Serenade at breakfast

My dear Friends

I have been staying for two nights with Eleanor in the Annex, the neighbourhood where I will one day live for good. She has a piano, so yesterday I sang a little and played-I am not really a pianist, but my busking is good enough to accompany my singing.

My brother Ronnie, who was 20 years older than me, was a bit of an impresario, and brought over the Omsk Russian Ensemble to Britain to give some concerts. One of their pieces, in Russian of course but translated into English, was 'Willow Tree.' It is a beautiful and simple piece about a girl asking a willow tree if her lover will come back to her. Reminds me of 'Der Nussbaum', a German piece by Schumann on a similar theme.; the girl standing under the Nut Tree hears the leaves rustling, as if her lover is calling to her.

Eleanor's late husband played the guitar; I noticed it standing in the corner of the breakfast room. Also staying was the English producer of a new film SKIN so at breakfast I serenaded her with three songs: Donna Donna, The summertime is coming and Psalm 23 in Hebrew. This film SKIN is important: set around a lady born to 2 white parents in South Afrrica and with a black skin. Try to see it when it comes to your local cinema from the Toronto Film Festival, on at the moment and second only to Cannes.

So we were 2 artists attempting the same thing: to move the hearts of people by our filming and our singing. I told the lady that if you move only one heart in a lifetime its enough.

A few years ago I sang and was interviewed about Joy one Christmas morning, on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.The interview only lasted 5 minutes, but when I heard the performance later I thought to myself: if I die in the night tonight, I will die happy.

Thank God for music, and art and film!
Shalom from Toronto, the 24 hour city
Sister Gila