Carols and Craigs

It's Monday morning, Dec. 11, 2006. I spent the weekend at the beach, but will be heading back to my Philadelphia area home later this morning. The majority of my weekend, at least during the day, was spent caroling. This wasn't the type of Christmas caroling that one takes part it with a group of friends during the evening where you walk from house to house and are offered cocoa and cookies (though I'm not sure if that happens any longer). But, it is actually a small group of singers organized by my friend Suzette. I am one of the singers. I, along with Suzette, sing melody. There are also two other women and one other man consisting of tenor, alto and bass. For the last two years, the town hires us to dress in early-victorian era costume, walk about downtown in the shopping district and sing traditional Christmas carols from the early to mid 1800's. It's an odd thing to do, but we do get paid for the work. While the temperature was still brisk and seasonal on Saturday (particularly the closer we came to the shore), it was quite warm on Sunday. I think the temperature almost hit 60. When you're walking about singing in the afternoon sun dressed in a heavy long woolen coat with a cape and top hat, that becomes very, very, warm indeed. They have already booked us for next year.



If you are a James Bond fan and have yet to see the latest in the series, "Casino Royal", I highly suggest it. I have been a James Bond fan since I was a child (the first James Bond film, "Dr. No", was released 3 years before I was born). I think that this may be one of the best JB films I have ever seen. It is much more gritty then traditional Bond films, which I enjoyed. And Daniel Craig,



in my opinion, offers the best James Bond portrayal since the incomparable and legendary Sean Connery. Not to mention hat his on screen charisma makes the screen melt. Dame Judi Dench also plays a larger role in this film as "M", than in her previous Bond films (beginning in 1995).