I can't see myself getting any of the Scarlatti ready in time for that, not with all the other stuff going on! I'll prepare some pieces from the Anna Magdalena book for the Baroque day, I think

That'd be good

A good swimming lesson... and cake Well, life needs to be balanced... healthy and unhealthy...

I love my course! Had a really fun, interesting seminar, even though the period we're studying isn't my favourite. I don't love the set texts we're doing, so I think it's brilliant that the seminars and tutorials - and even the lectures are still so absorbing.

That's really nice to hear. I'm so pleased that you're settled at York and not wishing you'd gone somewhere different.

Thanks, I'm so glad too. I really do think the course is the most important thing though. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed the English course at any uni I'd gone to. (York, of course, now has my full loyalty, as my approximately twelve York University hoodies will attest.)
Last year I loved it as well, but I didn't do any work, really and was always worried about not being intelligent enough or coming across as stupid. I'm really enjoying seminars much more this year. It's so lovely that you can sit down and have conversations without worrying that you sound ridiculously pretentious (which is something I'm always wary of when I talk about books with friends who don't study English). Plus, I don't know if it's because my last two tutors have been young and enthusiastic and lovely, but it really does feel like a friendly group chat, rather than the formal, stilted discussions we had in seminars last year.

It's Friday! Don't have to wake up early tomorrow...

My piano teacher telling me one of my pieces is good enough to pass now :-D

I made fifteens

What on earth does that mean?

Not today, but yesterday I had a lecture called Songs and Sonnets. Our lecturer played loads of Early Music - settings of the poetry we're studying. Then he showed how Bob Dylan had drawn from it. It was brilliant.

Progress!

Finally getting around to watching The Boat that Rocked on DVD - really enjoyed it

That's good to hear! I was going to see it at the cinema, but saw some not so brilliant reviews in the papers, so didn't. Is Bill Nighy good in it?

The complete Mozart Sonatas by Klara Wurtz arrived from Amazon today. Bliss. So much better than the Mitsuko Uchida CDs.

I remember discussing Mitsuko Uchida with you a while ago Happy listening!

I got some new trainers, trackies, swimming costume and swimming hat
It means I don't have to carry everything from my PE kit at school to home everyday (trackies and trainers).

New swimming stuff is so that I can go undercover in the pool, without everyone recognising me . I used to go to a swimming club until recently, so the only other swimming gear I have is in the club colours with their name all over it, now nobody can regognise me with hat and goggles on

Yesterday, actually. Mrs Mole surprised me with tickets to see the wonderful canadian pianist, Avan Yu, play at Beaulieu Church. We got there early and managed to get seats only about 10 feet away from the piano.

He played two Beethoven Sonatas (Op 2 No 1 and Op 110) for the first half of his program and the second half was all Chopin, ending with the Ballade No 2 in F (Op 38) and the Grande Polonaise Brilliant Op22.

He was absolutely brilliant!

Yesterday evening I went to a concert in our local church. "M" a now adult, ex-pupil of mine was conducting her three choirs, combined, in a multi ethic programme the main item of which was "Messe Ethnique pour la Paix" by Lorentz Laierhoifer.

It was magnificent! These were amateur singers with a degree of professionalism that had to be heard to be believed. The whole programme was unaccompanied apart from percussion. Intonation never faltered, rhythmic attack was precise and the range and variety of expression a constant joy and surprise. M's contact with her choristers and the public and her sense of theatre were a delight - seven encores - and I had tears of joy in my eyes. Others of you out there must know what it's like to see someone you have guided over the years take to their wings. Just thought I'd like to share such a happy and rewarding moment.

What a lovely experience, Aquarelle, and great you had the chance to be there and see it all happen!

What a marvellous feeling that must have been. No wonder you had tears in your eyes!

I had a surprise delivery from Amazon today - my friend sent me some books as a late Christmas present.

And completely by chance that I was in for the delivery! I have the morning off as having cavity wall insulation fitted.

I was just in a meeting and we ended up re-writing our 'vision' for the new department we are in. And I persuaded our team to use the word 'using' instead of 'utlizing'. That's made me very happy

Excellent. All you need to do now is get them to stop using "vision".

...and stop them from "exploring synergies" and having a "helicopter view"

Pianist magazine dropped through the door this morning, first of my subscription

Uh uh! lol, more pieces to play lol Enjoy

Sight reading practice only methinks, my teacher will probably go mad if I take on any more new pieces...

Well more of a smile than anything, when I read that , at a weight watchers club in Sweden, the floor collapsed !

Look, I'm just one person, not a super-human

Is a 'vision' better or worse than a 'mission statement'?

Going swimming before school made me happy
it was great! Bad side was that there were a lot of "macho" men who wouldn't let us (me and 18 year old sister) past at the end of the pool if we were speedier. If we tried to overtake partway down the lane, they would try to speed up, splashing and going all over the place you had to wait until they'd swam a bit away before you could sprint. It was pretty though, the pool has lots of windows in the ceiling, so we watched the sun come up and it was really nice doing something before school. It made it seem like school was just a part of the day, and we were free before and after, whereas before it was always straight to school in the morning. My friends all thought I was mad, but I'm really looking forward to the next one!

I'd like to start swimming before school when it starts getting lighter. The thing is, I'd have to cycle in, and that would involve getting up at about 6am, as my parents wouldn't take me, and my bus pass is only for the school bus. I have started doing one extra swim session a week though - just lengths down the side of the pool in the public swim, as the 'lane swim' sessions are only for adults.

Chocolate biscuits made me temporarily happy today, but now I feel really bad. I've just undone all the hard work of my swimming lesson and cycle home! Feeling that I'm getting somewhere in the piano piece I'm learning also made me happy.

This took me back a few years! When I was in my early teens I used to get up early and walk the mile to our local baths for the 7am session. After an hour's swim I could pick up the school bus not too far from the baths. I remember feeling that school was just a part of the day too! Happy days.

My violin bow repair is fairly simple and should cost no more than ?20. Furthermore it will ready to collect on Friday.

Also I won my first squash match at my new club. Played 1 won 1.

I drove past my pupil's house on the way to collect my son. It was dark outside, and their lights were on with the curtains open. Student and parent were sitting together at the piano, heads together, obviously deep in conversation and peering at the music. Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside...

A truly hilarious physics lesson, a really good music lesson, and returning home to find my new piano books had arrived! the grade five piano pieces book and The Hanon Virtuoso Pianist-loads of new things to learn!

Filing my self-assessment on-line before the deadline (income tax, that is )

I know I posted here just yesterday, but getting one of my pieces recorded for GCSE music performance has certainly made me happy

All yesterday but still making me happy today:
1) Fab music lesson, really enjoyed it. Even the fiendish weird-squggles-everywhere Hotteterre stuff Quite fun to completely ignore the exam pieces and scales and do something else (I think my teacher is leaving it to me to be motivated to get stuff polished for the exam; hopefully that isn't a mistake!)

2) One of my rats had a lump removed the other week. It's not an unusual thing in female rats, though she was a bit young for it. They are hormonally caused, but usually not hormone-producing/affecting. Well, I got home last night and this rat who has been delumped has picked up 99% of the paper in the cage (shredded paper as bedding), and made the most enormous nest with it. And she is hassling the alpha-rat an awful lot (she's always been happy-second-place rat). So I can only think that this lump was not the usual lump, and her hormones have gone bonkers at its removal, so now she has delusions of grandeur (and pregnancy!) Very funny to watch - also lovely to see her being very bouncy and getting a 'chunkier' build following her op.

3) And once the rat was better, the cat had to go to the vet. My husband noticed last weekend that she had a scab, I prodded it a bit and the area around was all lumpy and the cat shouted at me for touching it. So Monday she went to the vet, and the vet was the brave one who shaved the cat and it turned out to be an enormous deep cut - and likely infected, too. So they couldn't stich it up (as it would seal the infection in), but it was too big to leave open, instead they put a staple in. Cat has been confined indoors and is supposed to be wearing a collar Anyway, Tuesday she wanted to lick it a lot (but the collar was in the way). Wednesday she seemed to be ignoring it (and when she snuck out of her collar, we didn't force it back on). Thursday - wow, I got home and she was just in an insane mood. As all cats do from time-to-time. But it just made me very happy to have an insane cat running about the place like a nutter. On top of which, the wound is healing really well, she has no objection to me looking at or touching near the cut, and she's not paying it any mind at all now. Wwe have a vet check up tomorrow and in theory the staple isn't meant to be out for another five days but I suspect that it might come out tomorrow

Wonderful! I want one!

I miss a cat around the place. One like this would be good.



Oh dear, that's a big one.

What is it with ginger toms? Black or grey Persian would be my choice, although I'm not a massive cat fan

Who says it's a ginger tom? My ginger cat was female. She was lovely.

It was still properly light at going home time tonight!



It's still cold, but I'm beginning to believe that Spring is on the way.

I love ginger cats, male or female.
Although, ginger toms are a law unto themselves, but you know they love you because they stay.
Thomas O Malley, O Malley the alley cat.

Being able to finish work just after lunchtime and spending the afternoon practicing.

I received another book in the post today... and devoured it in an hour and a half!

You're supposed to read it, not eat it!

But they're scrumptious!

I agree, Stephie! No book seems to last much longer than a day in our household...