congratulations pcf. Very very well done, you've worked bloomin' hard and got the marks you deserve.

Well done pianocelloflute and CJB. Many congratulations from me.

Many thanks for all the congratulations

It's proving a good week - those nice Inland Revenue people have just sent me a letter confirming that I've overpaid my taxes and to expect a nice fat refund in the next couple of weeks.

Fear not, I started on the day after my finals finished (me? Workaholic? Nah...), and am studying the required 120 credits of courses now, to get results in August-ish 2012. I figured it was a now-or-never thing, so went for now.

Thank you for all the congratulations. Much here!


Today's teeny tiny happiness? Finding a hymn I need for Sunday afternoon, which I was starting to think I was going to have to busk from what I could remember of the tune and bog-standard conventional harmonies. Phew.

YAY!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!



Busk? A hymn? Surely not!

As of boxing day I will be unofficially the head service desk person at the Sutton branch of the Royal Marsden Hospital. There won't be a pay rise and my duties won't change in any way, nor will my job title but I will feel more important all the same.

Congratulations

Well done!


Great result, pcf! Hope you enjoy university life more second time around.

Looks like you have plenty of music on the go, even if your subject is really Maths!

Many congratulations to CJB, PCF, and Violin Hero. -

Lots of great news around at the moment. Makes a change from all the doom and gloom stuff!
Brilliant all round

Have realised I've been terribly negligent and not sent congrats to CJB! Well done!

My happy : the thought that next year I will hopefully be beginning to play in quartets. Not of the woodwind kind. Of the string kind

Thanks Barry. Enjoy stringy quartets, just don't forget about clarinetty ones.

Congratulations to CJB and pcf for being brilliant. I'm really pleased for both of you.

The really lovely examiner I had for grade 8 cello and grade 1 viola today (yes, I know, I'm mad). The exams went really, really well, too!

no migraine (yet ), band tomorrow and first Christmas concert coming up on Sunday


Well done ilovemycello

Thanks Louise

As if I would forget about the greatest musical instrument that has ever been invented...

Palace beating MU

Congratulations pianocelloflute and CJB

to anyone who beats MU


my happy is seeing people going into the church where AB exams are being held, and knowing I won't be joining them

Paid my car insurance for my Triumph Stag, hold on a minute - why is this a "happy"?

?172 premium for the year, fully comprehensive insurance, not bad, eh?

Finding this on youtube. I taught the gorgeous tenor when he was at my (very ordinary) state primary - he was remarkable even then...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-9yB6t8Vl4

Very nice. One of my fav carols - shame they don't credit the solosts!

I'm feeling quite chuffed as I got two good music reviews in Church Music Quarterly this month

Congratulations Seer Green!

I'm aiming to post a few more times tonight, if I can find anything to say
(on second thoughts that should be in random thoughts and comments!)

Had my first Jumping lesson ever!! (on a horse that is!) after, oh only 10 years of riding!!

Ooooooh exciting!! I used to jump loads with my horse, but i've not ridden in a few years now and really miss it... Think I would be too scared to jump now though!! I used to jump over 3 foot!!

Now that I'm at uni, I've joined the equestrian team so get to ride every week! It took me 10 years because I only used to go once a month and kept getting put back on the 'trot over these poles' prep work So I'm rather VERY excited The instructor reckons by next spring/summer we'll be doing the cross country! yay horses!

Going to a fantastic student concert given by my violin teacher's pupils....wow! Blown away by Regina Laza.
What a come down to my lesson tomorrow

Well done, Seer_Green!

Maggie, the tenor in that clip used to go to the well-known boys' school in Croydon and used to sing regularly at your church under the late lamented DS...

I've heard now that he is more into jazz singing!! But I just love his voice and musicality - he was amazing as a child and he was part of a brilliant year group - I have such fond memories of the productions we did with his year, and the choir performances...

*wistful sigh*

Yay!!! Wow - I wish my uni had had an equestrian team!! I sadly had to sell my horse while at uni as I just didn't have the time to look after him... I still visit him now though, 5 years on!!

Gosh that takes me back - my first jumping lesson was a complete disaster The horse decided to run-out, hit the support for the poles and threw me off, trod on my hand as he went past and broke it!

It was years before I jumped again By then I had my own pony who was rather green so we learned together although we never managed more than two feet We even managed a 'clear round' at a small horse-show although we went round the course the wrong way (I never did have much of a memory ) The steward gave me the rosette because she felt sorry for me

p.s. I tried out for my Uni equestrian team but the horse they gave me had me on toast for breakfast at the trials so they said "no"

That'll be the King of Instruments I presume?





With reference to another thread, (and it being a very cold, frosty moring here), I read this and thought it said 'I used jump leads with my horse'.

SB

Yes. The clarinet

I'll have to tell my organist partner that one ...

Some of my pupils who go to different schools (quite a distance apart- in a rural area) are incredibly excited as they have organised a sleepover after one is going to watch the others play in the school band at their school production. I really like it that these kids (teenagers!!) are friends only because of music....... Isn't music a great way of finding like minded people?
I also like the fact that the pupil is going to listen to the band and not watch Production!

They then will all go to Sat morning music club tomorrow!

My only misgiving is that 2 of them have exams on Wed- so they better get some sleep!

Another sleepover apparently is organised for the end of term so they can all come to my Christmas concert... and go to County Orchestra that day and the day after!

I'd be careful - you'll get ninja organists pinning you to a wall by throwing a series of short thin pipes from a 2foot rank, then they'll give you one smack with a 16foot metal diapason and that'll be that. Either that, or you'll be doubling up as a stopper on a stopped flue!

Or you could be strapped to a Gravissima 64 until you admit defeat.

SB

I thought a 32' was the biggest you could get? And a 64' was a mythical item (or something like one in the world?) I know a 128' is somewhat of a mythical item ...

Oh no.

As far as I know, there are currently three speaking 64' pipes in the world, one in Sydney Town Hall, which has a Contra Trombone 64' (pictured below), and two in the USA. Note the sheer size of the pipes compared to the people standing below!



All other 64' ranks are 'resultant' or 'harmonic' stops, in which a 32' rank is coupled with a 24' rank (or 'quint'). The beat frequency of the two pipes (or strictly speaking, of the third harmonic) creates the effect of a 64' pipe, which can be devastating in a large building. (Bottom C = 8Hz)

There are several such stops in the UK, including London's Royal Albert Hall, Hull City Hall, and Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.

I gather that Hull City Hall is built over a shopping centre of some sort, and I am told there is a notice on the console instructing organists that the 64' stop must not be drawn whilst the shops are open.

I don't think anyone has ever seriously built 128' or 256' ranks, but they would need to be huge to have any effect, in which case the chances are the building would collapse around them. They certainly wouldn't have any musical value.

SB

That is one phenomenal instrument! *awed*

I'd want to play the bottom note, just to feel it (People who've been with me at Greenwich will know I have an obsession with trying the bottom notes, especially things with "contra" in their name )

Today I have the day off work. The plumber is turning up at some point, so I got up just in case he turned up at 9am. Of course, he didn't! But, the cat left me alone until I got up at 8am, rather than pestering for her breakfast, so that was very nice.

And I've been over to Halfords and sorted out my car radio They had a special offer on where Sony radios are half price, so I got a nice radio and the added bits and the fitting all for less than the full price of the radio, so that's pleasing (even more pleasing is being able to listen to the radio again in the car!)

The rest of my day at home is going to have some music practice and some OU work, and also I'm running a film through a camera my husband picked up at the weekend - a Mamiya RB67. We've always drolled over medium format cameras, and the price has dropped so much since digital came in that when our local camera shop got a secondhand one in and proposed a price for it, we couldn't say no (body, 90mm lens, two 120/220 film backs, a polaroid back [you can still get film, just not Polaroid brand], standard finder, finder with meter and extension tube, all in a lovely "suitcase" type camera case)

Like this:

The RB is an amazing camera, and the quality of exposures on films like Velvia is just stunning. I also like the ability to rotate the back. This makes it more tricky to wind on, but makes it much better for studio work, and with a waist level finder (which I love using).

Digital is good, but it simply cannot match the quality of a 6 x 7 transparency.

I bet you'll be drooling at the lenses on the Ffordes website now.

SBSB

Truly the King of Instruments!

It was the biggest organ in the world when it was built in 1890, putting London's Royal Albert Hall organ into second place. Nowadays Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral has the biggest organ in Europe, with 156 stops, (35 on the pedal alone), but the real monsters are in the USA. some having around 500 stops.

Currently the biggest organ in full working order can be found in in Macey's store, Philadelphia, where this recording was made. Sorry for posting this link again, but I just love listening to it. If you turn your loudspeakers up you might just feel the rumble of the Gravissima 64, and the seven 32' stops on this awesome instrument.

YouTube Video

That is my Happy for today.

I often wonder what the response would be if this was performed in the Gateshead Metro Centre on the last Saturday before Christmas?

SB

I gather that Hull City Hall is built over a shopping centre of some sort, and I am told there is a notice on the console instructing organists that the 64' stop must not be drawn whilst the shops are open.

Wicked cackle. Don't tempt me!

And celebrating my ... erm ... however many'th ... post.

Congratulations maggie!!

Maggie, 16000 is a lot of posts. Well done
Still I shouldnt be too long reaching 10000

Haha - thank you ! My mum always said I had too much to say for myself.

Actually if you work out how many per month since we were each members, Im not much behind you in eloquence !

One of my pupils took the senior clarinet trio today:) There are only 2 weeks left before the concert and one can never turn up on time.... so I changed the time.... but I was teaching theory... so a pupil took it and they did rather well! I feel rather proud of her!