My Bombarde

My next story is really fresh - it happened this afternoon. I have a bombarde!!! It's an ancient Breton wooden double-reed instrument often called "l'instrument du diable" - try to guess why :)) Well, and how it began?
Some time before Christmas I asked the First Breton of Prague to buy me a bombarde when he's gone home to his family. He kindly agreed and I was impatiently waiting a whole month. In January he called me and told me that he's safe back - thanks God - but unfortunately he didn't find exactly what he was looking for so I had to wait for another month. You can't imagine how I was. I didn't do anything but dreamed about playing it and with every day I was looking forward to it more and more.
Today it came at last. I met the First Breton on a secret place where the streets M. and S. cross. He gave me a box, I gave him money. Smiling, he remarked that we look like criminals :) And that was it. I played it the whole evening and I'm lucky that I didn't meet the neighbours after - they would kill me, I'm sure!

To listen to a recording of a bombarde (not me playing yet...)

I'm going to learn to play many Breton songs. If you are interested in it, you should have a look here. There are loads of sheetmusic and midi tunes, all acompaigned with lyrics and short translations (in French only, sorry)

The Ankou

Who's the Ankou and what does he do? He's the Breton vision of personified death and his job is to carry people away. His carriage called "Karrig an Ankou" is pulled by two horses, one weak and old and one strong and young. It is full of rocks so that it makes a lot of rumble when it goes slowly down the road and always when the Ankou wants to put up someone that he has just slain with his reversely sharpened scythe, he throws the rocks out first making a terrifying noise.

Are you scared? :-W

But there are also many funny things about it. For example, did you know, that the Ankou is just a temporary job? The duty is laid on the first dead of the year (or the last one in some parts of Brittany) It's an interesting way of viewing the death, isn't it? ;)

Food

What do the Bretons eat? Well, I'm sure you all know pancakes. Generally, they are associated with Brittany the most. However, how many of you eat them salty? The Bretons do... They eat them with cheese, ham, eggs, or anything else that tastes good.

... And the artichokes ;) That's my favourite food, by the way. They eat them a lot and I guess the children may not enjoy it as much as I do. "Imagine eating it every day..." the First Breton once said. But still, it's GREAT!!!