ANNIVERSARY

When I started elementary school at the same time I started  learning music.   When I could already read the notes,  I began learning to play an instrument. In 1964 a children's choir was set up in the music school. I had a membership here until the end of my secondary school years. 

April, 1967

In the choir we sang many beautiful classical pieces.  We had a lot of fun and I still have friends from this period.

Our conductor was a young man, who  finished the music college at that time. He had the first workplace in  the  music  school. So we grew up together. He was the leader for 23 years. After that he got a possibility to work in Finland with a Finnish children’s choir. So he moved there with her family for some years.  His wife was a choir member, a talented pianist. They have four children, All of them are well-known musicians. Gergely plays the piano, Tibor is a cellist, Bence plays the bassoon and Bernadett plays the flute. Gergely received the Kossuth prize when he was 30 years old. He  was appointed a citizen of honor in his native town of Vác.

 The choir still exists  after several name changes nowadays.

In April, I got a  phone call, a celebration of the foundation  the choir was organised. It will be the  50th birthday.

I was glad that I was going to meet old friends. A little concert was organised where we sang the old pieces. 

The conductor - who is 75 years old today - is still active and also very kind. 

Many of  the old members have chosen professions of music or they are music teachers.  After the concert there was a little reception  in a good mood.  

I hope this will be repeated again and we don't need wait another 50 years, because we don't have so much time already.

,

15. March

The Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-1849


On March 15th we commemorate the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-1849. This is also a public holiday in Hungary.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many revolutions that year and closely
linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. The revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for independence from Habsburg rule.

Many of its leaders and participants, including Lajos Kossuth, István Széchenyi, Sándor Petőfi, József Bem, are among the most respected national figures in Hungarian history, and the anniversary of the revolution's outbreak, on March 15th , is one of Hungary's three national holidays.

The Revolution started on March 15th in 1848, with bloodless events in Pest and Buda, followed by various insurrections throughout the kingdom, which enabled Hungarian reformists to declare Hungary's new government and the first Prime Minister of Hungary, Lajos Batthyány.

The new government approved a sweeping reform package, referred to as the "April laws" (also referred to as the "March Laws"), which essentially created a democratic political system in Hungary. They also demanded that the Hungarian government receive and expend all taxes raised in Hungary, and have authority over Hungarian regiments in the Habsburg army.

In the summer of 1848, aware that they were on the path to civil war, the Hungarian government ministers attempted to gain Habsburg support against Conservative Josip Jelačić. By the end of August, the imperial government in Vienna officially ordered the Hungarian government in Pest to end plans for a Hungarian army. Jelačić then took military action against the Hungarian government without any official order. War between Austria and Hungary had officially begun.

Initially, the Hungarian forces (Honvédség) achieved several victories fighting with Austrian armies (at Pákozd in September 1848 and at Isaszeg in April 1849). The war led to the October Crisis in Vienna, when insurgents attacked a garrison on its way to Hungary to support Jelačić's forces.

After Vienna was recaptured by imperial forces, General Windischgrätz and 70,000 troops were sent to Hungary to crush the last challenge to the Austrian Empire. Julius Jacob von Haynau, the leader of the Austrian army who then became governor of Hungary for a few months of retribution, ordered the execution of 13 leaders of the Hungarian army in Arad and the Prime Minister Batthyány in Pest.


National Song

On your feet now, Hungary calls you!
Now is the moment, nothing stalls you,
Shall we be slaves or men set free
That is the question, answer me!
By all the gods of Hungary
We hereby swear,
That we the yoke of slavery
No more shall wear.

Slaves we have been to this hour,
Our forefathers who fell from power
Fell free and lived as free men will,
On land that was their own to till,
By all the gods of Hungary
We hereby swear,
That we the yoke of slavery
No more shall wear.

Whoever now his life begrudges
Deserves his death with thieves and drudges,
For setting his own worthless hide
Above his country’s need and pride.
By all the gods of Hungary
We hereby swear,
That we the yoke of slavery
No more shall wear.

The sword shines brighter than the fetters
It is the finery of our betters,
Of slaves and fetters we grow bored.
Leap to my side, ancestral sword.
By all the gods of Hungary
We hereby swear,
That we the yoke of slavery
No more shall wear.

Magyars, once more our name and story
Shall match our ancestors’ in glory
The centuries of shame and hurt
Can now be washed away like dirt.
By all the gods of Hungary
We hereby swear,
That we the yoke of slavery
No more shall wear.

And wheresoever we may perish
Grandchildren those graves shall cherish
Singing our praises in their prayers
To thank us that our names are theirs.
By all the gods of Hungary
We hereby swear,
That we the yoke of slavery
No more shall wear.

50ème anniversaire.

Le cèlèbre guerrier gaulois fête son 50ème anniversaire. De nombreux événements et la sortie d'un nouvel album à la fin du mois accompagnent ce jubilé.
Créé conjointement par René Goscinny



et Albert Uderzo,



Asterix est apparu pour la première fois dans le magazine Pilote le 29 octobre 1959. Il y a donc tout juste 50 ans.
Depuis sa création, 325 millions d'albums mettant en scène Asterix ont été vendus dans le monde en 107 langues.
L'ouvrage ne ne devrait pas être le dernier. A 82 ans le dessinateur Uderzo a cédé au groupe „Hachette livre” le droit de poursuivre la série après sa disparition. Il a confié la relève a trois dessinateurs de son studio qui travaillent avec lui plus de 25 ans.

Today / Aujourd'hui

...is the zoo's day .The Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, which was established in 1866, is one of the oldest zoos of the world.Enjoying a parkland setting, Budapest Zoo is one of the city's leading tourist attractions and is particularly popular with families holidaying in this part of Hungary. The entrance to the zoo is close to Heroes Square and is hard to miss, consisting of a tall gateway, flanked either side by giant stone elephants. In total some 2,000 animals live in themed enclosures, which include a large African Savannah, complete with giraffes, elephants and rhinos. This is actually one of the world's oldest zoos and was first established in the 1860s, as a private collection of animals. Budapest Zoo has become famous for its rather eye-catching Elephant House, which is close to the Palm Tree House and features oriental-style domes covered in turquoise Zsolnay ceramic tiles.



...est le jour du zoo. Le zoo a ouvert en 1866, puis a fait faillite, et a été racheté et refait entièrement en 1912, dans un style Art nouveau splendide. L’entrée, ornée de sculptures de deux éléphants, est à ne pas manquer ! A l’intérieur, la visite est délicieuse et particulièrement intéressante pour les enfants. La grande surprise reste l’interactivité du zoo. Dans la serre, par exemple, on déambule parmi les singes, oiseaux tropicaux ou chauves-souris, tous en liberté. Toujours dans la grande serre, on nous invite à pénétrer dans la maison des serpents, muni de quelques conseils au préalable (ne pas faire de gestes brusques, etc.). Ils sont tous en liberté, ils sont tous à caresser... Plus loin, les enfants peuvent aller nourrir les moutons et les biquettes du zoo, enfermés dans un petit enclos. Pour ce qui est des lions, des tigres, des ours polaires et autres, on se contentera de les regarder nous regarder, derrière des vitres qui ont remplacé le grillage, dans la partie basse des enclos. Les grandes traces de pattes sur ces vitres laissent supposer que les félins doivent parfois s’amuser à faire peur aux voyeurs ou piquer des colères très spectaculaires... Un remarquable zoo en tout cas par la beauté de ses bâtiments et l’intelligence de sa conception.