Callie Update, next instalment

En route for Mulhouse

The short drive from Luxeuil-les-Bains to Mulhouse is spectacular, I may well be looking for an excuse to go back and drive it again, only without having to resort to ear plugs! The French National Motor Museum is well worth a visit for any petrol head, or indeed anyone interested in beautiful things and design in general. The collection of Bugattis is very special, but there are plenty of other interesting cars as well. I certainly had no problem staying interested for the major part of a day.

I parked up as close to the main entrance as possible, and got a gratifying amount of attention, even with Callie in somewhat less than prime condition. Although ear shatteringly loud inside no pedestrians seemed to care. I have noticed that where ever I go in Callie people smile. When I have had other classic cars they have got attention but never so many smiles.

The museum is very largely still based on the Schlumpf collection so is mostly Bugattis, Bugattis, and more Bugattis ~ I'm not complaining!

This is my second visit, the last one must have been about 1990 with my Brother, at that point they were celebrating the Royale and had all the Royales still around on display, I failed to be disappointed by only one this time!

I left the museum, tired but content, and went off to find my hotel, after finding a parking spot and unloading my luggage, I found a lovely bar and enjoyed a few nice cold local brews! 

Although Bugattis are clearly the stars of the day I can't leave without at least one photo of a bright yellow MGB GT, and one that mercifully behaved herself all day

Callie update

 I'm very aware that I've not really mentioned my adventures with Callie, the last post I left you with a list of jobs I had done and the promise of a fairly major journey in the pipeline. Well, the very next day she went into my usual garage for her MOT, all was going fine until the brake test, not only did she fail this, but was totally immobilised in the test bay! Going for the emergency stop test the brake servo split in half, leaving no braking at all! Fortunately I have two cars so I could drive across London to pick up a new servo, which they could then fit, complete the test and free up the testing bay. All could now go ahead for my trip to the French National Motor Museum in Mulhouse.

Waiting for the ferry at Dover

The first day went well, the drive down to Dover was pretty boring, but the crossing was quite nice and I picked up a duty free bottle of Ballantine's! I got away from Calais quite briskly but avoided the "payage" sections of Motorway, and had a quiet night. The next morning I quickly discovered that the overdrive had decided to stop working, I had a quick look under the bonnet for a lose wire or blown fuse but couldn't see anything. As the main purpose of overdrive is to make high speed cruising more relaxed I decided that I would just carry on, but avoid the motorways and major dual carriageways.

This meant I was driving on much more entertaining roads, and I will admit to enjoying the experience of driving an old fashioned GT on some great driving roads ~ until I found myself enjoying the experience a bit too much, and came upon a very unlevel "level crossing", I'm pretty sure I made air but I definitely grounded out, a quick check didn't show any obvious damage, until about fifty mile later when the exhaust broke in half. I still had one box left attached to the car, so I put the other half in the back and carried on!

Route Departmental 66

The lack of exhaust didn't seem to effect the performance, or upset other road users so I just picked up some ear plugs and carried on, I thought I could sort this out when I got home. That night I stayed in Luxeuil-les-Bains in Lorraine after some more fantastic driving roads through the Vosges. By the time I got to my Hotel I was in need of some rest, some food and a glass of wine - not necessarily in that order! ~ and yes I did have quiche for dinner!

Proms

 After not going to more than three Proms in the last twenty years I have now attended three within a week. The BBC Promenade Concerts are still the premier festival of "Classical" music in the World, and of course it is on my doorstep! Even now I probably wouldn't have stirred myself if a very generous friend had not gifted me some tickets when she found she couldn't make a trip half way round the World just at the moment.

The first I went to was the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, with an interesting and entertaining programme,  I thoroughly enjoy all three pieces, the first two (Shostakovitch suite for Variety Orchestra and the Ravel Piano Concerto for left hand) I knew, indeed I have played them relatively recently, the Walton first Symphony was new to me, it is a monumental piece with some fantastic playing, I suspect that this is a symphony that you need to hear live to get the full impact.

BBC Symphony Orchestra

The second was this Wednesday and was billed as a French Night, I will confess I had never even heard of Joseph Bologne never mind know his music. It was a brilliant performance with lots of energy and and French joie de vivre. The third was last night with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. There were two pieces that were new to me, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed, slightly against my expectations in the case of the Davis (Anthony Davis, Tales(tails) of the Signifying Monkey). The Mendelssohn had a tremendous verve and energy. On the other hand I remain to be convinced that Richard Strauss had a sense of humour!

It is not my intention to review these concerts, but I do have a few observations.

• The soloists had great affinity with the music, and performed with such enthusiasm and energy that the audience truly "bought in to" their performances.
• Each orchestra had a different layout, the most obvious thing being having the basses in different places. I'm not sure how much difference this makes to the audience as I was sat in different places, but I do know that when playing I like to be in touch with the basses as we are often playing the same line.
• Each night was a very different audience, the first applauded enthusiastically in between movements, and even cheered on occasion, the other two nights they were more restrained, but were still rewarded with jewel like encores.
• Why do British tuba players in British orchestra insist on using the upright 3+1 Besson Sovereign EEb (or a clone thereof) as their go to instrument when there are so many better (in my opinion) options? The Sovereign can do pretty much anything, but that does mean that it should be used to do everything

I have been reminded how much I enjoy the Proms, and how the Royal Albert Hall is actually the second easiest concert hall for me to get to (I can walk to the Fairfield Hall in Croydon), I have booked tickets for more concerts in this years festival, and will certainly be going to more next year.

All Change

 The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed a new head line, while I was rather fond of my old boast of being "The World's Leading Bass Trombone and Tuba playing Transgender Christian Gardener", it felt like time to make a change. While it did reflect my opinion that being trans is quite possibly the least interesting thing about me, it is no longer quite accurate. Now I am retired I felt I needed something that more closely reflects how I now think of myself. The last six months I have been pretty much totally immersed in music (and cars of course). 

Leroy Anderson,
the doyen of light music composition

The other week I had one of my latest compositions performed, a solo work for tuba and concert band ~ as a first performance I was very pleased, it is a very special moment when I hear something I have written performed by real people on real instruments! The solo line is exactly as I intended and I am very happy with it ~ I might make a couple of small modifications following suggestions from our soloist, but nothing major. The band accompaniment on the other hand did have a couple of moments that just didn't work, I think I need to simplify them! 

The late great Leroy Anderson was renowned for the care he took in score preparation prior to publication. During rehearsal each of pieces would have small adjustments made before being performed or recorded, only after this process would all the changes and markings incorporated into the score and parts before publication. If that's good enough for Leroy Anderson than it's good enough for me!

At the weekend I am conducting a band weekend away with the marvellous Phoenix Concert Band, at some point during the weekend we will be trying another new work I have composed, this is a much simpler, and shorter piece, which I hope that I will then be in a position to publish next week. It will be nice to start getting some more original work "out there" so far of the fifteen pieces I have published only three are original works and two of those are for quartets!

Meet Callie

On arrival

So far I have spent most of this year a little obsessed with my "new" car. Callie arrived in my life back in January, like most cars over 40 years old she did not have an MOT, but I was assured that she ran and stopped and went round corners. I knew she had not been on the road for a couple of years but had been driven up and down a drive so all should be OK, or thereabouts.

My initial assessment was that everything was there but needed refreshing, the only real problem was that the wipers didn't work. The switch was OK but wiring was a bit of a mess and I assumed this was the problem, oh if only it had been that simple. A total swine of a job but in the end I had to fit a new motor and a new wheel box ~ but now I could legally drive her on the road. So far I have

• Full Service with new engine oil and filter, new plugs, points & condenser.
• New fuel filter
• New gearbox oil
• New Horns
• refreshed reversing lights
• Fitted sound deadening (carpet underlay)
• Cleaned out and adjusted carburettors
• Adjusted rear brakes
• Cleaned overspray off windows
• New mirrors (inside and out)
• New heater control valve
• Flush and replace coolant
• New hoses, thermostat and housing
• Tighten up steering wheel mounting
• Replace bonnet catch spring
• New clock and cigar lighter unit (for phone charging)

Visiting friends

I am currently engaged in trying to replace the front engine mounts before she goes in for an MOT tomorrow, and then a trip to France on Sunday ~ only four days from now, when I plan a round trip of around 1,200 miles.

My rational in buying an MGB GT was that there are loads of them around so there's no need to be too precious, I want a useable car not a show pony! Spares are readily available, indeed, you can buy everything needed to build a complete new car, and, I thought it would be reasonably easy to work on. Well two out of three isn't too bad, but just about every job I have done so far is way more difficult than it should have been, too much is virtually inaccessible, things are at stupid angles and often there isn't space to use the correct tool. But all in all I am having fun with it.

Nellie clarinet quartet

This is something a bit different for me, I don't play woodwind and struggle to understand the technicalities of playing them, but I love the sound, and marvel at the range they can achieve. This quartet is a bit of fun, I was originally asked to arrange this piece for recorders, then I made an adaption for trombones as a little bit of fun for a band weekend away. But of the various versions this is the one I am most happy with and the one I have now published. It is available here to download from Sheet Music Direct

Interestingly when I checked up on the history of the piece I found that it was written in 1956 by Ralph Butler and Peter Hart, but of more interest to me is that the first recording was by Mandy Miller, and the orchestrion was by RON GOODWIN! not my father ~ but the other Ron Goodwin

THE MANDALORIAN

I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Mandolorian, I even subscribed to Disney for a while just so I could watch it. My attention was first brought to this series by a friend at my Brass Band who asked me to arrange the main theme for the band. After listening to it a few times I just couldn't see how I could voice the opening with brass, so I declined. They went ahead a bought a commercially available arrangement, only to find it was arranged for Fanfare Band not a Brass Band ~ long story short I initially agreed to transcribe it for Brass Band but as I worked through it I found myself more and more dissatisfied with what had been done ~ like the whole of the opening had been ignored ~ so I ended up arranging the whole thing from scratch myself. I am very happy with the outcome and it has been very popular with the band and audiences.

I have now published versions for both Brass Band and Concert Band they do offer a bit of challenge with some odd rhythms and unconventional harmony, but I think it is well worth making the effort to bring them into the repertoire.

The Brass Band version Here, from Music Direct for just £19:99

The Concert Band version Here, from Music Direct for just £39:99

New Year, New Car

"Jade" my last Singer at the Centenary Rally

I mentioned here that I was contemplating purchasing a new car, well maybe not a NEW car but at any rate a different car. I have actually never owned a new car, I was very lucky when I was younger to often drive my father's cars, and as he worked for Rootes Group and then Chrysler a major car manufacturer he always had new cars, sometimes as many as three in a year! In consequence I have always had a great affection for the cars of the Rootes Group, Hillman, Humber Sunbeam and Singer, I have owned several Hillmans, three Singers, a couple of Humbers (and quite a few Commer/Dodge vans) but never a Sunbeam. 

When I started thinking about buying a classic, and more specifically a sports car my mind naturally turned to Sunbeams, I could quite fancy an Alpine or a fastback Rapier, but cost and practicality reared it's ugly head, one way or another excluding both of these. So I have made a decision, whether it is a wise one or not remains to be seen, but in the end I decided on an MGB GT. Strangely it almost felt like a betrayal buying a Leyland car, the only one I have had before was quite horrible, a 25 almost without any redeeming features - the best thing I can say about that car was that it was a nice colour!

I am also being a bit reckless and am keeping my boring Honda, while I hope to drive the MG regularly for some things it is simply not practical, and one of those is carrying multiple large instruments!

When I have an interesting car I tend to name them, that does mean that the Honda remains unnamed! but I feel the MG will be acquiring a name as soon as I have fixed the wipers and got her back on the road, my only limitation is that there is no way I am going to call her "The Flying Banana"!

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.