I'll be very near to you, Sunrise - I'll be in the Barbican all day! I always say, 'Hello, Tower of London' as I drive over London Bridge at about 8.15am.

Finally off to Birmingham at 3:15 today to visit dave brum after what seems an age but is probably about a week.
Leaving 24 hours later

quite a tight schedule for Making a Happy Man Very Old (have I got that the right way round?)

Having a day off church music tomorrow (OH having played Palm Sun, whole of Easter, and last Sun) - we reckon we deserve it.

An excellent course today on Preparing for Performance - thanks AB.

Playing at the Tower of London was truly awesome today. It was an easier parade than the Buckingham Palace ones as we didn't hav the guard with us, and we got there in time to have a walk around and all the tourists were taking photos of us. We played the best I've heard the band play since I joined 18 months ago!

Fantastic day, one I will remember for the rest of my life

Singing the tenor solos in Messiah.

My DH is going back to having cello lessons again - first thing Saturday mornings after the DSs piano and cello lessons! Hurray!

Now :

a - I don't have to feel guilty about my harp lessons
b - the cello isn't getting dusty on its stand in the living room for no reason
c - we can go back to sharing a love of music again

and lots more! He's quite good for a beginner according to his teacher so it was a shame he gave up!

I'm really thrilled!

10 varieties of herb seed sown in my garden. Now i just have to keep my fingers crossed that some of them actually germinate

Bacon.

I'm really happy because I went shopping yesterday for a new flute and I'm now the proud owner of a Yamaha 311 Gold Lip Plate Flute

I've had my first proper practice with it today and can see an improvement with my pieces already! Can't wait for my lesson on Tuesday! I've also got a better flute than my teacher hehe

I said I'd update re the voluntaries:

This morning it was Bach Prelude in E minor ("the wedge")
This afternoon, Boellman Toccata from Suite Gothique

Harwood, S S Wesley, Henry Ley, Anthony Caesar.

A nice selection. I particualry like the Boellmann.

We had William Matthias beore and after this morning. I believe Matthias was Professor of Music at Bangor Uni. Our lady Thurifer said that Matthias himself had played his Postlude at her graduation ceremony there.

SB

Just seen BBC choir of the year - St George's Weybridge got through - and I taught the choir director many years ago! Excellent stuff.

Interesting day organ wise. The organ at Bangor Cathedral is BIG. Ihad a look at he console and the set-up - there's lot of stops (includng TWO tubas!).

On a different thread, I'l be singing at a concerrt in the near future at St. Oswald's in Malpas, Cheshire, which has a fine organ with some good old pipework. I was on the phone to their organist earlier and he gave me the good news that the organ has just had its pitch raised from A=435 to A=440 which means that working with orchestras will in future be rather easier (reduce the glares from the woodwind and brass players anyway ). This has involved various activities including adjusting tuning on some pipes, adjusting wind pressure for some ranks etc which has in effect revoiced parts of the organ, so I'm looking forard to hearing that.

We've got a full concert there in the autumn with my chamber choir with chamber orchestra, so the forthcoming test on June will be interesting.

Yesterday I attended an audition for a new concert orchestra Personally, I doubt if I'm up to the level required for this, but MD of the Saturday orchestra wanted me to do it (he'll be the MD of the new orchestra as well).

So, had to play two pieces and do a sight-reading test. Trouble is, I've not been playing long enough to have a repertoire of items, which meant I had to play some stuff which is rather under prepared (I did work on them to the extent that I could in the time available, which was not a lot ).

Even though I've never played solo (not ever for anyone!) I was surprisingly not overly nervous (I suppose that comes from nearly 20 years of choir concert performances, which I don't get nervous about at all). I think also, I was quite fatalistic about it: I was going to do my best and I knew that they would be less than perfect, so no point in getting wound up about it.

The sight-reading was an extract from a Haydn symphony. I was told that I'd done the sight-reading very well. My view was the notes were mostly right; I got most of the indicated articulations right; I tried to follow the dynamics. My main criticism would be that I think my timing drifted a bit. Since I've never played for an audition before and I've never sat a grade exam, it was all a bit new...

"We'll let you know" They'll write to let me know the outcome.

EDIT: apologies - some of this repeats some of what I said in another posting - too may grey ones have evidently expired

Pleased to say that I am now home from a really delightful weekend with dave brum and my first act was to get on the computer and enter him for grade 3 this term. I know there are a couple of people out there who will feel very proud of us All three pieces just to die for, really, scales extremely efficient, aural very quick, and s****-r***ing easily capable of a pass.

It is one of those things - I'm pretty sure I won't achieve this, so I won't get worried about it. At which point you're relaxed and manage it better.
Hmmm, probably not the approach I should be taking to exam scales though

Hope it is a good outcome for you

Benslow memories having a go at solo clarinet and not messing it up completely playing lots of lovely music with lovely people

Many of you will know that until my recent retirement, I stayed in the Chevin Park Hotel at Otley, two nights most midweeks (around 500 nights there altogether) The Scottish Group who own the hotel ( Crerar Group, its their only 'English' one) , have given my wife and I two free D, B & B nights to be taken at Loch Fyne Hotel near Inveraray.

That sounds wonderful f#m. I can smell Kippers just thinking about it.

SB

Getting my internet connectivity issue sorted. I ended up having to re-image my PC.

i got to 200 posts in about a year (well there abouts)

I'm sure he will be delighted that you did that for him, linda. The slimmers' thread has been quieter since he went away...

Oh, he was, believe me, he was daft as a bogbrush of course, but great fun

arriving in the Lake District after 9 hours minibus travel! Sooooo excited for this week! always wanted to go here since reading Swallows and Amazons as a child even if it is for a geography field trip, camera and walking boots at the ready!

Bought 14, yes 14 pieces of sheet music from Foulds in Derby for the grand total of ?3.50

Managed to get -
ABRSM 2009-10 Grade 7 Piano that has some nice pieces in it.
Ibert, Melopee for Sax and Piano
Tomasi, Chant Corse for Sax and Piano
Jazz@Etudes for Sax
A la Decouverte for Sax, just found out this is actually for Tenor but can play it on my clarinet
Faure, Piece for Sax and Piano
Delgiudice, Phrygienne for Sax and Piano
Albeniz, Chant d'Amour for Clarinet and Piano
Caplet, Impressions d'Automne for Saxophone and Orchestra (with Piano reduction)
Pascal, Piano-Retro
Kleeb, Classic goes Jazz for Piano
Wilcock, Jazz Piano Workshop
Hradecky, Jazz Etudes for Piano
Turina, Minitures for Piano

Also picked up the Trinity and ABRSM Diploma Syllabus ... eeek LOL!

Scrappy Doo got a commendation for my his school project

15 fabulous exam results!!

Meeting a very promising new pupil last night.

My partner was made redundant last August. He has only been offered two interviews since then (September and last week). Agency has just advised that it looks like he has secured a new job on the basis of last week's interview!!
I'll really celebrate when the officlal word comes through later today - even so, I feel SOOOO pleased for him.

Hey that is good news......

I re-jigged my teaching day and swapped schools around to a more sensible arrangement and have had a much better Tuesday.....

I like fieldtrips.

headache almost gone

I'm a great fan of the Lake District and have walked extensively - at least a day trip is feasible for me at about 2.5 hours each way to say Langdale. Do let us know where you are.

I loved Arthur Ransome's books as a youngster. I must have been about 9 when I read Swallows and Amazons.

Headache finally gone

We're based at a field centre in Threlkeld near Keswick we walked from Grasmere to Easedale Tarn yesterday and today due to the weather we're headed to Drigg on the coast to do some air and water quality testing and just to top it off it's my birthday on the day we leave on Monday lalalalala! exhausting but loving it!

Niece no.2 doing ok

I misread that as " Nice no.2 doing ok "

Well it put a smile on my face anyway.

SB

OH playing with speech recognition app on phone, and Four-pack tinned tomatoes with ring-pull, coming out as
'For packet tomatoes, ring Paul.'

Four candles or fork handles?

SB

Got any 'ose? got any peas? Classic

A nice easy walk for a couple of hours is to get the boat in Keswick, get off across the lake and walk over Cat Bells and pick up a boat from teh other end and back to Keswick. It's picturesque and doable in probaly 3 hours maybe less

Apparently, after only 6 months, I've turned into a prodigy. Says a lot about what I spend my time doing...

A really good thing has happened to me and a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Suddenly middle-age doesn't seem so bad after all!!

Not sure if I am allowed to post this so please remove if not!

I discovered this site:

http://www.kiva.org/

Basically it allows anyone to get involved with microfinancing - you can lend someone in Uzbekhistan the money to buy a goat . It did make me happy as it seems such a good, positive use of the internet for once!

Oh, and if it is your first time on the site you can try out a loan for free!

Yikes!! I have just booked a place on the Flute International Summer School at St Andrews in July!

Never been before.....

Have fun Misterioso

My happy, two, no three things today.

Niece No.2 doing well and coming home on Saturday

Really enjoyed first session with Intermediate Band went well

An enjoyable twenty minutes or so before band:D

Being woken up at about 5.30am by the tweeting of little birdies.
We have a starling who nests under one of our roof tiles (we've checked the loft - she doesn't come in, so it must be a tiny little nest between the tile and the roof!), and I've been waiting and waiting and now the first little ones of the year have hatched