Having an interesting conversation with Nigel Scaife, Syllabus Director of the ABRSM...

I am happy becuase my EMA has finally been paid and has topped up my bank balance nicely.

Will there now be stickers awarded along with certificates?

I miss EMA! It was such easy money... if you worked hard, obviously... although with some of the people who were in my year, that was debatable...

I'm going to a fun fair/bonfire/fireworks night tonight!

National Express are being chucked off the East Coast mainline next week.

Because last night I finally managed to play two grade 2 sight reading test pieces correctly at 1st attempt! Hooray!!!!! I am getting somewhere. Its mighty slow but I AM GETTING THERE!

Ooops I need to go through a load of these. I've just been trying to sight read actual music (went through the Sonatina in F a few times the other day which wasn't actually too bad).

I find a lot of the sight reading examples difficult as they are often not very musical and I tend to question whether I've actually hit the right notes!

I find I can generally hear if its not the right note because a wrong note will generally sound odd in the context of that piece. Or put another way if the musicality and harmony of the tiny 4 bar piece sounds right then I assume I have done it right, but I may be wrong! I don't think that would work with complex pieces, but then the idea is to ignore wrong notes and continue, so in a way it doesnt matter!

But yes I agree they are not very musical at all those sight reading tests.

Some teenagers came into church to discover what was happening (they could hear me playing) and they only stopped briefly, but seemed to be rather amazed by the organ. It made me happy, as they have probably passed the church every day for years on the way to and from school, but never ventured in, but today, they did.

Oh, and the A flat which wasn't working on the organ worked for a few minutes whilst I was playing! It then decided to be silent again, but I got a noise out of it!
(it stopped working last weekend, and will be fixed when the organ maintenance person comes back from his holiday!)

Yay, I just got an e-mail confirming my interview at Cambridge in December! I have to stay there for two days, and I'm scared witless, but it's exciting all the same...

Good luck!

I'll need it!

Or you could try the old trick of slipping the interviewer a brown envelope stuffed with used banknotes I'm sure that won't be necessary though!

Hmm... sounds like a plan! Although it hopefully won't come to that - I'd be more inclined to putting my money towards a new laptop and paying off my oboe loan!

Going to a preliminary meeting today with other ISO 9001 internal auditors, not having done an iota of preparation, very nervous, and discovering that neither had they!!

We had a great time!


Steve

My Mum phoned for a chat and to see if I was OK. I'm still her little boy (and I'm 53!)

Darn!! Sussed!!!

Reuniting escaped dog I found dodging cars earlier with his lovely owners Bless him, he's 14 years old and been running like a mad'un! Think he'll sleep for a few days now

Posted my form off for Teddington
Found some music that I didn't really realise I had which looks fun and may give me something different to play at St Alban's (so people who attend St Alban's and Teddington may not have to hear the same thing twice )
Got in to work to discover a decision has been made - which means a bit of a busy morning for me, but at least they've made their minds up and now realise things are Proper Final
And as if that weren't enough, two days off, hurrah, it's Friday!

Oh, and this time next week...if the deities of work are in my favour...day off to be at Greenwich spending money

Band. It makes my Friday's just about bearable. Except that in the middle of one of the pieces I somehow managed to forget how to read music!

Booking some well-deserved time off! And also, as long as plans don't fall to pieces, I'm off out for cocktails on Sunday!

Two teenage exam candidates who played their pieces moderately well this afternoon.

Concert going with forumites

Completing the installation of a large greenhouse.

Think I will go with that one too!

And generally today had been good actually!

Glad you had a good journey home pcf

Getting my new piano books in the post today and then my friend coming round for a chat and glass of wine this evening.

I have just finished writing a chapter!

Time to go home now - I think it's well past bed-time.

The thought of all the qualifications I am rapidly gaining at College and all the enhanced marketability of myself it will cause when I look for employment.

The thought of a flute lesson on MOnday.

having orchestra on a monday evening makes monday bearable.....

The thought of a glorious day off tomorrow, on my own, free to practise piano to my heart's content

I looked in the mirror this morning and didn't think that I looked absolutely hideous

I had a great piano lesson this morning!

Hi all,

Just got back home after seeing The London Community Gospel Choir.

Brilliant, such a great evening.

Anyone else seen them?

Regards, Peter.

sadly not live, but I've seen them on tv a number of times.

Sounds like a good evening!

Managing to sight read through several pieces I'd not touched before... It's great when you actually feel like you're getting better

That's good - you do look/sound like a very natural pianist, I have to say...

Finding Pokemon Yellow... I'm a dork and proud of it

Starting a Reinecke Sonatina. Part of it is a grade 3 alternative but as exams are not on the horizon at the moment it's good to learn a whole work rather than a piece from a book

I am happy becuase passed the 602 Comptia A+ exam and along with the 601 I passed on friday i am now fully A+ certified. I do love IT.

Plus I got to leave really early today from College.

So I am double happy today.

At school today we did mock solo performances for GCSE music, and I somehow managed to get through it! I played Clair de Lune and made several silly mistakes but kept going, though I was shaking like a leaf, and the music teachers said it was good, so fingers crossed... at least now I can relax through Wednesday and Friday's lessons while everyone else plays!

A good rehearsal with bohemian, plus she recommended I try vanilla latte : it was good

Vanilla lattes are gorgeous Starbucks do the best ones! My sister recommends a gingerbread latte - special for Christmas!

I'm happy because Shannen and I walked for three and half hours today and - though it was freezing cold and I thought my extremities would fall off - I had a great time!

The anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Many years ago I crossed from West to East and back again in a British military vehicle. I nearly didn't get back as the East German guards questioned my passport. I had to hold it up to the window of the vehicle for them to examine more closely. I remember the dreadful silence in the restaurant in East Berlin where we ate and the stares of the East Berliners - and the goose stepping of the soldiers.

So I was happy to see a festive Berlin on television this evening.

Never had a vanilla latte before this afternoon : and I was very impressed! And generally I'm much more a tea than a coffee person...

I got full marks in my mock German coursework
Now to do the real thing...

Best. Tutorial. Ever.

I love my tutor, I love my course, I love my life.

A nice thank you letter

Royal Albert Hall concert tomorrow and a day off college!