High Tension Wires

How did you and your mother enjoy the Lunch Hour Concert yesterday? asked Pliny the Elder.

She didn't turn up, I said. She had a flat battery.

Your mother? asked Pliny, with a comical expression.

Her car, I replied. She'd tried to call me but I had my phone switched off.

Failure all round, said Pliny. But I suppose you went on your own?

I did. All on my own. I bought some sushi and ate it under a crepe myrtle tree outside the hall. It was the best sushi ever but I gobbled it down really fast, because there were hordes of people pouring in.

What a shame, said Pliny. What kind of sushi was it?

Californian, I replied, the one with the seaweed on the inside and the rice on the outside, rolled in sesame seeds.

What is the idea behind that? asked Pliny.

Well, some people don't like the seaweed very much.

But you said the seaweed was inside.

Yes it is. Maybe they just don't like the look of the seaweed, or find it daunting, if they have a funny bite. Anyway, don't you want to know about the concert?

I do. What was it?

High Tension Wires, played by the Australian String Quartet. It was good, rhythmic, weird and quirky. I think it was probably even meant to be funny. The players looked very serious, but that may have been because the viola player was about 9 months pregnant and they weren't sure they would be able to finish.

Heavens! High Tension indeed! So, you think the music was meant to be about parturition?

I suppose so, but it made me think of chicken feet, and sushi.