Being offered a corporate hospitality ticket for a great concert this weekend!

not feeling useless after practice!

It was actually yesterday, but I'm still glowing after the choir's performance of Vivaldi's Gloria and Stainer's Crucifixion. We had an augmented choir and were directed by a guest conductor. My wife sang the Domine Deus in Gloria superbly, and I did the tenor solos in Crucifixion.

The guest conductor then head hunted (voice hunted?) me afterwards - wants me to do any tenor solos which his musical group do in future!

And to top it all, I was presented with a couple of bottles of wine by the soprano section for giving them extra coaching on the Gloria.

Having got nearly all of my work done and EVEN a bit of revision (), realising that I still remember most of the literature poems from last year forEnglish, and planning things for the Easter hols

Nice I've heard of all of that little lot : not bad for a non-trumpeter!

Well if you will play a post-Baroque instrument!!

First instrument clarinet, second instrument saxophone...doesn't leave me much hope Baroque wise...

Last week: Vienna

I see a nicki_flute post for the first time in a while!

Hope all's well with you, Nicki

Sounds wonderful, stetenorve!

What's made me happy is the return of BerkshireSon to the family home for a while (from the afore-mentioned Vienna!) and the prospect of having a daughter in the UK for a year or two from September. I didn't think she would have been caught up in the Moscow bombings, but it was still good to hear from her this evening.

The rain has stopped Now I just hope it will stay dry until I am safely back at home.

That I'm going out to the Chinese buffet tonight for dinner with my Mum, stepdad and sister - crispy wontons, here I come!

Lots!
- I had yesterday off to be lazy in general and in particular, successfully made monkfish in black olives (which I had in a French restaurant last year) after numerous disastrous attempts in the past few months and also made good start on Chopin Nocturne in F#
- I've secured "replacement ticket" for my cancelled BA flight and my boss has approved my new holidays dates.
- I was given a ticket to tonight's Philharmonia birthday concert (with Muti conducting Beethoven Eroica and Joshua Bell playing the Violin Concerto).

You lucky beast - I wish I had! (That's envy, not sickness!)

On top of a couple of good clarinet playing sessions today I've spent a nice afternoon playing and creating (jewellery and train tracks) with Little Miss and little Mr F

AND....... I've had a phone call from a couple of friends we've not seen since we stayed with them in Italy about 18 months + ago and they are coming over to see us at the weekend.

I got my crispy wontons

Chopin Etudes book arrived today - it's beautiful

I <3 Henle Hardbacks... I now have 15 in my library!

Finally deciding on my three pieces for the Ealing Festival.

Seeing son play oboe in his primary school orchestra concert!

telling my pupils their exam results- most were thrilled!

Is it a sin to hate someone?? Hope you had a really bad good time Panthera!

I received two movies that I had ordered - Moon Child and Kagen No Tsuki (The Last Quarter), both starring HYDE!! Also, I got my eyebrows waxed again yesterday, and they look so much tidier now!

My younger (half-)brother added me as a friend on Facebook.

He is fifteen, so it's nice to know I'm not some ancient uncool relative

A lovely lunch and chat with Flossie

Just chatting with my younger bro on FB, now we are friends. And he said "Got to go and have my tea, love you xxx' and now I have just burst in to tears (I don't think we've ever said that, since I was 19 and not living in that house when he was born). And as I said, he's fifteen, you don't admit loving elderly relatives when you are fifteen.

Just all awwww and happy now

Strangely, I got this weird feeling when I read this and almost teared up That's so nice, Maizie.

Awwh, that's lovely, Maizie

Picking up my new (well new to me) flute

singing tenebrae tonight at 9.

Since when has 34 been classed as elderly?! (Well, I suppose to a 15 year old...)

Well that was my point really; at 15, you don't admit to having any family because they are all so old and embarrassing and 'I never asked to be born'.
And when your siblings are 34 and nearly 40 (and the 34 year old is married to someone who is nearly 47! When your mum is only 55!), that's just extra awful (because then people might ask questions about the family, and we're back to who admits to having any family, least of all a complicated/modern one!)

Virtual Friday!

Your family sounds a bit like mine Maizie, only it is me the Mum and I am also 55. My youngest son is going to be 13 next week. My daughter is 35 and my son 29 from my first marriage. My daughter has 2 boys aged 8 and 11, but we took my daughter and boys on holiday with us last year and it was my daughter that my son got the thrill of being with and not his nephews. They played together in the pool just like a brother and sister would without the age gap. Roars of laughter from both of them and they both love being with eachother.

It is nice to know that there are other families like mine around.

ET

I know how you feel, I'm so glad it's almost the holidays...

Just the fact that we haven't been hit by snow just yet

A cocktail at lunch.

Knowing i have secured a place on a squash weekend course later in the month.

Then when i see the result on my bank balance!

Hmm very nice!

I have 8 llamas!

You can't take it with you (no point being the richest man in the graveyard)... Enjoy life, don't resent spending money on things that you'll enjoy

Real ones? I've always thought they're so cute!

I'm happy because it's my last day of work before holidays!

They're cure when they're not in a bad mood and don't spit at people!!!!

That reminds me of one of the Tintin books which is hilarious (the spitting llamas bits not Tintin in general) -- as obviously is the case when llamas spit at people other than me (fictional or otherwise)

Just been told I've been shortlisted for interview for a job. Interview is next week, I'm just hoping it doesn't go the way my last interview did.

Have been experimenting with my new electric violin which Mr Blackbird brought as a present, he said to make up for the violin which I had to send back. Her name is Phoebe.

Breaking up for the Easter holidays!

Very pleased to hear that you have another interview, Blackbird77. Think positive, get in there and convince them you're the best person for the job! This could really be the one with your name on it.

The tintin book is what made me think of it!! I remember reading it as a child and the spitting llamas made me laugh so much (as did the other books!!!)!

Oh well done, think positive! Hope all goes well for you.

Not real ones, I'm afraid! It's a theme on deviantArt today - everybody's giving each other llama badges. I have 17 now.


I remember that! I love Tintin.

A really fab lesson