Teaser Tuesday - 16th April

Teaser tuesday's now hosted here.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

It was going to be Arabic. Then, he had to make a living, so, computer science

from Lessons by Ian McEwan, not an easy read dealing with abuse in the context of music lessons. But a study of Britain in the years from WWII to the present.

Slovenia

We've been away a few times since the last record of a trip here. Let me attempt to catch up by starting with the most recent! Last summer we had a walking holiday in Slovenia - the album for the visit is here,

I hope accounts of the walks will soon follow! Why doesn't flickr show the album photo on the link rather than the first photo?!

Teaser Tuesday - 9th April

Teaser tuesday's now hosted here.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

He would beg. He opened his mouth to say 'Please' - at which the young man tore off a chicken leg and was in the act of handing it across when the girl shouting 'No! No! No!', slapped him back, and went on peeling an orange.

At least a third read of Bruce Chatwin's Utz! A short novel on the joys of collecting, we're in the midst of decluttering preparatory, I hope, a move, so an interesting choice. I've previously blogged about the book here, and a tuesday teaser too!

Newcastle under Lyme Festival

Earlier in the month I participated in 3 classes at the Newscastle festival- playing nocturnes by Frederic Chopin (F minor) and Nancy Litten and Franz Schubert's Hungarian Melody. An interesting afternoon - mainly teenagers competing, but it's always useful for playing experience (mine and theirs!). Here's Nancy Litten playing her nocturne - a certain influence of that Chopin Nocturne(!) I didn't dress up for my performance!..

I've been playing regularly at the Alberti piano group - which now has meetings on line and in person.

Here's my latest performance from the online meeting. Arnold Bax's Nereid - a watery tone picture very gentle with a few ripples (a nereid was a (one of many!) daughter of poseidon). I'll be playing the Schubert again at the Alderley festival in May.

Teaser Tuesday - 19th March

Teaser tuesday's now hosted here.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

In the Faustian seriousness of the B minor Sonata there is no room for ambiguities. One has to take Liszt seriously in order to play him well.

Alfred Brendel 'Music, Sense and Nonsense' And I've just got rid - clearing music I'm never going to seriously attempt - of my score of the Liszt B minor! A difficul read - at least at first! Skip though to the 'Music Classical Music be entirely serious' essay and that got me going - and interested. Brendel on music, lots of fascinating information.

Teaser Tuesday!

Oh does my login here still work?! Maybe (maybe??!!) I still have things to post and catchup, but starting gently with this Teaser tuesday's now hosted here.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

They'd both kept up, however, their veneer of wry humour - unlike Colette prowling angily in her pink dress, which had a ribbon under her bust just like her mother's, except that Colette's bust was more cumbersome. She'd picked at a bowl of stuffed olives until they were all gone.

from Tessa Hadley's Free Love. I've not read any of her books before, this was published in 2022. With its tangled relationships, and its era, I found it reminiscent of Iris Murdoch's Severed Head.

Mutterings - Oct 17

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Prove :: Theorem
2. Update :: Security
3. Animal :: Puppet (or even Muppet!)
4. Chocolate :: Cooking
5. Illness :: Serious
6. Upright :: Piano
7. Crucial ::
8. Baked :: Beans
9. Hoops :: Hula
10. Posture :: Seated

Teaser Tuesday - Oct 5

Teaser tuesday's now hosted here.

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title \& author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

...by a former Pope in his place; or John XII who was consecrated at the age of seventeen and during whose reign, according to Gibbon, 'we learn with some surprise that the Lateran Palace was turned into a school for prostitution; and that his rapes of virgins and widows had deterred the female pilgrims from visiting the tomb of St Peter, lest, in the devout act, they should be violated by his successor.' Phew - that's only one sentence from John Julius Norwich The History of Venice - one of the racier, more unpleasant bits of Italian history!

Mutterings - Oct 5

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Trails :: Vapour
2. Permanently :: Exclusion
3. Incident :: Close
4. Concur :: Shake (on it!)
5. Shocked :: Expression
6. Money :: Income
7. Horse :: Mouth
8. Church :: People
9. British :: Identity (whatever that is!)
10. Scandal :: Profumo

Amarok and Clementine - a comparison

Introduction

I'm a long term user of Amarok the KDE media player - for probably 10+ years. There's always a blip when a move to a new version of the KDE software framework happens and at the moment we're in one of those transitions. When I moved to Ubuntu 21.04 I couldn't get the pre-release version to work and so for the last few months I've been trialling Clementine another media player that forked from Amarok a few(?) years back when another transition was happening. I've now got Amarok to run successfully but in view of one of the shortcomings of current Amarok, I'm likely to be running them alternately for a time yet and thought I'd put down my comparison of pros and cons of both. Below, for each, I'm giving the pros (at least for me!). I looked at various other media players, Elisa and Quod Libet but they didn't give me the environment I wanted.

Amarok

Using ppa version from Pedro Gomes version KF5 2.9.71

• Can order by date in collection view with more recent at top - Clementine date ordering only appears to be from oldest /undated with the newest right down at the bottom and those are probably the ones you want to highlight.
• Filters on collection - history of filters available via pulldown and editable using a user friendly form.
• Add ons - e.g. viewing the rest of the album contents automatically while listening to one track.
• Track info in wikipedia - and selectable via various options, artist, composer etc; links are clickable in case you want to browse. Clementine disables links.
• Scripts are available!
• Dynamic lists remain tied to the selection - if you change it the selection changes. In Clementine it appears to be a snapshot of the time you invoked it, and having turned of dynamic section in a tracklist, there's no clear way of turning it back on.
• Tracks are named as such rather than the genre specific term of (wince) "songs" - yes I know that's what certain big music suppliers use!
• Albums can be played in order as part of a dynamic playlist, I think it's possible in Clementine but only very hackily.
• The view of the collection is a lot more structured, click on an album and there's a secondary level showing the artist, in my mainly "classical" collection that's very useful.
• A con - sometimes when starting up Amarok, the volume is set to zero - clearly not just me - see this report

Clementine

Version 1.4 rc2

• Multiple playlists can be visible and edited while another is being played.
• Huge playlists are handled well.
• Retrieval of album covers is far better.
• Playing ogg format works (well it 'works' for amarok but the track isn't marked as played and there's an abrupt transition to the next track just before it finishes - Apr '24 this bug is now fixed).
• Playing CDs works without having to rip them.
• While building a dynamic list you get a preview of what is going to be chosen with your current options, with Amarok you do it in the dark and only when using it do you find you've done something wrong (and what is wrong??!!).
• Showing lyrics seems to work a lot better than Amarok.
• "Right" click on a track and there are a lot more options than in Amarok (eg search for artist) - and there's edit tag directly!
• Auto completion of tags when editing from existing data - good in Clementine, this used to work with Amarok but currently doesn't - I guess this will eventually be rectified.
• The wonderful "complete tags automically" - it usually works even with some of my more obscure listening!
• And a couple of cons- if you have a playlist filter, you can't see the "smart playlist" option!
• Spotify appears to be available - but the plug in is not installable and causes an instant crash!
• You can't create a smart playlist using "file format", this works in Amarok, and for Clementine using file name contains doesn't appear to work at all.

Downsides of both: Importing of last.fm stats unavailable or doesn't work. In both cases I lost all the "last played" and "playcount" data from before my upgrade to Ubuntu 20.10 - which is when I had to migrate to the new Amarok.

Mutterings - Sept 15

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. NPR :: Wot?! (googles...)
2. Lampshade :: Lady Lazarus (and very dark!)
3. Beep :: -o-matic (google suggests this is via Fireman Sam but I think it was Nick Park)
4. Fingernail :: Blackboard
5. Simple :: Minds
6. Tight :: Fisted
7. Swoosh :: Missing (the point)
8. Booger :: Eugh!
9. Fox :: Michael (friend and was vicar and BBC producer around here)
10. Kindness :: Stop (giving time)

Teaser Tuesday - Sept 15

Let's do another of these (and maybe make it a regular event!) I think it's now hosted here.

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title \& author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

"You know that this is the time when people lose control," I say. "It's not worth having a big fight over the stuff. Please be careful." Kim is five-foot-two; her husband is a big, burly Irish guy who likes to drink.

Yes I know that's 3 sentences! From Martina Reaves' "I'm still here" about her fight with cancer, hugely inspiring, moving stuff, the above quote is rather away from the thread of the memoir. Here's the Goodread's page Also reflections on many facets of her life, as one reviewer (Mary McNeill) puts it

Her insights on romance, marriage, discrimination, activism, the law, parenting, family, friendship, and more, are imbued with emotional literacy, which made the process of hearing her story a very uplifting gift.

Chethams

Last weekend I returned from a visit to the Chethams piano summer school - a useful few days listening to concerts and participating in lessons and workshops. I got some useful comments on my playing and here is my performance of John Ireland's 'In a May Morning' from his Sarnia - written in the Channel Islands in May 1940 just before he escaped the German invasion. Maybe I will look at more of his piano works?

Mutterings - 28th Aug

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Travel:: Itinerary
2. Unravel :: Ravel
3. Yell :: Frustrate
4. Peaceful :: Landscape
5. Catastrophe :: Afghanistan
6. Position :: Carefully
7. Cat :: Scan
8. Health ::
9. Shark :: Fin
10. Mountain :: Scenery (missing this!)

Mutterings - Aug 22

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Fast :: Lent
2. Ridiculous :: Expression
3. Germs :: Wash (and the story of the last year)
4. Computer :: Technology
5. Business :: School
6. Old :: Wine (maybe glancing at the next line!)
7. Whine :: Cat feeding time!
8. Personal :: Story
9. Whisper :: Gallery (British museum)
10. Slow :: Festina (going back to the first word!)

Mutterings - Aug 10

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Misrepresent :: Malicious
2. Conditioning :: Air
3. Blister :: Pack
4. Dump :: Stig
5. Boing :: Zebedee!
6. Hill :: (to ) Die (on)
7. Consolidate :: Merge
8. Tame :: Lion
9. Power :: Electrical
10. Sneeze :: Allergy

This blog has been quiet, lots of unmentioned news...let's see!

Mutterings - May 16

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Tweet :: Mob
2. Chill :: Breathe (deeply)
3. Toe :: Hold
4. Early :: Riser
5. Plenty :: Drink
6. Repeat :: Mark
7. Blank :: Mind
8. Quarter :: Note
9. Synapse :: Connection
10. Earlobe :: Pierce

Almost ready to record

I have a first go at recording my ARSM diploma programe tomorrow - I've done a few rehearsals already but tomorrow it is on a rather different piano, a Steingraeber piano at Shackleford's a local piano dealer. If it doesn't work tomorrow I have another morning booked, so I can choose the best recording for submission.

Mutterings - Apr 17

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Casino :: Royale
2. Bone :: Dry
3. Painting :: Contemplate
4. Market :: Prices
5. Shocked :: van de Graaf
6. Curbed :: Dog (training)
7. High :: Noon (I must be on a film kick)
8. Quiter :: Patch
9. Playroom :: Aughton (my aunt used to be on the staff at a children's residential nursery there back in the 50s)
10. Feed :: Twitter

Mutterings - Apr 10

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Song :: Funeral a moderately recent first performance of an early work of Stravinsky (who died 50 years ago this week.
2. Glass :: Philip (I've started on Music!)
3. Boat :: Skye (Song!)
4. Junk :: -et
5. Sheet :: (three) to the wind
6. Knit :: Purl
7. Gift :: Horse
8. Truck :: No (with such and such)
9. Small :: Bug (but they never are!)
10. Title :: Noble (titled aristocracy)

Swans

On a walk this week along the canal I passed 2 swans who were clearly far more interested in potential prey in the water rather than the threat from a human, I was little more than 1 metre from them.

Mutterings - Apr 3

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Bingo :: King of the Mornings (Brazilian film about the melt down of a TV personality)
2. Sound :: Depth
3. Correspond :: 1-1
4. Moving :: Emoting
5. Inch :: Shuffle (towards)
6. Clog :: Wooden (I have some for the feet when piano playing)
7. Video :: Nasty
8. Bark :: Bite
9. Cloud :: Memory (going fuzzy)
10. Pig :: Napoleon (Orwell's Animal farm)

Mutterings - March 27

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Frog :: Spawn
2. Milk :: Yogurt
3. Waist :: High
4. Thrift :: Shop
5. Brick :: Yellow (Road)
6. Kneel :: Homage
7. Rotate :: Axes
8. Jumpy :: Lambs
9. Style :: Rococo
10. Bruise :: Ugly

Mutterings - March 21

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Horse :: Saddle
2. Green :: Fauré - one of his settings of Verlaine
3. Stomach :: Strong
4. River :: Wharfe
5. Flirting :: Side-eye
6. Red :: Shift - astronomical and the Alan Garner book
7. Eating :: ones words
8. Thyme :: Basket
9. Eyeglasses :: Monocle
10. Speak :: Silence

Mutterings - March 13

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Keen :: Commander!
2. Charger :: Arab
3. Wearable :: Wristband
4. Owl :: Tawny
5. Head :: Salome (and John the Baptist!)
6. Cow :: Frighten
7. Records :: 78s
8. Countdown :: Final
9. Base :: First
10. Kid :: Deceive

ABRSM Performance Diploma

I see I first posted about my intention to do the ABRSM diploma 10 years ago - it's still not done, but I'm getting to the point of asking for the date! Here's my thoughts from 2011 The programme has changed a bit since then (as have the piano teachers, though I'm now back with the same one as then),and I'm now doing the performance diploma which is slightly easier and intending to submit it remotely - here's the lineup

• Scarlatti Sonatas in C K 308 and 309
• Stravinsky Tango
• Chopin Mazurka in C# minor Op 50 No 3
• Scriabin Preludes Op 11 Nos 10 and 13
• Mompou Cancion e Danza no 6
• Rachmaninov Etude Tableau Op 33 No 3 in C minor

The last 2 items are my own choice, I see 2 items are the same as in 2011, hopefully here I've lived with them a good long time, hoping to submit in April. Here's a recent video of me playing the Stravinsky.

very chunky chords! A couple of rhythmic issues still to be addressed!

Still waters

To go with the post from the end of Jan of Macclesfield in the snow, here are a couple from this week where it feels as if Spring has nearly arrived.

Mutterings - March 6

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Clap :: Carers
2. Vision :: Perfect
3. Prone :: Fall
4. Congratulate :: Certificate
5. Lean :: Hungry
6. Thrill :: Chase
7. Chrome :: Browser
8. Host :: 127.0.0.1
9. Learn :: Look and (magazine from the 60s - or was it the 50s?)
10. Smell :: Rich

Mutterings - 20 Feb

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Row :: Column
2. Happy :: Grumpy
3. Storm :: Welcome (to my life, at present!)
4. Clink :: Restaurant (the local women's prison at Styal runs a restaurant called the Clink, sometime we're hoping to go)
5. Mindful :: Calm
6. Massage :: Flesh
7. Water :: Reflection
8. Bingo :: Shout
9. Stomped :: Snow
10. Farm :: Barn

Mutterings - Feb 17

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Mime :: Siegfried (must be that BBC Radio 3 is doing Wagner's Ring this week - though I have problems with that Opera!
2. Jinx :: High
3. Animal :: Run
4. Woman :: Gender
5. Correspondence :: Matching
6. Eggs :: Pancake (this is what happens when I do this late)
7. Tax :: Code (tries to find mine on gov.uk!)
8. Lima :: Ponte (Portugal rather than South America - we went there in 2019)
9. Squander :: Waste
10. Expert :: Driver

Mutterings - Feb 3

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Recording :: Sound
2. Tumble :: Drier
3. Fixate :: Obsess
4. Border :: First (He's at the border first.. he turns and.. the end of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale)
5. Humming :: Bird
6. Scratch :: Orchestra (see Cornelius Cardew)
7. Exhausted :: Mine (as in excavation)
8. Gurgle :: Pipes
9. Nostalgia :: Musical
10. Squeak :: Bubble

Mutterings - Jan 28th

This week's (well last week's!) free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Wanting :: Waiting (maybe the old Access card ad - "taking the waiting out of wanting", maybe yearning of separation)
2. System :: 4 (ICL...)
3. Home :: Screen
4. Excessive :: Alcohol
5. Handy :: Andy (I think the cleaner rather than any TV person!)
6. Traditional :: Carols (listened to some earlier)
7. Buying :: Scheme
8. Tone :: Lean (tanned..)
9. Modern :: Technology
10. Needing :: Loving

Over the town

First thing in the morning is good for quiet walks, sometimes you get a sunrise but Monday was cloudy though with lockdown it was good to be out and enjoying the cold quietness.

View of St Paul's - it was the day the church remembers St Paul that day!

Mutterings - Jan 24

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Finale :: Season
2. Old man :: [of] Hoy
3. Sticking :: Plaster
4. Hardship :: Fund
5. Change :: Better
6. Suppose :: Assumption
7. Jacket :: Bomber
8. Volatile :: Cocktail
9. Five :: Fingers
10. Pajamas :: Trousers

Teaser - err Tuesday - Jan 21

The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

He took a beer out of the fridge or made himself a mug of tea, and while Roxana perched on the sofa to paint her toenails with deft strokes of silver glitter he told her about providing technical support to editors who could spend days honing a manuscript, somehow manage to lose all their work with a couple of keystrokes, and want him to recover it for them.

It sounds highly responsible business.

From a book group book of a few months back - `Constance' - Rosie Thomas - I'm a little uncomfortable with some of the phraseology in that quote, but I was very impressed back when I read this very powerful story of loss and re-connecting - see this review

Teaser Tuesday is hosted here if you wish to go and thank Ambrosia or get other ideas.

In a window

On alleged Bue Monday here's something to encourage, spotted this in a currently closed cafe on a walk

unfortunately, it has now gone, probably Christmas decorations, the words changed periodically. You may also spot me!

Across the car park

An early morning shopping trip produced these lovely winter colours in the snow and the unromantic surroundings of a supermarket car park.

Mutterings - Jan 11

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Crass :: Trump
2. Raging :: Trump (is this a competition ;) )
3. Delivery :: Turpin (highwayman - nearly!)
4. Cash :: Outmoded
5. Streaming :: Music
6. Trip :: at home
7. Business :: Call
8. Tiger :: Jungle book
9. Sneeze :: 7 dwarves - more Disney!
10. Bribery :: Trump (again!)

Mutterings - Jan 6

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Discount :: Dat Count (sorry!)
2. Gluttony :: Christmas
3. Hype :: Social media
4. Imposing :: Edifice
5. Segment :: Chord (I think a geometry connection here rather than musical)
6. Controlling :: Abuse
7. Suspicious :: Glance
8. Prime :: Function (maybe 2ⁿ - 1?)
9. Auction :: Car
10. Epic :: Agile (software terms strike back!)

New Year

Another new year and as an intent let's try to breathe more new life here with some catching up and positive views. An early morning walk today along the local canal, quiet, frosty with the local birdlife giving a reminder that some things still go on. A bit too cloudy for good dawn pictures but then a boat with some heating appeared after rounding a corner under a bridge.

November colours

A short walk at the weekend along a local canal and 2 pictures:

Love the way the heron and the houses in the background go together so beautifully, and one of those heron legs is actually something in the street behind. This photo was taken < 5 minutes from the local railway station.

Mutterings - Sept 18

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Medical :: Procedure
2. Half :: Better
3. Purpose :: Defined
4. Committed :: Relationship
5. Month :: November!
6. Focal :: Length
7. Coconut :: Shy
8. Confusion :: Embarrassment
9. Separation :: Divorce
10. Officer :: Gentleman

Defying International law

A letter I've sent to our MP (David Rutley) on the subject of the UK government proposing to discard bits of the Brexit withdrawal agreement Johnson/Cummings are not keen on:

I'm writing to you to express my dismay that the government is proposing to break international law in 'a very specific and limited way' - whatever that means! - over the Brexit agreement.

If I were to break the law even in a very specific and limited way, I'd expect to find myself in trouble with the police. I realise that our prime minister has trouble with honesty and integrity (and especially via his unaccountable and unsackable 'advisor' Dominic Cummings) but I would hope that you have higher standards and will argue against this breaking of the law and if it is brought to the commons will vote against it.

If we do this - despite Johnson claiming his deal was 'oven ready' and all conservative candidates signing up to it at the 2019 election - to discard the inconvenient bits sends a message to our international partners that it is not worth agreeing trade treaties with us which can be thrown away on a ministerial whim. You are also all breaking your word to the electorate as well as ignoring the very recent manifesto.

If we do this how can we possibly criticise the government of China for not sticking to the Hong Kong agreement?

a paragraph of more personal information elided!

feel free to borrow bits of this!

Mutterings - Sept 5

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Jealous :: Dog (kd lang )
2. Lucky :: Strike
3. Road :: Journey
4. Pushing :: 50 (or some random age!)
5. Joint :: Pain (see above)
6. Knocking :: Door (heaven's)
7. Confused :: Drinking
8. Happening :: 60s
9. Stellar :: Reputation
10. Jump :: Shift (oh is that a bridge link - I thought it must be SF)

By the canal

I've been walking most days during lockdown and the following restrictions, there's old railways lines - now footpaths - and a canal very close to home. Today a heron was gently swimming on the canal watching passers by closely but not being alarmed!

And one from a few weeks ago:

Mutterings - Aug 31

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Broken :: Glass (maybe spectre but that's a mis-spelling!)
2. Sabotage :: Criminal
3. Pass :: Card
4. Corn :: Sweet
5. Strangle :: Lock
6. Books :: Shelves
7. Relief :: Exhale
8. Mountain :: Path
9. Tomato :: Trellis
10. Tablet :: Android

..catching up (again!)

Mutterings - Aug 18

This week's free word associations from Unconscious Mutterings are:

1. Alexander :: Graham Bell
2. Driver :: Device (geeky!)
3. Suck :: Blow
4. Approach :: Landing
5. Votes :: Up
6. Mister :: Sir
7. Low key :: Withdrawn
8. Cameras :: Press
9. Stint :: Arduous
10. Carpenter :: Plane

Mutterings - June 11

This week's free word associations from Unconscious Mutterings are:

1. Dish :: Spoon (nursery rhymes..)
2. Crunch :: Bang
3. Fire :: Sack
4. Alaska :: Pipeline
5. Heights :: Balance
6. Force :: Luke
7. Birthday :: Cake
8. Sauce :: Gander
9. Gift :: Wrap
10. Winner :: Raffle

Mutterings - May 4

This week's free word associations from Unconscious Mutterings are:

1. Baby :: Computer
2. Quarantine :: Lockdown
3. Self :: Care
4. Backpack :: Heavy
5. Digital :: Computer
6. App :: Jit.Si
7. Home :: Page
8. Show :: Boat
9. Cereal :: Bowl
10. Contract :: Bridge

Mutterings - 26 Apr

This week's free word associations from Unconscious Mutterings are:

1. Vanity :: Fair
2. Healthy :: Lifestyle
3. Tooth :: Ache
4. Mug :: Coffee
5. Reach :: Out of..
6. Parenting :: Care
7. School :: Days
8. Whine :: Lunch (I get plenty of feline whines around their lunchtime)
9. Hotel :: de France
10. Nose :: Shostakovich (an opera!)

Mutterings - Apr 18

This week's free word associations from Unconscious Mutterings are:

1. Triangle :: Isosceles
2. Shining :: Tor (see Alan Garner Weirdstone of Brisingamen, and not too far from here!)
3. Bunny :: Boiling (I've never seen the film)
4. To do :: List
5. Stuffy :: Room
6. Shake :: Rattle (and Roll)
7. Mug :: Tree
8. Julia :: Thomas (knew long ago!)
9. Hobbit :: Frodo
10. Hope :: Tunnel (at the end of!)

Mutterings - Apr 12

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Ball :: Bouncing
2. Simplified :: Notation
3. Wash :: Rinse
4. Relative :: Safety
5. Calls :: Home
6. Lotion :: Suntan
7. Compassion :: Generous
8. Swipe :: Left (or is it right?!)
9. Burning :: Bush
10. Safe :: Deposit

Mutterings - Apr 5

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Baby :: Steps
2. Telework :: Remote
3. Sleeve :: Record
4. Corner :: Shop
5. Ordered :: List
6. Grasp :: Wrist
7. Plastic :: Model
8. Slide ::
9. Communicate :: Face
10. Pant :: Short

Mutterings - March 28

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Good man :: Saint
2. Static :: Electricity (or Variable!)
3. Anxiety :: High
4. Watched :: Variable (again - a debugger keeping watch on the value of a program variable)
5. Heart :: Aorta
6. First day :: Rest (of your life)
7. Certain :: Love
8. Forever :: Ring (Tolkien or Wedding?)
9. Impressed :: Ironed
10. Nervous :: Twitch

Mutterings - March 14

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Wash :: Hands!
2. Finish :: Smooth
3. Veneer :: Respectability
4. Symptom :: Cure
5. March :: Scaffold (Berlioz!)
6. Correction :: Facility (such a nice euphemism)
7. Link :: Pointer (softwarey!)
8. Chapped :: Hands
9. Control :: Freak
10. Licked :: (into) Shape

Mutterings - 8 Mar

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Decent :: Wholesome
2. Hypnotize :: Watch
3. Whirr :: Clock(!)
4. Baby :: Bird - the cats are getting ready!
5. Solid :: Space (not sure what's going on here!)
6. Take :: Heart
7. Discreet :: Email
8. Symbol :: Wagner's Ring
9. Orange :: Peel
10. Informational :: Sign

Rendering

I had space on the train up from London this week - and needed the relaxation to create this terragen render:

Not much apart from the lighting but it went well with my mood!

Mutterings - Feb 27

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Welcome :: Mat
2. Importance :: Of No - I think I was thinking of this play which I've never seen.
3. Painless :: Procedure (but usually not!)
4. Scramble :: Bike
5. Election :: Rigged
6. Message :: Telephone
7. Providing :: Comfort
8. Evidence :: Preserved
9. Talking :: Book
10. February :: Snow

Mutterings - Feb 18

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Flu :: Jab
2. Betrayal :: (of) Trust
3. Frustration :: Crying
4. 7:30 :: Alarm (but I'm usually up before this!)
5. Backward :: Looking
6. Vision :: Clouded
7. Freezing :: Fog
8. List :: (to) Starboard
9. Need :: Emotional
10. Cougar :: Claws

Teaser Tuesday - 13 Feb

Well a bit late but lets try to bring this back!
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

Mrs Ellis had spotted them: Tom and Gabiella. She'd been a witness, one of the last people to have seen my sister.

From our BATS (book group) book of the month - `The Missing Girl' Jenny Quintana - we're currently working our way through the Author alphabet and this month is (surprise!) Q. I think this is heading to be traumatic if it isn't there already!

I see Teaser Tuesday is now hosted here if you wish to go and thank Ambrosia or get other ideas.

Mutterings - Feb 13

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Burn out :: Emotional
2. Swallow :: Summer
3. Tiger :: [came to ] tea
4. Cough :: Audience
5. Notes :: Postit!
6. Balloon :: popup
7. Signal :: catch (an IT computer language connection!)
8. Cast :: Line (fish rather than chorus)
9. Push :: Over
10. Shiver :: Fear

Mutterings - Jan 28

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Constant :: Gardener
2. Tragic :: Muse
3. Cougar :: JLR (Jaguar Landrover)
4. Inspect :: Clouseau
5. Stale :: Bread
6. Verbal :: Abuse
7. Annoying :: Tic
8. Pace :: Even
9. Friendship :: Lasting
10. Jade :: Green

A few weeks missing and I will attempt to beat more life into this blog with different posts!

Mutterings - Jan 4

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Pathetic :: Symphony (but better as pathétique!)
2. Snapshot :: System
3. Start :: Menu (oh dear this is getting very geeky!)
4. Combine :: Harvester
5. Assertive :: Manner
6. Think :: Storm (maybe via brain)
7. Storm :: (don't think I saw this line, see above) Mental. But I was tempted by some half remembered lines from Cocteau's La Machine Infernale - I see Cocteau associated himself into the last one too!
8. Humor :: Sense (of)
9. Regain :: Ground
10. Resolve :: Firm

Mutterings - Dec 29

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Parents :: Terribles - a Cocteau play
2. Controversy :: Political
3. Twitter :: rajm - me!
4. Minute :: Waltz
5. Back and forth :: Havering
6. Producing :: Litter (puppies rather than rubbish!)
7. Twigs :: Understands
8. Giants :: Walk
9. Clinic :: Dental
10. Amazing :: Grace

Mutterings - Dec 13

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Pushed :: (onto the ) Stack - software algorithms!
2. Desire :: Heat
3. Fold :: Over (origami)
4. Ruffle :: IRC
5. Human :: Spirit (resists torpedo!)
6. Torpedo :: Chances
7. Lantern :: Magic
8. Terror :: Existential
9. Distaste :: Prim
10. Accomplish :: Sign

Mutterings - Dec 12

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Host :: Communion
2. Nail :: Hand (take that how you will!)
3. Clause :: Subordinate
4. Pen :: Le (French politics..)
5. Therapy :: Retail
6. Highlight :: Pen(!)
7. Panting :: Desire
8. Education :: Primary (or Bad - Almodóvar
9. Contribution :: Financial
10. Lie :: Politics (and thinking of certain blonde headed - current - leaders)

Mutterings - Dec 6

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Cloud :: Cirrus (carefully avoiding internet links!)
2. Officer :: Salute
3. Physical :: Exercise
4. Advantageous :: Position
5. Mobile :: Phone (having 'fun' here at the moment)
6. Threat :: Existential
7. Potential :: Energy
8. Confined :: Prison
9. Overlap :: Origami
10. Domain :: Web

Mutterings - Nov 23

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Notification :: Popup
2. Screen :: Time
3. Purify :: Scald
4. Obsolete :: Version
5. Contaminate :: Drop (into)
6. Nightmare :: Shouting (in my case)
7. Show :: Tell
8. People :: Friends
9. Unique :: Solution
10. Install :: Package (software showing!)

Mutterings - Nov 9

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Cancel :: Delete
2. Optimistic :: Outlook
3. Surrogate :: Mother
4. Tickle :: Fancy
5. Amber :: Insect (in)
6. Stuffy :: Old fashioned
7. Chaos :: Theory
8. Desktop :: Tidy (not mine!)
9. Dynamite :: Stick
10. Holidays :: Summer

Mutterings - Oct 25

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Conceive :: [a] child
2. Exterminate :: Sink plunger (or a Dalek..!)
3. Forest :: Peace
4. Artistic :: Bent
5. Compulsive :: Twitch
6. Original :: Theme (Variations on... not sure which set I was thinking of! Elgar? Beethoven?)
7. Excessive :: Bureaucracy
8. Fancy! :: Free!
9. English :: Language
10. Conceit :: Artifice

Porto Meanderings

The full day we spent in Porto we followed the suggested InnTravel walks around the city. This picture is some of the tiles high up in São Bento, plenty more tiles there but I did like the ones up near the roof.

Evening meal was again at Jimao Tapas e Vinhos - enjoyed on both occasions!

Mutterings - Oct 13

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Say something :: Anything!
2. Eventually :: Event-u-ally (said slowly) was it a John Cleese-ism?
3. Contract :: Bridge
4. Worth :: Harry (a UK comedian of the 50s)
5. Nasty :: or Nice?
6. Corrupt :: Politician
7. Virus :: Noro-
8. System :: Backup
9. Supportive :: Friend
10. Dictator :: Mussolini

Transfer to Porto

After enjoying another evening and breakfast at Calheiros we took an Inntravel arranged taxi to Porto for a few extra days stay at the Hotel Pestana . We'd arranged a trip to the Graham port lodge for a tasting that afternoon and so wandered over the river and a walk alongside admiring painted walls:


See the album for the rabbit! I'd rather gone off the sweetness of port but the tasting and introduction to the lodge was much enjoyed! That evening we ate at Jimao Tapas e Vinhos close to the hotel - busy I'd recommend booking (which we did).
Oh and at lunchtime we ate at da Terra - a vegetarian restaurant with a serve yourself infinite buffet!

Mutterings - Oct 5

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Cold :: Fever
2. Center :: Stillness
3. Squared :: Root
4. History :: Course
5. Stiff :: Dead
6. Computer :: Board
7. Fold :: Tri(-fold) cord
8. Trip :: Fall
9. Away :: Manger (is it Christmas soon?)
10. Stuffy :: Old-fashioned

Around Calheiros

A final day of the manor houses' walk was a very gentle walk around Calheiros with grandstand views of the house:


For the rest of the day we enjoyed walks around the grounds with extensive gardens.

Mutterings - Oct 4

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Care :: (in the) Community (allegedly!)
2. Siblings :: Siegmund (Sieglinde) must have been provoked by Jessye Norman's deth
3. Underpants :: Knickers!
4. Compassion :: Alongside
5. Best :: George - there is ancient football knowledge somewhere..
6. Festive :: Hat
7. Incomplete :: Specification - lots of those
8. Educated :: Eton - not me!
9. Similar :: Mirror..image
10. Pretentious :: Tw*t

Up to Paço de Calheiros

More on that even more receded holiday in May! The next day's walk was a very gently affair, we arrived at the final manor house around lunchtime. If you do this spend more time in Ponte de Lima - where by the way the lamp posts play brass band music at you - I think this was set off by motion detectors and they seemed to be still activating late into the evening, if you're allergic to brass band music walk down the middle of the road!



A slightly ascending route and we ended up in a wonderful room for 2 nights in the manor house - the picture is a view from the terrace outside the room. Extensive grounds and the house is worth the look around. There were quite a few groups for the evening meal in a grand dining room!

Mutterings - Sep 19

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Guest :: Account
2. Intimidate :: Overbearing
3. Flavor :: Vanilla
4. Suspicious :: Glare
5. Contaminate :: Pollute
6. Bordering :: (on the ) absurd
7. Language :: Watch (your)
8. Corrupt :: Government
9. Satisfy :: Wine bottle
10. Monthly :: Pay cheque

Mutterings - Sep 15

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Ring :: Wagner
2. Chess :: Gambit
3. Fulfilled :: Accomplished
4. Drawing :: Still-life
5. Favor :: Grace
6. Proof :: QED
7. Million :: Bonus
8. Pad :: Across (as in an animal padding across somewhere)
9. Chest :: Inhaler
10. Code :: Breaking the ...

Prorogation and Tory Whipping

I wrote this letter to my MP after an earlier exchange of letters where David Rutley's response failed to address any of my points and was clearly a form letter from conservative central office. I got the first response around 24 hours after my email, his was sent my post - why(?). I'm still waiting for a response from this.

Thank you for your speedy response to my email about the deselection
of rebel tory MPs, unfortunately your letter addressed none of my
points and seemed to be to be high grade flannel from Central Office,
but no doubt you're a little busy. Let me then offer these questions
for hopefully a more to the point consideration.

Were you there at the Chequers meeting which agreed that Tory MPs who
rebel on Bexit will be ejected from the party and not allowed to stand
in the future?

Do you agree with that position?

Will the same sanctions apply to anyone from the extreme right of the
party who votes against any agreement by Johnson's 'negotiating' group
delivered before 31st Oct?

Did you know about the decision to prorogue Parliament more than 24
hours before it was publically announced? (the leader of the House
appears to have difficulty with this question hopefully you can give a
more honest answer)

Was the decision to prorogue Parliament announced on 28th Aug discussed in a full meeting of Cabinet beforehand?

If the answers to either of the last 2 questions is no, then your
letter saying 'nothing to see here' 'usual practice' is clearly a
lie. I remember (you may have forgotten) that the decision to extend
the Parliamentary session was taken to give the time for Bexit to be
done. To therefore prorogue 6 weeks before the current departure date
seems a little at odds with that!

I guess these direct questions are a little harder to flannel around. I see his twitter handle on the linked parliament page is still incorrect - should be @DavidRutley rather than @DavidRutleyMP. David Rutley is a tory whip.

Mutterings - Sep 10

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Baby :: Computer
2. Standard :: Gold
3. Pose :: Freeze
4. Rubbish :: Bin
5. Clear :: In the .. I'm thinking of this Blitzstein song
6. Hope :: Obama
7. Circumference :: Magellan
8. Scramble :: Rock
9. Gasp :: Interview (I was accused of this at an interview when a previous employer was brought up)
10. Hunted :: Look

Mutterings - Aug 25

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Adopt :: Parent
2. Turbulence :: Nexus
3. Constituent :: Demanding
4. Reckless :: Fall
5. Habitat :: Hull (my brother in law worked at Habitat in Hull back in the 1980s)
6. Spare :: Tyre
7. Horror :: Film
8. Influence :: Destructive
9. Indulge :: Ice cream
10. Humanity :: Caring

A day in Ponte da Lima

(this is getting a bit drawn out.. sorry for the delay in adding updates!)
The next day was around Ponte da Lima, we took it gently around the town. But we did include a visit to the Vinho Verde visitor centre - with tasting!



That evening we ate at Casa do Provedor where I risked the local speciality of sarrabulho - pigs' blood rice and quite enjoyed the experience!

Into Ponte da Lima

The next day of our Minho holiday was the longest (17km) but probably the flattest! Ascent through vineyards and then down to the river Lima and along an Ecovia into Ponte da Lima


A pleasant walk but on a very hot day, a cafe was advertised in the instructions but we were too early in the season and it was closed. Eventually we reached the town and walked though the wonderful Plane tree avenue pictured above to our destination for the evening Mercearia da Vila a hotel rather than a manor house in an old grocer's shop (that website is all in Portuguese!) We ate out that evening at Taberna Cadeia Velha close to the river and lovely views of the setting sun!

Men and Volunteering

I was at a (church) Readers lunch today at which I was the only male and during our discussion we talked about ratios of men and women as leaders/volunteers in church events. Last night I attended a service rota planning event where (apart from the vicar) I was again the only male. I've just checked our list of volunteers to do Bible readings and that's around 75% female, our church is fairly well gender balanced (a slight bias towards women).

I also thought back to last weekend when - as a followup event to Macc Pride at which I was a steward (again a volunteer role) - there was a pub afternoon for feedback and news. When I arrived there were around 15 women and me(!) a few more women arrived before there was just one other male! I've also inspected the rota for St Michael's which opened its doors that day to welcome folk who wanted a break from the noisyness of the event (and some children's activities). Yes you guessed, again all female!

So more (on this limited set of data points) than just a church problem? I go to some geeky voluntary events which tend to be fairly male - but that's on a pretty male concentrated population to draw on? Is it that men are too busy wanting to be the main wage earner even when they're retired?

Mutterings - Jul 15

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Baby :: Talk
2. Stripes :: Tiger
3. Family :: Home
4. Draw :: Firearms
5. Girl :: Power
6. Cup :: Ball
7. Tested :: Allergy
8. Vanilla :: Sex
9. Bronze :: Medal
10. Visit :: Holiday

Starting the Caminho

We left the Quinta da Malta - taking the packed lunch in a monogrammed bag and after a taxi transfer to the Santuario Nossa Senhora da Aparecida (a place of pilgrimage) we followed the Caminho de Santiago for the rest of the day. Fairly gentle and flat meeting a few fellow walkers en route who were mostly intending to walk a little further than us that day - onto Ponte da Lima - we were taking 2 days over that.
I think we got to our stop that night early afternoon Quinta do Sobreiro - we were the only guests that evening but were well looked after. It was a very hot day so we stayed in the shade the rest of the day.

Mutterings - Jun 30

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. School :: Secondary
2. Print :: Job
3. Falls :: Victoria
4. Manages :: Company
5. Hop :: Beer
6. Location :: Location..
7. Skipped :: Lightness
8. Sneeze :: Cold
9. Prism :: Spectrum
10. Program :: Pascal

An introductory walk

The initial walk was a gentle affair around Durrães as far as the Ponte das Tabuas - a bridge on the Caminho (pilgrim) trail to Santiago - a route we met a few times during the holiday!

It was a gentle walk I think we regularly beat the Inntravel timings by quite a bit this week. We were back at the Quinta da Malta for lunch and enjoyed a gentle afternoon with another bottle of local wine! We also had a look around the farm associated with the manor house with lots of organic produce which was used extensively in the food. We were a day behind some other walkers and during the afternoon some others arrived who then were a day behind us. Another relaxed evening meal before thinking about the first transfer walk.

Mutterings - 23 June

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Late! :: Never!
2. Swallow :: Summer
3. Infection :: Hospital
4. Mobile :: Data
5. Honey :: Hive
6. Cup :: Goblet
7. Sensational :: Skin
8. Twist :: (and) Shout
9. Thump :: Agression
10. Work :: Hours

Mutterings - June 16

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Guy :: Fawkes
2. Forces :: Equal (and opposite)
3. Governor :: Supreme (of the Church of England)
4. Done :: Sold!
5. Premature :: Baby
6. Insist :: Threaten
7. Congress :: Library
8. Invest :: Trust
9. Immunity :: White (blood)
10. Society :: Free

Manor Houses of the Minho

We're recently back from 10 days in Portugal - as ever an InnTravel walking tour! The photo album of the trip is here.
We travelled to Porto via Brussels and then tram and train to Durrães where we spent 2 nights at Quinta da Malta one of a number of manor houses which formed the stops for the trip - family homes rather than hotels but we were well cared for. .

We arrived for an enjoyable meal with lots of local wine and a gentle inspection of the huge gardens to the house.

Mutterings - June 4

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Apartment :: Arondissement (I was listening to a programme about Francis Poulenc and his living in Paris)
2. Fitness :: Gym
3. Trouble :: Blast!
4. Storm :: Lightning
5. Winning :: Ways
6. Dryer :: Normal (from a social media cartoon "what's normal - a dryer setting...")
7. Photo :: Scan
8. Stomach :: Ache
9. er :: winn-
10. Pert :: Bosom (blames Daily Mail...)

and catching up...

1. Confusion :: Stammer
2. Benefits :: Fringe
3. Nervous :: Spasm
4. Stuffy :: Teacher
5. Illegal :: Drugs
6. Optimism :: Sunshine
7. Where :: Locate
8. Symptom :: Bruise
9. Dry :: Humour
10. Sarcasm :: Confuse

Mutterings - May 25

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Anxiety :: Complex
2. Yellow :: River
3. Compulsive :: Tic
4. Nobody :: Knows (.. the trouble..)
5. Irritation :: Sand
6. Heartache :: Insomnia
7. Noise :: Phones (either head or mobile!)
8. Lock :: Head
9. Untimely :: Demise (Belloc?)
10. Disappointment :: Angst

Mutterings - May 8

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Reference :: Dictionary
2. Sleepy :: Dozey
3. Deprived :: Sleep!
4. TNT :: Arabic (numerals - via this incredible (stupid) Petition
5. Complaint :: Back
6. Monthly :: Bill
7. Sarah :: Rachel (Old Testament..)
8. Records :: LPs
9. Butter :: Melt .. Mouth (and wouldn't!)
10. Shone :: Moon

Mutterings - May 5

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Freelance :: Contractor
2. Bottle :: Courage
3. Links :: Missing
4. Choice :: Free
5. Materialistic :: Grasping
6. Case :: Attache
7. Fancy :: Takes (your)
8. Protection :: Climbing
9. Toast :: Burnt
10. Extravagant :: Show-off

Mutterings - Apr 25

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Advice :: Line
2. Volume :: Button
3. Link :: Hyper
4. Learn :: Listen!
5. Save :: Screen
6. Upcoming :: Releases
7. Summer :: 1993 (film..)
8. Always :: Cline (Patsy)
9. 2019 :: Now!
10. Response :: Time

and last week's

1. Boardwalk :: Plank
2. Son :: Prodigal
3. Trampled :: Underfoot
4. 30 :: below
5. Speak :: Easy
6. Fun :: Games
7. Best friend :: Companion
8. Memories :: Cats (oh dear - Lloyd Webber...)
9. Shallow :: Rapids
10. Sun :: Reaction - the way the sun is powered..)

Two Op 1s!

An interesting day musically - piano meetup at z-arts - 4 Rachmaninov preludes by different players, a stunning Berg sonata (Op 1) I've never heard it live before and this was I assume an amateur playing it! Someone else played the first movement of the Beethoven Op 111 sonata- I played some Bach (fugue from WTC in G min we had a lot of that key from various people!) and then in the evening to the Northern chamber orchestra chamber evening with the Mozart clarinet quintet (played with the contrabass clarinet version) some Schubert songs for baritone acc by string quartet - including the Erlkönig (another Op 1!) and then the Schubert string quintet a wonderful performance. The string quintet was interrupted when the second violin's bow broke at the end of the scherzo, but a performance of intensity throughout. The baritone Matthew Sharp doubled as the second cello in the Schubert!

Here's Glenn Gould playing the Berg Sonata

Mutterings - Apr 14

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Economy :: Urban
2. Podcast :: Music
3. Go to :: Unstructured (programming!)
4. Radio :: Gaga
5. Modern :: Harmony
6. Pleasure :: Music for (and old LP label)
7. Everyday :: Interaction (I resisted pleasure!)
8. Last month :: March!
9. Fundamental :: Tone (music again!)
10. 100% :: Give

Mutterings - Apr 5

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Expectation :: Great (Dickens!)
2. Corner :: Case
3. Hesitation :: Deviation (Just a Minute)
4. Buzzing :: Discussion
5. Headache :: Sinus
6. Social :: Circle
7. Insurance :: Home
8. Foolish :: Things
9. Tiara :: Diamond
10. Senator :: Roman