Summertime (Living is Easy)

This is how I feel now (music taken from the great Hungarian cartoon, Macskafogó).

We had a series of nights out yet again, and I know I should feel happy about it. Actually I do, with a little bit of bitterness, but I know in the long run only the good memories remain. So, here comes a mixed set of accounts of my nights out.
Last weekend we were at Kecskemét at my father's place. To be honest, most of the time we are there we either eat or sleep. We get there just before lunch and next thing we know it's four in the afternoon. It just happened so last Saturday. Then we went to a kind of family day organized by a local civil group. Me and my sisters (the youngest turning ten soon) mostly were sitting and gazing around in a rather unsocial way, but it was all peaceful, and I especially enjoyed the paprikás krumpli cipóban. After that the three of us, my middle sister (or how should I call her), Dad, and me went into the center of town, as there was the Hírös Hét Fesztivál taking place just then.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love Kecskemét? And I especially love those peaceful summer nights when we are listening to jazz under the stars. Dad used to take us to listen to the jazz, ragtime or whatever band that played and it's something that's stayed and will always stay with me. The concert finished at 9.30, then we watched the fireworks, which of course wasn't so grand as the one in Budapest, but it was lovely. The town hall and the church provided a splendid background. We didn't stay to listen to the main thing, Hot Jazz Band, because we usually go to bed early at Dad's.
On Wednesday we went to a pilot shooting to Centrál Színház, the place where they are shooting Beugró, the improvisation show with Rudolf Péter. The pilot was advertised on facebook, and early birds got free tickets. We had to sign a pledge of secrecy, so I cannot say much, but as far as I know it went through, so you'll soon see it on TV. It's a sitcom centred around a divorced couple, played by Rudolf and his wife, Nagy-Kálózy Eszter. I'm a great fan of Rudolf, and I think he dominated like 80 or 90 percent of the scene, I mean most of the time the audience was focusing on him. He's a very funny and intelligent actor, and he reacts very quickly if something comical provides itself as a topic. All in all I enjoyed the evening, though the first one hour (before the show) was terribly organized. Also there were some irritating people in the audience. I'm curious about the TV version.
This weekend the only remarkable festival organized in our district is taking place, namely the wine festival. It starts with a parade on Saturday morning. The music is provided by the wind orchestra I play in, and I can tell you it's an honour to be part of it. Yesterday I played one of the drums, and I played it for the first time. Normally I play the oboe, but we don't march with that, so I usually miss marching concerts. On one occasion I marched with our flag but that wasn't easy, either. You know, we start at 9.30 am, then arrive at the main square at around ten, and stand in the sun (or rain) for about an hour, while all the MPs and religious majesties and whoever give speeches. Then at about eleven the marching resumes, and it continues until about 11.30. And those uniforms are quite warm, I can tell. Sweat was running through my back as soon as we started. As I said, I was playing one of the drums, and its belt was too long for me, so each time I took a step I kicked the drum, but I got over with it, and I really enjoyed it despite everything. It was such a good thing to march along the street with little ones and old ones alike greeting us and following us.
In the afternoon we went back and listened to a German folk orchestra with something of a family. My future father-in-law and his father were there and one of my future brothers-in-law (the other one was playing in the concert) with the family of his girlfriend, and of course my sister and my boyfriend. We had a few drinks and talked a bit and took it easy, you know. Then in the evening we listened to Police Big Band with my sister and my boyfriend, and I enjoyed it a lot. They play swing, bossa nova, and that stuff, big band, you know. Actually, we agreed that this is the kind of music we'd like to hear on our wedding day (not polka and the usual Hungarian wedding stuff). We finished the day watching Pink Panther 2 (the one with Steve Martin).
Sadly, today I had to focus on lesson planning. Also, my mom made a fuss about tidying my room in order to prevent the spread of (assumed) infections. You know, she believes I live in a war zone or what. Thanks to my sister it turned out to be a lot of fun. We found my teenager diaries and had a laugh (I didn't throw those out, of course.)
Finally, in the evening we took a walk along the kiosks and had a few drinks and kürtős kalács. Then we went to the concert of Budapest Bár. I didn't hear them before, or not consciously anyway, but it seemed a good idea to go. It was held in a closed place and according to the organizers there were about 3000 people there, so they asked the audience to warn their friends not to try to come in. As usual, a guy above 2 metres stood in front of me just before the beginning of the concert, and there were more to come. Before we left, we were standing among giants and loud people who were blowing smoke in our face and dancing with glasses of wine in their hands. I did enjoy the music, even my boyfriend did, which is something of an achievement as he doesn't usually listen to anything but classical music. He even mentioned to me that he would welcome this kind of music on our wedding day. So now we have two top bands in mind and nothing to pay them with. And lots of sweet memories, let's not forget that.