Foggy London Town

 A few times I have mentioned my aspiration to go to "something" at least once a month, a concert I'm not playing in, an exhibition, a play ~ not anything but definitely something! Well, today I did do my something, I went to the Monet in London exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery. I am normally very fond of the Impressionists and of Monet in particular so I was looking forward to this exhibition as well as a trip up to "Town"! It was my first time at the Courtauld Gallery, and they clearly have some wonderful works in a very impressive setting. Indeed I gather that this wing of Somerset House used to host the RA before they moved to Burlington House. At some point I fully intend to go back and take a proper look at the permanent collection.

Waterloo Bridge, Gray Weather

The actual exhibition was based on plans made by Monet himself to exhibit his London paintings in London, including is series on Waterloo Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Charing Cross Bridge. It was fascinating seeing these paintings together so close to where they were painted, side by side, the different light, the different effects of the fog, and the differing times of day, yet I still found the whole thing vaguely disconcerting. Monet was fascinated by the London weather ~ what we would call bad weather! Mostly the fogs that would blur views, filter and colour the light and mute the sunlight.

Parliament, Sunlight in the Fog

Now, this is my city, and I am just about old enough to remember the smogs ~ they were blinding, smelly and we now know a serious health hazard, they were caused by the coal burning industries (power stations, gas works, mills etc.) featured in so many of these paintings, along with all the coal fires heating all the homes and offices in what was at the time the World's most populous city. Monet is even quoted as saying that he only liked London in the winter because of the fog! Looking back I can understand that, a bit! Back in the 1960s I remember all the buildings and monuments in London as being black, the Houses of Parliament were black, Nelson's Column was black, even Whitehall was black. London was black! No wonder it didn't attract the artist when all he could see was black.

Walking from The Strand to Piccadilly today I was very conscious of all the colours the white Portland Stone, the aged brown brick of St James Palace, the warm yellow sandstone, red brick and yellow stucco, the contrasting black and white of Trafalgar Square. All this is now visible because all of the coal soot and stains have by now been cleaned off. Somerset House itself now rejoices in it's almost baroque splendour and decoration ~ this is my City, this is the London I love! Maybe it is the reminder of what London used to be, the grubby, dirty, foggy, industrial city that my Grandfather knew and my father grew up in that has left me feel uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong I recommend a visit, if you can get a ticket, my reaction may not have been the one intended by the artist or the curator, but it was definitely a reaction! I wonder if all my fellow visitors who viewed it all through the lens of their camera phone can say the same!

New Year new stuff?

Yesterday I wrote about some of the problems I had last year (2024) with my health that impacted my ability to play music, I should have said that I also played in some great concerts with the Croydon Symphonic Band, and the London Gay Symphony Orchestra, as well as being a regular guest with a few others, I enjoyed conducting the Phoenix Concert Band and Croydon Brass and although I have now stood down as MD of Croydon Brass I am looking forward to new challenges to come!

But, my life isn't just music (although looking at my diary sometimes you wouldn't believe that!) At the end of only my second full season of motor sport I am once again picking up the first in class award for the All Circuit Sprint Championship, and am looking forward to another season. After much thought and discussion we have decided to stay with our existing car, it may not be very competitive, but we do know our way around it, and hopefully can still extract a bit more performance from it. ~ Same car but I think we may need some new tyres!

Since retiring in September I have been slowly disposing of many of my tools, lawn mowers, strimmer's, chain saw, pressure washers etc. and now I no longer have much of these it has dawned on my that I no longer need the car that I specifically bought to carry them around in. My Honda is inoffensive, it is comfortable, reliable, has sufficient performance and surprisingly good performance for an SUV, ~ I just find little to love or get excited about ~ and sub 20 mpg is no fun whatsoever!

I am thinking new year, new car. I have always fancied a sports car but for one reason or another I have never been able to have one, so now I am once again thinking "If not now, then when" so I am looking around for an enjoyable sports car that I can carry a tuba in, there aren't many options, but I'm hoping to find something that I can take on a tour, use as my everyday car, and maybe use for a bit of motorsport as well. Like they say "Watch this space!"

As I'm actually writing this on the 31st, the last day of last year I have only to wish you all a very Happy New Year, may it bring you all you wish for.

Good bye to all that ~ 2024

2024 has been a bit of a mixed year for me, playing wise although I have enjoyed a couple of new opportunities, I have been restricted in my playing by a series of relatively minor health issues. Way back in January I had just about recovered from a dose of Covid, But was suffering with a very lose front tooth, not only was this extremely uncomfortable it made playing extremely difficult. Over January and February I had several visits to the dentist and eventually ended up with the tooth being extracted and replaced with a plate! The false tooth looked fine, and after a while I sort of got used to eating with it, although I can't say that I was happy with it, I just, sort of, got used to it. What I couldn't get used to was playing with it! I tried playing without it but very quickly realised that a lot of teeth aren't too important for playing but the front ones definitely are essential. Trying to play with the plate in sucked a lot of the joy out of it, I found that it impacted my articulation (expected) intonation (not so much) and power (most surprising!) I have long been used to the idea that I can modify the tone by changing the shape of the inside of my mouth, but this was extreme!

After a few months I was able to see an implant specialist, by that point I was reconciled to playing a lot of money, and even having to take time away from playing simply in order to have some sort of future as a brass player. I soon discovered that my specialist is a trombone player and instantly understood my problems, even better he was able to offer a potential solution. I had been told before that bridge work probably wasn't an option, now I was told it was, this would mean that I would have some "gubbins" in my mouth, but a lot less than the plate, it would cost a lot less than the expected implant, and perhaps more important it would not mean taking time off playing.

I still had to work on my embouchure, and articulation took a bit of getting used to, but my tome, my power and my intonation were back. I had just about got back into practise when I went to a week long Summer school and came away with tendonitis. Once again I had to take time off from playing while my right hand and wrist recovered, at least I had some exercises to do to speed my recovery, once again I had to get back into practise, and then just in time for Christmas I fell down some stairs and brock a rib! All in all I think I was in decent playing form for less than half the year, maybe as much as a third, but it was hard work. Now I'm on another enforced break and will have an uphill journey getting my chops back in time for my first gig of the year in January!

I'm looking forward to 2025 being full of music, with lots of playing, lots of conducting, some new arrangements, and hopefully some new compositions ~ once again I also plan to go to more concerts I'm not playing in.

A very Betty Christmas

Betty was not as omnipresent in the year's Advent Calendar as in some previous years, partly because I was a little worried about repeating myself too much, but also because most of my Betty pictures are stored on my laptop, and it ended up that a lot, I mean A LOT, of my posts ended up being created on my phone or my table (I know, first world problems!).

I definitely have a bit of "a thing" for Betty Boop, I suspect it is that in my view she is a bit like cream cake (for those of us of a certain age in the UK) in as much as she a she is  "Naughty but nice". for all the "Do boop a do" there is something about her that retains a level of innocence amongst the sexiness. 

There is certainly an idea that she never goes too far, sure there are the short skirts and all that, but there is an obvious limit; and limits are important, I remember back in my cross dressing day talking to my then teenage daughter about just how high a hem line was acceptable, and I came up with the fingertip length limit. i.e. if the hemline was higher than her fingertips holding her arms straight down then it was too short, I think we all agreed that this was reasonable, then my wife looked at me and asked if I would stick to the same limit ~ I rather had to agree, and have stuck to that ever since. I suspect that Betty sometimes might be just above that.

Let's be honest this post isn't really about anything I have to say, the words are not important it is just an opportunity for some gratuitous pictures of Betty!

So if you felt short changed before I hope I have now made up for it!

Advent Calendar XXV

 

Happy Christmas 

And what are you doing reading a blog on Christmas Day?

Advent Calendar XXIV

 

It's Christmas eve, in many places I know this is in many ways the bigger day than Christmas day itself. The Germanic ideal of Christmas says that there should be snow, a log fire, a tree and lots of warming treats. Here in Malta we have none of those, as Pooh might have said here it is a blustery day!

It has been far too windy to follow our original plan and visit the old capital of Mdina, it is built on the highest point of the Island, and I fear we might have been blown away.

Being Christmas Eve we wanted to do more than sit in the hotel lobby playing Uno, so we braved the elements and had an excursion into Valletta. A visit to St. John's co-cathedral never disappoints and it was wonderful to be able to introduce somebody who'd never been here before to this baroque masterpiece. As you walk in through the rather austere entrance the sheer shock and awe of the interior hits you. 

I know of nowhere else that treads the boundary between magnificence and gaudy quite so delicately. I don't think there is a single surface that is not decorated, gold leaf is everywhere, polished marble abounds, paintings and sculptures are everywhere. Of course the major art work that brings people is the Caravaggio "Beheading of St. John the Baptist" but there is so much more that is magnificent, I often feel that the "Baptism of Christ" by Melchiorre Cafa is under rated, and maybe if it were anywhere else might get more attention. The only thing missing is stained glass. The only windows are small and set high, a reminder that this was also built as a defensive position.

As Christmas eve draws towards it's close it means tomorrow is Christmas, it also means that my Advent calendar only has one more post to go, it has been fun writing every day, it has of course also been a challenge, but I hope it has been worth it.

Advent Calendar XXIIV

We have settled in nicely now, the view from our room is pretty spectacular, but last night and this morning the wind was whistling round and we now have white horses on the sea ~ it's actually all rather wonderful!

At one point yesterday we were talking about "feeling like Christmas" and I realised that now coming to Malta at this time of year does feel to me "like Christmas". Going to an exhibition of crib scenes yesterday evening only helped. Here in Malta there is a great tradition of these crib scenes, they are major works of art and craft, whole landscapes, landscapes influenced by the Maltese countryside, buildings and culture. They can be truly wonderful, and most towns will have an exhibition of a few.

Not quite on the same scale as others, but even in our hotel room I think we are now ready!

Advent Calendar XXII

Today is the forth Sunday in Advent so it's time to light the forth candle on our advent crown. The fourth candle of Advent represents Love, the ultimate love of God that He might send His only Son for us. Called the “Angel's Candle,” the fourth candle of Advent is lit the Sunday before Christmas, and it is the color purple, leading us to eagerly await the new Kingdom of God on earth.

Our Advent crowns can take many forms, but the common factors are the five candles, one for each of the four Sundays and the fifth for Christmas day. The first candle for hope, the hope that Christ brings to the World at Christmas and fulfills at Easter. The second candle is for the faith that gives us strength, and the third for joy, then on Christmas day itself we light the fifth, white candle which represents Christ himself, the light of the World.

Unless you were brought up in a Church going family in UK there is a fair chance that your first introduction to an Advent Crown would have been on Blue Peter, each year they would make a crown out of wire coat hangers and tinsel, and light a candle each of the four weeks before Christmas, but I can't remember them ever explaining why, or what the significance was ~ maybe that's just a failure of my memory, that happens at my age!

Advent Calendar XXI

 

Friday night and Saturday morning!

I must learn to look up more often!

Last night was an odd one, Croydon Brass played at a community Christmas Concert, we played a short set of four pieces, and then at the end we accompanied the "mass choirs" in a rendition of Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas ~ three out of the five pieces we played were my arrangements. In many ways the band played as well as I've heard them, and there was a tremendous atmosphere in the hall.

I had quite a few friends in the audience and some of the other groups, I get the definite impression that we did do as well as I thought! It was very gratifying to play so much, and finish with, my own arrangements in what I expect to be my final performance with Croydon Brass as MD. I am certainly very happy to have gone out with a bang, rather than a whimper. I was also very touched that the band bought me some flowers and a bottle to say thank you for the time I have been with them.

It was quite late when I got home but I was still buzzing, and hadn't eaten since a late brunch, by the time I had cooked myself something I was seriously considering not going to bed at all, but by about 2:30 I was beginning to drop off, so I called it a day and went to bed.  Which means I had about three hours sleep last night, as my taxi was scheduled for 05:45 to get me to the airport in time for a 10:30 flight. I am now enjoying a cold Cisk looking out over St Paul's Bay

Advent Calendar XX

 

Tomorrow I fly off to warmer climes for a few days, I don't know why but when ever I go away it seems to come as a surprise to me and I'm never prepared. This time I have actually thought about what I will want to wear while I'm away, and I've tried to make sure that it is all clean! That for me is a major achievement! On the other hand I find that I still have a well stocked fridge and just generally too much food. I hate waste, but at the same time there is no way I can eat all of what I have before leaving at silly O'clock tomorrow morning. I know I can put the bread in the freezer, the milk will have to go but the cheese should be OK until I get home. My next job is to try to find out if I can freeze eggs (not mine! unfertilised hens eggs), I've already frozen some home made soup and some sausages and had an interesting breakfast of mixed fried mushrooms, spring onions and bacon with toast.

After that the next challenge will be trying to get everything in my case, I know I will still forget something but I do want to take what I have remembered I want. As this holiday is a little different to others we have taken in Malta (we are staying in an hotel rather than self catering) I suspect I will want more outfits per day and definitely a couple more presentable outfits. I usually only take one nice dress as we will go out for a nice dinner at our favourite restaurant at least once - but this time I anticipate a few more "posh nosh" meals. I also suspect this may hit the old credit card a little harder. Then I will water my plants! Last time I went away I forgot and spent too much of my time away worrying about my plants, especially the asparagus fern, of course they were all OK, but I don't want to put myself through that again.

Then, and only then will I allow myself to start thinking about tonight's concert. It is a bit of a strange one in so many ways, we (Croydon Brass) are only one of a few "Community Groups" performing', we start the second half, and provide the main musical backbone of the communal finale. That musical finale is Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas" I have had to create an arrangement of this just for tonight, my starting point was a very poorly arranged Brass Quintet that would actually be impossible to play. I have spent so much time on this that I now plan to expand it into a full band arrangement, hopefully ready for next Christmas!