Have literally just asked in Viva Woodwind if the weather held...

I'll reply there then too but only just!!!

Well done, Appassionata!

Barry, I really hope that 2012 is your year - I keep promising to sponsor you if you get accepted, and so far I haven't needed to hand over a penny. Surely you must be lucky soon?

Hoping the old saying 'third time lucky' holds true, BM...

An email from a company I have ordered some music from...this particular set of pieces can be bought as:
Four volumes - totalling ?145-ish
Six voumes, different publisher - totally ?95-ish

And then I found somewhere selling a facsimile version for ?33.70. They had one copy from a special print run left. Naturally I ordered it up straight away. And the email I got today:



Which has just made me laugh so much (there's no urgency for the music in question, and I can just imagine someone searching for this one book that's been stored in a 'safe place'...)

Another pupil had done a lot of practice and is now out of the danger zone for her exam on Thursday. Only 1 left in the danger zone now- I had about 4 this session. Never had that many not make the expected progress between lessons!

Also it's my daughter's 17th birthday. That makes me happy too

Woo - happy birthday to your daughter!

Mine (7 years older!) has come today for a visit -

Cherries.

Happy birthday to her!

Life

Glad to hear it! and good to see you back here.

Hello! Hope all's well with you these days!

Seeing so many familiar old names back on the Forums today.

Not much... except seeing Carol*Piano and MrB back where they belong...
sorry this is meant to be a happy thread!

How nice

Seeing the look on the face of one of the children I work with as a Volunteer Reading Helper when he realised he'd won the branch Summer Term Competition for his age group.

Watching my son be Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream.... and he didn't have to be cued once! (how did he learn his words so quickly in the weekend before the play?)

Chocolate!

Going to see a Jaguar today YAYS Rather excited, like a kid in a sweet shop as I really, really, really, really want to buy my first Jag of many to come.

It may only be an XJ6 but it's fitted as standard with 4.2 litres of XK goodness. The "same" engine as fitted to the E-type.

I'm sure you won't be disappointed Pixie.

And just think how you are helping the environment by recycling a pre-loved British car, which hasn't been shipped all the way round the world from Malaysia or wherever. And other drivers will appreciate it too. After all, would you rather look at a proper Jaguar or a dishwasher? And wouldn't you rather listen to the growl of a big V8 than the whine of electric motors and the clicking of relays from some ubiquitous hybrid?

SB

Going to Sandwich tomorrow for a day at the Open Golf on Thursday .

Just got my violin out of its case for the first time since Christmas and did a good 35 min practice through some nearly grade 8 standard pieces and the Czardas. It felt good!

Lunch with my dad at a local pub. Simple pleasures.

Now my younger son wants me to spend time with him. So nice to feel loved by family members.

hehe All my cars are British now and all are over 35 years old! So .... they may put out more "emissions" than 3 eco-boxes put together but an "average" lifespan for a car is only 15 years.

Will report later if I have bought my first Jag! Excited, much?? Oh yes. Can't wait for bumbling along in my Jag listening to some music and the sound of the magnificant XK 4.2.

"Some people say the purr from the twin exhausts is the sound of the big cat digesting it's last Prius meal, whilst others say the windows are tinted to hide the driver's exitment. All we know is its called The Jag."



Or maybe even a Magnificat XK 4.2


SB

I've been going mad over the last week or so trying to remember from which musical 'Suddenly' comes (and slightly worried that no-one else recognised it when I sang it to them - though I couldn't remember any of the lyrics either, apart from 'Suddenly....') I tried googling it, with no luck, and then it just popped into my head - The Slipper and the Rose. phew! Such an unimportant thing, but I'm so glad that I can place it at last

SB - I didn't buy it - it was in awful condition, bodily. Well ... until the next one comes along

On Monday I bought a fishtank!!!


Today I go to pick up my fish because the water has been treated and now settled with the filter


Just one little goldfish and one little gold tetra thingy to keep it company. They're going to be called Joy (the gold beautiful one) and Darnell (the really cool one) after two characters from the American series 'My Name is Earl'. I don't watch much TV but this show makes me laugh.

WOOO HOOOOO!!!!

But Lottie ...

you can't take them for walks!!!!!!!!!

Unless the tank is on wheels

I used to have 2 gold fish called fred and freda --- who had babies --- but fred turned out to be freda and freda was actually fred! And also had 2 Black- coloured fish called tea and toast! Just thought i would share this with you.

Well the tank has to start with just one fish. So I have a goldy-fantailly-pretty thing that seems to do an awful lot of p*o.

I've gone off the name Joy (because I think it's a bloke fish)... so name suggestions please!!!


I was thinking of 'Fishy' because I one had two rabbits called Rabbit and Bunny but I think there must be something more imaginative out there

Jaws?

W

I like that suggestion.

When I was little we had two goldfish called Goldie and Blackie. I don't suppose anyone can guess what colours they were...?

1. The French Women's Football Team are in the semi final of the World Cup. That makes me really happy particularly as I have a nine year old diabetic pupil who is the only girl among my pupils who plays football and she will be really chuffed.

2. My much loved English friend went home yesterday but he left a pile of DVD's for us to watch. -We don't get give away things like that here and he gave us about fifty - mostly the ones that come free with newspapers - we don't get that kind of free thing here so he always passes them on to us when he has finished with them. What made me happy was watching a gloriously silly old St Trinian's movie complete with Joyce Grenfel.

3. One of my cats caught a baby wren. I managed to take it away and it was unharmed. I tried to put it back in the wiillow tree but it was too wet to fly. After an hour in the "shock" box we keep for small birds and rodents we were able to let it go. It had dried and fluffed up its feathers. The parents were calling loudly in the garden and it flew off so there was a happy ending.

I think it would splash though, and the fish might get seasick.

SB

Ours were Goldeen and Seaking because my sons were great Pokemon fans at the time. They lived in our fish tank for a couple of years, and then we dug a pond. We moved them to the pond, added another half dozen goldfish and now - several years later - have about 40 of them. The numbers suffered a bit when a heron kept visiting, but are back up now and Goldeen and Seaking are still there

The older XJ's had a reputation for body rot, which is probably why Jaguar switched to aluminium about ten years ago, although they sold the idea on its weight saving and performance gains . You could probably find a late model XJ with 2.7 V6 diesel engine for a reasonable price, and will get 50 + MPG from it!

SB

Anything I like seems to love to rot to nothing.

Unfortunately, I am used to paying ?200 per year to insure my cars .... modern cars are ?700+ to insure (I'm 22) and I have 4 cars!

Whilst I must admit the idea of a late XJ diesel is actually a good idea - large tourer that you can travel in complete comfort and use next to no fuel, I see the appeal. I absolutely love the XK unit so much that I wouldn't even consider an XJ40, X300. X308 etc. etc.

The XK engine is a glorious piece of British engineering and while I'm a useless engineer myself, I can't help but admire something built with some sort of passion. OK, OK the ones I'm looking at where built in the days of BL; so 3 days on ..... 4 days on strike philosophy!

BUT back in the 1940's when that engine was first produced, it was so technologically advanced that Jaguar only stopped using it some 40 years later.

If you can't already tell I like my cars to have some history before I buy them, others would say they are past their sell by date .... Triumph TR7 anyone??? Yep, thats my current daily!

***********************************************************

Onto what has made me happy today - piano session Loving playing the piano at the moment. YAY! Finally this has happened!

Be VERY careful Lottie there is a LOT that the fish shops don't tell you.

Fantastic website for help/info here
and a forum here
in particular please read carefully the advice about cycling here failure to do so could cause you to lose your fish very quickly!!

I speak from experience. Feel free to PM for advice if you need to.

DONT use insect spray or mould killer anywhere in the same room as your fishtank

Pixie, did you know, the S-Type was built at the Castle Bromwich factory, which was used during WW2 to build the Spitfire aircraft. I found a fascinating document on a Jaguar forum which described the development and history of the S-Type, the shape of which was [allegedly] inspired by the Spitfire and its distinctive wing profile. If you look at the side of an S-Type you will see this shape reflected in the windows and the shear line in the bodywork.

SB

I can delude myself into thinking that the cat is fond of piano music as over the last couple of weeks she has appeared when she hears it. Of course, sometimes she then sits in the doorway and washes her backside...

Oh THANK YOU!!! Those are brilliant links - so much information!

I'll have a good read through all of them - I clearly have a lot to learn although 'Fishy' seems quite happy just now.

1) saw a newborn litter of kittens yesterday (really cute)
2) my oven is working for the first time since Sunday morning. (we have a double oven and were able to cook things in the top oven before then!)

two things is better than none and it has been a bit of a rough patch

Squeeeee!!

I can see that my next door neighbour has signed for my parcel of next-OU-course-pre-work

Going to see a Jaguar on Monday

played first clari at band last night

need to do a lot of work on the higher notes...... French Festival really didn't sound great with iffy E's and F's