcohol to get us through this ordeal… but we managed. Now a year later and I am performing……. Oh the levels to which I have stooped !
The Teleton is actually a kind of Red Nose day event where everyone performs to do their bit and create wealth for good causes, In England we mainly have sporting marathons or celebraties doing dangerous or demeaning things, but here the whole population can join in ! Almost everyone comes out of the woodwork and performs in a hot crowded room with strip lighting. It ranged tonight from kids doing jazz piano and dance to a choir group that seemed to be singing a very complicated wagnarian occitane score – or as Archie whispered to me ” It sound like sacrificial Music mum ” – I could only agree ! That is the wonder of La Vie Associatif ….. to take on and tackle something truely beyond their capacity and take things pretty seriously , even if you only joined up for the social ! Think school assembly with adults.
But as I was singing ‘Rise up Shepherd’ with some excruciating lines like “it zill take you to zi place weer ze zaviors born” and as the only English speaker I was doing my bit to steer them towards the th’s – I thought how fanatstic… all these people singing in another language, accepting of me in their group and a real mixture of young and old performing together – I think that possibily Life in France values it older citizens and gives them space to be a part of it all.
Also it dosent matter how bad you are the Audience will hear you to the very last.