The passage of time in Wellington and elsewhere
Another book read.
Not bad. A lot of possibly necessary or usual detail about elections and internal party politics. But interesting about him personally and his interactions with other leaders such as Johnson during the Brexit negotiations and dealing with political crises .
Worth the read.
An interesting book about football and its politics and finances. The involvement of states in the ownership of clubs and the dodgy sources of money and club owners.
A few more to go.
A good read. Beautiful story.
We found ourselves at the Royal Festival Hall last night for The Messiah. The last time we saw it was three years ago at the same venue but with a negative review.
This time it was a fabulous experience. The choir of 99 and the orchestra did a great job.
The choir sang so well, perfect timing and a great vocal range. The soloists all did a fine job. We thought they the female alto coped with great vocal demands.
The orchestra was not huge in number but provided a great sound. I did not the work of the female bass player. She stood for the whole performance. Her accompaniment for ‘My Redeemer Liveth’ to the singing soprano was great to admire.
The music particularly after the first act just got better and better. One the better Messiah events for us. Great.
And the views from the bar’s balcony:
A trip to Covent Garden last night .
We have seen this before in Wellington but I did not remember the details. The ending is rememberable as Tosca commits suicide-last night by jumping through a window and for the Wellington performance by jumping off a wall.
I was up in the gods so the warmth became an issue. I enjoyed it, it became better as it progressed and I enjoyed the ‘hits’. The story was stronger and clearer than in some other operas and so easier to follow.
I have been listening to the music again today along with a few other operatic classics.
We went to this at the weekend and the effort to note it has come from reading a review in the FT.
A positive review and we certainly enjoyed it. I have seen it at least once before-many moons ago in Cannizzaro park as part of the outdoor theatre festival.
Stephen Fry makes a dominant impact and yes the performance of Merriman is very ‘Mrs Overalls’ and ‘soup…..’- great.
Well worth seeing the classic play done with a sting nod to gay life and identity.
Another trip but this time to Tate Modern along with Joe. An option to use the membership again!
Plus some good photos from a Czech including from the Soviet invasion of Prague.
The one on the right is the same event I believe from which there is an iconic picture of a woman Pitt a flower in the barrel of a tank. Plus echoes of Tiananmen Square image.
Plus some other notables:
As a result of this visit we are members again.
A recommendation from EQ to see Edward Burra:
I enjoyed most of his work. Early stuff less stimulating and later UK scenery less appealing. Interesting images of Franc and USA in the 1920 and 30s.
The violence of war in Spain then WW2 are hard to view.
He also loved music and helped in design for operas. One o f which was about the Govan area of Glasgow:
During my recent trip to London for work I slipped in some culture. One event was a trip to the Royal Albert Hall to watch and listen to a Proms concert.
The main attraction was Beethoven’s Fifth.
The paino concerto was good to listen to and technically a great exhibition. The piece ‘Bruckner’s Skull’ was quite different and interesting.
I obtained my ticket on the day and so was a ‘Prommer’ for the first time- in the standing area in front of the stage. A good experience but hard on the feet by the end!
