Gourcy is reported to be a nice little village, just a bit beyond Ouahigouya. I would be perfectly happy to rely on such second hand reports as come my way, but fate has declared that I am going to spend this weekend discovering the attractions of Gourcy. Well, it was actually JP that declared it. “We’re going to a good-bye party for Yann” was the first thing he said. A statement I had no problems with. Yann has worked on occasion with JP over the years and (more importantly)he sang bass in our choral society for the last three years. So that was fine. But when he added “It’s in Gourcy”, my heart did sink a little, as I would have preferred a location a bit closer. It’s two hours to drive there. We’ll have to stay the night and then come back on Sunday, as night driving is SO dangerous here.
I’m sure it will turn out to be lots of fun, if I can avoid doing anything crazy like, say, accidentally locking myself in a hut and being trapped for hours. I have a history of travel mishaps and do best in my home territory.

Anyway, I was sitting there, wrapping my mind around how we would organise the kids while we were gone and what the heck I would wear, when JP suggested that I call Yann and propose that he and I sing together at the party. Now, JP never says much about my singing, so I was rather pleased that he actually wants me to sing in front of his colleagues. And Yann is a fabulous singer who loves performing, so I gave him a call. He was really pleased with the idea and it seemed manageable, despite the fact that we only had one week to prepare.
So, the party is tomorrow night. We’ve had two rehearsals and all is going pretty well. We’re getting together again tonight for last-minute polishing.
We’re singing Malaika (in Swahili), Love’s Old Sweet Song and The Banana Boat Song (Yann digs singing “day-oh”).
Of course, with a performance in the mix, the question of “What to wear?” has taken on new urgency!