Ness Gardens

Just a couple of pictures, a dragonfly, and the Laburnum arch.

We had a very enjoyable morning, there was plant sale, the weather was wonderful. The gardens were beautiful.

St. Edward's College Farewell Concert

It was a great evening at St. Edward's this week, as the class of 2009 bade farewell to the school, with the best of their musical talent. The Chamber Orchestra performed well, the Chamber Choir were good, and the College Consort sang to a very high standard, but between a small selection of formal program items, most of the evening was taken up with performances from this year's leavers.

Before the interval there were a number of solo performances, largely accompanied by the piano, including the Adagio from Mozart's clarinet concerto, and two pieces from the cello, the first stood out as the highlight of the first half. Each performer was introduced by a master of ceremonies (M/C) who also kept us amused during the necessary shuffling round of performers between the pieces.

This aspect of the evening went up a gear after the interval, the performers had changed from school uniform to evening wear, and the M/C made a dramatic entrance to the music of "Also Sprach Zarastrutha" (used in 2001 a Space Odyssey) played through the loudspeakers. He continued to keep us well entertained between the pieces with a low key humour, ribbing performers in a way that only one of their own number could.

During the second half, there were some group pieces, a duet from a Mozart opera, and a brass group. Several of the solo performers were accompanied by the chamber orchestra, conducted by members of the orchestra so Mr. Moseley, the usual conductor could take a back seat. He did get on his feet in the middle of a piece with a post horn. This wonderfully played piece would have been a duet, had appendicitis not stood in the way, and the sole performer, with brass group accompaniment, took up positions at various points in the hall, playing an impressively wide range of notes on the long elegant post horn.

This was for me the most memorable part of the evening, a high quality, high octane performance, and I wondered how do you follow that? The answer came with a change of mood with two beautifully played piano preludes.

As well as the short excerpt on the post horn, Mr. Moseley also played a solo piano piece himself, as this evening also marked his farewell to the school, after 29 years as head of music.

As the evening went on, it took on more and more of a fun aspect. There was "Live and Let Die", a slide show presentation of pictures of the A level music class, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, sung with words honouring Mr. Moseley. Eventually the final part of the program got underway some hour or so after the intended finishing time.

Each year's farewell concert features "God Only Knows" what we will do without you, by the Beach Boys, as Mr. Moseley wonders how the school music will fare without the talented crop of leavers. This year it was the turn of the school to wonder how musical life will continue to thrive at St. Edward's without him. What was very clear to all, was that this year's leavers, a very talented crew, are united in holding him in the very highest regard and affection. We all enjoyed the fruit of his work this evening.

Cycling in Sefton Park

All those hours at work admiring the blue sky and sunshine were eventually rewarded with a couple of laps round Sefton Park in the cool of the evening. It had rained a lot this morning, and the smell of the wild garlic along Greenbank Drive was quite something.
Sefton Park was great, with a game of cricket in progress, the usual crop of runners and cyclists, people out for a stroll or walking the dog. There were just a few clouds low in the sky, silvery gray and white against a milky blue sky. The grass had recently been cut, and the park looked very pretty, none more so than the wooded corner near the Dell.
A perfect transition from afternoon to evening.

Sailing a Topper Topaz at Glenridding

The weekend did not start very promising, with force 4- 5 winds there was no hiring a boat, but I did enjoy a trip to Gowbarrow Fell, where I enjoyed some nice views of the water I hoped to be sailing on, and some great views of Aira Force. There had been quite a lot of rain, so the waterfall was quite impressive, and when the sun was shining as well making a rainbow in the spray it was a wonderful view.

Sunday brought a steady force two breeze, gusting to force three on occasions, dropping away altogether at one point, before returning from a completely different direction.  I was sailing a Topper Topaz, with just a main sail, and it was quite good fun. 

I took Anna out on a Lune Whammel a week or two back, and found it a bit cumbersome. The Topaz was very repsonsive, and I had to be quite careful shifting position not to move the tiller without meaning to. 

There were fewer other users on the lake than when we did the initial training, but then the weather was wonderful, and I suppose the rain showers kept them away.

I was glad to have experienced righting a capsized boat in previous training, it meant there was no great panic the two times I did capsize. I probably should have capsized a few more times, I certainly lost control, but I think I benefited from not having a jib, as soon as I let go of things the boat naturally turned to wind.

Steve was impressed that I had listened to the training Neil had given, and paid attention to the trim, (avoiding the boat tipping forward or backward in the water). I was helped in this by two aspects of the boat's design:  The tiller extension suited a fairly forward seating position, otherwise you do not have room to manouver it; and the low stern, that makes it so easy to clamber back on after a capsize, meant that water would flow into the boat when you sat too near the stern.

It was altogether a very enjoyable experience, and I am looking forward to the level 2 training in a few weeks time.

Sailing at Glenridding

After two enjoyable days sailing I have a certificate to show for it.  

We could not have had two better days, brights sunshine, gentle reliable wind, mostly force 2 coming consistently from a Northerly direction, it was ideal conditions for learning to sail.   

There was one instructor for two course participants, which meant we got experience of being crew and at the helm, opportunity to practice all the manouvres, and to watch both the instructor and one another, (learning from mistakes) as well as ask lots of questions.

There is a definite advantage in doing the course in a dinghy with mainsail and jib.   Learning solo in a single sail boat with an instructor in a motor boat gives you twice the experience at the helm, but you have to learn about a two sail boat later.  With the instructor there, you spend more time on the water, you see stuff demonstrated for real, you can ask questions as they arise.

Our instructor was called Neil, clearly enjoyed sailing and following sailing races, and was ready to answer our questions even if it took us onto stuff we did not need to know for the qualification. Steve & Pete, the centre managers also took an interest in how we were doing, and generally managed to make us feel very welcome at the centre.

The boat we learned in was a Laser Stratos, small enough to be manned by one, better by wo, and fitted the three of us reasonably, and would certainly manage four at a pinch.  

Ullswater is a beautiful place to learn to sail.  We were surrounded by beautiful scenery, that (almost) made me wish I had been out walking instead.  We were lucky, getting a fairly consistent wind, it can come from different directions with all those mountains around.  There are islands, buoys, bays, lots of interest, and hazards - another good reason to have the intructor in the boat with you - you need to learn the lake as well as the boat.

Salt Mills, Saltaire, Shipley & David Hockney

This is a great day out, and http://www.saltsmill.org.uk/ is also a great web site.

Using the M62 and M606 and ring road around Bradford, it is a fairly easy journey from Liverpool.

There are books and exhibits about the mills themselves, which I think are more about cotton than salt, but I rather ignored them.  More than anything else the experience is about David Hockney, who was greatly involved in getting the mills re-opened, and who has many of his works of art exhibited there.  There is  a wide range of styles media and subject matter, and I would expect that most people would find at least something that makes it a worthwhile visit.

On the first floor is a space called "Home" which is something between an exhibition and a shop. It is slightly more kitchen than the rest of the house, a lot of Alessi and Dualit. You can certainly wander round and enjoy the exhibits, there is a great deal of beauty and nicely laid out, ranging from kitchen utensils to designer tables and chairs.  As well as exhibits with extraordinary price tags £3,874 was it for one dining table? there are also lots of small ticket affordable items, so the experience is partly going round a shop, and partly exhibition.

That same fusion of purpose applies to the whole place.  There is no entry fee, you can come to shop, or you can come to visit the art.   The main gallery is not a hallowed display space, with a shop annexed to it.  The books posters and art material you buy are laid out in between all the paintings and pottery you come to admire.

One of Hockneys works we saw most of was produced with the media "felt tip on napkin"  a little motif af a dog is used on the menus the crockery, the bills, and the staff's tee shirts in the Salt Diner, where we enjoyed a very acceptable lunch.    This is one of two eating places within refurbished mill.

Spending time in the book shop was an enjoyable relaxed experience.  Certainly there were shelves, but more  was laid out on tables that were easier to browse and be engaged by. With more space between tables than in an average high street bookshop, the whole experience was more like moving between one exhibit and another.

We left with much more still to see.  Rugs Fabrics early music theatre sets and more. We shall certainly come back another time.  Plus we have a much better appreciation now of Hockney as an artist.

On the way home the skies were dark in the East, and a very vivid blue in the West, darkening before the sunset lit up the sky as we enjoyed the last of the pretty scenery on the outskirts of Bradford before the darkness fell.

Worcester Sauce & Sun Dried Tomato Crisps

This is a very satisfying bag of crisps.

Each crisp is quite substantial, you do not get flaky bits and a pile of crumbs at the end of the pack, each crisp is an enjoyable experience.

They  are a pleasure to eat, not too salty, they taste nice without having that desparately moreish sensation that its more saltier cousins have. 

Nor are they overly greasy, you can eat them and your fingers still feel fairly clean and dry.  

The taste is very pleasant, but delicate and understated.  If you want to blow yout taste buds up, choose the Walker's variety, with all its salt and grease.  If you are prepared to savour your crisps and enjoy more subtle flavours, then this  is well worth a try.

Slumdog Millionaire

When a young uneducated man from the slums reaches the the highest question in the Indian "Who wants to be a millionaire", the show organisers take the opportunity afforded by the break between one night's show and the next to ask the police to investigate whether he got so many answers by cheating. 

After an unpromising and gruesome start, the police inspector lays aside his other pressing cases, and listens to the young man's story...and so it is we learn how the events of his childhood conspired, alongside the heartbreak, to give him just the knowledge he needed to answer the questions he was asked.

It is an eventful and moving story. Plenty of chases, on foot rather than car chases, given extra drama by the superb music, against a backdrop of excellent photography of the Indian land and cityscape.  There is racial violence, friendship, exploitation, romance, betrayal, murder, humour and ambition.

A great story, wonderfully told, leading towards.. well I won't tell you what it leads to.  You will have to see the show. 

Australia, the Film

A Good Film, and quite long.

It is a bit like Out of Africa: huge landscapes, he is off on his travels half the time, she gets one drink in an otherwise all male bar,  there is a war coming, and a lot gets destroyed by fire near the end.

There is adventure, romance, murder, lost children, war, it has it all. Although it has no car car chase, there is a stampede of frightened cattle which is just as good.

It claims, by the intruduction and conclusion, to be about the lost generation of aboriginal children who were taken from their families to be brought up in institutions.  I think it rather suffers from 'the Casablanca problem' (it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.) Although it is painted on a large canvas, it is actually the story of three people.

It is still a good and very moving story, and well worth the watching.  The plot is a little like "Once upon a Time in the West" She arrives to be with her husband only to find that he has been murdered for standing in the way of a business rival, and she decides to make a go of the station, except this is a cattle station rather than a railway station.

What makes it a great story is the half-caste aboriginal child.  At times he is the narrator, and it is the tension between whether he is an orphaned child who needs to be protected or an aboriginal man who needs to learn the way of his ancestors from his grandfather that makes the love story amount to slightly more than a hill of beans.

A cold and frosty morning

When our church holds a weekend away, we often stay at Quinta, near Oswestry.

This last weekend was cold and frosty, very bright today, and quite foggy yesterday, after a bright start.

These pictures are taken from both mornings, so I suppose the title is sightly less than honest.

Body of Lies

My Cinema going is a fairly random matter, especially now David is at home. I have not seen Quantum of Solace but I have seen Body of Lies.

This is not a gruesome film, but it does have some very gruesome moments. It is a high octane, high excitement film, with lots of fear. David said it has some Good Explosions.

It reminded me of a novel by Gerald Seymour, The Journeyman Tailor, about informants living in constant fear of discovery.

The central character is played by Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent. In his first scene it takes a while to realise that the Arab looking guy is in fact an American.

The film shows him grappling with the competing dictates of his superior, played by Russell Crowe, the host country’s security chief, and his sense of right and wrong.

The action sees the efforts to capture a terrorist chief, and who is used as bait to do so.

Lots of excitement, and a Good Story.

Ten Centuries of English Music

Last week we went to the Concert at St. Edwards College, and enjoyed some good performances.

John promised me that the early piece, 13^th century, was terrible, all he did was play the note of F# for three minutes, and I would not like it at all. He was wrong. I did quite enjoy it, and I like the drone effect.

The highlight of the evening was definitely a set of Miniatures by Frank Bridge, with piano, flute and cello. I do have to admit to being biased, but it was very good. The trio was well balanced – no one instrument dominated the other two. It was lovely hearing the pieces we had heard being practised a little, with the addition of the flute and cello.

There was quite a bit of brass during the evening. The first half finished off with some Jeremiah Clarke, while the most modern piece was for two Trumpets, French Horn, Tuba and Trombone by Peter Maxwell Davies. The same group will be playing it again later this month with the composer in the audience. It was certainly more enjoyable and accessible than I expected.

The second half started off with a very different modern piece – the Dam Buster march, which was quite good fun, and finished with some Gilbert & Sullivan, from Trial by Jury. There was quite a lot of singing, starting with 10^th century plainchant from off stage, a setting of Nunc Dmittis with a very fine treble performance, and a trio singing The Waters of Tyne which was quite outstanding.

Lancaster Canal & Thwaite Brow

When we left Liverpool in a fine grey drizzle, I did not expect to be enjoying a pleasant stroll along the Lancaster canal at lunchtime.
I had not brought boots or rucksack. I had not even brought a map. If I had, I would probably have gone from Nether Kellet to Crook o'Lune to rejoin the motorway. Instead I ended up at Bolton le Sands, and walked along a stretch of the canal which runs at the back of the houses in the village, along to Thwaite Brow.




The highlight was certainly seeing a Kingfisher, a bright flash of turquoise darting about on the bank. I did hang about trying unsuccesfully to catch a picture, but no luck there. I would not have seen it at all had another walker not pointed it out to me.

On Thwaite Brow I met a someone with a better camera than mine, taking pictures of fungi, about which he was very knowledgeable. I was hoping for a view across to Carnforth and Warton, but Thwaite Brow is wooded, and makes a good backdrop to the Canal.

Martian Child

This is quite a good film, with John Cusack playing a widower, who decides to adopt a child. Being a science fiction writer, and a bit of a loner as a child, he is not especially fazed by an odd ball child, who shelters from the sun in a cardboard box, and claims to have come from Mars.

It has some quite funny moments, and draws to quite a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.

Rose in November

It may be November. It may be cold. But that does not matter to this Rose, bravely blooming in our back garden.

Coffee Cake

I would not say that it is the most exciting thing about today, but it is probably the easiest to take a photo of. Very tasty too.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

David took me to see a film on Wednesday. That does not mean he paid, but rather I would never have chosen to see it otherwise. He did arrange the transport home, suggesting we walk, rather than catch the bus.

I usually like films that have a car chase in them somewhere, so this was disappointing on that score. The title rather gives away that it is in French, with subtitles. It also has an English title “I’ve loved you so long”

The lead role was played by Kristin Scott Thomas, and it was a shock to realise that the sad tired weary woman being met at the airport in the opening sequence was her character. I still think of her from Four Weddings and English patient days. We soon learn that she has been in prison for fifteen years, and that the woman meeting her is her younger sister, played by Elsa Zyberstein – that is quite a name!

How Juliette settles into life, family, work, and the social scene is very poignantly portrayed, but always the central theme is the relationship between the two sisters. There are some very funny moments, some heart warming, and some excruciatingly awful, but all wonderfully portrayed. The film builds to a closing scene where the younger sister, who used to worship and still loves her big sister finds out what it really was that kept them apart these fifteen years.

Not a feel good film, still less a car chase one, but very moving and inspiring, despite the weakness of the plot at the end.

Sunday Afternoon at Quakers Stang

Quakers Stang is a causeway between relatively normal fields inland, heading towards Leighton Moss, and the grass that gets submerged by the highest of the high tides.

From the car park where bird watchers park to reach the RSPB hides, I walked across and over Healds Brow to reach Silverdale, taking in the rather splendid Woodwell Cliff on the way. Stopping at Wolf House for a cup of coffee on the way, I went round rather than over on the way back, enjoying the coast at Jacks Scout facing to the West, rounding Jenny Brown's point. It gets quite spectacular as the limestone pavement slopes down into the sea. Eventually the path and the road come to an end, and the path home goes round the headland - tides permitting.

After some reassurance from a fellow walker who seemed to know, I stepped out onto the shingle and rocks, and very soon found myself walking on grass, not too close to the edge and avoiding the inlets that cut through quite starkly from time to time. It was a more shallow one of these that lapped around a large stone forming the feature in the photo.

It was turning quite cold and windy at this point. I thought it was just more exposed, but as I got further round and retraced my way across Quakers Stang, I realised that the weather had changed. The wind was strong, and cold, and the rain was hard. I was thankful for the dry, sheltered and peaceful moment I had enjoyed in that little cove where I had sat and eaten my lunch not long before.

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Memories of Last Summer

Just a little picture of the view leaving Lymington harbour, bound for Yarmouth.