Josef Kůželka

“Many Czechs could play instruments – teacher Mr Hlaváček played the violin and Mrs Marešová played the accordion and taught us a lot – those who wanted to play. Those who did not did not. Many people played instruments; some went to school. I went to school to Uncle Strnad who taught at Česká beseda. He had young folks who would go learning to play every day, so I went too. My dad played the accordion and he used to say: ‘A Czech is not a Czech unless they can play something.’”

“Then we’d dance with a broom. That was an interesting custom. If a boy was left without a girl to dance with, he would dance with the broom. Then he would come up to a dancing couple and hit the broom between the two of them, take the girl and give her dancer the broom. If you’re not quick, you will stay alone with the broom. When a couple is hit with the broom, they have to swap, so if you’re clumsy you never get a girl and are left with a broom instead.”