November 14 Arts Cafe

The latest in the series of Arts Cafe Evenings hosted by Liverpool Voice at Sefton Park Cricket Club was an outstanding success last night.

Such is the reputation that these evenings have generated in the past that there was a packed audience, so much so that the bar staff asked people to bring their empties to the bar as there was little room for them to move between the tables to collect them.

The choir kicked off the evening singing "Wassail" a mid-winter song celebrating the apple tree in expectation of good cider next year, before moving on to the popular song "Moon River". The choir returned at intervals throughout the evening, but there was rich fare from individual choir members, ensembles or friends of the choir.

Chris Keogh, whose brother Sean sings tenor in the choir, is a talented pianist, and entertained us well, first with a beautiful piece by Ravel, and then a piece of his own composition. We very much enjoyed the fruits of his study at Aberdeen university. Later his brother Sean sat at the keyboard and sang a song of his own composition, and a Christmas song by the Chieftains. A versatile singer, very different style to what we sing in the choir.

Brenda Connor, who sings alto in the choir sang two jazz numbers, which were well received. Also outstanding was the piano accompaniment, by John McHugh, who also accompanied the choir throughout the evening. 

Erik Bichard sang a setting of Houseman's poem 'A Shropshire Lad' by Butterworth, and later in the evening he was joined by Denise Owen as they sang a duet from a Mozart opera. Sung in German, and very beautiful.

We were joined by friends from Widnes and Warrington, Chris and Cath, who came with 12 string guitar and Ukulele, and sang numbers in both halves of the evening, including the 1964 song "Where have all the flowers gone" by Pete Seeger. 

Liverpool Voice performs some classical repertoire, and "Hodie" by Sweelinck, a sixteenth century composer, showcased some of this.  It also introduced the Christmas theme, which was followed up by "Carol of the Bells" before the break brought an opportunity for the audience to refresh their glasses at the bar.

The lighter side of the repertoire resumed after the break with a beautiful setting of "Over the Rainbow" followed by a new one for the choir "Unforgettable"

Toward the end the pre Christmas atmosphere returned with a round "Christmas Eve in the Old Town House" sung by a group comprising choir members and one of their mothers. It is rare to have an evening without something by John Rutter, and his arrangement of Silent Night preceded the final number, which was a Christmas Medley, joined by Chris and Cath, and two choir members playing the flute, and various members of choir and audience playing bells during "Winter Wonderland" "Jingle Bells" and other well known songs.  During this John McHugh vacated the keyboard seat to play bass guitar, while Lesley Bentley, musical director and conductor led from the keyboard.

Lesley deserves special mention not only for the high standard of performance achieved by the choir, but also the welcoming atmosphere she creates introducing each performer.

Very often Liverpool Voice finish their evenings with "Keep you in Peace" but this time it was displaced as members of the audience requested a repeat of "Moon River". Very nice too.

Watch out for the next Arts Cafe evening, probably toward the end of March, and try and get to "Joy to the World - An evening of Christmas Songs and Audience Carols" at Mossley Hill Parish Church on Thursday 11th December at 7.30pm.

The Laindons, Hastings

Jon and Sara made us feel welcome, and we felt very much at home during our 5 day stay at the Laindons this November.
The accommodation is tastefully decorated, with a fishing or nautical theme, giving a relaxed and uncluttered feel throughout.The room was clean light airy warm and spacious. The bed was very comfortable and the en-suite with shower very adequate.
The location is ideal. Hastings Old Town has the feel of a village, nestling between West and East Hill, away from the busyness of the new town beyond West Hill. There are many cafes, pubs, restaurants, a myriad of shops, quirky and independent, and lots of antiques. Mostly they are on George Street, on the sea front, and at that end of the High Street. The Laindons stands part way along the High Street, where the shops start to give way to the quite old and picturesque residential end. The traffic is minimal, and there is a cut through to a car park with free overnight parking.
Breakfast is a fine affair, home made muesli with yoghurt and home made fruit compote, with Bircher muesli or grapefruit as alternatives. A limited choice, but I would not choose anything different. The full English breakfast was excellent, as was the smoked haddock and Blueberry pancake options. The apple and pear juice was sourced from a local farm, though I did miss options for orange a grapefruit.  A Dualit toaster was on-hand to make your own toast from the delicious home made bread, very soft, yet easy to cut, and very tasty, a true delight.
Breakfast was served in a first floor conservatory, with views looking out over East Hill. Next to the conservatory was the residents lounge, which we found to be very comfortable. There were books and games, and we played a few games of scrabble, and ate our fish and chips there one night.
Also in the evening, there are apples tangerines, and nuts with a nut cracker freely available, while outside the rooms there were crisps drinks and other refreshments for sale. In the room, each evening were two home made cake portions, wrapped for freshness, as well as a flask of fresh milk for the tea and coffee making in the room.
It is not ideal for disability. Ann needed assistance, an arm or walking stick, for the three steps up to the front door, and the stairs up to the first floor had a turn, and an outward opening door at the top. The stairs up to our room were OK, but we will ask for one of the two first floor rooms next time.
All of Hastings Old town are within easy walking distance. We enjoyed our anniversary meal at The First In Last out pub and ate twice at the excellent Cafe Maroc, both less than 100 yards walk.  We also enjoyed Hanushka Coffee Bar during the day.

Gargoyle

Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is a story of love and loyalty, and a great read.

We never find out the protagonist's name. He refers to himself on occasions as the Gargoyle, on account of the severe burns he received a a result of a road accident.  We meet him in hospital as he alternates between telling us of the accident and his treatment, and from an earlier timeline, of his childhood and life before the accident. The dual timeline is a taste of what is to come.

Other than an ability for vivid description and a certain intellectual honesty, he has no virtue about him. He used to spend his days acting in and producing porn movies, he was drinking whisky and had taken drugs when he drove off the road, and spends his time planning how he will commit suicide once he is discharged from the watchful eye of the hospital staff. You may well be tempted to cease reading such bleak and objectionable material, but it is worth persevering with the book.

Somehow, the hospital staff fail to stop a patient from a psychiatric ward slipping into the burns ward, and the enigma that is Marianne Engel comes into his life. Oddball and eccentric, claiming to have been brought up in a convent in Engelthal the early 14th century, and accountable to three masters, the staff let her continue to visit as he has no other friends or family.The relationship grows and eventually the hospital staff agree that he can live with her on his discharge from hospital.

He also wins the respect and friendship of the doctor and the physiotherapist who are treating him, the psychologist who is not. He borrows psychology text books in his quest to diagnose Marianne Engel. Even as the relationship grows, it is always Marianne Engel, never Marianne.  Her story grows more fanciful; he also lived in the 14th century, and arrived needing treatment for burns at Engelthal, and their earlier relationship begins.  We get two developing love stories, in two different time lines.

Marianne Engel also tells him four other stories, which lay seeds for how the main story will develop. Some of these are the most inspiring and powerful stories, truly remarkable, and would do credit to any short story collection. Even as you wonder how the book will end, we know from these that it is a story of love and loyalty.

In both timelines, 14th century and present day, the suspense builds, and it becomes quite a page turner.  After a while we stop questioning how they can have known each other in medieval Germany, and just get drawn in to the story, as does the Gargoyle himself.

When he comes off his dependency on morphine there is a bewildering experience borrowing from Dante's Inferno (just recently written in the earlier timeline) and characters from the four short stories. If it is easy to portray evil powerfully, but hard to portray good, then one section in this chapter proves Andrew Davidson to be a master.

There is something about the pace of the book that is very satisfying. There is adventure and thrill, there is gathering storm, but it is tempered in part by each story being interrupted by the other, and part by the central puzzle. Do we believe Marianne Engel's story? What is the nature of belief and faith? The Gargoyle puzzles these issues throughout the book, but ultimately the story is not one of faith, but of love.