The First of May!

[jo]

In France and maybe other countries in Europe there is a beautiful tradition every First of May where the men give a small bouquet of lily of the valley flowers ( called "Muguet" in French) to the women, young and old.

I remember being in Paris on such a day...and as we were walking near Place Madeleine, an elderly man gave us a bunch of lily of the valley as a sign of friendship and to commemorate the beautiful tradition!

I didn't realize this could also work in the reverse. Women sending good wishes to men with these beautifully-scented flowers of spring!

PS: Lily of the valley is my favorite flower ( together with a native similarly-scented flower here) although it does not thrive in the tropics! I first discovered the flower ( the plants grow in clumps) in the backyard of my school roommate's house in Massachusetts

[jo]

To cheer up everyone as we enter another month of quarantine ( or a new and relaxed version) --

[jo]

Remember THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY from CAMELOT ?

Here's the version sung by Vanessa Redgrave from the film adaptation --

[mamaleh]

Vanessa Redgrave turns my stomach. I much prefer the Julie Andrews version from the OCR of CAMELOT.

Ellen

[jo]

I could not find any Ed Sullivan clips ( there were others from CAMELOT on Broadway, with Julie, Richard and Robert G) -- it is only the musical voiceover from the album.



Julie has a most beautiful voice, except the material ( the evolving change in Queen Guinevere's character) did not seem to suit her persona. Camelot is a story of love and tragedy, including disloyalty and unfaithfulness. It is one of my favorite musicals but sadly I have never seen a staging, only the movie adaptation. My favorite song is "Camelot" as sung by Richard Burton, especially in the wistful reprise at the end.

I still have the remastered CD version of the Burton/Andrews/Goulet Broadway version.

Is May really two-faced


Jo

[jo]

From Hugh's Instagram Stories --