While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

Bavarian Beavers Bite Bathers Bottoms – It’s not every week that I get a chance to practice my alliteration skills but then again it is not every week that a bather gets bitten near his nether regions while swimming in one of Bavaria’s beautiful lakes. Especially when the creature doing the biting is a ‘protected’ beaver.

The area in question is the Bavarian region of Stockdorf. Specifically a very pretty and well loved bathing and relaxation area about 100 meters south of the Grubmühler Wehrs (Grubmühler weir). At 7:15 p.m. on June 3rd a 26 year old youth cycled to this pleasant spot with his girlfriend to do a spot of early evening summer bathing.

After about a minute in the water he felt something on the surface which he thought was probably a tree branch. Just as he tried to move out of the way he felt a very sharp pain and shortly afterwards noticed a 60 cm long beaver diving next to him. The beaver simply swam beside him and looked the bather straight in the eyes for about 5 seconds.

Only when the young man returned to the shore did he notice that there was a blood stain on his shorts. He had acquired a 3 cm deep, 4 cm wide wound near his bottom which needed treating in the local hospital in Starnberg. If you think this amount of damage is slightly exaggerated take a look at what the average beaver can do to 25 cm (10 inch) thick trees.

However this bather was relatively lucky. Those of us who go bathing regularly in Bavaria will be well aware of the large number of local FKK bathers (Frei Körper Kultur or Free Body Culture is the German term for nude bathing). If you are in doubt of this take a walk through the English Garden in the middle of Munich on a warm summers day. Nudity is part of the culture here just like the white sausage (Weißwurst) and pretzel. Now imagine the potential damage a beaver could do if he got his teeth into a tasty morsel on the ‘opposite side’ of a bather’s bottom. Male genital mutilation is not a popular past-time even among Germany’s more adventurous FKK brethren.

The official responsible for beaver management in the South of Bavaria was quoted in the local press as saying that although generally beavers are peace loving animals they will stop at nothing to protect their new offspring when these are still so young that thay are unable to escape potential predators. This is the second ‘biting’ incident in the Grubmühler Feld area in recent weeks and it is recommended that people give the animals a wide berth.

Currently there are about 17000 Beavers in Bavaria and although they have been known to attack dogs this is the first year that people have been bitten. Although the beavers are a protected species the authorities do catch and destroy about 1200 a year. This is usually a last resort when the animals threaten technical facilities or cause serious damage to agricultural areas. Until now aggressive behaviour has not been a ground for ‘dealing with’ beavers although the situation is being carefully considered by the local officials.

If you are going bathing this summer then why not listen to some of my fun songs? If played loudly they are sure to discourage beavers from biting your sensitive parts. The link to my fun songs page is here.

If you do get bitten then try listening to the soothing tones of my baroque interpretations. The playlist is below (and of course it is free to all beaver fans):

There are also some more interesting articles to read in my Alpine Press section.

Enjoy your summer bathing and keep an eye open for cute but aggressive swimmers.

Chris Duggleby

How sure are you that the products you apply to care for your skin or lips are safe? This week there has been something of a furore in Germany due to the publication of a report about cosmetics containing mineral oil constituents. The research from a well respected foundation indicates that these products may contain potentially carcinogenic mineral oil based aromatic hydrocarbons. Have you recently checked the ingredients list of your favourite face cream or lip care product? More details below.

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

In 1964 the German government set up the independent foundation ‘Stiftung Warentest’ to help consumers by providing impartial and objective information using scientifically based comparative investigations of goods and services. This week they published an investigation under the heading ‘Mineral Oils in Cosmetics: Critical Ingredients in Creams and Vaselines‘ (translated from the original German). In it they presented the results of tests on 25 selected cosmetics. All the products tested were found to contain what they describe as ‘critical substances‘ (kritischen Substanzen), some of which are believed to be potential carcinogens.

Specifically the investigation focused on the presence of Mineral Oil based Aromatic Hydrocarbons and concentrations upto 15000 times those normally measured in foodstuffs were measured. These cosmetic products may be used on the lips or skin and the take up of such substances into the human body and their effects are as yet uncertain.

It is not possible for me to go into all the details of this investigation in this short blog. However I am sure a number of visitors to ChrisDuggleby.com will be interested to learn more details about these German investigations and I have therefore included a special more detailed English report on my Risk Articles page. You can read that report by using the following link:

31st May 2015: German Concern about Potentially Carcinogenic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Cosmetics  

To get a flavour of the cosmetic brands involved (which included body lotions/oils/creams, products for babies, lips, hairstyling and vaselines) please take a look at the photographs on the link to the German article here. If you are particularly interested in one or more of the products in these pictures you might want to take a closer look at my English summary of the German research using the link above. Well established names like Nivea, Dove, Penaten, Bebe, Scholl, Blistex, Lobello, Satina, Schwarzkopf and Florena were evaluated.

Purcell – Amazing colours even at cold temperatures!

In addition to checking out the latest German research into cosmetics this week I also completed another track for my forthcoming album of contemporary interpretations of baroque masterpieces. This week’s contribution to the project was originally performed in the UK by it’s composer Henry Purcell in the early summer of 1691. Specifically my new arrangement was based on some incredible music from the Frost Scene of Purcell’s King Arthur Opera.

I will produce a more detailed description of the history behind this fascinating piece of music on the TRANSFORMATES.com website in the next couple of weeks. It is believed the work was inspired by the Frost Fairs on the Thames shortly before the music was written. When I  first heard it I thought ‘Wow he must have borrowed some bits from Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto’. Then I realized that Purcell wrote this piece about 30 years before Vivaldi penned his famous four seasons!

In my interpretation I have rearranged the classical string instruments to play in staccato in order to reflect the freezing scene intended as the backdrop to this part of the opera. I have also added a harpsichord to try and enhance the baroque feel. The TRANSFORMATES 變Digital Choir also played a role to try and recapture the atmosphere originally performed by a solo tenor voice (the ‘Cold Genius‘). Actually I was very tempted to have a go at this part myself but I have spared listeners the pain of having to endure my vocal performance in this version (but I might still have a go and add it to my ‘techno’ collection later in the year!). I have named the recording ‘What Power Art Thou….!‘ which is taken from the first words of the tenor part.

All of the above uses pretty much standard Baroque type instrumentation. To try and ‘transform’ the piece I then connected up my more contemporary instruments. Right from the beginning you will notice a synthesizer playing one of the main themes. Although a lot of modern musicians get the computer to do a lot of the fancy stuff I prefer to play the whole piece manually on the keyboard from beginning to end. This piece includes many complex key changes which proved a bit of a challenge for my rusty playing skills. In addition, in order to create the classical synthesizer modulation effect (the wah-wah sound) I needed to use my right hand to turn the various knobs. This meant playing the music with my left hand which is not really my best.

Anyway to cut a long story short it took nearly a hundred takes to get the synthesizer part to a place where I was satisfied. Fortunately the distorted electric guitar which comes in a little later (with the choir) only required about 50 attempts – again playing the whole piece from beginning to end – no cutting and pasting clips or using fancy loop technology here! Here is the finished product:

Once again I have tried to provide a little eye candy with some flashy visual graphics. If you haven’t clicked on the video yet here are some screen shots of the graphics to try and wet your appetite.

So that is all for this week. Keep in mind that if you intend to use some skin or lip care products you should check the ingredients to see whether they contain any mineral oils. Likewise if you intend to kiss someone already coated with a lip-care product – ask them if you can take a look at the ingredients list first (the same applies to any intimate contacts in which Vaseline might play a role – we don’t want you getting inappropriately contaminated).

Have a great week.

Chris Duggleby

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

I would like to dedicate this weeks blog and a rather special piece of music to my father John Duggleby who at the same time as I was putting the finishing touches to the video was celebrating his 78th birthday.

Let me explain first a little more about the music. It was originally written as a duet in 1736 by the Italian baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. He wrote the piece during the final weeks of his life while he was dying from tuberculosis. Pergolesi died from the illness on March 16th 1736 aged only 26.

‘Fac ut Ardeat‘ is one of the twelve parts of Pergolesi’s musical arrangement for the Stabat Mater Dolorosa, a Catholic hymn from the thirteen century about the sorrows of Mary at the crucifixion on Jesus. Like my earlier interpretation of Allegri’s ‘Miserere Mei Deus’ this piece is also normally performed in Catholic religious ceremonies during the Easter period (if you would like to read about, and hear, my version of Allegri’s inspiring piece please check out my video using the link here).

Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ was incredibly popular during the eighteenth century becoming one of the most published works at that time. Johann Sebastian Bach used it as the basis for his cantata ‘Tilger, Höchster, meine Sünden‘ (in English: ‘Root out my sins, Highest one’).

Here is the video of my rendition of this celestial work:

If you are interested in the original lyrics for this duet (which I have rearranged for the TRANSFORMATES 變 Digital Choir) they are (in Latin) as follows:

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum ut sibi complaceam.

which in English means:

Make me feel as thou hast felt; make my soul to glow and melt with the love of Christ my Lord.

You will notice from the video that I have incorporated some 3D digital artwork – I hope you find it appropriate for this music. Here are some of the stills:

Coming back to my father for whom this musical interpretation is dedicated I did check out with him during our birthday lunch what was his secret of longevity. He is convinced that the Duggleby’s benefit from a longevity gene since many of his forbears also had long life spans (his elder sister June is still very active with her extended family in Yorkshire). His own personal secret is that he has lived a very active life since taking retirement by regularly buying and renovating English houses (he has just bought yet another piece to ‘do up’ as part of this life extending hobby).

And what do you buy a very fit and active 78 year old for his birthday?  Well a VGA cable of course. Now he can hook up his laptop to the TV and read my blogs (and the football results!) on the big screen. Hopefully I have not started a major confrontation in my parental home – my mother was quite happy to let him play on his lap top while she did some serious viewing on the TV. We may need to consider investing in a second TV!

Greetings from the European Duggleby clan.

Chris Duggleby

PS you probably noticed that this latest baroque interpretation, like the one by Allegri, featured another stunning performance from the TRANSFORMATES 變 Digital Choir. I am starting to worry that if their popularity grows they are going to end up doing international arena tours without me. You can easily access all my baroque interpretations by using the following link to my dedicated ‘classical’ play list on YouTube:

Regular visitors to my blog will remember that last week I was rather surprised after a very hot Good Friday to suddenly have the snow return to my Alpine retreat (and if you missed it the link to the article and the photos is here). Well every cloud has a silver lining because the rather inclement weather encouraged me to get to grips with my new G String – or to be more precise my new rendition of Bach‘s rather old G-string (the aria of course). In addition to describing this process I will also also share with you how I used some new technology to provide Heaven with a nice bit of re-imaging. The third story this week is about a horrific discovery made in a German sausage – razor sharp scalpel blades!

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

Bach’s Air on a G-String – (Aria of Orchestral Suite 3 in D major – BWV 1068)

One of the challenges with trying to produce a new interpretation of such a well known and famous piece of baroque music is ‘How do you make it sound different without totally destroying what is a fantastic and much loved composition?’. As I progressed with the project I quickly became concerned that I had allowed myself to embark on an artistic suicide mission. However after trying out well over a thousand different instrument sounds I finally came up with some which when played as part of Bach’s Aria passed my personal test of acceptability (The test is simple – I have to like the new version so much that I can’t stop playing it!).

 

The original music was written for classical string instruments and my interpretation uses modern, but highly regarded, string instruments. If you would like to listen to it here it is:

I am sure that if Bach and some of his baroque contemporaries were alive today they would give the modern guitar a good run for its money. 300 years ago they didn’t quite get the chance – it was hard to write music for electric guitars when electricity as we know it had not been invented. Before I make a final version like the one in the video above I produce the music from the original score using classical baroque type instruments. This helps me to make sure I have transcribed the score correctly (which often I haven’t – invariably some bum notes creep in along the way). Listening to the piece played on classical instruments helps me to hear precisely where mistakes exist and I can then make some adjustments to ensure it sounds like the version we have come to recognise. This was quite a challenge when I produced Bach’s Toccata and Fugue – the score really was quite different to what we have become accustomed to hearing (if you are interested in that piece my article is here).

For those of you who would like to hear my initial version of Bach’s Air on a G String using the originally intended classical string instruments I have prepared this as an ‘unplugged‘ video. I also used some of this recording in the guitar version above (it comes in as an accompaniment after about 45 seconds):

Quite frankly I personally love both versions!

Giving Heaven a Make-over

One of the first pieces of music I composed after the Oil industry made me an irresistible ‘go quietly’ offer was called ‘Heaven‘. Being an instrumental piece the first video I produced had lots of nice pics – most of which you can also find in the galleries section on this website.

I have recently been trying to develop my skills in creating visual as well as audio entertainment (or inflicting torture on unsuspecting victims – depending upon your taste!). To this end I have been working with some technology to help me create moving artwork to accompany my music. As a first test of this approach I have dusted off the audio master for my tune Heaven and produced a revamped video for it. The result is below:

 

You can download the track from iTunes here.
from Amazon here.
on Google Play here.
and from Spotify here:

At other record stores search under Transformates or the EP ‘Trans 1: Evolution’

By the way the original video is still available via the link in my article here.

Just in case you don’t want to (or can’t) watch the video I have prepared below some screen shots of the artwork.

Razor Sharp Scalpel Blades Found in German Sausage

This story, which I picked up in the German press, has all the hallmarks of the worst kind of horror story. Imagine eating some succulent German sausage and swallowing something that is a bit harder then you expected. Then being faced with such an agonizing pain in your stomach that you can’t move for fear. Well in the case of one poor lady the sausage she ate contained pieces of scalpel blades. She had to be rushed to have an urgent operation in order to remove the blade from her gut and hopefully save her life.

If you want to read more about this horrific tale please take a look at my more detailed article (with photos and X-ray pics) using the link here.

Well that’s all for this week – just remember to be careful where you get your sausage from and chew it cautiously and slowly before swallowing.

Chris Duggleby 

 

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

I was hoping to be able to share with you pictures of me and the band looking for Easter eggs in the garden in this week’s blog but we woke up this morning to discover it had snowed overnight – hence a little change of plan. The ‘Bunny’ decided that the chocs and other goodies would be hidden inside the studio this year. However I did catch one shot of the Easter Bunny trying to break in:

Yes its already April and we are still getting snow in the Bavarian Alps. I took these shots of the local hills from my apartment this morning:

However as you will see later in the blog the Bavarian weather is very changeable at this time of year. If you ever visit this region in April it is a good idea to pack both your thermals & ski goggles as well as your shorts & sunglasses.

Pachelbel’s Canon

For those readers who are not aware of what a musical canon is let me provide a simple explanation. Many of us, when we were in school, learned to sing the French song ‘Frère Jacques‘ (or ‘Brother Jacob’ in English):

First Line: Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Second Line: Dormez-vous ? Dormez-vous ?
Third Line: Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Fourth Line: Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

At my school the children were divided into four groups and group 1 started singing first. When group 1 moved onto the second line group 2 started singing the first line. As group 1 moved onto the 3rd line group 3 started singing the first line. As group 1 moved onto the 4th line group 4 started singing the first line.

In this way the 4 groups are singing different words and different notes but they all blend in nicely together to create a pleasant overall effect.

This is a musical canon.

Toward’s the end of the 17th Century (possibly 1694) Pachelbel composed his Canon which was written for three violin parts. As with Frère Jacques the first violin starts playing and after a couple of bars the second violin follows by repeating the same sequence. After another couple of bars the third violin starts. Throughout the piece the three violins effectively chase each other by playing the same music but at slightly different times. The overall effect is a very pleasant piece of music which is very popular at weddings. In fact many people who hear the music probably don’t even realise it is a canon!

Although I am sure many readers will have heard this piece of music I am certain very few will have heard of the German composer Pachelbel. Like many baroque composers he was very famous in his time and then disappeared for over a century to be rediscovered long after his death. Pachelbel was, however, very influential. In addition to being a capable composer he was also the music teacher of Johann Christoph Bach the elder brother of Johann Sebastian Bach. It is thought by some that Pachelbel actually composed his canon to be played at Johann Christoph Bach’s wedding in 1694. If this is the case he probably met the 9 year old Johann Sebastian. Johann Sebastian Bach was taught music by his elder brother Johann Christian who had been taught by Pachelbel. Therefore Pachelbel will have indirectly influenced the early compositions of J.S.Bach (if you are interested in the music of J.S. Bach please see my interpretation of his Toccata and Fugue which is featured here).

In addition to having three violin parts which play the same music, albeit with a slight delay, Pachelbel also cleverly added a simple two bar bass part which continues unchanged right until the end. To help listeners identify it I have played this part using an (unmistakable sounding!) synthesizer at the beginning of my interpretation. This somewhat unconventional baroque instrument stops after a couple of bars to be replaced by a more normal sounding bass instrument.

Here is my interpretation:

I think this is the first of my Baroque interpretations that I have produced in all three of my VALIUMM studios (Table Mountain in South Africa, Surrey in England and the Bavarian Alps). As I travel a great deal I try to make sure I can keep working on my music by duplicating my recording facilities around the world. My main selection criteria for each location is that: a) it needs to be near to a good international airport (Cape Town, Heathrow and Munich) and b) it must have inspiring views. Here are some photos of the facilities in the Alps taken two days ago (on Good Friday):

Interestingly the above three photographs were taken only two days before the pictures at the top of this blog article. On good Friday I had all the windows open and we had sunny weather suitable for wearing shorts. Today is Easter Sunday and I certainly have several extra layers of clothing on!

By the way the mountain in the pictures above, the Wendelstein, is the largest mountain in this part of the Bavarian Alps. It actually has (on the other side) Germany’s oldest ‘track’ railway so if you are in this region it is well worth a trip to the top.

Actually the clouds are very low today so I can’t actually see the mountains. I suspect when they reappear they will have a little more snow compared with two days ago.

Dog Fleas and Canine Launderettes

During the week I came across an interesting report in the Alpine Press and decided to translate the salient points in a separate article. It you are interested to learn why around 25 dogs a day can be found in washing machines in a Tel Aviv ‘Launderette’ and how you can get a wash and blow job with a flea and tick rinse for 20 Shekels please take a look at my article here.

So that’s it for this week. Easter greetings from the Alps – have a great week ahead (and if you missed it my version of a beautiful piece of music which is performed in the Sistine Chapel at this time of year can be found here).

Chris Duggleby

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

Having arrived back in the Alps yesterday clearly the sad story of the crashed airline is in everyone’s minds and my condolences to all those who have lost loved ones. At the same time as this tragic event there has, however, been other news coming out of this region which I suspect has been overlooked by the international press. One of the big stories here relates to cruelty to spiders – and how the German authorities are taking a zero tolerance approach to people who make arachnids suffer. The other describes how a German drinks marketing company refused to deliver its new hetero-tipple to a local gay bar for fear of being misbranded by association with gays.

But first some pics of the mountains while they still have a little snow on them. The first is a photo of the Wendelstein mountain taken from my balcony:

By the way you can see high definition versions of my photos by simply clicking on the pictures. The next photo is the March view from my Kitchen – including the local church (with my rather cheap ‘kitchen’ clock):

Spiderman’s Prison Sentence

This week in the Ebersberg district court in Germany a prison sentence was handed out to a 48 year old man for mistreating spiders. The man had been keeping spiders in his apartment in the town of Grafing under ‘inhumane’ (my translation!) conditions. He claimed he was using the spiders for scientific experiments although more details of the nature of these ‘experiments’ were not obvious from the reports available.

As part of his defence the man claimed that other animals like pigs, cows and chickens are also kept in ‘inhumane’ conditions but the court did not accept this defence. Apparently the law in Germany addressing the treatment of ‘useful’ livestock is not as exacting as that protecting spiders and other animals like snakes and various insects. This means that a pig can be kept in a condition in which it can not freely move to ensure it satisfies the quality requirements of the food industry whereas for a spider or reptile this would be considered cruel. Presumably this is because we don’t (as a rule) eat them. There are exceptions to the last statement as you can read in my blog here (however that was in Holland!).

To help substantiate the claims of cruelty the court bought in as an expert witness the vet who had originally witnessed the conditions suffered by the spiders and other animals. However this was not considered satisfactory by the defence who wanted the court to seek evidence from experts who were more specifically qualified in spider behavioural science (a kind of Arachnid Therapist). The judge did not think this was necessary to reach a verdict.

It would appear that the man had a track record of mistreating animals. He was sentenced for keeping animals under ‘cruel’ conditions in his Munich apartment in 2000. At that time his apartment was home to several highly poisonous cobras, vipers and rattle-snakes. As a result of that case he was banned indefinitely from keeping animals in Germany. To avoid further sentencing he then set up shop for a period in Switzerland (were he added Boa Constrictors to his pet list).

In the latest case, which refers to an investigation made by the German authorities in 2008, the man had, in his modest apartment, hundreds of spiders and insects; 162 reptiles, 111 mammals ranging from mice to monkeys, 21 birds and a collection of poisonous snakes. This week it was decided that the ‘Spiderman’ should receive a custodial sentence of one year and ten months as well as completing a previous suspended sentence of 14 months. His partner received a fine for her part in the transgression.

If you want to read more about insects and hear a nice little insect focused song please follow the link to my article here.

Hetero Drink Marketing

The other major story hitting the local press recently relates to a gay bar in Stuttgart which goes under the name of ‘Boots Westernbar‘. They received a flyer from a local drinks supplier promoting their new offering called Waldmeister-Limonade. For those who are not familiar with herbs Waldmeister (Galium odoratum) is a herbacious plant often found in the forests of Europe. It is also known under the names of sweet woodruff or wild baby’s breath.  In parts of Europe it has been taken to ward off evil spirits (“dämonische Kräfte”). Apparently witches can be driven off using a cocktail of waldmeister with a mixture of other herbs. So clearly it is good stuff!

After placing an order for the new drink the proprieters of the Boots Westernbar were stunned when they received the reply from the Waldmeister-Limonade supplier which (rather roughly translated) said:

“Following some brief research we have become aware of the fact that the Boots Westernbar is a gay bar……in such a situation it would not be very appropriate for (our drink) to be available there“. Apparently they were trying to build up their brand and considered the right target group to be very important – the suppliers explained further: “One can slide very quickly down the wrong (market) track and then find one is associated with this (market)“.

It would appear that the marketeers behind the new drink considered their product very much a hetero drink and were keen to avoid it getting associated with gay customers for fear it might become known as the kind of stuff gays drink. Not surprisingly this created an uproar among the gay community in the German social media networks. There were calls for a boycott of this new drink’s company (which only started marketing the drink in February 2015).

The owners of the drink’s company quickly issued a formal apology through these same media, admitting that their over-enthusiasm for securing the right market niche had blinded them to important issues of humanity and dignity. They offered the gay bar 24 cans to make up for their error which was promptly refused – the bar had enough alternative sources and their business is booming.

Perhaps there is a lesson here for other start-ups to consider – ‘don’t place marketing above humanity and dignity‘.

For any members of the LGBT community who would like a little musical solace just click on my videos below for a bit of ‘diversity focused’ fun:

• Pretty Boy Sally – Gay cross dressing peasant boy’s romantic adventures with a eunuch
• Lycra Larry – A young sports boy with a passion for expressive clothing accidentally exposes himself in public,

….and of course the album – Songs of Fun, Deviants and Eunuchs by the TRANSFORMATES 變 is available from the following suppliers:

• iTunes – here
• Spotify – here
• Google play – here
• Amazon – here

Well after all that excitement I think it is time to take the dog for a walk while we can still see some snow on the Alps. Have a great weekend.

Chris Duggleby

PS. Don’t let any one tell you the Germans don’t have a sense of humour. I am hoping they will support my song ‘Leck Mich!‘ when I get it accepted for the Eurovision song contest. If you haven’t already heard my bilingual German Licking Song the link is here. Apparently it is very popular in Vienna.

This week I would like to share with you some uplifting experiences which have reconfirmed my faith in humanity. Let’s start with the girls jumping from the rocks near Cape Towns unofficial nudist beach (Sandy Bay).

These days we are constantly hearing that young people spend too much time either playing with their cellphones, watching TV and generally finding new ways to avoid physical activity and play a full roll in supporting the obesity epidemic. Old folks are often heard saying “when I was younger we used to get out more often and……….”.

Well last weekend I saw some young people having some ‘old fashioned’ fun – and I was impressed.

As I was enjoying breakfast on my balcony in Llandudno, Cape Town, I was surprised to hear screaming coming from the direction of the ocean. Thinking there might be some kind of emergency I quickly jumped up and reached for my phone. However on closer inspection I realised the screaming was coming from a group of girls who were standing on the rocks in front of my apartment – there was no emergency they we just having a good time.

The four girls were taking it in turns to jump off the largest of the rocks into the ocean. As you will see from the photos below these are pretty big rocks. Regular visitors to my blog will know that these same rocks are also quite popular with the local whale community (see my earlier article here). Waiting on a surfboard in the sea was a teenage boy whose ‘duty’ appeared to be to collect each girl after she had reached the water (which is pretty cold here) and help her back to the other side of the rock. The girl would then swim back to the rock, join her friends at the jump-off point and encourage the next girl to jump.

As each girl jumped the other three let out a very large scream which is what had attracted my attention in the first place. After all the girls had jumped it was the time for the boy to also have a go. Who said the youth of today are all couch potatoes? If you want to see some fit Cape Town girls just get yourself over to Llandudno (actually Sunset Rocks is the precise name of rocks they were jumping off).

I would like to leave you with some sunset pics that I took in the last couple of days. Hopefully these will keep me going until I return.

Enjoy the weekend ahead and let’s hope those uplifting experiences keep coming.

Chris Duggleby

If you are interested in reading my other health focused articles try the following

Torture In The Shower – Face and Body Soap Allergies – Main Suspect: Pears Transparent Soap

Poison in your Washing Machine: Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Laundry Detergents, Softeners, Conditioners and Whiteners

Is Alzheimer’s caused by the Gum Disease Bacterium P. Gingivalis – A Dementia Prevention/Treatment Breakthrough?

Toxic Chemicals in Sex Toys – 18 Vibrators, Cock Rings, Love Balls Tested – Only 3 Get All Clear

My T-shirt Made Me Sick – Textile Allergies – Sinusitis From Your Underwear

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

In this weeks action packed blog I will be sharing with you some of the exciting things that have taken place in the last couple of days at Sunset Rocks (Cape Town) including canoeing into the sunset, teenagers frolicking off the rocks and some stunning shots of the full moon setting over Africa. I will also introduce you to different ways English and German urine technologists are improving society by making good use of our wee-wee (yes peeing for society!). Finally this week I have completed another of my modern interpretations of Baroque masterpieces so prepare to be uplifted by Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah.

Let’s start with the week’s excitement on Sunset Rocks.

Regular visitors to my blog will remember last week’s pictures of the whales playing in the ocean around the rocks in front of my pad near Cape Town (and if you missed it the link is here).

Well these very same rocks that are frequented by huge mega whales that sometimes leap out of the water (see more of my pics here) provided the setting for a couple of canoeists this week who decided to pop-by on their way to Sandy Bay beach. Not only did they paddle straight past the whale’s playground but they also did it just as the sun was setting. This gave me an opportunity, with a rather strong lens, to capture the event from my balcony as I enjoyed my sundowner aperitif. The following pictures have been selected from my archive of this stunning event. Please click on any of the pics to see the high definition version.

Now for those frolicking teenagers

Clearly a canoe is not going to provide you with much protection if a mega whale decides to surface just at the moment you sail past. You will therefore appreciate that I was a little surprised to see a couple of teenagers paddling to the rocks on their surf boards. I was even more surprised when I saw what this boy and girl had in mind once they landed on the rock.

They took it in turns jumping off the largest of these huge rocks into the very cold Western Cape ocean (one jumped while the other paddled round to wait for their partner to splash into the sea). Only one of them had a wet suit! Once again all this took place as the sun was starting to set – proving once again that sunset is a magic time at Sunset Rocks. Here are a selection of my pics capturing this brave sporting enterprise – Oh to be young (and this fit)!

and the moon set?

I am sure you noticed that we had a full moon this week. If you are a photographer you will know that moon shots are not always the easiest. This is compounded by moon sets tending to be very early in the morning when some of us struggle to get out of bed (apologies to any of my African neighbours who spotted the naked Englishman clicking away on his balcony before the sun rose – dressing, and breakfast came later). So without further preamble here are some of the photos I took of the full moon as it set over Sunset Rocks this week (next time I must remember to get the tripod out!).

Moving on to what the scientists have been doing with wee-wee

Germans and Brits have very different approaches when it comes to using urine in ways that will benefit society. The German approach is being field tested in Hamburg’s red-light district (the Reeperbahn or St. Pauli district). Their innovation involves spraying tourists with urine if they decide to misbehave themselves in public. Rather than go into too much sordid detail in this blog I have prepared a special report on the development which you can read using the link here (but be warned – it includes a video of tourists misbehaving themselves in the red-light district).

The British approach is somewhat different.  Under research leader Ioannis Ieropoulos, students and staff at the University of Bristol together with Oxfam, have developed a new toilet which includes a microbial energy generating cell. This cell breaks down the urine which is in wee-wee and uses the energy released to generate electricity. This power can then be used for lighting or, for example, to recharge cell phones. Oxfam is interested because these special toilets (€830 per unit including construction) can be used in refugee camps to provide a constant source of electricity. According to the handout describing the invention ladies in some countries run the risk of being raped if they go to the toilet at night – by using these new toilets to power lighting their security should be improved.

At the moment the British invention is being tested under the urinal at a student bar in an English university. The activity of the power generating cells in converting wee-wee to useful energy can be seen in action using an on-site CCTV monitor – providing students with a visual incentive to drink more and pee for a good cause (German reading visitors can read an article about this here).

Two countries with two very different approaches to ‘recycling’ wee.

And now Hallelujah!

Hallelujah – Yes it is nearly the end of this week’s blog. Since arriving at my Cape Town pad about 10 days ago I have been busy working on another of my baroque musical interpretations. Regular visitors to the blog will already be familiar with my interpretations of Vivaldi and Bach (you can see the videos and read about the pieces using the link here). Well now it is the turn of Handel.

 

In addition to taking photographs of fun on the rocks and reviewing the latest scientific developments in urine technology I have been busy rearranging 21 pages from the original score of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah. This was necessary so that it could be performed as part of the TRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project. In my interpretation I have tried to preserve much of the original instrumentation (Oboes, Bassoons, Trumpets, Timpani and four string components) but have ‘reinterpreted’ the vocal parts. If you listen to the performance you will hear the different voices but you will not hear the words. I have used the voices as musical instruments and tried to create sounds which blend with the baroque instruments but are quite different to what we normally hear when we listen to this piece. The original notes are preserved – they are just presented with a different musical ‘texture’.

You can find out more about this piece of music and its history from my dedicated blog article here. As always I welcome any feedback or recommendations for further musical exploits. Here is the video:

You can find out more about the activities of the TRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project by visiting the dedicated website here. When I get a moment I will add a blog to that site with more information about my interpretation of the Hallelujah Chorus.

That’s it for this update. Have a great week ahead and remember if you do go jumping off rocks into the ocean – double check there are no large mammals swimming in the water before you leap.

Chris Duggleby

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

This morning I strolled onto my balcony in Cape Town’s pleasant coastal village of Llandudno to be confronted by lots of whales frolicking in the ocean. Normally most people say that November is a good time of year for whale spotting around Cape Town and although in the past this has certainly been the case today is February 28th! Before breakfast I spotted four groupings of whales, one in Sandy Bay which I noticed from my kitchen window as I prepared the day’s first coffee. The other three groups were playing around near Sunset Rocks which is right in front of my balcony.

When I first got up (about 6:00 a.m.) the whales were still quite some way out so I popped out to Hout Bay to get some provisions and by the time I returned they had moved closer to the shore. Rather than simply tell everybody about this incredible sight I decided to get the camera out and start shooting. The photographs below are a selection from the day’s shots – they were all taken around 10:00 a.m. before I trotted across the rocks to Sandy Bay to get some exercise. All are high definition so just click on them if you want to see more detail.

Now after all that nautical excitement let me introduce you to the second subject of this week’s blog. Many of us have over indulged somewhat over the festive period – and for those people higher up in the northern hemisphere the weather has not been conducive to going out and exercising. Regular visitors to this blog will know that I often share my latest musical ‘deviations’ on this website and recently some ladies asked me if I could produce a piece of music to motivate them into doing more exercise.

My response to this request was the song ‘Lycra Larry‘. It combines a nifty little rhythm (but not too strenuous) with a story of fashion, passion, pain and embarrassment – yes all the key elements of a good soap. So without further discourse let me introduce you to Lycra Larry – I hope it provides you with the appropriate degree of motivation.

 

If you would like to hear more of my fun songs the TRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project‘s website for similar little ditties can be found here. Lycra Larry will also be featured on the TRANSFORMATES 變 new Album: ‘Songs of Fun, Deviants and Eunuchs‘, which will be available from all good music suppliers shortly (with 12 lovely tracks)

If you would like to see some more pictures and info about whales please see my earlier blog articles here and here.

Oh… and by the way Sunset Rocks isn’t just good for spotting whales – the sunsets are not bad either (see below and also my blogs here and here). Have a great weekend.

Chris Duggleby

Oh – and also the moon sets!

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

Regular visitors to www.chrisduggleby.com will know that I do not shy away from dealing with important but sometimes controversial subjects especially where minorities and medical issues are concerned (like last week’s article on lice: here). This week is no exception as I take a closer look at a subject that has raised concerns for millions of people, namely Coprophagia. Anyone who has owned a bunny rabbit will be only too aware of how important the regular early morning gobbling up of ‘night time’ poo is to these cute little animals. Rabbits have bacteria in the rear part of their intestine which break down cellulose from plants. To use the nutrients released by this bacterial fermentation they must eat the faeces a second time (the products of the fermentation need to be absorbed through the wall of the stomach). In addition they can harness more vitamins by passing the food twice through the gut.

Yet when our favourite canine friend goes sniffing around foreign lumps of faeces in the park some of us get very worried. We chastise the doggy and tell him not to do it. Some owners even resort to physical abuse in an attempt to dissuade Rex from doing what comes naturally. Sniffing around is, for our canine friends, an important way of understanding their environment and telling them about what their friends are up to. In this respect it is a kind of canine Facebook.

Clearly we would get quite upset if someone hit us on the nose with a doggy lead every time we checked out what was happening to our friends on Facebook. Dogs have very sensitive noses and through their sense of smell they can discover a lot about the ‘person’ who delivered the faecal deposit. Of course this is a very different situation to that of the fly who likes to feed on poo and will use it as a nice warm, comfortable and nutritious environment for bringing up its babies.

Many domesticated animals have evolved to have a preference for eating faeces, including human faeces. For example in China the ‘pig toilet’ is a term used to describe the feeding of domesticated swine on a mixture of human faeces and garbage (and of course some pig faeces ends up in the food too). I remember when I was a teenager lying in my bed after our Burmese cat had just delivered kittens. The cat promptly placed the newborn kittens onto my stomach – clearly a nice warm environment – and then went back to its nest to eat the after birth. While they were little the cat also ate the kittens’ faeces. It is believed this habit evolved as a way of maximising the mother’s intake of nutrients and also of eliminating any tell-tale traces of the presence of the young ones to protect the nest from predators. In some parts of Africa the village dogs’ diet is also known to comprise of a large proportion of human faeces (25% has been quoted). It is believed that keeping the habitation free of faeces was an important role of canines in their early domestication by humans.

So if your dog likes poo it may be our fault!

For his first solo singing debut the canine celebrity RISKKO was keen to address a subject which is important to his fellow dogs. He believed singing about Coprophagia might provide some comfort to dogs and their owners who are concerned about their natural interest in faeces. Sometimes the tensions involved in a difficult subject can be reduced by talking about it (or in our case singing about it). So, with the full support of the TRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project, and featuring the vocals of RISKKO and his friend Sid, I produced the song: ‘I’m no Coprophagiac (I just like sniffin poo)‘. If you are struggling with a Coprophagia situation why not sit down with your canine friend and watch this video together – maybe join in with the lyrics (they’re included in the video). I am sure you will feel a lot better afterwards and perhaps it will help to engender a closer mutual understanding between you. Just click on the embedded video below.

Happy sniffing!

Chris Duggleby

If you found this article interesting you might also like to take a look at some of my other reviews. Just click on the titles below:

27th April 2014: Spring Arrives Bringing Familiar Cuckoo Songs – With Their Sinister Mafioso Undertones   

19th April 2014: German Police Catch Hedgehogs Testing Home Made Crash Helmets in Saarbrücken

18th March 2014: Germany and Finland Joint Investigation: New Case of Sexual Cannibalism Including Self-mutilation (Castration) During Intercourse.

7th March 2014: Invasive Alien Species (IAS) Discovered in France – Potential for European Ecosystem Disaster

4th March 2014: 30,000 Year old giant virus found in the Siberian Permafrost and ‘resurrected’ – it is still infectious!

2nd March 2014: Wolves are better at learning from their ‘pals’ than dogs.Through domestication dogs have lost a capability that is key to success in the wild.

9th March 2013: Insects getting hooked on psychoactive drugs – How plants take advantage of bees by giving them a caffeine buzz.

2nd January 2013: Horror Story: Scientists demonstrate that drivers aim to kill innocent creatures trying to cross the road! (Tortoise-o-cide). 

28th December 2012: If you want to suck on my worm you had better whistle my song! 

6th October 2012: Blue, green or chocolate brown honey: Bee Obesity (“Obeesity”), M&Ms and a potential marketing challenge to Nutella in our children’s lunchboxes.

18th August 2012: Polar Bear dies of Encephalitis after catching Herpes from a Zebra in Wuppertal Zoo near Düsseldorf.

18th August 2012: How Bavarians and Austrians use their middle finger – Fingerhakeln: a men-only sport (did Arnold Schwarzenegger start training this way?).

11th August 2012: Do you have killer rats/mice in your cellar? Over 2000 people attacked in Germany so far this year (Hantavirus Infections at record levels).

4th August 2012: Alpine Cows are Fined 100 Euros by Judge for Ringing their Cow-bells too Loud (Steiermark Kuhglockenstraffe: die Kirchenglocken zunächst?)

4th August 2012: Should Horses be Forced to Wear Diapers to Keep Berlin Visitors’ Shoes free of Poo? (Pferdeäpfel Verursachen viel Dampf um Brandenburger Tor).

14th July 2012: Animal Emergencies and Horror Stories: Buzzards Attack Joggers, Horse Nearly Drowns in Poo, Ducklings Down the Drain.

If you like this kind of news there are plenty more articles on my Alpine Press pages which you can find here. Why not add this site to your browser favourites or subscribe to get regular updates?

You can find more jolly tunes on my Music Page which is here.