Haydn: Seven Last Words - 1996

Danielle and I had cycled across Ireland to Bantry Bay where some friends were staying. We went to a concert of Haydn's Seven Last Words string quartet with poetry read by Seamus Heaney in between each of the seven pieces. It was in Bantry Hall which was a sublime setting for a really deep experience. The performance was by the Vanbrugh Quartet. The video is the same music, different band.

After the gig we went back to our B&B and watched England loose to Germany on penalties in the Euro 96 semi-final. Our hosts very kindly pretended to be disappointed too!

Rory Gallagher - 1977

Another Top Five Gig [the list might be longer than five] is Rory Gallagher. I saw him twice in the 70s, once at the Liverpool Empire and once at Leeds Uni. I think Leeds had the edge, it is a great venue, but both gigs were just fantastic. This clip is from the same tour, not like being there but it gives a taste. Just realised that both Bobby Womack from yesterday and Rory have died early. RIP Rory.

Bobby Womack - 1991

I was playing this track on my iPod to Rowan last week, telling her I was at the gig, Bobby Womack in Kentish Town, and how it was one of the top 5 gigs that I'd been to. So I googled it and here is a video of the performance of Harry Hippie with the incomparable Alltrina Grayson  [same surname as Danielle's grandmother so you never know]. Straight to the soul ...

York from the Sky

There is a drone filming company based in York, that put up images online occasionally. This shot is of the Ouse flowing into York [the Minster is in the middle distance, the Millennium Bridge cycleway crosses the river in the centre.

Walk

Rowan Milo and I went a walk - here is the selfie.

L&Y

This huge tile map is still intact at Manchester Victoria station, showing the lines of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, one of the Victorian companies that covered the north with lines. Primarily a freight company the comfort of passengers was apparently a bit of an afterthought.

Manchester Again

I was back in Manchester this week. I walked past the old market which is now part of the Science Museum [on the left] with the dramatic new high rise building in the distance.

Ribs

In the same church as the skateboard pews is this magnificent exposed timber roof.
Got the phone call [it's like an email but interactive and you can speak] from friend Derwood in California. Always good to talk.

The Skateboard Pews

One of the things that has struck me, looking around all these churches, is how impractical pews are in terms of flexibility. An old church might look impressive with heavy wooden pews but it makes it almost impossible to use the space for anything other than praying. Urban churches often strip out the pews and replace with chairs. Rural conservatism makes that harder to do, so I was impressed with the bloke we met in Tockwith who had put casters on the pews in the Victorian church, allowing them to be wheeled to the side of the church and the space to be used for other things. Smart.

Weekend

Beautiful weather at the moment. Been working in the garden, then met Adrian for a pint at a community-run pub - The Golden Ball. Sunday Robert and I did a few more churches in the evening then had a drink with friends in their garden. Summer!

The view from Healaugh Church

Punjabi Music

I saw a great gig by Amrit Kaur Lohia as part of the York Festival of Ideas http://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2017/performances/music-beyond-borders-2/ some really good Punjabi music. Although the two musicians used traditional instruments, they also used an app on a phone to provide the drone via a bluetooth speaker; using the new to bring us the past.

The photo is of my aunt and uncle on holiday this month.

Danielle's Mother

Danielle is in the states trying to sort out the house [it is a long job]. She found this photo of her mother at high school.

Knavesmire

The Knavesmire, the public land that has the racecourse on it, is ten minutes walk away. Easy to take if for granted, but it is a great space.

Anne

Friend John contacted me to say his wife Anne had died of cancer. He attached this photo of Anne at our wedding with baby Jack. It hit me hard.

Festival of Ideas

The York Festival of Ideas http://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2017/ is well underway. So far we have seen the best of short films at the National Centre for Early Music and a lecture on hats [disapointing - I expected a sociological perspective and got a discussion on hats in the Royal Family - oh well]. It is a great event, whatever the ups and downs. Next up is The Story of Stories and then Why English People Sailed to the New World. I'll keep you posted.

This is the building at New Change in the City that Danielle used to work out of when she was linked to Friends Provident

Wolds Walk

Rowan has one more exam before she has finished her first year at Warwick. She was up here for the weekend, so we were all glad to get a walk in the Wolds together. As beautiful as ever.

Awake!

Danielle and I had a great meal at Siobhan and Peter's last night, Patrick and Julia were guests as well. It had been planned a couple of months ago as a wake in the wake of the expected election result: how times have changed!

A selfie from Rowan and Danielle at the Awards.

Charity Awards

Danielle is a judge for the Charity Awards, a big event held this year at the Tower of London. Rowan and I both accompanied her and had a good evening. It was on Thursday, so the evening got surprisingly better when the exit poll told the story of the election. It was great to see Labour getting so much support after the horrors of brexit and trump.
This shot is of us in the AirB&B place we stayed at just round the corner from the Tower [We haven't both grown by the way, that is a model phone box, not a real one]

Steam

Steam trains are a pretty common occurrence on the main line at York Station, but that doesn't stop them always causing excitement amongst those there by accident or design. Whilst waiting for the London train yesterday this Scarborough Spa Express came in to platform 5.

Home to Home

I took a train to Preston - direct but very slow from York - then cycled back through Grimsargh [where I lived as a small boy], Longridge [where I coveted a plastic "Beatles" guitar - not a Fender], Hurst Green [where the ice cream we used to crave is still being made and sold] and on across the Pennines until at Adingham the road was closed. As usual I ignored the sign thinking "I can just get round any blockage", only this time the tarring machine was totally across the road, there was no way through. No problem, I took a footpath that wound its way down to the main road. Just at the end of the path the farmer was using it as a pen for her sheep. I managed to find a way around and then got back to York. A really great ride from home past to home present.

Music News

Looks like we might have a bass player. Met Peter at Open Studios. Turned out he played bass when he was a student at Liverpool, the same time as me. In fact we both played gigs at the Sphinx Bar in the Students Union building. Had a little jam last week, and things look promising.

Meantime here is my band from Tottenham days. Diane on vocals, John on acoustic, Simon on harp and Lynne? on bass, and me on guitar. Performing in my garden.

Honey Honey

We had our second honey harvest of the year yesterday. All together we have taken 20kg so far. That is a lot of honey and we are very grateful to the busy bees.
In other bee news I discovered a nest of angry bumble bees in the compost heap. It has taken about five days but they have finally moved on.

Modern Art

There is not a lot of modern art in the ancient churches of York. So finding this at St Martin's church on Coney Street in the centre of York was a really pleasant surprise.

Pastoral

Another shot from the great off road ride through Yorkshire. This is the Aire navigation with cattle lowing across the water.

Scran

Ordering my food in a cafe on a bike ride, the patrone castigated her staff for calling the food "scran", saying it lowered the tone. I like to think that I know plenty of Yorkshire dialect words, but this was totally new to me. I asked how it was spelt, and of course there is no spelling of dialect. So there you go, next time you hear someone saying "Let's go out for and get some scran" you'll know what they mean.

Sunday Danielle and I went a walk by the River Ouse. It is a beautiful time of year, with the wild flowers in bloom.