At Their Feet

Pliny and her mum went to a Lunch Hour Concert yesterday. They had spent so long having lunch that the only place they could get two seats together was on the front row. The front row is good for some things though. You get a direct and close up view of the performers' legs and feet.

The Adelaide Chamber Legs and Feet played two beautiful and seasonally appropriate pieces, the first being the Serenade for Strings by Elgar and the second being the Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky. Legs and Feet, understandably, like to have two of everything.

Elgar's Serenade was about a river. The Legs and Feet dipped their toes in and played. All in all there were thirty four Legs, and thirty four Feet. The Feet were a variety of ladies' and gentlemen's Feet. The ladies' Feet were clad in flat black shoes, flat glittery shoes, or high heeled gold strappy sandals. Between the sole of the sandal and the big toe of the right Foot of the first violin, a tiny hair floated, lyrically. The gentlemen's Feet sustained heavy black shoes of varying degrees of pointedness. All the feet swayed serenely as Elgar's river flowed to its lilting conclusion.

Tchaikovsky's Serenade was a slow introduction to trousers. What infinite variety is to be found in human trousers! Even when they are all of necessity black. There were rhythmic and energetic trousers of every possible length, up to and including the length at which they may no longer be called trousers, but lightly skipping Capri pants. At the other end of the scale were trousers that were so long and muted that the shoes were hardly visible. During the Serenade, the tiny hair which had been under the toe of the first violin, disappeared and reappeared on the trousers of the second violin, in a wistful mood.

I have not yet mentioned the skirts, at least one of which was very Russian in character. With skirts, in the spring, come visible Legs. These were very white and exhibited a great purity of tone.

When it was over the Legs and Feet got a standing ovation from a man in a red jumper, and a decent clap from Pliny and her mum. It was good sitting on the front row, said Pliny's mum. I loved seeing the face of the cellist, it was so expressive.

Face? wondered Pliny.