Sunday 31st August - Arise, shine!

 A Church homegroup friend sent me this;

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven - 

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendour of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

(Early Scottish, source unknown).

This made my heart sing. 

Music 

Cantate domino, Monteverdi, sung by Voces8

TEXT Cantate Domino canticum novum cantate et benedicite nomine eius quia mirabilia fecit. Cantate et exultate et psallite in cythara et voce psalmi quia mirabilia fecit. Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing and bless His name, Because He has performed miracles. Sing, and exalt, and play On the harp and with the voice of a psalm, Because He has performed miracles.

 

Saturday 30th August - treacle flapjack

 Here's the photo

And here's the starting point for making them.

And what I did;

1) I made half quantities  - there are only two of us

2) I ysed golden syrup because I didn't want to open the new black treacle (laziness)

3) I used half and half dark brown sugar and soft brown sugar, because I had used golden syrup.

4) I totted up the dry ingredients - roughly 350g so that's about 125g 175g for half quantities (thanks, LyndaG - see comments below!)

5) I'm really not keen on finding squishy bits of dried fruit and too many seeds in my flapjack. Honestly,  what's with the 'healthy snack' idea? With all that butter, sugar and syrup no amount of oats, dried glowberries or superfoodyseeds is going to make it healthy. Just accept that this is Not A Healthy Food. Hence half quantities cut into very small pieces.

6) I'm on a mission to deal with an overstock of Jordans Dark Chocolate Crunchy breakfast cereal. At the last count I think we had four, could have been five packets. (We have the same situation with bath soap,  but baking won't resolve that one). So I weighed out 125g ish crunchy cereal and pounded it with the end of a rolling pin in a STURDY bowl.

7) The mix looked a bit sloppy, so I added in some ordinary porridge oats. (Scot's Original. BB switched from crunchy cereal to porridge about the same time as I was congratulating myself on taking advantage of the special offer, hence overstock. He's usually finished his breakfast before I come down which is why I didn't spot the switch)

How much porridge oats did I add? A couple of handfuls. I have small hands. 

8) I cooked itin the small 6" pan, lined with baking paper, that fits in our air fryer, for about 40 mins at 155. (At 30 mins it was looking far too soft so I gave it another 10)

I then forgot about it until the next day when I discovered it like an ominous dark slab in the tin. Flapjack always seems greasy on the bottom; I tipped it onto a piece of kitchen paper while I pondered what to do if it was really as solid as it looked. I tried bendy it; and it gently and neatly broke in half. Encouraged, I took a large knife and discovered it could be cut very neatly,  with hardly any mess, into cubes. The kitchen paper had soaked up extra grease perfectly.

It is delicious. That's my view; I don't like my flapjack too bendy or too crispy but this is in the Goldilocks sweet spot. Also, the treacly flavour is more too my taste than the paler, syrupy flapjacks. And there is NO SQUIDGY BITS OF DRIED FRUIT IN IT.

BB is not convinced. He doesn't care for the treacly taste.

I can make him some of his own... using ordinary brown sugar... if I can recreate the recipe... is it even a recipe anymore after steps 1 through 8 have happened to it?

Music

I think I'm going to take a pause from hunting up music for a while from the end of August. I feel a bit sad about that in some ways, but there we go, I'm ready for a break.

I've suddenly just this second had a thought; how about if you make suggestions in the comments I could post them up instead, if they're available on YouTube? (I try and find shortish pieces on the whole...)

Anyway, today... I haven't come across piano pieces by Sibelius before; here's Harlequinade, op 76 no 13, played by Howard Gimse

It reminds me a bit of Grieg's Puck from Lyric pieces - played here by Gerard Willems. 

Friday 29th August - 2By2 August

Ang used a border from a cushion panel for her patches. Genius!

You can see how she created the two patches from the strip along the bottom, leaving the panel.

She's kept the rainbow 🌈, which is a nice reference to her blog. I've got the ark; the A could stand for A in 'a letter from home'. Another neat reference. 

Both squares have been beautifully embellished with embroidery stitches in the same colours, adding texture and interest.  A brilliant start to the collaboration.

She had also sent me an amazing origami star, made from a colourful magazine page.

Here are my two patches; they are seascapes. I kept the first patch,  on the left, and sent the one on the right to Ang.

The backing is linen from a venerable tea towel; I wanted a fairly open weave fabric as sewing is so much easier. The inspiration came from Hannah Dunnett's book 'More Than Words', which has lovely swirly sea pictures. You might remember this doodle I tried... but I reckoned I'd struggle to sew something this detailed, so I settled for something simpler. 

I sewed freehand, using backstitches and running stitches.

You  couldn't get more of a contrast between our patches!

Music

'At the Dance' from the Summer Days Suite for orchestra composed by Eric Coates.The Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

I had Radio 3xtra playing while I was getting dressed. I've never listened to it before, it's advertised as 'mindful music' and I tend to switch myself off mentally or, if it's a television or radio programme, switch the contraption off physically! If it's a book, I'll walk on by...

However, I thought I'd see what they were up to, and I caught the last few minutes of a movement from Eric Coates's Summer Days Suite. I've no idea which movement was playing, but here's one of them...

It seemed appropriate as there are only a couple more days left in August. 

Thursday 28th August - early night tonight

 I got an 'all clear' from the dermatologist today; he had a good look at the weird patch on my shin which just slowly grows; it's either one non-cancerous thingy or another non-cancerous thingy, and bost are best left well alone. Good to know. He briefly considered a biopsy to sort out which it was, but as the patch is on my shin and there's a risk of causing a small ulcer, we all decided to let things be!

I think the relief of having the checkup is probably the reason why I was totally zombified for the rest of the day. I've been in pyjamas since half past four, and I'll be in bed listening to an audio book (Next to Nature by Ronald Blythe, or Stone and Sea by Ben Aaronovitch). Soporific, or Gripping. Which one? Either way I'll be asleep in 10 minutes!

2By2

I'll write up the first month of the new Stitching Collaboration, 2By2, tomorrow. Here's a preview of the patches in the meantime;

These are the ones I made. They are seascapes, mine is on the left, Ang's on the right.

And here are the ones Ang made. She sent me the Ark and kept the rainbow.

Music

Elizabeth and Serenade, composed by Ronald Binge, played by the Philharmonic Light Orchestra conducted by Ian Sutherland. Some 'easy listening'...

Wednesday 27th August - reflecting on the Month of August

 But do I speak too soon? There are still four days to go!

I think, looking back over the scrabbling scrawls that have filled the month of August in my appointments diary and associated memo pages, 

with no fewer than 16 medical 'events' ranging from appointments to deliveries to rescheduled appointments

and including one appointment notification sent to me in error (it's time for your vit B12 injection  - what? I don't have B12 injections) 

and one medicine delivery notification sent in error (you have a medicine delivery today - what? you delivered them last week), 

I think this wonderful and ridiculous piano performance give a complete summary;

Here's the description;

12 Pianists live at Alexandria Opera House (Egypt), 3 January 2011, Encore

Albert Lavignac (1846--1916) / Christoph Sischka

Galop-Marche à 12

for 12 Pianists at 1 Piano

(UA / first performance: 3.6.2000 Internationales Klavierduo-Festival Bad Herrenalb)

12 Pianists: Sebastian Bausch, Heike Bleckmann, Dina El-Leisy, Noriko Ishikawa-Kratzer, Anna Kostenitch, Reimi Matsuda, Christine Schandelmeyer, Tatjana and Leonid Schick, Christoph Sischka, Eriko Takezawa, Thomas Turek

This performance has hold the world record for the most pianists performing simultaneously on one piano and was mentioned in the "The Guinness Book of Records 2002", German edition 

The 12 Pianists are indeed a unique piano ensemble. The choreographic necessities of putting 24 arms with 120 fingers in the right place, on the right keys at the right time are a major achievement. The spectators will enjoy just watching this.

In 1989 a number of young pianists gathered in Germany in order to rediscover and perform music for piano ensemble and to encourage contemporary composers to create new works. In 1996 a new constellation with four permanent members emerged from this group, named Piano4te (pronounced: pianoforte). Their aim was to work in a way similar to chamber music ensembles. Other pianists joined and the big ensemble 12 Pianists came into existence. The starting point for the big-size formation was Sischka's arrangement of Lavignac's Galop-Marche for 12 pianists at one piano. The private collection of scores now comprises more than 700 compositions

The last switcheroo came this afternoon; an opportunity too bring a dermatology appointment forward from September to tomorrow. Yes please!

Hopefully September will be calmer!

Yesterday I had forgotten that I promised to mention the tutorial video for the splodgy watercolour flowers with ink over the top. I signed up for a free series of five tutorials with Irene from Makings and Musings.

This was the first. It's astonishingly effective and rather fun. I enjoyed watching the colours mix and merge.

I'm not going to join any courses though. Not at the moment anyway.

I've seen this book on amazon a few times but resisted getting it:

It looks as though it's the same idea as those flower paintings but the splodges are already there for you! A fun idea...

Here's a teeny tiny drawing course from me; 

How I Drew The Apple Tree

This is a notebook illustration to go with an account of visiting friends who have a red delicious apple tree which looks exactly like a picture from a nursery rhyme book...

I like working small scale because then the details get lost and don't matter. (heh heh)

With a blue biro, because that's what was in my hand, I scribbled the trunk. For once I gave a microsecond's thought to leaving enough room for the rest of the tree. That doesn't always happen. I rather wish I'd made the trunk thinner, but it was too late. Then I biroed (is that a word? It is now) in the apples and filled in the spaces with leafyness.

Next; I fished out the greens, and the red, brown and black from my small set of colouring pencils, and coloured in the apples. Light green lines for leaves and grass, and then dark green on top leaving some light green showing. Finally some lines up and down the trunk, and among leaves and apples in brown and black.

Ten minutes tops. Don't think too much, just do!

Masterpiece it ain't, but it's a great memory jogger to remind me of that moment. 

More music? 

Why not... I adore this beautiful tender folksong, set by Benjamin Britten, sung by Peter Pears and accompanied by Julian Bream, recorded in 1963.

Tuesday 26th August - Art Books I used

 I promised I would blog a list of the various places which I have found most encouraging in learning to paint and draw convincing myself that I'm not as rubbish as I thought at art.

After all, I knew I was 'no good', hadn't several art teachers told me so? Of course I know now that drawing and painting, like playing and instrument, or singing, aren't just 'talents you are born with, or born without'. They are learned skills. Taking it to genuis levels, making a professional living as an artist, or musician other creative person is a mixture of exceptional talent, hare work and luck. 

I decided to ignore my 'inner critic' and just pretend that I was 'okay, even reasonably good' at art, and do it anyway. As a teacher I was always telling students not to be hard on themselves over mistakes, but treat them as learning opportunities. It was high time to take my own advice.

So;

'Drawing with Children' by Mona Brookes was a good starting point; especially the observation (copying) exercises and the way she shows how to break down simple objects into combinations of The Alphabet of shapes

I guess this is when I started to think 'this might be possible for me'. Plus I found the copying exercises strangely calming...

The next big drawing influence was Mark Kistler's book 'You can learn to draw in 30 days'. It ABSOLUTELY did what it said it would do! 

Lesson 1. I drew an apple. Just like that. Astonishing. If I can, you can!

I don't think I have really studied a proper drawing book since; apart from a 'Learn to Draw Faces' book on my kindle scribe which I try out from time to time;

Now for the painting side;

I started off with the Collins Gem Watercolour series - really!

Hazel Soan 10 Minute Watercolours and Ian King Watercolour Tips. I just picked out pictures in the books and copied the hints and instructions. I used decent-ish watercolour paints; the sets we used in school as children are really disappointing and discouraging to use. I remember a piano pupil's reaction to trying my watercolours (she hadn't done and piano practice and was studying for her GCSE art, so why not!). She instantly noticed how much better and easier mine were to use.

I had a book of terrible paper, it was some kind of journal I had been given with really simplistic foliage illustrations. I called it 'my book of mistakes', and even though the paper soaked up water like blotting paper I was still surprised at my results from following the Collins Gems books worked.

After that it was just a case of finding youtube videos that looked interesting, and following them. Once I had got the idea of how they did a certain thing, I just carried on in my own way. 

I'm a scribbly sort of sketcher. I think this is because I like using a waterproof fine liner which means I can't erase any dud lines. I just keep drawing until it comes out about right (or becomes completely clear that it will never be right) and then add colour on top (which is when I discover if I used the right kind of pen...)

Here's a random selection of sketches from years gone by.

I'm not sure what happened to the shape of the cat below...

A random selection of sketches from years gone by.

Even if a drawing/sketch/painting doesn't work, I try not to be mean to myself... just take a moment to consider what went wrong and then move on.

Finally; I refrained from drawing stick men and really 'kiddy' pictures, but tried to give whatever I was drawing a decent amount of attention, and I set the bar for 'success' very, very low. I count it a 'win' if I don't actually have to label every item, or write a full description! After all, if you look at the tree above (copied from somewhere or other, no doubt) it's hardly a Leonardo da Vinci, but I love the colours (Prussian Blue and a sort of olive green all blurring into each other, while attempting to avoid the middle of the tree). The tree is just a bundle of scribbly lines until the tree shape emerged.

It's a bit like improvising jazz (which I'm very unpractised in!) 

Miles Davies famously said 'Do not fear mistakes. There are none'.

Music

Miles Davies; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

  

The link to the Schumann Papillons that I shared yesterday didn't work. Here's another version; *(fingers crossed!)

 

Monday 25th August - the Korean Chest

 It's something that just keeps on giving... I have opened the next row of drawers.

The first two drawers were empty. The third has a mysterious bundle wrapped in a paper tissue.  Next is a little wooden stand, possibly for one of those eggs made out of onyx or something. My parents had a bowl of those at one point, long gone. The next drawer has a pad of score cards for duplicate bridge (they played A LOT of bridge). The last two drawers have a plastic cleat for winding the pull cords on curtains on, at I assume that's what it is as I can make out the word 'Rufflette' embossed on it, and one single, solitary plastic curtain hook, just hiding out of view.

What about the little bundle?  A complete mystery, waiting to be revealed;

Seven tiny Chinese figures made from clay, possibly porcelain. I took the photograph with flash, and the colours are so much brighter than by natural ligh.. They are only about an inch, or 2 cm, tall.

I took two more close ups, to see what they are carrying, and to see the beautifully detailed faces;

Aren't they sweet! I've wrapped them up and put them back for now, until I can work put how to display them.

That was the last of the main drawer section. 

Looking at the picture below you will see that there is a central cupboard,  with three slightly larger drawers either side left to explore. 

2By2

This is the name of the latest stitching collaboration between Ang and me. I know she posted her August patch to me on Friday so I will be watching for the postman tomorrow.

I'll be posting mine tomorrow; here's a teaser;

We are creating two patches each week; a practice patch, which we keep, and then the final patch which we send. I'm keeping the one on the left...

Music

I was dreaming about Schuman's Papillons, op 2 last night, but couldn't remember all the movements... very frustrating! it's a series of short contrasting fragments. I've copied the list of them below the video. You can see that they vary from under half a minute to just two and a half minutes long!

Here is Vladimir Ashkenasy...

0:19​ Introduction 

0:32​ Nr. 1 Waltz (D major)

1:13​ Nr. 2 Waltz - Prestissimo (E-flat major)

1:35​ Nr. 3 Waltz (F-sharp minor) 

2:35​ Nr. 4 Waltz (A major) 

3:21​ Nr. 5 Polonaise (B-flat major) 

4:44​ Nr. 6 Waltz (D minor)

5:42​ Nr. 7 Waltz - Semplice (F minor) 

6:46​ Nr. 8 Waltz (C-sharp minor) 

7:51​ Nr. 9 Waltz - Prestissimo (B-flat minor) 

8:30​ Nr. 10 Waltz - Vivo (C major) 

10:29​ Nr. 11 Polonaise (D major) 

13:00​ Nr. 12 Finale (D major)

Sunday 24th August - chocolate cake and going with the flow...

 First things first; Chocolate Cake

The recipe comes from Michael Barry, the TV 'Crafty Cook' from the 1980s, I think?

175g/6oz self-raising flour, 

4 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder, 

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder, 

100g/4oz caster sugar, 

1 dessert spoon black treacle, 

150ml/5 fl oz sunflower oil, 

150ml/5 fl oz milk, 

2 large eggs

Grease and line two 18 cm/7 inch sandwich tins - he lays great stress on the tin size.

Preheat oven to 160 C or Gas 3. I'm assuming this is before fan ovens were common, so I  reckon a fan oven temperature would be 150C

Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon, or use a food processor.

Bake for 45 mins. Remove from tins and cool on a rack.

His recipe uses this topping, which I've never tried. I'm sure it would be delicious; his recipes are very reliable;

Beat 350 ml/12 fl oz fromage frais into 150ml/5 fl oz double cream until thick. Spread one of the cakes with  4 tablespoons black cherry jam, followed by a third of the cream mixture. Carefully sandwich cakes together, spread the top with remaining cream mixture and use a fork to lift up peaks. 

He says this can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving.  

I chose to use the tried and tested recipe which came with the my cooker back in the 1990s. We've been through at least one cooker since then but I've hung on to the battered remnants of the booklet!

Now, I made half quantities,  used a 6 inch square tin and REMEMBERED TO WRITE DOWN THE COOKING TIME AND TEMPERATURE I USED! I baked it for 40 minutes at 150C

It has been pronounced 'Delicious'; Best Beloved has just cut himself another chunk and is looking remarkably cheerful. 

Going with the flow

I'm slowly, as and when the mood takes me, reading Oliver Burkeman's Mediations for Mortals'. I'm finding it very thought-provoking and readable. It's interesting to consider his views from my own Christian perspective.

Here's a passage that I read yesterday;

To be human, according to this analogy, is to occupy a little one-person kayak, borne along on the river of time towards your inevitable yet unpredictable death. 

It’s a thrilling situation, but also an intensely vulnerable one: you’re at the mercy of the current, and all you can really do is to stay alert, steering as best you can, reacting as wisely and gracefully as possible to whatever arises from moment to moment.

The German philosopher Martin Heidegger described this state of affairs using the word Geworfenheit, or ‘thrownness’, a suitably awkward word for an awkward predicament: merely to come into existence is to find oneself thrown into a time and place you didn’t choose, with a personality you didn’t pick, and with your time flowing away beneath you, minute by minute, whether you like it or not.

A little further down the page he offers this quotation;

What the novelist E. L. Doctorow said about novel-writing applies to everything else, too: it’s ‘like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.'

I'm actually very encouraged by this. I've always had a huge difficulty with the whole 'handing my life over to Jesus' bit... Reading these passages is helping me consider that the whole business of 'taking control of your life' and so on is actually an illusion, a delusion even.

We're all already travelling along a river; 'all you can really do is to stay alert, steering as best you can, reacting as wisely and gracefully as possible to whatever arises from moment to moment.'

So, 'let go and let God', as they say! 

Music

I've had a couple of non-sleeping nights recently. I'm ready for bed now (8.30pm!) but it's a bit early yet. So I'll do what Mary Poppins says;

Saturday 23rd August - epic biscuit tin fail

The biscuit tin was empty, so I thought I'd make some ginger nuts. I was properly put out when I realised that I hadn't heard the new kitchen timer go off.

The first biscuits went straight into the compost bin.

There were only nine biscuits left for the second batch. I put them in the oven and brought ALL THREE TIMERS through to the sitting room with me.

I used the shiny red one at the back for the first tray. The second tray were successful; all three timers went off at more or less the same time. The secret is, of course (as any fule kno*) to wind the winder through the full circle and then move it back to the time you are after. Or cook biscuits of the worms in the compost bin. The choice is there for the choosing.

*From as any fule kno (misspelled form of as any fool knows), a catchphrase of fictional schoolboy Nigel Molesworth, subject of a series of books by Geoffrey Willans.

In fact the second tray were so good that we scoffed the lot between us over the course of the afternoon. So the biscuit tin is still empty.

Music

What shall I share today? On opening up youtube this came up;

Martha Agerich playing the Gavotte from the third of Bach's English Suites. Just listen to how she appears to be playing a completely different instrument in the middle section. The mark of a genius.

I love the way she seems to talk to herself, as though she is having a conversation with the music.

Friday 22nd August - knees bend, arms stretch...

 I had  zoom consultation with the ILD (interstitial lung disease) nurse yesterday. It was to check up on how I was getting along with Nintedanib, a drug which slows down the progression of lung fibrosis. 

The good news; I'm doing fine, and please don't lose much more weight! That was a surprise; at 5'2" short and nearly 10 stone heavy, I thought they'd be all encouraging about losing a bit more weight! But no, apparently this condition causes me to burn more calories than a similar healthy person, and 'we like you to have some reserves in case you become unwell.' Hooray! Pass me the biscuit tin, someone...

The 'bad' news;

'Please make sure you keep doing strength exercises. Especially step-ups, sit-to-stands, and arm exercises with weights.' Noooo... I hate step-ups! I loathe sit-to-stands! I suppose the arm raises and biceps curls are just about bearable.

So today I dutifully did some step-ups using the steps by the back door, and some arm raises and biceps curls with 2lb weights.

I'm still aiming for 2000+ steps per day on my watch thingy, even if it is adding chopping veg to to the count.

Reminder to myself

I've added to the Moonlight Sonata Playalong... art sources to come soon

Podcast on BBCsounds

Last night I discovered a new series (it's been going for ages); Tim Harford, the 'Behind the Numbers' man, does 'Cautionary Tales for Adults'. I listened to 'Bowie, Jazz and the unplayable piano'. Why is it that, from never having heard of the world famous jazz pianist Keith Jarret and the Koln concert until Beth introduced him to me, he now crops up everywhere? This episode was on how obstacles can cause sudden bursts of unimaginable creativity. 

I shall be exploring more of these quirky programmes. 

Music

One usually associates Czerny with pages of dull exercises. I remember working steadily through op 139 with one teacher... the main thing in my view was that they were short!

This is something else entirely. If I hadn't seen the description I might have thought it was Chopin;

Czerny op 740 no 14, played by Jean Frederic Neuburger.

Friday 22nd August - Beethoven Moonlight 4; Page 2

 The piano playalong has stalled out for a month because the couple of students I am teaching it to have also stalled out... work pressures, holidays... July and August. Nuff said.

Anyway, we're up and running again. I have no idea if anyone is actually following this - it really doesn't matter to me as I'm finding it a useful way of getting my ideas in order for the lessons.

I'm hoping that you are ok with page 1; if not, you can always search the blog;

This was the first post on June 13th,  here's the second post, and the third post. And there was a fourth post on June 23rd 

Then silence; until today!

Page 2

It's not a wonderful copy; the original is my grandmother's volume of Beethoven Sonatas...

I'm only discussing the first three lines; there's a bit of theory which is worth considering for lines four and five, and I'll suggest some preparatory work before getting stuck into it later.

The main thing to grasp in the top line, and it applies to the whole piece, actually, is that

THE PEDAL DOES NEARLY ALL THE WORK IN MAKING A LEGATO SOUND

In other words, if you are one of the many adults who is slightly scared of using the pedal ('oh, but that's going to make it harder'), just channel your inner adolescent 'know-it-all' persona, or cultivate it for the purposes of playing the Moonlight. 

If you attempt to produce the legato sound without the pedal, then unless you have large hands you are going to get very 'stuck' on the keys, trying to hold them down while you contort your fingers onto the notes of the triplets. TREAD (gently) on the RH pedal, and put your foot to the floor.

(I can hear my piano teachers wincing, crying out in pain - and they are right to. There is far more to using the pedal beautifully than this, but let's just get started.)

You need to 'change' the pedal, with a neat hiccup type movement, keeping your heel on the floor, every time the harmony changes.

So, for example, in the very first bar on page one, the harmony doesn't change at all. In bar 4, it changes on every beat.

The symbol that has always looked to me like a cute little dachshund is actually 'Ped' in fancy curly writing, and means depress the pedal (to the floor) and the asterix means let the pedal lift. You will find, with a bit of experimentation, that you only need to let the pedal come up about halfway to clear the sound. 

So, getting back to the top of page 2; The first bar is IMPOSSIBLE (for me, anyway) to play without nearly dislocating my fingers can causing PAIN - the enemy of pianists. But if I release each note of the triplet as I play them, then - easy peasy. Try it. Just relax - let it feel like some kind of yoga or pilates or massage or something.    

Carry on, yoga-ing your way through the first 3 lines, letting the pedal do the hard work for you.

Now go back to page 1, and enjoy your new-found freedom of movement.

Make sure you LISTEN carefully to the sound you are making, so you don't blur the harmonies with the pedal. It comes with.... practise!   

NOW, Prep for line 4 and 5.

1. Put the music away. Just look at your fingers.

Do you know what a C major arpeggio looks like? The notes C E G C. That's the order one normally plays them in.

Beethoven is going to zig zag his way up and down a series of arpeggios (don't look; there's all sorts there to put you off and it's easier than it appears)

So, in it's simplest form, the zig zag goes (TAKE IT VERY, VERY, SLOWLY, GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK) 

C   G  back to E, on to C, back to G up to E, back to .... did you expect C? Oh good, you've got the idea. Don't worry about fingering, just clamber on up.

Now, coming down. The notes backwards are C G E C. Give them a Hard Stare (like Paddington Bear...) little finger on  C, down to E, back to G, down to C, up to E, are you expecting G? Excellent.

Put the pedal down - it will sound great! Crescendo as you go up, (getting louder) and diminuendo (getting softer) as you come down. It will sound brilliant!

So, to cope with the zig zag, just memorise the letters, or even better, positions of the keys you are aiming for and go for it.

E major? No problem. E, middle black note (G# if you must), B and E. Off you go.

C# minor? If you start on the E (trust me, I'm a piano teacher) then the notes are E, middle black note, C# and E again. Zig Zag; E,  C#,  G#, E etc.

Theory; the notes of a chord are the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 8th (1st again) of the scale, and it really doesn't matter what order you play them in, it's still a chord of whatever your first note is.       

 so, for C'# minor, in the proper order they are C#, E#, G#, C#. You could play C#, high C#, low E, and a random G# and you would still have made a chord of C# minor. 

Have fun!

Thursday 21st August - it was about time...

 that we bought a new kitchen timer. The old one literally came apart in my hands and was resistant to being mended.

BB ordered a replacement, it was identical to the old one in every way except the bit you turn to set it going was on upside-down! I decided I couldn't cope with trying to work out whether I had 5 minutes or 35 minutes to go. In a fit of pique BB ordered a posher timer. It's excellent. 

BUT, in the meantime he closely examined the old one and worked out how to fit it back together, and, armed with this knowledge took It's replacement apart and put the indicator twiddly thingy on the right way round...

We now have an embarrassment of kitchen timers...

Reminders

I haven't forgotten that I said I'd put the source tutorials for my scribbly flowers on a blog post.

And I'm going to do the next installment of playing the Moonlight Sonata very soon.

Music

If you want to watch yesterday's video on the Aurora Orchstra at the proms, you'll have to go to BBCiplayer as the youtube account I shared has been closed.

Today, obviously, needs to be the Andante Haydn's clock symphony...

Here's the Geneva Camarata Orchestra. You can see the cellos and double basses tick-tocking away...

Wednesday 20th August - the Aurora Orchestra

 Drawings

Another traced drawing from my  kindle scribe;

I couldn't be doing with the whimsical castle so I just drew over the top of it. (From 'The Enchanted Forest tracing pages for kindle scribe by Kendra Allsop)

Here's my own version; I miss being able to smudge my pencil lines. I don't miss my pencil lines smudging all the time when I rub them by accident!

Music

The Aurora Orchestra

I cannot begin to imagine how this orchestra manages to play the most complex music ENTIRELY FROM MEMORY. 

Last year we were completely mesmerised by their proms programme. In the first half they staged a dramatised analysis of Beethoven's famous 9th Symphony, all of the movements, alongside an interwoven drama of Beethoven's life and his difficulties with deafness while he was writing it. The second half, a complete performance of the same Symphony, was illuminated by what we learned from the first half. 

Here's just the last section, Ode to Joy. What struck me was the total unity, everyone completely committed all the way through. How do they do it?

This year, at the weekend they did the same for Shostakovitch's 5th symphony. The drama was an analysis again, but incorporating the political persecution of artistic freedom instigated by Stalin at the time of writing. The role of Shostakovitch was performed, mimed, by the most incredible dancer, who brought tears to my eyes as I watched his interpretation of the appalling conflicts he faced between his artistic truth and the strictures and terrors of the time.

We didn't watch the second half, our heads were too full from the first half!

(edited to take out the link to the Aurora performance which was removed from YouTube)

Monday 18th August - There and Back Again

 Wasn't 'There and back again' the subtitle of The Hobbit? Or was it Lord of the Rings?

We had a lovely day out with friends in Oxfordshire today. I've know her since I was 2 and she was 4; we were next door neighbours. Luckily our respective spouses get along too...

They live a generous 2 hour drive away... for some reason (well I know the reason) I decided that leaving at 9.30 gave us plenty of time to get there for 11am... 

9.30 - 10.30 - 11. 

What came over me? So I had to ring and say we were going to be an hour late. She's a very understanding friend. 

We sat outside and had a bbq  -  meat done in the oven, (that was probably my fault!), vegetable skewers on the bbq - and an enormous selection of salads. Everything tastes even better in the open air, looking at a view like this

There is a small river in the hidden valley at the bottom of the wheat field; that line of trees is further away than you might think! From time to time red kites would slowly ride the thermals over the field.

Coming home was a bit of a confusing journey.  I don't know what was going on in our heads, and things were not helped by Google maps taking us home by a completely new way to avoid congestion on the M25... 

We ended up retracing our steps no fewer than 5 times from constantly choosing the wrong exit at roundabouts. 

Weird. 

We even, I kid you not, missed an exit less then 5 miles from home and explored one of the brand new housing estates springing up all round us. 

Still, we arrived home safely - hence 'there and back again'...

Music

We're ready for an early night. Here's Chenyin Li again, with a very recently composed lullaby by Jelena Poulíčková;

Jelena Poulíčková is the winner of the Pianist 2025 Composing Competition. All judges fell in love with this thought-provoking Lullaby. The score appears inside the June/July issue of Pianist (No 144).

Sunday 17th August - Lullaby by William Byrd

 Anything I was thinking of posting today has dropped into insignificance after listening to the Gesualdo Six singing Byrd's Lullaby 'My Sweet Little Baby'. (Yes, there are only five singing, no, I don't know why)

I was actually looking for something different, but came across this and it is so beautiful I looked no further for anything. 

A friend of a friend has just had a baby in... let's  just say it's a country that's at war.

That's nothing special (sadly); babies are born in war zones everywhere, all the time. But I have seen a picture of this newborn baby, asleep, innocent of all knowledge.

oh, oh, my heart... it's when the abstract becomes real, when the crowds become individuals...

The full text for this lullaby concerns Herod's slaughter of the Innocents...

Saturday 16th August - Magic Drawing

 These odd diagrams do turn into faces... at the moment they are blocky, just explaining the general shapes. It feels like I'm drawing portraits of Kriton from the Red Dwarf but I can see how they will turn into people as I  carry on through the book. Just like magic.

In the same way doodling with a pen over random blobs of paint becomes flowers; I finished the second picture from yesterday this morning 

I like the way my very untidy lines (ballpoint pen) somehow make sense of the paint and bring energy.

Finally, I sat and doodled for a bit

Books

More books that I ordered arrived today. Of the three, two are presents so I don't feel quite so extravagant. The third is this;

I read a review some time ago and finally succumbed, adding it to my order. But I MUST finish the BIPs before I start reading it! (Books In Progress). I've currently 2 books and 2 audio books on the go.

Music

Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman playing Halvorsen's Passacaglia. Heaven.

Friday 15th August - a bit of colour

 After several weeks of not getting around to using my water colours, I cracked... I splodged some colours onto a couple of pages like this;

And took a black fine-liner to them once they had dried...

Then I watched the tutorial to find out how I was supposed to do it!

I haven't got at the first picture with my pen yet, I'll maybe do that another day. 

Soggy Bottom Avoidance Tactics 

I meant to photograph this before I started in on it...

Supper tonight was a Crustless Quiche... 

The original recipe (for 4 people) uses 6 eggs, 100g grated cheddar, a chopped onion, bacon (I used pancetta),  tomatoes, herbs etc. No cream, unlike some other recipes. 

This time around I skipped the tomatoes and added some red and yellow peppers instead.

I made half quantities, and cooked it in the air fryer for a few minutes less and and a slightly lower temperature. My serving (slightly less than half) is on a plate halfway between a tea plate and a dinner plate in size. It was delicious! 

And no soggy bottom... although I think it wouldn't get any marks in pastry week on Great British Bake-Off if I hadn't made any pastry!

Thank you, Sue for recommending this book on your blog.

I sent off for a second-hand copy, and am delighted with it. Much as I like Hugh Fearnely-Whittingshall's book 'Love Your Leftovers', I find this book, all just plain text, well arranged, with clear suggestions and amusing asides 

much closer to my style. For example, her suggestions for using up left-over wine... I entirely agree with her 'handy hint'!

Music

I know the first three Gnossiennes by Erik Satie, but numbers 4-6 are new to me. This is luscious...  Played by Chenyin Li.

Thursday 14th August -

 It's amazing what one can do when one follows some instructions;

I did these using a Kindle scribe book. I'm quite taken by surprise at what I achieved. 

Today's main event was a routine hospital cardiology appointment in the morning. The result; no change, everything's fine (all things considered!). For some reason my blood pressure was Sky High... but the consultants didn't seem worried. I didn't walk as far as last time - 247m as opposed to 270m in 6 minutes- but I took it Very Gently. I'm sure I could have got the extra 23m but I was a bit spooked by the BP.

'Just take it at the same time each day at home for a week or so, and then we'll see' they said. 

I did take it this afternoon; 117/68. Nothing wrong with that. So I'm not going to worry. 

Today's non-event was that my blood test this afternoon was cancelled. Some kind of 'incident' the text said. Unfortunately I need to get the test done this week, so I'll have to go to the next town tomorrow morning as there aren't any local appointments until Monday, which would be too late for Wednesday's infusion of Zolendronic Acid. 

I LOVE the name of that drug! It's an annual infusion for osteoporosis. I always feel that I should glow in the dark for at least a week afterwards. 

Music

Respighi again, 'The Magic Toyshop'. He writes such engaging music!

Here are some excerpts from Wikipedia;

Sections of complete ballet

Overture (Tempo di Marcia) – Allegretto – Meno mosso – Mème mouvement – Vivo

Tarantella (Allegro con brio) 'La Danza' – Vivo

Mazurka – Vivo – Lento – Moderato – Più vivo – Poco meno – Vivacissimo

Danse Cosaque (Allegretto marcato) – Animando un poco – Vivo – Allegretto brillante (Valse) – Vivace

Can–Can (Allegretto grottesco) 'Petite Caprice Style Offenbach' – Vivacissimo – Poco meno vivo – Andantino mosso

Valse lente (Andantino moderato) – Un poco più mosso – Con brio – Tempo I° – Più animato – Tempo I° – Pizzicato, Allegretto moderato – Allegretto moderato

Nocturne (Andantino) – Allegretto

Galop (Vivacissimo) – Fuga, Allegro brillante – Prestissimo – Tempo I°

La Boutique fantasque, also known as The Magic Toyshop or The Fantastic Toyshop, is a ballet in one act conceived by Léonide Massine, who devised the choreography for a libretto written with the artist André Derain, a pioneer of Fauvism. Derain also designed the décor and costumes for the ballet. Ottorino Respighi wrote the music based on piano pieces by Gioachino Rossini. Its world premiere was at the Alhambra Theatre in London on 5 June 1919, performed by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

Massine's scenario centers on the love story between two can-can dancer dolls in a toyshop, incorporating elements of comedy, national folk dance and mime, as well as classical choreography.

Wednesday 13th August - Birds, books, audiobooks

 

Illustration above from the Bodleian Library

I'm enjoying reading La Vie by John Lewis Stempel so much that I might download the audio book as suitable 'going to sleep' material. I've reached the month of May in the book, and the farm is full of birdsong. This is my second time through the book this year! 

I'm still listening to Ronald Blythe 'Next to Nature' as bed-time listening.

Some programs on BBCSounds I've also been listening to after lights-out are;

• Alec Guiness reading his diary for 1987 (I think) called 'My Name Escapes Me'
• Ian Hislop; two series; 
• I, Object! about an exhibition at the British Museum about objects which were created as a protest.
• Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes, tracing the history of British humour (but be prepared for some truly filthy riddles in an illuminated Anglo-saxon manuscript discovered in Exeter Cathedral library, which all have perfectly innocent answers...)
• More or less; behind the stats. They investigate some of the numbers that come up in the news, especially some of the odd things said by politicians. It's numbers, but not really maths...

I like spoken word, rather than music, to lull me to sleep, and preferably something calm, without much plot or story telling so that I don't get caught up in it and start pressing the 'extra time' button! 

Music

I've chosen The Birds by Respighi, played by the Academy of St Martin's in the Fields, conducted by Neville Mariner. In La Vie JSL lists birds that I never see or hear near us; turtle doves, cuckoo's, nightingales, swallows for a start. Plus hoopoes... although they don't get a movement in the Respighi!

The first movement will be very familiar to people who watch the Aniques Show on TV.

I've copied and pasted an excerpt from the Wikipedia page below. 

From wikipedia;

The Birds (Respighi)

The Birds (Italian: Gli uccelli) is a suite for small orchestra by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Dating from 1928, the work is based on music from the 17th and 18th century[1] and represents an attempt to transcribe birdsong into musical notation, and illustrate bird actions, such as fluttering wings, or scratching feet. The work is in five movements:[2][3]

"Prelude" (based on the music of Bernardo Pasquini)

"La colomba" ("The dove"; based on the music of Jacques de Gallot)

"La gallina" ("The hen"; based on the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau)

"L'usignuolo" ("The nightingale"; based on the folksong "Engels Nachtegaeltje" transcribed by recorder virtuoso Jacob van Eyck)

"Il cucù" ("The cuckoo"; based on the music of Pasquini)

At least three of the movements make use of specific instruments picked to resemble birds. "La colomba" uses an oboe to resemble a dove. "La gallina" uses violins which are said to be "clucking in imitation of the gallinaceous beauty."[4] "L'usignuolo" uses a woodwind over sylvan strings.[4]

The suite was used for the ballet of the same name, with choreography by Cia Fornaroli, first performed at Sanremo Casinò Municipale on 19 February 1933; with choreography by Margarita Wallmann at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, on 27 February 1940; and by Robert Helpmann, with design by Chiang Yee, by the Sadler's Wells Ballet at the New Theatre, London on 24 November 1942.[5]

Between 1965 and 1977 the first movement was used as the opening and closing theme for BBC TV series Going for a Song. The music played along with the sound of a bird in a cage automaton.