I wonder if I should have a starbucks today.

Kod?ly would be proud of you - dictations to experience the joy of creativity.

I've heard how hard it is... one reason I'm glad they kicked me off clarinet onto bassoon - there are fewer twiddly bits! But mostly I was annoyed because the trombones and tuba were allowed to go outside and play football

cheers

So what did you do?

I'm still in London, Flossie

University Challenge final - York verses Magdalen, Oxford. I've never before felt 'patriotic' about my university!


Edit: Ah well, still really proud of them -and second isn't bad!

Don't know if you remember - After the first playday you sent me a bunch of youtube links to a lot of Schubert stuff, each piece was nice but I just could not listen to all of them at once

The Magdalen team was unbelievably good. Having an Australian and an American was obviously a good move, as there seemed very few questions the team couldn't have a go at. Definitely no shame in York losing to them.

And were all the students still students this time?

SB

No, two of them declared they were waiting for their results.

Being between contracts I'm going on holiday for 3 weeks!!!
We'll be taking the car to the UK via Germany and NL on the way and Luxembourg and France on the way back.

This will be my second longest time off work for 26 years

I don't post often enough for anybody to miss me in that time but cheerio anyway and see you all in May!

Enjoy your holiday

Just managed to hit a random button on the digital piano while attempting a rather bouncy left hand octave passage. It was the one that triggers the inbuilt tunes.

Chopin Polonaise Op 53 in Ab + Hark The Herald Angels Sing =

... it's almost like musically pranking myself. I think I know how my ex-conductor felt when he gave the downbeat for Bartok's Concerto For Orchestra and got Beethoven's 5th Symphony instead.

We had an interesting one a couple of weeks ago. I'd missed a week of orchestra and discovered that they'd started a new piece in my absence. What I didn't know was the part of it they'd done (and I couldn't actually see anyone elses music...). The flute part for the 1st movement of the symphony sounded rather strange against the movement which everyone else was playing. They were both marked allegro, so I had correctly followed out conductors instruction to play the allegro - it just wasn't the allegro he meant.

I found a wind band version of Happy Birthday to play to our conductor next week when he asks for the B flat warm up scale (the HB arrangement happens to be in B flat too). Parts now distributed... but I'm not actually going to be there to witness the birthday prank!

My eldest daughter who has never showed any interest whatsoever in the piano has suddenly discovered it...

She spent last week picking out her cello piece with one finger. On Saturday she said "I don't suppose you could find a tutor book in the cupboard for me?" I found her several, she played a few pieces out of each and decided she liked the Aaron book one. An hour or so later she had worked her way through to page 17! (Calling for help from time to time when there was something she didn't understand). Younger daughter looked at what she was playing and said "She shouldn't be playing something that hard when she only started today"

She got home from school early because a teacher was away and is downstairs playing now

That is wonderful news Kerioboe. I think youngsters often progress better when they 'discover' an instrument than if they are sent off for lessons. The fact that your daughter already plays the cello will be a great help.

SB Junior played the double bass at school, and would spend hours improvising on the piano making wonderful sounds, but could never settle to lessons. Then one day when he was about 12 or 13 I got him to play the organ, and that was it. He has been hooked ever since.

SB

I must admit that I am quite excited about it. I played the piano throughout my pregnancy thinking she would like it but as a baby it always made her cry I didn't want to force her into anything - the cello was completely her own choice (as was the trombone) and my other daughter plays the piano but it is nice to think that she is finally discovering something that I loved as a child.

Have just drafted my resignation letter. Not sure whether that belongs in the "Aaaarggh" thread or the "What's made you happy" thread, so am putting it here. I have so many contradictory thoughts running through my head about the whole issue, though I've reluctantly decided it's the best thing to do.

Is this from work, or your organist's post BM?

SB

The more I learn, the more I realise that there is to learn.

Oh no!

Big Brother is set to return to our screens on Channel 5



Car Expert

Even more junk on channel 5 in that case!!

Tell me about it-I've been having increasingly frequent moments where I keep thinking this!!

I thought we'd got rid of that steaming pile of bilge...

From work. It's rather sad to be going in this way after 12 years, but the last 6 months have been really tough and the job satisfaction just isn't there any more. It's another 4 1/2 years before I can draw the state pension, but I don't feel I can hang on that long. At least I've made the decision now, and it will give me more time to practise!

Thanks for asking, Swell Box.

I think that turning the heating off was a mistake.

I've turned it on again, but as it's stupid storage heaters I won't get anything until tomorrow.

*goes to make hot water bottle*

I've just discovered that someone I teach lives in a million pound house...

Just so people know, it's not me

Acutally I'm just posting to try get this thread of page 666. I know it shouldn't bother me, and I'm surprised that it does, but every time I see it I don't like it and that's how it is

I think one of mine does too - at least I would guess so from the location.

You can change the number of posts per page that you see. I have mine set to the maximum it lets you - so this thread is on page 250 for me

Let me help by adding another meaningless post !




Heswall where I live was reported last year as being the provincial town with the highest proportion of millionaires. I stress I am not one of them, more's the pity.

Sometimes I think you have to leave a job for your own sanity. We spent too much of our lives at work to just continue in something that is causing us stress, has no job satisfaction, or is just plain boring. I feel lucky that I have always done jobs that I have enjoyed, and I feel sorry for those who have no other option.

There was a time when I worked for a large corporate, and whilst I enjoyed the work itself, the internal politics and constant back biting made me quite ill. I hung in there because I needed the work, I enjoyed what I did, and there was always hope that those who pulled the political strings would retire or be moved on. Then one Thursday afternoon, totally out of the blue I was made redundant in one of Lord Courtaulds regular merciless shake outs (to please the bean counters). The process itself was awful. I wasn't even allowed to collect anything from my desk or say goodbye to anyone (for 'security' reasons), and was frogmarched off site. Despite this I felt a wonderful sense of relief and freedom.

Whatever you do from now on Berkshire Mum, I hope you enjoy it.

SB

There is a 'development' not far from here called Winyard, where many of the houses are worth a million or more, and every house seems to have the ubiquitous Range Rover Sport and a 7 Series or S Class Mercedes parked outside. These houses all have big garages, but for some reason the cars won't fit into them.

Oddly enough, many of the houses are rented, and the cars are leased.

SB

It's Paaaaaaaan's Peeeeeeeeeopleeeeeeee!

Cherrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!

Guess who's been watching Top of the Pops on BBC4

Cherrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!

Cherrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

You are over her now aren't you Barry?

This is the 1976 version of Cherry

Don't have a 1976 one, but might show you a 1977 version of me sometime!

Aw

I probably have a 1976 version of me somewhere

Aw a little barry-clari

Just told my son to go to bed via facebook chat! That is random!

I wish I had a machine to turn back time.

But I also wish I didn't waste time regretting things.