tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12485039350753624252024-03-12T17:53:28.988+00:00I'll think of something laterAn impressionistic outlet for some of those thoughts, musical and otherwise, I don't have a chance to air in the mediaDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger1239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-77585577674197429632024-02-26T11:22:00.001+00:002024-02-26T11:23:27.910+00:00Lenny's literature<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqqrQHwesUJ5Gk9VUxH7LIyLXCQJLt5M0ZBWbI-V9fJKKHBRKu320xcwko5jm4M-G2K-4ze7lbKpQIoVk2m42huOMb2qJ087rMASpR2ffKsFG1K18Bp3BPofgSwyA3IO3jcJxd_HOuks0n2qX5NrKkmTg0iNLCDcfiuN9vVu6n8pAwcfB3cOtr8Ozr8pB/s2689/20240216_113009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1750" data-original-width="2689" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqqrQHwesUJ5Gk9VUxH7LIyLXCQJLt5M0ZBWbI-V9fJKKHBRKu320xcwko5jm4M-G2K-4ze7lbKpQIoVk2m42huOMb2qJ087rMASpR2ffKsFG1K18Bp3BPofgSwyA3IO3jcJxd_HOuks0n2qX5NrKkmTg0iNLCDcfiuN9vVu6n8pAwcfB3cOtr8Ozr8pB/s320/20240216_113009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>We're coming up to the sixth of ten Zoom sessions on Leonard Bernstein, and I think all the students would agree that so far it's been a journey of incomparable richness (<i>West Side Story</i> next Thursday). One of the semi-incidental joys has been the possibility of reading or re-reading some of his sources; over the past three weeks I've finaly read, in Walter Hamilton's vivid translation. Plato's <i>Symposium</i> - on the Greek course at university, we only covered <i>Phaedrus</i> and selected books of <i>The Republic</i> - and Auden's <i>The Age of Anxiety</i>, reassured by John Fuller's Auden Companion that parts of it are as difficult as<i> Finnegans Wake</i> when my attention seemed fitful. </p><p>Loose inspiration from the former yielded one of Bernstein's perfect masterpieces, the <i>Serenade</i> for solo violin, strings, harp and percussion - <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/skride-national-symphony-orchestra-matheuz-national-concert-hall-dublin-musical">Baiba Skride's performance in Dublin last year</a> made me wonder why I hadn't heard it for so long - and from the latter the Second Symphony, first-rate in parts. In essence, the composer responds to the poetic general idea much as Strauss did with Nietzsche in <i>Also sprach Zarathustra, </i>but if that yields strong ideas, who's complaining. I've come close to the symphony, at least as far as the opening loneliness for two clarinets and the first set of variations are concerned. Everyone loves the not-so-desultory party music, and that works well with the preceding dirge, but the end I don't buy. Krystian Zimerman is outstanding in this film with Bernstein conducting the LSO (I was there)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q-aU2Se1RHw" width="320" youtube-src-id="Q-aU2Se1RHw"></iframe></div><p></p><p>while Janine Jansen stole all hearts in the Serenade when I played the final Socrates-Alcibiades sequence in this performance with Pappano (we also heard Gluzman, Midori and Kremer). <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rp868n6rem8" width="320" youtube-src-id="Rp868n6rem8"></iframe></div><p>I wasn't sure that ten two-hour sessions on Bernstein would hold, at least from the compositional point of view. But so far, they absolutely have. There's been an alternation between serious and relatively light - not that LB ever made the distinction - and some real corkers, such as the second class focusing on <i>Fancy Free</i> and <i>On the Town</i>, from a very special annus mirabilis. Why have we never, in my experience at any rate, experienced Jerome Robbins' vivacious choreography for the half-hour ballet live in the UK? This is <span>Stéphane</span> Bullion of the Paris Opera Ballet in the cheeky third variation, proving that the wiggles in <i>Maestro </i>are vintage Robbins</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ybp7FjVRHk8" width="320" youtube-src-id="ybp7FjVRHk8"></iframe></div><br /><p><i>Fancy Free</i>, like <i>Serenade</i>, is a totally perfect score. So is <i>Prelude, Fugue and Riffs</i>, so rudely ignored by Woody Herman who commissioned it but never acknowledged receipt of the score or paid for it. Much as I find Stravinsky's <i>Ebony Concerto </i>for Herman and Co piquant, this sequence is of a different order. I like the idea with the two in each half of a concert followed by <i>Apollo</i> and<i> Fancy Free</i>. YouTube is a surprising place - I was reconciled to using sound recordings when I discovered the whole thing in a 1955 Bernstein jazz programme (I have a CD with just the talk), introduced and conducted by the composer; it's much the best.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T3JYlHS5KHw" width="320" youtube-src-id="T3JYlHS5KHw"></iframe></div><p></p><p>The symphonic suites/dances from <i>On the Waterfront </i>and <i>West Side Story</i> are flawless, too; but it's hardly surprising if the latter as a whole has its weaknesses (the soppier side of the generic young lovers - Tony's 'Something's Coming' was one of the last numbers to be composed, and at least gives him grit). <i>Candide</i> remains, in any version, what Sondheim calls 'a first-class mess', but oh, what numbers. And of course one of the greatest operetta overtures ever, very much in a tradition. Once again I discovered Bernstein's TV performance of it - in one of his Children's Concerts - absolutely the best.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zn5bhJ5YX6U" width="320" youtube-src-id="zn5bhJ5YX6U"></iframe></div><p></p><p>To think that this course would never have come about if it hadn't been for widespread interest in <i>Maestro</i>, a film I <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/film/maestro-review-infinite-variety-leonard-bernstein">love and respect </a>(so tired of those reviews and articles which criticise it for what it doesn't do rather than what it chooses to select). Catching up with <i>Oppenheimer</i> more recently, a fine film in so many ways, I'd say that the real comparison is not between that and <i>Barbie</i> (which I haven't seen and probably won't), but with Bradley Cooper's masterful movie.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqA1X1xGo22JZpX3ddfv_dBL32-J0S2rquYnFh5OBtoAa9SG3nBf2TxIyFrNlfaHOX7DeIIs5PSeYq2Fx82Fwj3AjfNnrJI-UawXqFpWMfROwceVJB-ZmohXNHdhJ8PiMd29Ar-LbnaWlkaA9L39h0LAEA7sJSIXeTraGNToNfArW1ElAYEZnOlGj5XMxI/s507/Maestro%20Oppenheimer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="507" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqA1X1xGo22JZpX3ddfv_dBL32-J0S2rquYnFh5OBtoAa9SG3nBf2TxIyFrNlfaHOX7DeIIs5PSeYq2Fx82Fwj3AjfNnrJI-UawXqFpWMfROwceVJB-ZmohXNHdhJ8PiMd29Ar-LbnaWlkaA9L39h0LAEA7sJSIXeTraGNToNfArW1ElAYEZnOlGj5XMxI/s320/Maestro%20Oppenheimer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>While <i>Oppenheimer </i>sprawls and tries to cram in everything, <i>Maestro</i> holds focus. Performances in both are fine, but only Emily Blunt's Katherine Oppenheimer eventually becomes a rounded female character. The brilliant Florence Pugh is wasted, and has to participate in one of the worst Bad Sex Scenes in movies, getting up mid-bonk to survey the bookshelves. Above all I hate the non-stop musical soundrack in <i>Oppenheimer </i>which often serves no point (though it's superb in the nuclear test sequence). Indifferent to the Oscars, I still won't mind at all if Cillian Murphy wins best actor award. But I really hope Carey Mulligan takes a statue too.<br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-71054909727264654922024-02-09T19:04:00.009+00:002024-02-14T10:53:38.536+00:00An Italian appendix<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_Xq-tZ7HQk71GToziglqL-63q_fYOa6RJ1VhR2w2iCzCRUGCI9Eqixttgnbrm1fchNYKjCzaA1kdIKQt2DxpIpiQ-gUgtpE3_Ips2w-ssL9-qlJA9vpFEZOZjrGVEQxQgyt77HnJ5naVVlowGSDToE3HHk6NhnJxevcrSzUAOtzFI46wo10IPpaHB26u/s4160/20240104_080333.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_Xq-tZ7HQk71GToziglqL-63q_fYOa6RJ1VhR2w2iCzCRUGCI9Eqixttgnbrm1fchNYKjCzaA1kdIKQt2DxpIpiQ-gUgtpE3_Ips2w-ssL9-qlJA9vpFEZOZjrGVEQxQgyt77HnJ5naVVlowGSDToE3HHk6NhnJxevcrSzUAOtzFI46wo10IPpaHB26u/s320/20240104_080333.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was the best and worst of days: 4 January, which began with leaving glorious Volterra at 8 in the morning on the first bus as the sun rose, and later continued with heading straight to Epsom Hospital to find my mother delirious from one of several infections (the consultant simply said 'the next 24 hours are crucial'). </p><p>Well, the rest of January was quite a grind of travelling back and forth for hospital visits, wavering between hope and fear and much else in between. But I'm so glad for our Italian idyll for giving me strength. After I <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/12/im-still-here.html">last posted on the subject</a>, we had an ideal New Year's Eve supper at Sophie's Siena guest house, with delightful fellow guests and some round-the-table entertainment. Sophie has <a href="https://fromsienawithlove.blogspot.com/2024/01/where-to-even-begin.html">written about it on her blog</a>, with photos, so I'll simply give my own brief take: the turns included charming big cheese of the local Onda contrada Loris singing a couple of the team songs and Andrea delivering a brilliant theatrical monologue (I didn't understand it all, but my Italian worked pretty well throughout the evening). The sparklers I'd bought in a Ferrara anything-goes shop came in handy</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3-2P8Apy_QyISWT5WCWuZi_WNbceVi9P9xNOgitLDXeD9GRNygLT5BJNkhfgHKbiM9QpFZzv8bLX5bElpl0M-pY7ezsZp_9ztG4MBu8o1DQNEhQQ7wArcM6aWh0QTBXBpFcbt-IG-ZRExkF5UhX939XCEQKYz7XUECoS_ky2KzlqRk13A8pL-0CFb63X/s2000/1000010159.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3-2P8Apy_QyISWT5WCWuZi_WNbceVi9P9xNOgitLDXeD9GRNygLT5BJNkhfgHKbiM9QpFZzv8bLX5bElpl0M-pY7ezsZp_9ztG4MBu8o1DQNEhQQ7wArcM6aWh0QTBXBpFcbt-IG-ZRExkF5UhX939XCEQKYz7XUECoS_ky2KzlqRk13A8pL-0CFb63X/s320/1000010159.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>and after 'Auld Lang Syne' with the Milva alternative, we strolled down the street to the Campo where Italian popstar Emma belted songs out with great spirit to a packed 'arena'. She'd yielded the stage to two comedians by the time I took this photo just before midnight.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OOQ3khw2GVNwKrOdTDu5MbIWN05suwjUqeVD2Z4LXptNk0dsvdZ46SCazSaSvscWY437wPwSVgixcomls6F8-DpiVRS1DZL5_kO3tQjxjt8I48FHCUCZYdo3hxJ3MT8X3nFDveQPmjAtVrMSXRlQiRn9HIzWA2s6gBry6W0uIaykr_O7oa89un2N4TWC/s4160/20231231_235710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OOQ3khw2GVNwKrOdTDu5MbIWN05suwjUqeVD2Z4LXptNk0dsvdZ46SCazSaSvscWY437wPwSVgixcomls6F8-DpiVRS1DZL5_kO3tQjxjt8I48FHCUCZYdo3hxJ3MT8X3nFDveQPmjAtVrMSXRlQiRn9HIzWA2s6gBry6W0uIaykr_O7oa89un2N4TWC/s320/20231231_235710.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Just to make myself jolly again - I am, in fact, this weekend, with the Man from Dublin here - I wanted to make a very superficial selection of artistic treasures from our wanderings in seven Italian cities, four brand new revelations. I fell in love with Bologna again - we were staying the first night in a glorious area and had a splendid supper in the Ristorante Donatello, its walls covered with signed photos of superstars both operatic and otherwise, and though we only had a morning, it was so enriched by finding San Petronio open (I think it must have been undergoing restoration on the last visit). The original reliefs by Jacopo della Quercia are to be found in one of the chapels, but the replicas make the facade handsome indeed, and all Bologna seemed to be out, with or without dogs, that brilliantly sunny morning.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iEUKCqoADpmaeIQ868xKTTI6tK9v5Efzqsx07TcPX9KgwzLZQXJSl51cdubwzpzRRXmpXcX6al7vIDx_wHczizi92bjDxgVgBqzXUI6P19j6g-d3bv83VyAooMkuyxJr0B2L-jXzE5pAPo00ijlGmjKS60AMHs6tF_MmktTHXqrdztEjgsSmq71QEMEs/s800/20231219_114611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iEUKCqoADpmaeIQ868xKTTI6tK9v5Efzqsx07TcPX9KgwzLZQXJSl51cdubwzpzRRXmpXcX6al7vIDx_wHczizi92bjDxgVgBqzXUI6P19j6g-d3bv83VyAooMkuyxJr0B2L-jXzE5pAPo00ijlGmjKS60AMHs6tF_MmktTHXqrdztEjgsSmq71QEMEs/s320/20231219_114611.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>To try and keep the treasure pictures down, I'm limiting choices where possible. The biggest impact here came from Vincenzo Onofrio's 1480 Lamentation, with its astonishingly expressive wooden figures.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDVrygOhSupt2nbZRdUlX4MVVQvMvEGUkJoGRnqt-5Ljunam0GDcbvj_LvpWPfNMOUmWBjnprXBtUe1EWK14EGnWN2iqfILX2cyuyHjZwwDvM3HlRZMP7ZklHULFqx9IPxPN2mO_sSr_0WnTozy02NLk22uklLGcA4GPFYMc2nbBspB03q6RKJVouKHA-/s800/20231219_121327.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDVrygOhSupt2nbZRdUlX4MVVQvMvEGUkJoGRnqt-5Ljunam0GDcbvj_LvpWPfNMOUmWBjnprXBtUe1EWK14EGnWN2iqfILX2cyuyHjZwwDvM3HlRZMP7ZklHULFqx9IPxPN2mO_sSr_0WnTozy02NLk22uklLGcA4GPFYMc2nbBspB03q6RKJVouKHA-/s320/20231219_121327.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />We took a day trip by train from Ravenna to Rimini chiefly to see one of the great unified treasures of the Renaissance, the Tempio Malatestiano, and were more amazed than I'd expected, but my mind's-eye image, aided by photos, is of the Ponte di Tiberio, begun under Augustus's aegis and finished in Tiberius's time (21 AD), <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TwVjwReFWr4PeyoHs989tsscZV3UZI1Bn2OHT73DgtsQm20V8-02b21gGESyD3HWAZ-FM01FHDBlWcC1LN6gXjKAma4m_UEv9jIag3a7eFJ2xst6eWsjNHSFhcLbC7eHFsTzAahQ_wGa8dWv7PQ1jZYxwqIGPKCoMDdo6Q8aIzl35HyB7gTv9yNLBbDn/s800/1000008775.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TwVjwReFWr4PeyoHs989tsscZV3UZI1Bn2OHT73DgtsQm20V8-02b21gGESyD3HWAZ-FM01FHDBlWcC1LN6gXjKAma4m_UEv9jIag3a7eFJ2xst6eWsjNHSFhcLbC7eHFsTzAahQ_wGa8dWv7PQ1jZYxwqIGPKCoMDdo6Q8aIzl35HyB7gTv9yNLBbDn/s320/1000008775.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>connecting the main Corso d'Augusto with the piquant area of San Martino, full of Fellini homages on the walls of the narrow streets and a Veronese in San Giuliano (with Fellinesque Roman soldiers outside participating in a nearby 'living crib' show). The folly of Sigismondo Malatesta, both monument and church (it is now the city's Duomo), has a west front by Alberti,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnOaWwc3qCR8lbAz7O31-jhmTlgLvRmsLaPYqRzG2YXrI548CvwaNolCHMr7388HSvBWPWpAZCYpFaJDM3QEN6zPmuGXpdNWJPD2VXOEgusgxON-RCGfAMvOZwDxLzs03uSfb9k_0nTZzLkzzu7mQ-jL5f3XbB15DqAQ3hat4YT71A3DTOmAIVoVHgvmi/s800/20231222_164836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="581" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnOaWwc3qCR8lbAz7O31-jhmTlgLvRmsLaPYqRzG2YXrI548CvwaNolCHMr7388HSvBWPWpAZCYpFaJDM3QEN6zPmuGXpdNWJPD2VXOEgusgxON-RCGfAMvOZwDxLzs03uSfb9k_0nTZzLkzzu7mQ-jL5f3XbB15DqAQ3hat4YT71A3DTOmAIVoVHgvmi/s320/20231222_164836.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><p></p><p>but it's the decorative unity of the interior which takes one aback, especially given the way it was lit as darkness fell.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvB2CZ8qwO6X7L5WCJuZC1PtUtxIz6ZeGMOMeW9_EHHWBG4HP3hNQGblqBTYUsRmZKua6DFvMs5h88SwNxaTn6rEnsLNp4dFpZHpX0nYd9CA8HO9mNgZ4AfPhyHaKh5qXSzchkyzzkRLYYWbu8HfMLJoqui-bi2Gt-sCwSVbIp1Vh96colvNk_ZGFahXW/s700/20231222_164949.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="700" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvB2CZ8qwO6X7L5WCJuZC1PtUtxIz6ZeGMOMeW9_EHHWBG4HP3hNQGblqBTYUsRmZKua6DFvMs5h88SwNxaTn6rEnsLNp4dFpZHpX0nYd9CA8HO9mNgZ4AfPhyHaKh5qXSzchkyzzkRLYYWbu8HfMLJoqui-bi2Gt-sCwSVbIp1Vh96colvNk_ZGFahXW/s320/20231222_164949.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />To the right of the entrance is Sigismondo's tomb and the first chapel with his symbols of the elephant and the rose much in evidence<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8_LWFzHKHYl27I6kSDnem13KCZRthMIaSYEmS25Z4ANYKZ9Bkuu_gW-tU5O-MQw-gjaablctkGHXwZ4plB29AclrC1whIPQHGIj7UwnslTo4KXDy6DeOPrRU7X1tg9E9ZspTGblB6tb-aobw7wpVwnL6-56K6rnlgvt1jbqNAXCUGljlhry9dQRDe1RZ/s800/20231222_165101.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8_LWFzHKHYl27I6kSDnem13KCZRthMIaSYEmS25Z4ANYKZ9Bkuu_gW-tU5O-MQw-gjaablctkGHXwZ4plB29AclrC1whIPQHGIj7UwnslTo4KXDy6DeOPrRU7X1tg9E9ZspTGblB6tb-aobw7wpVwnL6-56K6rnlgvt1jbqNAXCUGljlhry9dQRDe1RZ/s320/20231222_165101.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Putti adorn most of the chapels</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXaukaH137rwTC0u6cdVg7AjdILw-C1rlc5ZWpY9w-tcBhmU2zwsayZ9969sIG14mC85URJJ9lfy0An2Mrtnk71aJq4K2crRUt3_EfUiZczD7f2D-3P7PjOWkWNJr5vK92Y-_lLw0QFXOTe41LGc5Xwj5c1PfQLFvRIieEjZnIvqB1CZfO-ExXyJVa4dG/s800/1000008798.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXaukaH137rwTC0u6cdVg7AjdILw-C1rlc5ZWpY9w-tcBhmU2zwsayZ9969sIG14mC85URJJ9lfy0An2Mrtnk71aJq4K2crRUt3_EfUiZczD7f2D-3P7PjOWkWNJr5vK92Y-_lLw0QFXOTe41LGc5Xwj5c1PfQLFvRIieEjZnIvqB1CZfO-ExXyJVa4dG/s320/1000008798.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOsbuoEFrciblzHyOKE0tQSPVpkNQfXwsoHmq-scOAQDwb2gzG9kleQ-UTEgUkN62rZx6W_vDaU6Ccf0fyCBn91mn1d-CRV9SG4wY6kUxaonc9wrImta9eQUJOc_3mWa6UnDIKzciAzhmUI7Ie0pePzbyhyphenhyphentJ3Ldp-0IaZA8xSJrPv2H3t0locgo8hhOi/s800/1000008790.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOsbuoEFrciblzHyOKE0tQSPVpkNQfXwsoHmq-scOAQDwb2gzG9kleQ-UTEgUkN62rZx6W_vDaU6Ccf0fyCBn91mn1d-CRV9SG4wY6kUxaonc9wrImta9eQUJOc_3mWa6UnDIKzciAzhmUI7Ie0pePzbyhyphenhyphentJ3Ldp-0IaZA8xSJrPv2H3t0locgo8hhOi/s320/1000008790.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>The fourth chapel on the south side is full of planetary symbols and Zodiacal signs, not exactly what you'd expect in a church.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwhIPhARI82iH2_G0LPf8FFzf6rHgSpdOsmLCKu793Ez1EvYaaeyKJPDT7iTMbZZJwUsSgqPKVnifknD6gPszw2SSXfq4lqUfXwXxpHpVlwGdRo4e5FRoJ3HBBMZbPaDoGzFPefL6EjHCc3cHDMg5AQ5BJOssWYGkmwhRtDOEExnxMBLCf7IaX-bYEepk/s800/1000008794.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwhIPhARI82iH2_G0LPf8FFzf6rHgSpdOsmLCKu793Ez1EvYaaeyKJPDT7iTMbZZJwUsSgqPKVnifknD6gPszw2SSXfq4lqUfXwXxpHpVlwGdRo4e5FRoJ3HBBMZbPaDoGzFPefL6EjHCc3cHDMg5AQ5BJOssWYGkmwhRtDOEExnxMBLCf7IaX-bYEepk/s320/1000008794.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXpNkrN6yC2xcmwW2-AqYkpIt9xF4Ajf_YJsvduUoRl9Vh_5p37YBh9x7UtyGH-li3YetXmgDR1viPC4Mtz2S0GbadGAEV3VOKxvkRCpAqpg56PUn7HKbn9keEfdevJhenlvzbydjotm7s5sHm355r-0tMp8p54_d0qHqvN1YkiFyWdZhjg-vmsZTM3uR/s800/1000008795.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXpNkrN6yC2xcmwW2-AqYkpIt9xF4Ajf_YJsvduUoRl9Vh_5p37YBh9x7UtyGH-li3YetXmgDR1viPC4Mtz2S0GbadGAEV3VOKxvkRCpAqpg56PUn7HKbn9keEfdevJhenlvzbydjotm7s5sHm355r-0tMp8p54_d0qHqvN1YkiFyWdZhjg-vmsZTM3uR/s320/1000008795.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>As if al this weren't enough, there's a fresco by Piero della Francesca of Sigismondo kneeling before his patron, Saint Sigismund of Burgundy,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHAT541RGvmSRLFD1ZEYIKDLQe9BKRkP5Az9m2LgmDyK8HjCdIpL0I2ZFmnSrFUcCkahEnir1YBt-H6hGtzqieCALn75b0WYvlpnrVGqF4fWfRqE1WSA_g2uIhtfKRSiOSCCtaBY-4SK6sqMfvBhMwYXSJQNbW8kHFoTRyN7ViUmYQUk_XYsLKjprLlDY/s700/1000008796.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="700" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHAT541RGvmSRLFD1ZEYIKDLQe9BKRkP5Az9m2LgmDyK8HjCdIpL0I2ZFmnSrFUcCkahEnir1YBt-H6hGtzqieCALn75b0WYvlpnrVGqF4fWfRqE1WSA_g2uIhtfKRSiOSCCtaBY-4SK6sqMfvBhMwYXSJQNbW8kHFoTRyN7ViUmYQUk_XYsLKjprLlDY/s320/1000008796.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and a crucifix above the high altar now decisively attributed to Giotto.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnCHripyH0B7FWHnmadWzy1lrfVXWZiz3hq68dEG4VZtPHyZWty-hR07J39_ac6v3gaV39SQ9eN8Eb66qKIGjO-xuXwEwdwGVLjhF_4_xSSThA0P64eKUt-aUtQGsRpE5xzWuhnJWtZg3pf8xqk23qgWQBx3LTJ9TUuEODvvu93J6PBGQjcaNfvO6CKUa/s800/1000008797.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnCHripyH0B7FWHnmadWzy1lrfVXWZiz3hq68dEG4VZtPHyZWty-hR07J39_ac6v3gaV39SQ9eN8Eb66qKIGjO-xuXwEwdwGVLjhF_4_xSSThA0P64eKUt-aUtQGsRpE5xzWuhnJWtZg3pf8xqk23qgWQBx3LTJ9TUuEODvvu93J6PBGQjcaNfvO6CKUa/s320/1000008797.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Of course the Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna had to be revisited while we were there for <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/theartsdesk-ravenna-riccardo-muti-passes-lifetimes-operatic-wisdom">Muti's mini opera festival</a>, but there was one site I wanted to see for the first time - the museum of the ancient Roman part at Classe (Classis back then), beautifully set up in a former sugar-from-beetroot factory.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAzFVFrDtr-lqvbZCOfeP7jonHolNe3ef7uVS1djcLVIBVBliQ7iICTwXj72T92S1LerSoXlhpvQAWhhM6zFm3c2JtxIImhxmKSRcOfxkuZDcPW2cwDVo8sFI-FEilxWEwTgc8ViE6bUF-xYuS-VB8hGUsmEgkO12lrvtLVTLw49BwB1CsrE0nDaqXA4O/s800/20231221_162144.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="800" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAzFVFrDtr-lqvbZCOfeP7jonHolNe3ef7uVS1djcLVIBVBliQ7iICTwXj72T92S1LerSoXlhpvQAWhhM6zFm3c2JtxIImhxmKSRcOfxkuZDcPW2cwDVo8sFI-FEilxWEwTgc8ViE6bUF-xYuS-VB8hGUsmEgkO12lrvtLVTLw49BwB1CsrE0nDaqXA4O/s320/20231221_162144.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The upper floor was laid out for the most elaborate wedding reception imaginable (said wedding taking place, of course, in Sant'Apollinare in Classe five minutes' walk away). Limiting myself to the glories here, I'll stick to the mosaics, one of which I thought I'd already seen when we got into the city's relatively recently opened Case dei Tappetti to see an ingenious 10-minute dance piece, but that must have been a reproduction.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IhV5tbLMHoZaxcRndu_8hyt7UjgNMyGVGTRlRPlkVb58-8nV9wYlZe8Olw0cI6mvyMJddtQAcdYOXQ0NpuGAnrDrkswRGKKCxAX9535Jgu0Yw7mvDKEFewph_nRSoNKTZdEfH99PFkRN4pY9xRtN3ZlhY6miN8Mo47_UMKgg3NeVBCUsBQO_zMkVHXGD/s800/20231221_161148.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="800" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IhV5tbLMHoZaxcRndu_8hyt7UjgNMyGVGTRlRPlkVb58-8nV9wYlZe8Olw0cI6mvyMJddtQAcdYOXQ0NpuGAnrDrkswRGKKCxAX9535Jgu0Yw7mvDKEFewph_nRSoNKTZdEfH99PFkRN4pY9xRtN3ZlhY6miN8Mo47_UMKgg3NeVBCUsBQO_zMkVHXGD/s320/20231221_161148.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>And there was much more.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTutPb4Q6kGl0HXgdHGZSfbZ3UHukGh68CMsVccSl6GMMsIqcOqFNhF47bBQTqwDoqSYWtI7UFWYTdc82QctEvJ7aEFTRzISokR51B8iTa7qtyyR2VQCHS-uwljHjTLu_1_jBebV2PtHG2bvK-Ci5PvIQsAkqfApNt_wCM4_Gr66xMHgkbLllUGgD-Is15/s800/20231221_160930.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTutPb4Q6kGl0HXgdHGZSfbZ3UHukGh68CMsVccSl6GMMsIqcOqFNhF47bBQTqwDoqSYWtI7UFWYTdc82QctEvJ7aEFTRzISokR51B8iTa7qtyyR2VQCHS-uwljHjTLu_1_jBebV2PtHG2bvK-Ci5PvIQsAkqfApNt_wCM4_Gr66xMHgkbLllUGgD-Is15/s320/20231221_160930.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Of our three days in Ferrara, two wonders eclipsed the rooms of the rather gloomy and overbearing palace-fortress of the Castello Estense. As you walk further east, the buildings become lower-level, the streets less dark, and a number of palazzi which served as suburban summer homes for the aristocracy stand out. The Palazzo Schifanoia is famous chiefly for the Salone dei Mesi, depictions of the months with scenes partly from everyday life and a beautifully coloured band of zodiacal signs painted by Francesco Cossa with the help of Ercole de'Roberti and other Ferrarese artists, hidden under whitewash and rediscovered in the 19th century. The months we have - two are ruined, three obliterated - are glorious. This is the wall with June, July and August</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4lXnzM_QJ54sxEkzGkeLhuXf_aB6qrT6V3OTwJaQV89JiVUCNsvk9TmDMaeAdaad9t31CfUTEB8zWja1atNzMtBk-DC4mOCY9jxZfcUNiVnOTkXzd1RDVujYLSXVUxJAGEdyyyo9YkWp6RZYyN1GjMf0shDUR3YEH-CHpGRJUJGdfo9h6W4cYFOQjcxr/s700/1000009122.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="700" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4lXnzM_QJ54sxEkzGkeLhuXf_aB6qrT6V3OTwJaQV89JiVUCNsvk9TmDMaeAdaad9t31CfUTEB8zWja1atNzMtBk-DC4mOCY9jxZfcUNiVnOTkXzd1RDVujYLSXVUxJAGEdyyyo9YkWp6RZYyN1GjMf0shDUR3YEH-CHpGRJUJGdfo9h6W4cYFOQjcxr/s320/1000009122.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />and here are three close-ups so you can see some of the Zodiacal beauties better.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxG4AZZu5EBFJkp57xvotd99EYm7i2g32tKpCzYEA68ENaCtvqS_Iz40uDSpJB1UgZxoEJHGz0uRrGAJmszQ1sEMsuD0JaXU0QEoDBLKP2Tj-b_zXmae8uNrXm8UZvhNzUQNXV_Hk9Iwe05G4OWTGtO82OukD8kJlCJb3PW0gDeRmIFvHXS0qcRhY0UCW/s800/20231224_154438.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxG4AZZu5EBFJkp57xvotd99EYm7i2g32tKpCzYEA68ENaCtvqS_Iz40uDSpJB1UgZxoEJHGz0uRrGAJmszQ1sEMsuD0JaXU0QEoDBLKP2Tj-b_zXmae8uNrXm8UZvhNzUQNXV_Hk9Iwe05G4OWTGtO82OukD8kJlCJb3PW0gDeRmIFvHXS0qcRhY0UCW/s320/20231224_154438.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaV1f_JvLRGwo50vgLuUD1fF_F4pFcKpo3CnK3GNF9pVi-Xt50oi0iYC5m46emQw8kQg2dpnXAAHgaZU1xTjCz_m0bT5YUknr2WkImXTSm0bk8Qv641xybPWEWqBvjnyi7x4f2tODb0erhyphenhyphenWquJDtokk4y0a523d7Bss6Kqt5caWxbZWh0DfHVSjW_TrS/s4160/20231224_154631.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaV1f_JvLRGwo50vgLuUD1fF_F4pFcKpo3CnK3GNF9pVi-Xt50oi0iYC5m46emQw8kQg2dpnXAAHgaZU1xTjCz_m0bT5YUknr2WkImXTSm0bk8Qv641xybPWEWqBvjnyi7x4f2tODb0erhyphenhyphenWquJDtokk4y0a523d7Bss6Kqt5caWxbZWh0DfHVSjW_TrS/s320/20231224_154631.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQ0inQDPTgZfa3mzMADMGSHXjmwjxNq_md2czRf7-eKjx6wlM_UH30CuWRHseeGt3dFKK0rAsJjumMrTa5_BQcAZFQy1WinDZ31GcMMqU0dyoLZQQev-I-bpEmV5H0ZlS7lSEXh85B3tOsdQG3MOZ2LguZjMTusCULR35djH-Pntzfh8p3c8UX-PjFLQY/s800/20231224_154907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQ0inQDPTgZfa3mzMADMGSHXjmwjxNq_md2czRf7-eKjx6wlM_UH30CuWRHseeGt3dFKK0rAsJjumMrTa5_BQcAZFQy1WinDZ31GcMMqU0dyoLZQQev-I-bpEmV5H0ZlS7lSEXh85B3tOsdQG3MOZ2LguZjMTusCULR35djH-Pntzfh8p3c8UX-PjFLQY/s320/20231224_154907.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Right-wing council notwithstanding, Ferrara has done wonders with all the museums and palaces we saw, exceptionally well restored and interpreted. I gather it was no great loss that the interior of the Cathedral was closed for restoration; it's been Baroqued, and all the earlier treasures are in the Museo delle Cattedrale housed in the former Church of San Romano. Just about every item here is a gem, starting with the 24 codices/illuminated choral book in the room on the upper floor. Among the artists involved was Giovanni Vendramin from Padua, who executed the exquisite nativity below.<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQxJkkFLf5SlXhyqLLxCt2snDUAX_R-TzcmU49RvyMiFfFClm18fT-1fcRj8Yt0wfmsj3N5NpftMQF7ESDjI8x1Meec4xllikP7u9GoFkd8R_fhB2zbjwLMlI9hbtR9zmU2Du51t04Js8bEOYl3h4_swEIuRuPCYuIAFeYP9IxABTCDLJflxI3QvKqA1r/s800/20231226_120156.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQxJkkFLf5SlXhyqLLxCt2snDUAX_R-TzcmU49RvyMiFfFClm18fT-1fcRj8Yt0wfmsj3N5NpftMQF7ESDjI8x1Meec4xllikP7u9GoFkd8R_fhB2zbjwLMlI9hbtR9zmU2Du51t04Js8bEOYl3h4_swEIuRuPCYuIAFeYP9IxABTCDLJflxI3QvKqA1r/s320/20231226_120156.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Surely one of the most beautiful of all Renaissance sculptures is Jacopo della Quercia's Madonna della melagrana (she's holding a pomegranate in her right hand), perfectly lit in the first room you see around the cloister downstairs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCJH3f86gLECWpCwb9-H6URS6f94N18pkQzPg0trwYyRB63ZVt2R61o0bfk3DKF0wGwjea-agtpyq-FHRFlYqXi-YWfGZ5NnZWSROrRUzlCVlixHsy2pDO_eDYkr_i2BOCO6tSBFbTyhqGz_oUr8iia9M3DeA4q4pnoTk1bf2O4SAHqMhaNwKcD-1Wzz1/s800/20231226_121124.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCJH3f86gLECWpCwb9-H6URS6f94N18pkQzPg0trwYyRB63ZVt2R61o0bfk3DKF0wGwjea-agtpyq-FHRFlYqXi-YWfGZ5NnZWSROrRUzlCVlixHsy2pDO_eDYkr_i2BOCO6tSBFbTyhqGz_oUr8iia9M3DeA4q4pnoTk1bf2O4SAHqMhaNwKcD-1Wzz1/s320/20231226_121124.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>The main body of the church highlights rich tapestries from the Ferrara workshop of Johannes Kircher (d. 1562) framing the great paintings of Cosme Tura on the shutters of the Cathedral's organ, in a display which allows them all to be seen simultaneously - glorious Mannerist representations of the Annunciation and Saint George and the Dragon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsVpwA58YajMP1v7X3Bqy11dtk9zRBSLTIouL9NEhDHkBX4Lb2TKXenAEDipj9EZ61pbNxt_NKztDP47rFTAW3zosdI40piqeiu1ev3sdh2ALJypAOW4K-9-SIyV_OpXPZUOiwIdnKWY5JNFi8NNmzNx239B_o0x_U1OrXKEycnzKErAlQl-G2ZHYCD4o/s800/20231226_121755.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="800" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsVpwA58YajMP1v7X3Bqy11dtk9zRBSLTIouL9NEhDHkBX4Lb2TKXenAEDipj9EZ61pbNxt_NKztDP47rFTAW3zosdI40piqeiu1ev3sdh2ALJypAOW4K-9-SIyV_OpXPZUOiwIdnKWY5JNFi8NNmzNx239B_o0x_U1OrXKEycnzKErAlQl-G2ZHYCD4o/s320/20231226_121755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The months here are of stone, carved with incredible refinement between 1230 and 1240. All the details are absorbing, but finest of all, surely, is the grape-harvesting of September.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYXP0WK4XplGfSuq0QJCklDEZ03UNAFfqxK-d_M0soT-zfBI8nTay8CzAhBdMQ346XXuzuvBebiUNoUjEB1NLEGIVURphw8fXVsU8TLPHFgWSoznEyiSOp6PJCDpIHLj-ZEszPN8YyInrfIQs70t9LAku-1y41b5iBEnL8c307AmVEj5XrH7ThlUH41UE/s800/20231226_123021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYXP0WK4XplGfSuq0QJCklDEZ03UNAFfqxK-d_M0soT-zfBI8nTay8CzAhBdMQ346XXuzuvBebiUNoUjEB1NLEGIVURphw8fXVsU8TLPHFgWSoznEyiSOp6PJCDpIHLj-ZEszPN8YyInrfIQs70t9LAku-1y41b5iBEnL8c307AmVEj5XrH7ThlUH41UE/s320/20231226_123021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The glories of Vicenza are more secular than ecclesiastical, though there's one church packed with treasures, Santa Corona. Here I restrict myself again, this time to the two great paintings: Bellini's Baptism of Christ, encased in a grandiose altar,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdty336H5VqDUM2LQ85Hf8xTn2iipvpBz4ZmWajQXCY-7jqrKd6cenvhi7a8ug7yo-k389RaX6i8J8WNI3TJMegT0m-y8uACk8qapmKA1iUyPmM2OBcKDp-aP5oGuN_C4cxFuMPdKZwXjAQv5wcCqOMXES4QAm0nSOiBUntYwrmehLrgoE7dKxbFZinnH1/s800/20231228_134822.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdty336H5VqDUM2LQ85Hf8xTn2iipvpBz4ZmWajQXCY-7jqrKd6cenvhi7a8ug7yo-k389RaX6i8J8WNI3TJMegT0m-y8uACk8qapmKA1iUyPmM2OBcKDp-aP5oGuN_C4cxFuMPdKZwXjAQv5wcCqOMXES4QAm0nSOiBUntYwrmehLrgoE7dKxbFZinnH1/s320/20231228_134822.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>and Veronese's Adoration of the Magi (detail below)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvOW2A3vF3SCe7NOtDjGgtIKGDRHH4F41RROE6eu8NZciYgp06KQqqpNnQMaF13vFNBMAonyYGLhFM8oSaRnLV9zDihxZAA8nYof47ibP8EIFxgr6OqEBwXCq0hpcjICbe-C-cJeRtBkec5lYcjY5Z9z_XgS5X8_yU56ioT1cSeVHMlaAIUQ74S1xIxSB/s800/20231228_141933.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="800" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvOW2A3vF3SCe7NOtDjGgtIKGDRHH4F41RROE6eu8NZciYgp06KQqqpNnQMaF13vFNBMAonyYGLhFM8oSaRnLV9zDihxZAA8nYof47ibP8EIFxgr6OqEBwXCq0hpcjICbe-C-cJeRtBkec5lYcjY5Z9z_XgS5X8_yU56ioT1cSeVHMlaAIUQ74S1xIxSB/s320/20231228_141933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>where the colours, especially the yellow gown sported by the kneeling king, glow from a distance. There are plenty of fine altarpieces in the Museo Civico, housed in Palladio's Palazzo Chiericati, but the other stunner lodged in a church is another Veronese, The Supper of Gregory the Great, still housed in the refectory of the cultish Basilica di Monte Berico (Madonna del Monte).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Y5EyAFbfRrBdrzZALm_UkTRqxEvhc2wxzsaEGLUJGo3ZeaMNrTOXXch1KLGFw7iIxtvtAVQ4lez2yn8ULh3De0tUox2Xry5oNwUmwnkIeUq52U-E_DeKnHYownon3KGw-c1lYJ-q47YKKnPRnhe30JbqlA4MsfbcfSKGSf2wG1ahJwFotjcNPcG-39L_/s800/20231229_163942.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Y5EyAFbfRrBdrzZALm_UkTRqxEvhc2wxzsaEGLUJGo3ZeaMNrTOXXch1KLGFw7iIxtvtAVQ4lez2yn8ULh3De0tUox2Xry5oNwUmwnkIeUq52U-E_DeKnHYownon3KGw-c1lYJ-q47YKKnPRnhe30JbqlA4MsfbcfSKGSf2wG1ahJwFotjcNPcG-39L_/s320/20231229_163942.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>The canvas was hacked to pieces by the Austrian soldiery in 1848 and repaired at the expense of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Its relatively recent restoration offers another sumptuous spectacle. It's rather surprising to see Chris supping with the Pope.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAErIAHIf_MwQYjBU0JhxcFGzmoA91etW3fMbmDiY0j2Q_maFr0o7Ai0BkxdnqA-0GtsaqpfG3ST4EyiXJnnN2Fuk-34dzZCBjyN8LbJY3wUdOBTM21iVhVRwOxnjvEEt2Kknfdx7maRzouNdR6_VSAlcg6XFL-cJjFLERJr8qgwAtfL-9FVwRh47FbOgM/s700/1000009878.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAErIAHIf_MwQYjBU0JhxcFGzmoA91etW3fMbmDiY0j2Q_maFr0o7Ai0BkxdnqA-0GtsaqpfG3ST4EyiXJnnN2Fuk-34dzZCBjyN8LbJY3wUdOBTM21iVhVRwOxnjvEEt2Kknfdx7maRzouNdR6_VSAlcg6XFL-cJjFLERJr8qgwAtfL-9FVwRh47FbOgM/s320/1000009878.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I love it that the room is lines with cabinets of curiosities, natural and otherwise,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJE858DHLqP2r5PI2KnKmLPBRwVYZYx1Ef38_fpB_jqg-7EiQOF4cadgB-dL5zq3BLoclKNqgFmQSG2Li_XpkxmwENCqKXZnViz8ImmVMKeAj9WHxF2PJh1M2bA3lhlsu___0KjLHgmXgo2XZa7tYBFc_vSQBm_nt818bjfFs_fgwFzAhgELRjmpqjMZ1N/s662/20231229_164054.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="662" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJE858DHLqP2r5PI2KnKmLPBRwVYZYx1Ef38_fpB_jqg-7EiQOF4cadgB-dL5zq3BLoclKNqgFmQSG2Li_XpkxmwENCqKXZnViz8ImmVMKeAj9WHxF2PJh1M2bA3lhlsu___0KjLHgmXgo2XZa7tYBFc_vSQBm_nt818bjfFs_fgwFzAhgELRjmpqjMZ1N/s320/20231229_164054.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>though none as wonderful as the cases of beetles in the humble Natural History Museum next door to Santa Corona. It was absorbing to learn about two dedicated Vicenzan entomologists. though this iridiscent collection isn't, I think, one of theirs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4StRNWD_sfcKVM5w9a5Q52qjY9FgVHjiY9bZeQl3d5KiKPStzl8fU5X3XFVsiV37alxVnIubOtZOP7RPXb2WtrE6gOb80QkTV8MNuqIRhyuiodUPoGw5QXpcg-HNZ36t6US0OTg0RTyt9oN3Iw7s8T7Zy5emT0XC23luCQ6IJUcvZmnkDRqs1Toum5NjF/s3753/20231228_153206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2566" data-original-width="3753" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4StRNWD_sfcKVM5w9a5Q52qjY9FgVHjiY9bZeQl3d5KiKPStzl8fU5X3XFVsiV37alxVnIubOtZOP7RPXb2WtrE6gOb80QkTV8MNuqIRhyuiodUPoGw5QXpcg-HNZ36t6US0OTg0RTyt9oN3Iw7s8T7Zy5emT0XC23luCQ6IJUcvZmnkDRqs1Toum5NjF/s320/20231228_153206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>We actually reached the Basilica towards the end of a splendid round walk taking in two very important villas on the outskirts of Vicenza. The Villa Valmarana dei Nani, so called from the statues of dwarves lining the wall as you approach,</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvDo8TX8zp5Pv7URZx0wVPSQxiF0Dj-cm4tHCac5b5xEDKhkcunszP63WmUfDG_EErym6op0eznrTjEpkvVpOMBh_f7Sm74Jo-GD88jCTZMZCrDQvwiYlf2M5mADM1Wo2TweNUME4kmwLLzl-YQLVp9jxXSVgKgcN40RE2ddstxG84Ufhtfi-4PhT-vio/s800/20231229_122837.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvDo8TX8zp5Pv7URZx0wVPSQxiF0Dj-cm4tHCac5b5xEDKhkcunszP63WmUfDG_EErym6op0eznrTjEpkvVpOMBh_f7Sm74Jo-GD88jCTZMZCrDQvwiYlf2M5mADM1Wo2TweNUME4kmwLLzl-YQLVp9jxXSVgKgcN40RE2ddstxG84Ufhtfi-4PhT-vio/s320/20231229_122837.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>isn't a Palladian construction, but it's simple and elegant, and both the Forestiera (Guest House) and the villa proper are given over to fabulous Tiepolo frescoes - son Giandomenico's (whose Stations of the Cross in Venice's San Polo I've long admired) in the Guest House as well as the more celebrated father Giambattista's work in the main building (the resident family seem to have long preferred the former, a kind of Kensington v Buckingham Palace on a much smaller scale). The entrance hall of the Palazzino has a very familiar scene: the pending sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter so that the Greek fleet can sail to Troy</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uMqTbrsQScIxtqM15fkzw2GohYmvsOY0NHXce4GHR8bakVsAcMDDje0FUGS0hccdBT6Ju1XbPMfiw2wJ9i5sxF04RBc6QXxtD_VhtpTjkaNYzB2kBF_DhIbecNguNdqFNVqGoTG0yszHVgemBLWqXnNJiflKicx6x7yvnwNKBjRHkVYnyUHPUsOj90OS/s700/20231229_130030.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="700" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uMqTbrsQScIxtqM15fkzw2GohYmvsOY0NHXce4GHR8bakVsAcMDDje0FUGS0hccdBT6Ju1XbPMfiw2wJ9i5sxF04RBc6QXxtD_VhtpTjkaNYzB2kBF_DhIbecNguNdqFNVqGoTG0yszHVgemBLWqXnNJiflKicx6x7yvnwNKBjRHkVYnyUHPUsOj90OS/s320/20231229_130030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>where help is at hand from Diana, sending an <i>amorino </i>with a hind on the left as nick-of-time substitute. The narrative is also on the ceiling, where the goddess is sending her missives.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJxFOJvjWEjFqB8GpBwgVARPRJ6lSXftQYSZFjFq92cSrm-aTl_uOOtfUu5j3LhAsILEyoZ060E6uy2Q5Was4xZokvGAAlI-0ivSlw1jtqxZR9a6egAruWDYH3YRoxgq5Tdk_WN3bm6-LzD_HSNS1NWTyB9hHkLC1YS3Fiiu7CcoA-mI-jt7kxALb-Wzx/s700/20231229_130141.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="700" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJxFOJvjWEjFqB8GpBwgVARPRJ6lSXftQYSZFjFq92cSrm-aTl_uOOtfUu5j3LhAsILEyoZ060E6uy2Q5Was4xZokvGAAlI-0ivSlw1jtqxZR9a6egAruWDYH3YRoxgq5Tdk_WN3bm6-LzD_HSNS1NWTyB9hHkLC1YS3Fiiu7CcoA-mI-jt7kxALb-Wzx/s320/20231229_130141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>while on the opposite wall the onlookers include soldiers and sailors with a very expressive dog.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan0t-tLokRMnNwggWQrU_qruB6eIcPimUEjwtEha72N62czWJbWPvloFnKD5rC3O5NkrrRHaHcustoPaGFLae8VdxDd843tN_OUanZNsF7sMA3HdQall3wUSuPVoDY44J1sJpXatPOOwnMRr-riY5SZyILndmQCrPQH4clcvQzIl4NK8nSJsC9jMHloCe/s800/20231229_130757.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan0t-tLokRMnNwggWQrU_qruB6eIcPimUEjwtEha72N62czWJbWPvloFnKD5rC3O5NkrrRHaHcustoPaGFLae8VdxDd843tN_OUanZNsF7sMA3HdQall3wUSuPVoDY44J1sJpXatPOOwnMRr-riY5SZyILndmQCrPQH4clcvQzIl4NK8nSJsC9jMHloCe/s320/20231229_130757.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Each of the other rooms deserves equal attention, with vivid scenes from the <i>Iliad</i>, <i>Aeneid</i>, <i>Orlando Furioso</i> and <i>Gerusalemme Liberata - </i>Giustino di Valmarana wanted to show what an erudite chap he was<i> - </i>but the splendid picture book I bought does the job. Just a few glimpses of the very different subjects in the Foresteria. Giandomenico did so well with the intriguing figures, not least in the Room of the Gothic Pavilion</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhKYRemXdy3MRUG6F-C1gMvUU5afXph8cKr6-Dq8UrfEMQO2NyMeFRNdfeZ5yM7_Csoaur5kR4CyRbwIn3Po5kPVpMyf1SuVpWQPcP8FBH8WH3MHJ5UrSoxqeyJgc4yQpP9s3MSBoknPPhAg3idlt6tefKzYBiqBNfJ_ds24yISs4nSLOZb_NNRYCxTf0/s800/20231229_124637.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="800" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhKYRemXdy3MRUG6F-C1gMvUU5afXph8cKr6-Dq8UrfEMQO2NyMeFRNdfeZ5yM7_Csoaur5kR4CyRbwIn3Po5kPVpMyf1SuVpWQPcP8FBH8WH3MHJ5UrSoxqeyJgc4yQpP9s3MSBoknPPhAg3idlt6tefKzYBiqBNfJ_ds24yISs4nSLOZb_NNRYCxTf0/s320/20231229_124637.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>but especially in the Room of Carnival Scenes, where a black servant bringing chocolate down trompe-l'oeil stairs seems captivated by the 'Mondo novo' panel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmgcktQ8mWBaXBQQLYCt_medtmKRNNqbYsQpwgpVRVzh6KEtwPb-XvaszMSqs_rpnAkKwW-pyl77tEDkH7hrpKEZ1gK0h4km5BcLC9lXhYqW4OGgYNGpS54PQwLmVZtQcHN6GLVgN_KBjG_LUd67vqOZsy-ZAvxox1-8U3N3QUPYliuXO2pqPMhv7uzXb/s700/20231229_124037.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmgcktQ8mWBaXBQQLYCt_medtmKRNNqbYsQpwgpVRVzh6KEtwPb-XvaszMSqs_rpnAkKwW-pyl77tEDkH7hrpKEZ1gK0h4km5BcLC9lXhYqW4OGgYNGpS54PQwLmVZtQcHN6GLVgN_KBjG_LUd67vqOZsy-ZAvxox1-8U3N3QUPYliuXO2pqPMhv7uzXb/s320/20231229_124037.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdteB1RDPWysh_uYvfU9hdgR79Plp0c8twReeFcgFjHPiJnXElA-rddWk1i9XwGqqUx4DNes-aTK6zAh1dGa3lYi-U000hhn48GlY_kuA1iBYbsHxRonbXZx_-8_AtWbM_i-LfHc-UGE9whD8J-L46EQ55XxSSNnVcs9ACP2b150jOYaHaM78XY-d_BnBC/s700/20231229_124052.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdteB1RDPWysh_uYvfU9hdgR79Plp0c8twReeFcgFjHPiJnXElA-rddWk1i9XwGqqUx4DNes-aTK6zAh1dGa3lYi-U000hhn48GlY_kuA1iBYbsHxRonbXZx_-8_AtWbM_i-LfHc-UGE9whD8J-L46EQ55XxSSNnVcs9ACP2b150jOYaHaM78XY-d_BnBC/s320/20231229_124052.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Our rustic route led us to the gateway of Palladio's most celebrated building, the Villa Rotonda,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qJwv50-0yb7_opN6w20qPrHOsJAOrRaiejhti2TXEO2IwIh2SP8iYGTVLMLgv8wJzkb8RPdgom9Acrwmb0XFZewS6RWbRJVOv9OQnavpe0ZwEULs6uvWszbQiCx3u8uHH4L7swcZvle8xacKNG7eoEpT8whn7hMqL36oTnJUNKZCCJcvUPWm4piVZzJT/s800/1000009867.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qJwv50-0yb7_opN6w20qPrHOsJAOrRaiejhti2TXEO2IwIh2SP8iYGTVLMLgv8wJzkb8RPdgom9Acrwmb0XFZewS6RWbRJVOv9OQnavpe0ZwEULs6uvWszbQiCx3u8uHH4L7swcZvle8xacKNG7eoEpT8whn7hMqL36oTnJUNKZCCJcvUPWm4piVZzJT/s320/1000009867.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>which was closed (for the winter?), but we got a good view of the facade and one of the sides. Then through the 'Valley of Silence' - without a hint of wind, it really was dead quiet - and up more steps than I've climbed since the op to a beautiful park with a rather interesting Museum of Italian Independence before walking round to the Basilica and back down to town via the celebrated covered walkway (much like the one in Bologna). Three days weren't enough to see everything covered by the city pass, though I'm glad I didn't miss the Galleria d'Italia in Palazzo Leoni Montanari. The building itself was a dazzling done-up extravaganza of statuary and painted ceilings</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-jQSHXqiddrUsAKa3o-Vkjrpu8GF258rsRs5ZKQdMWF9Rd2WnXFuvZ1ldc29Hzm9qTA4BVpnptFD898RiYNPkOFVeHLLOVru-GrgXVrn4Eue4kkWZCSupcPSjTt0qFi9oKUXUuAi3O3WIz2FjKBitDvDWJbgvvwbnVJ0gLDysG46_FpJJwgp_yHwA2SJ/s800/20231228_171402.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-jQSHXqiddrUsAKa3o-Vkjrpu8GF258rsRs5ZKQdMWF9Rd2WnXFuvZ1ldc29Hzm9qTA4BVpnptFD898RiYNPkOFVeHLLOVru-GrgXVrn4Eue4kkWZCSupcPSjTt0qFi9oKUXUuAi3O3WIz2FjKBitDvDWJbgvvwbnVJ0gLDysG46_FpJJwgp_yHwA2SJ/s320/20231228_171402.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>and in some rooms Greek vases complemented the surroundings rather. The great treasure had a dark space to itself - Francesco Bertos's minutely detailed, small-scale <i>Fall of the Rebel Angels </i>(1725-30), intricately carved from a single block of Carrara marble. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhkABapnL01m1K2MZuu9owqgcZnGzvA6fFrYlLcK5r8zzcIQw7D2iRv1HbL5AlkiIqm7xEG3zUTDInXHqffpsa5mQRSv1WhxW7WSvS5Mk4cnRzouAT1pOnJ_CF4X_5LzPN2_rYUF22ane4bxRw2vHVRWmNsCSij2jE9Qf5Y_-XX1xw7MnbfqIp8ab7wsB/s2084/1000009957.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2084" data-original-width="1354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhkABapnL01m1K2MZuu9owqgcZnGzvA6fFrYlLcK5r8zzcIQw7D2iRv1HbL5AlkiIqm7xEG3zUTDInXHqffpsa5mQRSv1WhxW7WSvS5Mk4cnRzouAT1pOnJ_CF4X_5LzPN2_rYUF22ane4bxRw2vHVRWmNsCSij2jE9Qf5Y_-XX1xw7MnbfqIp8ab7wsB/s320/1000009957.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p></p><p>Archangel Michael wields his sword at the top of this fantastical composition.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEw39NbD6OXttMiMMiqY5K4udousgkMINes4XzCRyQaZw695cH4hDEET43Tck7LwhzreQm9zDVnkVkZto_9l60ZQHUpKPrQH2zWPqeGgamlQDZ-y8mlH1SRigHUekkcm88rkcY_iQttvzea3BFgoaBPGOsiW0ZGkIch08WL2Qon_D_ob_GiUK0ddM5DR6/s800/20231228_172612.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEw39NbD6OXttMiMMiqY5K4udousgkMINes4XzCRyQaZw695cH4hDEET43Tck7LwhzreQm9zDVnkVkZto_9l60ZQHUpKPrQH2zWPqeGgamlQDZ-y8mlH1SRigHUekkcm88rkcY_iQttvzea3BFgoaBPGOsiW0ZGkIch08WL2Qon_D_ob_GiUK0ddM5DR6/s320/20231228_172612.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>Had you only a day in Vicenza, what should you see first, apart from wandering around the loggias of the Palazzo della Ragione, confusingly called the Basilica (the Duomo pales by comparison)? Unquestionably the Teatro Olimpico, completed by Palladio's son Silla following the architect's sudden death in 1580. I love it that the first play to be performed there in the face of civic opposition was Sophocles' <i>Oedipus Tyrannos,</i> its still extant scenery of Theban streets designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijOwjZjI_XtGdS8kKqWZH7k1CpdwTR7iFRH2HV6bDZmEQWwudqUA22RPslyDOGOnCH5FgHuICLPTuPSyPSd-O9f3ncWV-0ZR3Z1Md3m1ckTk3VkV2UGeaxfen3nykG_5sU2eBCXJjyxLPPueFGAnFp_DNlEumo5b_g9MGbAz50DDm3NDvYs5CiUBMqhCk/s700/1000009622.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="700" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijOwjZjI_XtGdS8kKqWZH7k1CpdwTR7iFRH2HV6bDZmEQWwudqUA22RPslyDOGOnCH5FgHuICLPTuPSyPSd-O9f3ncWV-0ZR3Z1Md3m1ckTk3VkV2UGeaxfen3nykG_5sU2eBCXJjyxLPPueFGAnFp_DNlEumo5b_g9MGbAz50DDm3NDvYs5CiUBMqhCk/s320/1000009622.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kFmB_aUIua3KnleMSo6fwZef1CFXtY1yhIXsSEEYH3mGnu4qCu4KCLgRl6C7b5KJkJskG_qPQN9K-HkjfEfTuaJOWMxxWA_hbWAjRhSXOsjR9axNtayiSYcVVGGJ1VskrdxlvxvQYruF_jkLLVVVwFUaohr2KTqdAPul8gaosnTMmvIM5ShSSXpUGWgW/s800/1000009620.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kFmB_aUIua3KnleMSo6fwZef1CFXtY1yhIXsSEEYH3mGnu4qCu4KCLgRl6C7b5KJkJskG_qPQN9K-HkjfEfTuaJOWMxxWA_hbWAjRhSXOsjR9axNtayiSYcVVGGJ1VskrdxlvxvQYruF_jkLLVVVwFUaohr2KTqdAPul8gaosnTMmvIM5ShSSXpUGWgW/s320/1000009620.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's also worth seeing whatever happens to be on in the great council chamber of the 'Basilica'. What we caught was an austere gem of an exhibition - just three 'capolavori': Caravaggio's <i>St Jerome</i> from Rome's Galleria Borghese, Van Dyck's <i>Four Ages of Man </i>from the Museo Civico and Arcangelo Sassolino's <i>No Memory Without Loss</i>, a revolving disc from which viscous red oil paint drips regularly<i>. </i>It works pefectly in the setting under the extraordinary wooden barrel roof. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzJzFRy1oB60aq_hDJPXQ9GONV-7kKkIwfckWoe-blZDuv1o_xgLvFj9WftWM6u8ZC6Viff6KkX3V0rktH2yfSiTGYB4VUesi38WPDr3wjuxGYp1jsrE12azVOOxQ1PpHyCen11WJ_u1UJtnmgV62musEFxR5dtEN86ayvbX-xOv07v4Sq7x_k032_i06/s800/20231228_163058.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzJzFRy1oB60aq_hDJPXQ9GONV-7kKkIwfckWoe-blZDuv1o_xgLvFj9WftWM6u8ZC6Viff6KkX3V0rktH2yfSiTGYB4VUesi38WPDr3wjuxGYp1jsrE12azVOOxQ1PpHyCen11WJ_u1UJtnmgV62musEFxR5dtEN86ayvbX-xOv07v4Sq7x_k032_i06/s320/20231228_163058.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-7RoMcLpRAKnTNnZO1YbomhS9ATixAM0D5tbao5IWh9IV5iXgb0RpDKaHwl3MuqyztaXmuoBJiWHzpexmVlgHmBnQ_gTucb0beHLJAABOXC9abvG5lkZA8CQz6aXh3k9j9sezQ0axspOiTZnGbS9XBJaUAy3_sVzBcI86bAohg7Xb3BLnEI1OdbNka6d/s800/20231228_162356.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-7RoMcLpRAKnTNnZO1YbomhS9ATixAM0D5tbao5IWh9IV5iXgb0RpDKaHwl3MuqyztaXmuoBJiWHzpexmVlgHmBnQ_gTucb0beHLJAABOXC9abvG5lkZA8CQz6aXh3k9j9sezQ0axspOiTZnGbS9XBJaUAy3_sVzBcI86bAohg7Xb3BLnEI1OdbNka6d/s320/20231228_162356.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZN-OceqgegNrf_bU1xlCVzs8V3eSBwizxHdGPrwph127opoP5TnHYgFlXk1wvQRxUJNoJA7pbjYBVpg9IA04w8Xs6fg4TjAkah5UH-LL8YOFeEa6gfvCHjPmyPA9wyua_T_IejGtCPAzBdYfPIO01zGQL-4HOic1kvmzn1g3L5r0Cl-cRc9B-izCJfoA/s4160/20231228_163241.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZN-OceqgegNrf_bU1xlCVzs8V3eSBwizxHdGPrwph127opoP5TnHYgFlXk1wvQRxUJNoJA7pbjYBVpg9IA04w8Xs6fg4TjAkah5UH-LL8YOFeEa6gfvCHjPmyPA9wyua_T_IejGtCPAzBdYfPIO01zGQL-4HOic1kvmzn1g3L5r0Cl-cRc9B-izCJfoA/s320/20231228_163241.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Of major works we hadn't seen before in Siena, the revelations were those in Santa Maria dei Servi. But on now to Volterra, another first, unforgettably approached on a near-empty bus along winding roads from the pretty town of Colle Val d'Elsa. No wonder this is a major tourist attraction in the summer; its supreme height alone and the views of the surrounding landscapes makes it worth a visit. But Volterra is an essential treasurehouse, as much for its Etruscan legacy as its medieval and Renaissance gems. On our first morning, we walked down the steep hill from our bijou hotel and already found ourselves, Blue Guide at that point unchecked, going through a gateway restored in ancient Roman times but still with the shapes of three Etruscan heads on it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JpNAtZvOw5xpaV-dxWC4sa3UZ5XgV8Wqs6WD6TFSPnA25k7cHvoee8OQyoGfVxTDIy6pw5J4oVc0fqVjWk8Yh1MFSGQQfR7bRc0816kuRh4Jkw5pMLy17XpvaXmvC3IvvHpSV-nI5-Y7X_I2F004H8neiODqpeID6iJGAj7mlC54VAjedxY-KBMSJYwr/s700/20240103_102423.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JpNAtZvOw5xpaV-dxWC4sa3UZ5XgV8Wqs6WD6TFSPnA25k7cHvoee8OQyoGfVxTDIy6pw5J4oVc0fqVjWk8Yh1MFSGQQfR7bRc0816kuRh4Jkw5pMLy17XpvaXmvC3IvvHpSV-nI5-Y7X_I2F004H8neiODqpeID6iJGAj7mlC54VAjedxY-KBMSJYwr/s320/20240103_102423.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Guarnacci Museum of Etruscan Art has to be one of the most fascinating of its kind anywhere. True eccentric Mario Guarnacci (1701-1785), abbot and would-be academic, left his collection to the town, and 1877 the museum moved to its present premises in the Palazzo Desideri-Tangassi. Thanks to an Erasmus scheme - remember that - the first floor rooms were mostly restored to their 19th century layout, but the outstanding objects have special space. Most intriguing is the bronze known as the 'Ombra della sera' (Evening Shadow), dated back despite archeological context to the third century BC.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNOMnj6peKp2v_bpvMn9_sg5T3BSoSCYkt9g-eVHoZsIqVK2O6bii7atfS3SxeCiLct3074qOfSxUPgTCoqmTPWLBRYS62-WrVu_1zhtkl9BUMtWsJ8fvXhyphenhyphenILXOOtAWovfFfbEqNx9cJjF_M4eP7IQkVTtYryqo4k3LQ2JLhwa11JniArBmRfIsPapaz/s800/20240103_122448.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="586" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNOMnj6peKp2v_bpvMn9_sg5T3BSoSCYkt9g-eVHoZsIqVK2O6bii7atfS3SxeCiLct3074qOfSxUPgTCoqmTPWLBRYS62-WrVu_1zhtkl9BUMtWsJ8fvXhyphenhyphenILXOOtAWovfFfbEqNx9cJjF_M4eP7IQkVTtYryqo4k3LQ2JLhwa11JniArBmRfIsPapaz/s320/20240103_122448.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSleCeLvnh4x-yzXPWcnsYl2cnAlJpCS7fIsYF_Nh4VlFKOzQ6qsKIJbd-lq-oTSo2JXRqO34v2QySslxdLayGj4pBAJbH_Dgd8sz7tUeoClPkyN7wg-DRPx5Hv936Edsn2datqis5_JdRkMu9h9m1TMqzcw2yNQexlvkyF3bAwtkXomSJz-OiW8nm9ICP/s800/20240103_122533.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSleCeLvnh4x-yzXPWcnsYl2cnAlJpCS7fIsYF_Nh4VlFKOzQ6qsKIJbd-lq-oTSo2JXRqO34v2QySslxdLayGj4pBAJbH_Dgd8sz7tUeoClPkyN7wg-DRPx5Hv936Edsn2datqis5_JdRkMu9h9m1TMqzcw2yNQexlvkyF3bAwtkXomSJz-OiW8nm9ICP/s320/20240103_122533.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>The hundreds of Etruscan funeral urns smack of mass production, but some have exceptional reliefs on the sarcophagi beneath the generic figures, and one couple stands out from the rest on the 'ura degli sposi', beautifully lit with cases of Greek and Roman amphorae.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9O9bry7lZcABO9N5Y-SiNfEsnMeXtnGQDX8xeQsusYbuhap59tvQjB1llLyVd_0PFx83ZcaO0efP4a47XWgRtx2CopzDTYAqzHYnVKOq_C_Xi19mUv5ppKEaOd5xiLEELGED4KySXI2sDWBVM9TRmGY-YD7pWln1JOCwszYenKRwuo3k_bYCLudYRdmV/s700/20240103_122615.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9O9bry7lZcABO9N5Y-SiNfEsnMeXtnGQDX8xeQsusYbuhap59tvQjB1llLyVd_0PFx83ZcaO0efP4a47XWgRtx2CopzDTYAqzHYnVKOq_C_Xi19mUv5ppKEaOd5xiLEELGED4KySXI2sDWBVM9TRmGY-YD7pWln1JOCwszYenKRwuo3k_bYCLudYRdmV/s320/20240103_122615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Pinacoteca Communale in the Palazzo Minucci-Soliani doesn't quite have the love lavished on equivalent collections in Ferrara and Vicenza, but there are fine paintings in every room, including an Annunciation by Signorelli with a gorgeous angel</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHGxDuHsO6GmsEuTPm-dr22iy-RiLRHJEjDibmRkJ7cfRbf7uD9MIJS_7nSGMeYkIyZngPsq6cxyX_AHmu1rrfR25-iJaX8tq8_RL-UcILtkJ9X-fnOj2eCl1ucAQDIdMng_2oGbWRS_9Lo1vVkl9_kAFRAG9PQJ93uV8sGM9mxnUIZHtstKhyADXgtmi/s800/20240103_143528.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHGxDuHsO6GmsEuTPm-dr22iy-RiLRHJEjDibmRkJ7cfRbf7uD9MIJS_7nSGMeYkIyZngPsq6cxyX_AHmu1rrfR25-iJaX8tq8_RL-UcILtkJ9X-fnOj2eCl1ucAQDIdMng_2oGbWRS_9Lo1vVkl9_kAFRAG9PQJ93uV8sGM9mxnUIZHtstKhyADXgtmi/s320/20240103_143528.jpg" width="240" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p>and they make the most of the standout, Rosso Fiorentino's Deposition, well restored and presented. I need say no more; the images speak very eloquently.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqQsBTTosZ6bV50SXxqhJcUZ0KvwexH67YpgaQdSd0garlzlMvONiVh97BQq7qtKJskNFNe0YMj0sKLmdeV8MSF4yy1s6xqCV2Wxg44MBHwOz7QSFzWnLHFU5oGbiJOhSe5UZARAIF0GHcQrfwSXEJCand-XhrtdNR0BTLPFH0YbVT5eQD9IXsfQmL2gD/s800/1000010510.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqQsBTTosZ6bV50SXxqhJcUZ0KvwexH67YpgaQdSd0garlzlMvONiVh97BQq7qtKJskNFNe0YMj0sKLmdeV8MSF4yy1s6xqCV2Wxg44MBHwOz7QSFzWnLHFU5oGbiJOhSe5UZARAIF0GHcQrfwSXEJCand-XhrtdNR0BTLPFH0YbVT5eQD9IXsfQmL2gD/s320/1000010510.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-dJ4UEJM5W_3z-BPfCMCgCZu7GJtMMq7XMrrnB0uTKVtxf3JDG6JiEZ3XXTdzASMG9NBRmn_VsfVOh7j_52coP5n8iHOrPRkUXC95ysKLTrT_DqW87Xs13DNK9WNJ2LOanaELrWGFUjyFsINawrXsjk8iDFXyleurhYSrCAwGg55CBCBrv0Pz5EdGA7f/s800/20240103_144056.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-dJ4UEJM5W_3z-BPfCMCgCZu7GJtMMq7XMrrnB0uTKVtxf3JDG6JiEZ3XXTdzASMG9NBRmn_VsfVOh7j_52coP5n8iHOrPRkUXC95ysKLTrT_DqW87Xs13DNK9WNJ2LOanaELrWGFUjyFsINawrXsjk8iDFXyleurhYSrCAwGg55CBCBrv0Pz5EdGA7f/s320/20240103_144056.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsZtyAFCrg4Pzoet4I980sbCkAzoPwtNX8kPaZGgwWk0TVEj80uA3R3SCNy1R4Ri-6wkT5QDOMeQ8xBPcon1GQw5UbJD9AOCSzBLqmFOWcAY1O6afIjEtwFLwZLJOSBQTcawn5Yk9WWtyXLmxdO3W3TW5_w-mwFd3-mHNn-09D0vxnQrRYPZwtXCF50cC/s800/1000010508.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsZtyAFCrg4Pzoet4I980sbCkAzoPwtNX8kPaZGgwWk0TVEj80uA3R3SCNy1R4Ri-6wkT5QDOMeQ8xBPcon1GQw5UbJD9AOCSzBLqmFOWcAY1O6afIjEtwFLwZLJOSBQTcawn5Yk9WWtyXLmxdO3W3TW5_w-mwFd3-mHNn-09D0vxnQrRYPZwtXCF50cC/s320/1000010508.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZiYdVJnOTxKmH8Ai_nT0bBKLtJuC3P_SxmXzRJrxYdvMDx9olwU8qxgZpvolGYV5Bl4GvbQc1Ypqu8R83zPMUjUev5dG70tYqvUYYNwB5_LCxXmLeTuDuWZZdzZX3epfpsG5xjzy45QpvMKtHku4aMef20XC-GdtyzRw-wr9-WOYizn67qQmAPBj4f88/s800/1000010506.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZiYdVJnOTxKmH8Ai_nT0bBKLtJuC3P_SxmXzRJrxYdvMDx9olwU8qxgZpvolGYV5Bl4GvbQc1Ypqu8R83zPMUjUev5dG70tYqvUYYNwB5_LCxXmLeTuDuWZZdzZX3epfpsG5xjzy45QpvMKtHku4aMef20XC-GdtyzRw-wr9-WOYizn67qQmAPBj4f88/s320/1000010506.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>And now, of course, we're closer to Easter than Christmas. But I feel we have to return to Italy again at the end of the year and follow a different trail between cities and towns we've never spent time in. It's a lifelong resource.</p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-182610754402921732024-01-17T11:22:00.011+00:002024-02-13T18:06:13.197+00:00And the Emperor said, 'Good morning!'<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2r6w2X5jIyHzkEoCiGDdlg8YQwjrg22we6d3tfnmls2Vu8ClL0Fo-ViETA6CH1UP3aKJT2gEkprkDyoTROQkCOwVVdWG0Gn0Kw4sGOySrysy3Lv-jM9ZXoBV0SpF06nmGoyzIKHQcvxdu5EUw08EZ7uIaFZFBiGX87dwDbdAy9QsjqVaH3x9HwsLMsRE3/s3072/20240109_154657.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="1728" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2r6w2X5jIyHzkEoCiGDdlg8YQwjrg22we6d3tfnmls2Vu8ClL0Fo-ViETA6CH1UP3aKJT2gEkprkDyoTROQkCOwVVdWG0Gn0Kw4sGOySrysy3Lv-jM9ZXoBV0SpF06nmGoyzIKHQcvxdu5EUw08EZ7uIaFZFBiGX87dwDbdAy9QsjqVaH3x9HwsLMsRE3/s320/20240109_154657.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />Thus ends Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale <i>The Nightingale</i>. The Chinese ruler has been at death's door, but the exquisite songbird he so easily rejected for a mechanical version has vanquished the grim reaper (paper cut by HCA reproduced in my Penguin edition pictured below). <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmTlidx9PMvY2iBaPHpUfSyzyFbMCIuZ0JotnnE7lQQ9LzuvN6TngSteH_sKHVnrBonQ9x-XKBDZyIMu21508XE1V6f29SXCCMPwC4gOii6sonzkqLlcAPo23KsUZ98LDyE6EEaEqlclRpnCYGqZTMT24yvNmzR-R24TBQTFSxvwslBxwAJAFrATgnSQF/s4026/20240117_105131.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4026" data-original-width="2645" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmTlidx9PMvY2iBaPHpUfSyzyFbMCIuZ0JotnnE7lQQ9LzuvN6TngSteH_sKHVnrBonQ9x-XKBDZyIMu21508XE1V6f29SXCCMPwC4gOii6sonzkqLlcAPo23KsUZ98LDyE6EEaEqlclRpnCYGqZTMT24yvNmzR-R24TBQTFSxvwslBxwAJAFrATgnSQF/s320/20240117_105131.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><p>I thought of it when, after two nights of delirium and distress, my nearly-93-year-old mother greeted me on the third visit, back to her old self. She'd been admitted to Epsom Hospital with Covid, the return of her COPD and pneumonia in the right lung. The consultant thought she might decline further. But she rallied, only to get another infection three days later. This time she wasn't beside herself, but still mildly delirious. A second course of antibiotics and more rehydration seem to be doing the trick and, though very tired and barely able to keep her eyes open, she's been lively in all her responses and very much engaged with everything that's going on. I chose the top image because she has yet to be reunited with her dentures, but I decided that the below photo is also fine.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4xuqeWScB-Tlc_IJtBMGieJyqTZt77-W5HPjKpxbbk4l0awHAMYSsp8EVJgXMC298yBSF9cja5ru7Hb5uf5wc72yk8VErUGg52b7D97f77ZFUf4aStzebcQoANbgS8bJgELAFyY_AU0n8iCgGR9dBF0z2ayTZXrSS0O5_8szcZEr8LUJtg6V03DmOWOY/s4160/20240110_183435.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4xuqeWScB-Tlc_IJtBMGieJyqTZt77-W5HPjKpxbbk4l0awHAMYSsp8EVJgXMC298yBSF9cja5ru7Hb5uf5wc72yk8VErUGg52b7D97f77ZFUf4aStzebcQoANbgS8bJgELAFyY_AU0n8iCgGR9dBF0z2ayTZXrSS0O5_8szcZEr8LUJtg6V03DmOWOY/s320/20240110_183435.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Stravinsky set the Andersen tale in singular fashion, and earlier I'd been reminded of the Bedlam scene in <i>The Rake's Progress</i>, where Anne Trulove calms the troubled spirits of the inmates. The healing power of music struck me twice: on the first visit, straight from landing at Gatwick airport, where I found the finale of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and the slow movement of <span><span>Dvořák</span></span>'s Sixth Symphony on my laptop player. She went quiet immediately. And on the second visit, when she seemed worse, I'd downloaded my selection of Mozart slow movements and again, her head off the pillow, me cradling it as best I could, she shut her eyes, occasionally opening them, but otherwise perfectly still, for a full 50 minutes. This was the first track.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NecLh4YOT9M" width="320" youtube-src-id="NecLh4YOT9M"></iframe></div><p>Later it was singing along to the ripostes of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' and the 'hoy's of 'The Deadwood Stage'. We've also been quite interactive with TV; there are quiz shows hosted, to my surprise, by Graham Norton and Stephen Fry, but I also discovered an amazing presenter who's not only very sympathetic but really knows his stuff, wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin, whom my mother recognised, it transpired, as a winner of 'Strictly Come Dancing'. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyA7_Mku9Rm7g9TdRZ7IQylxgrXhpYhY83T_TIR8ZsScLObZPSH3g7AUK2KUSFO14_Qh1aVGVo2EX-cZgNEG-ySirXBlgAH-iKPqZuV2jryt2bBm8RJgFfQKSL-Ctxs7dBYNwtBYWtx4FP_P66HQtT0N5zJpIxltuu-gCLAweYqXIfMFPNKLswzkNR4Xsr/s1200/p0gfq0sp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyA7_Mku9Rm7g9TdRZ7IQylxgrXhpYhY83T_TIR8ZsScLObZPSH3g7AUK2KUSFO14_Qh1aVGVo2EX-cZgNEG-ySirXBlgAH-iKPqZuV2jryt2bBm8RJgFfQKSL-Ctxs7dBYNwtBYWtx4FP_P66HQtT0N5zJpIxltuu-gCLAweYqXIfMFPNKLswzkNR4Xsr/s320/p0gfq0sp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />At first it was difficult persuading the staff that my ma isn't in the advanced stages of dementia - over the four months in Greenacres Care Home, she may forget what she's just said, and some details, but I thought she was better when among company. So we showed them photos of how she'd been right up to Boxing Day, when Sara visited with her daughter and grandson Lenny. <p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCGatVN2k7OuUrYqBiqWh8citOVqTkoEyCVLUVeYpSzkibOPNFTgCHjCrwbmhytqSSQw3OX1ZAauW98f-SBDqr1uqcWa3HGp40xKn60iXlSh0EHpmuT6RDe3D1kaoFFpnUq8EzJLLIsXEgwzxHTOaePO53nlNa8Pqz8-Kvs1ChzWW3jz05_4wUCVlZdCn/s800/IMG-20231226-WA0004.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="800" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCGatVN2k7OuUrYqBiqWh8citOVqTkoEyCVLUVeYpSzkibOPNFTgCHjCrwbmhytqSSQw3OX1ZAauW98f-SBDqr1uqcWa3HGp40xKn60iXlSh0EHpmuT6RDe3D1kaoFFpnUq8EzJLLIsXEgwzxHTOaePO53nlNa8Pqz8-Kvs1ChzWW3jz05_4wUCVlZdCn/s320/IMG-20231226-WA0004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>And on the 18th, the day before we left for Italy, thinking all was going just fine, J and I took her to lunch at Prezzo, a short wheelchair ride away from the home. She loved the scarf I'd got her, adorned with flower motifs by Palestinian weavers (see the excellent facilitators, ODE Collective,<a href="https://www.lvpx.org/home"> here</a>).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBbOcylFpvA3l2dQIJYLz-tUQRfrQ0W-bq0fXS7GKJ6Kx5VZD-hrvt5la44kPwiFBE1sXzWLaE4kxPjbzWDjEfh4j8UumOz_evJBEjmCfrBslJfk25ARtIftJNGRoNKnKQBBqKFE1ipVrWYB0DqBRcruKvWfu3ZliK8dPWe4JKFJXmn7_v1av1Ls8AcAs/s1500/IMG-20231217-WA0003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1500" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBbOcylFpvA3l2dQIJYLz-tUQRfrQ0W-bq0fXS7GKJ6Kx5VZD-hrvt5la44kPwiFBE1sXzWLaE4kxPjbzWDjEfh4j8UumOz_evJBEjmCfrBslJfk25ARtIftJNGRoNKnKQBBqKFE1ipVrWYB0DqBRcruKvWfu3ZliK8dPWe4JKFJXmn7_v1av1Ls8AcAs/s320/IMG-20231217-WA0003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Today I spoke to the consultant and agreed with most of what he was saying, except for the suggestion that mum is losing interest in her surroundings. Though increasingly more fragile and tired, she was on good form yesterday. She ate four mouthfuls of the coffee marble cake I'd bought (actually for myself) at the Costa Coffee Shop on the second floor, and when I reminded her of how even last year she was still making cakes for the Open Door Cafe of the church, and asked her if she remembered Open Door, said, 'Of COURSE I remember Open Door. Stupid boy' (a reference to <i>Dad's Army</i>). The mock insult was remedied by our farewell, when she called me 'angel child'. She loves the view from her window on the fifth floor, and the curtains. So maybe she rallies when she sees me, but she's far from retreating from the world. </p><p>Even so, both Sara and I had hoped she would be over her suffering the other week, and if this is to be a slow, peaceful fade, so be it.</p><p>UPDATE (23/1) - Mum seems to have withdrawn still further. More or less non verbal now, and barely opens her eyes. Not eating or drinking much. I think she wants it to be over, and I want what she wants. Feeling utterly exhausted right now, running on empty.</p><p>(26/1) - Another imperial 'good morning!' after I'd had to stay away for four days with nasty virus (not Covid, tested twice, and feeling more or less fine today, though wore a mask; in my absence, Sara visited). Bright eyes and alertness, though very tired. Got two and a half crossword clues right. Slept peacefully duing the last half of my visit - more Mozart on the laptop. The next question is whether Greenacres will be in a position to take her back; reassessment due on Monday.</p><p>(27/1) - Dentures are in at long last. Alert to begin with, then dozing. She has a lovely rapport with nurse Joaquin ('Jack') - I don't know who started it but they waggle their eyebrows at each other. He's so funny and kind with her. Was about to persuade her to have some leek and potato soup as I left yesterday. I got her to promise to eat 'the soup, the whole soup and nothing but the soup' and she responded 'so help me God'. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl2w9xZxUHlhkvUgmcsqcQ8Rzc6qu1c6p-d7a3Rdcs9NEp_jDhSN0e6vN3u8OxDG8lHoBlFNZynlW3sB61cGdgglrGq5GAOXFpQVdRTLa4B7o_JldK6YNEH8-wusKI5YDA8kJfJsiae4oPhSXTYiGDkYkEOw6p8MD2JPeLC9n9xQDJAFpXDRU04-72_Uu/s800/20240131_195848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl2w9xZxUHlhkvUgmcsqcQ8Rzc6qu1c6p-d7a3Rdcs9NEp_jDhSN0e6vN3u8OxDG8lHoBlFNZynlW3sB61cGdgglrGq5GAOXFpQVdRTLa4B7o_JldK6YNEH8-wusKI5YDA8kJfJsiae4oPhSXTYiGDkYkEOw6p8MD2JPeLC9n9xQDJAFpXDRU04-72_Uu/s320/20240131_195848.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>(Early February) The unanticipated miracle happened - mum returned to her splendid care home, Greenacres, and has been slowly improving to the extent that they get her out of bed for at least one meal with her new friends there. Her voice has got stronger and she's playing things even more for laughs. I feel such relief - and joy after I've visited - and it looks as if I can think of going to Dublin next week. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-17562104049179317872023-12-31T17:48:00.005+00:002024-01-01T22:14:00.637+00:00I'm still here<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGH06KCwsdsR3DX_dsaw0HrYvgFbk8R1rYCQpcbKCMU4QMJ2TvylOJd6ikbwHXBIwy6n_ZHYlssqWbh1r3QL8amiZZlA1WomWS-G9djEVS8Hpyu1yGbjIDQIFiZPK2ze-tmCJjhwM8vd6SHTkSq2sUs0gu5M6NdYRM45W21NeCKvNyGxi37F52MpeTY7d/s1000/IMG-20231221-WA0005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="732" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGH06KCwsdsR3DX_dsaw0HrYvgFbk8R1rYCQpcbKCMU4QMJ2TvylOJd6ikbwHXBIwy6n_ZHYlssqWbh1r3QL8amiZZlA1WomWS-G9djEVS8Hpyu1yGbjIDQIFiZPK2ze-tmCJjhwM8vd6SHTkSq2sUs0gu5M6NdYRM45W21NeCKvNyGxi37F52MpeTY7d/s320/IMG-20231221-WA0005.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><p></p><p>...as Bonnie Langford is the most recent show singer to tell us, and so well (yes, really), in <i>Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends</i>, which I'm glad my old friend Simon encouraged me to go and see before Xmas. Actually the odds were very low on my not being still here, since the diagnosis of bowel cancer in November 2022 yielded a verdict of Stage 1/cuspal 2 and no metastatizing.</p><p>Nevertheless it's been quite a year, full of inspiring people like the heroic folk of Charing Cross Hospital - I can never get tired of seeing this pic - </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c_VyWTGfxdfxJvJuoTIWHgJz0e2L34vNNy3ksxtuUvB0J_xvKDJ5sY5mrWFeFMbnF7hv6TWe42tmMJjS5vfSdY-90ygDaT5TGI35vVWXSkTIoV3-ZIcJ1pDk-vJipwBKk_12YX0Zc2DN55O6WmZeX4j4zIo6PoBEWpgNq51o4iXgFkjB9gGWRVv-lnMK/s800/F2hLptzWIAA62u-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c_VyWTGfxdfxJvJuoTIWHgJz0e2L34vNNy3ksxtuUvB0J_xvKDJ5sY5mrWFeFMbnF7hv6TWe42tmMJjS5vfSdY-90ygDaT5TGI35vVWXSkTIoV3-ZIcJ1pDk-vJipwBKk_12YX0Zc2DN55O6WmZeX4j4zIo6PoBEWpgNq51o4iXgFkjB9gGWRVv-lnMK/s320/F2hLptzWIAA62u-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />and I choose the top image, at one of my happiest places in the world, S. Apollinare in Classe outside Ravenna, since between my six weeks of radio and chemotherapy back in February, which coshed the tumour but not all cancer cells, and the big op to remove my lower bowel in July, I <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/08/happy-places-recollected-in.html">cycled to this glorious place</a> just before temperatures went berserk in Italy. And here I was 10 days ago with my best beloved, cycling not an option for the foreseeable future but slow walking with stick always possible. finding it similarly deserted a few days before Xmas, though about to host a big wedding with a sumptuous reception set out on the upstairs level of the nearly-new Classis Museum, converted sugar-beet factory, nearby.<p></p><p>I'm having too full and rich a time to blog much right now, but let's have a token shot from each of our cities. A first night in Bologna revitalised my love of the place (any city which has a naked god in its main square, courtesy of Giambolgna, can't be bad),</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1HAFSTnxpUYjtWkDKvi2bvVPY8BgCrkCWeg3HbZ5PN7nKTx39oAHkTlAO-woGUQSsm1mc20KHu3y93aG-08rnd0p_BVpU7WK-BJLy6UQNIs9ZGxBLH71BAfBFv4mMVt9818MCp-XWKGKmq498MpoEumkc_rTt0gWqSor_WqUSC3ebv4GqdZKBvQsCplq/s800/20231219_114236.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1HAFSTnxpUYjtWkDKvi2bvVPY8BgCrkCWeg3HbZ5PN7nKTx39oAHkTlAO-woGUQSsm1mc20KHu3y93aG-08rnd0p_BVpU7WK-BJLy6UQNIs9ZGxBLH71BAfBFv4mMVt9818MCp-XWKGKmq498MpoEumkc_rTt0gWqSor_WqUSC3ebv4GqdZKBvQsCplq/s320/20231219_114236.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>while adored Ravenna yielded <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/theartsdesk-ravenna-riccardo-muti-passes-lifetimes-operatic-wisdom">the best three nights of Italian opera</a>, courtesy of honorary Ravenato Riccardo Muti, and allowed a day trip to Rimini, which was more fun than I'd imagined, </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWxO-okuspAmspx0YS7uktdQijkj1Q5RKSlCU2fWdsTDgUOSx0pTLDAwm0K9LeqxA0LaT2t-Gy1kOxGd_8GqtoOnONjzRrtDo2Jr0g2LDId_q04Ev6sdU2PSyFylqZOAyPpllTn5-OKMDedVMpbtRJnoGRvNrpFyD7XTfBGrLYJxGAkHXL01qtkeFk5D-/s800/20231222_164509.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="800" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWxO-okuspAmspx0YS7uktdQijkj1Q5RKSlCU2fWdsTDgUOSx0pTLDAwm0K9LeqxA0LaT2t-Gy1kOxGd_8GqtoOnONjzRrtDo2Jr0g2LDId_q04Ev6sdU2PSyFylqZOAyPpllTn5-OKMDedVMpbtRJnoGRvNrpFyD7XTfBGrLYJxGAkHXL01qtkeFk5D-/s320/20231222_164509.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>with one of the greatest Renaissance interiors ever in the Tempio Malatestiano (must spend more time on that), and plenty of homages to native Fellini. Then it was on to Ferrara for Xmas itself: we ate well and saw much, met some charming people, but a certain grimness takes it cue from the fortress-become- palace (no wonder the Estes sought out cosier retreats in the suburbs), and the two main exhibitions were of 20th century Italian artists admired by the Fascists (no prizes for guessing who's in power here). Plenty of green on the 12 mile circuit of the walls, though.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlUk7hGZPJjTN75j_ppDTJIByZCaeewt4P6eRNP8aeK-jrVcexX94PIo8_yPTcT5s1-ToVhMdk_nUPxA9V3IpZNpoKGJWkOil0qrgg4F6tMeHEDQ_GjBrMnPWYi3bV-FXc0_5UUc-rmPkNnU_LsjwfPo_hrHIjYq3-tX6lIsUbQ-jejRRIUAy5mtheQKZ/s800/1000009346.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="800" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlUk7hGZPJjTN75j_ppDTJIByZCaeewt4P6eRNP8aeK-jrVcexX94PIo8_yPTcT5s1-ToVhMdk_nUPxA9V3IpZNpoKGJWkOil0qrgg4F6tMeHEDQ_GjBrMnPWYi3bV-FXc0_5UUc-rmPkNnU_LsjwfPo_hrHIjYq3-tX6lIsUbQ-jejRRIUAy5mtheQKZ/s320/1000009346.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Vicenza awed us with its theatricality - it helped that we turned out to be staying in Palladio's Palazzo Valmarana Braga, a huge bargain, right in the heart of things - and the Basilica in its square simply gobsmacking.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vXoo2Rk97T72OcBbC1vq7ier7z5gxcDMvfm4xC1rye_XfacPAHr8_3JYINGi_Pr0WvhApKzH3u9bwrJhDReEQhnABdIw8Omwjhv_xoOogdPk6uUqB9TEPFrI4SSxbU6SPEqi6clJg5Cwnwz2KJmaHXwQ3E7lAvFCWdPipIEbeJ40X2cAPwQlTiyyiZws/s800/1000009908.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vXoo2Rk97T72OcBbC1vq7ier7z5gxcDMvfm4xC1rye_XfacPAHr8_3JYINGi_Pr0WvhApKzH3u9bwrJhDReEQhnABdIw8Omwjhv_xoOogdPk6uUqB9TEPFrI4SSxbU6SPEqi6clJg5Cwnwz2KJmaHXwQ3E7lAvFCWdPipIEbeJ40X2cAPwQlTiyyiZws/s320/1000009908.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'm happy we did a seven-mile country walk to take in villas and a giant Veronese - climbing steps on a wooded hillside was a major achievement. And now we're in the bosom of Siena again, in Sophie's stunningly designed top-floor guest house with views one dreams of - she can see this from her bedroom and bathroom.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmxZSxfu_sR8IRxaQJ5iFs46pilynDvH4Ft9aqXs04nQhIEOyaMoD2wACxshJY6zC9CpzwuPWpL_Fc3OJBNNE7sbnKUrEAEKUgkWrIR-RMH3WkZ_uVBGgLleDbK8ch_aAlBrZ3UM9SEjseumKnovw501N9j8ERZySsxLxgOBaTf9RciKvwfTT3M7bn5NG/s800/1000010009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmxZSxfu_sR8IRxaQJ5iFs46pilynDvH4Ft9aqXs04nQhIEOyaMoD2wACxshJY6zC9CpzwuPWpL_Fc3OJBNNE7sbnKUrEAEKUgkWrIR-RMH3WkZ_uVBGgLleDbK8ch_aAlBrZ3UM9SEjseumKnovw501N9j8ERZySsxLxgOBaTf9RciKvwfTT3M7bn5NG/s320/1000010009.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><p></p><p>And so, <i>buon'anno</i>, <i>buon comincio</i>, <i>auguri</i>, whatever takes your fancy. I have the task of leading Italians in "Auld Lang Syne", which has very different words in its best known Italian form, but Milva carries it off:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L_gNEP8uLu4" width="320" youtube-src-id="L_gNEP8uLu4"></iframe></div><p>Italian retreats gave me time to labour love-wise over the best of 2023 on The Arts Desk. <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/best-2023-opera">Opera is here</a>; classical music concerts <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/best-2023-classical-music-concerts">here</a>. May 2024 be as good, musically speaking; and may the world give us a bit less need to seek optimism in arts alone.<br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-81534976350656790462023-10-22T22:43:00.007+01:002023-11-06T21:56:21.966+00:00Powerscourt Gardens - among the world's best<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0V0uwWxYEHEBTo9MbCR1hxxJFXlwB0ZPhNkG5It0qyIwOYE2SLw8AY4ZE5XqWd3yH4nLt3Y5QB2fYo0PnhO2fa44Z8L5j4M6YRaOB0sw22QFXUF3EaILrNMMxBpSrhX_N-iiT3xPWoYeIzbpxOERMiJtc8IWZQ7IGaXPOYxUl9e913XIBYuGZOAtKd8J/s800/P1340491.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0V0uwWxYEHEBTo9MbCR1hxxJFXlwB0ZPhNkG5It0qyIwOYE2SLw8AY4ZE5XqWd3yH4nLt3Y5QB2fYo0PnhO2fa44Z8L5j4M6YRaOB0sw22QFXUF3EaILrNMMxBpSrhX_N-iiT3xPWoYeIzbpxOERMiJtc8IWZQ7IGaXPOYxUl9e913XIBYuGZOAtKd8J/s320/P1340491.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Wondered what the banner which greeted us down the long beech-lined drive to Powerscourt Gardens was worth: it proclaimed the National Geographic's assignation of No. 3 among the great gardens of the world, yielding only to Kew and Versailles. Even the approach yields lovely vistas of the valley, though the Wicklow mountains beyond were only occasionally visible, and the top of the Sugarloaf, usually such a landmark, not at all.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlC_4TW0_cqBY7HoImNLSAUFzh7NwECiwRGl1cH_EeVo4ELgneYva_X9Ygjt4F49TCWD1wOIqHTFUSFSx4ZKbqUYmyA2R5J4FgnXv4SKvjAYoHjdPSfAfSiy5msOePFA-nAXQRxKOhw9tcML65P-io5NzTzLr7zwWCwS0odceBdp4-uSsL2opYwkmOGSU/s800/P1340454.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlC_4TW0_cqBY7HoImNLSAUFzh7NwECiwRGl1cH_EeVo4ELgneYva_X9Ygjt4F49TCWD1wOIqHTFUSFSx4ZKbqUYmyA2R5J4FgnXv4SKvjAYoHjdPSfAfSiy5msOePFA-nAXQRxKOhw9tcML65P-io5NzTzLr7zwWCwS0odceBdp4-uSsL2opYwkmOGSU/s320/P1340454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Now I'm not anything like as well versed in international matters horticultural as my friend Kerry Richardson, an experienced director of TV programmes on the subject including <i>Around the World in 80 Gardens</i>, but when we passed through the ticket office and emerged on to the top terrace, the vista immediately made me realise the reason for the accolade. It's a little like <a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-origos-villa-with-view.html">La Foce</a>, where the formal layout is in striking contrast to the hills beyond, but on a truly Versaillian scale (this vista, with my friend, driver and Powerscourt enthusiast Catherine, one level down).<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGk1wVqsRKDfJJyxLrP2wn7rZZ5ddDP-QsBtMARfJ_gTeDoLiCpFwDgpaEFUDrgu1CTBcSCrOIPRn1oy81Hom2u-nEqeJFW5vt_xZ2JIPI5Gu7MiSfACn1_Ko-Gxi9_gSIQA9-0ta91s_8aq5CkZLpw5qBI-Oroak4EElT2s6k8blqhmZY5QMeDLymn7g1/s800/P1340477.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGk1wVqsRKDfJJyxLrP2wn7rZZ5ddDP-QsBtMARfJ_gTeDoLiCpFwDgpaEFUDrgu1CTBcSCrOIPRn1oy81Hom2u-nEqeJFW5vt_xZ2JIPI5Gu7MiSfACn1_Ko-Gxi9_gSIQA9-0ta91s_8aq5CkZLpw5qBI-Oroak4EElT2s6k8blqhmZY5QMeDLymn7g1/s320/P1340477.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The glory of the gardens can be assigned to two Viscounts, Sir Richard Wingfield (1697-1751, who built the house and oversaw the first wonders of the garden design) and No. 7, Mervyn Edward (1836-1904), with the terrace designs instigated under No. 6, Richard (1815-1844) by architect Daniel Robinson, and now to the son of the present owners, Alex Slazenger, whose training to become head gardener has paid off (according to a local. the family is much liked for its good treatment of everyone who works there). Much of the statuary was bought by the Seventh Viscount on a
grand tour or commissioned from Prof Hugo Hagen of Berlin, Fame and
Victory on the top terrace being based on the design of sculptor Rauch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mAEM9vr80uJeHT7WpuFhGRy6mpXeaxg_MLYCl5uHLWy9DYywBYgtuMl5A4g3BO76ArzMM7Srd2IMxjzMEFp44wStfjHQVZVloe0jo_cV7zTvfXZRj7AuTk4h4ASH-Pa8EUw0mJAlm_uBPlwBWk78xY23dXCzQitHTo9nguGoTU2WmVEZeqfKetbNV6-Z/s800/P1340460.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mAEM9vr80uJeHT7WpuFhGRy6mpXeaxg_MLYCl5uHLWy9DYywBYgtuMl5A4g3BO76ArzMM7Srd2IMxjzMEFp44wStfjHQVZVloe0jo_cV7zTvfXZRj7AuTk4h4ASH-Pa8EUw0mJAlm_uBPlwBWk78xY23dXCzQitHTo9nguGoTU2WmVEZeqfKetbNV6-Z/s320/P1340460.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57xXBPdeGFeZcDuDyV_9eSWilpXT8idhNm2yA-takvvvB496Uh2qdMKHoYMbEhb7vPoDQ3h64ulDa3sOR9aNuWDREjC-VDIDbYQlOEZTDr82gLfJtGUjzJpMRWGjxIguxmXQTOVPeZ1iUt8kYz_e0FF9IRplQ_C3neyJFLSGpsJEoM8BLKqCiU62As9ZA/s800/P1340468.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57xXBPdeGFeZcDuDyV_9eSWilpXT8idhNm2yA-takvvvB496Uh2qdMKHoYMbEhb7vPoDQ3h64ulDa3sOR9aNuWDREjC-VDIDbYQlOEZTDr82gLfJtGUjzJpMRWGjxIguxmXQTOVPeZ1iUt8kYz_e0FF9IRplQ_C3neyJFLSGpsJEoM8BLKqCiU62As9ZA/s320/P1340468.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Diana and Apollo Belvedere were purchased in Rome by the Sixth Viscount</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDeZ9bf5ZEF-FjZHnwsj-yOsXH2gCVOlk1R5PhW0RdURRgTb0hiP6wqkyh_Srpx9BeZqUAtIrpivrNll7CAXsUHOP3KK28mHiMgZHgoq2czftPJjrFgkVd0DX2NU10bHpPlKRrMumnqg_Y8HS1Gqng-PXpi7S3aDbBSx5N-COWqWoznDxPrNNH7oNbMf0/s800/P1340471.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDeZ9bf5ZEF-FjZHnwsj-yOsXH2gCVOlk1R5PhW0RdURRgTb0hiP6wqkyh_Srpx9BeZqUAtIrpivrNll7CAXsUHOP3KK28mHiMgZHgoq2czftPJjrFgkVd0DX2NU10bHpPlKRrMumnqg_Y8HS1Gqng-PXpi7S3aDbBSx5N-COWqWoznDxPrNNH7oNbMf0/s320/P1340471.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SI30yNRFeZbY8mAxxzNxRz2NhVHk-_o-8FDuq-iAGpPS6pJXeWUpfQYFN6EsJgKRqxvb_EKbWiKHSl8FKXz6HoN6q_q2wBKzTMdgS-0NTQPom904s4FtU_yB0TO67twVkFyTxyjEbo5EWXlS5BKg9jEpbsfd7MyjaFnfxFMpVNa9Xt-wtk8prds_Bo-8/s800/P1340472.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SI30yNRFeZbY8mAxxzNxRz2NhVHk-_o-8FDuq-iAGpPS6pJXeWUpfQYFN6EsJgKRqxvb_EKbWiKHSl8FKXz6HoN6q_q2wBKzTMdgS-0NTQPom904s4FtU_yB0TO67twVkFyTxyjEbo5EWXlS5BKg9jEpbsfd7MyjaFnfxFMpVNa9Xt-wtk8prds_Bo-8/s320/P1340472.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>while some of the vases (probably not this one) were bought in St Petersburg</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MLbesSkcib9RbdDhVqkMGlEDUU6JQLCupo-V9OR5r-1V9odWepuIbB-YcsiwtSBC8u3V2CUoEwuDKsOnn-kXrL5gl_XKiupQGRTq_7OIbcMQdA5ZsRbzbkp6g0Nhh3djvxyqxwF0wnA8HLC4ymmpPZMjHwhhoP-3VVUhAHdGto1UoTb2oA_MT36HkWtt/s800/P1340486.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MLbesSkcib9RbdDhVqkMGlEDUU6JQLCupo-V9OR5r-1V9odWepuIbB-YcsiwtSBC8u3V2CUoEwuDKsOnn-kXrL5gl_XKiupQGRTq_7OIbcMQdA5ZsRbzbkp6g0Nhh3djvxyqxwF0wnA8HLC4ymmpPZMjHwhhoP-3VVUhAHdGto1UoTb2oA_MT36HkWtt/s320/P1340486.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the bronze groups of children/Putti, imitating the ones in Versailles, are the work of Marin.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfnriXOgqydtrYQp4cPjxu6_chvn_4rkQbUX2l5zDPedTY9N9icqnWZ5ROhO7gGnL-1K8OWWm-eSoXMrMnStPM6ixO449iMdwyjfkjBulAUWP7HS4b8qshz3fpBQhaYTMAWONkVykl6MOFCnhpfS2pYOKMsIdHJhBwNZgZhfBAzgT1DxMIrP3UMn_weT2/s800/P1340480.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfnriXOgqydtrYQp4cPjxu6_chvn_4rkQbUX2l5zDPedTY9N9icqnWZ5ROhO7gGnL-1K8OWWm-eSoXMrMnStPM6ixO449iMdwyjfkjBulAUWP7HS4b8qshz3fpBQhaYTMAWONkVykl6MOFCnhpfS2pYOKMsIdHJhBwNZgZhfBAzgT1DxMIrP3UMn_weT2/s320/P1340480.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The patterned pavement at the next stage down is a wonder, and worth repeating in more detail.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfQNotlj5CrVqs7hyD_Rab0uSgBK9upYxI8lyLl_r6pbYaC-yhqQniNXoEKre6_W8v7EasCwiRnWCwyG1amc2et2Uv0Bv-ZSRUKOiywphyUIJbH1xnXrOOHz-1oAAs6k3Ths-PngMEThUxr7Zlv2wHHUkXZfFlahYOut4WaXVqWTsMt-3l52iAL2RHB2c/s800/P1340478.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfQNotlj5CrVqs7hyD_Rab0uSgBK9upYxI8lyLl_r6pbYaC-yhqQniNXoEKre6_W8v7EasCwiRnWCwyG1amc2et2Uv0Bv-ZSRUKOiywphyUIJbH1xnXrOOHz-1oAAs6k3Ths-PngMEThUxr7Zlv2wHHUkXZfFlahYOut4WaXVqWTsMt-3l52iAL2RHB2c/s320/P1340478.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Below it there are two 17th century Italian bronze figures of Aeolus ('the spitting men' with dolphins), bought by the Seventh Viscount at Christie's in 1872, with sundial in between. The sundial has a Latin inscription which translates as 'I only make the sunny hours'.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsZTmDtU-1bN9zZPn2-Jj4qO0OPZGq3W2Me625XHM7UeT1jfDSt-Bv6g8CtALbqnuNWSCzBKykbz2C_umVXI-dKIOX2B-gPTwMQ1uC_DS5LD_84nk4tL-jBLyCMR9FHRgKL9evJgHALFbp1M27a6O0txZUWPNGtx7ul1mc29OjIEBrzAx4UYKraueggl9/s800/P1340488.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsZTmDtU-1bN9zZPn2-Jj4qO0OPZGq3W2Me625XHM7UeT1jfDSt-Bv6g8CtALbqnuNWSCzBKykbz2C_umVXI-dKIOX2B-gPTwMQ1uC_DS5LD_84nk4tL-jBLyCMR9FHRgKL9evJgHALFbp1M27a6O0txZUWPNGtx7ul1mc29OjIEBrzAx4UYKraueggl9/s320/P1340488.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>All perspectives down towards the lake</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb9YOmUea5qiqBpC3u3e0UnQ3eAMyIYHrJnWWcABg8MMM3rP0Dp_nFbMpRZjGqkkUAA0BNOYShSjIbW8RNJ5KvHPfmIkaed4DoEwz9cK9dDl_M8kJ_slQffj19ohCtHr7US7i0KvnDrSz-Nb3X8-TnvU5iGPFjWx4gFvxMftODH2Oa-9-b-wqIAowsaPD/s800/P1340495.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb9YOmUea5qiqBpC3u3e0UnQ3eAMyIYHrJnWWcABg8MMM3rP0Dp_nFbMpRZjGqkkUAA0BNOYShSjIbW8RNJ5KvHPfmIkaed4DoEwz9cK9dDl_M8kJ_slQffj19ohCtHr7US7i0KvnDrSz-Nb3X8-TnvU5iGPFjWx4gFvxMftODH2Oa-9-b-wqIAowsaPD/s320/P1340495.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKofCaT3mxm8gpwl_GCm-nuLKYyqG4xKgOJoC2Yw0Er4Fgl-eL8_QIpO3wGB04ZqHYuA5JqbAaLxiaP66TkN-sSY06CqoHiT0dTH6hudc8w14blUyOKAkk9RoX8Sxo7xFwv9DjAZ3mpT_Eg094VUoUCXaayu04Nvv8rMWd9AVY2OtzVsMNjwHyvcgnOLk/s800/P1340497.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKofCaT3mxm8gpwl_GCm-nuLKYyqG4xKgOJoC2Yw0Er4Fgl-eL8_QIpO3wGB04ZqHYuA5JqbAaLxiaP66TkN-sSY06CqoHiT0dTH6hudc8w14blUyOKAkk9RoX8Sxo7xFwv9DjAZ3mpT_Eg094VUoUCXaayu04Nvv8rMWd9AVY2OtzVsMNjwHyvcgnOLk/s320/P1340497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>are more impressive than looking up towards the house,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPo2WuViHgLDxeHmTm2qV9FYzryW3mkEDX427jnB3QqreKAOwlJmrVoEF9zHqQMMMicgUAwyfmKqmLUvf0veNl5uvVkbzPt29atTVsOONYeNqHHxRMWdyLNGDjg7Vwyb6WLA6JxoEXrvjwTzpiiE6sLQmQBfZejsc7IA4E0hGUCN97SskaQahoW15lBkb/s800/P1340482.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPo2WuViHgLDxeHmTm2qV9FYzryW3mkEDX427jnB3QqreKAOwlJmrVoEF9zHqQMMMicgUAwyfmKqmLUvf0veNl5uvVkbzPt29atTVsOONYeNqHHxRMWdyLNGDjg7Vwyb6WLA6JxoEXrvjwTzpiiE6sLQmQBfZejsc7IA4E0hGUCN97SskaQahoW15lBkb/s320/P1340482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>the backside of which, originally only two storeys high and much altered, is less impressive than the north front, adapted in the Palladian style.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXWFwoKlb6Y58ajvA7eA2x633UHzwSk73pRqNV7rZ4G1Hqn6ID3IEE1kVxaaqZQ_AOOvwq1IS_fSYtYbZaf3m21feegG9fQ-2z47bw_231ROwfEqfQxU6oiuKLTL3ZH7vI3hIxG5QWfavSU5_YfofsX_8JWJVZ2M1BoegjC71CwrTs_KDQFL7uMITug3t/s800/P1340457.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXWFwoKlb6Y58ajvA7eA2x633UHzwSk73pRqNV7rZ4G1Hqn6ID3IEE1kVxaaqZQ_AOOvwq1IS_fSYtYbZaf3m21feegG9fQ-2z47bw_231ROwfEqfQxU6oiuKLTL3ZH7vI3hIxG5QWfavSU5_YfofsX_8JWJVZ2M1BoegjC71CwrTs_KDQFL7uMITug3t/s320/P1340457.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A major refurbishment came to an end with a fire on 4 November 1974, leaving the house roofless and all its main rooms destroyed. It's now a centre for retail by the ubiquitous Avoca and others, though I guess you could hire the<i> piano nobile</i> for a big event. Anyway, everyone I met here was very friendly, as more often than not in Dublin and environs. </p><p>So to the Pegasi framing the lake. They're splendid, if a bit blingy, and though I thought they might be recent additions, they're more of Prof Hagen's work from 1869.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8icc7sTwizy-YMXe0c6Epdm_WCnxuIuzQTcMeMVja7C8X9Uxm27gcWddq3N9BpnBLcAWrT0tVcFmmKyIbaZXhfQJkk3gP8yYx4uzbczzzaX_Vx5SvZ-6O7kqbIrhuXp-bYgeoIrOwi5_jyoMWm3k7ipDzDErBvUP1NDZdhsaRWIxwJJ51nATTIOclCHD/s800/P1340499.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8icc7sTwizy-YMXe0c6Epdm_WCnxuIuzQTcMeMVja7C8X9Uxm27gcWddq3N9BpnBLcAWrT0tVcFmmKyIbaZXhfQJkk3gP8yYx4uzbczzzaX_Vx5SvZ-6O7kqbIrhuXp-bYgeoIrOwi5_jyoMWm3k7ipDzDErBvUP1NDZdhsaRWIxwJJ51nATTIOclCHD/s320/P1340499.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHD4tsKeToxxDGpH3KAFuEdSvrtt77p5wCE8H7NcOeiY4q2WPxsR5vivu4RtImATL0b1jzTNeRN8wlcTLc5lvEFPw9mXo3f52yBi0fj943LVmijGxOwvjRAv6-7KjIaeUkrgydSK4QsiatqA0nLdfWE5IQkYbioFo5D9kp-8nEarPUdD9G9GpHP18r8Ik/s800/P1340503.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHD4tsKeToxxDGpH3KAFuEdSvrtt77p5wCE8H7NcOeiY4q2WPxsR5vivu4RtImATL0b1jzTNeRN8wlcTLc5lvEFPw9mXo3f52yBi0fj943LVmijGxOwvjRAv6-7KjIaeUkrgydSK4QsiatqA0nLdfWE5IQkYbioFo5D9kp-8nEarPUdD9G9GpHP18r8Ik/s320/P1340503.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>In the centre is a reproduction of Bernini's famous Triton fountain in Piazza Barberini, Rome. Can't help feeling this one has a happier setting, and the shaggy moss suits him.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpc6Z9TztfNeyPDHcakUG2LJROTm0tss-i34qj2Rm2_QKEO5pEFcIiBKuq4MEb4JgKu4RpTUyuCDXNhmCdGBQqOtmX5tERuosfRBwqKLk-IcjqY1fXgDi-ecB_GAmGL4E31pu8edp_ARApmjZhA7lHOsM6sJPRzknIqJm2EMaT9rRtctf6INLOKyuHRbes/s800/P1340507.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpc6Z9TztfNeyPDHcakUG2LJROTm0tss-i34qj2Rm2_QKEO5pEFcIiBKuq4MEb4JgKu4RpTUyuCDXNhmCdGBQqOtmX5tERuosfRBwqKLk-IcjqY1fXgDi-ecB_GAmGL4E31pu8edp_ARApmjZhA7lHOsM6sJPRzknIqJm2EMaT9rRtctf6INLOKyuHRbes/s320/P1340507.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyf-AXkWDlGiPgoqh2Q4ypXd61pLrec_l_FvCK4wBuvuNTfddaBEmuufosEYOUx1GSUGvWqal4ITN28qcye2Wz5VXQeg3VAOTRwqH9bG_IIRDx4qSCDXwpjROhgTWHFfHE1AdFCRv-POly6hGKmSODiAnbUf0Ganer1XGwwzoGKSvni7nMvL9czh3FCZJ/s800/P1340502.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyf-AXkWDlGiPgoqh2Q4ypXd61pLrec_l_FvCK4wBuvuNTfddaBEmuufosEYOUx1GSUGvWqal4ITN28qcye2Wz5VXQeg3VAOTRwqH9bG_IIRDx4qSCDXwpjROhgTWHFfHE1AdFCRv-POly6hGKmSODiAnbUf0Ganer1XGwwzoGKSvni7nMvL9czh3FCZJ/s320/P1340502.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-YuiEACjAcPbOf0iOQTsAHL3QBEXW335XKUkcXSmbFMVwYp1u3ag32jDtSjtcRHPvZSaJxP7ctiUP5OFXgXinJ5u7l1nWuyHv3uSQZI_Ozkef_ordi5DZZx738lwmbK1v3W6CIDRd8m_4NQ4AeqNkmAkzwBT6nD5oPcGkhy9WwGYqt_Xb0FSrJHwCmTG/s800/P1340525.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-YuiEACjAcPbOf0iOQTsAHL3QBEXW335XKUkcXSmbFMVwYp1u3ag32jDtSjtcRHPvZSaJxP7ctiUP5OFXgXinJ5u7l1nWuyHv3uSQZI_Ozkef_ordi5DZZx738lwmbK1v3W6CIDRd8m_4NQ4AeqNkmAkzwBT6nD5oPcGkhy9WwGYqt_Xb0FSrJHwCmTG/s320/P1340525.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Time here for Respighi's magnificent musical tribute to the original, based around a single horn note (Triton blowing his conch).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ygVrEKmaxgk" width="320" youtube-src-id="ygVrEKmaxgk"></iframe></div><p>I hadn't expected the Japanese garden to be more than a couple of temples in a glade. But this is a ravine wonder apart. The descent is rather spectacular (a nice woman in the house told me that for crinolined ladies, it was a relief to descend in to lower temperatures on a hot summer's day).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAk_I7KiWmczIjSpcoEOxtYxQEZXKGNetCwFOT2CgypxuVwxdrxejcwZA2VUFsvVAzLZAVwBqQQegZgnl9KwVMWe5lQgZiSbO7W_jKmW4cERiRH60vwS65ylausGQaeGSV80SVYLUkIbo49-NhzicTng95K4qqh1_v3x2P30Ao9xWZuIe7gbtGT8_UQMr3/s800/P1340528.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAk_I7KiWmczIjSpcoEOxtYxQEZXKGNetCwFOT2CgypxuVwxdrxejcwZA2VUFsvVAzLZAVwBqQQegZgnl9KwVMWe5lQgZiSbO7W_jKmW4cERiRH60vwS65ylausGQaeGSV80SVYLUkIbo49-NhzicTng95K4qqh1_v3x2P30Ao9xWZuIe7gbtGT8_UQMr3/s320/P1340528.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>This was laid out by the Eighth Viscount in 1908, but it embraces a wonderful grotto from the time of the First Viscount, established in 1740 and made from fossilised sphagnum moss. Ireland's moist airs do the rest for the greening.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUpAgr6lpuRNeXqTUl0K1VeCUgvYkH-byx6mWgdHFWDnYQqXcMWVsbX5ZxqI8XyemerJ02yYIH53sT7QAkKaaTdfxQCfcqQWsA-vJOhO0RSYWs3m9oZYtaKmnTf2qqumN96-ahK59o4no0u1TmyVzU_LXsAmIvLHkVP-XktlTrhghLwjpuj4WmoiYTa7B/s5184/P1340534.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUpAgr6lpuRNeXqTUl0K1VeCUgvYkH-byx6mWgdHFWDnYQqXcMWVsbX5ZxqI8XyemerJ02yYIH53sT7QAkKaaTdfxQCfcqQWsA-vJOhO0RSYWs3m9oZYtaKmnTf2qqumN96-ahK59o4no0u1TmyVzU_LXsAmIvLHkVP-XktlTrhghLwjpuj4WmoiYTa7B/s320/P1340534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDF3tx-slZMRbg6hzUQxtJLKGXztBly5kuB5BAYQUnZUp5VceHCoQ1DUl9S-pItnga_YU03wt8lrDCXEShloBnc-5-Pi9h7PRqi8DUW-H1Onq0EdBBbq8QSKTw5cg0dmo18MKnYmAnxwRzBxZlTzhbvc3KhuHA2WMK6Z-ksVPr-Y94YWRTjm66ydysFhxv/s3843/Powerscourt%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3843" data-original-width="2646" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDF3tx-slZMRbg6hzUQxtJLKGXztBly5kuB5BAYQUnZUp5VceHCoQ1DUl9S-pItnga_YU03wt8lrDCXEShloBnc-5-Pi9h7PRqi8DUW-H1Onq0EdBBbq8QSKTw5cg0dmo18MKnYmAnxwRzBxZlTzhbvc3KhuHA2WMK6Z-ksVPr-Y94YWRTjm66ydysFhxv/s320/Powerscourt%206.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-ze9v_8eH8wcdexLQnILd7gGqsoNmPJkItUGyzyHNdDpp2Ahr2gWRBJ2pSY9uLcedx9XvPYtQINpdQ5oaNpNyL7qKvGzWgikbM4BjKUgIL6Viy6k_IUKO8R1GIx0vurYctNSfPjGPJGLfWpbTwDorujGEpIxH_BG4vsf6bBkyZ14J23Db2lWWx-fYBXX/s5184/P1340536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-ze9v_8eH8wcdexLQnILd7gGqsoNmPJkItUGyzyHNdDpp2Ahr2gWRBJ2pSY9uLcedx9XvPYtQINpdQ5oaNpNyL7qKvGzWgikbM4BjKUgIL6Viy6k_IUKO8R1GIx0vurYctNSfPjGPJGLfWpbTwDorujGEpIxH_BG4vsf6bBkyZ14J23Db2lWWx-fYBXX/s320/P1340536.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Other shades in the Japanese garden are complementary, though I imagine it's also lovely in blossom time.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNwuKKpkVH3yrM2cTjRv6GCyJWfIT6WpQ7ZDKWLt-1Xs_vwFa0gMnKIN0GdvF5vqutjAzqo_dc061A4uYXgvQuPMcLyomcNA9Mbq0ijbsEXfkn71khK4kniJPkXUCtOJTa6QvzfaQcjb5l1d7aU6SFi30qVEZBN3b8_TYMMCmTF9ZkYLdvfnfsruWFJ1Y/s800/P1340550.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNwuKKpkVH3yrM2cTjRv6GCyJWfIT6WpQ7ZDKWLt-1Xs_vwFa0gMnKIN0GdvF5vqutjAzqo_dc061A4uYXgvQuPMcLyomcNA9Mbq0ijbsEXfkn71khK4kniJPkXUCtOJTa6QvzfaQcjb5l1d7aU6SFi30qVEZBN3b8_TYMMCmTF9ZkYLdvfnfsruWFJ1Y/s320/P1340550.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQSwCtbm6nHzsUwcChH5dwcuiddbnbqMAnXE-ufUYrxTr3_KrJT_MwdX07a87JRY-hw6qshvQ7CoSRsGzqi7My7ND0GGoRa4yDYGqPpKRq-p8vgmKIbxQcKEu-rqqKwcVbhlet7gVeV2qQMUsvYdo-Bca3T4qYSmaOn11ffUEDFLfbmmaKhLbkjxynMuz/s800/P1340539.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQSwCtbm6nHzsUwcChH5dwcuiddbnbqMAnXE-ufUYrxTr3_KrJT_MwdX07a87JRY-hw6qshvQ7CoSRsGzqi7My7ND0GGoRa4yDYGqPpKRq-p8vgmKIbxQcKEu-rqqKwcVbhlet7gVeV2qQMUsvYdo-Bca3T4qYSmaOn11ffUEDFLfbmmaKhLbkjxynMuz/s320/P1340539.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZM_4rYgAmIG_1X1BJXhGZeWjco3b7qsbDbaCPF4IpdFcwc2_Q6KdxQBMSD_YoQFbKM5csSwDIED9ScFnI0zcJ4ohKZCfsXpyeOYAjQVyUMru_IC1G2Rs2Z-VfN26eRglYmWoBGcI5uB3vWmNMJ4zR9RKZzUHoMfBZopSeZYMVmd0vM6TlI7qHqwLBjts/s800/P1340545.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZM_4rYgAmIG_1X1BJXhGZeWjco3b7qsbDbaCPF4IpdFcwc2_Q6KdxQBMSD_YoQFbKM5csSwDIED9ScFnI0zcJ4ohKZCfsXpyeOYAjQVyUMru_IC1G2Rs2Z-VfN26eRglYmWoBGcI5uB3vWmNMJ4zR9RKZzUHoMfBZopSeZYMVmd0vM6TlI7qHqwLBjts/s320/P1340545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Heading back up to the lake, our route now took us past giant sequoias and other splendours - the garden, like Mount Usher which I visited in the spring and really ought to have chronicled, has some of Ireland's prize trees, which must be pursued with a guidebook next time - </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4iBa9xUJ8pnyIG0iQ1NrjayGvq3ausm4MbkPhUCGgyPHm0oBRccffLYUD_VgMJDbTfTyPvQpnbBCOZ8Na1ApaB2O_cqcgZZB5TrjWH8y2P6xKq0D5RvyNf_MYCrTW_NSuq4HSyarZ3k7YZLOoeLajhRSBC7EIHcdBBFtodammThx15vTNekffhhROahr/s800/P1340561.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4iBa9xUJ8pnyIG0iQ1NrjayGvq3ausm4MbkPhUCGgyPHm0oBRccffLYUD_VgMJDbTfTyPvQpnbBCOZ8Na1ApaB2O_cqcgZZB5TrjWH8y2P6xKq0D5RvyNf_MYCrTW_NSuq4HSyarZ3k7YZLOoeLajhRSBC7EIHcdBBFtodammThx15vTNekffhhROahr/s320/P1340561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLK52j5E2XSRR2pjuOxh3NZ8SsG62P2lP7jnMGTBa6EamBsDSFbbYNapZGO3hptimVHDbhVqw2LSLOhoLJbynartEgLW4A3wcA6sAPECqJq-iknICYYm8ObnvLTX1esvAS6LbgHrobn0f_Ko4zzYBqA7_JEqiAcORb4DgzEHR5dOhEDaiJoDRiBNsSlpwB/s5184/P1340562.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLK52j5E2XSRR2pjuOxh3NZ8SsG62P2lP7jnMGTBa6EamBsDSFbbYNapZGO3hptimVHDbhVqw2LSLOhoLJbynartEgLW4A3wcA6sAPECqJq-iknICYYm8ObnvLTX1esvAS6LbgHrobn0f_Ko4zzYBqA7_JEqiAcORb4DgzEHR5dOhEDaiJoDRiBNsSlpwB/s320/P1340562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjda4ZyxObp_QGhzD_LPWydqmefIc5PDReoCrSkm_SWxAU_JCEUA4J26ezMKnnNpsPyG6Lnv_zuHMUE3sgznEVXsKbOHjjfLoa-kpE2CRTnGs0Ao23YAaK2_ZuSV1vTwmh0X-y7TXFAqnVzs3eRmRYwgteH-PRQHr0tnFDAwK6rDd9lCPFXeXDm4U81qDoP/s800/P1340564.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjda4ZyxObp_QGhzD_LPWydqmefIc5PDReoCrSkm_SWxAU_JCEUA4J26ezMKnnNpsPyG6Lnv_zuHMUE3sgznEVXsKbOHjjfLoa-kpE2CRTnGs0Ao23YAaK2_ZuSV1vTwmh0X-y7TXFAqnVzs3eRmRYwgteH-PRQHr0tnFDAwK6rDd9lCPFXeXDm4U81qDoP/s320/P1340564.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>past the Pet Cemetery to the different feel of the Dolphin Pond zone, with more big trees surrounding it including Ireland's tallest Eucalyptus. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPTy7_F1L3VETrDVtH_Vt3nKIdTvfYqEXI-UC2N7lFzaBpPW242BLsUraYs2qpwgoYY0CBswN5ntFwSiQd0Y1U0-sakG-TZejWmNEwExKdLoo6TOnPgurbuUyDdmym3tldAlGAMOJquorKvk6z3rZjuX15n6ktafgI0U8TfPVpK492FYhDOiI_dRG8v2Y/s5184/P1340566.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPTy7_F1L3VETrDVtH_Vt3nKIdTvfYqEXI-UC2N7lFzaBpPW242BLsUraYs2qpwgoYY0CBswN5ntFwSiQd0Y1U0-sakG-TZejWmNEwExKdLoo6TOnPgurbuUyDdmym3tldAlGAMOJquorKvk6z3rZjuX15n6ktafgI0U8TfPVpK492FYhDOiI_dRG8v2Y/s320/P1340566.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p>The pond features on a 1740 map, but the fountain was bought in Paris by our very statue-acquisitive Seventh Viscount.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Unb_K4hrD97ertniJOtxoubReHZSVbv25Ub1X4pKs0H7-Ear2_kZGwcVhN57bc8EYmnh9sfhPvEPPieBWe3WFHdctsmZ6kJIWIEA5q9SZK9Pc99iIwNGYi25HxqWmBRSEwhJvSTCZR232d8CXd-ZmZ2MUBj9NGj9_JzvYcOG_N_O_QLAIG2Im_lM7Q2y/s800/P1340568.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Unb_K4hrD97ertniJOtxoubReHZSVbv25Ub1X4pKs0H7-Ear2_kZGwcVhN57bc8EYmnh9sfhPvEPPieBWe3WFHdctsmZ6kJIWIEA5q9SZK9Pc99iIwNGYi25HxqWmBRSEwhJvSTCZR232d8CXd-ZmZ2MUBj9NGj9_JzvYcOG_N_O_QLAIG2Im_lM7Q2y/s320/P1340568.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2oRPPO_5r9MqFetrFKb-2ecjY9VYslAmtcMzNzOdiu16IeEKZTiaNL6ONjMHfQD8wYc1HkuFUcviHZxVoF-fay1NtQJD9yGQpf21c0TvlrUt0J38Fn_73dHIiR0fqo3aSfQnSdATEcifagJ3on-0YC3BfF_hY4x69jOSMz7muFy9dFbRVV-Fp2x6aer8/s800/P1340567.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2oRPPO_5r9MqFetrFKb-2ecjY9VYslAmtcMzNzOdiu16IeEKZTiaNL6ONjMHfQD8wYc1HkuFUcviHZxVoF-fay1NtQJD9yGQpf21c0TvlrUt0J38Fn_73dHIiR0fqo3aSfQnSdATEcifagJ3on-0YC3BfF_hY4x69jOSMz7muFy9dFbRVV-Fp2x6aer8/s320/P1340567.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />We now went through one of many splendid gates to the Walled Gardens; the herbaceous border was still in full spare - praise young Slazenger for the choices - and not only dahlia/bee rich but even producing an Oriental poppy.<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit__6tnim3mcDuyKbni6SNd9wWfdhBxjlmMtPtero_YWnZlQWHXSW9FbK2xpjjjgsqnrdqA8Wmwb0pJVg9Zst6hxXgN69Xquz5r4p7-N66aYCCxbJWjp9qkMRBqPKBWW0uab5t9mCQorMKo4RK8KP4TAKQ63q8Ci5O01dOnpov1cauQqubSXlzVMwuhXlU/s800/P1340576.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit__6tnim3mcDuyKbni6SNd9wWfdhBxjlmMtPtero_YWnZlQWHXSW9FbK2xpjjjgsqnrdqA8Wmwb0pJVg9Zst6hxXgN69Xquz5r4p7-N66aYCCxbJWjp9qkMRBqPKBWW0uab5t9mCQorMKo4RK8KP4TAKQ63q8Ci5O01dOnpov1cauQqubSXlzVMwuhXlU/s320/P1340576.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht6rbqVpK8KcJZf6W6q6qVEgGpsITx8QNbMZAtyr0NjU_Z_IpOSw_2T4V0776DdpbpWji9ncVdRrSrSYgNtVKJlK6RsOL1YmCOwy3tMj2eXF2fUd9G4tPm0ZOi-3pENN6_jiSM5S7chwjDmOIPEg_2B9GpFsE9M8pTK4w_J-luz6nbsmLYJ8Up6Rw36jDi/s5184/P1340588.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht6rbqVpK8KcJZf6W6q6qVEgGpsITx8QNbMZAtyr0NjU_Z_IpOSw_2T4V0776DdpbpWji9ncVdRrSrSYgNtVKJlK6RsOL1YmCOwy3tMj2eXF2fUd9G4tPm0ZOi-3pENN6_jiSM5S7chwjDmOIPEg_2B9GpFsE9M8pTK4w_J-luz6nbsmLYJ8Up6Rw36jDi/s320/P1340588.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhFfhQ1uL5auAZNnEfrMb7pxL-PD6unMweTqKggfe9C91GhRgpz40AAth7lqVqeT6PvE0GvpABQG7ZpQh9RevL3rzDwr0NhVw7xGOPlVUPY5z4_PWg6NGCvAJJ3M5yFKxYPmE1vmWNubEKkH0AnoZDVkRlVEalhtKSORz16kTShAJJ1FpzV0B7z5Z-Uo5/s800/P1340586.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhFfhQ1uL5auAZNnEfrMb7pxL-PD6unMweTqKggfe9C91GhRgpz40AAth7lqVqeT6PvE0GvpABQG7ZpQh9RevL3rzDwr0NhVw7xGOPlVUPY5z4_PWg6NGCvAJJ3M5yFKxYPmE1vmWNubEKkH0AnoZDVkRlVEalhtKSORz16kTShAJJ1FpzV0B7z5Z-Uo5/s320/P1340586.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCQrjFzIiFkDVG2d3R37s09AzqIEU0Bdl66q0NId1Kfo6ZuTmnUd4DYB1zfphyphenhyphenllRsA7csLcSiHBG0knk1-XRzPxaB0EQOIVTp5ahSHBcYMO-tc4rRPy8Ws-LHYZXEaOB6v8RnxG8DA3Tr8dic5IriDFrc6aVLrSUtcx2-Iq8x1yJ9nC5qQba2WIilE5g/s800/P1340582.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCQrjFzIiFkDVG2d3R37s09AzqIEU0Bdl66q0NId1Kfo6ZuTmnUd4DYB1zfphyphenhyphenllRsA7csLcSiHBG0knk1-XRzPxaB0EQOIVTp5ahSHBcYMO-tc4rRPy8Ws-LHYZXEaOB6v8RnxG8DA3Tr8dic5IriDFrc6aVLrSUtcx2-Iq8x1yJ9nC5qQba2WIilE5g/s320/P1340582.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I was especially keen to see the Gate from Bamberg Cathedral, bought by the Seventh Viscount from one Mr Pratt, a London curiosity dealer. Again, it looks a bit blingy, but regilding is done every decade or so. The golden rose vase on top is reminiscent of those in Vienna's Schatzkammer which were given by the Pope to the daughters of the nobility, giving Hofmannsthal his idea of a silver rose for Strauss.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYPQEx6ipN76bb1fyFkswxH_IDSx_v7AEcL2oSzpFR2hKONZ8vaFCuktBYeMcAydVvB7-pS1iQwrJaDAMvGkM9pHGrPrkjytaJBb263bZ4Ya8PRiUoItnpiQYa-Fm-JjTANtfmyEO1UDaxwUCv8Bj-2dPoeXEacJ9wRmmgYnbcs0uEFRpdeJgih1Wbz4Q/s5184/P1340593.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYPQEx6ipN76bb1fyFkswxH_IDSx_v7AEcL2oSzpFR2hKONZ8vaFCuktBYeMcAydVvB7-pS1iQwrJaDAMvGkM9pHGrPrkjytaJBb263bZ4Ya8PRiUoItnpiQYa-Fm-JjTANtfmyEO1UDaxwUCv8Bj-2dPoeXEacJ9wRmmgYnbcs0uEFRpdeJgih1Wbz4Q/s320/P1340593.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLmKiwAyY16GFphlnm07HxDEyaOvOddcVH3otvHCrXjP4zYjy4jA-_NEsqdpvzoLHatY49mR1OOyy_mXLJwkeNJB4Jt3ra7jx3HWZ5G33Ux-g6sOgWBRh90DFJNVZ1Fwm2HiX4MyzqZdxUWbS52Ll8PFtDuW7oABWixo8a-MDWO5Yah_U3zt-C1wzn_gF/s4322/P1340590.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2975" data-original-width="4322" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLmKiwAyY16GFphlnm07HxDEyaOvOddcVH3otvHCrXjP4zYjy4jA-_NEsqdpvzoLHatY49mR1OOyy_mXLJwkeNJB4Jt3ra7jx3HWZ5G33Ux-g6sOgWBRh90DFJNVZ1Fwm2HiX4MyzqZdxUWbS52Ll8PFtDuW7oABWixo8a-MDWO5Yah_U3zt-C1wzn_gF/s320/P1340590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The English Gate at the other end of the walled garden proper - again, surprisingly extensive - was brought, as the title makes clear, from England in 1873. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7CYDcJoPB_49iZKWdFj-t6Bb9myhxx6trQo7JfNR6g2Z-f3hNtXiDWnXQZN2eEzZzb3mxX54Xi0vL_cje99xt_hmwG60AnxjUNop4LHzE2nltJ9WvvLipq_lYE4AeNCrSvNw7Z4QGLv9DpRzua7p6yj28NDvDwZksfTxMq1ZTaS2aef1f3lJZyV05rpR/s5184/P1340614.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7CYDcJoPB_49iZKWdFj-t6Bb9myhxx6trQo7JfNR6g2Z-f3hNtXiDWnXQZN2eEzZzb3mxX54Xi0vL_cje99xt_hmwG60AnxjUNop4LHzE2nltJ9WvvLipq_lYE4AeNCrSvNw7Z4QGLv9DpRzua7p6yj28NDvDwZksfTxMq1ZTaS2aef1f3lJZyV05rpR/s320/P1340614.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNg3tHKtwgjtz7jE3G3qG5Nfgkr6C8TdHRrZ89DAG9fMGe6rb43LavKeAAODmpTL6yVqUNeTWCTIiMiNwOZx6rYp_3jjFOrkfVZUSuEVT3CxPkYzTjHWetfQxKDRXyb-gVIBGn8-PcQI2svCjQSIAKJ7yuHQjY8Axdt5rGJoSnqNXFqweHVSrrdqziOPH/s5184/P1340613.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNg3tHKtwgjtz7jE3G3qG5Nfgkr6C8TdHRrZ89DAG9fMGe6rb43LavKeAAODmpTL6yVqUNeTWCTIiMiNwOZx6rYp_3jjFOrkfVZUSuEVT3CxPkYzTjHWetfQxKDRXyb-gVIBGn8-PcQI2svCjQSIAKJ7yuHQjY8Axdt5rGJoSnqNXFqweHVSrrdqziOPH/s320/P1340613.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>In between, the rose beds were still doing well</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC9NYfTT1P-si_k0cPElrAhdO7UuBaU0nCKMUvq_JHlHGMylNLHTJEQU8utzFKxjXT4ePo6EO-z0swW5A4HU1s6umtL9AN-ZDTe8zCOjqA9j0xt2kkFNdtmwz5wY5NhO_EHfvt3WFTpjubdCRgiN4vJfu89UobPD2w6CCL4E4CLtI3AlghmcuCaXwupor/s800/P1340601.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="800" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC9NYfTT1P-si_k0cPElrAhdO7UuBaU0nCKMUvq_JHlHGMylNLHTJEQU8utzFKxjXT4ePo6EO-z0swW5A4HU1s6umtL9AN-ZDTe8zCOjqA9j0xt2kkFNdtmwz5wY5NhO_EHfvt3WFTpjubdCRgiN4vJfu89UobPD2w6CCL4E4CLtI3AlghmcuCaXwupor/s320/P1340601.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gnCio6Vgnj3KFm6RnZtNx-R_3btRBtpQdSJJU4TCINtvAYc3mH_kUhmNoYz60_9lfMJeeanItng-laki1tH36WqnepiPrVTVpCPw5peseVFqOVfNkA-8U8Lt7jZNVxIR3BSg-nMaioT-lPJ7jMeon0a3k2oNv8QrCtfdHKUIWU2u7nujpcZvjJQ_3O37/s800/P1340597.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gnCio6Vgnj3KFm6RnZtNx-R_3btRBtpQdSJJU4TCINtvAYc3mH_kUhmNoYz60_9lfMJeeanItng-laki1tH36WqnepiPrVTVpCPw5peseVFqOVfNkA-8U8Lt7jZNVxIR3BSg-nMaioT-lPJ7jMeon0a3k2oNv8QrCtfdHKUIWU2u7nujpcZvjJQ_3O37/s320/P1340597.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> and the two discoboloi, one pictured here, bought by the Seventh Viscount in Naples - they were copied from the originals in Herculaneum by one Massalli - look ready for action against a background of hydrangeas.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCt4jCIztI6n-8zYe9FvGNqgKBL2NVWI2OZFj1sVpD7fNB2TeCPxeBNRGL_65KaOmzvNYHDX0AdWuRXfVUfjs8FDm-1Zf68cN629VluTxDBN2kZh7hPqOm3OvAyGTA6rZF0pb-zWj4bh3EtX8zVroEKVaXh_J8L9a6T-OsFXMTAfQr_UV9elCkMCVEPM4/s800/P1340612.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCt4jCIztI6n-8zYe9FvGNqgKBL2NVWI2OZFj1sVpD7fNB2TeCPxeBNRGL_65KaOmzvNYHDX0AdWuRXfVUfjs8FDm-1Zf68cN629VluTxDBN2kZh7hPqOm3OvAyGTA6rZF0pb-zWj4bh3EtX8zVroEKVaXh_J8L9a6T-OsFXMTAfQr_UV9elCkMCVEPM4/s320/P1340612.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Murmurations of starlings flew overhead, </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzmDBfwbVF2SG8-W4NFZeRNgu8yyH8vk1LnVVUYJos-VIjIVJN4lwZchhGOrBc3N8qoS4l1iONT16PozZrj7Y_x9ESAXf7if_NAhYNhvelIleXiX97BO1ZuRAExdap0aER3Rltn3lxfwrMwKBL3JD62cBoz_SAF3dC0Nnv1b248MC6gfatkX3buPfwYLV/s800/P1340611.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="800" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzmDBfwbVF2SG8-W4NFZeRNgu8yyH8vk1LnVVUYJos-VIjIVJN4lwZchhGOrBc3N8qoS4l1iONT16PozZrj7Y_x9ESAXf7if_NAhYNhvelIleXiX97BO1ZuRAExdap0aER3Rltn3lxfwrMwKBL3JD62cBoz_SAF3dC0Nnv1b248MC6gfatkX3buPfwYLV/s320/P1340611.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>while we didn't exactly fly back to Dublin - nearly missed the start of <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/faust-irish-national-opera-review-world-class-singing-turns-musical-dramatic-screw">Irish National Opera's stunningly well-sung <i>Faust </i></a>- but what an afternoon. Can't wait to return.</p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-34158171355535108852023-10-17T10:53:00.005+01:002023-10-17T11:14:18.866+01:00Opening the shrine, then down into the Rhine<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fVUl6XZxb30JmP_xW9tLp7SslJpCMHgkO860dLE1Q8wgWBRhOYuovCy5tsr1Of-WOVs3-wAxjKp4azshc3F3elU5iKJR5k1vL9eEAKANY5zKAfJGfCVHOVzWIVwFwS3AUiGr53NZc3F-FhribCLo3V4DASlUkVnL4F-XzJodTNpCmjqUnWCX79Id393U/s640/Wagner_-_Parsifal_-_Heinrich_Hensel_as_Parsifal_-_The_Victrola_book_of_the_opera.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="640" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fVUl6XZxb30JmP_xW9tLp7SslJpCMHgkO860dLE1Q8wgWBRhOYuovCy5tsr1Of-WOVs3-wAxjKp4azshc3F3elU5iKJR5k1vL9eEAKANY5zKAfJGfCVHOVzWIVwFwS3AUiGr53NZc3F-FhribCLo3V4DASlUkVnL4F-XzJodTNpCmjqUnWCX79Id393U/s320/Wagner_-_Parsifal_-_Heinrich_Hensel_as_Parsifal_-_The_Victrola_book_of_the_opera.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Ten glorious Wednesday afternoons on the Wagner opera that always leaves me feeling whole have flown by, dovelike. I'll confess that musically I can do without the final transfiguration; it doesn't really take us any further, and unless you have a production where Parsifal moves on, feels a bit 'here we go again' in the non-action, too. But tears always come to my eyes in the Good Friday Magic music, whether in the opera or in the concert. It took the visit of John Tomlinson to drive home how beautiful and unusual the words are. The gist is that humans may look to God, but nature looks to humans to treat it kindly. Wagner's ecological thoughts, which permeate the Ring, chime so strongly with us today. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EK-7nkJ38wY" width="320" youtube-src-id="EK-7nkJ38wY"></iframe></div><p></p><p>The oboe solo gave me my first big emotion a day or so after the big operation in July - my wonderful students Janet and Ian Szymanski sent me a Jacquie Lawson card which begins right there: total surprise. It starts above at 41m45s in what remains my favourite recording of <i>Parsifal</i> since I undertook to listen to every one from start to finish for BBC Radio 3's <i>Building a Library</i>. Kurt Moll and James King sing, where necessary, with such tenderness. You may well want to listen to the whole act, and indeed the complete recording is up on YouTube - it's otherwise too expensive to buy second-hand as a CD set. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6anO3YHbRpimBShLI_9jKALX3o2t70sp6zpcgiVcoTqvHu2cjN3nfMrZ3WXaCzdnvF2Q30Z9k1wxUfH_FJnItaUhAfjKzxh-5nts0UC1k-sPdsKi03rzb9AMDA9ZJRo6fsweTfAbrceHF4w8WeQpmyRP1Yvx0jL4tNxPgwhVZh1goD4WNxc5uRkDjdXQI/s1833/Parsifal%20Linda%20EG%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1833" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6anO3YHbRpimBShLI_9jKALX3o2t70sp6zpcgiVcoTqvHu2cjN3nfMrZ3WXaCzdnvF2Q30Z9k1wxUfH_FJnItaUhAfjKzxh-5nts0UC1k-sPdsKi03rzb9AMDA9ZJRo6fsweTfAbrceHF4w8WeQpmyRP1Yvx0jL4tNxPgwhVZh1goD4WNxc5uRkDjdXQI/s320/Parsifal%20Linda%20EG%20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Our more recent visitors could not have been more generous in their time or human warmth. Linda Esther Gray (two below me in the second from right row vertical-wise pictured above - click on the image to make it bigger) not only went back to the notes she'd taken when working with Reginald Goodall for the Welsh National Opera <i>Parsifal - </i>our loss that she felt it wasn't right to participate in the EMI recording - but also provided fresh tales which don't feature in her autobiography (which she intends to update, and I'm cheering her on, will help where I can). One of my American students asked her about the Dallas Walkure - preserved in not at all bad sound here on YouTube - </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xSPiVCVxBTw" width="320" youtube-src-id="xSPiVCVxBTw"></iframe></div><p></p><p>and we got the extraordinary history of a visit to one of the generous wealthy Friends of the Dallas Opera, who greeted her with 'oh gee, it's so good to have you. Pavarotti was here last week and when he went away the poodle was dead.' 'I said to her, what are you talking about? And she said, "well, he didn't come at the beginning, he came about 2 o'clock in the morning, and sat down in a chair, and when he left, the poodle was dead." He thought it was a cushion. This is absolutely true, I've just remembered it...I told the Friends, now what you all need to remember is that my aria in Act One begins "Du bist der Lenz", and at the end of it you've all got to clap. They thought I was being serious - it had in fact got very serious - and the President of the opera house had to stand up and say, "now, Linda has a very strange sense of humour - don't clap" '. It's a treasurable two hours. And of course there was plenty of time for seriousness. Here are a few of us, including Linda, listening to Astrid Varnay and reacting.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIO847IukWQWkMAJ5xineEpqUssMmj03_Nao88qDvI5KtxJLyuukQ8XQA7_JIZ_qz6w3kh84IJDopJzzTrF4PgTV_IVlVrMMwz7CMOFSih7rValdY3luQo5BQoEvDyn4MgJe9_-DzDpuaH5l4m9xGazuSqIl69a8N8ZdrMCjIJxE3wleFVDsRLr433hbA/s1099/Parsifal%20Linda%20EG%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="1099" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIO847IukWQWkMAJ5xineEpqUssMmj03_Nao88qDvI5KtxJLyuukQ8XQA7_JIZ_qz6w3kh84IJDopJzzTrF4PgTV_IVlVrMMwz7CMOFSih7rValdY3luQo5BQoEvDyn4MgJe9_-DzDpuaH5l4m9xGazuSqIl69a8N8ZdrMCjIJxE3wleFVDsRLr433hbA/s320/Parsifal%20Linda%20EG%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>John Tom (second from right, secon row down - again, click to enlarge) was equally generous with his time, and voice - he sang a great deal of Gurnemanz's part in Act Three for us. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQD1yTxC7fHS4kOFjL_rPyw2V4vPr-P0O7Ygcer8CXyCwFFweVcT7CbeLMLAk6eIOfc72BGL8RSNOYwVPsdOjITb8_ZbxpEYnU-cRtrGV7ctOotoWbgkGbkgTBGQjZGgfMr1FdoS3A9GKvMYI4kjBvVr5HyV0EcgjdOULpYHyzGvafZUMu25Y440EOGYN/s1835/Parsifal%20John%20Tom%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1835" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQD1yTxC7fHS4kOFjL_rPyw2V4vPr-P0O7Ygcer8CXyCwFFweVcT7CbeLMLAk6eIOfc72BGL8RSNOYwVPsdOjITb8_ZbxpEYnU-cRtrGV7ctOotoWbgkGbkgTBGQjZGgfMr1FdoS3A9GKvMYI4kjBvVr5HyV0EcgjdOULpYHyzGvafZUMu25Y440EOGYN/s320/Parsifal%20John%20Tom%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>His anecdotes included one about being summoned by Barenboim to step in as Gurnemanz in Vienna the day after he'd sung Hans Sachs at the Royal Opera = 'and when Daniel asks, you don't refuse'. At Vienna Airport there was a police car on the runway, lights flashing. They drove to the Opera House with the siren goinga. They arrived at the stage door 20 minutes before curtain-up. He hadn't ever sung Gurnemanz in this Vienna production. It's a role he could still do at 77, but more physically demanding ones with six-week rehearsal periods, obviously not - 'my legs won't let me'.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHb1V-fvw9DNeMcXiym3xNnRmS1y5Vd2IWvxqavFUTQ292JXSald0juqbnx2-SkKcYgBx49Mgp_wGwPFkz2V69u__8lxeYi0USto8DLc_mvubT98F8iVjwB-2WLpClRKrByPM5FwliLlg2hpYX0yLVRB5aY9MFdR33hZuZySQjrKsLbhCF932Qe8FS9vz/s1088/Parsifal%20John%20Tom%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="1088" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHb1V-fvw9DNeMcXiym3xNnRmS1y5Vd2IWvxqavFUTQ292JXSald0juqbnx2-SkKcYgBx49Mgp_wGwPFkz2V69u__8lxeYi0USto8DLc_mvubT98F8iVjwB-2WLpClRKrByPM5FwliLlg2hpYX0yLVRB5aY9MFdR33hZuZySQjrKsLbhCF932Qe8FS9vz/s320/Parsifal%20John%20Tom%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Another phenomenon, and so generous with his visits: he'll be back to discuss the <i>Rheingold</i> Wotan now that we've started Opera in Depth Mondays in the depths of the river, and we'll see him in the Bayreuth Kupfer production (pictured above), the greatest experience of his life. After the talk, we watched him in Kupfer's Berlin <i>Parsifal, </i>which followed on almost immediately from the last year of that Bayreuth Ring; so meaningful in every line, and moving to tears (pictured below with Waltraud Meier and Poul Elming). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvXJn5UOWJ3xugApQDYzj1MkKH1KrQII-0sxL0NeBu0afAFC0InZZOlIw0UlcC_xZRW5VIHqaeoVPe5L05RY1Q6GECz4OM18e50GqCmDlDaiznVDk0wsvwQRip0JN2AjyRZX0BZ-czsuqqdn9SVw1S_PVHz8mePqaJVf_7xFprFrYOl9klfd1D0PzQPzI/s419/hqdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="419" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvXJn5UOWJ3xugApQDYzj1MkKH1KrQII-0sxL0NeBu0afAFC0InZZOlIw0UlcC_xZRW5VIHqaeoVPe5L05RY1Q6GECz4OM18e50GqCmDlDaiznVDk0wsvwQRip0JN2AjyRZX0BZ-czsuqqdn9SVw1S_PVHz8mePqaJVf_7xFprFrYOl9klfd1D0PzQPzI/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Other guests are lining up this term: Christopher Purves, who's sung the Rheingold Alberich twice recently, in Zurich and at the Royal Opera (so much to ask him), and, when we move on to Iolanthe, conductor Chris Hopkins and a return visitor, John Savournin, who's promised to gather other singers from Cal McCrystal's funny and beautiful ENO production. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW72Ee6qN1-uXrve-1jeZ8YU0OYx4Yw6wOeoqaNRi4MmJCbPrMW-lQS3L28KJYKdmGSRgDe-4Di97O-IKwXe3c8QzqZ8TRLIY9DNASc_o_erxN5kifNzXdUHdDqsaxqfrEM_sRFWGOUZ67YInQJ4DFFCjHuml-VY1ty3KsRSEUGvFg0phDfEGTCIre_RUC/s4997/NYOS_UH_14April_RyanBuchanan_018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3333" data-original-width="4997" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW72Ee6qN1-uXrve-1jeZ8YU0OYx4Yw6wOeoqaNRi4MmJCbPrMW-lQS3L28KJYKdmGSRgDe-4Di97O-IKwXe3c8QzqZ8TRLIY9DNASc_o_erxN5kifNzXdUHdDqsaxqfrEM_sRFWGOUZ67YInQJ4DFFCjHuml-VY1ty3KsRSEUGvFg0phDfEGTCIre_RUC/s320/NYOS_UH_14April_RyanBuchanan_018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Mahler Part Two has kicked off, and so far I've asked Catherine Larsen-Maguire, who pulled off a triumph in the Seventh Symphony with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland (one of our Arts Desk folk in the north <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/shibe-nyos-larsen-maguire-usher-hall-edinburgh-young-scottish-musicians-storm">raved about it</a>; rehearsal pictured above by Ryan Buchanan), and Edward Gardner, who has elected to talk about <i>Das Lied von der Erde</i>. Rich times ahead.</p><p></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-63415696397956071042023-09-30T18:17:00.010+01:002023-10-01T11:03:47.750+01:00Back across the Irish Sea to Dublin<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05VkUvsscrU7WB0V_uhP3GG5YTFDgU31tkR9-sCcNXkrqO2tfOt3cWnURC-NEyGBo16X_VnvYMiicsrS6SmWdndY6gq-LkHO551A6IOe168nJLs7Pd2lw9HTrzsFZZZ_tILvGdq8F7RbgUxxpcqQ9qNFdwKA8qot0GlzvOstlAw5_ClNYPIIcH0F8Bv0A/s800/P1340330.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05VkUvsscrU7WB0V_uhP3GG5YTFDgU31tkR9-sCcNXkrqO2tfOt3cWnURC-NEyGBo16X_VnvYMiicsrS6SmWdndY6gq-LkHO551A6IOe168nJLs7Pd2lw9HTrzsFZZZ_tILvGdq8F7RbgUxxpcqQ9qNFdwKA8qot0GlzvOstlAw5_ClNYPIIcH0F8Bv0A/s320/P1340330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>An enforced absence of over three months came to an end on Thursday, when I decided I could hobble sufficiently to take the train and boat back to my other half's other city, which I've come to love so much so quickly too. Decided to travel that way, as I often do, since his experiences of sitting on a plane on a runway for over an hour on several occasions wouldn't suit my discomfort and, long though the London Euston - Holyhead - Dublin Ferryport journey is, I'd be able to move around at every point.</p><p>Though every single train leaving Euston was late, that part of the journey passed pleasantly, the first half of it spent happily <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/fung-rpo-schwarz-cadogan-hall-review-high-style-new-cellist-and-conductor-block">reliving a surprisingly first-rate concert experience</a> the previous evening, courtesy of recommendations from Sophia Rahman who accompanied me, for The Arts Desk. The later part, along the North Wales coast, always means looking out the window. The sea still seemed unquiet the day after Storm Agnes, and I saw single seals regularly along the way. Thus we made up time, but at the ferry port, the Irish Ferries worker told me the 2.15 boat wouldn't be leaving until at least 4.30. </p><p>I knew the joys of Holyhead were limited from my first visit with time to kill. And since the town is nearly wholly dead - forgive the feeble pun - I made my way to the cheerful and bright Cambodian cafe where I'd eaten so well the first time. Like nearly everything else, it wasn't open in the afternoon. This first glimpse of the High Street once you finish crossing the stylish bridge from the port is typical - unpromising shops mostly shuttered. This could all be so attractive, so lively - so why is it like a ghost town?<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOR3HC5FYfS7fxce6lPJyKIO9mwiGbu2gj3OjSWVa6n-WgvUhhUqt54NMY_iZkMLaGwzvSOHnJsy_RXvn9XdeYXgt6wvlALVOR2YulkrLndxHmF9zJAhjs7I2X1sy_k2lfIiEG3ajGVhqEA-M0eKdqdy206RZDfP_RtH44Dd2Ats4VaxmGfvibdx3Rc2C/s800/P1340316.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="800" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOR3HC5FYfS7fxce6lPJyKIO9mwiGbu2gj3OjSWVa6n-WgvUhhUqt54NMY_iZkMLaGwzvSOHnJsy_RXvn9XdeYXgt6wvlALVOR2YulkrLndxHmF9zJAhjs7I2X1sy_k2lfIiEG3ajGVhqEA-M0eKdqdy206RZDfP_RtH44Dd2Ats4VaxmGfvibdx3Rc2C/s320/P1340316.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Even St Cybi's Church, built between the 13th and 16th centuries within the walls of an old Roman fort, wasn't open to visitors. A shame if the inside is as interesting as the outside, which has some curious old frieze scenes. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEj5S9OkAMpqyhsU8_Qr0-zNnnM9GKK3Tu5TLllmrwwHzU_r_QJO10nHLJmlzuDAy_0OCHZySYF8dxiP2eUl1yPWTJK0RVdac7gFizFx8hgbXXQeqHU-gjO6AfrKlVZxVG0Bj_eSg58JH6Q0iUYf-5weWV4DaFaJ4kvRLnSRRerpE5897xMRJihi6Ebb9/s800/P1340320.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="800" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEj5S9OkAMpqyhsU8_Qr0-zNnnM9GKK3Tu5TLllmrwwHzU_r_QJO10nHLJmlzuDAy_0OCHZySYF8dxiP2eUl1yPWTJK0RVdac7gFizFx8hgbXXQeqHU-gjO6AfrKlVZxVG0Bj_eSg58JH6Q0iUYf-5weWV4DaFaJ4kvRLnSRRerpE5897xMRJihi6Ebb9/s320/P1340320.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8t-FORnklOrSo97_JIXSIC1sXZNmGer6m3Db4ZxRDwXNarrsSiNf34c5ZLpuxFbqtY3ReynRCs0MP7PR-ER4Fia374-o6MC-PoKgFeMuBAIkAO3FqaSXxz564xcyaJaIGdxufG2TJ0DFX1V-KbYYg1CLBKzzIU60i5r2kX3wvZUmjjafcXmVLA8OvVSr/s800/P1340328.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8t-FORnklOrSo97_JIXSIC1sXZNmGer6m3Db4ZxRDwXNarrsSiNf34c5ZLpuxFbqtY3ReynRCs0MP7PR-ER4Fia374-o6MC-PoKgFeMuBAIkAO3FqaSXxz564xcyaJaIGdxufG2TJ0DFX1V-KbYYg1CLBKzzIU60i5r2kX3wvZUmjjafcXmVLA8OvVSr/s320/P1340328.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTP5JfYn2hUhUyWj4CVntQyqN1na_SoRJYtPW5nTST1eXinc-aifVSnfCcyZX6BQv59TNyOCuyoJPMlsdEyyGsP1bAg1npJriswxvz_9usbAXuA_mw4J0PB10L1APU_NmJWEedKDXprn-QyqQIaTJnTrOqVsVxS_ciru1AuhVIDRK0OnHrZoKFHFvyF26/s800/P1340324.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTP5JfYn2hUhUyWj4CVntQyqN1na_SoRJYtPW5nTST1eXinc-aifVSnfCcyZX6BQv59TNyOCuyoJPMlsdEyyGsP1bAg1npJriswxvz_9usbAXuA_mw4J0PB10L1APU_NmJWEedKDXprn-QyqQIaTJnTrOqVsVxS_ciru1AuhVIDRK0OnHrZoKFHFvyF26/s320/P1340324.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Walking round trying to find somewhere for a bite to eat, I met once again the lady who'd been collecting the rubbish on the train (I told her the three empty lager cans lined up opposite weren't mine, and we ended up talking about the convincing qualities of non-alcoholic beer. I told her how the alcohol-free Guinness was rated by an admirer of that beverage, and she told me how when she gave birth to her daughter 34 years ago, all the new mothers were given a Guinness each). 'Churches should never be closed, should they?' she sympathised. 'People need somewhere to sit and think even if they don't want to pray'. <br /></p><p>Anyway, I had my sushi which I'd bought at Euston and ate in the port cafe, and we all embarked as planned, but the ferry didn't leave until 5.30. The lighthouse on South Stack Island was doing its business in the gloaming</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYAQ5Z3zCdlKsTrwUrQluqbSkkVAzfT7ZAfuThns2WZZDkdJGt4upabOI7L5ckWC-d7drp5MHIudIqZkPZg1RfxbszaPBhYJAuw1Ekx4wdHADE1Zee1xy1-oPacIsVNCys38puK6W6ooc5lg326qHdtfMCpHk0-JX6Ln2vxEay2BeZgHdsfA_4cp_zne3/s800/P1340333.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="800" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYAQ5Z3zCdlKsTrwUrQluqbSkkVAzfT7ZAfuThns2WZZDkdJGt4upabOI7L5ckWC-d7drp5MHIudIqZkPZg1RfxbszaPBhYJAuw1Ekx4wdHADE1Zee1xy1-oPacIsVNCys38puK6W6ooc5lg326qHdtfMCpHk0-JX6Ln2vxEay2BeZgHdsfA_4cp_zne3/s320/P1340333.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the sea midway was rough, so the only thing to do was to spread out on one of the couches in the James Joyce Bar of the Ulysses and have a nap. The waves as we approached Dublin Harbour had calmed. Our friend Seamus had driven to the terminal; J met me and since our chosen cafe stopped serving food at 9, we had excellent seafood at the local fish and chip shop, Beshoff's, offspring of the one founded during the Second World War by the <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/from-mutiny-on-the-potemkin-to-fish-and-chips-in-north-strand-1.686721">last survivor of the battleship Potemkin</a>.</p><p>The next day saw Dublin at its best, in clear autumn light and the usual wind, as I crossed the Grand Canal just round the corner to the flat - the works on the bridge's lock have been crowned in the style of the famous statue in Glasgow -</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyokHOuW-0-vOU3mjqIeZE-k4F_BX1BcwEkxYLKk4doXqnZNv64EJo6sNfhpi1b26qZIZlUg5QzzinOAM6fhyphenhyphena452G-xDN_0WggWVF7eHXefsCqjqY0Bcd3Qgsp-ATYo4w7BqD88rXCINEP5oTqRyVIpiItZHW54it-keO3e-Y8kWunfiJDyMjbDGEfGlY/s800/P1340336.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="800" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyokHOuW-0-vOU3mjqIeZE-k4F_BX1BcwEkxYLKk4doXqnZNv64EJo6sNfhpi1b26qZIZlUg5QzzinOAM6fhyphenhyphena452G-xDN_0WggWVF7eHXefsCqjqY0Bcd3Qgsp-ATYo4w7BqD88rXCINEP5oTqRyVIpiItZHW54it-keO3e-Y8kWunfiJDyMjbDGEfGlY/s320/P1340336.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>on the way to have lunch with J in the garden of <a href="https://moli.ie/">MoLI (Museum of Literature Ireland)</a>, a favourite haunt. <span>Sinéad O'Connor, whose untimely death caught us by surprise while I was in hospital (I gave my copy of Metro with a big commemoration to the nice Italian chap in the bed opposite), adorned the outside wall of The Candy Club, where she performed,</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJcOtYj3KkGLpR5EgebnJylORc7MwBDQ1B0ATAGTCasbPYigyOSKi2rS9CDUCm5DE0Rg0-tzeFnEBjGP9sLcpciR5BTLUSoE1CUbmnAsECfe_-HwJeDMWW7YHxDDIa0S_mayfb06xFasX0-FGAsd5v4IxTGy2y_WEemlfUAudfTg0mTAMDgDaFLW7-3ct/s800/P1340337.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJcOtYj3KkGLpR5EgebnJylORc7MwBDQ1B0ATAGTCasbPYigyOSKi2rS9CDUCm5DE0Rg0-tzeFnEBjGP9sLcpciR5BTLUSoE1CUbmnAsECfe_-HwJeDMWW7YHxDDIa0S_mayfb06xFasX0-FGAsd5v4IxTGy2y_WEemlfUAudfTg0mTAMDgDaFLW7-3ct/s320/P1340337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span></span><p></p><p><span>while nearby St Stephen's Green, along the south side of which I walked, was showing autumnal colours earlier than London.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoVJZb_ivY1tHh4yKuouMOTkw1RkGieF1xDMViwXWvv9_06xgkTMPCrrdnjNO-ePd6dZT_8Z8iq068NlsiQj6UmsgsBjAf7e1o48Wws5dVU1NwdtL46v8-jYv5huEQ1kxg_2qui0-VCLdv2VsDfGecWU0QDGgH-xZ0_eU5vrpl_4mmh7RQF4DvqKDXKop/s800/P1340340.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoVJZb_ivY1tHh4yKuouMOTkw1RkGieF1xDMViwXWvv9_06xgkTMPCrrdnjNO-ePd6dZT_8Z8iq068NlsiQj6UmsgsBjAf7e1o48Wws5dVU1NwdtL46v8-jYv5huEQ1kxg_2qui0-VCLdv2VsDfGecWU0QDGgH-xZ0_eU5vrpl_4mmh7RQF4DvqKDXKop/s320/P1340340.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span></span><p></p><p><span>There weren't many of us sitting outside at the back of MoLI on this breezy day, but it was as lovely as ever and the Killarney Strawberry Tree was looking gorgeous.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagXbqJ6o_NP9wed2H8uLBWuXgOegdBxCMxJShaU4YUL0KBURp1HLfUlfQuNitR0OwMhxS6l-UsxhQOj2gH5JSgmyTgZRwYWEmCMrH1sGbdebZugVuWxVhyNr0MRhHnaHhD7pW0zJGzB0_2A8RDARibHvXpZIHlDIKQCDCyZI3USfhW7XmvynFF9PUyBge/s800/P1340342.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagXbqJ6o_NP9wed2H8uLBWuXgOegdBxCMxJShaU4YUL0KBURp1HLfUlfQuNitR0OwMhxS6l-UsxhQOj2gH5JSgmyTgZRwYWEmCMrH1sGbdebZugVuWxVhyNr0MRhHnaHhD7pW0zJGzB0_2A8RDARibHvXpZIHlDIKQCDCyZI3USfhW7XmvynFF9PUyBge/s320/P1340342.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Joyce would have known it as a student when the place was UCD Newman House, and is pictured second from left beneath the other famous survivor, an ash tree, on graduation in 1902 (again, see MoLI's website).</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphj1X2uW7Fho_sMtB0QIcDfaI2ym9j1HZjlkx1hyphenhyphenEogf4iH7wAfdbGnSoKSe17QHjknn6IasbJjfXcaOviJcojpxq1ty252N_r0jzPW0YKc1yGV9KcYkr5iBGgh-cN9xJ2kXhFJFCyxUKB1BapWXbObFX6KCulbcORe2t363a09wIdG36H273OGDRzej4/s1024/Joyce-graduation-group-with-Curran_web-1024x738.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1024" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphj1X2uW7Fho_sMtB0QIcDfaI2ym9j1HZjlkx1hyphenhyphenEogf4iH7wAfdbGnSoKSe17QHjknn6IasbJjfXcaOviJcojpxq1ty252N_r0jzPW0YKc1yGV9KcYkr5iBGgh-cN9xJ2kXhFJFCyxUKB1BapWXbObFX6KCulbcORe2t363a09wIdG36H273OGDRzej4/s320/Joyce-graduation-group-with-Curran_web-1024x738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>After lunch, J returned to the European Commission office and I walked through the fair rose garden up the steps, still flourishing,</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-0ONmGx1Fl52uPyw4-DVi-PAWBBE1Ufu7nglbYG1hNo-wFEHnyIhbW4Ok_rVwXjNaNPDhyphenhyphen25Hgxe-IHM3FFfvOj6GD8Xw9KPIIDkCUj61RIWmk1vhWrMSlSvRgzpk15WCT5gIVBIZULT6SsZudOG7BDuVgVPrP6bmclCkWXNEav1ggyxi49D1diaVlRW/s800/P1340347.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-0ONmGx1Fl52uPyw4-DVi-PAWBBE1Ufu7nglbYG1hNo-wFEHnyIhbW4Ok_rVwXjNaNPDhyphenhyphen25Hgxe-IHM3FFfvOj6GD8Xw9KPIIDkCUj61RIWmk1vhWrMSlSvRgzpk15WCT5gIVBIZULT6SsZudOG7BDuVgVPrP6bmclCkWXNEav1ggyxi49D1diaVlRW/s320/P1340347.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3BHKmkKvSenrvnRlSbOZu8FnXaAgSIYEYmLXAqpJtbRnt3vx5Gn5-ug3OlmTRn1qKnyKYjg-zDOCqh7eprK7pSEUwU3LirRxaF5OBIaqVmkZY1cCtdkmBeQFcQtc4K_bgFtx07dmxxv1lwumalGbwmNioEkIL7Ntgzvi9kCkezFIz5HSdz6vTF1S-5VY/s800/P1340350.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3BHKmkKvSenrvnRlSbOZu8FnXaAgSIYEYmLXAqpJtbRnt3vx5Gn5-ug3OlmTRn1qKnyKYjg-zDOCqh7eprK7pSEUwU3LirRxaF5OBIaqVmkZY1cCtdkmBeQFcQtc4K_bgFtx07dmxxv1lwumalGbwmNioEkIL7Ntgzvi9kCkezFIz5HSdz6vTF1S-5VY/s320/P1340350.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and through the gate into the Iveagh Gardens, the lawns looking so green between the rains,</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-69rRfVX4wcoV8FvU6dbpJjSGtK0jsOrQyYSgKcmuJ5Ow4zGe2RJmUJWidO6of25eo_xZHM8u-kCZJhSh3278tKvWmxPnKMGeCr1gN7hCyvPCPxZgY2fxJNetxsTIMp6dWTn9z7rA9slYSKZwy7BKpXhrmFEC7_qbr8DMh3Jh_yiy-ifKvR8g9r0CnGd/s800/P1340351.JPG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-69rRfVX4wcoV8FvU6dbpJjSGtK0jsOrQyYSgKcmuJ5Ow4zGe2RJmUJWidO6of25eo_xZHM8u-kCZJhSh3278tKvWmxPnKMGeCr1gN7hCyvPCPxZgY2fxJNetxsTIMp6dWTn9z7rA9slYSKZwy7BKpXhrmFEC7_qbr8DMh3Jh_yiy-ifKvR8g9r0CnGd/s320/P1340351.JPG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><span>around to the Rustic Grotto and Cascade on the west side, which I hadn't realised were there.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoRwae2OWD_0tkyD4znyKx6FxxUbl45F_dLuXU0rvrR394XtgDwCTOU6w47Q4lN7jXc1Y3AiPT6tuGdxBT6MWfWrtmczfEcXJbKC0NAhxgUpqQDy3GZUCtFp07feSfDSA_ev44XJ-I3bLtDMp9bTsmVpbtgCHMsBg_B9dxJZqpbpAfAIIV8ESAnwotwzp/s800/P1340358.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoRwae2OWD_0tkyD4znyKx6FxxUbl45F_dLuXU0rvrR394XtgDwCTOU6w47Q4lN7jXc1Y3AiPT6tuGdxBT6MWfWrtmczfEcXJbKC0NAhxgUpqQDy3GZUCtFp07feSfDSA_ev44XJ-I3bLtDMp9bTsmVpbtgCHMsBg_B9dxJZqpbpAfAIIV8ESAnwotwzp/s320/P1340358.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I now realised I could do a Rundweg <span>visiting my favourite second-hand emporium, <a href="https://last-bookshop.business.site/">The Last Bookshop</a>, on the ever-fascinating Camden Street Lower via splendid Georgian Harcourt Street you hit on one exit from the Iveagh Gardens. Struck by several doorways and their resident grotesque heads towards the south end near where George Bernard Shaw used to live.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4ukBBodYHCMeD6o66xhNTJer4gY1qUIGesvWboLzbjlYdClyJOFb5wLfE_VnJzkaAWnMg4hE0xOW6mcqzAYlZbt6CO4t2MhBAu_VAzmOPp0Ng5Z6ZWrhiYE5L652pn7Kk5PSOUpf7YLrartGc4ob5xt2f26a9AnaDkwikV5Av4izDDnnS8DqRjAeE7gR/s800/P1340363.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4ukBBodYHCMeD6o66xhNTJer4gY1qUIGesvWboLzbjlYdClyJOFb5wLfE_VnJzkaAWnMg4hE0xOW6mcqzAYlZbt6CO4t2MhBAu_VAzmOPp0Ng5Z6ZWrhiYE5L652pn7Kk5PSOUpf7YLrartGc4ob5xt2f26a9AnaDkwikV5Av4izDDnnS8DqRjAeE7gR/s320/P1340363.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMg8G_kYQgdUhXXiOTunIFo4bLbsNRni_lrsSxXx5ZKRylXQ4djHvlueafCTTy6GJymp1SKBJ3j4T93TIFHIxlh_Dhd4UiiUxQNNWAH8VmWbwD-xaPRnQ7n9tOeTxIMYAJxcsUK4t8_6S2ubmnFBNLUYaFts-h9q18_Q1wtHbZXnkxBE0Fg4GO4k59qtQ/s800/P1340364.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMg8G_kYQgdUhXXiOTunIFo4bLbsNRni_lrsSxXx5ZKRylXQ4djHvlueafCTTy6GJymp1SKBJ3j4T93TIFHIxlh_Dhd4UiiUxQNNWAH8VmWbwD-xaPRnQ7n9tOeTxIMYAJxcsUK4t8_6S2ubmnFBNLUYaFts-h9q18_Q1wtHbZXnkxBE0Fg4GO4k59qtQ/s320/P1340364.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>In The Last Bookshop I picked up a (cheap) first edition of a Molly Keane novel I hadn't read, <i>Time After Time, </i>and discovered The Cake Cafe in the yard out back. Very leisurely service, which was fine by me as I was in no rush, but when the nice girl saw I was noticing a lemonade going to another table, she said 'we're just waiting for another glass'. Just round the corner is the <a href="https://www.bretzel.ie/">Bretzel Bakery</a> in Lennox Street, est. 1870, where I picked up a brown sourdough loaf,<br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qsxuoexq1o8SSSS4lBIbhyphenhyphenFQGgwgQbePyomwlDlNIQWwaoihfShOUXuDIEGBRHho1zNrcVfofjzwvIJG6N7qfRzVrZIR3F3yGHtyOo_SCs7rCL8kJz4fkn5BdFRGqiKZkk4SHK5kwvwDrH8ySr4__9jNVKP4yKI3dk7N-RL9MYTpHXvaAlDhCAIWmW1s/s800/P1340369.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qsxuoexq1o8SSSS4lBIbhyphenhyphenFQGgwgQbePyomwlDlNIQWwaoihfShOUXuDIEGBRHho1zNrcVfofjzwvIJG6N7qfRzVrZIR3F3yGHtyOo_SCs7rCL8kJz4fkn5BdFRGqiKZkk4SHK5kwvwDrH8ySr4__9jNVKP4yKI3dk7N-RL9MYTpHXvaAlDhCAIWmW1s/s320/P1340369.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I don't think the notice on a building over the other side of the main road needs to be reassuring, at least not in the daytime, though perhaps it's a broader existentialist decree.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJBkViMWsa74sR5afYabOFkCJC9YWbgonj71S4rgjocOuVNwLG2d1oUwhGxBznZWAZn0h1b4w2r3oXnD5_bS-TN92_E4BqRLNZWPIK9RbvUDR-8pNvC1t8mxvTlQmmrCOVsYqDw_CMaWZmwVVTo-amNMfK-qpFaYMwfCsz67aHWqB-fC7wfpk1NK17drh/s800/P1340371.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJBkViMWsa74sR5afYabOFkCJC9YWbgonj71S4rgjocOuVNwLG2d1oUwhGxBznZWAZn0h1b4w2r3oXnD5_bS-TN92_E4BqRLNZWPIK9RbvUDR-8pNvC1t8mxvTlQmmrCOVsYqDw_CMaWZmwVVTo-amNMfK-qpFaYMwfCsz67aHWqB-fC7wfpk1NK17drh/s320/P1340371.JPG" width="226" /></a></div><p></p><p>The area's now got quite a few chi-chi shops, but I like to think that my regular visits will be akin to visiting Bertaux, the Algerian Coffee Store and I Camisa in Old Compton Street. A bit further down where Camden Street becomes Richmond Street South, there's the most delicious smelling tea retailer I've ever encountered, <a href="https://www.wallandkeogh.com/">Wall & Keogh</a>. When I retraced my steps in the pouring rain today, to pick up from The Last Bookshop the copy of Fintan O'Toole's <i>A History of Ireland in 100 Objects</i> I'd noticed on Friday - and met Birtie, the characterful shop dog - I chose a rooibos, lemon and ginger tea which (indulge me in the little things) is marvellous.</p><p>On Friday, though, it was on to another bridge</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIi-VJkXGg1VLKS3106yxj1pzffXc7QpmQ04cDaBWqCQ3X-DxhZsAeFQlTFofoAq_P4t4sFW_sOp87rV9_itfgiLpp_1hleAHL0dCPoTmLXTThmt6tgLs9rIyPT3giRmHDrSitzp4pf7uGNXQgIGCbNi4SfMAp5C8mNbuD8aqrxUdI-SsmCVonu2teyaNL/s800/P1340372.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="800" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIi-VJkXGg1VLKS3106yxj1pzffXc7QpmQ04cDaBWqCQ3X-DxhZsAeFQlTFofoAq_P4t4sFW_sOp87rV9_itfgiLpp_1hleAHL0dCPoTmLXTThmt6tgLs9rIyPT3giRmHDrSitzp4pf7uGNXQgIGCbNi4SfMAp5C8mNbuD8aqrxUdI-SsmCVonu2teyaNL/s320/P1340372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />and back home along the Grand Canal<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6p4yA-Khy3T7xE4WI2WGUkxp1vjJ59TQHlqpjRb8eW5LdaJT10u2YvRCUH7vBjubNap5N5OI5kaXma1YFyRSWOCke5n8gHXwE5OhiQDqeXniubruTkWZEa6hA-mxMBzBr1Tv3O220ojFEy5p4Qk1QykRH-uHR22T7E1fegKAtGUs0SgcV6ZaOxIScnUM2/s800/P1340374.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6p4yA-Khy3T7xE4WI2WGUkxp1vjJ59TQHlqpjRb8eW5LdaJT10u2YvRCUH7vBjubNap5N5OI5kaXma1YFyRSWOCke5n8gHXwE5OhiQDqeXniubruTkWZEa6hA-mxMBzBr1Tv3O220ojFEy5p4Qk1QykRH-uHR22T7E1fegKAtGUs0SgcV6ZaOxIScnUM2/s320/P1340374.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkhYJZWNQMZwOr2pJXfDzO1hhltPQrcxTgGPoM_QD24KsTUKoVoeGJzoflDDK_HFCxyiPYuqCIROB1yZefd6fvYzyNxRDfp6wTR9_4BnDIBKkPaWpFtPIBB_LBHo4IxHYH-bC8C5XsnbcPDvHzL5S-N5VBXi8cv1odG4m-iIVthzsl3NtHvEGkBrV7Mxr/s1200/P1340376.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkhYJZWNQMZwOr2pJXfDzO1hhltPQrcxTgGPoM_QD24KsTUKoVoeGJzoflDDK_HFCxyiPYuqCIROB1yZefd6fvYzyNxRDfp6wTR9_4BnDIBKkPaWpFtPIBB_LBHo4IxHYH-bC8C5XsnbcPDvHzL5S-N5VBXi8cv1odG4m-iIVthzsl3NtHvEGkBrV7Mxr/s320/P1340376.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>where a young heron endured close inspection <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQMYm7Izmnzsrbg1ZrHsCwaKQBVGZzjswtoEwrpYkoWlB_Vv7nSXK2V4TJBxeryXJb_Mf2UrO8NZA2oCPU9CT6AFLgTK3OcHaqwDmD_AJ9EDuYyrCXA0tYkmks4aGCeVpPtUvGFZn85ejAqnT3NhWVCw_4VjU6dPajLMjELFcL_BKNwhxqu7JQHA3bfq7/s800/P1340377.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQMYm7Izmnzsrbg1ZrHsCwaKQBVGZzjswtoEwrpYkoWlB_Vv7nSXK2V4TJBxeryXJb_Mf2UrO8NZA2oCPU9CT6AFLgTK3OcHaqwDmD_AJ9EDuYyrCXA0tYkmks4aGCeVpPtUvGFZn85ejAqnT3NhWVCw_4VjU6dPajLMjELFcL_BKNwhxqu7JQHA3bfq7/s320/P1340377.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>before flapping over to the busy-road side of the canal and following my route in parallel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_43_67-96gGgvoDHMWtg47H098o9mrUHlri9c1_X61QlMZucekAWybM5APHF09vYpsDy0FKsIPzrw1IA5Ks-wO8o11VBK8p7rEbwKQ6lG5KywTllMh_lhMr5OXOstpLJiXQW1g5P1rLFHC_EqIcHSL0pF-Grk78Hvfmn81hizzlHsTkt8maR9VfZB3cy/s800/P1340380.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="800" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_43_67-96gGgvoDHMWtg47H098o9mrUHlri9c1_X61QlMZucekAWybM5APHF09vYpsDy0FKsIPzrw1IA5Ks-wO8o11VBK8p7rEbwKQ6lG5KywTllMh_lhMr5OXOstpLJiXQW1g5P1rLFHC_EqIcHSL0pF-Grk78Hvfmn81hizzlHsTkt8maR9VfZB3cy/s320/P1340380.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>So much more to explore, so many areas of Dublin I haven't even been to yet. It may be small scale in one sense, but there are a million things to discover.</p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-87860199162494108292023-09-29T12:43:00.005+01:002023-09-29T12:47:58.078+01:00Zooming Das Rheingold, Iolanthe and Jephtha<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbboAZ88-jwyZ5MKzwjZhmfd174xgiTbU9lHZS2l30yyIXRHcFtPuGeFaxy_CQfSG_rM9QljIHM1ElDxP3b-udtULbPqsPDQUwSaVwxB5sQE2iJRHkHIif_dYLEvxwZuuepCkp2tfAHSwvIyQbe78mXTMn6j2nd2h7S0pqsl5Mufk7HwanBWZIu2j2eTE3/s563/1695677740958-c01d4a4f-bfee-4c0a-b059-defcae26e036_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="563" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbboAZ88-jwyZ5MKzwjZhmfd174xgiTbU9lHZS2l30yyIXRHcFtPuGeFaxy_CQfSG_rM9QljIHM1ElDxP3b-udtULbPqsPDQUwSaVwxB5sQE2iJRHkHIif_dYLEvxwZuuepCkp2tfAHSwvIyQbe78mXTMn6j2nd2h7S0pqsl5Mufk7HwanBWZIu2j2eTE3/s320/1695677740958-c01d4a4f-bfee-4c0a-b059-defcae26e036_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The summer course on <i>Parsifal</i> in association with the Wagner Society of Scotland won't have quite ended when I descend to the bottom of the Rhine for my Autumn term Opera in Depth Zoom course on 9 October. But thanks to Paul Schofield's excellent book<i> The Redeemer Reborn</i>, proposing <i>Parsifal</i> as 'the fifth opera of Wagner's Ring', I feel halfway back in the world of the tetralogy already. Scholfield's tenet is fortunately merely a peg on which to hang his perceptions about the links between Wotan and Amfortas, Siegfried and Parsifal, <span>Brünnhilde </span>and Kundry, Alberich and Klingsor. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnQcVEqJurrza2v1sBz470A01z62thDWvv6SoeeyiF1dau5cO45pOf6Y4lPogYgI1e1zoileZas17eHEyUTLDqIVXIqnkXaB30LocMFy3GhZGjMbvVZbg31_TQf_BPddHcAw4oRmCFM-aB3CaCXdP3DpU3CySpolmFZqqukYJqfRfDJqAHJ8-sye6MmVY/s1000/71UVLy6OyXL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="629" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnQcVEqJurrza2v1sBz470A01z62thDWvv6SoeeyiF1dau5cO45pOf6Y4lPogYgI1e1zoileZas17eHEyUTLDqIVXIqnkXaB30LocMFy3GhZGjMbvVZbg31_TQf_BPddHcAw4oRmCFM-aB3CaCXdP3DpU3CySpolmFZqqukYJqfRfDJqAHJ8-sye6MmVY/s320/71UVLy6OyXL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><p></p><p>A practisiing Buddhist, Schofield is plausible on how intensely Wagner studied the religion at the time when he was embarking on an eastern version of the Parsifal theme, <i>Die Sieger</i> - and I'm grateful to him for fuller outlines on that. In fact, all Wagner operas connect, from the redeemable curse for blasphemy shared by the Dutchman and Kundry, the parallels between <i><span>Tannhäuser</span></i>'s Venusberg and Klingsor's realm, onwards, and while the reincarnation idea is interesting, it's not the most potent aspect of the book, which is beautifully and clearly written. As usual in most studes of Wagner, there's nothing about the music of this infinitely rich swansong- though Schofield proves himself capable of writing about it in his description of what happens at the end of <span><i>Götterdämmerung</i></span>, but as far as it goes it's provided good food for thought. The comparisons between different mythologies are especially enlightening.<br /></p><p>We had the most marvellous Kundry/Act 2 class with Linda Esther Gray, but I'll write about that in a separare post. John Tomlinson, a generous supporter of the courses, will be coming to talk about Gurnemanz next week, and we'll watch part of Act 3 with him in Harry Kupfer's production. Meanwhile, Barrie Kosky's <i>Rheingold</i> has offered plenty of food for discussion. My review of it is <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/das-rheingold-royal-opera-knotty-riveting-route-destruction">here</a>, and I'll add another of Monika Rittershaus's images. This one is of Sean Panikkar's handsome Loge with his toad-in-a-bag, having tricked Alberich in Nibelheim.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF70DTrnWs4HU7KzhysiyLhkEyU6r7sYpvmXu-lXu9tg_d3889EEPBZIVAFkKlcloNtQEm3P2HiJI5DOGXaWQIaC3Kk0Ljr_ibrB3njq8gLQx2p0Gf2uLsFmxMEiUo-mBGhhP3aSpq2bwBdl2FnmsM9_SGZqhof6M5p4tvsEHts55ei4Kpawb6R9tT9XMJ/s1000/Rheingold%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF70DTrnWs4HU7KzhysiyLhkEyU6r7sYpvmXu-lXu9tg_d3889EEPBZIVAFkKlcloNtQEm3P2HiJI5DOGXaWQIaC3Kk0Ljr_ibrB3njq8gLQx2p0Gf2uLsFmxMEiUo-mBGhhP3aSpq2bwBdl2FnmsM9_SGZqhof6M5p4tvsEHts55ei4Kpawb6R9tT9XMJ/s320/Rheingold%207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Though I don't think all the ideas work, the musical-dramatic fusion between singer-actors and orchestra, thanks to Pappano, is absolutely remarkable and minimised the discomfort I had sitting on my special cushion for over two and a half hours. I used to like Rheingold least of the four Ring operas, but I've come to treasure its modernity, its satire, its infinite possibilities for staging. Some folk have already complained that I go on to more Gilbert and Sullivan - some didn't get it even after passionate pleading for <i>The Yeomen of the Guard</i> in two classes - but Arthur certainly knew his Richard, and like all good parodists, he loves what he spoofs so brilliantly. <i>Serse/Xerxes</i> made me fall more in love with Handel, so I'm happy to spend three Mondays on Jephtha. Once again, all details here (click to enlarge and contact me if you want to sign up). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJR6xZcUQp1pdkuV4DATKx_khKNbdpbuDBTHr3QXdXAQLaeM_QZoPYhROO9q9t0E6nzX9LI9MA50bpApGTiOahT_BeVI-83GqvgqGg7uvJQsm-qY-nTSFo8_YOpK3rxAUDAd8gmoBYtdLmVe_GDdm7Di_ADiC3Hc8AV6YtdDa3QnzBGBPNgRKUVjVLBvI/s1024/1695677740958-c01d4a4f-bfee-4c0a-b059-defcae26e036_1-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJR6xZcUQp1pdkuV4DATKx_khKNbdpbuDBTHr3QXdXAQLaeM_QZoPYhROO9q9t0E6nzX9LI9MA50bpApGTiOahT_BeVI-83GqvgqGg7uvJQsm-qY-nTSFo8_YOpK3rxAUDAd8gmoBYtdLmVe_GDdm7Di_ADiC3Hc8AV6YtdDa3QnzBGBPNgRKUVjVLBvI/s320/1695677740958-c01d4a4f-bfee-4c0a-b059-defcae26e036_1-001.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-2476561674616304702023-09-27T07:58:00.004+01:002023-09-29T12:11:04.974+01:00Northern Lights<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdUrYhCqrnV0jAPOf3ZHzKHzWBugMXqXc0CgN8WY7jjqHzVyJK8XXjuYiZd48W2TDRymrd4GEtS3UNbm5RoVvO2Uk7KE7vq7F-1mgLNgnWOBsKt-KrYXQh6cGLWdZzHehx60KZHYFeThQ5Jxjruju2IGUrn5yx7CVJHUipMM1TNe1wVyh16G4xvKyhZqM/s1200/tv58-5-comfort-friends-in-north-colour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdUrYhCqrnV0jAPOf3ZHzKHzWBugMXqXc0CgN8WY7jjqHzVyJK8XXjuYiZd48W2TDRymrd4GEtS3UNbm5RoVvO2Uk7KE7vq7F-1mgLNgnWOBsKt-KrYXQh6cGLWdZzHehx60KZHYFeThQ5Jxjruju2IGUrn5yx7CVJHUipMM1TNe1wVyh16G4xvKyhZqM/s320/tv58-5-comfort-friends-in-north-colour.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The TV screen at home has been bright, albeit with plenty of darkness in the tales told, over the past few months. I nearly ugly-cried at the last episode o<i>f Our Friends in the North, </i>which wouldn't have mattered since J is currently in Dublin. There was a Guardian article stressing how topical it still is - about corruption, greed, Tory heartlessness and a Labour party that sometimes looks like the opposition - so I thought it was time I watched. </p><p>The special genius is to have created an epic in only nine episodes, taking us from 1964 (the four main characters pictured above) to 1995 (below): like <i>Fawlty Towers</i>, its leanness is part of its power as time goes by (though of course I knew the perfect comedy from the start, whereas this is new to me). And what rich characters. How I love Gina McKee, who always reminds me of our English teacher at school sighing 'lovely lady, lovely lady' over Desdemona - only Desdemona can be played with real toughness, and the resilience/occasional fury of McKee as Mary is so impressive to watch. Christopher Eccleston plays the inexpressible mid-life crisis so well that you almost hate him before time puts things right. Mark Stone as the loser who still seems to be able to make money also has you hating him through much of the first half; then there's the nuanced relationship with wife no. 2 (Tracey Wilkinson, so good and very sympathetic in the final episode). The richest acting of all comes from Daniel Craig as Geordie - such a tale of a naturally talented and good person who keeps going off the rails. Interesting that people could see Bond in him here; though the beautiful eyes are there throughout all his changes of hair. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSJsJQkSAQMESiDyd8fAwyeBPoquZgs2WtngE70d0N5k-9aL2m9Ckr0DmTEcMRc5IQUXpIEHBLGLtkdUjvQKgiXvFFJASKKRMGl2ubKtorgakxF5G2uR5PH3aEnnEiNnkVy_kqZhX8TocahtXri2G0fX5fsMu6fr63gbYhwWydzOSOHG-cxAisYCCN385/s634/28640550-8342183-image-m-54_1590015585547.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="634" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSJsJQkSAQMESiDyd8fAwyeBPoquZgs2WtngE70d0N5k-9aL2m9Ckr0DmTEcMRc5IQUXpIEHBLGLtkdUjvQKgiXvFFJASKKRMGl2ubKtorgakxF5G2uR5PH3aEnnEiNnkVy_kqZhX8TocahtXri2G0fX5fsMu6fr63gbYhwWydzOSOHG-cxAisYCCN385/s320/28640550-8342183-image-m-54_1590015585547.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Occasionally there's a bit of stagey melodrama, but other roles are so well taken by a gallery of British actors of an older generation - Freda Dowie, Peter Vaughan, Alun Armstrong, David Bradley, Tony Haygarth, Peter Jeffrey, David Threlfall. An immortal classic which constantly has one gasping at the resonances with now; the only thing missing is the climate question.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CiL_PNjkGIcPrnuQc5SbYHVYNH1smrBuY1BNZeJOL2coFcPE0Y-XLawefyuriOj9OxMLrY9_8IJq2UWC1dbX1tYzZoXWycvNdfhoxHvLZS62v2uyuWo1peIHWpmcknRzqLiPsNa2INZyKOFuun1xPefsRHCWP7hullGzQqj2WfCSOKGTDHg3nR2oIvW1/s2560/A11aYOqOaxL._RI_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CiL_PNjkGIcPrnuQc5SbYHVYNH1smrBuY1BNZeJOL2coFcPE0Y-XLawefyuriOj9OxMLrY9_8IJq2UWC1dbX1tYzZoXWycvNdfhoxHvLZS62v2uyuWo1peIHWpmcknRzqLiPsNa2INZyKOFuun1xPefsRHCWP7hullGzQqj2WfCSOKGTDHg3nR2oIvW1/s320/A11aYOqOaxL._RI_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Which very definitely informs two Nordic series. I regretted not having known about the Icelandic thriller <i>Trapped </i>earlier, but when I found out it was directed by Baltasar Kormákur of <i>Reykjavik 101</i> fame (and a superb <i>Peer Gynt</i> in Barbican's Pit for which the Icelanders involved, quite a few of them to be seen in <i>Trapped</i>, learned their roles in English), I hastened to catch it. The first series is the best; to my mind there's a progressive falling-off in 2 and 3 (the last to be found on Netflix as <i>Entrapped</i> - glad someone told me). Even so,<span class="sc-bfec09a1-9 fwGVNB"></span> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93lafur_Darri_%C3%93lafsson" title="Ólafur Darri Ólafsson">Ólafur Darri Ólafsson</a> as grizzled, melancholy giant Andri offers another piece of finely nuanced acting, and I loved his sidekicks, the incorruptible Hinrika (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmur_Kristj%C3%A1nsd%C3%B3ttir" title="Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir">Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir</a>) and Ásgeir (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingvar_Eggert_Sigur%C3%B0sson" title="Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson">Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson</a>). <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVMr6z_O5cESQ-bwAHsQ5y2EyowG-FfEnKmXc_45_i4rmBUoav0v_pd8ltCXk-PhD290Q3tzNTim1CPHKwblChlVKUrP6pfKoPLHC1fE9bfMI429WdWTo8T2JS4RyZ9C3wqtupuKAEVwwJsIh74bVkGptPf09U1xUxnZioHuEs6dIzX2aZuaBDSv8YxTH/s1920/p19856462_b_h10_ap.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVMr6z_O5cESQ-bwAHsQ5y2EyowG-FfEnKmXc_45_i4rmBUoav0v_pd8ltCXk-PhD290Q3tzNTim1CPHKwblChlVKUrP6pfKoPLHC1fE9bfMI429WdWTo8T2JS4RyZ9C3wqtupuKAEVwwJsIh74bVkGptPf09U1xUxnZioHuEs6dIzX2aZuaBDSv8YxTH/s320/p19856462_b_h10_ap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Wasn't sure Norway's <i>Ragnarok</i> would be for me - I avoid dramas set in a fantasy world entirely, like <i>Game of Thrones</i> - but the interweaving of present-day reality and Norse saga is so well done and maintained (right through to the very last episode where - not I hope a spoiler - the 'was it a dream?' question is sensitively and movingly handled). </p><p>The parallels with the myths were all the more surprising because up to now I had been more dependent on Wagner's version, and so much in the Eddas (though I did read both for my Ring classes) is very different. Three cheers, then, for the lucid, often witty and direct retelling by Neil Gaiman.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYi4Fc7gUVr4P4h6QW3_C2dTOg5bEv2fymQ8sAmqAJ9AkmjRPTvFFyTTf-lkVJ183PpOdw4DEpTaLtUJcd2AJ-xozKeShfEomxfhwo-eDD7vq0J5KPNLTe5zPQgfZjVz4DXfZaDfJVICjzWmgUieCcxYm-tIPivhs8ixZO0863wB83BTYssLY5sZKmzH3E/s500/9781408891957-uk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYi4Fc7gUVr4P4h6QW3_C2dTOg5bEv2fymQ8sAmqAJ9AkmjRPTvFFyTTf-lkVJ183PpOdw4DEpTaLtUJcd2AJ-xozKeShfEomxfhwo-eDD7vq0J5KPNLTe5zPQgfZjVz4DXfZaDfJVICjzWmgUieCcxYm-tIPivhs8ixZO0863wB83BTYssLY5sZKmzH3E/s320/9781408891957-uk.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p></p><p>This will inform my autumn term Opera in Depth Zoom classes on <i>Das Rheingold </i>starting on 9 October, as will my<a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/das-rheingold-royal-opera-knotty-riveting-route-destruction"> impressions of Barrie Kosky's first Ring instalment at the Royal Opera.</a> I'll do a publicity drive anon, but meanwhile the flyer is below (click to enlarge).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WJouokFAkwpLX_Gg0riHV8YbXRn0vTJ6iQuYWKV_rg3kMtFOGnJBoRA3nZEZJNrCmG4GUIps9D93f3KBSHr0D9arn2nhHobx-wy9zL0evyv4YWH9f83JpuEjfQY7tsVqVeKDnDG8eRB_ql4S0o9kqwCNopjL4BJUGD7F7UURgCRWkiOC_0ckhEwhm96D/s1024/1695677740958-c01d4a4f-bfee-4c0a-b059-defcae26e036_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WJouokFAkwpLX_Gg0riHV8YbXRn0vTJ6iQuYWKV_rg3kMtFOGnJBoRA3nZEZJNrCmG4GUIps9D93f3KBSHr0D9arn2nhHobx-wy9zL0evyv4YWH9f83JpuEjfQY7tsVqVeKDnDG8eRB_ql4S0o9kqwCNopjL4BJUGD7F7UURgCRWkiOC_0ckhEwhm96D/s320/1695677740958-c01d4a4f-bfee-4c0a-b059-defcae26e036_1.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-29840610694230457642023-09-26T09:03:00.006+01:002023-09-26T22:19:07.990+01:00Zooming Mahler ii: greater darkness, brighter light<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl3TMKdYyTaZLSEJV1Y_uBUAUfCNCN6Wq5n7MOAY7vMRjjwJeouOR0lWruxgOT2KjbiMlgX-paUnuvrPmuGl305wQfCycii1sJIe8WQJPm-PizFjVW2FTKBuoEgZlb_9YI-GEAFMjelTEWp6ejJD6O4uLehGIjJpk_VUcWthCEsgzfng3Mv6M7L4bbBgb/s958/Mahler%20flyer%20autumn%202023-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="958" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl3TMKdYyTaZLSEJV1Y_uBUAUfCNCN6Wq5n7MOAY7vMRjjwJeouOR0lWruxgOT2KjbiMlgX-paUnuvrPmuGl305wQfCycii1sJIe8WQJPm-PizFjVW2FTKBuoEgZlb_9YI-GEAFMjelTEWp6ejJD6O4uLehGIjJpk_VUcWthCEsgzfng3Mv6M7L4bbBgb/s320/Mahler%20flyer%20autumn%202023-002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>On 12 October, I embark on the second batch of ten classes in my Mahler Zoom course, beginning with the grim marches of the Sixth Symphony, ending in the peaceful resolution of the at-one-with-the-world heartleap in Deryck Cooke's performing version of the Tenth Symphony (and completed it must be). </p><p>The first term led me to the surprising realisation that of the first five symphonies, I love the Fourth the best, simply because it's absolutely perfect. You could say that in the Second and Third Mahler dares more, but it's a harder challenge to make them work. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPNjJzYMrCpB-H8dpcrItFxyUPC5Alv2dNE-Aio-836jIk7KtyVBoJ5juNaWK6EH9rPOBFjIF2GDEfbAVdS_envQUpZK08vJRqLpdLYVCf4Lr8PT8PLnxWhJ3hIdzES3u_MA9pEpK4Ytd3aPY6X4siFOvDir-LFRqKm_cuwHj_Q39zy1moYNA2DsXRZAf/s1000/LPO%20RFH%20061121%200301%20Edward%20Gardner%20and%20the%20London%20Philharmonic%20Orchestra%20(c)%20Mark%20Allan.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPNjJzYMrCpB-H8dpcrItFxyUPC5Alv2dNE-Aio-836jIk7KtyVBoJ5juNaWK6EH9rPOBFjIF2GDEfbAVdS_envQUpZK08vJRqLpdLYVCf4Lr8PT8PLnxWhJ3hIdzES3u_MA9pEpK4Ytd3aPY6X4siFOvDir-LFRqKm_cuwHj_Q39zy1moYNA2DsXRZAf/s320/LPO%20RFH%20061121%200301%20Edward%20Gardner%20and%20the%20London%20Philharmonic%20Orchestra%20(c)%20Mark%20Allan.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Edward Gardner pulled off Saturday night's performance of the 'Resurrection', launching his London Philharmonic Orchestra's 2023-4 season. I was going to give it a miss, because sitting on my special cushion isn't easy at the moment, and I always feel a bit outside the first movement - not a good start. But then our conductor turned out to be a born writer in his <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/first-person-conductor-edward-gardner-some-his-questions-and-obsessions-about">First Person on the symphony for theartsdesk</a>. I was sold, and I'm so glad I went. I endorse <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/mahler-2-lpo-gardner-rfh-review-interpretation-superlative-resonance-and-clarity">everything my colleague Rachel Halliburton writes</a> about the performance. The rare spectacle of the whole audience rising within seconds of the end was absolutely deserved, even if the choral climax does tend to have that effect. (Both images by Mark Allan).<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjix7xOHJkUtYdQ41a6uo8lutvY3P_MiqwfXYpOf9Y0ZKC1lTVA4l3L5iczTEC_7SeSGdTqvuaTG_51S0j3MV6gWZYiTnqf0YEFfkNRU7g1Z6HCBnAmqQJtE6Jsmm3v1IPmZEqh1Qk4UM0udfCOCkuem83CNW9pTgMKPT1F0W5GMnmMuNB0kkK3MxI04RT8/s1000/London%20Philharmonic%20Orchestra%20and%20Principal%20Conductor%20Edward%20Gardner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjix7xOHJkUtYdQ41a6uo8lutvY3P_MiqwfXYpOf9Y0ZKC1lTVA4l3L5iczTEC_7SeSGdTqvuaTG_51S0j3MV6gWZYiTnqf0YEFfkNRU7g1Z6HCBnAmqQJtE6Jsmm3v1IPmZEqh1Qk4UM0udfCOCkuem83CNW9pTgMKPT1F0W5GMnmMuNB0kkK3MxI04RT8/s320/London%20Philharmonic%20Orchestra%20and%20Principal%20Conductor%20Edward%20Gardner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Delighted to say that I met Ed by chance on the terrace of Oslo's stunning Opera House while I was there in June for <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/concert-theatre-dsch-norwegian-co-oslo-opera-house-scene-2-review-shostakovich">Pekka Kuusisto's Shostakovich one-off with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra</a>. He was very warm in his friendliness, so I asked if he might come along as guest, as Jonathan Bloxham and Mark Wigglesworth did last term - and I hope Catherine Larsen-Maguire, having pulled off the rare feat of what sounds like a spectacular performance of the Seventh with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, will do so for the Seventh. I gave Ed the option of any of the others and he chose <i>Das Lied von der Erde</i>. Let's see who else might come along. </p><p>I know it can never be quite like the line-up during the ten classes on the symphony I ran during lockdown - the busiest of conductors like Vladmir Jurowski, Paavo <span>Järvi</span> and Antonio Pappano actually had the time then - but we've built up a fair bit of goodwill. Do join us - all the details are on the flyer below (click to enlarge).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySZ_gN23JYtKalUaMq-uesJRj2Cl-kiwFxbc4gw44Atjvk-ecFRtUtzYPcsaC6-EoE6qnytU8en2kthTAlLKGSbnvEV4InEr63vyWDnssx1bgnK6z61qJFYd85NvLStYFk2v8wNZaijFwTOTViUkHpdKbLsM7ffR2EpH5RN-YL3H6p3PASHhT5pwi7ZdZ/s3508/Mahler%20flyer%20autumn%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3508" data-original-width="2481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySZ_gN23JYtKalUaMq-uesJRj2Cl-kiwFxbc4gw44Atjvk-ecFRtUtzYPcsaC6-EoE6qnytU8en2kthTAlLKGSbnvEV4InEr63vyWDnssx1bgnK6z61qJFYd85NvLStYFk2v8wNZaijFwTOTViUkHpdKbLsM7ffR2EpH5RN-YL3H6p3PASHhT5pwi7ZdZ/s320/Mahler%20flyer%20autumn%202023.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-47459971522934258452023-09-21T08:56:00.007+01:002023-09-25T09:18:44.162+01:00Norfolk churches 257-81: Norwich central north<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwo9-T09rjWXLD-8KVRjsMxM_Df-qXkbgnQqjevv009eRkDf8NGPqU1M0TumLuF2hIkaEOK4Zuj-zZxqjXU96Gv4nZ2pxwYO_QHMKfsoh1zGZqdgoVqV0SSekaabik8VQ9Uxuee8m0i86d1HOz4ICWcLkSLg2ciwnBcNAaHKOjUTSoVsZCIu5LKbJVYDX/s800/P1330880.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwo9-T09rjWXLD-8KVRjsMxM_Df-qXkbgnQqjevv009eRkDf8NGPqU1M0TumLuF2hIkaEOK4Zuj-zZxqjXU96Gv4nZ2pxwYO_QHMKfsoh1zGZqdgoVqV0SSekaabik8VQ9Uxuee8m0i86d1HOz4ICWcLkSLg2ciwnBcNAaHKOjUTSoVsZCIu5LKbJVYDX/s320/P1330880.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Just a few days later, and we could have been walking in the same sunshine, but somewhat less than 32<span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span><span>°</span></span></span></span> C. No matter; those of the 24 churches which were open were cool, the distances short (though Jill's pedometer clocked up about seven miles of footfalls) and it was the only thing possible for me six weeks after the Big Op (there was an alternative proposal of clocking up some country churches not connectable by foot in two cars, but sitting is uncomfortable still, and getting up and in not easy). </p><p>To reiterate, this year I decided to collect not for the Norfolk Churches Trust, as we've always done before, but for Maggie's Centre West London, a crucial help in my trial and healing. Best to click on the donate sign <a href="https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/">here</a> - especially if you can claim Gift Aid - and specify the centre. I appreciate the Algerian and Moroccan disasters have priority just now, but a kind word is always welcome in the comments.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlshs58SIQP3-rEYEc39nwc0bJKhQzXqHD2FvXOiIFKcWOX3arLJ_5WyrKwpTLZGgX-P_JU5MUkxhOtaaX9HS81dsiq73HIe8p_3ldnPELgs3FSk6ufbccTQV26joMaPzJ0kedUje9lBMcxngrTz3Zw_zzXT3lKbU5xE521T0P7ThYJM-tc1Bi-iiAJpOw/s2452/P1340189.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2452" data-original-width="2202" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlshs58SIQP3-rEYEc39nwc0bJKhQzXqHD2FvXOiIFKcWOX3arLJ_5WyrKwpTLZGgX-P_JU5MUkxhOtaaX9HS81dsiq73HIe8p_3ldnPELgs3FSk6ufbccTQV26joMaPzJ0kedUje9lBMcxngrTz3Zw_zzXT3lKbU5xE521T0P7ThYJM-tc1Bi-iiAJpOw/s320/P1340189.JPG" width="287" /></a></div><p></p><p>The wonder of Norwich is that so many of these churches, even if no longer put to their original purpose (but praise be to their survival), are so grand, so rich: the merchants of each district knew they couldn't compete with the Cathedral, but strove to impress as best they could. So many streets offer handsome vistas - while Bishopsgate, pictured above with St Helen's and the Old Hospital wall on the right, the Cathedral on the left (I hymned an evensong visit the previous afternoon <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/09/norfolk-churches-walk-2023-norwich.html">here</a>), is spacious, the houses in the centre form a beautiful complement. And you think you're approaching one church tower when another appears to the left. </p><p>So here are four of the five having just left Kate and Fairless's Old Rectory on the hill - I'll join them in the final photo - and ticked off the church next door, now converted into offices.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ivACM7lReQhwss_Q48LZuvDCz2skvlfhunTiXEbmLrfhmJzpEVKlYgN1nYCA6TjH4HeGOpTr5hW05pvzeF_7CPpXqmJZxFqm4e1iWT5oFR9TyLB5G1-CbDI_A6WehihcNpGxKweKVhnV25ONRL1cofMOIKVRqJnBocsrt7Ckytyy5OsfnSaRvm_SfLrc/s800/P1330876.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ivACM7lReQhwss_Q48LZuvDCz2skvlfhunTiXEbmLrfhmJzpEVKlYgN1nYCA6TjH4HeGOpTr5hW05pvzeF_7CPpXqmJZxFqm4e1iWT5oFR9TyLB5G1-CbDI_A6WehihcNpGxKweKVhnV25ONRL1cofMOIKVRqJnBocsrt7Ckytyy5OsfnSaRvm_SfLrc/s320/P1330876.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>We descended to the Lollards Pit pub (see <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/09/norfolk-churches-walk-2023-norwich.html">previous entry about the cathedral precincts</a>), crossed the lovely medieval bridge over the Wensum and strolled up quiet, spacious Bishopsgate to the Great Hospital. It was founded in 1249 by Bishop Walter de Suffield to look after 'decrepit chaplains', and then (Pevsner) 'any poor, sick people,' though a notice above the usually shut door (I took this photo at sunset on New Year's Eve 2019 - just as well because this time in our delight at finding the place open, we rushed through), gives the Tudors all the credit.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHMKdLthvJIz1cBJekBkl53Wri0GeHX-d7qGCqOGIftLKJ85XujFdhMh7DNtFXOkVbSAWpjlieswrW0zAlkywDX3mH9lrqksJTVp-09lY1tF2_YMAf_SMgwkR_sUK9KSQZ8h50uU8wdlMDoxaxhmKsnSqoxXQyk8tk1dUiE076pq8SJHZNfl2lJ4ny5M3/s800/P1000089.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHMKdLthvJIz1cBJekBkl53Wri0GeHX-d7qGCqOGIftLKJ85XujFdhMh7DNtFXOkVbSAWpjlieswrW0zAlkywDX3mH9lrqksJTVp-09lY1tF2_YMAf_SMgwkR_sUK9KSQZ8h50uU8wdlMDoxaxhmKsnSqoxXQyk8tk1dUiE076pq8SJHZNfl2lJ4ny5M3/s320/P1000089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Great Hospital holds roughly to its original brief, though one of its inhabitants, whom we met at St George Tombland at the end of our walk, told us there are 'too many rules' and that it's become quite expensive (you used to have to be without property, and that's no longer the case). Moreover the three-tier arrangement whereby those who had become infirm in the second category could move on to the third no longer pertains, since the ultimate care has been removed. It's all exquisitely beautiful, starting with the 'bee garden' to the left of the church entrance from the road.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UDYAwRswYYS8I6NgbuQMHJ6_9Er17DGbyPtON2eBQTKpWqizoRwlYAeTMdgJoISFTG-h9649a6_cavAeN4IZvLllXBkDVhVUxUQHEuZ5yC8jNijhAu3ZDsA8QnUQ1z4bKaZxwyYxtas4NzlrWwQqELnOgAHIcePWZjuhvIlnpxui1l5EkFkeJRvhvX06/s800/P1330916.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UDYAwRswYYS8I6NgbuQMHJ6_9Er17DGbyPtON2eBQTKpWqizoRwlYAeTMdgJoISFTG-h9649a6_cavAeN4IZvLllXBkDVhVUxUQHEuZ5yC8jNijhAu3ZDsA8QnUQ1z4bKaZxwyYxtas4NzlrWwQqELnOgAHIcePWZjuhvIlnpxui1l5EkFkeJRvhvX06/s320/P1330916.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixalVpMf5RoiAkUvbiHVZJ6GVHig7V-OPeqmewJcjAiwmA8mVW31_CN_Ak091ucHX_9T6ta55isEYv7ioJk0EraK8HY1o5c0Gn-7-ibbziCleBG6ywmTAwnMV8Ggm-TWjEnj6K9p2TBLhMqfOyWyUu9hHQskLB1cW3SOwABN5CaqqdcL1gWa0elH3uYYuY/s800/P1330917.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="800" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixalVpMf5RoiAkUvbiHVZJ6GVHig7V-OPeqmewJcjAiwmA8mVW31_CN_Ak091ucHX_9T6ta55isEYv7ioJk0EraK8HY1o5c0Gn-7-ibbziCleBG6ywmTAwnMV8Ggm-TWjEnj6K9p2TBLhMqfOyWyUu9hHQskLB1cW3SOwABN5CaqqdcL1gWa0elH3uYYuY/s320/P1330917.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Simon Knott in his comprehensive <a href="http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norfolkindex.htm">Churches of East Anglia - Norfolk</a> website remarks of the church of St Helen that 'this great building is the last of the <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">the medieval
churches in Norwich city centre to appear on this
website, simply because it is the last one that I
have been able to get into'. Occasional special tours of the Hospital make it possible, and there are weekly Sunday morning services. The tours weren't happening at the time of our visit, but we were lucky in that not only was this the day of the Norfolk Churches Walk (always the same September Saturday) but the second of the <a href="https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/about">Heritage Open Days</a>, which meant that the good people of Norwich had put quite a bit of effort into opening and presentation. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">First impressions past the porch are of a certain strangeness - there's no east window, for instance, but an 18th century copy of Raphael's <i>Tranfiguration</i> and a pulpit.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAe4fovbCPn0iIZ3lRvJ13dLfSJUKWvy3c5Xjn9d8amimC6bR_Wh4YQsdMagXG0haHM9Sg1QZ7B4llQixMZD6E08nXi_q7E54Rtt8S4DjFyUTVqjtWVN_PciyGbQ3JGTvzJ0BW1j637k7XRfCemEebBKyHXpOZZo7inflZyWksMIEZJAxNNrysAtHjSir/s800/P1330897.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAe4fovbCPn0iIZ3lRvJ13dLfSJUKWvy3c5Xjn9d8amimC6bR_Wh4YQsdMagXG0haHM9Sg1QZ7B4llQixMZD6E08nXi_q7E54Rtt8S4DjFyUTVqjtWVN_PciyGbQ3JGTvzJ0BW1j637k7XRfCemEebBKyHXpOZZo7inflZyWksMIEZJAxNNrysAtHjSir/s320/P1330897.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">This is by no means the end of the building, which continues thus (a block had been knocked down, hence the red hoardings). <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKx1zWfp3Lfn5LkNQSYONklUV13AZ7wQOsrJpHmh08qriLpSSC5speiQb5glAEI0WKfdW-P6BxSlLro-MuYAAAsWSSvStMOUfboqnzKbjBelFdQ0Eezv9UBiWCnhGMtv1i8NAaabADdob8suxQukfQG-MR4mQ9fDvuRAeiWnBOgp-fiUvjhcQ7uMnsrHDg/s800/P1330879.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="800" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKx1zWfp3Lfn5LkNQSYONklUV13AZ7wQOsrJpHmh08qriLpSSC5speiQb5glAEI0WKfdW-P6BxSlLro-MuYAAAsWSSvStMOUfboqnzKbjBelFdQ0Eezv9UBiWCnhGMtv1i8NAaabADdob8suxQukfQG-MR4mQ9fDvuRAeiWnBOgp-fiUvjhcQ7uMnsrHDg/s320/P1330879.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">To
the east, the chancel was used as accommodation for women, the Infirmary Hall to
the west for men. That no longer pertains, but the separation remains (it was a shame not to get to see the 252 spread eagles on the ceiling of the room above, built in honour of Anne of Bohemia in 1383). </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The altar is in fact located in the Chantry Chapel, in front of an early Georgian Creed Board,<br /></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8EfMpFfqQpF_ikR486ZeL9b7mvbpDAV7S6teDlJTMkZnbp3sCnTrGX6wO2aZTFbYZRaRki9Kq6Hmb2YGh1oboWooYRLCKTL_gFa4XxYTdIsMB_3P4Z46NWkCFgXnwAnicXF0HJcXz9KAm_Um1ewq9Wnozh66fA2ZKdlYMQH35wOs4vU_MsvphxzQeO4_/s800/P1330909.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8EfMpFfqQpF_ikR486ZeL9b7mvbpDAV7S6teDlJTMkZnbp3sCnTrGX6wO2aZTFbYZRaRki9Kq6Hmb2YGh1oboWooYRLCKTL_gFa4XxYTdIsMB_3P4Z46NWkCFgXnwAnicXF0HJcXz9KAm_Um1ewq9Wnozh66fA2ZKdlYMQH35wOs4vU_MsvphxzQeO4_/s320/P1330909.JPG" width="205" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><br />and above is one of the glories of Norwich, the lierne vault, carries on the tradition of the brightly (re)painted bosses in the Cathedral (and is probably by John Everard, the chief mason). <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdB-wb1tG5NEYB9ZLAz0FmxqbmjIszXFSQaaRkObWTUA0CNYfln_xpPK9d1ToS9EVGfrexEi4aMnsTY2TjZUeFgUVMcS8x6Zz2kZxpVwuP2mGjhF8ImmBClJ6_ka9Lxb5QecG561eIFM9_DVPiY94ETwd2p1SxK2Jks5xYgmBeL1ChWR14zRvw1_sClUy/s800/P1330894.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdB-wb1tG5NEYB9ZLAz0FmxqbmjIszXFSQaaRkObWTUA0CNYfln_xpPK9d1ToS9EVGfrexEi4aMnsTY2TjZUeFgUVMcS8x6Zz2kZxpVwuP2mGjhF8ImmBClJ6_ka9Lxb5QecG561eIFM9_DVPiY94ETwd2p1SxK2Jks5xYgmBeL1ChWR14zRvw1_sClUy/s320/P1330894.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Amazingly,
though the cleaning and repainting of the ceiling was undertaken in
1944, the original colours in oil could be traced at that time. Soot
encrusting had saved them; it probably came from the Great Hospital fire
instigated by anti-enclosures rebel Robert Kett's uprising in 1549. Extraordinary that so
little damage happened then or subsequently, when the cult of the Virgin
represented in the stories of the bosses was saved from defacement - easier to understand in the case of the Cathedral bosses because
they're so much higher. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">These, of course, are much easier to see without binoculars, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">though I did make use of my zoom. to highlight some of the details. Here are three. The smaller Bible stories around the large central boss representing the Coronation of the Virgin amplify Mary's 'Joys'. The second is a lovely nativity scene with, against the fencing, Mary left and Joseph right, while the central figure is one of the midwives featured in apocryphal nativity stories (and in Norwich mystery plays).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKH5RUfi0OI4GOigkRTvn14YugHhXSmqqfSx2ur1gWQWbPii9luvMoEf3Gj1BY1AMHRylxhtjOX7mfJ_1YinkODaQafwQcp86R5hK0WV-IoYOAmHlBldOJgjFCHvbJ-dgXG7Zwzi-oKYEN7TAYX1jLOTXlOoZWNBWQvKYGpCJPdSMk13dlPyF934U0nV1/s800/P1330888.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKH5RUfi0OI4GOigkRTvn14YugHhXSmqqfSx2ur1gWQWbPii9luvMoEf3Gj1BY1AMHRylxhtjOX7mfJ_1YinkODaQafwQcp86R5hK0WV-IoYOAmHlBldOJgjFCHvbJ-dgXG7Zwzi-oKYEN7TAYX1jLOTXlOoZWNBWQvKYGpCJPdSMk13dlPyF934U0nV1/s320/P1330888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love the Ascension, Mary's fourth Joy. While she looks up flanked by the disciples,Christ's feet and the bottom of his robe can be seen below and between clouds like fan-vaulting.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrA5i8JN8-wJgd_bFOsssbqpDcD8dgcHmkwTRn-uVmLa3AxUgm4AQOcFLspxWVrQL3aEDALAUmCNo7eJYNpExGzw52QkiPjQoZuGWX41bhwhz7c2b3ZRdP80d90q1giBEnnIk_XXu1IHkmQWNSSdtK4pS7YN0Z2sRjmjTew85oEYQCEYDYDpMGvPoJ7UDs/s800/P1330889.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="800" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrA5i8JN8-wJgd_bFOsssbqpDcD8dgcHmkwTRn-uVmLa3AxUgm4AQOcFLspxWVrQL3aEDALAUmCNo7eJYNpExGzw52QkiPjQoZuGWX41bhwhz7c2b3ZRdP80d90q1giBEnnIk_XXu1IHkmQWNSSdtK4pS7YN0Z2sRjmjTew85oEYQCEYDYDpMGvPoJ7UDs/s320/P1330889.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Beyond an outer circle of disciples are angels and historical figures. This one could be Richard II, and perhaps he's right to look worried.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizH88NzaiFKcUFwU3IXEXyA5WFp7-MkczNtlxo_d2n3Cwch-oGSw9DHeLZi8m2G3K1XVwxiGA4-OheI7iBYyaglg35MW0NxAos5rDnX6gSLyZa5v8BPAI_KwJWtsMb0Luq51c4AsJSMhtAPLQChc1xYGH-WktM0P2fwUjfW57yZJlkbx4My7QBTuf_MeuW/s800/P1330893.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="493" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizH88NzaiFKcUFwU3IXEXyA5WFp7-MkczNtlxo_d2n3Cwch-oGSw9DHeLZi8m2G3K1XVwxiGA4-OheI7iBYyaglg35MW0NxAos5rDnX6gSLyZa5v8BPAI_KwJWtsMb0Luq51c4AsJSMhtAPLQChc1xYGH-WktM0P2fwUjfW57yZJlkbx4My7QBTuf_MeuW/s320/P1330893.JPG" width="197" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Back in the main body of the church are fine bench-ends made between 1519 and 1532 during the Mastership of John Hacker.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVg0_IBxzDVtY1HMakrRiiijLQ_dkFOvm0Mk9npiuS6ZlN6TewJ6DNCOYMWcn7KtwSdivLauGLjjrPACqlevqNgyxYoun0mJgH-K6xfjCRahhjS4gpVWFCg2biPZpFC5t2r0sIHihADYOHKU2X1mTSVsOb0LM0u5qR7t0srIZyFUxL3rAcYpLa5dvLeoy/s800/P1330895.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVg0_IBxzDVtY1HMakrRiiijLQ_dkFOvm0Mk9npiuS6ZlN6TewJ6DNCOYMWcn7KtwSdivLauGLjjrPACqlevqNgyxYoun0mJgH-K6xfjCRahhjS4gpVWFCg2biPZpFC5t2r0sIHihADYOHKU2X1mTSVsOb0LM0u5qR7t0srIZyFUxL3rAcYpLa5dvLeoy/s320/P1330895.JPG" width="205" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0Op8efNB39HpCQrHtAL5bfYRWWKc26XyLCq3wwbOdJaZC4c2eiASzj_VWHhjBSR4yArdtyBWUTqqna8wBTPC3MNpqK3D_dDLoIbLxBs6Uc-9Es6XbrkrdkRoQVxFr81ASbFd29IN_EEchGalTwyhN9r2TQp6_AeudpaGFCe1YThPfsC3AomUGrcwG6WT/s800/P1330896.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0Op8efNB39HpCQrHtAL5bfYRWWKc26XyLCq3wwbOdJaZC4c2eiASzj_VWHhjBSR4yArdtyBWUTqqna8wBTPC3MNpqK3D_dDLoIbLxBs6Uc-9Es6XbrkrdkRoQVxFr81ASbFd29IN_EEchGalTwyhN9r2TQp6_AeudpaGFCe1YThPfsC3AomUGrcwG6WT/s320/P1330896.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The small cloister beyond, built about 1450, is a beauty. I wouldn't mind living on the first floor here.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuG1WPXaxKnh_Lj7oUzIkGpPH1CJbYEUFWlKHD4aX9W7sJD1OcVIKKal2nj5UXdXVGM0IXD3pa09fMVIMrCw1fhzqJroTNcig-x7OnxYmF2M9gVW-b5LQOKboa9fqMyJRsFV62urQLB_mRwlugTgCKolVF0EV49d9befIMPswSnqBxjHYipoxObx5TJe7/s800/P1330899.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuG1WPXaxKnh_Lj7oUzIkGpPH1CJbYEUFWlKHD4aX9W7sJD1OcVIKKal2nj5UXdXVGM0IXD3pa09fMVIMrCw1fhzqJroTNcig-x7OnxYmF2M9gVW-b5LQOKboa9fqMyJRsFV62urQLB_mRwlugTgCKolVF0EV49d9befIMPswSnqBxjHYipoxObx5TJe7/s320/P1330899.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL56CQv7IUKGyeZX2FgOM3N3nctj09MEtqUC9001SD5pEPO-8KrdYnQ4xIBQ9ejzIn9zO2bgW5l1XYirMg3SbDof65IPcRY4XWZ--QiQ7rQw6BpzDY0FHhgm6AXRuCqukSYXaffOghi0CdfHfXRUiieYwOB_6Hch279z4RdRoPAXl6wUAN7cj4kJ5zxOQ/s800/P1330908.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL56CQv7IUKGyeZX2FgOM3N3nctj09MEtqUC9001SD5pEPO-8KrdYnQ4xIBQ9ejzIn9zO2bgW5l1XYirMg3SbDof65IPcRY4XWZ--QiQ7rQw6BpzDY0FHhgm6AXRuCqukSYXaffOghi0CdfHfXRUiieYwOB_6Hch279z4RdRoPAXl6wUAN7cj4kJ5zxOQ/s320/P1330908.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxT3U0WomOgNXXki23htk_ljQC8z_P12b67DHP5gVCDo_TlQaYMAKQrb4NifkvxUFg0KviYhnzdpwKC7uPESkGn0rOJNS-ZowUfh5tXk8Ee8ObEOSRjnj7--l27A441l4XQtTwH5x_iS43L54PIiPUOP3fSxZjYWCZ59doapxTB1SasJ9xvB0TMnfkO2x/s800/P1330907.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxT3U0WomOgNXXki23htk_ljQC8z_P12b67DHP5gVCDo_TlQaYMAKQrb4NifkvxUFg0KviYhnzdpwKC7uPESkGn0rOJNS-ZowUfh5tXk8Ee8ObEOSRjnj7--l27A441l4XQtTwH5x_iS43L54PIiPUOP3fSxZjYWCZ59doapxTB1SasJ9xvB0TMnfkO2x/s320/P1330907.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">And so, once I'd bought for a fiver in the porch sale a walking stick with a head on top like a medieval bench-end, we followed the precincts-skirting road between its battle-scarred walls right and then left again to the outwardly charming Perpendicular church of St Michael-at-Plea. I'd photographed it from the west the previous evening<br /><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99iDgxXMN5G9TCzSWAKiGX0D6ne2IdqAvrBHvcfmdwNgF0caO9bD3GkWrbhNcVHQjnVMfR4L5K9F9N3-rbKAl_0_OuJpX-4QWT_p7hH4cvwetS6QjVoqoKjIy7Y8mlpzWkJoWdiwcL9SlNYqRGS1-BXBLF302A9kNAwQfC5V1AjH8p1xEaGk238Tx0W70/s800/P1330868.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99iDgxXMN5G9TCzSWAKiGX0D6ne2IdqAvrBHvcfmdwNgF0caO9bD3GkWrbhNcVHQjnVMfR4L5K9F9N3-rbKAl_0_OuJpX-4QWT_p7hH4cvwetS6QjVoqoKjIy7Y8mlpzWkJoWdiwcL9SlNYqRGS1-BXBLF302A9kNAwQfC5V1AjH8p1xEaGk238Tx0W70/s320/P1330868.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and on the morning of the walk from the part of the surrounding green to the east.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOYBpy07Y6GilJiYBSjOBNPb72GhpjOhLF6WIo-KPrFPxAVkzcJJD2nzd2yuns0jebtTrCUxulH6ND89pOqlscfHjf77jcZfUiwFbBL_0wsRPJXJY7iKLDLLS3bxuWO1i10tabIpTQtA3hRSeGJm9QznzzW75rxd6YDPojueBC3gy-NZev8vTpZDFgiWE/s800/P1330928.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOYBpy07Y6GilJiYBSjOBNPb72GhpjOhLF6WIo-KPrFPxAVkzcJJD2nzd2yuns0jebtTrCUxulH6ND89pOqlscfHjf77jcZfUiwFbBL_0wsRPJXJY7iKLDLLS3bxuWO1i10tabIpTQtA3hRSeGJm9QznzzW75rxd6YDPojueBC3gy-NZev8vTpZDFgiWE/s320/P1330928.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Merry activities were taking place on the other side of the garden-graveyard, spinning included, and the Norwich Churches Conservation people inside were very friendly. This is their headquarters, and according to the warning of this notice above the door<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_C1txODdoKFr7Pz9Q_NrmbEZqVQWdqmNZavjz3NVH0oG6b6CArCL2Rs4S3GPEfnnsju1M3fGUsav0ZICExK0HP1mmtew5oes4gbDsKhkxKyCcComSwespZANSKotXxWxa_xXafWsF0iCxdYKESD-UdSJ9t6o5JSCeboA6TzZ5AzyWRbpo13riVYBp9AG/s800/P1330923.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="800" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_C1txODdoKFr7Pz9Q_NrmbEZqVQWdqmNZavjz3NVH0oG6b6CArCL2Rs4S3GPEfnnsju1M3fGUsav0ZICExK0HP1mmtew5oes4gbDsKhkxKyCcComSwespZANSKotXxWxa_xXafWsF0iCxdYKESD-UdSJ9t6o5JSCeboA6TzZ5AzyWRbpo13riVYBp9AG/s320/P1330923.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I have to say they've made a dreadful mess of dividing it up. Grateful as I was for the cakes and drinks, as well as the fine model of the church made out of matchsticks,</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-SWXqAX72O3D1PUxyZJY8G9QSdWR_FDSKykdk-jdJucsBZUTHAo_GrJIHbmpkmjCGO-wUPkx0ODQh06t1V2NZMAx4RbaOTH3kVzfE3nknCQSs0Utih83UueV1IsnD_EBupIuhif6pDqe16ESLO0x8R6X4CGF45FfRxM7DnlCRPtpILKD2Het8y0bMBCR/s800/P1330925.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-SWXqAX72O3D1PUxyZJY8G9QSdWR_FDSKykdk-jdJucsBZUTHAo_GrJIHbmpkmjCGO-wUPkx0ODQh06t1V2NZMAx4RbaOTH3kVzfE3nknCQSs0Utih83UueV1IsnD_EBupIuhif6pDqe16ESLO0x8R6X4CGF45FfRxM7DnlCRPtpILKD2Het8y0bMBCR/s320/P1330925.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>the nave beyond was ruined by the tiers of office space (I'm about halfway up).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgRIXmOPDqd50Cd4GAnyk9iWMjEzNEhySHAsYKBSXnoyb6MdAAuYNKwI-BbZpwtspV9uGy7-CwP2P8PE9ySlT94wycj5I9-05zQhMCoIS-0-CjobsxwBORTb4zI6EgGLeUdZDxgPiAu0u9viElvhbC9cd27OXKD2ENC-OJeY8INGDZcNm2lsUcISonChr/s800/P1330924.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgRIXmOPDqd50Cd4GAnyk9iWMjEzNEhySHAsYKBSXnoyb6MdAAuYNKwI-BbZpwtspV9uGy7-CwP2P8PE9ySlT94wycj5I9-05zQhMCoIS-0-CjobsxwBORTb4zI6EgGLeUdZDxgPiAu0u9viElvhbC9cd27OXKD2ENC-OJeY8INGDZcNm2lsUcISonChr/s320/P1330924.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /></div><p></p><p>There were a few objects of interest on various tables</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD4BOiIZ9VazB7zyqNgNpIS8FeaFujrpF7_zsNcJlahslI9CAO6q7tJ1GJfm3z_uKDdh2WXzA8JTzl9t0P3Nbzdt3xAiovPYjYQcCLhAjv0s8gTMQS0FHKS5HagrBs108nNunAUDol96VZXeCBFa7d_QCh9G9xHJv5VclUQPVXqTZGIFoSVag_BFvLzor/s800/P1330920.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD4BOiIZ9VazB7zyqNgNpIS8FeaFujrpF7_zsNcJlahslI9CAO6q7tJ1GJfm3z_uKDdh2WXzA8JTzl9t0P3Nbzdt3xAiovPYjYQcCLhAjv0s8gTMQS0FHKS5HagrBs108nNunAUDol96VZXeCBFa7d_QCh9G9xHJv5VclUQPVXqTZGIFoSVag_BFvLzor/s320/P1330920.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8O-Le3hjnsQO4hqtghrp4jxyjWpO9KPxtJEai5pJ_KT3brtESU9bbo-a5ggRBShZaCcVhQv8VtW9Ei8ITQBg_f6xeLPZ68ZqGjOUBov9Z5wqRg5Hn-aFRqGjO7puRsncF38mIlfWN8-3SzxgO8XRnVX12Sv5RCwtiaHpphSCsW1gAEI4CbmZ9G6ZyqN1a/s800/P1330921.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8O-Le3hjnsQO4hqtghrp4jxyjWpO9KPxtJEai5pJ_KT3brtESU9bbo-a5ggRBShZaCcVhQv8VtW9Ei8ITQBg_f6xeLPZ68ZqGjOUBov9Z5wqRg5Hn-aFRqGjO7puRsncF38mIlfWN8-3SzxgO8XRnVX12Sv5RCwtiaHpphSCsW1gAEI4CbmZ9G6ZyqN1a/s320/P1330921.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>but they could have been better displayed. Time for a rethink - but is there the money?</p><p>Next, over the Whitefriars Bridge due north to the one wall that remains of the building of that name. The plaque on it is from the Richard III Society and dedicated to 'Lady Eleanor Talbot (Lady Butler), c 1436-1468, benefactress and <i>conversa </i>of the Whitefriars...buried here in the Carmelite Priory Church'.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtXNlLPPlVkWLM8qkqg2yEWzUDV-bsS2rRhHsXJ6vq9X4M-32C2xpofV-b-9wKMiSV0RHUZBXbthdjvHJ0HapfFScOhHvBrqZ_JxZy4eJRYszxLMZvkhKGw2BtfF9fnUVWnDs8xwME4OtcLksGtlxUYNO-uuHqb98YlxO2QNfjG1iizWGqFkfWM1G-A-c/s800/P1330930.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtXNlLPPlVkWLM8qkqg2yEWzUDV-bsS2rRhHsXJ6vq9X4M-32C2xpofV-b-9wKMiSV0RHUZBXbthdjvHJ0HapfFScOhHvBrqZ_JxZy4eJRYszxLMZvkhKGw2BtfF9fnUVWnDs8xwME4OtcLksGtlxUYNO-uuHqb98YlxO2QNfjG1iizWGqFkfWM1G-A-c/s320/P1330930.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />This is an area of new office buildings and old ones converted to the purpose. The nearby church of St Edmund in Fishergate, now the home of I forget which organisation, was closed,<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeqXnuibOpxPhWJ0MCpRwkI78nEPK4zrRS_LPKZ1yIclnbEf4LnbozFWBtPu6tXPtxP2uyv8k948zTRXw1DhWd8xb30kPnV0qrXRWk4-pkF9NnhQGPXIAI7tG1EE88uWEjTUBhROsCpsst90zfmMvNX4CNT26hWBoUAiYzCyVJwVKj1b3BScINXnTK2ej/s800/P1330932.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeqXnuibOpxPhWJ0MCpRwkI78nEPK4zrRS_LPKZ1yIclnbEf4LnbozFWBtPu6tXPtxP2uyv8k948zTRXw1DhWd8xb30kPnV0qrXRWk4-pkF9NnhQGPXIAI7tG1EE88uWEjTUBhROsCpsst90zfmMvNX4CNT26hWBoUAiYzCyVJwVKj1b3BScINXnTK2ej/s320/P1330932.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />but St James, just off quite a busy roundabout and shorn (unlike most central Norwich churches) of part of its graveyard, proudly displayed its recent status as the Norwich Puppet Theatre.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFyAqXibi7aFk_9nHkj-t5AqgbkMGeyEDGTzR9ytp2ad9c9meV7maHCdVd89R1QAQF8GcI-FtkTCMPHVHCNeXTM_2B-ssy9GnR83wv7uI1xbLtH5EZbhUR9nQd568OTW59Oo5vXbOs15-GTZR1eSOm5_3yoPrMJMQ0HQodiDtKt-wG1EII0lrBWD4EE6k/s800/P1330933.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFyAqXibi7aFk_9nHkj-t5AqgbkMGeyEDGTzR9ytp2ad9c9meV7maHCdVd89R1QAQF8GcI-FtkTCMPHVHCNeXTM_2B-ssy9GnR83wv7uI1xbLtH5EZbhUR9nQd568OTW59Oo5vXbOs15-GTZR1eSOm5_3yoPrMJMQ0HQodiDtKt-wG1EII0lrBWD4EE6k/s320/P1330933.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Founded at the time of William the Conqueror - there's some of the same Caen stone used for the Cathedral in the East Wall - its attractive octagonal tower was built in 1743 on top of the original flint tower. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_xWCj8tzHoXkrfgyYALaEqWOF2uPGl5UV-aWxinbdYl5q3B3_THOkVMOfsQcBnroaTrn6f4Z9x8VY0gqLOTJjKAXFWVR8aeU-S-S0mTw9X4m5eIHzr6avSQ6AVmUnGUXeWN1bCvpUyMp5VF7SCTqLSFAn0p8XfJvUN3_NLtJrDBIrH8D_vt2VYIVXAU3/s800/P1330935.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_xWCj8tzHoXkrfgyYALaEqWOF2uPGl5UV-aWxinbdYl5q3B3_THOkVMOfsQcBnroaTrn6f4Z9x8VY0gqLOTJjKAXFWVR8aeU-S-S0mTw9X4m5eIHzr6avSQ6AVmUnGUXeWN1bCvpUyMp5VF7SCTqLSFAn0p8XfJvUN3_NLtJrDBIrH8D_vt2VYIVXAU3/s320/P1330935.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Puppet Theatre's foyer spaces are welcoming and full of incumbents from the past 40 years.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUs6FaEh02KYtBsc3G7n8nBOwiMZBveMjyzrld_lD_riWegeQI8F7wmQ09qAQXzbqnqttjptWH5dVVBRx9ywRhBMs9u0F_u0YR8iziUfzx819hoTxVhi1wrvfrHlFfYGFQ6jpycp4nipZ3d-8nBv7occczyGItyxlZjacEh3sou9ueLgEC7WmVstXys9y/s800/P1330940.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="800" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUs6FaEh02KYtBsc3G7n8nBOwiMZBveMjyzrld_lD_riWegeQI8F7wmQ09qAQXzbqnqttjptWH5dVVBRx9ywRhBMs9u0F_u0YR8iziUfzx819hoTxVhi1wrvfrHlFfYGFQ6jpycp4nipZ3d-8nBv7occczyGItyxlZjacEh3sou9ueLgEC7WmVstXys9y/s320/P1330940.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A talk as part of the Heritage Open Days was about to start. Two of us didn't want to join, I was curious and found myself sitting, with Fairless and later Kate, in the 150-seater auditorium. No escape! The talk was of some interest, focused around three personalities - Sir John Fastolf, thanks to Shakespearean connections, being the most interesting; apparently one of his many properties once stood close by. As the speaker was not the most confident, I'll stick to a shot from the top of the seating area.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaij5y1dOBP9SfPburpC0mzd1FCYEdqDg8JJ0diFjLpAU63rBp5cNM8iSq0nw7srnQrRxrfjHm5U1dSDc34DSXy-s53tOyxD8aNP4IR7_1_qnqs3tT6DM-kjUKX5FNE1x1WaqEq8zy6xGykvuV0oENgYpn3tKrSZGuqRGKR59ZQU499MrOhDq6s_ganZ2f/s800/P1330938.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaij5y1dOBP9SfPburpC0mzd1FCYEdqDg8JJ0diFjLpAU63rBp5cNM8iSq0nw7srnQrRxrfjHm5U1dSDc34DSXy-s53tOyxD8aNP4IR7_1_qnqs3tT6DM-kjUKX5FNE1x1WaqEq8zy6xGykvuV0oENgYpn3tKrSZGuqRGKR59ZQU499MrOhDq6s_ganZ2f/s320/P1330938.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>There followed some retracing of steps until we reached the west entrance of St Saviour on Magdalen Street.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxaOZKlSYe9S87SUFosgi2tvRW-lr66GbQPpIaI-KX9Z3dpoH2DQoYjYDzqKwbeeN03EKgYP6wMHVv0iD4WhIaQ5i7p0McXh8kMq6-sYAvyDisLLesBMFm5Jyz2n67ypFq8sh2UsjTqD1ZwZNsWtS8tEGNBx7wTgV8ITubfxhO38I8ZPzi0LyOuMWH6Xo/s800/P1330941.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxaOZKlSYe9S87SUFosgi2tvRW-lr66GbQPpIaI-KX9Z3dpoH2DQoYjYDzqKwbeeN03EKgYP6wMHVv0iD4WhIaQ5i7p0McXh8kMq6-sYAvyDisLLesBMFm5Jyz2n67ypFq8sh2UsjTqD1ZwZNsWtS8tEGNBx7wTgV8ITubfxhO38I8ZPzi0LyOuMWH6Xo/s320/P1330941.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>This is the building devoted to the most worthwhile cause (though others have social value too, of course): the <a href="https://www.stgilestrust.org.uk/">St Giles Trust</a>, which helps those in need, and specifically in Norwich offers the Pathway Out project, working with people in recovery from drug addiction. This would have been another charity for which to walk. It's not often you find a church interior with rows of cornflake packets.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVB7omjThqtnJ4c41x1zaVv_rayWXlXNAmbHLztCOQd0BKVNijgAzDklzaatf_eIoqsq0_LAzPGuDMAhnmhW87tCj3SHnK5HpVovIsBrAZJwK1AM1uIosYoYPQx_YHdstqLoqgV6pgDC6KQI7yIAZaiJvXzrfwR7RUN10y3YC2t5jGEoinfksegfEIgQpJ/s800/P1330944.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVB7omjThqtnJ4c41x1zaVv_rayWXlXNAmbHLztCOQd0BKVNijgAzDklzaatf_eIoqsq0_LAzPGuDMAhnmhW87tCj3SHnK5HpVovIsBrAZJwK1AM1uIosYoYPQx_YHdstqLoqgV6pgDC6KQI7yIAZaiJvXzrfwR7RUN10y3YC2t5jGEoinfksegfEIgQpJ/s320/P1330944.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The gent in blue was very friendly and told us that the celebrated font was now in another church (same case with the one in St James). </p><p>Further up Magdalen Street is the dismal, decaying Anglia Square shopping centre, due for a revamp. If only that were true of the disastrous traffic system which made nonsense of my Pevsner map. All the more surprising, just off the busy roads, to find the oasis around St Augustine, the city centre's most northernmost church.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLX9LGSFVeAlA9_e6ZiycIvQhoaPX0B02rqyphPcIWkHzBblnewa6uB9P0h6CEpF9LNTZ0lzYSkP3vApGm_WTmEeeh2Z4i9BHDG7TN2xY8yxw-5eK7fsJ_IHVOZrsbRiz9kD18zbTTRpPbXyLmc3x31wByz2fyhR-V_MJ0Iv2u4i0wK0hU0Mj5OMibfsX/s800/P1330945.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLX9LGSFVeAlA9_e6ZiycIvQhoaPX0B02rqyphPcIWkHzBblnewa6uB9P0h6CEpF9LNTZ0lzYSkP3vApGm_WTmEeeh2Z4i9BHDG7TN2xY8yxw-5eK7fsJ_IHVOZrsbRiz9kD18zbTTRpPbXyLmc3x31wByz2fyhR-V_MJ0Iv2u4i0wK0hU0Mj5OMibfsX/s320/P1330945.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzjCfzHc66eaaFndbN_5CQXsDExFQ3HcRgIBV31z2fuKTjDG0_p0oTi_W1fmcVhna_SNUFknXyedf-CWQzT6Wq3MORgitz_a2NCcqiqHFShlk_OW5LyUL9Wmtq1uYR16avxTuyiKdUK485ELzmgb4hX_6tJ0i8I9MaJSPI8V1yQlVR49adgzhxuwxuZjN/s800/P1330955.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzjCfzHc66eaaFndbN_5CQXsDExFQ3HcRgIBV31z2fuKTjDG0_p0oTi_W1fmcVhna_SNUFknXyedf-CWQzT6Wq3MORgitz_a2NCcqiqHFShlk_OW5LyUL9Wmtq1uYR16avxTuyiKdUK485ELzmgb4hX_6tJ0i8I9MaJSPI8V1yQlVR49adgzhxuwxuZjN/s320/P1330955.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The building is now in the care of the Norwich Churches Trust, but services are still held in the church hall, as the very friendly vicar at the table, offering slices of water melon, told us. There was a good display inside the tower, with one panel telling us of the avian connections (Norwich canary yellow is a feature, not least of the football team).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-DrO3UGijHmoClbOpaI8blDnJjsyRx41YADhhee_0IQEZ5Bv4p5qTg64GDl5UcGph4TmanxB4bwylZBDeoCWhZaNMZvB-VGPh6X9x6DX3php7coM_Tqb8A1lyKdYRWC78M6wWozhX8C6wxON4C8ZlhN7-OX4Gx0jc8b64b3_BeOEc1cMK92ugEzCJ-tO/s800/P1330948.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="581" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-DrO3UGijHmoClbOpaI8blDnJjsyRx41YADhhee_0IQEZ5Bv4p5qTg64GDl5UcGph4TmanxB4bwylZBDeoCWhZaNMZvB-VGPh6X9x6DX3php7coM_Tqb8A1lyKdYRWC78M6wWozhX8C6wxON4C8ZlhN7-OX4Gx0jc8b64b3_BeOEc1cMK92ugEzCJ-tO/s320/P1330948.JPG" width="232" /></a></div><p>While the building is mostly a mix of Dec and Perp,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwKGXBOlonUAFdvKJhK7hLU47qgaN7B8IiHgwMcXykjDem5zuO9F5AChL3OLWVcGIHSvc7NP4M1p1ulMQ2uMO9dqwmK7hto-0KUZdcjm9i6N17dmWDgCmp83p_iU94pAX9FwSIysr3t1YuWvXB3Pe2_g6TY0nRMLF_MKFjmNp4zNmf_Or1hUL49cizOBsq/s800/P1330950.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwKGXBOlonUAFdvKJhK7hLU47qgaN7B8IiHgwMcXykjDem5zuO9F5AChL3OLWVcGIHSvc7NP4M1p1ulMQ2uMO9dqwmK7hto-0KUZdcjm9i6N17dmWDgCmp83p_iU94pAX9FwSIysr3t1YuWvXB3Pe2_g6TY0nRMLF_MKFjmNp4zNmf_Or1hUL49cizOBsq/s320/P1330950.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>the fine red-brick tower was built in 1726.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnTn8W1z7K9h3P69z3qkr7kE3-jCgXeiDFm4T_DQBpEXH7uLePR_IBfpnNnosIgHnc-nLDXWGZun0k2VgpSdBv0O2z4Q_jqkOwsNbjHYBam4tdt3h8sAKZv9zCjWHBEgZW59E6FnyLY-6A2JhWviqL1q_iolwMzwJjoTkRIVuRb3Ar8mmH4CUl-JcTqv3/s800/P1330953.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnTn8W1z7K9h3P69z3qkr7kE3-jCgXeiDFm4T_DQBpEXH7uLePR_IBfpnNnosIgHnc-nLDXWGZun0k2VgpSdBv0O2z4Q_jqkOwsNbjHYBam4tdt3h8sAKZv9zCjWHBEgZW59E6FnyLY-6A2JhWviqL1q_iolwMzwJjoTkRIVuRb3Ar8mmH4CUl-JcTqv3/s320/P1330953.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>As we were leaving, it was clear that a double-bass recital as part of the Heritage Days was about to begin. Seeing that there would hardly be any audience, I apologised to the player and said we'd try and come back for part of it. I did, and let's just say that Bach's Third Cello Suite on the double-bass is a tricky proposition at the best of times, picturesque as it looked.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bW7zmvunGfs-6vXBOs5NqBvSlNxY4YWTIT8dBhNNNl-dfl2ivmXD1g7g5s3gAN4LBfAjjimjgyicDbDlNgjFBvdm_4B4g-krVDCMak-fBaVnWMix-qQHn6UXOZyKe6HmASaj8I3rInQxHEzR5DGzlCG0xvz2vqYEZ2fWjFjxIQknYU5UX4ZZCtk5LC3S/s800/P1330952.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="437" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bW7zmvunGfs-6vXBOs5NqBvSlNxY4YWTIT8dBhNNNl-dfl2ivmXD1g7g5s3gAN4LBfAjjimjgyicDbDlNgjFBvdm_4B4g-krVDCMak-fBaVnWMix-qQHn6UXOZyKe6HmASaj8I3rInQxHEzR5DGzlCG0xvz2vqYEZ2fWjFjxIQknYU5UX4ZZCtk5LC3S/s320/P1330952.JPG" width="175" /></a></div><p></p><p>As one of our party was wilting, we were lucky to find The Hashery in St Augustine's Street - a real alternative treasure. Excellent coffee; I avoided the generously filled rolls, as I'd overeaten the previous evening and was giving the stoma a rest, but the rest loved them. Needless to say I was back from my compassionate excursion to the recital rather sooner than anyone expected.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kqpHcOilgNQoKBTALu923MVWZcUImh4WakcDHuFll03j_cOkBZy2HAyiNK0sZCXIQd8XUIoU7Ku5W-iTWEVhT6hmTkuiyA7tU_HO8zpiFSp-trXajKIl5EZNfM2DFyiHROPubv0o8PfZbpeBBWsi3K9ni-5Axsa7SY8CQkmEe2Sc2ICey4Yr2hf4p6Z6/s800/P1330959.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kqpHcOilgNQoKBTALu923MVWZcUImh4WakcDHuFll03j_cOkBZy2HAyiNK0sZCXIQd8XUIoU7Ku5W-iTWEVhT6hmTkuiyA7tU_HO8zpiFSp-trXajKIl5EZNfM2DFyiHROPubv0o8PfZbpeBBWsi3K9ni-5Axsa7SY8CQkmEe2Sc2ICey4Yr2hf4p6Z6/s320/P1330959.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The street could be one of Norwich's most attractive if the rush of cars were stopped and pedestrianisation introduced. Already there's the eatery and a couple of quirky galleries. But to reach the calm of Norwich central you have to cross one of the main roads to the lovelier part of Oak Street. The old tree that in the Middle Ages had a branch grown in the image of the Virgin Mary, and which gives St Marin-at-Oak its name, has been twice replanted, but the symbol is an essential one, and the shady green in front of the church very welcome. Sadly the church lost its tower in a 1942 air raid and much else was rebuilt.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMToK5N-byzgBANOr5AKm4q5Bpso0ffjT7mUYC0ItMRUVD0E2GmUcqcVSMqx5ECrAJl27hEEeZ2yiOBZoZEvMtxbiZs6CzBELCR-NckrhTfnzOqBUM4_d_ihga-F5iHNJ2Ptna5UtLK5CINfs2pDw4GJcLl60XAYkYFCnYO9mM51Jf0NNr2w87BIbw7MT/s800/P1330966.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMToK5N-byzgBANOr5AKm4q5Bpso0ffjT7mUYC0ItMRUVD0E2GmUcqcVSMqx5ECrAJl27hEEeZ2yiOBZoZEvMtxbiZs6CzBELCR-NckrhTfnzOqBUM4_d_ihga-F5iHNJ2Ptna5UtLK5CINfs2pDw4GJcLl60XAYkYFCnYO9mM51Jf0NNr2w87BIbw7MT/s320/P1330966.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The building has been converted into a rather handsome music centre and rehearsal space, Oak Studios, though the pianos need a tune.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLNgIvpFK2Df7gyIC6g9BhmqNfCyiTN7zenQ-LkPYHqgVc8g0wXgXr9sFqGkqCpF2ZZbc1Dx1KfCZ3u3Cs-DgnhPV33wMsadx_bfOCnUnT2VOjpcQuFUWxLFuP21rhzUryDKyolQL_KPsZ3m4M2isGlTGYMuqpnIQh2myMjEeN5QfEwsXk-shtSP1gdU7/s800/P1330961.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLNgIvpFK2Df7gyIC6g9BhmqNfCyiTN7zenQ-LkPYHqgVc8g0wXgXr9sFqGkqCpF2ZZbc1Dx1KfCZ3u3Cs-DgnhPV33wMsadx_bfOCnUnT2VOjpcQuFUWxLFuP21rhzUryDKyolQL_KPsZ3m4M2isGlTGYMuqpnIQh2myMjEeN5QfEwsXk-shtSP1gdU7/s320/P1330961.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Turning back into Oak Street, the tower of St Michael Coslany becomes very apparent</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54R7LK3N2okkso6HwhtCkHilyBj11AV9jJ-H5lzR2H-TwZFOilEdkUTItrKKu91FnCZLnHE7eFq3yto8GSoA-HFaygFuB9xlyPInNZ6LfvF5oDNkrl39hnZ2OhfGXAJKk8GtSivRFY6AQwL4XGShm1mxlI5LVcUiRgJvPkcwfxhlCSxPHUg1rA0azWc_q/s800/P1330967.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="800" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54R7LK3N2okkso6HwhtCkHilyBj11AV9jJ-H5lzR2H-TwZFOilEdkUTItrKKu91FnCZLnHE7eFq3yto8GSoA-HFaygFuB9xlyPInNZ6LfvF5oDNkrl39hnZ2OhfGXAJKk8GtSivRFY6AQwL4XGShm1mxlI5LVcUiRgJvPkcwfxhlCSxPHUg1rA0azWc_q/s320/P1330967.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>but first we found we needed to turn left along the front of the long building that becomes St Mary's Works, and there in one of Norwich's many wide spaces known as Plains is the round tower of St Mary at Coslany.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-I11WBY04x9l82tw8srNl7LTEjj2mEFn9YQ_kP9VbYgvu8KF00GVpuxqBqk3y8jPOl2z7Wruw0DwN5Ue4EIf5Qjr_2w_aevxxfwSNXXdyq5FqRENbv7ipr1MtvpfTYEVbGtUWgZDUuSwxzM5GNWQY9UNnmVeJjqL0Twk8bFQrOY68KUnN-w6mHndJw2vZ/s800/P1330969.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-I11WBY04x9l82tw8srNl7LTEjj2mEFn9YQ_kP9VbYgvu8KF00GVpuxqBqk3y8jPOl2z7Wruw0DwN5Ue4EIf5Qjr_2w_aevxxfwSNXXdyq5FqRENbv7ipr1MtvpfTYEVbGtUWgZDUuSwxzM5GNWQY9UNnmVeJjqL0Twk8bFQrOY68KUnN-w6mHndJw2vZ/s320/P1330969.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW197yOeEHmWTAlakZKfjbKfwUeJJSQp8PS8VwnPgXpPyTIPArPuK2O-i5Qag1tZzYBtGpVe8z9oO1o7K7zJ9DsCcQRODsTAS6dEZo2JKv7Io2rN0yz0MOVWUOyN1o0JX00KnydgnDlsLa4xkIlxPR01JPXMmSkhjDNDcgMUfvL0D7-zmwyr14gwHeWX03/s800/P1330994.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW197yOeEHmWTAlakZKfjbKfwUeJJSQp8PS8VwnPgXpPyTIPArPuK2O-i5Qag1tZzYBtGpVe8z9oO1o7K7zJ9DsCcQRODsTAS6dEZo2JKv7Io2rN0yz0MOVWUOyN1o0JX00KnydgnDlsLa4xkIlxPR01JPXMmSkhjDNDcgMUfvL0D7-zmwyr14gwHeWX03/s320/P1330994.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Inside was a very lively scene. Coslany Arts were proudly showing their plans for partioning what we saw as a beautiful, light-filled open space, partly under scaffolding.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4UelB7XRG3ur23abS9vrnuufc62CHTcGsritwkpSkRGOCNTdqrjUl7pnyR-wmxf2HmuCQFXntYuOZqaLhwlotzJe98X3Kizz-eLA5nI3pNqyTedQWSYFnBwoLh5qPBDKYP0ArzlfoTRtJbPIuFRs7uNQZfx94j291UeKEaFY3ZZYvkfjtF7K8lnb3sCK/s5184/P1330991.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4UelB7XRG3ur23abS9vrnuufc62CHTcGsritwkpSkRGOCNTdqrjUl7pnyR-wmxf2HmuCQFXntYuOZqaLhwlotzJe98X3Kizz-eLA5nI3pNqyTedQWSYFnBwoLh5qPBDKYP0ArzlfoTRtJbPIuFRs7uNQZfx94j291UeKEaFY3ZZYvkfjtF7K8lnb3sCK/s320/P1330991.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijeiDIOJjHurrdy9gli0xBgBwt7OB-a7k_inYfRwqlIz_tr4Q-dHaRhi8Odjgx80wloeqUsaLDMYUKje4hU06W7NxD8T4EoSeinBSkhlnG8vjoFVbBQxE3BDRipGeq6U5JsF468lvGjaWfZuXBdAmHCYS8_Byyna4lRj567plLIsN5z0BBM0GjmOkv_y2/s5184/P1330988-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijeiDIOJjHurrdy9gli0xBgBwt7OB-a7k_inYfRwqlIz_tr4Q-dHaRhi8Odjgx80wloeqUsaLDMYUKje4hU06W7NxD8T4EoSeinBSkhlnG8vjoFVbBQxE3BDRipGeq6U5JsF468lvGjaWfZuXBdAmHCYS8_Byyna4lRj567plLIsN5z0BBM0GjmOkv_y2/s320/P1330988-001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PPoemQFf6O-I6DDRkdQiKBNTcgCxQEDbYuJYoK0ik-CIR7S77RBTh2F3N-sB8Iuh_GD943qUbQsyg6IwJK68kjxijqJZRVhke-Zo8N3ZLHLMzhfl_z6UzXkOq0TJMLBa7xUj09VovuRCq6-eEUPCkUqJAi3YwjiYDfLwb_TuNJ9Xn3ZR9rB1JnLMoZfk/s1015/P1330988.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="738" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PPoemQFf6O-I6DDRkdQiKBNTcgCxQEDbYuJYoK0ik-CIR7S77RBTh2F3N-sB8Iuh_GD943qUbQsyg6IwJK68kjxijqJZRVhke-Zo8N3ZLHLMzhfl_z6UzXkOq0TJMLBa7xUj09VovuRCq6-eEUPCkUqJAi3YwjiYDfLwb_TuNJ9Xn3ZR9rB1JnLMoZfk/s320/P1330988.JPG" width="233" /></a></div><p>I guess the light will remain a feature, and one will still look up to the fine roofs, with the Virgin surrounded by rays as the central boss in the nave, </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljfliYa-bpfUhZjQCb7jcANHzfxtDkyARiW20GD9hUbcZqRCp8tLVDLeVQEibbxfFvN6YVRjMwoJwYfQU91lmLy5y-qc7LPFSQg5R7GR4Z9eEXAl_jE2dyV5laBViCzxs_-O6qjdPknYMQcC3jvGLxyMi2PPFhIqHBc24eDqn-U50zgtLhoKAZ77PSXY1/s800/P1330972.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="800" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljfliYa-bpfUhZjQCb7jcANHzfxtDkyARiW20GD9hUbcZqRCp8tLVDLeVQEibbxfFvN6YVRjMwoJwYfQU91lmLy5y-qc7LPFSQg5R7GR4Z9eEXAl_jE2dyV5laBViCzxs_-O6qjdPknYMQcC3jvGLxyMi2PPFhIqHBc24eDqn-U50zgtLhoKAZ77PSXY1/s320/P1330972.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlkW1aGLsnx5M7n_-3YNaKbWLQs64aZeEIYHZ_YVeqepE9iEgA1sLy-WV2ERRGcEWeWdncUmuxMcC4zLQ3Zj2SZGp8Uo-j58mgksiEnVdZN9Ss6-MWZajfoxa-JhqKSMBgfT3TwQvqMt6yYoAbUYwfrVuFyI0dnbNuRzQCYk8WPMJYZ4a3nSi66efPVpY/s800/P1330978.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlkW1aGLsnx5M7n_-3YNaKbWLQs64aZeEIYHZ_YVeqepE9iEgA1sLy-WV2ERRGcEWeWdncUmuxMcC4zLQ3Zj2SZGp8Uo-j58mgksiEnVdZN9Ss6-MWZajfoxa-JhqKSMBgfT3TwQvqMt6yYoAbUYwfrVuFyI0dnbNuRzQCYk8WPMJYZ4a3nSi66efPVpY/s320/P1330978.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />but how much will be lost? Let's hope the many details and monuments will still be clearly visible.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N-ei7bZysD9-ibgXzMUq2nk4CZLSdxkv3q-Vi81TPUFoCqT9t02I7lIgMDkBw6Qzn4OBa2qVrGxNvetDI7b1MP7Ab6xDeKfitrCeCupghxMECrd8tV6hb_giptpU7s-ETkSQb9Irlo18VdsCY_eQ9EhObHtOlYqUhjKP5uG6cCM3mozeLsH-KlKJuWoj/s800/P1330980.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N-ei7bZysD9-ibgXzMUq2nk4CZLSdxkv3q-Vi81TPUFoCqT9t02I7lIgMDkBw6Qzn4OBa2qVrGxNvetDI7b1MP7Ab6xDeKfitrCeCupghxMECrd8tV6hb_giptpU7s-ETkSQb9Irlo18VdsCY_eQ9EhObHtOlYqUhjKP5uG6cCM3mozeLsH-KlKJuWoj/s320/P1330980.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEA9rGNYyWsCnuDonE5oLTp7mrIh3oVYjFOsXZuFt_ne_mHAjECyJodJYduTJ476D3dVwjwfOfMSYeNzimpR_mCZ5_gQaQ7R80AUivN-h8KczlmbCUjhHVGsc_VjpRn9uTKvhLt6mixMzfoGIWtJeQ4K5UjGOKXCnTzsPbpGIWHU_OWIUGXWyT4R_zUtC/s800/P1330982.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEA9rGNYyWsCnuDonE5oLTp7mrIh3oVYjFOsXZuFt_ne_mHAjECyJodJYduTJ476D3dVwjwfOfMSYeNzimpR_mCZ5_gQaQ7R80AUivN-h8KczlmbCUjhHVGsc_VjpRn9uTKvhLt6mixMzfoGIWtJeQ4K5UjGOKXCnTzsPbpGIWHU_OWIUGXWyT4R_zUtC/s320/P1330982.JPG" width="196" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNH9SuvPzi_doxDpLGwXNn1mOy69CJF8Q-HgnI2QzUrjagvw_ogJpFGzwKkI9VThd__PDAIB3WkayvqY7OFdHcBA4QoDc6UTAlJLks90Y4CO7Ozbvt8bdk9tobuagt1Up9gH6kQklFTokNTrWYBgrQKsGWidFqn-oQBcfU5-w5yUtLurMj2B_PTJ7uTIn/s800/P1330977.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="800" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNH9SuvPzi_doxDpLGwXNn1mOy69CJF8Q-HgnI2QzUrjagvw_ogJpFGzwKkI9VThd__PDAIB3WkayvqY7OFdHcBA4QoDc6UTAlJLks90Y4CO7Ozbvt8bdk9tobuagt1Up9gH6kQklFTokNTrWYBgrQKsGWidFqn-oQBcfU5-w5yUtLurMj2B_PTJ7uTIn/s320/P1330977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4h-HoAO6bF-FToomSER73KLtMQyleoQuVmxJ1z23V5M9FmpKXMaaGaTQvdKGLWv--zUaOz_UK66Wd9mzWjlUYDh3jrv338GKa2_c1XNjDYnM1OmaYcv7RKZBrqWBIRwwLQ2cdGAS0ziBuS3LYz3UwXoATzTzlZfuqK3SJZJ1TyW3FocfiCRux3hoUXUN-/s800/P1330984.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="509" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4h-HoAO6bF-FToomSER73KLtMQyleoQuVmxJ1z23V5M9FmpKXMaaGaTQvdKGLWv--zUaOz_UK66Wd9mzWjlUYDh3jrv338GKa2_c1XNjDYnM1OmaYcv7RKZBrqWBIRwwLQ2cdGAS0ziBuS3LYz3UwXoATzTzlZfuqK3SJZJ1TyW3FocfiCRux3hoUXUN-/s320/P1330984.JPG" width="204" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'm intrigued by what's on the coat of arms - above it are 'Laxton' and 'Clarke', but it's not the Laxton arms I looked up. Anyway, hedgehogs play a major part.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYoiPMGX97IZrXmEzmTOAjL7FDum3Tp-1-vY1v2cMbFKeR2pGnE0-rNWXXHvRuw10eQn5izOk-HQoVuiCiLkvxl0U6zHYvuzvT9dauvLca7c_vsrotieO0XWlgRvcOm3VjuloyxGs3PSDtkzCkjOhRW2I2iL6vZrMLoG9j90p_aPoffW_PB-UtYpJwnoo/s776/P1330987.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="776" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYoiPMGX97IZrXmEzmTOAjL7FDum3Tp-1-vY1v2cMbFKeR2pGnE0-rNWXXHvRuw10eQn5izOk-HQoVuiCiLkvxl0U6zHYvuzvT9dauvLca7c_vsrotieO0XWlgRvcOm3VjuloyxGs3PSDtkzCkjOhRW2I2iL6vZrMLoG9j90p_aPoffW_PB-UtYpJwnoo/s320/P1330987.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9iUFHVViV7dlsm_tag4gChuEGeQCgoeSdpCE4mX9VIBOI6NA4fAbHGd6gtcVeiPueGkUaW1gc2JZB6ZiQJdH5HTK3Jx_n3Jz6zxP6j-tgsOCUtih69_3FvRb5KiI3tXhik8RfUN5C7WGbCK72bxnTK_E8eglVy3cFgx0DyKc8jLY8p01YncyeYqtf76u/s800/P1330987-002.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="800" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9iUFHVViV7dlsm_tag4gChuEGeQCgoeSdpCE4mX9VIBOI6NA4fAbHGd6gtcVeiPueGkUaW1gc2JZB6ZiQJdH5HTK3Jx_n3Jz6zxP6j-tgsOCUtih69_3FvRb5KiI3tXhik8RfUN5C7WGbCK72bxnTK_E8eglVy3cFgx0DyKc8jLY8p01YncyeYqtf76u/s320/P1330987-002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>On the other side of St Mary at Coslany Plain is a modern Baptish church (of course we include that in the list)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8Lkz2sWTMsC1NPWO_Q9yipQeNvirIktEdHKRI4jEclNCoyZIB5k_qw4KEbVh0kzSKjD8KCFmSFdmS6j3v_LkRKbDaPgGFgGcWs-cL2MCtiHkNiBD9Z7wRidluX7kf3uSCyxciB1QrvUNT7eOAdEaVGevmfAm94NF3Te2-LWTQszXc-SnJY8jlYNF0GyS/s800/P1330995.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8Lkz2sWTMsC1NPWO_Q9yipQeNvirIktEdHKRI4jEclNCoyZIB5k_qw4KEbVh0kzSKjD8KCFmSFdmS6j3v_LkRKbDaPgGFgGcWs-cL2MCtiHkNiBD9Z7wRidluX7kf3uSCyxciB1QrvUNT7eOAdEaVGevmfAm94NF3Te2-LWTQszXc-SnJY8jlYNF0GyS/s320/P1330995.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and - J, somewhat ahead, noticed this, I didn't, so this is his photo - there's also a Zoab 'Strict Baptist' chapel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRe9CQ9T0iw1UvMHrD5PhGpVQEC0t6WILvXZJz3mY8W4xwK00oY3yOZjaqS35bM1B02KVzj0ILrQc_yqgO_md9l0yg35jBCJoQ50WA0lwQwTYtUS_2O0qqRrHd1wJYpq6v7GBDn3roqvlvIjI8errYYkEhfnBP21_9CzsF-o6Msj9ISEK011m8jI5s79pp/s1139/1000005192.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="1027" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRe9CQ9T0iw1UvMHrD5PhGpVQEC0t6WILvXZJz3mY8W4xwK00oY3yOZjaqS35bM1B02KVzj0ILrQc_yqgO_md9l0yg35jBCJoQ50WA0lwQwTYtUS_2O0qqRrHd1wJYpq6v7GBDn3roqvlvIjI8errYYkEhfnBP21_9CzsF-o6Msj9ISEK011m8jI5s79pp/s320/1000005192.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><p></p><p>An attractive narrow lane leads to the equally pretty ensemble around St Michael (aka Miles) at Coslany. This is a glorious building on the outside, rich in flushwork (light stone patterning infilled with dark flints).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RgmXw57lTErG8dxNuD6fxlXVLCWsDT7HN6RUs81SGSd02Qcierudugyz6gh_-ps4NdR8Z1mQeJjAr9ueF6kKOflCvwLy4OLs1ooPau1GyU1sSBXZHOuwZV-AsP-nIpR-tZDRaBLuCXvK9hO9A12UMrKoYRUea49c4XYTxWyvRJdSffEy_VVHVWCsGqXT/s800/P1340018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RgmXw57lTErG8dxNuD6fxlXVLCWsDT7HN6RUs81SGSd02Qcierudugyz6gh_-ps4NdR8Z1mQeJjAr9ueF6kKOflCvwLy4OLs1ooPau1GyU1sSBXZHOuwZV-AsP-nIpR-tZDRaBLuCXvK9hO9A12UMrKoYRUea49c4XYTxWyvRJdSffEy_VVHVWCsGqXT/s320/P1340018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevub45PoDReXWgxUJ2y58_XCcBSqxxGZxedtzNaytrMIaOgyi1yCU_-YcqOrBWl0ZhkfAyXXmNSInNF36BdN5OSwl9CtgDTPzeVxhOoh3BUOvK1zwL2mGLRri1DzqBDhKJQy7Y_UFdY496y4jsSTgVsiDuma8iAzy2HVgqk9cZez6Sj75LvdOKOBFK8X8/s800/P1340017.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevub45PoDReXWgxUJ2y58_XCcBSqxxGZxedtzNaytrMIaOgyi1yCU_-YcqOrBWl0ZhkfAyXXmNSInNF36BdN5OSwl9CtgDTPzeVxhOoh3BUOvK1zwL2mGLRri1DzqBDhKJQy7Y_UFdY496y4jsSTgVsiDuma8iAzy2HVgqk9cZez6Sj75LvdOKOBFK8X8/s320/P1340017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>John Sell Cotman, baptised at St Mary at Coslany and one of Norwich's most famous sons, was able to see more of the splendid west door than we could</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl8hP80BqZ_Vr9d9Z_6hrnyXh_ZAQqhRQCjiukMZiCRr0ro0NqJg-HD4ARqiIfMDt2uq4N9BzVpc9Jf3nvDHeyQQGy01fOe9K2YSfwPcc-56rO8mwrES-Kz_p73dEfBhsuT-vjDidE-TEU2P4uw3cgCRlqc08FynZQXiJTJzSoEAFLvZXHcZtd1ID3fgx/s252/P1330858.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl8hP80BqZ_Vr9d9Z_6hrnyXh_ZAQqhRQCjiukMZiCRr0ro0NqJg-HD4ARqiIfMDt2uq4N9BzVpc9Jf3nvDHeyQQGy01fOe9K2YSfwPcc-56rO8mwrES-Kz_p73dEfBhsuT-vjDidE-TEU2P4uw3cgCRlqc08FynZQXiJTJzSoEAFLvZXHcZtd1ID3fgx/s1600/P1330858.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />since the vans of <a href="https://www.lostintranslationcircus.com/">Lost in Translation Circus</a>, an admirable set-up which occupies the building, blocked the lower half; but the upper <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR1eMFZJ_-6FysfgbI-AIONc66qxmt2_JDGtBDRb7esr9u7X7LxbmbZRzLrBzqEXIwEnqFuEwGueZCSrueRgpK2kiYwdyXRJ56ldmCDbLeb-64Q_atT72B_r5vsLcJ3uKklermwFwVW_mck8kn8O1QrmqNIfdaQ81IkDsExNgCXe9_yno8J4mIOl-3Krh/s800/P1340001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR1eMFZJ_-6FysfgbI-AIONc66qxmt2_JDGtBDRb7esr9u7X7LxbmbZRzLrBzqEXIwEnqFuEwGueZCSrueRgpK2kiYwdyXRJ56ldmCDbLeb-64Q_atT72B_r5vsLcJ3uKklermwFwVW_mck8kn8O1QrmqNIfdaQ81IkDsExNgCXe9_yno8J4mIOl-3Krh/s320/P1340001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>has glories, especially in its angels.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_sxoJLn8cRK2HyPXeaAYlyKBGXblIFILqBj2HA59fWLf_uOz7rvhjhoZW9B-qVSixArxWwZtvcccjTQpbWPB8QqcbNIHNpumjzQLkkJt3y-C-bN4iR_ZeXXkEAHNyJiH4CWNrtaVl1kMbnnFh2U3r0y9gfk8TAOlmjqlIU0ybVF-Gv-Z-Hl5WAL8I2ML/s800/P1340003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_sxoJLn8cRK2HyPXeaAYlyKBGXblIFILqBj2HA59fWLf_uOz7rvhjhoZW9B-qVSixArxWwZtvcccjTQpbWPB8QqcbNIHNpumjzQLkkJt3y-C-bN4iR_ZeXXkEAHNyJiH4CWNrtaVl1kMbnnFh2U3r0y9gfk8TAOlmjqlIU0ybVF-Gv-Z-Hl5WAL8I2ML/s320/P1340003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Inside, Lost in Translation makes full use of the space</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMoce_jfaWcm0OVaWhE97HBK278Xdkfbem2t-EajVYg5SJyj7uSOUOG2xBUp5n7uGwKdoQ5vqL3hNdOIb5ihyQl55V37Pinfdo_8J7Tn79THscuBMC379awK3PZq7ysHvCbSHqVTk6OfROk4HxSWMcjXmKQhxuA62kgoHbHLXu-fSJTl5KrMmFVHVMSjG/s800/P1340011.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMoce_jfaWcm0OVaWhE97HBK278Xdkfbem2t-EajVYg5SJyj7uSOUOG2xBUp5n7uGwKdoQ5vqL3hNdOIb5ihyQl55V37Pinfdo_8J7Tn79THscuBMC379awK3PZq7ysHvCbSHqVTk6OfROk4HxSWMcjXmKQhxuA62kgoHbHLXu-fSJTl5KrMmFVHVMSjG/s320/P1340011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>and I got told off for walking over the special flooring in my shoes. When I explained that I wanted to see the fragments of medieval glass in the north aisle east window, my rebuker let me off. How could I have seen them otherwise (though I was willing to remove my footwear)?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbzEKADqcpfOgmqPOrEWOfSJ-O-OLMJytsipDyzbdAXdiDV1asebgRHFb24UmYHiEpBqhFeSQgb35EhwZ7FO9kl5MqAh3WfqUJmygjh8LGK_qGxdJDnhlLHnGxEOOuH7nfyG04LbpBdkOW76NOR8jcRG8QZKk3ThDlTQYwiUizXTg9ujSEWtgmxGy9fje/s800/P1340005.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbzEKADqcpfOgmqPOrEWOfSJ-O-OLMJytsipDyzbdAXdiDV1asebgRHFb24UmYHiEpBqhFeSQgb35EhwZ7FO9kl5MqAh3WfqUJmygjh8LGK_qGxdJDnhlLHnGxEOOuH7nfyG04LbpBdkOW76NOR8jcRG8QZKk3ThDlTQYwiUizXTg9ujSEWtgmxGy9fje/s320/P1340005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Whatever else there is to see of the old interior, several monuments on the west balcony apart, isn't apparent. One of our party, affected by the heat as well as displeasure at not finding proper church interiors (I found it all fascinating), declared that we would stop here. No way, said I, so we compromised on seeing the wonders of Colegate and a few more churches on the other side of the Wensum around Elm Hill. And our next church restored equanimity.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5X-C_6dkLDk3q3X4FjpBPKktTPz951r7W-ofyoz4GHOKghM99JBzorXg7zbLTR0LkRMPjuSqrI4LuAsNEcHrArHi__3DumR-cLRhSz9nnb-WN4qNxo8QZPmXessVRxKFqrMIeUe7lBMbU-yeZAdJqTqooKwfzYq3u-GzDc8m_mJyifdgo3Yy7sksON3w/s800/P1340019.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5X-C_6dkLDk3q3X4FjpBPKktTPz951r7W-ofyoz4GHOKghM99JBzorXg7zbLTR0LkRMPjuSqrI4LuAsNEcHrArHi__3DumR-cLRhSz9nnb-WN4qNxo8QZPmXessVRxKFqrMIeUe7lBMbU-yeZAdJqTqooKwfzYq3u-GzDc8m_mJyifdgo3Yy7sksON3w/s320/P1340019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Not only is Colegate a total delight - converted warehouse buildings on one side, Georgian townhouses on the other - but St George was the greatest hit for all of us. The building is in essence late 15th - early 16th century. The porch has in its spandrels St George and angels left, Annunciation right.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFB_c0AfRD6-uGRzDZx7L9V1ADmiEizfnWX47M7kPN-Kl9coa44PtigWFoRCvE4-N4pD0v1rkdItbnd6AA0dSf1UL3xCvl0NmZh5J0VrzDFRCuReXf2R5mEQGYn3jECx6k_djEYekRbynWG2OZUmVvL_lfc9Cc3UveM4fyf8MMvs5o5oyA-JOSjIY9b-j/s800/P1340022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFB_c0AfRD6-uGRzDZx7L9V1ADmiEizfnWX47M7kPN-Kl9coa44PtigWFoRCvE4-N4pD0v1rkdItbnd6AA0dSf1UL3xCvl0NmZh5J0VrzDFRCuReXf2R5mEQGYn3jECx6k_djEYekRbynWG2OZUmVvL_lfc9Cc3UveM4fyf8MMvs5o5oyA-JOSjIY9b-j/s320/P1340022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0btQUr1n5qZ2k6an023v_G69-0_SgMQ1YPEJUUSHu2LJlJK6caWkxFuU7HymjxVqDxRGkG2bhEzHzvyRr_Z8PHpJWtgP7aO92i1kKLSCr7EBa7orErL96INqgvkG_bSljaQYbK5eOTiiGH-aDL_XQ-SM9TVFohPjRYNX3372olKq97Zkp5E0Z7rmNAUyu/s5184/P1340024.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0btQUr1n5qZ2k6an023v_G69-0_SgMQ1YPEJUUSHu2LJlJK6caWkxFuU7HymjxVqDxRGkG2bhEzHzvyRr_Z8PHpJWtgP7aO92i1kKLSCr7EBa7orErL96INqgvkG_bSljaQYbK5eOTiiGH-aDL_XQ-SM9TVFohPjRYNX3372olKq97Zkp5E0Z7rmNAUyu/s320/P1340024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSGTLXlEj60myWOwLZajw1YqDEHZey_kPdlj5FzApcExHYmDthGC4dQLQe6vK3rdxoEyKuyHQ0uJSeuJzr6u1Wm2zxE1WAb6VKLdItlhnkdlfAqnrqclT1lnPuXOhc6BoB49_gTE5rm4PyEPwyV4G-d-VBlSZI37DuCMY-KrC7jD-ojxGb9ovxjQ6rl5U/s800/P1340023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSGTLXlEj60myWOwLZajw1YqDEHZey_kPdlj5FzApcExHYmDthGC4dQLQe6vK3rdxoEyKuyHQ0uJSeuJzr6u1Wm2zxE1WAb6VKLdItlhnkdlfAqnrqclT1lnPuXOhc6BoB49_gTE5rm4PyEPwyV4G-d-VBlSZI37DuCMY-KrC7jD-ojxGb9ovxjQ6rl5U/s320/P1340023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Once inside, you instantly note what a handsome and restrained makeover the Georgians achieved, far removed from Victorian excess. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaEQhg40M35cyFj0SI_LXZ1UyPlqedxgY-kNaLtX7tg6_IQ9ZPYReNPL0fvK_aqFlYVJySGzFs8j7bcE8h7FvSUIhiaLqnQLv6mEDNgXhedfFye9lAtQbDASTEGKcAEzLDAhBU2NtsjibnohanhD0qt6poB2KrylGlJW_PSP5GPheVAuEpoW-G3An98_r/s800/P1340026.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaEQhg40M35cyFj0SI_LXZ1UyPlqedxgY-kNaLtX7tg6_IQ9ZPYReNPL0fvK_aqFlYVJySGzFs8j7bcE8h7FvSUIhiaLqnQLv6mEDNgXhedfFye9lAtQbDASTEGKcAEzLDAhBU2NtsjibnohanhD0qt6poB2KrylGlJW_PSP5GPheVAuEpoW-G3An98_r/s320/P1340026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1FveS3ZjE8txxkDaIp9mr-sNkax1wViEG7Mgg80nrLlnK1VBXT4n6B24YNAbdCRpKMxZdeOgcSR3lgWh5t2mBVesZ31FJSIgJkiDi9-696vRel3v8Ycv4L8WnwnMVFDC6q2advLdqUBfZI5__rxE5j9Pl6HMdljLlP7rFMzUJGOw4EN0-Q45pK0y9PJH/s800/P1340029.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1FveS3ZjE8txxkDaIp9mr-sNkax1wViEG7Mgg80nrLlnK1VBXT4n6B24YNAbdCRpKMxZdeOgcSR3lgWh5t2mBVesZ31FJSIgJkiDi9-696vRel3v8Ycv4L8WnwnMVFDC6q2advLdqUBfZI5__rxE5j9Pl6HMdljLlP7rFMzUJGOw4EN0-Q45pK0y9PJH/s320/P1340029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Wall monuments between light-filling windows looked good on this brightest of afternoons, and the five sword-rests add interest.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPm3cxTIq0iSAXawj1IDYXOu12UnxokTzc25tDvXrsMOkzgqka0X3-EpwD0eEBPiXDDPTrxD_9lI_VSAQw9XE36aVOzjwEcTQPRlzyK1ypoQG4aODSBdq7v1u4Y4GNb6bXFILyxIZQX3dXygFB6qrneEF7EADh7OdnHWIwyLkP7Av_efdWaE6S0EcnVRm/s800/P1340027.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPm3cxTIq0iSAXawj1IDYXOu12UnxokTzc25tDvXrsMOkzgqka0X3-EpwD0eEBPiXDDPTrxD_9lI_VSAQw9XE36aVOzjwEcTQPRlzyK1ypoQG4aODSBdq7v1u4Y4GNb6bXFILyxIZQX3dXygFB6qrneEF7EADh7OdnHWIwyLkP7Av_efdWaE6S0EcnVRm/s320/P1340027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXN2IkHhZ-bETip0xEusCe7csn2J6v1BWXn-6owJBJZYUWDExZxZOAY42YOiJhK21i8tVzT7aqmL9nclswhQclgPO1FEm8eONAlBd6HLHYDwmZv6hTLoOij4yg24MG9vfYvuUCJkK1q3gJkcBGmQIbdIZic5X9OjPwO-6oblOL-olWCcwKdz2EMEJmcYS/s800/P1340040.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="800" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXN2IkHhZ-bETip0xEusCe7csn2J6v1BWXn-6owJBJZYUWDExZxZOAY42YOiJhK21i8tVzT7aqmL9nclswhQclgPO1FEm8eONAlBd6HLHYDwmZv6hTLoOij4yg24MG9vfYvuUCJkK1q3gJkcBGmQIbdIZic5X9OjPwO-6oblOL-olWCcwKdz2EMEJmcYS/s320/P1340040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdRNjLgOCDhMMDduEBGnAz8eQZ1a8FNZxZQ8mTlUFrSbiaOV7O0QW_qZDaKd2VbdSmQkndRzGyoEn6sdyOothpB6eMnS2QULVWCXUclfG-7tsE_KMwbHghWDRew6Y_HCtzy0MEpXMvseVo-nPNQrzV293xZnfraMPa_h2il4jjPAKOlYs7dfwCq_nNXoH/s800/P1340041.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdRNjLgOCDhMMDduEBGnAz8eQZ1a8FNZxZQ8mTlUFrSbiaOV7O0QW_qZDaKd2VbdSmQkndRzGyoEn6sdyOothpB6eMnS2QULVWCXUclfG-7tsE_KMwbHghWDRew6Y_HCtzy0MEpXMvseVo-nPNQrzV293xZnfraMPa_h2il4jjPAKOlYs7dfwCq_nNXoH/s320/P1340041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A statue of Apollo Belvedere now stands on top of the allegedly fine 1802 organ</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rS80WWf8Al3Czz06bwEkG4JoFmzpoqHlcdAq8Wjq2P7_e7PTVDL9s3BlgsC10Y_Rk8ZUWhdltYHlMCag6pnIcOLe0Auj5rhPP3F9mSnShEk8RsVsgees33-8QeFglohos9LTfYhgL_ywMmvT3aQGs5wuslYaRl9WyW0q6Oj3puaq6EdXEFPKOX6Ix_SP/s800/P1340030.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="800" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rS80WWf8Al3Czz06bwEkG4JoFmzpoqHlcdAq8Wjq2P7_e7PTVDL9s3BlgsC10Y_Rk8ZUWhdltYHlMCag6pnIcOLe0Auj5rhPP3F9mSnShEk8RsVsgees33-8QeFglohos9LTfYhgL_ywMmvT3aQGs5wuslYaRl9WyW0q6Oj3puaq6EdXEFPKOX6Ix_SP/s320/P1340030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HvNoLPOm57cstFmvZwoFslOaKA94n8vWiRF-IWqsdSI1umClFc2KSuU6ghEPovdGzZTURZJxFA-Z3gS25fq_MdP-FBnnhV-Qse_ZNqGWZeIz65AevV1lqjixE2Qnld90JpFMMmVpe-pTbJlvMZaV5wxu9I3S9F_Nizb2L3sSiUbAqgrzvubiBQK_3DQD/s2765/P1340032.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2069" data-original-width="2765" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HvNoLPOm57cstFmvZwoFslOaKA94n8vWiRF-IWqsdSI1umClFc2KSuU6ghEPovdGzZTURZJxFA-Z3gS25fq_MdP-FBnnhV-Qse_ZNqGWZeIz65AevV1lqjixE2Qnld90JpFMMmVpe-pTbJlvMZaV5wxu9I3S9F_Nizb2L3sSiUbAqgrzvubiBQK_3DQD/s320/P1340032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and may be a replacement for the figure of Fame now in the south aisle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdG_IaqJEfXDV8qEWJxr0NFi89_DeKB9mQoM_n2MimGLv49RcZTOQVbrSlYAEYF00MfvyXCXnnJRL_yV1HBG9Mxq6pXzbs57nQQIc3_HNI0clXCS7b3nmogBKo-TAQuQWW_DodiN3YAW4H-VYdBCyxLc90sAIL_dDAUD5hTsXaYJYfBWOpelLHXTLKgT3x/s800/P1340045.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdG_IaqJEfXDV8qEWJxr0NFi89_DeKB9mQoM_n2MimGLv49RcZTOQVbrSlYAEYF00MfvyXCXnnJRL_yV1HBG9Mxq6pXzbs57nQQIc3_HNI0clXCS7b3nmogBKo-TAQuQWW_DodiN3YAW4H-VYdBCyxLc90sAIL_dDAUD5hTsXaYJYfBWOpelLHXTLKgT3x/s320/P1340045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The pulpit is also Georgian, one of its panels handsomely decorated.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiViabW5PzJ4NDQk7AVfOnxt8rZyFZkhPQF1SkBpSza_Lf8r5oeQ8WIFXsWuF7US2a1ZfsmmcXlQq5d-Mtth2ltAk1HRaG3iaXsjafDBwbSuUVVEesL7AUcwyqf2df5LlJM87rPXV0XOPgcwAnrjvsAMJH8tQyQ0MWD-zYgIhuJJnZoAx3H-2NIpv_xI4yO/s800/P1340034.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiViabW5PzJ4NDQk7AVfOnxt8rZyFZkhPQF1SkBpSza_Lf8r5oeQ8WIFXsWuF7US2a1ZfsmmcXlQq5d-Mtth2ltAk1HRaG3iaXsjafDBwbSuUVVEesL7AUcwyqf2df5LlJM87rPXV0XOPgcwAnrjvsAMJH8tQyQ0MWD-zYgIhuJJnZoAx3H-2NIpv_xI4yO/s320/P1340034.JPG" width="247" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Georgian elegance is undercut by an older, grim inscription for Bryant Lewis, 'who was barbarously murdered upon ye Heath near Thetford' in 1698. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqwWn6WwfzNxHKNRcVUVnDnC_kXjZWsT1eopRS11gFmA8shU9g8yYKCo57pXqCV_VvJmwFInbTxJheap-vFjbEw-VESPJ2v7gN1R8daeKsQGEhgRjPc2ab5nOAXcvaZ0toL54UWn7WjL-pBrKWzT1jsqwIUKXVudXNP0oed_egrrOV0XRqijjyaRzXVLr/s800/P1340051.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqwWn6WwfzNxHKNRcVUVnDnC_kXjZWsT1eopRS11gFmA8shU9g8yYKCo57pXqCV_VvJmwFInbTxJheap-vFjbEw-VESPJ2v7gN1R8daeKsQGEhgRjPc2ab5nOAXcvaZ0toL54UWn7WjL-pBrKWzT1jsqwIUKXVudXNP0oed_egrrOV0XRqijjyaRzXVLr/s320/P1340051.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The long admonitory poem that follows I couldn't entirely make out, but it begins</p><p><i>FIFTEEN Wide Wounds this stone vails from thine Eyes</i></p><p><i>But Reader Hark their VOICE doth Pierce the Skyes.</i></p><p><i>VENGEANCE Cryd ABELS Blood gainst Cruel Cain</i></p><p><i>But BETTER THINGS spake Christ</i> [can't make the rest of this line out, but you get the gist - it develops into a 'desist from crime' homily]</p><p>There's also a fine Early Renaissance tombchest of terracotta to Rober Jannys, with decorated panels.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3EQUsCnqWSWuZFwewrI1xJ_aFliM3hJdSO5lSCmJM6FeR45ZnDmdjNgo52Oej_7-vm0SWNzT8bSuhEKQ5_RjRB3_2SyAQzdEqYnoilCYRICJWdIO8dTXLeJpNU-9FnP7DWkpUhk4PIkv2BsILpjjUUZRXliPMADns7lqOREkhoyt-JYATJ6134Z9-28N/s800/P1340035.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3EQUsCnqWSWuZFwewrI1xJ_aFliM3hJdSO5lSCmJM6FeR45ZnDmdjNgo52Oej_7-vm0SWNzT8bSuhEKQ5_RjRB3_2SyAQzdEqYnoilCYRICJWdIO8dTXLeJpNU-9FnP7DWkpUhk4PIkv2BsILpjjUUZRXliPMADns7lqOREkhoyt-JYATJ6134Z9-28N/s320/P1340035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Continuing along Colegate, the tower of St Clement came in to sight beyond a pleasing row of houses</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3u0trMGnI7m0HBRO5ceBDXJrLXoIIyR6NyuBBSK-xIS8Y_mGMpIpkkiM0fHN86MVxOVnoaNteJwoZoJKQ8odlY95MLnFJBljYpZnY0dDa8-fDUDYGs9CV_AQr1PjWTMNAmyp_zccBkld3XNRnCPcNdk8HrLT-BSRkp6Xn7dL5hJeTUovkdHP-PyJHQZj/s800/P1340055.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3u0trMGnI7m0HBRO5ceBDXJrLXoIIyR6NyuBBSK-xIS8Y_mGMpIpkkiM0fHN86MVxOVnoaNteJwoZoJKQ8odlY95MLnFJBljYpZnY0dDa8-fDUDYGs9CV_AQr1PjWTMNAmyp_zccBkld3XNRnCPcNdk8HrLT-BSRkp6Xn7dL5hJeTUovkdHP-PyJHQZj/s320/P1340055.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>but there were two more significant detours to take to our left. One is a singular glory of Norwich, the Octagon Chapel completed in 1754-6 by Thomas Ivory for the Presbyterians before becoming the base of the best of all the religions (IMO), the Unitarians ('all is one') in 1820.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQ0BHfSY6_o6GowcANLmXslqQv_pW9gUjI1YK7FimANRvLBpq8qxa_mHVaifLUjEKTVe5v5YYoDRQwXvXNOJfdQGtyGma-iap715QQDLzTiZ8_5m4bCmLD81TRnhlWA9A-iX4j_5DILlScZLuOFAcRJr-ulwt54DmQ7jdKvuRny5F9wi11Qjg3eEHY2vd/s800/P1340056.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQ0BHfSY6_o6GowcANLmXslqQv_pW9gUjI1YK7FimANRvLBpq8qxa_mHVaifLUjEKTVe5v5YYoDRQwXvXNOJfdQGtyGma-iap715QQDLzTiZ8_5m4bCmLD81TRnhlWA9A-iX4j_5DILlScZLuOFAcRJr-ulwt54DmQ7jdKvuRny5F9wi11Qjg3eEHY2vd/s320/P1340056.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Pevsner writes of the 'one-storeyed pedimented portico of four unfluted Ionic columns...Octagonal pyramid roof and in it it little dormers, or bull's-eyes with curly surrounds, which are the only light relief of an otherwise, not stern, but reticent bulding'. Thus the dome inside.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfG1zzn_Dg3tdAovGHUglAegkv7JS2Xfn5--CTvmWCFY6K5e02UY5DThUrvNNZT01TGbVjWqhZQY_vSN30bI-vSOI_IXUopg0zi9BalbNZjzDYCsBwJVFhpfMsDfWDQ1UvBp4UChhBznyUwHzE3U8w2Ba0cNCGE-jWm15SujSdLRrsksZ7zXRM3LgWTeT/s800/P1340058.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfG1zzn_Dg3tdAovGHUglAegkv7JS2Xfn5--CTvmWCFY6K5e02UY5DThUrvNNZT01TGbVjWqhZQY_vSN30bI-vSOI_IXUopg0zi9BalbNZjzDYCsBwJVFhpfMsDfWDQ1UvBp4UChhBznyUwHzE3U8w2Ba0cNCGE-jWm15SujSdLRrsksZ7zXRM3LgWTeT/s320/P1340058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The 'eight gigantic Corinthian columns' are painted lime green, not quite sure why - doesn't look quite right; but the interior is still mighty impressive, especially from the wooden galleries upstairs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9qjzlTI_s4T8CnDZAolvy6gVFqDAaKPzYjQJwtGu78z06isKjdGoDtOrLHtb6TiwJt29C_VzXCREwGDcDZw8nJkRdVTQbTnCQGPElvznNiK-JKijWRAFB_hHqbDlpPxxPEEEpJrNSay55IvBe6aa6uSHFh2QQbgA7M6BIqF4mlGfdawZXznYBAJ6ySFL/s800/P1340073.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9qjzlTI_s4T8CnDZAolvy6gVFqDAaKPzYjQJwtGu78z06isKjdGoDtOrLHtb6TiwJt29C_VzXCREwGDcDZw8nJkRdVTQbTnCQGPElvznNiK-JKijWRAFB_hHqbDlpPxxPEEEpJrNSay55IvBe6aa6uSHFh2QQbgA7M6BIqF4mlGfdawZXznYBAJ6ySFL/s320/P1340073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was good to learn in the exhibition room behind the organ more about some of the remarkable Unitarian figures, not least the Martineaus of Huguenot descent (remember Norwich was always very welcoming to outsiders, which accounts for its success as a textiles centre). James (1805-1900) and Harriet (1802-76), brother and sister, children of a local manufacturer, were equally remarkable in their various ways.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbkCXS1ysKLXaffSLaWs9tmITBhFBNldOFFtLm7xqQ76UnCkgCmTM8zqWd9_ucTVOnFOoSLr26wyHV-smBT10GT_R5uQMCFlr6Rm469CapE2WH7kiBHcSKpI-eTdIx1Q8vsX4Qlnw-YuFKnF_Pxgu89Wyl17WktEWH7U-N9anYm328piWdkzKZ1qbtRsW/s800/P1340065.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbkCXS1ysKLXaffSLaWs9tmITBhFBNldOFFtLm7xqQ76UnCkgCmTM8zqWd9_ucTVOnFOoSLr26wyHV-smBT10GT_R5uQMCFlr6Rm469CapE2WH7kiBHcSKpI-eTdIx1Q8vsX4Qlnw-YuFKnF_Pxgu89Wyl17WktEWH7U-N9anYm328piWdkzKZ1qbtRsW/s320/P1340065.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p>James is, as the <a href="https://martineausociety.co.uk/the-martineaus/james-martineau/">Martineau Society</a> puts it, 'best remembered for his views on religion based on reason and conscience'; Gladstone acclaimed him as 'the finest of living thinkers'. Harriet is claimed as the first female sociologist; writing and lecturing from a holistic perspective, she was admired by the young Victoria, who invited her to her coronation, and was hailed with pointed words by Wendell Phillips as 'the greatest American abolitionist'. She deserves her portrait here too - by Richard Evans, 'prepared' by Thomas Lawrence.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kn75-Wl_UGsX-4O83Wjo0V4-VXvfhhVS82D6qWiIKqQO5h1INbUUcgD4tTTIHAuC28EhnTMTw9HmpN1QX2fftBin46WcaDJC8gu-iUQx0LGsfcGM5KQJaJl2T1eFm8V0SILszke9SHEW4jlsFV95Fv6WylsUBYEe8nRq2slkzmQ4eUZXaKVDhe2HcDyH/s996/800px-Harriet_Martineau_by_Richard_Evans.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kn75-Wl_UGsX-4O83Wjo0V4-VXvfhhVS82D6qWiIKqQO5h1INbUUcgD4tTTIHAuC28EhnTMTw9HmpN1QX2fftBin46WcaDJC8gu-iUQx0LGsfcGM5KQJaJl2T1eFm8V0SILszke9SHEW4jlsFV95Fv6WylsUBYEe8nRq2slkzmQ4eUZXaKVDhe2HcDyH/s320/800px-Harriet_Martineau_by_Richard_Evans.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><p></p><p>There was one more handsome ecclesiasical edifice to see before we reached the church tower at the end of the street (getting closer).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5BanBroMC44g_3rgFyJUy-uHlWTQ12xb8cyuCTFQ0ztMwJ7JKSDRxvsK9o8sHcadB4EkxXfkN55NjUuyUd9SmVmCyTHTm469IFKmDwbFYp0GYULB433fXf97fMW812A0vrJs6gBLSRiQUYh_AjYzTpvtnXGA4Ep7mHGoNUbpSpWuw0rlie_Ein4MgtkJ/s800/P1340080.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5BanBroMC44g_3rgFyJUy-uHlWTQ12xb8cyuCTFQ0ztMwJ7JKSDRxvsK9o8sHcadB4EkxXfkN55NjUuyUd9SmVmCyTHTm469IFKmDwbFYp0GYULB433fXf97fMW812A0vrJs6gBLSRiQUYh_AjYzTpvtnXGA4Ep7mHGoNUbpSpWuw0rlie_Ein4MgtkJ/s320/P1340080.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was a </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmsUVt-oTSF8e8IgJnVb9zawlNkHwx-3-uuO56SSr_aRKOZYWLrbciXaUN3Asdm_6tgiv0MQWvK71I1ZxNKwnBv-Ql_wD3KXxJbjfwW72m6Ys4QZ4NBxJKqFz5Eu1ooGfUmzhNNls2QK7JInVMGAyXoK41fGZuvLJK8Utc1tEb5Vc7zXhlOe76jqxat9o/s800/P1340063.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmsUVt-oTSF8e8IgJnVb9zawlNkHwx-3-uuO56SSr_aRKOZYWLrbciXaUN3Asdm_6tgiv0MQWvK71I1ZxNKwnBv-Ql_wD3KXxJbjfwW72m6Ys4QZ4NBxJKqFz5Eu1ooGfUmzhNNls2QK7JInVMGAyXoK41fGZuvLJK8Utc1tEb5Vc7zXhlOe76jqxat9o/s320/P1340063.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>that the Octagon's neighbour, the Congregational Old Meeting [sic] of 1693 was closed on a Heritage Open Day; maybe they'd shut up shop unusually early. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSWqxIln1fRwOx7-kBfSEuP3-0FMTcdwDnFjdKTqs8qhPbaNxVfBV_V_rNmyyxqR8ym1spONn9__vGSaVzMRTLvfqL0J1FSyoLBJx2J6-YJ0Rw07kXgu14xb8bI5p0JkCTR-nMSc-Ne2kgIbvqrpN6lq9q6N7VScZ9BNFWa5g0zK1IjOmCQ3UDFbi1qal/s800/P1340083.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSWqxIln1fRwOx7-kBfSEuP3-0FMTcdwDnFjdKTqs8qhPbaNxVfBV_V_rNmyyxqR8ym1spONn9__vGSaVzMRTLvfqL0J1FSyoLBJx2J6-YJ0Rw07kXgu14xb8bI5p0JkCTR-nMSc-Ne2kgIbvqrpN6lq9q6N7VScZ9BNFWa5g0zK1IjOmCQ3UDFbi1qal/s320/P1340083.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Pevsner describes the exterior with architectural precision: 'a beautiful facade of red brick, lying far back from the street. Five wide bays and two storeys with hipped roof. The centre with four monumental brick pilasters with stone capitals, brackets. Windows in raised frames. They were, Mr Biggs reports, the earliest sash windows in Norwich'.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2YviIGJ2n6cvETYOSKQ4b2rIjpSihSECMRpj95ZxWvXMVv0OdchgOLGPUftaysvwUzxuy4EHKjXT9gyLgB6MyVk3_35DOk7SHoCSJ2zlfiXRuK_K4cJPSpTUGfOPMU97EcsVEykHEN69UO9pe5YsD3BbZukn6vo55qgnQfoR0AP0J4Wr-O-thi6UChEE/s800/P1340087.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2YviIGJ2n6cvETYOSKQ4b2rIjpSihSECMRpj95ZxWvXMVv0OdchgOLGPUftaysvwUzxuy4EHKjXT9gyLgB6MyVk3_35DOk7SHoCSJ2zlfiXRuK_K4cJPSpTUGfOPMU97EcsVEykHEN69UO9pe5YsD3BbZukn6vo55qgnQfoR0AP0J4Wr-O-thi6UChEE/s320/P1340087.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p>Both the Octagon and 'Old Meeting' have fine green spaces/graveyards around them. So, too, does St Clement, where attractive old trees compete for height with the slender Perpendicular tower.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViuPtPvsV9NJfJWdnliKPugRKcq5gZCNeF_Jk1TAmvzcNtspFZPWZU8LY1MIhQTZPwpytWeWN42_PayRAyqkROhGNjRmc7jZLn3PpXX-d9c5UcFMv6zCsk2EOpT44G00MiIpzawfXIRDirWTv080xeYjy0y5FMrnDkV55H8_9oF3jfv3nrpWpgeTvbggW/s800/P1340088.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViuPtPvsV9NJfJWdnliKPugRKcq5gZCNeF_Jk1TAmvzcNtspFZPWZU8LY1MIhQTZPwpytWeWN42_PayRAyqkROhGNjRmc7jZLn3PpXX-d9c5UcFMv6zCsk2EOpT44G00MiIpzawfXIRDirWTv080xeYjy0y5FMrnDkV55H8_9oF3jfv3nrpWpgeTvbggW/s320/P1340088.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The friendly man in attendance had cake for us, which Jill and I ate sitting out the back, another pretty if narrower space.<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cbJSX8qApuhofq1-hJYMNiWKLiJp5MO1jVUAa-EittdiqD07N1Ju_XlHBelUZKhBYHK891hpJfftVHBpa3wuCOJ-z0761cPQHTTphCzkW_1HzMeBfuXOkGe345M2PLF8FGfqQ7-bzNWCnZRTsmPoDKZnqHOXS90YKXxI-HaaXStbG797PvyWhmrkFd55/s800/P1340096.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cbJSX8qApuhofq1-hJYMNiWKLiJp5MO1jVUAa-EittdiqD07N1Ju_XlHBelUZKhBYHK891hpJfftVHBpa3wuCOJ-z0761cPQHTTphCzkW_1HzMeBfuXOkGe345M2PLF8FGfqQ7-bzNWCnZRTsmPoDKZnqHOXS90YKXxI-HaaXStbG797PvyWhmrkFd55/s320/P1340096.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>He was closing up at 4pm, but didn't rush us. Was this still a place of active worship? Apparently - it still had its font</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GsTCR5yljgjH-n6Uj0HUQiwd6PI41CAhtKzPuJY2HVzGZi1blFxCBXdpe9VpyyBPu_C_xXDsVvGyUr94NsoUSxNZlWHfEsFr7kUNrt6eHAQKoh4Wmk3176T0RMJDbuYv4Gjy0uKxOEk6SgzlcBVBZGJFAL6rFR3Z7bQgW_r0OUYWDS4Da8bZesfdF7sU/s800/P1340097.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GsTCR5yljgjH-n6Uj0HUQiwd6PI41CAhtKzPuJY2HVzGZi1blFxCBXdpe9VpyyBPu_C_xXDsVvGyUr94NsoUSxNZlWHfEsFr7kUNrt6eHAQKoh4Wmk3176T0RMJDbuYv4Gjy0uKxOEk6SgzlcBVBZGJFAL6rFR3Z7bQgW_r0OUYWDS4Da8bZesfdF7sU/s320/P1340097.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />and a brass under a carpet to a now-faceless Margret Pettiwode, d. 1514,<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1VCxYEeprUK7juYpiQ3ysj6TjVsWmcUhwWpdnVYcitlXn85CP1JZVyH9s6Ah413LpQK8sEKJp8DP_CnLtZZzxNrCKCyqqT7XTW5MMSHBrBLYj-X5GmkXkk2svuj_YP6Zh5Y4E9_wQY_Eow4oS44adKcFSocT75u8AQlsDJKXJ3_9Z00JM7-gPNnWvRF_/s800/P1340093.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1VCxYEeprUK7juYpiQ3ysj6TjVsWmcUhwWpdnVYcitlXn85CP1JZVyH9s6Ah413LpQK8sEKJp8DP_CnLtZZzxNrCKCyqqT7XTW5MMSHBrBLYj-X5GmkXkk2svuj_YP6Zh5Y4E9_wQY_Eow4oS44adKcFSocT75u8AQlsDJKXJ3_9Z00JM7-gPNnWvRF_/s320/P1340093.JPG" width="182" /></a></div><br />though the contents of some parishioners' houses were in storage around the pew, and the chap found the lady who'd left stuff including Netanyahu giving the finger a bit odd. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXkJyOANvcK59qju64wb9zpCeZq-Rvl9s0ovjONOi_iTma7k4HhBOLf68f9lDMfZ_15uzA0Fp6dqhbViFY4movzrFRojBYR9mDwRuSOqkSuilK3xyBk_QJe-L_Hdp3CzQctU7zBasVxiXpdK1I6nKVHV_QiJhEG3YXfELTGyKA4LB3GxHyz_odtt7otwm/s800/P1340095.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXkJyOANvcK59qju64wb9zpCeZq-Rvl9s0ovjONOi_iTma7k4HhBOLf68f9lDMfZ_15uzA0Fp6dqhbViFY4movzrFRojBYR9mDwRuSOqkSuilK3xyBk_QJe-L_Hdp3CzQctU7zBasVxiXpdK1I6nKVHV_QiJhEG3YXfELTGyKA4LB3GxHyz_odtt7otwm/s320/P1340095.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p>A former celebrity, Barry from <i>Eastenders, </i>had a similarly mysterious presence on a lamppost outside.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVp-OziMd3EEgyPe4HGqne96AirermhfI7u1WSN5K-Nru10ayLKEDSOPtqDLJxxAdtd29ljQNPkxoCFh9GF6PcZNNHhsEXk28MbxjSKP5Tq42I54uaOFeuYWFfO5KV24hLQA6wODjeZqpdCx85EnTsc-HjeS3avx-fQnPpUyiwoM6v-8ZLd24yb_y5v9fi/s800/P1340099.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVp-OziMd3EEgyPe4HGqne96AirermhfI7u1WSN5K-Nru10ayLKEDSOPtqDLJxxAdtd29ljQNPkxoCFh9GF6PcZNNHhsEXk28MbxjSKP5Tq42I54uaOFeuYWFfO5KV24hLQA6wODjeZqpdCx85EnTsc-HjeS3avx-fQnPpUyiwoM6v-8ZLd24yb_y5v9fi/s320/P1340099.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then we turned right, rejoining Magdalen Street, and crossed back over the Wensum</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_sgpvrvRrg--p1FMxZHGsVFZOQ7QGmkmqTAYo-hjpaAFaMLljia4GCl2kJjpvHJbTiZBTVK6lp6bm4HoWAUhShm7nVFFrEM2NDLkwQJ6hOI--WQ2mimlc8GCmDkZRqnyFb22Wbz3v0vpCcl5X_HOttsF7pyJZ6QmsXjNdX0oHVaXooGGhL_FGV0jVn18/s800/P1340102.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_sgpvrvRrg--p1FMxZHGsVFZOQ7QGmkmqTAYo-hjpaAFaMLljia4GCl2kJjpvHJbTiZBTVK6lp6bm4HoWAUhShm7nVFFrEM2NDLkwQJ6hOI--WQ2mimlc8GCmDkZRqnyFb22Wbz3v0vpCcl5X_HOttsF7pyJZ6QmsXjNdX0oHVaXooGGhL_FGV0jVn18/s320/P1340102.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>reaching Tombland and heading up Norwich's 'quaintest' street, Elm Hill, past the Church of St Simon and St Jude, for which we'd already received a signature from the Norwich Churches Trust at St Michael-at-Place - is it still used as a scout hall? - <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpQiiQihcuJBey_VZ89icndIo7GIJQPrPHpZXEaDdwQJJW3rz8YgncFRWltuqdxVuIhO-YIdrXce7sPfHYt2kZ1PEXNoOYZ1zPmkTqNwBOETd2-reN-8hiP3qMd2Mzi_D2f952pN8ajWIPPvhEHHMzOsf42eZDPW85V3d-KIQVd2TrjCWR6hIDTs0cgZS/s800/P1340103.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpQiiQihcuJBey_VZ89icndIo7GIJQPrPHpZXEaDdwQJJW3rz8YgncFRWltuqdxVuIhO-YIdrXce7sPfHYt2kZ1PEXNoOYZ1zPmkTqNwBOETd2-reN-8hiP3qMd2Mzi_D2f952pN8ajWIPPvhEHHMzOsf42eZDPW85V3d-KIQVd2TrjCWR6hIDTs0cgZS/s320/P1340103.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the atmospheric triangular space where the last of the elms had succumbed to the disease and replaced with an already large London plane, following the street round and uphill towards St Peter Hungate.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZiAOLKbsZM-tPBiEIet3-dyYSj_30JMFETheoy_RX4ETqDH2AVDHccOjnir2FFx7bQ0mFEDCqTzSNUn05TBnK2DmPMigSbcQLRM_589WaRUXlKjLfj_Gk700plTmgzxaBGo8Obzx_uwL6YI-KtAiaHmGznm-WQKmIjE3tQTZ6gk6914WtR-m1e4zSRsv/s800/P1340106.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZiAOLKbsZM-tPBiEIet3-dyYSj_30JMFETheoy_RX4ETqDH2AVDHccOjnir2FFx7bQ0mFEDCqTzSNUn05TBnK2DmPMigSbcQLRM_589WaRUXlKjLfj_Gk700plTmgzxaBGo8Obzx_uwL6YI-KtAiaHmGznm-WQKmIjE3tQTZ6gk6914WtR-m1e4zSRsv/s320/P1340106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>We ticked off St Andrew's Hall on our right since it had been the Blackfriars' Church of Norwich, its east end seen here through the north door of the higher church.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIZOQ6FzDS_RmYwwu5M50vw07PbUeEN1ynAIXRsiLKj4LGTIv0TSnGQ699In8s1hjG5frZ55MxhlEqvTz2Jgv1STLOa3FVFaBgAa6mj_f8urD5qfoXsH7-0XkVsVPNIH4kQKxRvz1vKXqbx2cfmHrJuuaBfeNYaesmZzR4_mfqQ3IkgPRkAiZjHM3b1XF/s800/P1340109.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIZOQ6FzDS_RmYwwu5M50vw07PbUeEN1ynAIXRsiLKj4LGTIv0TSnGQ699In8s1hjG5frZ55MxhlEqvTz2Jgv1STLOa3FVFaBgAa6mj_f8urD5qfoXsH7-0XkVsVPNIH4kQKxRvz1vKXqbx2cfmHrJuuaBfeNYaesmZzR4_mfqQ3IkgPRkAiZjHM3b1XF/s320/P1340109.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>Probably we'll see what the Hall/Blackfriars looks like inside at the start of the Norwich Churches Walk Part Two, scheduled for November to combine with a two-piano recital arranged in Overstrand by our friend David Parry. St Peter Hungate I've seen before, with a stained-glass exhibition; what they had in there this time doesn't need describing, but the medieval glass is of course impressive, if nothing compared to the east window of St Peter Mancroft, long a favourite (again, to be listed properly next time). The church was refurbished by the ubiquitous Paston family, who seem to have fingers in every Norwich pie as well as elsewhere.<br /></p><p>SPM's main glass is in the east and west windows, grandly so in the east. As befts the museum, it's mostly composite, a mixture of figures from the 15th and 16th centuries.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-CFcy6n-X0HCcUvR4cTTv7IV3F3pvXDuShgMwURZW7zEBYLLG3RfT7514YASjighumZYF4SyA3IyvvPYmQor9Wa4nh05BeAIDKXBcT-IxLuD1__q_WMcLge86f8WBuG8TVyvO5l20F01hSSLzCyA5EZUYc8_jmAUtMYb1ZINoRx-DayATj3uahA9NfDE/s800/P1340113.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="486" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-CFcy6n-X0HCcUvR4cTTv7IV3F3pvXDuShgMwURZW7zEBYLLG3RfT7514YASjighumZYF4SyA3IyvvPYmQor9Wa4nh05BeAIDKXBcT-IxLuD1__q_WMcLge86f8WBuG8TVyvO5l20F01hSSLzCyA5EZUYc8_jmAUtMYb1ZINoRx-DayATj3uahA9NfDE/s320/P1340113.JPG" width="194" /></a></div><p></p><p>Lower panels, all 15th century, are (left to right, top to bottom): St James with his scallops adorning his coat, St Simon carrying a fish: an unknown vicar of 1522; barely discernible figure and St Bartholomew with a flaying knife; unidentified apostle and patriarch; St Agatha; unidentified apostles.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxF8gp_wTyV55H1ojvpVQlP2TN3bFVFftTklSV4FqJDDEA1VIYFyrEXpbJss4TbB7gJR-CDwox1bKoigh8VJyjhJ_1KBkm_tVgtNzeynk_kvf7r3r6qIsTuxiqP-xZlht7jYkGVVXhXEBMDienGJE4-gkfyITuyHzRDUL3n4pFmZvw5uZs6y0I4qy_oRn/s800/P1340114.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="800" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxF8gp_wTyV55H1ojvpVQlP2TN3bFVFftTklSV4FqJDDEA1VIYFyrEXpbJss4TbB7gJR-CDwox1bKoigh8VJyjhJ_1KBkm_tVgtNzeynk_kvf7r3r6qIsTuxiqP-xZlht7jYkGVVXhXEBMDienGJE4-gkfyITuyHzRDUL3n4pFmZvw5uZs6y0I4qy_oRn/s320/P1340114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Further up, king and patriarch, below them three angels holding scrolls.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrgO1yIkh7enqHLU_SpBQdjjtlYUrh1BWL7ohW19Q5Gmy12l284zaI-PiIyNub4R0FYaRGG6U86M5w7Bh012tzwJXO_f8E9SoPh6BVR-Y5fVmFUU7wA5Mlb22MaJWWk-b_SXCPYxsUh-TmspgBYnBMNWuNtB6RHbkVRXfBVDF_18KbiZnU3hOT0iIg4tm/s800/P1340117.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrgO1yIkh7enqHLU_SpBQdjjtlYUrh1BWL7ohW19Q5Gmy12l284zaI-PiIyNub4R0FYaRGG6U86M5w7Bh012tzwJXO_f8E9SoPh6BVR-Y5fVmFUU7wA5Mlb22MaJWWk-b_SXCPYxsUh-TmspgBYnBMNWuNtB6RHbkVRXfBVDF_18KbiZnU3hOT0iIg4tm/s320/P1340117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>You can make out from the first that the text is the Nunc dimittis or Song of Simeon, so beautifully set by James MacMillan in the Evensong we'd heard in the Cathedral the previous afternoon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LmZfDTOWn5gfqagLkG_yJUaK4nPfzlDHVhf1zbexpajo9Om4YO7CiZHiHtk_b-kLSAmUe_pYPp0OyxtvlCgRByUkn53HkWCyS1iiLF_KPbq5SfHp51_2aH-oNtdtyygIVTnv2Jq7HTDp-xs96tPWrX8_o-rQa6S_jDk_LaN6N9UPOolB4cCfCcONiiu_/s800/P1340121.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LmZfDTOWn5gfqagLkG_yJUaK4nPfzlDHVhf1zbexpajo9Om4YO7CiZHiHtk_b-kLSAmUe_pYPp0OyxtvlCgRByUkn53HkWCyS1iiLF_KPbq5SfHp51_2aH-oNtdtyygIVTnv2Jq7HTDp-xs96tPWrX8_o-rQa6S_jDk_LaN6N9UPOolB4cCfCcONiiu_/s320/P1340121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>One of the north windows has four figures including two angels, lions beneath canopies beneath them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_6LfgOyaitIdw7nEtQla0dBFMsr_-NxXHROFwYVfxgmkLF3kh92GQRKP2kSnyO8psp6O5n2LqxsalS2bMaaS_HfCguZvck12GvTXON7IK9QQ3WqG523q3YfIlgKfkJdSTqzHYx1PuETRaVNNa05WgRDqDDtu0AdeoGA7e4pM2xTlZ6N3GRHnfD5ERY9K/s800/P1340115.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="800" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_6LfgOyaitIdw7nEtQla0dBFMsr_-NxXHROFwYVfxgmkLF3kh92GQRKP2kSnyO8psp6O5n2LqxsalS2bMaaS_HfCguZvck12GvTXON7IK9QQ3WqG523q3YfIlgKfkJdSTqzHYx1PuETRaVNNa05WgRDqDDtu0AdeoGA7e4pM2xTlZ6N3GRHnfD5ERY9K/s320/P1340115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Most striking is the angel covered with orange feathered wings like a chainmail coat.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMh_3LtKSAioYWR-VUeGxX3NFHfnJpQfssSxLuLNBWtpY3TesJweZtDn1HQLf9ZHV9pbq3jvn581FQ32AjVpD4CgJGmmdfFN4Hhqltn7XqGd55IaOvuenGT9fiDqFD-1Ir0alqg8ozyB2S8OfVMwWjSp8cQxPEftQJi_Capxp7qERTCAjNZQzbMGXRuq1/s800/P1340116.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMh_3LtKSAioYWR-VUeGxX3NFHfnJpQfssSxLuLNBWtpY3TesJweZtDn1HQLf9ZHV9pbq3jvn581FQ32AjVpD4CgJGmmdfFN4Hhqltn7XqGd55IaOvuenGT9fiDqFD-1Ir0alqg8ozyB2S8OfVMwWjSp8cQxPEftQJi_Capxp7qERTCAjNZQzbMGXRuq1/s320/P1340116.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>There are more demi angels in the north transept main window, rich in contrasting reds and blues,</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkEJFXzq-DiSEZfgUy5uryWU9N67-d7ZC8ZEzN2BL7x86pdDL3jO9uhT2SRXuqHvLlJlp6vOMEfhLimgEAE_ixV6iP45e_7BuEuNnzTs_OVbEeS5_3j0F9oAAa_KOJR2Qtv-4CfGkWUUVFZ5cQPOphut-LrXZS7eAoOVkCHtmjC7VVi88g-mqIg0fDMk4/s800/P1340124.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkEJFXzq-DiSEZfgUy5uryWU9N67-d7ZC8ZEzN2BL7x86pdDL3jO9uhT2SRXuqHvLlJlp6vOMEfhLimgEAE_ixV6iP45e_7BuEuNnzTs_OVbEeS5_3j0F9oAAa_KOJR2Qtv-4CfGkWUUVFZ5cQPOphut-LrXZS7eAoOVkCHtmjC7VVi88g-mqIg0fDMk4/s320/P1340124.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>again exquisitely detailed - I've selected one here<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrH3cL-nyC6K45MTLQ80tfHFsAyxYveAOTD9RdzT-QlPCTs3nbjb4xCt003LgmqLsQ0J_Nq2FjxeROAe9wDNZ1MsM6OhmfuGvz6lfXaIydQ8z1w3X_Y7g8jrT-xQFUvaDCcNXowO11Y1UwM17pvbmgJhxd2mt4gVhonQkT6n_j6tR9LG8Kn2mEC4YTeJJH/s800/P1340125.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrH3cL-nyC6K45MTLQ80tfHFsAyxYveAOTD9RdzT-QlPCTs3nbjb4xCt003LgmqLsQ0J_Nq2FjxeROAe9wDNZ1MsM6OhmfuGvz6lfXaIydQ8z1w3X_Y7g8jrT-xQFUvaDCcNXowO11Y1UwM17pvbmgJhxd2mt4gVhonQkT6n_j6tR9LG8Kn2mEC4YTeJJH/s320/P1340125.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The top of the wet window looks like an ensemble celebrating the Coronation of the Virgin, but all panels were originally in other parts of the church.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9LCG3vZyWK_eq_5iGK52IUjjOgwRYVREU1pkOv4gknPMB0cw7oVedUoku_J4gyvR8_QOJbfxqMY6Sd_Lm_1_RzFMV_vU3Lw5xMBVm8HOAX4SXySu8f35k8f3y2dxCNPsNOAZrWdtQrIdAszFeBk7UHNRa-H-SDFjjsbXRS_XjEQyig3LP3glfQpUwNic/s800/P1340128.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9LCG3vZyWK_eq_5iGK52IUjjOgwRYVREU1pkOv4gknPMB0cw7oVedUoku_J4gyvR8_QOJbfxqMY6Sd_Lm_1_RzFMV_vU3Lw5xMBVm8HOAX4SXySu8f35k8f3y2dxCNPsNOAZrWdtQrIdAszFeBk7UHNRa-H-SDFjjsbXRS_XjEQyig3LP3glfQpUwNic/s320/P1340128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYYEZ0WEMxAokWEKn6_fmugEi1Of41HqA6DZa5sh5QjzA0kDMgK5ZpROSEBOWp5oosbefHY9TRczJ5msnAw-1iR6ShyLhffYP8CM91Q8aT1B-n1ZrzOr-SZ3SWY4C3nJdxpbBaqUNNQAuU6m2BqZPk7IgaUawuCyGcPJZ5Lg6d7iZCI28wrnquaI06AQW/s800/P1340129.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYYEZ0WEMxAokWEKn6_fmugEi1Of41HqA6DZa5sh5QjzA0kDMgK5ZpROSEBOWp5oosbefHY9TRczJ5msnAw-1iR6ShyLhffYP8CM91Q8aT1B-n1ZrzOr-SZ3SWY4C3nJdxpbBaqUNNQAuU6m2BqZPk7IgaUawuCyGcPJZ5Lg6d7iZCI28wrnquaI06AQW/s320/P1340129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The two angels here are playing instruments, a stringed instrument (right) and bagpipes (left, detail).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPuhadbjvsliCNorSod35AcrHAMZtETlJiPCrkcEzHOSJX2Lj1VoLMb4qT1D_uw2JK1vcgKgIDy62I6ux5lF8Ao7tsqJIvSficKc1GW78TUcBF_6u62C9iolkVptr1gLc2sZ5AmOjN42C7o1YMMSywdeFta-LJohJJ8107Z89V9jEbExLUZe-pa06rMY6/s800/P1340131.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="800" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPuhadbjvsliCNorSod35AcrHAMZtETlJiPCrkcEzHOSJX2Lj1VoLMb4qT1D_uw2JK1vcgKgIDy62I6ux5lF8Ao7tsqJIvSficKc1GW78TUcBF_6u62C9iolkVptr1gLc2sZ5AmOjN42C7o1YMMSywdeFta-LJohJJ8107Z89V9jEbExLUZe-pa06rMY6/s320/P1340131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Exiting the church and noting the ferny vegetation (must be dark and damp, though south-facing)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUa5WgEbI560JxrS_YM7_pJIkySC5GLb7rqlkvb-ZgTu6aWdilmZFfRbToNBoYYTfEn5gyDzEC36b0uRyiTyHKYu1SWdKprX--j1Uuq2xQLgFe2HU3dHdiCdhxpDsBFgKkX-om5xVQ5DHz-PFZTYDDC2r7QVZCaxoB9CQlhTMlg0QeX2yUq6yFM4FCkMkd/s800/P1340132.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUa5WgEbI560JxrS_YM7_pJIkySC5GLb7rqlkvb-ZgTu6aWdilmZFfRbToNBoYYTfEn5gyDzEC36b0uRyiTyHKYu1SWdKprX--j1Uuq2xQLgFe2HU3dHdiCdhxpDsBFgKkX-om5xVQ5DHz-PFZTYDDC2r7QVZCaxoB9CQlhTMlg0QeX2yUq6yFM4FCkMkd/s320/P1340132.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>we were accosted by a neighbout who told us that the Princes Street Congregational Church opposite was due to be turned into yet another nightclub. She needed to have a petition at the ready. Handsome 1869 building, anyway, too good for the intended repurposing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wEErZXVk_WAkCHxnNUC4wCgp_MmBnigQ8TPgXnD6xwGEdG2lzX_xH5dwtH8ZvF40GVMVmEu8161xjnx_aioBkbxfr3WNpaONbEPrBcsPTgBqXj0QrDnCyOg7UnVX-QBqZNTAK35Yuha0fRRWu54ff5Fn-ptI-TH-poxYo7OzYp5fO4cikzt46uGuzOen/s800/P1340134.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wEErZXVk_WAkCHxnNUC4wCgp_MmBnigQ8TPgXnD6xwGEdG2lzX_xH5dwtH8ZvF40GVMVmEu8161xjnx_aioBkbxfr3WNpaONbEPrBcsPTgBqXj0QrDnCyOg7UnVX-QBqZNTAK35Yuha0fRRWu54ff5Fn-ptI-TH-poxYo7OzYp5fO4cikzt46uGuzOen/s320/P1340134.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>Seen from here, the tower of St George Tombland, our final destination, seemed to be sprouting a spire - that of the Cathedral.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SxBYb1vpokkFSgsSJ0MiKF5tgcVGPK8XThNXijUQPDsQGYJe0FjWoVKn94wScYglmyw4Xc6uq44N5TUhtliLBkiJkJ8kFNoZPfvMr74xlGeFq4R6Sp_CKaMsDMd9gQBTiaNaP18c_9yCcUueEQ74ytVCLIf3HRHgbAG9ajfsQZ4v7_H6ie9X4zans13M/s800/P1340135.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="800" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SxBYb1vpokkFSgsSJ0MiKF5tgcVGPK8XThNXijUQPDsQGYJe0FjWoVKn94wScYglmyw4Xc6uq44N5TUhtliLBkiJkJ8kFNoZPfvMr74xlGeFq4R6Sp_CKaMsDMd9gQBTiaNaP18c_9yCcUueEQ74ytVCLIf3HRHgbAG9ajfsQZ4v7_H6ie9X4zans13M/s320/P1340135.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Up another hill, all-Perpendicular St Michael-at-Plea looks handsome from beneath</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoShfZMZO0VVq6cuW46tG0tVDjSHovwJluKuuxnGI1PmuftSAI4ZqrLjn9UzcY9DNwJUldeWAZctLSUO-fk52bbRvWwx-JuVBDlv8Kh4kUTuu-Fvtbi5-n-UjalznadFROiZ388WLCV8fDzYOBzmReWMRgOSB0sUBc7-AOtBO34oTxQVqhnbyfggA1peT/s800/P1340138.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoShfZMZO0VVq6cuW46tG0tVDjSHovwJluKuuxnGI1PmuftSAI4ZqrLjn9UzcY9DNwJUldeWAZctLSUO-fk52bbRvWwx-JuVBDlv8Kh4kUTuu-Fvtbi5-n-UjalznadFROiZ388WLCV8fDzYOBzmReWMRgOSB0sUBc7-AOtBO34oTxQVqhnbyfggA1peT/s320/P1340138.JPG" width="320" />a</a></div><p>but is disfigured by gold naming on the tower, and further by the advertising of the Revelation Christian bookshop lodged within. Its south facade is still fine, though,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaSQC7FGdUnNjalCBQuNps6ZdL0ZOM37GNecHDVi46cyjMzWS1E0EDFR-_8hI0gdhQWJC4VuEJvxud7Ol5TTTw8CospTT-SZ0eJwxwcpgW6aZkDD1nDyxaWd30SYI8B7jX5B7-yek7cuN_yq3-A5jO-6i70sdJKtsvbwTTSVlXkOIhB0BG6w_s1BN4AMQ/s800/P1340144.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaSQC7FGdUnNjalCBQuNps6ZdL0ZOM37GNecHDVi46cyjMzWS1E0EDFR-_8hI0gdhQWJC4VuEJvxud7Ol5TTTw8CospTT-SZ0eJwxwcpgW6aZkDD1nDyxaWd30SYI8B7jX5B7-yek7cuN_yq3-A5jO-6i70sdJKtsvbwTTSVlXkOIhB0BG6w_s1BN4AMQ/s320/P1340144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the two-storeyed porch has a worn St Michael and the Dragon in its spandrels.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHGbURLZbaWtyQbN8NMS2xMd-uhlFuEAiWETz1l8MI3zvLN-p2L7Q2i83hqGEajg2g5VmNFpKrWpTiVDWMvD5JHjTyjoNKqJDlO1uE2hSBS3icQIEvLb0Pa5Sst-Wh82U2mFOE5HZChznQspQAdAoP6VKP_bfOCH6a-LLd0l7pPF6m5o_1wnYPCUJoSLQ/s800/P1340140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHGbURLZbaWtyQbN8NMS2xMd-uhlFuEAiWETz1l8MI3zvLN-p2L7Q2i83hqGEajg2g5VmNFpKrWpTiVDWMvD5JHjTyjoNKqJDlO1uE2hSBS3icQIEvLb0Pa5Sst-Wh82U2mFOE5HZChznQspQAdAoP6VKP_bfOCH6a-LLd0l7pPF6m5o_1wnYPCUJoSLQ/s320/P1340140.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zp2g6pzZG17OvqVQUPQPQe8lttZOjSro4lsFM2CPaOjBFXExx35wNfxKxZmf-gyGSujjomhfgmrbFslGXsF2pcWLD4t4hW1ve86zUHZDZcv7IdcJqnqnk0OJbxzsMXiBpeKDIx7VVnmN6JPVRAQP-_y4IZIEWpaPyyMetk68gp7zIJxq5WokxqXmzUPt/s800/P1340141.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zp2g6pzZG17OvqVQUPQPQe8lttZOjSro4lsFM2CPaOjBFXExx35wNfxKxZmf-gyGSujjomhfgmrbFslGXsF2pcWLD4t4hW1ve86zUHZDZcv7IdcJqnqnk0OJbxzsMXiBpeKDIx7VVnmN6JPVRAQP-_y4IZIEWpaPyyMetk68gp7zIJxq5WokxqXmzUPt/s320/P1340141.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xiiOe_SFGHB4waXx_Q-xibQ6Ao7E-mk5IC1kwQujoA21jmbcFHWTP7AA2_cIFtUU3CsTNEkrMmp4Z1UI8SL0AgRqVjEVrUTF5M-4EHVNOzPJjWlz5nl9UYXbN5uGFf1Zz-baACRwAwckwZc4-r-emSl4aAUcYglsoWJ31u89mICM4CWX9tfcBmsJrBAA/s800/P1340142.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xiiOe_SFGHB4waXx_Q-xibQ6Ao7E-mk5IC1kwQujoA21jmbcFHWTP7AA2_cIFtUU3CsTNEkrMmp4Z1UI8SL0AgRqVjEVrUTF5M-4EHVNOzPJjWlz5nl9UYXbN5uGFf1Zz-baACRwAwckwZc4-r-emSl4aAUcYglsoWJ31u89mICM4CWX9tfcBmsJrBAA/s320/P1340142.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Round the corner, St Mary The Less is tucked away, slightly spooky and not to be accessed (it's privately owned). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecvamlAje9kxnmpLzRgt5lfS4C9z_UBGic0aCnjXRs_1ZbtU3wNFOaf_qaH1OEcrKIt_z3nKoWmO7fctUlgCLqLl8svalmmjBlnIl3njTfRh33vZHOH4x2K5aQ0G4ScUQeMaFkru8Qa9cOf9siS2gjkmi93jc7Gvey8U9bLs-EK2MubjN2ySww04RNj3a/s800/P1340146.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecvamlAje9kxnmpLzRgt5lfS4C9z_UBGic0aCnjXRs_1ZbtU3wNFOaf_qaH1OEcrKIt_z3nKoWmO7fctUlgCLqLl8svalmmjBlnIl3njTfRh33vZHOH4x2K5aQ0G4ScUQeMaFkru8Qa9cOf9siS2gjkmi93jc7Gvey8U9bLs-EK2MubjN2ySww04RNj3a/s320/P1340146.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>There's another doorway round the block, opposite our second St George of the day and final church. I've been here before, but hadn't been told the story of how the titular saint on the font, deprived of his lance by football-kicking boys, had it replaced by a knitting-needle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblab3DF0GgWLtOWQuLOsk6CMJ3oosSB9WQH3spdnIijy7Cn5mUk_txbBM3dLtkiME8nBAGbBM5FWyVpoc0WV-PlfPwUfsfUrYtGy6nFS5K5u9oxZ9478rIytGn4cd3qeLzmajhmUBS1MNY6mKOXTdk6fMYZ85HzLtoHHjaE0e3HJIb0GIpfm36gL92NFX/s800/P1340149.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblab3DF0GgWLtOWQuLOsk6CMJ3oosSB9WQH3spdnIijy7Cn5mUk_txbBM3dLtkiME8nBAGbBM5FWyVpoc0WV-PlfPwUfsfUrYtGy6nFS5K5u9oxZ9478rIytGn4cd3qeLzmajhmUBS1MNY6mKOXTdk6fMYZ85HzLtoHHjaE0e3HJIb0GIpfm36gL92NFX/s320/P1340149.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The church's two fine monuments aren't easy to see - I snapped them last time, not on this occasion - but you can't miss the big dragon used in processionals.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyksuE147Z9HnCXxXiCtj3qE6JSvbQ-K6Sjz09Bh20LxEkQkrGogJi1z85LKs4RtR1RXbdh0vKBVZ1i_NQX4FB2gFcRxaZJx64P_x7nlV2D-1wPRjlEPgx2UEgMQC0Wrb-f49q5VbnzBWTRaJLMBzc_mhcwbzMVGf4N7Ctyl1h6xGnX52ipGoKqrL04Md/s800/P1340150.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyksuE147Z9HnCXxXiCtj3qE6JSvbQ-K6Sjz09Bh20LxEkQkrGogJi1z85LKs4RtR1RXbdh0vKBVZ1i_NQX4FB2gFcRxaZJx64P_x7nlV2D-1wPRjlEPgx2UEgMQC0Wrb-f49q5VbnzBWTRaJLMBzc_mhcwbzMVGf4N7Ctyl1h6xGnX52ipGoKqrL04Md/s320/P1340150.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Victorianized interior is disappointingly dark and heavy, but what an ensemble glimpsed from the north door, leading straight to Tombland itself (the name has nothing to do with tombs and comes from 'toom', old language for a waste land). I need to give the C J Sansom novel of the same name, mostly set in Norwich at the time of the Kett rebellion, a try.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytTp8KfCBj3_Snq15g1s5kyYbtvghRhhaoTXdhobUiFe_C9pJfsViVTHUuNXJuMy3n76WoC-_kwf2h8f5uUkerumVs8-ijoKYrAOCMWcuq-aZk585JZb-EAyoY4j26a7KJOPcD8BARcMUADYRxwKSXYHpwAtdilY5UMg2hmmFGk68W9QG5W1rGS3x-efr/s800/P1340152.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytTp8KfCBj3_Snq15g1s5kyYbtvghRhhaoTXdhobUiFe_C9pJfsViVTHUuNXJuMy3n76WoC-_kwf2h8f5uUkerumVs8-ijoKYrAOCMWcuq-aZk585JZb-EAyoY4j26a7KJOPcD8BARcMUADYRxwKSXYHpwAtdilY5UMg2hmmFGk68W9QG5W1rGS3x-efr/s320/P1340152.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>What lovelier homeward stretch could there be than down past the Cathedral precinct houses along what used to be a canal from the Wenseum? As we hit the river, a passerby offered to take a photo of all five of us - we hardly look exhausted, I fancy. The grass in that late afternoon light really came out that colour - no saturation...<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCA462EgT6IWpieGG-xJ0RgdSxz9znQCsuz29qiFHFAppGGv-t7HnJa4D4Slb4P2qIW9gmIFBxauJ7E2u3K5AEyvCKOdpQyilK3u9K--TyByCGsJBx1L621EPigFfk-a4qWCTAUCPdBinqcOEcU6U_BRVl7w48qyMJLq5ziR_cOnjHRhdYev1e5oxsa2j/s1039/1000004710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1039" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCA462EgT6IWpieGG-xJ0RgdSxz9znQCsuz29qiFHFAppGGv-t7HnJa4D4Slb4P2qIW9gmIFBxauJ7E2u3K5AEyvCKOdpQyilK3u9K--TyByCGsJBx1L621EPigFfk-a4qWCTAUCPdBinqcOEcU6U_BRVl7w48qyMJLq5ziR_cOnjHRhdYev1e5oxsa2j/s320/1000004710.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>And so to a pleasant tea at the Old Rectory. Sadly my stoma supplies had run out of one essential ingredient, so instead of the plans to go north on Sunday and have lunch, as in previous years, at the Suffield Arms, we had to take an evening train back to London. But we'd had our full vision.</p><p>Here are the links to all previous Norfolk church walks covered on the blog:</p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/01/norfolk-churches-245-256-loddon-to.html">Loddon to Surlingham, 2022</a> <br /></p><p><a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2021/10/norfolk-churches-234-44-wensum-valley.html">Wensum Valley loop, 2021 </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2020/09/norfolk-churches-225-233-south-lopham.html">South Lopham to Roudham, 2020 </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2019/10/norfolk-churches-207-224-around-bure.html" target="_blank">Around the Bure Valley, 2019</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2018/10/norfolk-churches-192-206-metton-to.html" target="_blank">Metton to Hanworth, 2018</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2017/09/norfolk-churches-happisburgh-to.html" target="_blank">Happisburgh to Winterton, 2017</a></p><p>
<a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/norfolk-churches-167-179-around-honing.html" target="_blank">Honing to North Walsham, 2016</a></p><p>
<a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/norfolk-churches-150-166-cromer-to.html" target="_blank">Cromer to Southrepps, 2015</a>
</p><p><a href="http://www.davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/norfolk-churches-mileham-to-bittering.html" target="_blank">Mileham to Bittering, 2014</a>
</p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/norfolk-churches-beechamwell-to.html" target="_blank">Beechamwell to Gooderstone, 2013</a> </p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/norfolk-churches-ingoldisthorpe-to.html" target="_blank">Ingoldisthorpe to Thornham, 2012</a></p><p>
<a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/norfolk-churches-94-109-around-east.html" target="_blank">East Rudham to Helhoughton, 2011</a></p><p>
<a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/striding-nar.html" target="_blank">Wormegay to Castle Acre, 2010</a>
</p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/norfolk-churches-66-77-walpoles-to.html" target="_blank">Walpoles to Wiggenhalls, 2009</a> </p><p><a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/hymn-to-lynn.html" target="_blank">King's Lynn to Sandringham, 2008</a></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-33338452463638627842023-09-14T16:40:00.006+01:002023-09-20T10:46:46.589+01:00Serious wit: the genius of Molly Keane<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRvkT6Ax26MKvE_n14_EY7Xu4jASP8tgg4rQW-O_y2wkCiI8aOHpbzQzLp-3529UlkHjteG0GNc9WGzlEgBDKddGYJJdSci9Sapr_zKga1U8tejLccegysAhPvbPQsxbeNcvWddunwXAusPDzV9NFpXoh6-h9acdV47q1F1jBc_K4HOmCX2Uig6_UaRZB/s3456/P1330729.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3003" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRvkT6Ax26MKvE_n14_EY7Xu4jASP8tgg4rQW-O_y2wkCiI8aOHpbzQzLp-3529UlkHjteG0GNc9WGzlEgBDKddGYJJdSci9Sapr_zKga1U8tejLccegysAhPvbPQsxbeNcvWddunwXAusPDzV9NFpXoh6-h9acdV47q1F1jBc_K4HOmCX2Uig6_UaRZB/s320/P1330729.JPG" width="278" /></a></div><p>I thought more doses of Molly Keane in her earlier incarnation as M J Farrell were what I needed for a bit of light reading after the epic <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/08/banffys-transylvanian-trilogy-not-found.html">Transylvanian Trilogy of Miklós Bánffy</a>. I found I'd underestimated her more lethal powers and the depth of her observations about nature (and the decadence of a huntin', shootin' ruling class out of place, in this case the Anglo Irish, has many points of correspondence; like MB, MK experienced the milieu she writes about, and both can be ruthlessly objective about it). The situation comedy I remembered from<i> Good Behaviour</i> and <i>Time after Time</i>, the later works which I'd adored when they first appeared, may occupy the brittle first third of <i>Devoted Ladies </i>in the manner of Compton Mackenzie, an earlier admirer. But when the action moves from an (untypical) London social setting to Ireland, the poetry of place comes gradually to the fore. As it does more swiftly in <i>Full House</i>, one of the two I especially love:</p><p><i>They were walking nearer to the sea now, and the evening light was the same now over the land and over the sea, not as in the daytime when the difference would be strangely marked. Now there was a level flow of light. Quiet pigeon-like colours were steeped in the sea and the turning birds were as white as old lime wash. The noise of the waves too was a quiet pigeon-breasted noise, and the turning of the river water sweet and deep, and without any vulgar brawling. The roughest streams were quiet and the few dark flats delayed themselves under the stoop of fuchsias that grew in the banks as willows do, delayed and flowed on, carrying red flowers to the sea. </i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzl3emZh0pWwgB1OYUFJ-2S1EOUSRG16M1Sy-LzlmCOzCH6IOLdwSfuCa2esQewSMGIZhuzngJvkYfJqzVq0veEzHRflSYRA_mybda4JeoiNWujBtd8oEczZ-z12LcXwQDKGJaLe25I1FXf6CpaopMTcPCHJICxdZCpJwfT-c1A-JG1lAubBWi4wKojo1/s1024/good-pic1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="1024" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzl3emZh0pWwgB1OYUFJ-2S1EOUSRG16M1Sy-LzlmCOzCH6IOLdwSfuCa2esQewSMGIZhuzngJvkYfJqzVq0veEzHRflSYRA_mybda4JeoiNWujBtd8oEczZ-z12LcXwQDKGJaLe25I1FXf6CpaopMTcPCHJICxdZCpJwfT-c1A-JG1lAubBWi4wKojo1/s320/good-pic1.webp" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p><p>Sadness hangs over so much of <i>Full House - </i>John, the young man walking in the above landscape who is an unquestioning part of the natural scene, has just returned from a spell in a psychiatric institution - and <i>Two Days in Aragon, </i>my other favourite, is a tragedy, giving a voice to a character with IRA connections, the one novel in which relations between British officers (usually invisible in this novelistic world) and natives turn truly nasty. There is no real nostalgia here, in 1941, for the country-house life of two decades earlier, but a sense of difference and complexity:</p><p><i>Death and new hats, tea and fear and pain - Aunt Gipsy's remembrance of Doatie's pain. Grave clothes and lilies and mourning, grandeur and power, old grudges and mistrusts, the tremblings and small gaieties of Aunt Pidgie's life, all these things were so thick they were almost within the touch of hands on the old nursery air that evening. What was there then in the air of houses that is not now? Was it more stirred by the emotions of the past than now when the life of the present is gay and firm in the ether with the radio ministering to the loneliest [?] Radio has stirred away the hauntings and stillnesses in old rooms. There is not the same heaviness and languor in the air of afternoons, air that can at any moment be broken by the good, the vulgar, the wholesome, the beautiful, the terrifying, the useful things of the present. The waves of the past cannot lap and lap quietly encroachng on the solid sands of now. Houses and memories have less power to injure, less power to assuage. But this afternoon was April, 1920, an afternoon in the time of long memories and quietness and dull ageless stretches of time. A time when a bitter little war went untidily on, and news of its progress went from mouth to mouth in whispers. Many old and beautiful houses that year had their last hours of life. They were stilled for death that summer. They waited in beauty and quiet for fire and the end. Did they have a foreknowledge of their deaths? Was that air of desolate distance, of exquisite sadness, that lesser fainter appearance which Irish houses have in comparison to the stability of their kind in England, was it foretold in their stars, grown sadly in their very stones? An awareness and an acceptance of violence and desertion, desertion far more tragic than any sudden ending?</i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bk30Pq8vxF1AQJ-ElVyx8JgKZfR83ZqeC12YAdiA5SiRlSYfYtxmFdbVJ_Y64EqpMEJhI25JzgRMdfNZp8eyPeGs2KkIUKHI7WST4qUNeSL9Mru_6fAsQpNzFwlNzUuRjbac9h13bzaisYK3yO0TpFmJt5V9a2fDd8nQzZ1v0C1j7oF8dwiBND7Dwz5g/s3717/P1340159.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2642" data-original-width="3717" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bk30Pq8vxF1AQJ-ElVyx8JgKZfR83ZqeC12YAdiA5SiRlSYfYtxmFdbVJ_Y64EqpMEJhI25JzgRMdfNZp8eyPeGs2KkIUKHI7WST4qUNeSL9Mru_6fAsQpNzFwlNzUuRjbac9h13bzaisYK3yO0TpFmJt5V9a2fDd8nQzZ1v0C1j7oF8dwiBND7Dwz5g/s320/P1340159.JPG" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p><p>The author, as young Molly Skrine, knew something of this: the family house, Ballyrankin, was burned to the ground, her parents made to sit and watch outside, while their daughter was away at a French school in Bray. The ruins are described in <a href="https://wexfordwarofindependence.com/2020/04/16/the-burning-of-ballyrankin-house/">this article</a>, a link to which gives me I hope permission to use one of the photographs higher up (fair use and all that). </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPVYzTCOJPq943vGawJ-cDxrJKsBg3Ip6mWOMC31zxUjEywUCSwTFL8QC0cMc01PKlaz96RsrWRba__Mellt592qBfapObeIDYNgN8N786HtxtmHy4vY5rw8iy_uOnaizNsXhUUnEL8AO-2Fkybkl0nMhu5eVPFr2zGMW-jTQN8FNz9KKOrZTipaYSJTD/s3433/P1340161.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3433" data-original-width="2607" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPVYzTCOJPq943vGawJ-cDxrJKsBg3Ip6mWOMC31zxUjEywUCSwTFL8QC0cMc01PKlaz96RsrWRba__Mellt592qBfapObeIDYNgN8N786HtxtmHy4vY5rw8iy_uOnaizNsXhUUnEL8AO-2Fkybkl0nMhu5eVPFr2zGMW-jTQN8FNz9KKOrZTipaYSJTD/s320/P1340161.JPG" width="243" /></a></div><p></p><p>A wider context for what happened between 1920 and 1923 is given in this excellent book accompanying an exhibition I saw in Dublin (essentially just panels with the same information and photographs as in the book). The brutal executions of patriots from the 1916 uprising onwards, the stationing of British troops, senators targeted in reprisal for their mercilessness towards anti-treatyite prisoners all give reason enough (and some of the houses were bloody ugly, though that's beside the point). As the novelist observes, there were other base motives on both sides<i>, </i>personal envy and grudge being high on the list.<i> <br /></i></p><p>The houses that survive are subject to decay and collapse<i>, </i>a view more subject to sharp irony and wit in <i>Treasure Hunt</i> and <i>Loving and Giving, </i>where the neglected building is more vivid a personality than any of the human characters. Eccentrics are more vividly drawn in earlier works, like Aunt Pidgie, dominated by the perscuting<i>, </i>powerful and ultimately tragic figure of 'carer' Nan of Aragon House (her niece has 'a chill moment before the customary way of seeing Aunt Pidgie came back to her, and she was blinded again by custom to that moment's vision of a different creature: alive, rather wild, strong in its desires'. No-one stays fixed in a semi-comic pose: of the Aragon butler, Keane/Farrell writes 'in his own extreme self Frazer had a loose way of talking that would have shocked deeply the self he had made'. <i>Treasure Hunt</i> comes closer to both caricature<i> </i>and kindness in Aunt Pidgie's resurrection as Aunt Anna Rose<i>, </i>who uses her drawing-room sedan chair to 'go travelling'. But then this is a novelisation of a successful, well-made play directed by John Gielgud with Sybil Thorndike playing the great eccentric<i>.</i> Here are a couple of production photos from <i>The Sphere</i> of 1 October 1949, reproduced in the biography.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBJnJUkOEjF8ovwfAC8bH-zWIrQqtHWa0kUV4dsq1G7XqFi0V4gARwIkXDjVSpjDYr35yVzExw6Tgq0vh5VwmObIvzy41Iyj_kgbKyrmAO8yP0jTLmH_CI2shNRa5xQBE-8JvJjIQXGD7YD2cEyjpPGHnw_qlIs2J2nDBYNcNUr7e7oiE5pQi9E1hSuG4/s2200/P1340163.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="2200" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBJnJUkOEjF8ovwfAC8bH-zWIrQqtHWa0kUV4dsq1G7XqFi0V4gARwIkXDjVSpjDYr35yVzExw6Tgq0vh5VwmObIvzy41Iyj_kgbKyrmAO8yP0jTLmH_CI2shNRa5xQBE-8JvJjIQXGD7YD2cEyjpPGHnw_qlIs2J2nDBYNcNUr7e7oiE5pQi9E1hSuG4/s320/P1340163.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCreHtvYqDYByq8-3XyJP9PtNCuTxGbblPZ3dUfKlKuPpEpUqI3jtIuxRxuh1ClLtYMZMYMv00PX_o8OmIUzKyVSgitj1NG7HW6hrL6dGwh0QLKVImJhEA38rbr5SPH0TzpjDw-IqxDXgxDipKMJwVsoCUKoCP-i2AM60GeXcWD1sUh0U0yie1vGZKQXk/s3901/P1340162.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3901" data-original-width="2443" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCreHtvYqDYByq8-3XyJP9PtNCuTxGbblPZ3dUfKlKuPpEpUqI3jtIuxRxuh1ClLtYMZMYMv00PX_o8OmIUzKyVSgitj1NG7HW6hrL6dGwh0QLKVImJhEA38rbr5SPH0TzpjDw-IqxDXgxDipKMJwVsoCUKoCP-i2AM60GeXcWD1sUh0U0yie1vGZKQXk/s320/P1340162.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>Both great thespians<i>, </i>along with Peggy Ashcroft, were friends who gave Molly a wider scope for fun, social differences and joyous observation. Their takes in the beautifully-written biography by daughter Sally Phipps - who rises to her mother's daunting challenge to make a novelistic job of her life - are a breath of fresh air after the outward restrictions of Anglo-Irish life. Phipps sums this up especially well:</p><p><i>They lived in a half-mythical place and they deluded themselves about the nature of Ireland. Their empathy with the landscape made them feel part of it, and because they mostly got on well with the people around them, and with those who worked for them, they thought they were loved. They were loved up to a certain point, but the Ireland they chose to ignore, the lost country (untainted by anything English) nurtured in people's hearts and carried in code by music, song, and poetry, was always there. It was usually submerged but from time to time it erupted and overturned all other loyalties.</i><br /></p><p>The one real drawback about the daughter-biographer is that I don't think she quite grasps how remarkable the Farrell novels of the late 1930s, running in to 1940, truly are. Conversely she surely overrates <i>Loving and Giving, </i>a swansong with descriptions full of Keane's literary flair that aren't rooted in depths of feeling (in her 80s, she was now decidedly frail). I still have no idea what to make of the protagonist, and there are gaps in the drawing of other characters. At the other end of the literary output, the early novels seem to take an uncritical, mythical view of the horsey hunting life; I just started <i>Conversation Piece</i> (1934) and had to give up.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9JEGCCq0BOG5uLIkTaxvyRzEdsxA0NdQzalRehR0D4eC0Gdub37tkv6pVI0DK-HTAwjsAVbfDYX377aj7YfnFREzeJlg2ezO31FzUBXN8rWNBmvDq-LTw84NQcH1cWCk1K6twwWM-XeD1oQM9nPcz8a-t6jPW_8sg8PTE_-YalBrWVskCwKOlJ8OPWRK/s827/Hunt_Meeting,_Faithlegg_House,_Waterford,_Ireland,_1902_(6288982454).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="827" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9JEGCCq0BOG5uLIkTaxvyRzEdsxA0NdQzalRehR0D4eC0Gdub37tkv6pVI0DK-HTAwjsAVbfDYX377aj7YfnFREzeJlg2ezO31FzUBXN8rWNBmvDq-LTw84NQcH1cWCk1K6twwWM-XeD1oQM9nPcz8a-t6jPW_8sg8PTE_-YalBrWVskCwKOlJ8OPWRK/s320/Hunt_Meeting,_Faithlegg_House,_Waterford,_Ireland,_1902_(6288982454).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's certainly fascinating to have Phipps's take on the many sides of her mama, veering between kind and cruel, but far more on the kind side. She may have been conservative in nature, but she had the serious novelist's rare gift of seeing so much from so many angles. Judgmental sometimes, yes, but more often inclined to will on young love, for example, even between conventional folk (the crucial love-match in <i>Full House</i> wins us round by degrees). Her attitude to hunting is typically complex, or at least covers more danger than we tend to think about. Grania of <i>Two Days in Aragon</i>, on the cusp of womanhood, is </p><p><i>dirty and passionate and generous. She was greedy and had only begun to live. She had not learnt to grow steady, learnt to fear danger, or settled to any soberness in life. She wanted danger from horses [she is in love with the master horse trainer Foley], and hardship any way she could get it. There was something between her and river water, and the blood of rabbits she shot, and the feel of wind in her bleached untidy hair, and the feel of running, and the new-found sight of something wild - an otter blowing out its cheeks on a little shaley river beach, dark beneath alders - there was something between her and these things which made her strong.</i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfbqAG_ODI-McL96p8wZKgNFJBko5_mA26vlMRNqQmjuEdwlKlo_cayXtiJn4nMGP2DMHmtcfMQqttj-fHCbTEYEpZgFkSloFK4Tpm9Xu1akhfpXQnf_u69n7AfM-N5gCjuyqVPRXX3VlAC7O7SieosEXXkqBsXAoTtXVE41qtUnA8z88xnldtp-GtPQPa/s1024/1024px-Getting_the_scent_(6563902937).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1024" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfbqAG_ODI-McL96p8wZKgNFJBko5_mA26vlMRNqQmjuEdwlKlo_cayXtiJn4nMGP2DMHmtcfMQqttj-fHCbTEYEpZgFkSloFK4Tpm9Xu1akhfpXQnf_u69n7AfM-N5gCjuyqVPRXX3VlAC7O7SieosEXXkqBsXAoTtXVE41qtUnA8z88xnldtp-GtPQPa/s320/1024px-Getting_the_scent_(6563902937).jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p><p>For Molly Skrine, Phipps writes<i>, </i>'hunting was romantic, elegant, savage, and the ultimate escape from the frustrations of home into the glorious life'. And later:</p><p><i> her identification with wild things was deep. The vacillation of empathy between the hunter and the hunted, so apparent in her books, was perhaps the chief paradox besetting her own nature. The pull of conflicting elements is her natural habitat. It is evident in her leanings towards glamour and austerity, courage and nervousness, the call of the wilderness and the aspect of her that liked to see "rushes well trimmed, and gravel raked carefully, and money saved through thought and denial.</i></p><p>This perhaps explains how the teenager who got her first novel - one she later disowned, yet it was still reprinted - published by Mills and Boon, giving her pin money for party frocks became the great writer who married wildness and discipline, careful prose and tumbling chaos both within and outside characters. Yes, she's up there with the very best. <br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-12044252060713101212023-09-12T12:10:00.007+01:002023-09-14T14:21:21.365+01:00Norfolk Churches Walk 2023: Norwich preludial<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hgVZnThLzUGaw_uIfJt0mbvvtNfGbneCLnm47wGvk2tNxmRvwgJXUZn6-pmgJKCplEzpRgr8NoOTA7SmyQ0JNFxT748qGF_JDU2PGve_xEgqA8teIkNxMRKg0oPgqlSxdu0BMbS0ZoPkYvHG7ZThpO2R7VaC9kYe6DrfFj-5Bbd2Eu6X8lWP5aJayN1r/s800/P1330833.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hgVZnThLzUGaw_uIfJt0mbvvtNfGbneCLnm47wGvk2tNxmRvwgJXUZn6-pmgJKCplEzpRgr8NoOTA7SmyQ0JNFxT748qGF_JDU2PGve_xEgqA8teIkNxMRKg0oPgqlSxdu0BMbS0ZoPkYvHG7ZThpO2R7VaC9kYe6DrfFj-5Bbd2Eu6X8lWP5aJayN1r/s320/P1330833.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The others seem more surprised at me than I myself, on Saturday six plus weeks after my big op: in heat that peaked at 32 degrees, we covered the churches of Norwich central north on Saturday, and collected 24 including the Cathedral. Which I know well, but never more intimately than on Friday afternoon, when our lovely hosts Kate and Fairless (pictured above in the cloisters) accompanied us to a 'festal' Evensong. Before I go further, because you might just flick down the pictures, let me tell you here that for a change, I'm raising money for <a href="https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/">Maggie's</a> this time, because of the support they've given me over the past year. <a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/01/norfolk-churches-245-256-loddon-to.html">2022, Loddon to Surlingham</a>, was for the Norfolk Churches Trust as usual, but I'm taking a little holiday from asking friends for the same old cause, excellent though it is. You can give as little or as much as you like to Maggie's - UPDATE: Gift Aid gets them far more if you go to 'donate' on the <a href="https://www.maggies.org/get-involved/donate-maggies/">main website here </a>- via bank transfer using these details <br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Maggie's Centres</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Bank: Bank of Scotland</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Branch: 38 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YR</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Account: 06049705</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span class="contentpasted0"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Sort Code: 80-11-00</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span class="contentpasted0"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And add XLDN so that it goes to the West London centre I love so much. Drop me an email so I can keep track of totalling.</span></span></span> <br /></p><p>Norwich Cathedral, of course, I know well. The glorious edifice's added spire is visible from the garden of K and F, but more of the building is clearer a little further along the road. Friday was hazy; we were luckier with the blue skies on the day of the walk.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkfCjC_76JdzB_mdRLX5wwoxCYgUh_-E1eV9nJOEDv1YEFzQpB_5ekeYUhAl8OkbAL_cg4DAEDZzZ5m2ldlFWbUfzCzoQLv_iCLpEBhyJerk0ASt6GsIzHUzl_6aitlgYKL6UAtpIHQ76MTcB02PLJzhV37nY_KxtqFIi6lrz4AfbgEJrLavV8JPbhMYq/s800/P1330826.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkfCjC_76JdzB_mdRLX5wwoxCYgUh_-E1eV9nJOEDv1YEFzQpB_5ekeYUhAl8OkbAL_cg4DAEDZzZ5m2ldlFWbUfzCzoQLv_iCLpEBhyJerk0ASt6GsIzHUzl_6aitlgYKL6UAtpIHQ76MTcB02PLJzhV37nY_KxtqFIi6lrz4AfbgEJrLavV8JPbhMYq/s320/P1330826.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then - and this is one of the two most atmospheric approaches, the other being through the Water Gate at Pull's Ferry a bit further along the Wensum, a much better way of getting in to town from the station than the rather dreary road that leads directly upwards and bends round - we crossed the medieval Bishop Bridge into Bishopsgate . We passed the Great Hospital, where the religious part of St Helen's would be our starting-point next morning, and round the East End, past the grave of Edith Cavell, </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhJwj51692jT2XxzOyjlAm9EmtFTNUo_S1aAfQ1QJ2ML9iDM4ZaTORIZFqteX2_4ELrdMw-J6UWPON3tAdh_ANO_4dzY5jwAFYsVg5XZIfZMjKT2jCATDrhbTUHyAQ-SjD3Kr-_zuwatz4MAxFK7jIVvrIKprz6LA-AsTJxsPXJtHxOZRF8pc-2wbGf19/s800/P1330830.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhJwj51692jT2XxzOyjlAm9EmtFTNUo_S1aAfQ1QJ2ML9iDM4ZaTORIZFqteX2_4ELrdMw-J6UWPON3tAdh_ANO_4dzY5jwAFYsVg5XZIfZMjKT2jCATDrhbTUHyAQ-SjD3Kr-_zuwatz4MAxFK7jIVvrIKprz6LA-AsTJxsPXJtHxOZRF8pc-2wbGf19/s320/P1330830.JPG" width="198" /></a></div><p></p><p>and into the cloisters, where I wanted to be reacquainted with the handsomest of Green Men.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEqseg9Ka0HrBAkO3M2_0bYNnHpsajy5Vw5lTQ5CvRxT7jIVVe9KierS8L253OjtN_rKiOS6qvYXT-lNbCGxwMIjXJi4JZ6spBYl6lNgFuvVxleheZePS4BAVeb4ZgioCBpk3FtfSgEwa-nuGMD5TkakHa2Etav_1keYXgQMRt-QZNcYdG80BL4Ae3NIuq/s800/P1330831.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEqseg9Ka0HrBAkO3M2_0bYNnHpsajy5Vw5lTQ5CvRxT7jIVVe9KierS8L253OjtN_rKiOS6qvYXT-lNbCGxwMIjXJi4JZ6spBYl6lNgFuvVxleheZePS4BAVeb4ZgioCBpk3FtfSgEwa-nuGMD5TkakHa2Etav_1keYXgQMRt-QZNcYdG80BL4Ae3NIuq/s320/P1330831.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The cloisters were begun in 1297 with the wing featured up top and including this particular Green Man, and finished c. 1430 with the north wing. pictured below; the Black Death interrupted the stonemasons' work.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxT7N0Eh-SUAHKD7Rwc5tBPgwGczehp0WmG9oPp8ipeLUv6JuPZtsIk6T7J54KhAR8SGBmKwpIncckgtX1vDDjbXFYGOcmhksLlTlq7VHPIbq9eq4PgQI8T2ElPtPmbclJLTPvT-rIRNoxo9EBh9Pp4DZ101LrIvRuHjNshUYWwi9T6zGOQOWgNpT7ArN/s800/P1330842.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxT7N0Eh-SUAHKD7Rwc5tBPgwGczehp0WmG9oPp8ipeLUv6JuPZtsIk6T7J54KhAR8SGBmKwpIncckgtX1vDDjbXFYGOcmhksLlTlq7VHPIbq9eq4PgQI8T2ElPtPmbclJLTPvT-rIRNoxo9EBh9Pp4DZ101LrIvRuHjNshUYWwi9T6zGOQOWgNpT7ArN/s320/P1330842.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>The special beauty of the interior proper is its unbroken beauty from east to west, even if that has two different periods matched throughout: the massive Norman outline, inaugurated by Herbert de Losinga in 1096, at the lower levels, with several patterned pillars the equal of those in the nave of Durham Cathedral, while the vaults of nave and chancel date from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, after the wooden roof burned. These are very much its glory, though the bosses here need a good zoom lens or binoculars to see in detail.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2ioGsLuPtNEL569azHsWXq9mFFmnkRbMTD9DGOapuWUcJZIR2xLHh7rcSNM1bkhjbFpj1BPggIFP9KFY_EgacmaS2oRBiDDsDXsaoRGUcfItBSCtE4dDZORVZGh4FukfMldmCJuNh0t3L7kfDzFrTZnz5UYaWs3OEUIkeqZ71DNSs_nyBu4YqTTRjqt2/s800/P1330843.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2ioGsLuPtNEL569azHsWXq9mFFmnkRbMTD9DGOapuWUcJZIR2xLHh7rcSNM1bkhjbFpj1BPggIFP9KFY_EgacmaS2oRBiDDsDXsaoRGUcfItBSCtE4dDZORVZGh4FukfMldmCJuNh0t3L7kfDzFrTZnz5UYaWs3OEUIkeqZ71DNSs_nyBu4YqTTRjqt2/s320/P1330843.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p>We made straight for the back row of choir stalls shortly before 5.30 evensong began, and the sets are among the finest in England (as I hadn't previously realised). Obviously I didn't snap during the service, but went back to capture something of the carved bench ends on both south and north sides. One day I'll have time to tip up the seats to see all the misericords, but one of the most inventive was showing, so that will have to do for now.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7HQUuCsskN2rhPhCGoaX4T_qqdPUV2gfQdJqrLurr9cXPvu69VoaUQ_MZJO0pi1bUEMvBzzTI8M2xL5iszP5nG0A3Hg99fYC4FEMBBNRya54seAdzNNVpA6sOxu0SgOudUpPx9uUSSKbq4D0uptApXxRMN-9-7Q_IQXCn1yU-rXBJdCZMSP03RscitOx/s800/P1330859.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7HQUuCsskN2rhPhCGoaX4T_qqdPUV2gfQdJqrLurr9cXPvu69VoaUQ_MZJO0pi1bUEMvBzzTI8M2xL5iszP5nG0A3Hg99fYC4FEMBBNRya54seAdzNNVpA6sOxu0SgOudUpPx9uUSSKbq4D0uptApXxRMN-9-7Q_IQXCn1yU-rXBJdCZMSP03RscitOx/s320/P1330859.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfISA2Rsye-3VYAZKrRkisbsg9D0MTiFaxXhBvgN-6r0IrIYmss-kA-lXQ7DKeMdzPJTbHqw5gbH2hc7K1YP_D4RJ-YaLLyKXPTmwBTyVb1UJH13Gl3V6tH0dcM7Z_MWLRC_d0klsflTKpC0Ws7ha_EQJ-1kTvXyi1dL0TUBK9OOd_FwZSr-uiL7_rzqL/s800/P1330861.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfISA2Rsye-3VYAZKrRkisbsg9D0MTiFaxXhBvgN-6r0IrIYmss-kA-lXQ7DKeMdzPJTbHqw5gbH2hc7K1YP_D4RJ-YaLLyKXPTmwBTyVb1UJH13Gl3V6tH0dcM7Z_MWLRC_d0klsflTKpC0Ws7ha_EQJ-1kTvXyi1dL0TUBK9OOd_FwZSr-uiL7_rzqL/s320/P1330861.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQTB0hOZabaYFtJr86jj6ViVa8Y8H16c0EYKaHKXbRp-1TQDEgUTKvR2NIM_wP_Ki1JCNzP8AhE1PpTOSPBz_3mXCk_wK1yupsOS7tSaaKAt71fVA623ozt_adCpbs3KwaymM3ASKMwwsLgRygPHkBxXfeQS1WziwUJ1OG4H23_lBTKi5sF3dCYMamurN/s800/P1330862.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQTB0hOZabaYFtJr86jj6ViVa8Y8H16c0EYKaHKXbRp-1TQDEgUTKvR2NIM_wP_Ki1JCNzP8AhE1PpTOSPBz_3mXCk_wK1yupsOS7tSaaKAt71fVA623ozt_adCpbs3KwaymM3ASKMwwsLgRygPHkBxXfeQS1WziwUJ1OG4H23_lBTKi5sF3dCYMamurN/s320/P1330862.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>The choir had just begun the new year, and there were quite a few unsurpliced novices among the trebles, looking a bit dazed, as well they might be in their first week. The music was ambitious: Sumsion's Responses; James MacMillan's Short Service, simple with a bit of signature token Celtic twiddle thrown in for the trebles at 'He hath filled the hungry with good things', and an extended 'Amen' in the second Gloria; Britten's vivid treatment of the Hymn to the Virgin, composed while he was a pupil at not-so-far-away Gresham's School. This being The Day of the BVM (as well, incidentally, as the anniversary of the Queen's death and <i>de facto</i> Charles's accession, plus our friend Fr Andrew Hammond's 60th birthday - we celebrated it last night at the Garrick Club), we all processed to the Bauchon Chapel for a blessing and some fine Tudor polyphony in the form of Parsons' Ave Maria. </p><p>Afterwards we were allowed to linger (sometimes the officials usher you out straight away). A cat seemed perfectly at home in the chancel</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPhnjyuzY_mQp2Lp567FM8akboZY376Oz0UU3VOrtR__CtElYFPupEva8lzqs8XGeX45bK_iljWHpwtdk3wCaY20k83JXfDIfeSnn9vXVbfrnXK4L-zIrB7-0t5Jd88nDGVqZLX83sqtwBBlbNSbYQ7utifRLq6gj8yksxgwtnldu3IgNr0RdkLsXWsMW/s800/P1330854.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPhnjyuzY_mQp2Lp567FM8akboZY376Oz0UU3VOrtR__CtElYFPupEva8lzqs8XGeX45bK_iljWHpwtdk3wCaY20k83JXfDIfeSnn9vXVbfrnXK4L-zIrB7-0t5Jd88nDGVqZLX83sqtwBBlbNSbYQ7utifRLq6gj8yksxgwtnldu3IgNr0RdkLsXWsMW/s320/P1330854.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>and this was a good way to see the Norman-Tudor achievement throughout. As Peter Sager writes in his magnificent<i> East Anglia</i>, 'nowhere else in England has the Norman outline been so perfectly maintained, and rarely is there such an harmonious link with the Gothic. On the Norman crossing tower</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL75pkzMIiXKDvGIk8IFZd6j-wAPpLfcUhGHXHz55S3Y1EQy1z5iOZBDIW9O3H4yDKdXZ6__BigddHv3uokZddJs-sWhIp7EhWLt4KsfZE_qjO-YWfWU8ETuFeZmty47WXNiMrgkpw5doS8CzIvepDdfY876n4YlZNuBH9eP4x1Xwy6DoBEZTZ6zNYvEak/s800/P1330858.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL75pkzMIiXKDvGIk8IFZd6j-wAPpLfcUhGHXHz55S3Y1EQy1z5iOZBDIW9O3H4yDKdXZ6__BigddHv3uokZddJs-sWhIp7EhWLt4KsfZE_qjO-YWfWU8ETuFeZmty47WXNiMrgkpw5doS8CzIvepDdfY876n4YlZNuBH9eP4x1Xwy6DoBEZTZ6zNYvEak/s320/P1330858.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>is a Gothic spire;</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVtAVYIfDzj0JElB-i8c9tnyg8vR3Kg5sG8t23_2qnWEwP3AVptzBMJLnHeITdv9AJIj31hC4o9Q_-ayfsC15vfw0FQUOpvtEc-kiWtcyMa-MsyMUY_CkGVQSYGqtu7-0D4nJfhO4_BsIDtQ9p6n9zwgZP_hbLHUrhcI4abYFcNc5qri4Pt4eW3fLqt6E/s800/P1330835.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVtAVYIfDzj0JElB-i8c9tnyg8vR3Kg5sG8t23_2qnWEwP3AVptzBMJLnHeITdv9AJIj31hC4o9Q_-ayfsC15vfw0FQUOpvtEc-kiWtcyMa-MsyMUY_CkGVQSYGqtu7-0D4nJfhO4_BsIDtQ9p6n9zwgZP_hbLHUrhcI4abYFcNc5qri4Pt4eW3fLqt6E/s320/P1330835.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>above the Norman nave is a Gothic vault - different architectural styles inspired by the same spirit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsObS5VVTcplmBaJvfinMxnWu0AS4j1tFDsiS5wfEODqr1GGW3jKAyDhpEwA1rBo7NMp0GjbB_gIij1vL8Y0GSH3UUpoLSoI7IaKwhIOxrUqLFHAibP69VZlxqtIc6dAYbJLvBp27bijCq9lpoc9FaqH9gCeeRJVM_k9T1K0-XyvPDT5d3U_htt20kWprL/s800/P1330865.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsObS5VVTcplmBaJvfinMxnWu0AS4j1tFDsiS5wfEODqr1GGW3jKAyDhpEwA1rBo7NMp0GjbB_gIij1vL8Y0GSH3UUpoLSoI7IaKwhIOxrUqLFHAibP69VZlxqtIc6dAYbJLvBp27bijCq9lpoc9FaqH9gCeeRJVM_k9T1K0-XyvPDT5d3U_htt20kWprL/s320/P1330865.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>'The Late Gothic fans of the vault spread out like palm leaves from the Norman columns. Here too timber was replaced by stone [the timber spire was destroyed by a hurrican in 1362]; the vaults of the nave in the middle of the 15th century, the choir c.1480</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nqqAtjrhAxHuSIjYFsPuXMNz8-atZxoiJ701R1C1XSeJOkMqyQ_nTo-CdDFmDVJaMne6VrUljgpefy7_Yr3wbc7Sbmdq92vy9WnWPcg0Bm2AkexOqJ45yacV94Ai4XIDgJf4xGvY3Aref02BMc8gFRTBnv1-LNPpDhsq6RAsPHGvOLwhmux70kY6eaUL/s800/P1330847.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nqqAtjrhAxHuSIjYFsPuXMNz8-atZxoiJ701R1C1XSeJOkMqyQ_nTo-CdDFmDVJaMne6VrUljgpefy7_Yr3wbc7Sbmdq92vy9WnWPcg0Bm2AkexOqJ45yacV94Ai4XIDgJf4xGvY3Aref02BMc8gFRTBnv1-LNPpDhsq6RAsPHGvOLwhmux70kY6eaUL/s320/P1330847.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivP2jVpx6sH2s1FqtorILVzQ0ICsZ3_beiO72fU-NY67eMvdlZoSLwB1SBZcAIEtozHSPMQidkGE0N5U3faVWO49uHJVPen6HuP8MXMpNQ5klmi0r-wPwRhDoV8CImeAslI2VmJ1_pE4qWdBHg25ae9t1f7xEnXdo7xfLwi7ORjvMSCWCfW2WZIaCcX0Nv/s800/P1330851.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivP2jVpx6sH2s1FqtorILVzQ0ICsZ3_beiO72fU-NY67eMvdlZoSLwB1SBZcAIEtozHSPMQidkGE0N5U3faVWO49uHJVPen6HuP8MXMpNQ5klmi0r-wPwRhDoV8CImeAslI2VmJ1_pE4qWdBHg25ae9t1f7xEnXdo7xfLwi7ORjvMSCWCfW2WZIaCcX0Nv/s320/P1330851.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p>the transepts afer 1509'. The building was virtually empty, but awaiting the arrival of Norwich School pupils and their parents for a prizegiving ceremony.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInZ2IlT3q7IKuEOZwum_hWQnX-Odc_7L4-0E9kjvmzJ22IhWmZR4XnOouiyoOX3wjJtn_AcF8jvOGdSo2rGwHmcyKBASkaKuInc4cU7HW_CT6pScsbr5dEVwLF1Q0sxYuLt1XnGSohIsYFjyRWrYX1gd5imZgaVmExhPPDriJvbHqKkUqbhL7zdYeXRBC/s800/P1330867.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInZ2IlT3q7IKuEOZwum_hWQnX-Odc_7L4-0E9kjvmzJ22IhWmZR4XnOouiyoOX3wjJtn_AcF8jvOGdSo2rGwHmcyKBASkaKuInc4cU7HW_CT6pScsbr5dEVwLF1Q0sxYuLt1XnGSohIsYFjyRWrYX1gd5imZgaVmExhPPDriJvbHqKkUqbhL7zdYeXRBC/s320/P1330867.JPG" width="201" /></a></div><p></p><p>There was pleasant evening time to kill before we went to celebrate Fairless's 70th birthday at Bishop's Dining Room - simple fare, but every aspect of the experience good - so we walked down to the Adam and Eve, 'probably Norwich's oldest pub', which would be perfect and rural if it weren't for the city car park opposite.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvakrRSyCmaafzNtVVoVVDfb1kyXguw99ZIgGczbvSfhp8eMIa2tPhhYnoGYpWQMb741uUlEO3OLzm6OIgo-0lQCE58FXGA0w1qgpOiwqyHKErkowEG24Qvu3CxzV6QLsNaG77mXnlqG4cs5kzLbAux0VY-RGzh5gh3t1bKAGPm6oUzRfqKJx8tLBqR7dF/s800/P1330869.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvakrRSyCmaafzNtVVoVVDfb1kyXguw99ZIgGczbvSfhp8eMIa2tPhhYnoGYpWQMb741uUlEO3OLzm6OIgo-0lQCE58FXGA0w1qgpOiwqyHKErkowEG24Qvu3CxzV6QLsNaG77mXnlqG4cs5kzLbAux0VY-RGzh5gh3t1bKAGPm6oUzRfqKJx8tLBqR7dF/s320/P1330869.JPG" width="204" /></a></div><p>And it has to be better in every way than the disastrously named Lollards [sic] Pit over Bishop Bridge (1342, nearly demolished in the 1920s, can you believe), which seems to glory in the burning of heretics. In the 16th and 17th centuries the unfortunates were incinerated in a chalk pit on this side of the Wensum.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw5GPgf1I2Ilag0aOnyuY3CU0vNHAmDLil4Df3SO3AE4W8BT4rhF5OefVMXWDrjWClKtC4BiW6zLP_DcxpTYiGw-FwxgreM0odriDPmuVYj7NdGJaRrQ0c1X0FRiTypWh3P11VJop70RQlhXxzWtEKU-NCQHIXwdRH-qmB6D6xPYGxgETNKd2SxISMNxzE/s800/P1330877.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="800" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw5GPgf1I2Ilag0aOnyuY3CU0vNHAmDLil4Df3SO3AE4W8BT4rhF5OefVMXWDrjWClKtC4BiW6zLP_DcxpTYiGw-FwxgreM0odriDPmuVYj7NdGJaRrQ0c1X0FRiTypWh3P11VJop70RQlhXxzWtEKU-NCQHIXwdRH-qmB6D6xPYGxgETNKd2SxISMNxzE/s320/P1330877.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />We figuratively roasted on our walk the next day, but amen to the cool of each and every church which welcomed us. I'll write it all up when I have more time.<p></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-53447318217432722672023-09-03T09:10:00.003+01:002023-09-03T09:22:04.967+01:00Slow-progress report<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIqky0NQbpRaHZr-ie5U9KpdK-6dBeblZ07sMk5SZsluDIPN8aSJcb2YAcL1L6PeglQCLSqigXxIe01vBVlQvmrNgQEP1BEMD_9c-3LepDg8jRNyJkXf_oeMVZFcIko7UY9hzQTPy1VlcHAl8ryUGRsyHt9fyKZ_cO_iojrQLimOCmBtir-J9WHqmtJR7/s2312/1000003333.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2312" data-original-width="1734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIqky0NQbpRaHZr-ie5U9KpdK-6dBeblZ07sMk5SZsluDIPN8aSJcb2YAcL1L6PeglQCLSqigXxIe01vBVlQvmrNgQEP1BEMD_9c-3LepDg8jRNyJkXf_oeMVZFcIko7UY9hzQTPy1VlcHAl8ryUGRsyHt9fyKZ_cO_iojrQLimOCmBtir-J9WHqmtJR7/s320/1000003333.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's coming up for six weeks since I had my Big Op, a month since I came home from the hospital. Maybe I expected progress to be quicker than it is, but the plastics in my rear still make walking difficult, and so far I've limited myself to a radius which includes South Kensington to the east, Fulham Palace to the south-west (pictured above by J, self with bag containing my medical cushion, which goes everywhere with me, at the Tudor arch into/out of the fabulous walled garden).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskTu4LnfCql7bLCSjPK1uFuxskHYE6IC0hJw6v9wLgCP_aSaH-P1XoB-gkYrl3HpzE_x_SDgFR3rSJ9or56bIu11SWD4gtf--c2LP8p1fh3bLGsFDBI5JClWY9LPZzn8H7dqoRRHB3hRI2JVCAX_7vA9BA--f6IF6kmFmIAu0_UUHfLFhmCe3ffZPtsa5/s5184/P1330639.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskTu4LnfCql7bLCSjPK1uFuxskHYE6IC0hJw6v9wLgCP_aSaH-P1XoB-gkYrl3HpzE_x_SDgFR3rSJ9or56bIu11SWD4gtf--c2LP8p1fh3bLGsFDBI5JClWY9LPZzn8H7dqoRRHB3hRI2JVCAX_7vA9BA--f6IF6kmFmIAu0_UUHfLFhmCe3ffZPtsa5/s320/P1330639.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2O6Um7J3dzsUx67UelBn7BD0AcEbjgxKvX1nsQCM0a_2-EGLwchGkuC9Xbsj-3mIU5M7SqOFjJ6CAr0y2Ntc4vtzKJRQXQNo-XoTHn4DkI0MmsWWc5-sT4tY5uK5iCrXpt4gpkW6uUKvqYHb3RpFBb5dnkWaSC-LmQ8umBEmVsB_UY1weIYJzzLr6vsaI/s5184/P1330647.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2O6Um7J3dzsUx67UelBn7BD0AcEbjgxKvX1nsQCM0a_2-EGLwchGkuC9Xbsj-3mIU5M7SqOFjJ6CAr0y2Ntc4vtzKJRQXQNo-XoTHn4DkI0MmsWWc5-sT4tY5uK5iCrXpt4gpkW6uUKvqYHb3RpFBb5dnkWaSC-LmQ8umBEmVsB_UY1weIYJzzLr6vsaI/s320/P1330647.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQI5lWObUPX62bFkRNe0yM7KJaH8S1lewelTvdGaEe1dIAqgz96vctucch4k0fYqfKMb2RGh_Zg82LRfAblMUwmbtHy1Ns7Y788vEjRG8DIOJUUdnhBuUjt_j1cjDO4R11pq7k46E7D9XJFngBNX0s8cOjXfYOxWj4a5UAPx3PNpj3urDjiStNwTFzg0IM/s5184/P1330648.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQI5lWObUPX62bFkRNe0yM7KJaH8S1lewelTvdGaEe1dIAqgz96vctucch4k0fYqfKMb2RGh_Zg82LRfAblMUwmbtHy1Ns7Y788vEjRG8DIOJUUdnhBuUjt_j1cjDO4R11pq7k46E7D9XJFngBNX0s8cOjXfYOxWj4a5UAPx3PNpj3urDjiStNwTFzg0IM/s320/P1330648.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>While I hope not to be self-pitying, I can say with some objectivity it had been a bit tough for some weeks since J returned to Dublin after his month-long vigil. I was despairing one day, but found myself immensely bucked up the following morning by lovely plastics person Abigail at Charing Cross Hospital, who told me to my amazement that the surgery on my behind was 'healing beautifully'. And then I saw so many of my favourite people who've helped me - Sushma the stoma nurse (second from left in this pic, which I'm happy to repeat), Lena who did my plastics dressing while I was in hospital (third from right), </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuWH7WUFjS32UKm14zbxJZgQNrovQ391HkbMB5yWcJbEIoBboaFtkyH3Gnz-nvLUjM88jAomNeGymhNQh9b-EzypKdTN602vR-GEw0QUWkqhWSJ4_IhVDPnw_SqSlulTIkkwIsyx5xuLo_5I7xH6Bi_s19U8977eSAh13yNi98J_0rmtZEZUTripFsbi8/s800/F2hLptzWIAA62u-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuWH7WUFjS32UKm14zbxJZgQNrovQ391HkbMB5yWcJbEIoBboaFtkyH3Gnz-nvLUjM88jAomNeGymhNQh9b-EzypKdTN602vR-GEw0QUWkqhWSJ4_IhVDPnw_SqSlulTIkkwIsyx5xuLo_5I7xH6Bi_s19U8977eSAh13yNi98J_0rmtZEZUTripFsbi8/s320/F2hLptzWIAA62u-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>the wonderful Mary and Louise in the <a href="https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/maggies-west-london/">Maggie's Centre</a> which I hadn't visited for ages. I wish I'd had my camera with me because the view from where I sat while they spent time talking to me revealed the grape-rich vine and a silk tree in flower (Louise identified it for me). The below picture from one of my first excursions after radiotherapy sessions in February, so stark by comparison, will suffice (more on all that in an <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/02/wings-and-weather-around-visits-to-beast.html">earlier blog entry</a>). </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgvreuJfER3yC_QhEVljsmxmXO52G8mqyVT5mHQkOdoCSjZ-vzmeSUweSNqA3B-lxsnOM12s4s_Z0RiTH3MZyNvDbgWPJqjI164INnaVrQnafo3uBIjEdQxWKf4upTHOU6oeAakpCN2Lda9vqNEympbdPVT-vmv3qRsGULCqODx33P5Yi1wQq4vrpI0-wN/s800/P1280121.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgvreuJfER3yC_QhEVljsmxmXO52G8mqyVT5mHQkOdoCSjZ-vzmeSUweSNqA3B-lxsnOM12s4s_Z0RiTH3MZyNvDbgWPJqjI164INnaVrQnafo3uBIjEdQxWKf4upTHOU6oeAakpCN2Lda9vqNEympbdPVT-vmv3qRsGULCqODx33P5Yi1wQq4vrpI0-wN/s320/P1280121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>This time some of the regular visitors were there too, fresh from a yoga class, including Morris (Maurice?) who remembered my 'radio voice', and when a venerable ancient bent down to pick up the things I'd left on the floor and I told him he shouldn't be waiting on me, he turned out to be a Thursday volunteer, Tony, I think, has been helping out since the Richard Rogers-designed building first opened in the early 2000s. We talked about musical performances there, and he told me he'd donated to the fund for the restoration of the <a href="https://www.christs-hospital.org.uk/school-life/chapel/">chapel</a> organ at Christ's Hospital School, where he was a pupil during the Second World War.</p><p>Then through Margravine Cemetery, where the Marbled Whites, Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns have ceded to later species such as this Speckled Wood<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdLZwIDdagejwRIo2y1Fg6rmri8V2R8uldlbdEyMOQqis8cwUbkCyHvZUXA8A03YMfeZ8OG0dIortuNP0HY9qreA2qCWACzJdD3tCsukc1KwF18hTiO35WP3BJt6UDs5e4bY3GsHebFwVUSrGGFVkuWlEJ-GzzSQfIPm8Rq9XprBKr2Y1Y_ddoOIN6OZg/s800/P1330677.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="800" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdLZwIDdagejwRIo2y1Fg6rmri8V2R8uldlbdEyMOQqis8cwUbkCyHvZUXA8A03YMfeZ8OG0dIortuNP0HY9qreA2qCWACzJdD3tCsukc1KwF18hTiO35WP3BJt6UDs5e4bY3GsHebFwVUSrGGFVkuWlEJ-GzzSQfIPm8Rq9XprBKr2Y1Y_ddoOIN6OZg/s320/P1330677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the even more common Small White, still beautiful to look at with veins showing on bramble leaves. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1-xkIkHkQIxtF7lrvE7v5xFjLdcYXXHigZsWdX4uIyoZDaE12jj_wTIL-JUnPnvItMBLyx5l9pKrZ402K2sGzFguYtiBz5iBDnDSvKiYEURJWJ4eC8FLDj2FaPKsEBQvsr4gpL1SfbFvRVQRugIDrykW45EK7zb_-ogo62rZRy0OmcVQNOVpMF0Ltk-e/s800/P1330695.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1-xkIkHkQIxtF7lrvE7v5xFjLdcYXXHigZsWdX4uIyoZDaE12jj_wTIL-JUnPnvItMBLyx5l9pKrZ402K2sGzFguYtiBz5iBDnDSvKiYEURJWJ4eC8FLDj2FaPKsEBQvsr4gpL1SfbFvRVQRugIDrykW45EK7zb_-ogo62rZRy0OmcVQNOVpMF0Ltk-e/s320/P1330695.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>to lunch with Cally at our bright new local cafe, PopIn, and on to St Mary's Paddington (quite a shock to hit the mean streets and a hospital which, compared to Charing X is a bit of a mess) to see surgeon Maria. The wonderful Macmillan nurse who made it possible to me to go to <span>Pärnu</span>, Ann, was also there. So good to get the all clear - hopefully a definitive one this time - from two more people who have meant so much to me. </p><p>Not so sure my poor 92-year-old mum has been getting the same level of attention in her two hospitalisations following two falls at home (below is her having baked her first cake for some time not long ago, when I visited her in July). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yw5ljiASHVkFza5wIzm05tZIU0TFEBOuxVOOY0X2TQnZOLbiphF1xvSnBWuet3pC_2HZRpptzBzBFzXEeelRX182I8EMju2GNjSxvEcPfEOoXX8WVlFCFO7sVpKiZl2FgEoBbBCkQU4L-6ylALtava15Kgl477qXcl2Q4yC0UCAABcEd0VpHtoHxw7MX/s800/P1320752.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yw5ljiASHVkFza5wIzm05tZIU0TFEBOuxVOOY0X2TQnZOLbiphF1xvSnBWuet3pC_2HZRpptzBzBFzXEeelRX182I8EMju2GNjSxvEcPfEOoXX8WVlFCFO7sVpKiZl2FgEoBbBCkQU4L-6ylALtava15Kgl477qXcl2Q4yC0UCAABcEd0VpHtoHxw7MX/s320/P1320752.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was bad timing: her first fall came just before my op, when I was still in Estonia. The second happened in spite of the fact that she had people coming in four times a day at home in addition to her regular carers. I'm sure she was tended to in Epsom Hospital where necessary, but I got no calls from any of the wards she was in until last week, when I finally spoke to a lovely doctor, Flavia, who reassured me that the antibiotics had cleared up a chest infection. Physically she's in OK health, though needs help walking (if she'd not tried to do it by herself at home neither fall would have happened). </p><p>She was sent to a convalescent wing the day after it opened, so that was all a bit at sixes and sevens. Alas, North East Epsom Cottage Hospital, where she had such a good time making friends on the ward two summers ago, closed its <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2021/07/bosky-pleasures-on-hospital-visits.html">restful country quarters</a> and moved to within the main hospital grounds. Her mood when I phoned her varied - sometimes I really wondered if she'd gone to a very dark place within, as it were.</p><p>Yet a stressy week or so trying to find her a respite care home for three weeks after discharge seems to have paid off: she's now in Greenacres, The Horseshoe, Banstead, so her friends can come and visit. I spoke to her last night and she was her old self - quipping and laughing. It's been an eye-opener how greedy the private care homes can be. Signature Banstead, the posh place, quoted me £1400 per week including nursing care. That had gone up to £2000 and the stay had to be for at least a month. Beaumont Care in Epsom, recommended by a wonderful district matron, seemed to be in the hands of a pushy person I couldn't quite understand over the phone, who had gone taking a phone assessment with a nurse before I'd asked. Too expensive, anyway - also £2000 - and when she said 'but we can do a deal', it felt like I was dealing with a second-hand care salesperson.</p><p>Meanwhile home life has been on a reasonably even keel. No way can I get to Banstead yet, but I've managed four live Proms (walk to West Ken, short tube journey, standing, to South Ken, then to the Albert Hall).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsK7OCZFgluIB3Wpo7pedmAYepVbN5qMXzJFHlVG03IRjYY5AizMPlca5-KcGdLLt2RbCT6g6-i81u3SjKLYaYFoccn_EcuBnvOeLnaZ_5Pm4XHsMwPsGvwtUtXzjjMq4zVO6p3owFEEEZOq3W1Xvuzp2iCY3TovfZdhD7_7mYS1ZkEChhi5qeBtVmT97G/s800/20230805_184901.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="762" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsK7OCZFgluIB3Wpo7pedmAYepVbN5qMXzJFHlVG03IRjYY5AizMPlca5-KcGdLLt2RbCT6g6-i81u3SjKLYaYFoccn_EcuBnvOeLnaZ_5Pm4XHsMwPsGvwtUtXzjjMq4zVO6p3owFEEEZOq3W1Xvuzp2iCY3TovfZdhD7_7mYS1ZkEChhi5qeBtVmT97G/s320/20230805_184901.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><p></p><p>Knackering to various degrees, and not all great, but the first - when J was still here, and took the above pic - had the <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/prom-28-rangwanasha-national-youth-orchestra-prieto-review-playing-and-singing-swing">National Youth Orchestra</a> predictably shining in Hindemith and Strauss's <i>Four Last Songs</i>, with the stunning Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha. </p><p>They played well in Copland 3 but I just don't 'get' the work. The encores were - also predictably - superlative, especially Errolyn Wallen's arrangement of "Got the Whole World in His Hands", irresistible. Watch the whole thing <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001pvdp/bbc-proms-2023-nyo-at-the-proms">here</a>. <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/prom-60-gerstein-berlin-rso-jurowski-review-master-conductor-returns-his-german-band">Thursday night's Prom</a> was the best I've been to as a whole - brilliant programming as usual from Vladimir Jurowski, bringing his Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra to the Proms. Sitting for long periods is out, so J and I listened to Glyndebourne's Poulenc on the radio, and I <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/prom-31-dialogues-des-carm%C3%A9lites-glyndebourne-bbc-radio-3-review-full-force-air">reviewed it as a broadcast experience</a>. One more to go, just before braving this year's Norfolk Churches Walk. It can't be anything like the<a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/01/norfolk-churches-245-256-loddon-to.html"> big loop of last year,</a> so from our base at Kate and Fairless's lovely house, we're going to assail 40 plus churches in Norwich. I'll do as many as I can. The alternative was driving between far-flung remote churches, and I don't think I could manage sitting and getting in and out. Thinking I might depart from fundraising for the Norfolk Churches Trust this year - J can do that - and donating to Maggie's. <br /></p><p>Visits and meetings have kept me going. Another film night here on Tuesday, the choice made as before from my stock of classic movie DVDs - this time <i>Adam's Rib</i> with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy as married lawyers Pinkie and Pinky - was accompanied by cooking from Cally and Maxine. Edwina is coming to cook again tonight. Her lilies and cucumber from Kent garden did so well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJA58lQ_5mlL0jgbFSThB7ccU56YMSTnncLt0ayfrKgpee-j5MRgdodnm6PrvP-ZWSl3k-4Bs3biwJ0O-QAwFkmOpcONFJM1CQdmEplVs6IYG3VCQ8KkmPzHUn2sGNOImzSGIA8_zb7kHprXW53x3HD0oHfNMzWmDDhC91J2bfkYA24J-VzQ8VpNyV7Q7J/s800/P1330660.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJA58lQ_5mlL0jgbFSThB7ccU56YMSTnncLt0ayfrKgpee-j5MRgdodnm6PrvP-ZWSl3k-4Bs3biwJ0O-QAwFkmOpcONFJM1CQdmEplVs6IYG3VCQ8KkmPzHUn2sGNOImzSGIA8_zb7kHprXW53x3HD0oHfNMzWmDDhC91J2bfkYA24J-VzQ8VpNyV7Q7J/s320/P1330660.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQIaOGXEWaPyegEo7GM2RSSW0YrftM3zC95PVHgdRQ-FxCHFsY7TE0nHWteE0kURTHfJ4PCAkjXH_g-0ItXjyxJ7pkENdG3jeZBsXSZdFH_vTdacg1zbFzCgLNeksyjFZvIpL-C07fTT5RfIFBn8YcTXj8jBWIV9rW7WYR-2_RexPxyfit0SaIms1AG1nn/s800/P1330658.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQIaOGXEWaPyegEo7GM2RSSW0YrftM3zC95PVHgdRQ-FxCHFsY7TE0nHWteE0kURTHfJ4PCAkjXH_g-0ItXjyxJ7pkENdG3jeZBsXSZdFH_vTdacg1zbFzCgLNeksyjFZvIpL-C07fTT5RfIFBn8YcTXj8jBWIV9rW7WYR-2_RexPxyfit0SaIms1AG1nn/s320/P1330658.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRjw3r4RjVPf0FcAqGcX8A8mvzbLDA7-rwvDgYOoX-FyL6lpm6X63TNVJH2Lv0uVnz_EumJvd6AIOEo3Mjm-WPrBFUi3aZMKULE7H6xbE0wJVVgxFZ6SpCKw1NinWmqa5qLyUF-R51hg1J_A4Tjmz60dijKcUJ7zWG28FZ_cPrpWx4jB0N-6zr1BTT1jJ/s800/P1330665.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRjw3r4RjVPf0FcAqGcX8A8mvzbLDA7-rwvDgYOoX-FyL6lpm6X63TNVJH2Lv0uVnz_EumJvd6AIOEo3Mjm-WPrBFUi3aZMKULE7H6xbE0wJVVgxFZ6SpCKw1NinWmqa5qLyUF-R51hg1J_A4Tjmz60dijKcUJ7zWG28FZ_cPrpWx4jB0N-6zr1BTT1jJ/s320/P1330665.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I like it that I can read so much, between reviews and preparations + execution of my <i>Parsifal</i> Zoom classes. Molly Keane is due a big eulogy soon - so much deeper and richer than I realised; I was also beguiled by Neil Gaiman's vivid retelling of Norse mythology, surely designed to read aloud - it will be useful for <i>Rheingold</i>, but interest was stimulated by the fascinating Norwegian drama <i>Ragnarok</i>, so good at balancing the contemporary mundane with the mythical. Just reached the end of that, and caught up with the very moving final instalments of <i>Derry Girls</i>. What next?</p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-50311583610763794602023-08-26T09:12:00.006+01:002023-08-31T07:13:24.780+01:00ENO Xerxes, Class of '85<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcCkNU1pPJGIK0DKGPNdlKFAuSfdZBkKP4Z4rMv2FGoQC9IwJ_dXRPb2-wBSedGAOGWaYuBHH1qN1qdIVegxTyhJfgqX6nxzdvzRofKscRyl56j1mM11sLbLpQo5YM3ETYq3V1icqlLRjV8D0mTkdpYBehUcLmidRa64BzZWi3C7HrM9WcDeCt-MVNtzr/s922/Serse%203%20reunion%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="922" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcCkNU1pPJGIK0DKGPNdlKFAuSfdZBkKP4Z4rMv2FGoQC9IwJ_dXRPb2-wBSedGAOGWaYuBHH1qN1qdIVegxTyhJfgqX6nxzdvzRofKscRyl56j1mM11sLbLpQo5YM3ETYq3V1icqlLRjV8D0mTkdpYBehUcLmidRa64BzZWi3C7HrM9WcDeCt-MVNtzr/s320/Serse%203%20reunion%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The wonderful Jean Rigby (on the right top in the above Zoom class, with Ann Murray top left and Christopher Robson bottom right) played her part, back when I was running my five classes on Britten's <i>Albert Herring</i>, getting others to come along who'd been in the immortal Glyndebourne production directed by Peter Hall. So we had, not all at the same time but all with so much to say, Nancy (Jean), Sid (Alan Opie), Albert (John Graham Hall, so funny), Mr Upfold (Alexander Oliver, ditto) and Florence Pike (Felicity Palmer, another hoot). I think that counts as some sort of historical reunion - and of course all concerned said it was among their favourite operatic experience of a lifetime. </p><p>With <i>Serse</i>, I'd originally hoped that we might reassemble some of the stars of the new English Concert recording following on from an <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/serse-english-concert-st-martin-fields-review-star-turns-five-remarkable-women">electrifying live performance</a>. It's become my Desert Island Handel. Emily D'Angelo, Lucy Crowe and Paula Murrihy are megastars, but the first two very kindly told me they were busy (Emily on a new Handel production, Lucy on end-of-term stuff with her kids), while Paula I'd already prevailed upon to talk Octavian just before the Irish National Opera <i>Rosenkavalier</i>, along with conductor Fergus Sheil (and what a triumph that turned out to be). In the end Harry Bicket, whose skill is total in entwining orchestra with voices and who was working on a new production of <i>Pelléas et Mélisande</i> in Santa Fe, came along for a much-appreciated ten minutes at the beginning of one class. Before I move on, tell me if you know a more fiery piece of Handel than D'Angelo singing 'Crude Furie' (there is an equal, below, from La Murray, but can you get better than either?)<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Acaf2iuUzHc" width="320" youtube-src-id="Acaf2iuUzHc"></iframe></div><p></p><p></p><p>Get this recording: it's superlative in every way. </p><p>Then we hit another bullseye - not only Jean, who'd played Amastre, Xerxe's discarded lover disguised as a man, in the groundbreaking ENO <i>Xerxes</i> directed by Nicholas Hytner, but also Christopher Robson, the Arsamene - and, wonder of wonders, the great Ann Murray, thanks to an Irish friend who knew her well, Joe Brennan.</p><p>She turned out to have as wicked a sense of humour as La Palmer, and had us all in stitches with candid reminiscences (not least about Charles Mackerras, who of course was never the easiest conductor to work with, but rightly a perfectionist). Yes, it was history: the production which marked the start of the Handel opera revival. It's been revived frequently and would still work now. The whole Channel 4 film is up on YouTube, but horribly distorted (I picked up a second-hand DVD). Three clips are, I hope, to the point. In the first Jean's major solos as Amastre have been stitched together.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sEzDivKgbo0" width="320" youtube-src-id="sEzDivKgbo0"></iframe></div><p></p><p>The second has a duet everyone remembers - and not just because duets are rare in Handel operas, more because the English translation helped to make it such fun (the whole thing works in English, I think): Robson's Arsamene in a lovers' spat with the wonderful Valerie Masterson's Romilda.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A02AdMG1enQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="A02AdMG1enQ"></iframe></div><p>And finally, the English version of 'Crude furie' from Murray. Piquant that the subtitles are the Italian original. Special visual rewards here, as always thanks to Hytner and the commitment of his singers. Ticks all boxes as a Great Operatic Performance.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mkt64kycWS0" width="320" youtube-src-id="Mkt64kycWS0"></iframe></div><p></p><p></p><p>What miracles of substance and design the ENO programmes were in those days. I still miss the chameleonic and brilliant Nick John, whose untimely sudden death was a shock to all of us. This is the cover of my first <i>Xerxes</i> programme - I caught it for the first time in the 1988 revival, which included the above three singers.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwLCqxSLihjTmMm2xRBfvrVcxfJL02xzJZ3H7I_jvFCc4dE0rCIWmPGsaTPPLKW9API3667mZf739n5WWM_Y6GHVX1nORtIknTsD2NAJL6R-ToaVJ3PrI4zgwRY2lJbLbUe1VvACfVMYwLHaeT0CzYpw_ajC8vzO3McR8nX931Zm0djlo-olypQ2CcoWx/s4618/P1320755.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4618" data-original-width="2909" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwLCqxSLihjTmMm2xRBfvrVcxfJL02xzJZ3H7I_jvFCc4dE0rCIWmPGsaTPPLKW9API3667mZf739n5WWM_Y6GHVX1nORtIknTsD2NAJL6R-ToaVJ3PrI4zgwRY2lJbLbUe1VvACfVMYwLHaeT0CzYpw_ajC8vzO3McR8nX931Zm0djlo-olypQ2CcoWx/s320/P1320755.JPG" width="202" /></a></div><p></p><p>Inside, style and useful detail were one.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm13R4ipHBu9CcAUIL1enJgBPZoA9MwXfMPj_SvtpJajYvcxoBWtHA9oHsqYExs-S8hy98FzyezAbwg3wamW-SRbXEBqYXzBv6YO3q-c4N_0aalxxDe55vzeQ4NVI-W3vZPz32VRIfQ7s5nnxICASC8llmNkPmxmqej9d5tIhaxpRsRnEIadlf1VPjwFVw/s3233/P1320757.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3050" data-original-width="3233" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm13R4ipHBu9CcAUIL1enJgBPZoA9MwXfMPj_SvtpJajYvcxoBWtHA9oHsqYExs-S8hy98FzyezAbwg3wamW-SRbXEBqYXzBv6YO3q-c4N_0aalxxDe55vzeQ4NVI-W3vZPz32VRIfQ7s5nnxICASC8llmNkPmxmqej9d5tIhaxpRsRnEIadlf1VPjwFVw/s320/P1320757.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Now three weeks into my summer Wagner course on Zoom, and enthralled as ever by the peculiar world of <i>Parsifal</i>, I dug out my ENO programme from 1986. The articles and quotations within are numerous and useful even now. I confess to some shame in not remembering more about it than I do, since Goodall was conducting (I wasn't a fan in those days of his extended lengths) and - will you look at this insert, placed to the right of the programme cover. Jerusalem singing in German to an otherwise English cast was parallel to an earlier experience I had at the Royal Opera, when Rita Hunter sang the <i>Trovatore</i> Leonora in English to Carlo Bergonzi's very Italian Manrico ('what are you saying? I cannot understand you'). <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZznhHD7CXL9KpKt--OxkktG1oNX3EhuaEC2CeoH_1g6qCwHKGTbr0-5i6ayB3ia7Pj0wEnkmwq3hSI8keHht-zCHDTNsE8YX51YRNAmOKV6Nqm51iHTd9AJa5T3Sq4f1yOs7Rz0SBfZmrd1xQ-GwRJAcp32twEH04-xe2MG-7BNxW8Hl8bPobyLrrfQu/s1000/P1330711.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1000" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZznhHD7CXL9KpKt--OxkktG1oNX3EhuaEC2CeoH_1g6qCwHKGTbr0-5i6ayB3ia7Pj0wEnkmwq3hSI8keHht-zCHDTNsE8YX51YRNAmOKV6Nqm51iHTd9AJa5T3Sq4f1yOs7Rz0SBfZmrd1xQ-GwRJAcp32twEH04-xe2MG-7BNxW8Hl8bPobyLrrfQu/s320/P1330711.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Only ten two-hour-plus Zoom classes will do for<i> Parsifal</i>, especially as I have to make way for guests. John Tomlinson will return towards the end, when we go back to his Gurnemanz in the Kupfer production, but already in the second class we had sense and inspiration from Andrew Gourlay, whom I saw in action live for the first time in a terrific <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/national-youth-orchestra-gourlay-rfh-review-non-stop-jamboree-highest-level">complete <i>Firebird</i> score with the National Youth Orchestra</a>. He's made a very careful selection of music to form a suite, with minimum interference and hardly any filling-in of vocal lines. Here he is top right, and this time I've done a close-up in case it's too difficult to make him out (I have 60 students and even though not all can make it live, we're still on two screens).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfs94cpqMMHgehycaDo26dEenq8k5kOXH9eqgoS_4j0s69ptbC8nQJxQkja7XIHIwrUouFOkr1RxIUKRoKOqOBaVW7NDSvLaAuekY0GRYAYhehy00neeCvOcLVg_vWA_xPfjA6D8BSg-JKGQT_f2UuLCyJj81XDxfc9Kw7K_zqWeP8ZAWTHJLXsmkGavQ/s1920/Parsifal%20Gourlay-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfs94cpqMMHgehycaDo26dEenq8k5kOXH9eqgoS_4j0s69ptbC8nQJxQkja7XIHIwrUouFOkr1RxIUKRoKOqOBaVW7NDSvLaAuekY0GRYAYhehy00neeCvOcLVg_vWA_xPfjA6D8BSg-JKGQT_f2UuLCyJj81XDxfc9Kw7K_zqWeP8ZAWTHJLXsmkGavQ/s320/Parsifal%20Gourlay-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzw58ZwhSnjbGODsriX9XbXem5k-DYISexQxjaMXSyD3VcsNHfrgHLXHeiBeNGMIXSCJuMem-Wq2T8qgayk2RcYtOOg9-BlLl1vp6KpQSaSjbcL9HvIbNGw5nyVP1QFgOpGhxd3MhyxohDyCrsb3u7o523ezyiDEg0OgATYrKvW3xPM6N08UtAtNTKkSGR/s342/Parsifal%20Gourlay.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="342" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzw58ZwhSnjbGODsriX9XbXem5k-DYISexQxjaMXSyD3VcsNHfrgHLXHeiBeNGMIXSCJuMem-Wq2T8qgayk2RcYtOOg9-BlLl1vp6KpQSaSjbcL9HvIbNGw5nyVP1QFgOpGhxd3MhyxohDyCrsb3u7o523ezyiDEg0OgATYrKvW3xPM6N08UtAtNTKkSGR/s320/Parsifal%20Gourlay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>You can watch Andrew conduct the LPO in the whole suite here on YouTube, though I heartily recommend the Orchid CD:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QXcsEPAmFRM" width="320" youtube-src-id="QXcsEPAmFRM"></iframe></div><p>Still my favourite performance of the Prelude is Bruno Walter's.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Vv-s0LR6zg" width="320" youtube-src-id="_Vv-s0LR6zg"></iframe></div><p><br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-18619365842865400162023-08-23T08:59:00.007+01:002023-08-25T07:31:30.212+01:00From Tweet to X-crete to X-it<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B5a43dxk8fvfV2VPR_QfsDanQJSa6MxtTD4I71q5W3wDlZSW44Vk2aqllnsKolUsGMBv5UYGODRu70wtQff6kwAPqgXREbMBLlVkTW1fUUsArCR6kMPgyuUDawyltoDOdTpw143zA9Rqhbk1ZKPHJvIBs72ivdKEFONdxc-ph3hpJyjukYh-Bp2rV71b/s500/F0BirCIXsAsHkQS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="500" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B5a43dxk8fvfV2VPR_QfsDanQJSa6MxtTD4I71q5W3wDlZSW44Vk2aqllnsKolUsGMBv5UYGODRu70wtQff6kwAPqgXREbMBLlVkTW1fUUsArCR6kMPgyuUDawyltoDOdTpw143zA9Rqhbk1ZKPHJvIBs72ivdKEFONdxc-ph3hpJyjukYh-Bp2rV71b/s320/F0BirCIXsAsHkQS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Well, dammit, I DID go, in the end. Cutting off nose to spite face? After all, there are so many lovely musical folk on there, and I found out about performances of whichI wouldn't otherwise have been aware. But the endless procession of hated faces being cursed - Letby, 30p Lee, Sunak, Braverman etc - was lowering to the spirit, and when along with endless gadget ads Marjorie Taylor Greene turned up in my feed, where the despised are usually only there because like-minded folk are shouting about them, it was time to go.</p><p>Nor are alternatives left. Mastodon proved hopeless, my guilty return to LinkedIn was terminated by another blocking - <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2021/10/purged.html">here's the post about the previous one</a> - because my objection to brave Russians being arrested, imprisoned, tortured, even killed in Putlerland was classified as bullying. Would I recant? No. So I'm out of there for ever too. Do I regret it? No. Once the decision re Twitter was taken, pop-ins to pick up private messages showed how small and toxic a world it was, even if I didn't get the haters piling in. And when a supposed colleague lashed out at me over a criticism of an artist with 'who cares what you think?', I realised the headspace occupied thereby wasn't worth it. Much better to spend more time on this, reading, maybe even getting on with Prokofiev Vol. 2 when I return to health. And remember, Tweeters stuck in Muskville, there is a world elsewhere.<br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54026695153798738592023-08-19T19:32:00.006+01:002023-08-21T12:41:17.416+01:00 Bánffy's Transylvanian Trilogy: not found wanting<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlalmX1erBeDTCUibxfxVgpSPQy9fiA2x7Czoj_cp92Oj0pZq9u90fiyoHbcQ5MWcVSI6Wyt4_dNidynoZZfxWHPnB4hoctvUEFjLN5TArMGt_0NywCO_4cRqc6vy_LrMZl2fKgvEUPZYZbMvASPhkM6vehhy7wNyzFbbZBMFd7jzXpXKpB7AuEW4HkGt9/s4322/P1330622.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2350" data-original-width="4322" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlalmX1erBeDTCUibxfxVgpSPQy9fiA2x7Czoj_cp92Oj0pZq9u90fiyoHbcQ5MWcVSI6Wyt4_dNidynoZZfxWHPnB4hoctvUEFjLN5TArMGt_0NywCO_4cRqc6vy_LrMZl2fKgvEUPZYZbMvASPhkM6vehhy7wNyzFbbZBMFd7jzXpXKpB7AuEW4HkGt9/s320/P1330622.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>To call it 'the Hungarian <i>War and Peace</i>' doesn't do justice to Miklós Bánffy's three-volume chronicle about politics and the aristocracy in the decade leading up to the First World War: it is of equal fascination in the nuancing of its characters, that very Tolstoyan way in which we find sympathy even for those who start off as dislikable. It has a special value in that the Count lived through all this and, writing from the perspective of the 1930s, pours much of himself into the main character, Balint Abady. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqxB-428OVu3_XQvCGkeDP_RdoPDIJJEgBmUSi7kerodd3-OpKE1VintzvG7I27LpwXl94nIzbiHpZ6jD9waYmnrdzZEhH4I-pfxT6dHGTMxQuiL-gQZLM5T6V-gkJBeWPvXeFnRvCuFsUQ-R2_oC40wMpr-5gvj9I19_2k_UlvJJLDej1SThQqrdSZ8I/s561/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqxB-428OVu3_XQvCGkeDP_RdoPDIJJEgBmUSi7kerodd3-OpKE1VintzvG7I27LpwXl94nIzbiHpZ6jD9waYmnrdzZEhH4I-pfxT6dHGTMxQuiL-gQZLM5T6V-gkJBeWPvXeFnRvCuFsUQ-R2_oC40wMpr-5gvj9I19_2k_UlvJJLDej1SThQqrdSZ8I/s320/images.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><p></p><p>Like Abady, Bánffy had diplomatic experience before he became an independent member of the Hungarian House of Representatives, fighting for the rights of the Romanian-speaking population in his native Transylvania. At the time of the novel, 1904-14, Transylvania was part of Hungary; after it, part of Romania. Between the wars, Bánffy made a crucial contribution to his shattered country's reappearance on the world stage as Foreign Minister from 1921-2 and later resettled on his home estate, Bonczhida (Denestornya in the novel); in 1945 the retreating Germans trashed it. I understand that with the Bánffy family's assistance, it's being gradually restored, but even the shell is fascinating (Bonczhida Castle pictured below in 1893-4). Nearby <span>Kolozsvár</span>, now Cluj-Napoca, is also described in loving detail. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxw88XSwokW1AP9U9RPSW2mwq5OJPz3RT7ZIKREkzLkAWFYp5E2fjIujeqPIqyaQGgiJtF3UAANs9EQX6muQH06PDKbTj_-Fy789kMxIqBqfAQWubj0kneBb1YaUAkmN5ulnYakWyVQgkaUnorHpfY6gJLc3JnTjHe5Ev2h9wBUKN-uqso9dGQUj2xDPO/s1743/Bontida_Castle_in_1890-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1743" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxw88XSwokW1AP9U9RPSW2mwq5OJPz3RT7ZIKREkzLkAWFYp5E2fjIujeqPIqyaQGgiJtF3UAANs9EQX6muQH06PDKbTj_-Fy789kMxIqBqfAQWubj0kneBb1YaUAkmN5ulnYakWyVQgkaUnorHpfY6gJLc3JnTjHe5Ev2h9wBUKN-uqso9dGQUj2xDPO/s320/Bontida_Castle_in_1890-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>With its three subtitles taken from the 'writing on the wall' episode in the Book of Daniel which ends with the downfall of sybaritic Belshazzar, the trilogy can seem forbidding before you start reading - and then, in the very first chapter, Bánffy sweeps us straight into the world of the doomed aristocratic milieu as young Abady finds his carriage one among many heading for Var-Siklod, the country place of Count Lacock who's holding a house party following the Sunday races at Vasarhely. With incomparable vividness Bánffy introduces us to many of the main characters, expanding upon their behaviour in the following chapters devoted to the house-party. The first two volumes especially teem with vivid descriptions of hunting meets (to shoot foxes and hares), balls and other social extravaganzas. Bánffy doesn't intrude too much with authorial judgment, but we know he's telling us that so much of this is TOO much. They're paralleled with sensitive evocations of the beautiful countryside and the mountains: time for a visit next spring. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkvSHJv1MM6Ji-BNF1uPVdOQW2B4b1z02kO1zFajjjtMPCNWB7wtI0NC5GsRB--5F9HCMPMRyk9hQ_DEoGmrPCnlv4AICaMrHIW1wjcss5FbZ7xeBGMQoUfwlUVKH8YUJqOVFk_Yb8vcshrgVkwWeVk524lMIHAmwvQTXWgoaA-KK34xh6LlLNazQky91/s1600/Zichy-Mih%C3%A1ly-Ballo-alla-corte-di-Vienna.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkvSHJv1MM6Ji-BNF1uPVdOQW2B4b1z02kO1zFajjjtMPCNWB7wtI0NC5GsRB--5F9HCMPMRyk9hQ_DEoGmrPCnlv4AICaMrHIW1wjcss5FbZ7xeBGMQoUfwlUVKH8YUJqOVFk_Yb8vcshrgVkwWeVk524lMIHAmwvQTXWgoaA-KK34xh6LlLNazQky91/s320/Zichy-Mih%C3%A1ly-Ballo-alla-corte-di-Vienna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Parallel to this is the charting of Abady's growing social conscience, his observations of a parliament in Budapest obsessed with matters of local and national interest only. The wider European picture only really emerges when Balint learns of it from a cynical political operator, Hawlata, well in to the second volume: 'at that time [1907] no one believed in the possibility of war in Europe. Everyone accepted that the race for armaments was just a device of the great powers which was nothing more than a safety-valve used to save everyone's face'. A placid patriot up to this point, 'it hurt him to hear such a low opinion of his countrymen coming from a foreigner'. Part Two Chapter Six ends with a breathless Abady at the window of his room, wondering 'what price would be paid by his own country, by Hungary, and by his beloved Transylvania which had always stood as a proud fortress on the road from Rome to Constantinople?' He looks down on the distant light of a train passing through the Vag valley and realises</p><p><i>That would be the road down which would go so many of the flower of the nation's youth to the horrors of war, to their death in battle...and against such a vast enemy their sacrifice would surely be in vain...in vain...</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_JvdZaffPrxU7CfM1hkF0DndBtsdG3SHrRtV8Yn9ozFTw0IBpUGEx2NEWKzp7J7EO7PP8eMY6t3l9h6OmPj2ZjEp1ZGRhMG5xX6hkQ3h2i1lfljQJw7AvUc9PcHO9Nr51S148qYPxj1mAAL_mr0scoUAMZA_CKMUBNV4toCKA0yd0NcZZQBnpYBDBArA/s749/zhkxeyvuqzm51.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="749" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_JvdZaffPrxU7CfM1hkF0DndBtsdG3SHrRtV8Yn9ozFTw0IBpUGEx2NEWKzp7J7EO7PP8eMY6t3l9h6OmPj2ZjEp1ZGRhMG5xX6hkQ3h2i1lfljQJw7AvUc9PcHO9Nr51S148qYPxj1mAAL_mr0scoUAMZA_CKMUBNV4toCKA0yd0NcZZQBnpYBDBArA/s320/zhkxeyvuqzm51.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The very last chapter of <i>They Were Divided</i> sees the nightmare come to pass in a nihilistic (or realistic) epilogue, as Abady, defeated in his personal as well as his public life, curses his generation and his people. Among others,</p><p><i>He saw before him the magnates and noble families, who thought only of social prominence, who forgot their European affiliations and threw the weight of their great fortunes and moral influence behind all that nationalistic nonsense of which they did not believe a word and which, in consequence, had poisoned the nation's politics...</i></p><p><i>Now this land would perish, and with it that deluded generation that had given importance only to theories, phrases and formulae, that had ignored all reality, that had chased like children after the </i>fata morgana<i> of mirage and illusion, that had turned away from everything on which their strength was based, that denied the vital importance of power and self-criticism and national unity.</i></p><p><i>One virtue alone remained: the will to fight.</i></p><p><i>And that too would prove in vain.</i></p><p>A truly great novel, though, stands not by the power of its rhetoric but by the living<i>, </i>breathing complexity of its characters, and here Bánffy yields nothing to Tolstoy in detail and shifts of register. The author makes us aware of his alter ego's weaknesses - we follow his early attempts at speechmaking with concern - while making sure that Abady holds the moral compass. The other main character is his cousin László Gyerőffy, a young man of potential genius as a musician who throws it all away on gambling and a dissolute life due to a fatal weakness of character stemming from his early orphaned state. Surely we all know someone like this, someone with friends who want to help him (or her) but ultimately prove powerless. In Book Two, there's a very moving and unexpected scene between László and the outwardly crabby 'Crookface' Kendy, who determines to help the dead-drunk young man because he remembers his irredeemable second cousin Daniel being in the same state.</p><p>The psychology of László's angry defensiveness and his surprise capitulation is masterly, but the most moving words belong to 'Crookface': 'There isn't enough love in the world for anyone to throw it carelessly away'. But László does, every time. And it's in connection with his capacity for destroying others that the two strongest women in the novel make their mark. First is the ravishingly beautiful Countess Fanny Beredy, puma-like in her movements, who has musical talent to equal the man with whom she falls in love, resourcefulness and a fascinating personality. László's pride ruins both their lives; incapable of loving anyone else, Fanny's only realm of power remains in wielding what influence she can as the mistress of various powerful men - though Banffy makes it clear that she doesn't hold all the cards. Her disappearance half way through the saga is very troubling; we expect her to re-emerge, but she doesn't, and I wonder if the mysterious benefactor who keeps the destitute László going for as long as possible is supposed to be Fanny. But we never find out. This portrait by Jozsef Rippl-Ronai isn't quite how I imagine Fanny, but it has elements.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQixQE6hxETzKDWKtCy5r6eN9BJc0vfabwinhMalM-FO6PBfvhXrfR3AKQD8yK3JKs4hqkokviM6HRSxqaQQI014GGxLnmy48vAA9Fez3AwZ2tFXTXK8d0-pmBmO1kjUpL_a0uDouAvMo0QMLzGa2oUaekqgopEbRLaQer0LTZA6CE9Q7FWGG7GSm8cnJ/s799/6479375863_8003767548_c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="655" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQixQE6hxETzKDWKtCy5r6eN9BJc0vfabwinhMalM-FO6PBfvhXrfR3AKQD8yK3JKs4hqkokviM6HRSxqaQQI014GGxLnmy48vAA9Fez3AwZ2tFXTXK8d0-pmBmO1kjUpL_a0uDouAvMo0QMLzGa2oUaekqgopEbRLaQer0LTZA6CE9Q7FWGG7GSm8cnJ/s320/6479375863_8003767548_c.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><p>Another woman's Calvary, as Bánffy puts it, with even more of a 'don't do it' on our part when faced with László's ongoing self-destruction, is placed in the personage of handsome and independent Sara Lazar, farm manager and better at it than most men in the district. Bánffy's chronicle of how she comes to help the once again degraded youth out of practical sympathy, and falls in love with him, is infinitely nuanced and touching. We think it doesn't have to end badly. But Gyerőffy's character ensures there can be no happy ending. </p><p>Alongside Fanny and Sara, the great love of Balint's life, Adrienne Miloth, cuts a less consistent picture. Banffy is frank about sex, and rape within wedlock, which makes the early stages of Adrienne's miserable married life very shocking. And her Mephistophelian, perverse husband Pal Uzdy doesn't always behave quite as one expects - this is another of those complex portraits at which Banffy excels. But even though she's modelled in part on a Bánffy muse, Carola Szilvássy (pictured below), Adrienne remains a frustrating and elusive figure - perhaps that's half the point. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9vKZ1R3L-PSib7l4U10mvZCiS_Teb1sIeszOtpcZ-20tsradRKWQKsepp7Cz944xmovQE5O8tuEaxOu8flUr9cyd-50xxvWnKPralXm6OYjkeAWXO4kJJo3ejgGmvxX9FL4OycqbXB8HXNPOCLH-Q58KTINxVt7iCVPEgllo0NB8jATkiu_s7nG-1Crg/s450/Szilv%C3%A1ssy_Karola.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9vKZ1R3L-PSib7l4U10mvZCiS_Teb1sIeszOtpcZ-20tsradRKWQKsepp7Cz944xmovQE5O8tuEaxOu8flUr9cyd-50xxvWnKPralXm6OYjkeAWXO4kJJo3ejgGmvxX9FL4OycqbXB8HXNPOCLH-Q58KTINxVt7iCVPEgllo0NB8jATkiu_s7nG-1Crg/s320/Szilv%C3%A1ssy_Karola.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><p></p><p>The big set-pieces tail off in <i>They Were Divided, </i>and this is no doubt deliberate: the rapid unfolding of events leading to war overshadows everything, though there are two brilliant narratives which bring a kind of light relief - the ridiculous circumstances of a duel challenge resulting from a spat between two comical Anglophiles at a reception for the French Prince Gaston d'Orleans promotion of his anti-duelling league, and the ridiculous Pityu Kendy's 'execution party' for Brandy, which amuses Balint and then disgusts him as the epitome of Hungarian fatuousness. The political disquisitions mount, making the final volume a different kind of book; but I'm sure Bánffy intended no less.</p><p>If the author was unlucky to be neglected under Communist rule, the endless hard work of his daughter Katalin Bánffy-Jelen and Patrick Thursfield in translating it all has to be acclaimed as a miracle - without them, so many Bánffy admirers would know nothing of his genius. It's fascinating to find references to his diplomatic and artistic lives which minimise the 'writer' aspect. But even Bánffy's surprising championship of Bartók's ballet <i>The Wooden Prince</i> and opera <i>Bluebeard's Castle </i>as Intendant of the Hungarian State Theatres is underdocumented, at least in English. Scenarist and librettist Béla Balázs has a very caustic style in his recollections of Bartók for the composer's 60th birthday, but concedes that the Count was 'a talented and intelligent man, and painted lovely scenery'. I suspect you have to go to Budapest to look in the Raday Library for these designs; the only photos I could find were in <a href="https://realityandbeyond.co.uk/a-glance-at-the-life-and-times-of-miklos-banffy/">a lively piece of Banffyana on the website of the tour company <i>Reality & Beyond</i></a>: I hope the link is enough to reproduce these two images, for what it isn't clear, but the landscape could well be for <i>The Wooden Prince</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnalwqbmfK_D6AGAWDs4hJ59zaDfiCfDSExvP1wTOIErmhIKWUdaLRB0QBhuB8Xf-qgWOiGW5SIPZJNWMsIQ7VI-Rzziz9RwXri9llXQjcxBIobgAU07sUDAhxrgyVkgg9sRjFC8zzf34GL7L6l2Ri-Ls9aEkbwANC-bnZbimzgFIxam4obHQYqSevS7Dp/s3634/scene-by-banffy.jpg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2644" data-original-width="3634" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnalwqbmfK_D6AGAWDs4hJ59zaDfiCfDSExvP1wTOIErmhIKWUdaLRB0QBhuB8Xf-qgWOiGW5SIPZJNWMsIQ7VI-Rzziz9RwXri9llXQjcxBIobgAU07sUDAhxrgyVkgg9sRjFC8zzf34GL7L6l2Ri-Ls9aEkbwANC-bnZbimzgFIxam4obHQYqSevS7Dp/s320/scene-by-banffy.jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIa_2aErYR-mg4h81t4lvCtVyQcPNK8NJKnltq0Yob0n0Kp2z3JeDXSYJmD-0Tw8JyQ08appugBMhVBvnOROAF7XnT_7y_fNY6dYTrRSowwTpKBz3VNF_-92BZSm6u08TI-fabMYBzWCTFUcyFYLVrl07r1eFKQKGXmMTtkp7waHS8GxBNu7x7gBHVh44/s3264/banffy-blue-beard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIa_2aErYR-mg4h81t4lvCtVyQcPNK8NJKnltq0Yob0n0Kp2z3JeDXSYJmD-0Tw8JyQ08appugBMhVBvnOROAF7XnT_7y_fNY6dYTrRSowwTpKBz3VNF_-92BZSm6u08TI-fabMYBzWCTFUcyFYLVrl07r1eFKQKGXmMTtkp7waHS8GxBNu7x7gBHVh44/s320/banffy-blue-beard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A biography of the great man in English is clearly overdue. Thanks to the indefatigable work of Bánffy-Jelen and Thursfield, though, we do have two substantial chunks of memoirs which take us beyond where the novels stop, <i>From My Memories</i> (1932) and <i>Twenty-Five Years</i> (1945). It seems cruel to have gathered them together under the title <i>The Phoenix Land</i>, because Bánffy makes it clear in his introduction to the latter how 'the annihilation that the second catastrophe Fate has brought down upon us is infinitely worst than the first'. He died in 1950, and would be horrified anew at the cynical manipulation of nationalism to feed prejudice that continues under <span>Orbán</span>'s ever more disastrous '<span>Führer</span>democracy'.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaRK206UIHRjiMt8vgigP6Jk9D7uRHOfsnSI1kMqIKd04ZgvAEaMz6Zr4CK6ZipsqToY49sWdRZxd4lW2JrkPcCxEhizfSDlRh9Z6Ld7mXgRgya2fSrAOcWo9rtYb2GEK0-Ryxcsicpac1lXGq7X0Ewy-RI1dfCK3ENOi2xD--ezx6xRaekjvap4lECYP/s1000/41wGx3lUkYL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaRK206UIHRjiMt8vgigP6Jk9D7uRHOfsnSI1kMqIKd04ZgvAEaMz6Zr4CK6ZipsqToY49sWdRZxd4lW2JrkPcCxEhizfSDlRh9Z6Ld7mXgRgya2fSrAOcWo9rtYb2GEK0-Ryxcsicpac1lXGq7X0Ewy-RI1dfCK3ENOi2xD--ezx6xRaekjvap4lECYP/s320/41wGx3lUkYL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><p>There's a queasy parallel between the two sets of memoirs. The first begins with Bánffy's imaginative role, as theatre intendant, in creating the spectacle of the last Habsburg coronation in 1916, right in the middle of the First World War. The second includes the comic-operetta haplessness of 'King' Carl's first attempted putsch within Hungary, and the potentially lethal consequences of his second, which could easily have seen Bánffy and others executed had it succeeded (fortunately the vanity and weakness of this impossible creature put fatal delays in the way of a proper Budapest siege, and as Bánffy points out, the Czechs and Romanians would have invaded immediately). I still see Habsburgists waxing lyrical over this coronation without any thought for what the pathetic Carl became. Anyway, it was Bánffy's theatrical instinct to swathe the entire Coronation Cathedral in deep red.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCesth2A_IZuNg-Ll4vILRwDICr4db6MGurNS9o3ALAcn0h68QyBV_qVNyFrI1iYzyCdlXRlqoSlDGmmJDzGRNWDOUEqgO7THpWM4m4L_jbyLepwe58d3xvs4PNfj-PJvuOUOc1NOPg2yvsmkDFyyLiSZ_Q_i3ITSMBqXDy2KqfR9GGJH6dL6k3HtAHhJ/s530/karlcoro3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="530" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCesth2A_IZuNg-Ll4vILRwDICr4db6MGurNS9o3ALAcn0h68QyBV_qVNyFrI1iYzyCdlXRlqoSlDGmmJDzGRNWDOUEqgO7THpWM4m4L_jbyLepwe58d3xvs4PNfj-PJvuOUOc1NOPg2yvsmkDFyyLiSZ_Q_i3ITSMBqXDy2KqfR9GGJH6dL6k3HtAHhJ/s320/karlcoro3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>There is some comedy in Bánffy's descriptions, but Part Two of 'From My Memories' turns dark as revolutions threaten his country and he finds himself first trapped in Berlin just as the Spartacist uprising begins, then not too unpleasantly marooned in The Hague, where he turns his hand to portrait painting (plenty more humour here). His most important time as a politician, detailed in <i>Twenty-Five Years</i>, follows the fall of <span>Béla</span> Kun's communist regime, when he serves as Foreign Minister to the honourable Istv<span>án</span> Bethlen, trying to minimise the damage done by the Treaty of Trianon. There's a totally dazzling character sketch of Bethlen adapted from an article originally in the <i>Nouvelle Revue <span>Française</span></i>, comparing his political emergence to the evolution of life on earth from amphibians to four-legged mammals. I'd love to quote it in full, but I'll let you have the pleasure of seeking it out. At any rate Bánffy also turned out to be a first-rate caricaturist during his time at the 1922 Genoa Conference; it's frustrating not to find more than a couple of reproductions online, and no version of the book subsequently produced, but this is his Bethlen</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7jjHqoqudayZzUfM6UzPcOOE_vrl_B2TTTLKXSsaoomhmL4dktahNLoXIh136ISB4IPQOF0bI53953AuyU-rTy5aPw-4-oEal8aaJNFhEP0qBlQnJ_VpU-DwiHuncLdtXWOU76euBqHf6VrXKAZ2t_I04MqsMG-azuIE_Zg-9YW_uBGHzotZaW55d9f8/s900/banffy1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="377" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7jjHqoqudayZzUfM6UzPcOOE_vrl_B2TTTLKXSsaoomhmL4dktahNLoXIh136ISB4IPQOF0bI53953AuyU-rTy5aPw-4-oEal8aaJNFhEP0qBlQnJ_VpU-DwiHuncLdtXWOU76euBqHf6VrXKAZ2t_I04MqsMG-azuIE_Zg-9YW_uBGHzotZaW55d9f8/s320/banffy1.png" width="134" /></a></div><p></p><p>and this Maxim Litvinov of the Russian Delegation, the arrival of which had all nations holding their breath.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzhEbeZUa6-VIAWbhsqMuwhNYYfNMkC3S-ZIpajyDsYOo_Rzgp1kiNZlUb2cp_xQAeCnfMS-1JSvpcU12Su3VHIp8VFmCCyNZi1FmX9iNgrllPOO9Y234cX7R75CQ0NGAIGKrBQrdkXBjTLcEJCZ2Wy1NoHG-_s7t8irUJ_2kRbiN1_x19MSkClz5i1AX/s630/cultura-banffy-miklos-karkaturaja-diplomatarol-kicsi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="630" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzhEbeZUa6-VIAWbhsqMuwhNYYfNMkC3S-ZIpajyDsYOo_Rzgp1kiNZlUb2cp_xQAeCnfMS-1JSvpcU12Su3VHIp8VFmCCyNZi1FmX9iNgrllPOO9Y234cX7R75CQ0NGAIGKrBQrdkXBjTLcEJCZ2Wy1NoHG-_s7t8irUJ_2kRbiN1_x19MSkClz5i1AX/s320/cultura-banffy-miklos-karkaturaja-diplomatarol-kicsi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>I find it fascinating that my other polymathic, complex discovery of the year, Count Harry Kessler, whose diaries I should have tried to encapsulate here, overlaps with Bánffy at the Genoa Conference. Both give equally vivid impressions of the charismatic Lloyd George especially. Both also had so much in common, balancing diplomacy with their many cultural interests, both fluent in other European languages. Bánffy encapsulates the essence of good diplomacy: always tell the truth in what you actually say - what you don't say is also important - and the essential maxim that 'if one is to confer successfully with foreigners, it is essential to know their way of thinking and be able to put oneself in their place'. Working so assiduously with slippery characters, though, brought him to the edge of a nervous breakdown.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuthDrkgpkYVhGb5_11nMs6lCVHHBnNWGLmsAtDg_-f-Vvfrr3Y3EDFunBsIY9wNY-V1w0WJFpJDmRHf9zPr6Uz2YSF6hhszmne4XlVml37AMHdYKkpI52LZWPw8bNQzJmRge6P4N87jMuOfho6K0CaeYpTsKy4Hvp5mjtdEVGx1ajxi3LFkLlzPNBib5/s1213/080213839X.01.S001.JUMBOXXX.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuthDrkgpkYVhGb5_11nMs6lCVHHBnNWGLmsAtDg_-f-Vvfrr3Y3EDFunBsIY9wNY-V1w0WJFpJDmRHf9zPr6Uz2YSF6hhszmne4XlVml37AMHdYKkpI52LZWPw8bNQzJmRge6P4N87jMuOfho6K0CaeYpTsKy4Hvp5mjtdEVGx1ajxi3LFkLlzPNBib5/s320/080213839X.01.S001.JUMBOXXX.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><p></p><p>In a way I wish Bánffy had kept diaries like Kessler, but the 'Red Count', as the latter was called in a much more dramatic volte-face than the Hungarian's flexible sympathies, wasn't entirely honest, so it comes to more or less the same thing. Kessler left us another important legacy, but Bánffy's must be seen as the greater literary figure, creating a masterpiece on a level with Tolstoy and Lampedusa. And so readable - when I announced that I'd picked it up halfway through Vol. 2 in hospital, some were concerned that I wasn't going in for lighter material. But I was soon in that world again. I urge you to go for total immersion - once you start, you should be hooked.<br /></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-90875807364122669372023-08-12T17:15:00.008+01:002023-09-01T07:46:08.286+01:00Happy places recollected in convalescence<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HuxuCBfhr-6dtZpdGV0nFQacyZ88p06f6lv_S5iqbuKB1KbhfP_Mt_HC2F1DFzQSxuQcdAolRarMuxra9UFpNchTj4Zo2wZUwb58_qBbvJoZ-9nmSBZOVurzUnhsqr3Si9cbfawM5m7kKEHPxqExrOfTzOru1TLr3WgUvCyuRZO7qNR0fEAg4wAwPT2f/s800/P1330393.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="800" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HuxuCBfhr-6dtZpdGV0nFQacyZ88p06f6lv_S5iqbuKB1KbhfP_Mt_HC2F1DFzQSxuQcdAolRarMuxra9UFpNchTj4Zo2wZUwb58_qBbvJoZ-9nmSBZOVurzUnhsqr3Si9cbfawM5m7kKEHPxqExrOfTzOru1TLr3WgUvCyuRZO7qNR0fEAg4wAwPT2f/s320/P1330393.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />I still think it was something of a miracle: given notice of my big operation at Charing Cross Hospital that it would take place on Tuesday 18 July, I ruled out this year's chance of visiting my favourite annual event anywhere, the <span>Pärnu Music Festival. I'd been booked to arrive on the 17th; J would join me on the 19th, and the following week we'd spend discovering Lithuania. I simply hadn't thought of what mover and shaker Lucy Maxwell-Stewart proposed: why not see if we could shift my days to the beginning of the festival? Amazingly, the festival agreed: I would leave the previous Wednesday, and return on the Monday evening before going in to hospital the following morning.<br /></span><p></p><p><span>Between them, the PMF and the NHS swung into action. My brilliant Macmillan nurse, Anne Moutadjer, fixed up five appointments for me on the Monday and Tuesday before my departure on the 12th: another MRI scan, outpatients, stoma, plastics team, surgeons. So I was good to go.</span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDanFZVakVOmbafC8_bnrmMCWlJ9JJsgV_XLin-tptSi5J-UY0UHr0Idgw3LPDY0QbtQM4A3ZcxvsKkQiZ_3U1F5va3TC_rrHLVOfv5CZqH04wlufWwXuI4n3D6oUDB150TTx9RZxTnROSe0VQlG9ZvwMlQzU0t2w_a6eVNaGdeTvYTFhPkDx2NKiGf9E/s800/P1330202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDanFZVakVOmbafC8_bnrmMCWlJ9JJsgV_XLin-tptSi5J-UY0UHr0Idgw3LPDY0QbtQM4A3ZcxvsKkQiZ_3U1F5va3TC_rrHLVOfv5CZqH04wlufWwXuI4n3D6oUDB150TTx9RZxTnROSe0VQlG9ZvwMlQzU0t2w_a6eVNaGdeTvYTFhPkDx2NKiGf9E/s320/P1330202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>The festival always has an enchanted air, but this year for me it was especially magical. Starting with our driver from Riga Airport, ex-bassoonist Marcus now in the middle of his national service. Traffic in Riga was awful, so we arrived late, but perfectly happy. Here's the moment of unloading with Marcus's harpist girlfriend Kaisa, who also works in the office, our flattering Marcus - 'when you two speak English in the back it's like some kind of fairy-tale' (let's not ask which one) - and Lucy. </span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyuuAH4fsj6IZTsRfRqh8eRxMfH8_Bea3VXyg19ExinOIRclej_mF3jBBnXDvNVss9uVItXMsz-PyprwEXJQ5VIgTgFVFtfNPP_jIL7I_qj-ZQ0UppzJdnpCSOnAIJOyaOCqT8iwpS-xp-hCfCFHex-eqGUex4MQHV62kzVfhLvL9ypmptQjJDildYBOD/s4642/P1330203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3142" data-original-width="4642" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyuuAH4fsj6IZTsRfRqh8eRxMfH8_Bea3VXyg19ExinOIRclej_mF3jBBnXDvNVss9uVItXMsz-PyprwEXJQ5VIgTgFVFtfNPP_jIL7I_qj-ZQ0UppzJdnpCSOnAIJOyaOCqT8iwpS-xp-hCfCFHex-eqGUex4MQHV62kzVfhLvL9ypmptQjJDildYBOD/s320/P1330203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Though it was an immense bonus to catch the first concert, which is conducted by my hero Neeme J<span>ä</span><span>rvi (who turned 86 this June), I didn't mind missing the first half too much: after all, as Auden pointed out, Mozart's divertimenti were composed as background while 'Milord chewed noisily, Milady talked'. We were glad of the excellent coffee and a snack, and I told Kristjan J</span><span></span><span>ä</span><span>rvi how thrilled I was that he was putting on a 'Babylon Berlin' spectacular - another plus of being there for the first five days. The Divertimento, meanwhile, is burbling away on the screen behind us.</span><p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVcblmq5Hp0Jg5FloYhtas3d-DVVvlWxLwi7YcccF8igraGzgEJUfEQHunVbw6JV8eRlrw0zfDDaYZbDtLu45z6vmTrcKmuDA7F0r70JM86f2nHIB5ijsExggxLRZy4Dk3VzPP_VIwlPoPdBCv5KY4jWPXgTAxgYeOEeWdLmKv6ZPwW--Z-Mj1L15O3cA/s800/P1330204.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVcblmq5Hp0Jg5FloYhtas3d-DVVvlWxLwi7YcccF8igraGzgEJUfEQHunVbw6JV8eRlrw0zfDDaYZbDtLu45z6vmTrcKmuDA7F0r70JM86f2nHIB5ijsExggxLRZy4Dk3VzPP_VIwlPoPdBCv5KY4jWPXgTAxgYeOEeWdLmKv6ZPwW--Z-Mj1L15O3cA/s320/P1330204.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>My dear friend and photographic artist extraordinary Kaupo Kikkas didn't think I'd make it, and was very moved when we stepped in to the hall at the interval. For a full (very long!) account of all the events, with the usual superb photos by Kaupo, read my <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/theartsdesk-p%C3%A4rnu-music-festival-2023-small-seaside-town-biggest-roster-top-players">Arts Desk coverage</a>. I just wanted to add here that I really did feel the great warmth and concern of many of the great musicians I've got to know there: the first visit to the Passion Cafe found many familiar faces sitting round a table. As Alec Frank-Gemmill knew about my condition, word spread fast and I felt very love-bombed. </span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmUJnHfLMhe66V3KBulKCmKI6eeeIHkhPq5JcqD_0Xql6FBEtuHWXgBWwm8vOZXDLMDsR-SuO-VjEbDgiq5IGSVSDI9x3frAnf3UrlurEz6crlQXjqk-67t-VWSEMj6wtSBW_vFYxfZIUAvfaV4Uf-nSQYZZ5AyIpBurKfdirk5zGyMS2yuZf4PI6_DqB/s4845/P1330362.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4845" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmUJnHfLMhe66V3KBulKCmKI6eeeIHkhPq5JcqD_0Xql6FBEtuHWXgBWwm8vOZXDLMDsR-SuO-VjEbDgiq5IGSVSDI9x3frAnf3UrlurEz6crlQXjqk-67t-VWSEMj6wtSBW_vFYxfZIUAvfaV4Uf-nSQYZZ5AyIpBurKfdirk5zGyMS2yuZf4PI6_DqB/s320/P1330362.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>I also got to know more of the top viola players present. Andres Kaljuste (pictured left) has been a good friend since we first met one Passion lunch in the company of his wonderful pianist partner Sophie Rahman (alas not there at this year's festival). But I hadn't spoken before to Julia Dinerstein - teaching at the J</span><span>ä</span><span>rvi Academy, had just played in Strauss's <i>Capriccio</i> Sextet that evening - and her husband Alexander Zemtsov, former LPO section leader, soloist and conductor. It's a viola-oriented family: their daughter Dana and AZ's brother Mikhail (currently undertaking a surname change, I gather) also play in the Zemtsov Viola Quartet - and there are others...</span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJgKlOQVtz8fJiMg_Q8hM8fDiZnjxi7pJft72hXF9_DTJ2iBo8vY2h8MJCEligcFBW9GX_cR2oN1YdtcWidrDIK_4h6jly3jT1KETBUtVwKkeGSpcYSNE2rAxVLzYqmUAe_ENTD7W1NuaC850TtjXIbh-7lRFTII13DJBDI4raVnOToj2XLv29HGNBOBh/s5184/P1330575.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJgKlOQVtz8fJiMg_Q8hM8fDiZnjxi7pJft72hXF9_DTJ2iBo8vY2h8MJCEligcFBW9GX_cR2oN1YdtcWidrDIK_4h6jly3jT1KETBUtVwKkeGSpcYSNE2rAxVLzYqmUAe_ENTD7W1NuaC850TtjXIbh-7lRFTII13DJBDI4raVnOToj2XLv29HGNBOBh/s320/P1330575.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>Another lively spirit, interested in everything, is Xandi van Dijk. I had no idea he was married to K</span><span>ä</span><span>rt Ruubel - first-class pianist and admin both here and for the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. Somehow the news made me joyous - two more delightful people you couldn't hope to meet among musicians. Their young son was here too.<br /></span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wihrkb7Hn1_Zolcow00agOVNr5zmeD_mJBs08g7N5eIinDFbHQzgWt0IwlzFbh40ESBvlbFRJvssAV3MaiKJp6-ghJnjsTgVEBRa92cqH3f8w_0rSR8LAie9ZDSFxY5SVQ2fiaVKqc9dz2YM1Q-On8pT4uximMrhLTIWoLdEdkaUVg93TbPODMOv9v9i/s3800/P1330337.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2487" data-original-width="3800" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wihrkb7Hn1_Zolcow00agOVNr5zmeD_mJBs08g7N5eIinDFbHQzgWt0IwlzFbh40ESBvlbFRJvssAV3MaiKJp6-ghJnjsTgVEBRa92cqH3f8w_0rSR8LAie9ZDSFxY5SVQ2fiaVKqc9dz2YM1Q-On8pT4uximMrhLTIWoLdEdkaUVg93TbPODMOv9v9i/s320/P1330337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>Xandi also played viola to K</span><span>ä</span><span>rt's twin Triin's violin - I heard the Ruubel sisters as a <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/theartsdesk-germany-baltic-mastery-berlin-and-leipzig">fabulous duo in Berlin</a> - in Mozart's Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola, a surprise highlight expertly conducted by someone I've got to know a bit on Twitter, Mikk Murdvee. But there's more about this on TAD.</span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIByZcqo4pwHCNSVaiIVQ0ivnmpntA18Iv78-t6Ed8PifXogtk5Doh91MXHZnG-qfgMWLC7BE-x9P7LJAi-3KDdzsKIwjs_4zXqqMBIgT_i49neYJMlCyDYCpGTGGFxMc9kfPfB7nr5DFurUfa2Ltr7ovc-RZC2DUGBBVBp51M42tvS3qeyU6dsX-G-qzs/s5184/P1330580.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIByZcqo4pwHCNSVaiIVQ0ivnmpntA18Iv78-t6Ed8PifXogtk5Doh91MXHZnG-qfgMWLC7BE-x9P7LJAi-3KDdzsKIwjs_4zXqqMBIgT_i49neYJMlCyDYCpGTGGFxMc9kfPfB7nr5DFurUfa2Ltr7ovc-RZC2DUGBBVBp51M42tvS3qeyU6dsX-G-qzs/s320/P1330580.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Finally, the master-co-ordinator who brings all these people together, forging ties across the musical world which will last for a lifetime. Paavo J<span></span><span>ä</span><span>rvi also happens to be one of the world's great conductors, of course - I'd put him in the top five - and Estonian Festival Orchestra concerts are always events, a parallel to what Abbado achieved in his last 10 years in Lucerne. Glad I got to talk to him again at the end. There he is above on the right with Tea Tuhkur, former bassoonist in the orchestra, now working for the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and that classiest of leaders Florian Donderer.</span><p></p><p><span>Pärnu was also an opportunity to get as fit as possible before the op would curtail my movements for some time. So I swam daily in the sea</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfngUO680HGARCO6xI01o1cHeOn4f3N6udUC-V0XG4MfO7lF92SO1-S-Z2UHZCpnBqXeYZbbfv9DoXr9z86t9wsZebD15PG6dh-gCPQTYE4hTj4G96MrQ2ZChe_Cx57XjbYdB0c7GfzQDLAHMmgrNvR153U-_iAJqM4hSau1wr5rH5EpmG8XJ0ccjbmneK/s3603/P1330394.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2508" data-original-width="3603" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfngUO680HGARCO6xI01o1cHeOn4f3N6udUC-V0XG4MfO7lF92SO1-S-Z2UHZCpnBqXeYZbbfv9DoXr9z86t9wsZebD15PG6dh-gCPQTYE4hTj4G96MrQ2ZChe_Cx57XjbYdB0c7GfzQDLAHMmgrNvR153U-_iAJqM4hSau1wr5rH5EpmG8XJ0ccjbmneK/s320/P1330394.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>and the river, actually much better for instant depth because you have to wade a long way in the Baltic, though I enjoy that too,</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-CcmIUsMe7YBjw0pIromN7iFsLHgVMVd1DiyNeOPrdZGTdjrDySHIKBjNRe04RDZwrdjx8b9Ex8KVvXvivzN_S2OXhZeZbJ7OQhVkURGCq5VcbFPNJvqVnuceGT3lw601G09H4x22RtUM_A6OnqV8SyBaCPC-oAELpdqWqBduwaw9uZND8gGRsnzGbBH/s800/P1330553.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-CcmIUsMe7YBjw0pIromN7iFsLHgVMVd1DiyNeOPrdZGTdjrDySHIKBjNRe04RDZwrdjx8b9Ex8KVvXvivzN_S2OXhZeZbJ7OQhVkURGCq5VcbFPNJvqVnuceGT3lw601G09H4x22RtUM_A6OnqV8SyBaCPC-oAELpdqWqBduwaw9uZND8gGRsnzGbBH/s320/P1330553.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>as well as plenty of walking - up to the meadows and marsh at one end of the bay, where there's a fine boardwalk around the latter</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1mTvm2E3KSCoXh9W-xuLD-Qe9wR_p3WTjrEOum6iW93qvTaAYGG1-XonOteW8bvyQK9DbWQZ1zYNckFwvSjTKU4LIDm5Xg2b84PEIAZf6_YcJB1nVXou6NBWXMN516p3j0um1Nd0Zu2Zw0we-k52CDAW9Z5X2v6j-H487QI4FGnP1HlQiGn1O082Pb2u/s5184/P1330313.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1mTvm2E3KSCoXh9W-xuLD-Qe9wR_p3WTjrEOum6iW93qvTaAYGG1-XonOteW8bvyQK9DbWQZ1zYNckFwvSjTKU4LIDm5Xg2b84PEIAZf6_YcJB1nVXou6NBWXMN516p3j0um1Nd0Zu2Zw0we-k52CDAW9Z5X2v6j-H487QI4FGnP1HlQiGn1O082Pb2u/s320/P1330313.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTBnpjoO4L2NuFHbFH3NCo8zkBijCZro7Js9jkz6spO6fd1adSCVr6APWN0K5ZY8RY1B8Nzp_lzXrP6loYNKZUIdTieOCRk98HOAbSi6zTDux7QRT61AnnjoAzc16BTlDF3JaMv0Sw9zWorDmL50svdywLxW-4pQT1STEiGa2HL7VBANs5ZzlZ4fYpzQy/s5184/P1330317.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTBnpjoO4L2NuFHbFH3NCo8zkBijCZro7Js9jkz6spO6fd1adSCVr6APWN0K5ZY8RY1B8Nzp_lzXrP6loYNKZUIdTieOCRk98HOAbSi6zTDux7QRT61AnnjoAzc16BTlDF3JaMv0Sw9zWorDmL50svdywLxW-4pQT1STEiGa2HL7VBANs5ZzlZ4fYpzQy/s320/P1330317.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span></span><p></p><p><span>and plenty of tern action along the way. </span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAJK0TkLYWpvEy8jkSMhSExncRGM-4MtWVJlq45h3p7w1bvbWwOOFqwU0jBLXZ0AdsDV6dUvD0duRns5LnyEVreS6X9iSaKHV5WBr6G5xlCVQaN0aZrq3uNJzAHRiwCGcTPC7C8VflYTMxIlLTo2vYmvxo64U9MZ02JivXYTcxQHf03oedfpqAx2goz6f/s4207/P1330292.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2805" data-original-width="4207" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAJK0TkLYWpvEy8jkSMhSExncRGM-4MtWVJlq45h3p7w1bvbWwOOFqwU0jBLXZ0AdsDV6dUvD0duRns5LnyEVreS6X9iSaKHV5WBr6G5xlCVQaN0aZrq3uNJzAHRiwCGcTPC7C8VflYTMxIlLTo2vYmvxo64U9MZ02JivXYTcxQHf03oedfpqAx2goz6f/s320/P1330292.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />They don't hesitate to swoop above their weight, as it were: when babies are around, even the crows are likely to get it.<p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcNP-OhO67KVCzDlhI7r0kMqWBveVuMhF-_DQlBUxJMgriB1LN4r0j4ej9CQm6oROUkiSrZqeHu1hVT2oXQQ1tVM98Q_k8oq5XlIheDfZea6x1YFNRaDS32hcVp_rXTEnFNmadVOdkoepqfI_GUlozT9z2skGqG5AzQnUxwjVMf1_8NdilcOT1CeL9G80/s716/P1330271.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="716" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcNP-OhO67KVCzDlhI7r0kMqWBveVuMhF-_DQlBUxJMgriB1LN4r0j4ej9CQm6oROUkiSrZqeHu1hVT2oXQQ1tVM98Q_k8oq5XlIheDfZea6x1YFNRaDS32hcVp_rXTEnFNmadVOdkoepqfI_GUlozT9z2skGqG5AzQnUxwjVMf1_8NdilcOT1CeL9G80/s320/P1330271.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>The boardwalk at the other end of the beach I took on an afternoon when mass cumulo-nimbus clouds seemed to be heading our way: I have memories of being drenched a couple of years back.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81AwkmNjIi_BT5GcgfVy75ZEtS2A-2iiadMTG-MRs3boiBqNvk2rKZlGsz3K9xSWbU1Ac6YNPbXeQjYXOyPDByGZ9UyMhRuRoduPVEnW6l7c4HBkjs7foJhBlGXwmPUm1JFZbJ6PjvaM-o7Gc7drQDzfuRRp-0EquGFoOfcUEPkYjVho_Gj6STPc9p7CK/s4619/P1330375.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2977" data-original-width="4619" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81AwkmNjIi_BT5GcgfVy75ZEtS2A-2iiadMTG-MRs3boiBqNvk2rKZlGsz3K9xSWbU1Ac6YNPbXeQjYXOyPDByGZ9UyMhRuRoduPVEnW6l7c4HBkjs7foJhBlGXwmPUm1JFZbJ6PjvaM-o7Gc7drQDzfuRRp-0EquGFoOfcUEPkYjVho_Gj6STPc9p7CK/s320/P1330375.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>But while Kaupo told us of torrential downpours on the main road from Tallinn, the storm passed us by.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTHGtF_Sw6agfDmIqGniPBXgRObZtKRPc7NEHDiVLIx_eYW7-LA7k6ugImtW6eEEYN0xJwDmV2G88CpATSEVyehwEpz200waKm8v9x8kKRJorlcdoHbaayQ-2pqj40XGPKnQoXv-gaCmNPch_CyFvS79bevzciUUA1Eq850-nkBBRm4Pe1BavB88Oy7X-/s4824/P1330417.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3153" data-original-width="4824" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTHGtF_Sw6agfDmIqGniPBXgRObZtKRPc7NEHDiVLIx_eYW7-LA7k6ugImtW6eEEYN0xJwDmV2G88CpATSEVyehwEpz200waKm8v9x8kKRJorlcdoHbaayQ-2pqj40XGPKnQoXv-gaCmNPch_CyFvS79bevzciUUA1Eq850-nkBBRm4Pe1BavB88Oy7X-/s320/P1330417.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span></span><p></p><p><span>I did take a big long walk from one bridge over the P</span><span>ä</span><span>rnu River <br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggWf8e0hrLcK8LkFu9rHb_N75KaoEzkjqnKPE-zH6cm4FzMJMKSpWZ8auwol8Cv0p3xGWhMALu2mXKRH5kXIhElmOPR-030or6uKPwXnrPVLrJx3z0Sa_fuEflMfLXHEpNDD-OVpQMQVfS7CJibK9cxOgOza4wYXGHJTedElNLGYi7r6vieSCxI0uezXho/s4299/P1330476.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2730" data-original-width="4299" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggWf8e0hrLcK8LkFu9rHb_N75KaoEzkjqnKPE-zH6cm4FzMJMKSpWZ8auwol8Cv0p3xGWhMALu2mXKRH5kXIhElmOPR-030or6uKPwXnrPVLrJx3z0Sa_fuEflMfLXHEpNDD-OVpQMQVfS7CJibK9cxOgOza4wYXGHJTedElNLGYi7r6vieSCxI0uezXho/s320/P1330476.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>to the next</span><p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJ8ovsv5dV_YogVP3gXFXrKr0UDhd9KpZ3mGZG8_9QqCuiP7SDf04APKVLnqJi9JFwgHUY3rNndVKMIDAPvEU0-HOcI6D08fn4N8oO781i5exWK2YkbIps9mHZyU483eIpWpLiF-rEsKNNbh9qY7OumIqIHnnKCiHNwNytnvOcMPRgH4Z5ItR5FxL5XkZ/s800/P1330527.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJ8ovsv5dV_YogVP3gXFXrKr0UDhd9KpZ3mGZG8_9QqCuiP7SDf04APKVLnqJi9JFwgHUY3rNndVKMIDAPvEU0-HOcI6D08fn4N8oO781i5exWK2YkbIps9mHZyU483eIpWpLiF-rEsKNNbh9qY7OumIqIHnnKCiHNwNytnvOcMPRgH4Z5ItR5FxL5XkZ/s320/P1330527.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>and back on the opposite bank, swim included, </span><span>but I didn't cycle. My last time on a bike for the foreseeable future - since after the op I'm not allowed, given my plastic behind, to do so for at least six months - was during the other blissful close-to-op festival visit, <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music-dance-theatre/theartsdesk-ravenna-festival-invisible-cities-and-possible-dreams">covering three fabulous events in Ravenna</a>. I remembered the peaceful setting of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, the only UNESCO World Heritage Site outside the city centre, from two concerts there. </span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhczdhU8TbysH3G_fSroyT-RyCGT3xPJosHbB-vX8cqbaxFxZlR-irWWC-llYYHebpmih80GXRSTMCW-2kmMNUlK4cWQB1y21YgD6bJwwZ8nKUSxiKOsU_O2Xj_XW9qbx2c-GOwsj92KA9f6fHwgyFOASgTQkXOafzCXDbkvEeRflEGc8M8bYET9qIBhlY/s800/P1320918.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhczdhU8TbysH3G_fSroyT-RyCGT3xPJosHbB-vX8cqbaxFxZlR-irWWC-llYYHebpmih80GXRSTMCW-2kmMNUlK4cWQB1y21YgD6bJwwZ8nKUSxiKOsU_O2Xj_XW9qbx2c-GOwsj92KA9f6fHwgyFOASgTQkXOafzCXDbkvEeRflEGc8M8bYET9qIBhlY/s320/P1320918.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>This time I had it more or less to myself - otherwise, there were only a few other tourists in twos or threes. Not bad for one of the wonders of the world, both in its apse mosaic and in its colonnades of beautiful pillars.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GA95YEwOKLsAM7tVDhmJdHqkYwu6W4ifUF0EWclMozKwLBUzqeTukxDj80kOl7b0ka7JUwgePEn4xDcxsttlCJGcXB-NI-o-xTFXDPkDD9A_ILQd6_rwlCRQPJ2uFulFGQNySKyI-Ws7ZqowK_JvJq4D0oF15sjL9urnSUDq7lmbLfLqnWu5P5OfGB61/s800/P1320876.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GA95YEwOKLsAM7tVDhmJdHqkYwu6W4ifUF0EWclMozKwLBUzqeTukxDj80kOl7b0ka7JUwgePEn4xDcxsttlCJGcXB-NI-o-xTFXDPkDD9A_ILQd6_rwlCRQPJ2uFulFGQNySKyI-Ws7ZqowK_JvJq4D0oF15sjL9urnSUDq7lmbLfLqnWu5P5OfGB61/s320/P1320876.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzpNNjTAJHEVGSC4Y3KyamiA6FyiMdvDcSybB74mgWjdc-HYm-c4Nuc33QtuO8QRhMzF8gNHxJN-2k09BqEMZjxEXltE03zs1JfoKAIIIjoZDZM5jZMi_H6A6QQIOz1fWhcZYkqaCIchQnv6KT8iiNLlogFE4RSYUl9SxPFGEjUbjDtCv3KKJN4esxlP5/s800/P1320845.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzpNNjTAJHEVGSC4Y3KyamiA6FyiMdvDcSybB74mgWjdc-HYm-c4Nuc33QtuO8QRhMzF8gNHxJN-2k09BqEMZjxEXltE03zs1JfoKAIIIjoZDZM5jZMi_H6A6QQIOz1fWhcZYkqaCIchQnv6KT8iiNLlogFE4RSYUl9SxPFGEjUbjDtCv3KKJN4esxlP5/s320/P1320845.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO99Vj3-JCDI3j8OT0ZlxD-CCznOBDP9o6ifbizC1M7HCf2SsQKu_tFyrzIDP-wpGGTcT6NnBpDwTYYvam-N_aSHPDZ10D8hVV8Wipr1Qy2ZYxMt9rBq-kPC-VOm_qfSw3FYQNCk_umbPqiSPjCyZPDTz54ezlgP1-QSyfjeRL4V2vAuwk7m98-qXLYxNn/s800/P1320883.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO99Vj3-JCDI3j8OT0ZlxD-CCznOBDP9o6ifbizC1M7HCf2SsQKu_tFyrzIDP-wpGGTcT6NnBpDwTYYvam-N_aSHPDZ10D8hVV8Wipr1Qy2ZYxMt9rBq-kPC-VOm_qfSw3FYQNCk_umbPqiSPjCyZPDTz54ezlgP1-QSyfjeRL4V2vAuwk7m98-qXLYxNn/s320/P1320883.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>The bike path is parallel to a minor road, with sunflower fields on the other side, and then there you are in total tranquillity.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5ulqq9uV0e24mLsEtgni3xlJmVDSAyKvqV31AFQDYoIfJyaGXZOrLKDes0c2CCEnzlQe7p578qdQ1Q7EGEGeLx171XKJ3ZH0Y4nQZQyUGbEg1ho3NsU1BAPk1BlZQiBYQchNQasUeWx3OY2-snTe8B4_yZs7ehYMrijZU-ALkZcEn0t9f4YLZ8dRXqRN/s800/P1320899.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5ulqq9uV0e24mLsEtgni3xlJmVDSAyKvqV31AFQDYoIfJyaGXZOrLKDes0c2CCEnzlQe7p578qdQ1Q7EGEGeLx171XKJ3ZH0Y4nQZQyUGbEg1ho3NsU1BAPk1BlZQiBYQchNQasUeWx3OY2-snTe8B4_yZs7ehYMrijZU-ALkZcEn0t9f4YLZ8dRXqRN/s320/P1320899.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Always happy to look back on my <a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2018/08/from-vision-to-vision-in-ravenna.html">first coverage of the best mosaics in the world</a> from my first festival visit (though I'd seen quite a few of them Interrailing in 1982). In addition to meeting old friends in Ravenna and making, I hope, a couple of new ones, I was so happy to welcome the irrepressible Sophie Sarin, inspiration for this blog when she maintained her own much more exciting one about building and running a mud hotel in Djenne, Mali, and what happened next. She's now just set up a guest house in Siena and was in the midst of its taking off, which is why she could only visit for less than 24 hours. But once past a meltdown finding her air B&B, I think she had a lovely time. She conceded that la cucina di Emilia Romagna is so much better than Tuscany's - I took her to the Alighieri which does a range of utterly distinctive dishes with various home-made pastas (the festival folk, who have offices above, use it a lot).</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5q1BFirotedvbVlj29TnlMDRT7r_V5cJu1CNWCHfiBYyhfwFRl-BVmmxMkuHAcEtCn2UDHLmzvK6MXzL8KdtCvX4hOLJtDo0gl-pKRYs-xo_uG03BWRPArkloosGS8uQT2SgdU8NaVQogVn0ikyecMPEfPJ0xFBRgsXumbAXW78mOJNi6z1dUyEKKnph/s800/P1330016.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5q1BFirotedvbVlj29TnlMDRT7r_V5cJu1CNWCHfiBYyhfwFRl-BVmmxMkuHAcEtCn2UDHLmzvK6MXzL8KdtCvX4hOLJtDo0gl-pKRYs-xo_uG03BWRPArkloosGS8uQT2SgdU8NaVQogVn0ikyecMPEfPJ0xFBRgsXumbAXW78mOJNi6z1dUyEKKnph/s320/P1330016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>I insisted that, as a first-time visitor, she saw the so-called Mausoleum of Galla Placidia - my favourite small bulding in the world, much raved about here - and San Vitale. We also had to walk around the Zona Dantesca, including his still very much in use parish church, San Francesco</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LTy7hEicpNPMoH75Lq3FfSEHXqD7ySN4J7X10_R7InMYg0SmKwMjZDY-6SGlXl6RiDVAyOU0x9QuRDw30BDhL29fQkzdGyegjuae9c0wwbQCd829dh5AkOEqSWbiO4_PNcAmKdrXY8Gx52dajNAr5sTyI-5HwP9bs-f5dIuAlzjknyILphaMaNE8Qb3B/s800/P1330008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LTy7hEicpNPMoH75Lq3FfSEHXqD7ySN4J7X10_R7InMYg0SmKwMjZDY-6SGlXl6RiDVAyOU0x9QuRDw30BDhL29fQkzdGyegjuae9c0wwbQCd829dh5AkOEqSWbiO4_PNcAmKdrXY8Gx52dajNAr5sTyI-5HwP9bs-f5dIuAlzjknyILphaMaNE8Qb3B/s320/P1330008.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><span>and of course Dante's tomb.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOetDglBDRntPmHjmokf6fJGwPC4Gq7CF-mmmUt-66fvRoqVAshPNmMHFmqR6uBsATDqLB44WWRobLHffUk1iAlIrqAfl2npW_OIzog2dVUkaBmF06OtU_U4jM-1oh7VcGoo1so72YMCPNFixHCHMyvhc5_oS9Yv7GYGZYTgVSC88eJbk4uDARsNly1AFL/s800/P1330011.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOetDglBDRntPmHjmokf6fJGwPC4Gq7CF-mmmUt-66fvRoqVAshPNmMHFmqR6uBsATDqLB44WWRobLHffUk1iAlIrqAfl2npW_OIzog2dVUkaBmF06OtU_U4jM-1oh7VcGoo1so72YMCPNFixHCHMyvhc5_oS9Yv7GYGZYTgVSC88eJbk4uDARsNly1AFL/s320/P1330011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>I think Sophie eventually 'got' the special magic of Teatro delle Albe's 'Don Chisciotte' Part 1 - like the stunning Dante, it will be spread over three years - but she absolutely did love the supper afterwards. I'd had a super lunch with three of the regulars, and always feel welcome on the big table outside at the restaurant they've been coming to for 40 years, Al Passatore. I love these people, above all their guiding spirits Marco Martinelli (to my left in the photo) and Ermanna Montanari (just beyond, with her back to us), more than ever. Sophie was especially tickled to be driven home by Quixote himself, Roberto Magnani - who started off as a teenager in the company - in what he called his four-wheeled Rosinante...<br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qrg8RnWTk-S_wGb-ciU2tWKo3AbDY9BLRMEKP0Qy7rnTwTskqgSjRQR4Qe903mFg6XbRUHZe-fZpEms4XdY7rTSuVisDJD3dfKc1m7WlaOcrnsH_I1d8KbKH3taP4mSPEpYqqF7ALRJ0BJnXG9oNKX_xA5tN7_6NX-exqIir_zuMvhPSdEard2WVKRu0/s800/P1330018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qrg8RnWTk-S_wGb-ciU2tWKo3AbDY9BLRMEKP0Qy7rnTwTskqgSjRQR4Qe903mFg6XbRUHZe-fZpEms4XdY7rTSuVisDJD3dfKc1m7WlaOcrnsH_I1d8KbKH3taP4mSPEpYqqF7ALRJ0BJnXG9oNKX_xA5tN7_6NX-exqIir_zuMvhPSdEard2WVKRu0/s320/P1330018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I didn't get to swim on the coast - my plan for the last day, to cycle again and hit the woods and the sea, was khyboshed ny the heatwave that begun, fortunately, the day I was leaving (it was 37 degrees at Bologna Airport in the early evening). But before that, I'd achieved my target of a swim a day while in Ireland - seven in Dublin Bay, mostly at Sandycove</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACeC3MIwiKtZ_Yt3fmqCVaFTHj2GxtKFHIDE9iG9jFbA-0tfudh49UeH9cazp2LqtliyiibodcEMbjVsnGC2m2WcFfJlCWjcYa1fLtyb4DHE5WijAs-b73EhKurKlvZHBzosstbT5_1h40hgVJ_tF8_sfAqsaq8z2JNqO8Dn3oNwwAU-9dEGNSfrAfTBm/s800/P1320265.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACeC3MIwiKtZ_Yt3fmqCVaFTHj2GxtKFHIDE9iG9jFbA-0tfudh49UeH9cazp2LqtliyiibodcEMbjVsnGC2m2WcFfJlCWjcYa1fLtyb4DHE5WijAs-b73EhKurKlvZHBzosstbT5_1h40hgVJ_tF8_sfAqsaq8z2JNqO8Dn3oNwwAU-9dEGNSfrAfTBm/s320/P1320265.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2jQ_pitu89-dfqkkI-6f2fmAEx5WLTCvfBl_aZBkEtG9hv7xpuJiyP8tBYZ9JzJI_eEiALOS_5kiQ6J_WxEyRnaYgffxc9gSQxpgSM14Gv_vyzD4Gau3GHuJQvt7IE92R37TIPtYTCRsvPh6TAAg3WtRqNaf6VYV4vpRIokMETrl9KzCm7VL8aOKzJ17/s800/P1320261.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2jQ_pitu89-dfqkkI-6f2fmAEx5WLTCvfBl_aZBkEtG9hv7xpuJiyP8tBYZ9JzJI_eEiALOS_5kiQ6J_WxEyRnaYgffxc9gSQxpgSM14Gv_vyzD4Gau3GHuJQvt7IE92R37TIPtYTCRsvPh6TAAg3WtRqNaf6VYV4vpRIokMETrl9KzCm7VL8aOKzJ17/s320/P1320261.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and most of them with my New Best Friend Catherine Bunyan (here she is at the Forty Foot on the right, with visiting friend Marcelle Hanselaar). <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFFjj2214ofHXjFx6Y4xHDuyR3gv-qCqn1SDjoSPCx4lbvjavB0NnJjJyedphYWn8oopfVxHl7TwIq_TBTWqTEoBFSowGsQ8OcKh0W5ImwACpdij8xA3n4DiR7qj7HbfZeCnkjfwodzLKqWs_0KzP22m5J5GBvWfCB5ot2RvIGByKS-VZtCNcvtNHYqLX/s800/P1310953.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFFjj2214ofHXjFx6Y4xHDuyR3gv-qCqn1SDjoSPCx4lbvjavB0NnJjJyedphYWn8oopfVxHl7TwIq_TBTWqTEoBFSowGsQ8OcKh0W5ImwACpdij8xA3n4DiR7qj7HbfZeCnkjfwodzLKqWs_0KzP22m5J5GBvWfCB5ot2RvIGByKS-VZtCNcvtNHYqLX/s320/P1310953.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />My first swim alone nearly killed me - as noted <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/05/gannet-aeronautics-off-dalkey-island.html">here on a previous reconnaissance</a>, the water at Coliemore Harbour looked so inviting, <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7TL07lHleGBLSrDzcuw_nI3xjuFupLUSvMb0-U5Z1kzgjw2NKl5JBTtkC-dea6V7UAOvWtvI8xw2mfZld5bebSoaTNQ4N6T58pLPWF0Jc5GWYhSqNMFbDn_AylhLaWYJsHd670Xh4C6QDadWPUjeEyTilKEVNvAVNRsf5HdfiHg-iOMKhRj4vA4vw0aM/s800/P1310723.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7TL07lHleGBLSrDzcuw_nI3xjuFupLUSvMb0-U5Z1kzgjw2NKl5JBTtkC-dea6V7UAOvWtvI8xw2mfZld5bebSoaTNQ4N6T58pLPWF0Jc5GWYhSqNMFbDn_AylhLaWYJsHd670Xh4C6QDadWPUjeEyTilKEVNvAVNRsf5HdfiHg-iOMKhRj4vA4vw0aM/s320/P1310723.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />but once out of the harbour entrance, the rip tide between mainland and Dalkey Island is notorious. Thought I'd have to shout out for help as I got weaker, but managed to get near to the harbour wall and wade along touching the kelpy, rocky bottom (just as well Ireland doesn't have sea urchins). The currents are notorious - wish I'd known, didn't see a notice on one of the quay arms - and folk have drowned. Anyway, to complement my <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/05/gannet-aeronautics-off-dalkey-island.html">gannet sequence</a>, I mustered energy enough after a little lie-down to catch tern action<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGObYqP6gHlgAqfA86VLW3RWBRKF6q8zIbr09FgHzpzwYpMX8emFn87fKgARcGnAi4qsobnOnyYV_8zoCkt-lU6gupHwfMakimeP50vqujxq8yc5j1GRDEzHsYkmwYL0EGnyBezpkCKF5lNfDJ0VpN31gU2z0_--977iF-LPT3FCDlPvDs5qDprhAeimT/s800/P1310777.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="800" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGObYqP6gHlgAqfA86VLW3RWBRKF6q8zIbr09FgHzpzwYpMX8emFn87fKgARcGnAi4qsobnOnyYV_8zoCkt-lU6gupHwfMakimeP50vqujxq8yc5j1GRDEzHsYkmwYL0EGnyBezpkCKF5lNfDJ0VpN31gU2z0_--977iF-LPT3FCDlPvDs5qDprhAeimT/s320/P1310777.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOriAQ10joSghrSYUA3TFhFedkPlhr8eMDXP8VCzziHwWDe96H3IpkOIDjVdYt0Go9e7c0n5wOjk2tDDelbFY9HtorcZJuvxJ0SuS248n6wfStMlfuSjQirwuN1xxWm68d9zjDojNURBYJNUp47R-gWovgnOrBO-vM29n-qM7jV579btyT23xeMEdjS3my/s800/P1310741.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="800" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOriAQ10joSghrSYUA3TFhFedkPlhr8eMDXP8VCzziHwWDe96H3IpkOIDjVdYt0Go9e7c0n5wOjk2tDDelbFY9HtorcZJuvxJ0SuS248n6wfStMlfuSjQirwuN1xxWm68d9zjDojNURBYJNUp47R-gWovgnOrBO-vM29n-qM7jV579btyT23xeMEdjS3my/s320/P1310741.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuwhTSqIsFRMLC0xiIFERNezZsX4YMo3E1tZJBo0jAMfvAgQubv6RRm6QSfviqh1tIBLoSgIo_HeUUHL01UEUyAW46pXFNf1wukdpJwY0lvZr3N7AczghAqFgddilZdFHXQ4zK2zZFNQZnNqFqhWJosOncLxsSXPjtV8LqHzmuWqVIiHnhDucz1tZTHDv/s800/P1310788.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuwhTSqIsFRMLC0xiIFERNezZsX4YMo3E1tZJBo0jAMfvAgQubv6RRm6QSfviqh1tIBLoSgIo_HeUUHL01UEUyAW46pXFNf1wukdpJwY0lvZr3N7AczghAqFgddilZdFHXQ4zK2zZFNQZnNqFqhWJosOncLxsSXPjtV8LqHzmuWqVIiHnhDucz1tZTHDv/s320/P1310788.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the distinctive white ovals on the back of a White-Winged Scoter (correct me if I've identified wrongly).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWt01ooEFrh63TeKcUNMAJL8po9_g4qI7DxlszPxj-N8jQ7xsKThQnI5p7n8dkrgdz2qRAFBiVV8VRJuTxz7insnQk-e6r2zc7ZEnOSaP-wKyh_tu32SI4davu30oRU-3EdA4d-3f52Q2GmS3VaM_Tz3RWdBu-RhnMZp5eotcp7XdCKiqJAPlXyIG-v_a-/s800/P1310808.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="800" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWt01ooEFrh63TeKcUNMAJL8po9_g4qI7DxlszPxj-N8jQ7xsKThQnI5p7n8dkrgdz2qRAFBiVV8VRJuTxz7insnQk-e6r2zc7ZEnOSaP-wKyh_tu32SI4davu30oRU-3EdA4d-3f52Q2GmS3VaM_Tz3RWdBu-RhnMZp5eotcp7XdCKiqJAPlXyIG-v_a-/s320/P1310808.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then there were two swims on a beach we had more or less to our (four) selves (we were staying with friends in Midleton, a trip based around going to see the phenomenal <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/theatre/happy-days-landmark-productions-cork-opera-house-end-earth"><span>Siobhán</span> McSweeney in <i>Happy Days</i> </a>at Cork Opera House, which did not disappoint). This is Ballynamona near to Ballycotton, good as the tide's coming in for quick immersion.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGmnHryWD2KLSMQrp4GuGU8E6t7xb-sExKTekLD089j6Wh4-07VsV8EpL7GJwprTNCqeWoZrxtSQxZBmCHNXO3Z9fZefZkjsKs6Ob9FN2UO8DiHzgf951Xp1I20IakHDE3hMv-eWr3nKQaChU1c75cPmq_-sRgVCGhU9GzdXr_cWeVs5zXJW2yVC-YFun/s2000/20230617_131239.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGmnHryWD2KLSMQrp4GuGU8E6t7xb-sExKTekLD089j6Wh4-07VsV8EpL7GJwprTNCqeWoZrxtSQxZBmCHNXO3Z9fZefZkjsKs6Ob9FN2UO8DiHzgf951Xp1I20IakHDE3hMv-eWr3nKQaChU1c75cPmq_-sRgVCGhU9GzdXr_cWeVs5zXJW2yVC-YFun/s320/20230617_131239.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Ireland's coastline didn't have the benefit of a National Trust/Operation Neptune to provide anything like the 598-mile South West Coast Path we walked over a decade. But the Ballycotton Cliff Walk is as lovely as anything in Devon or Cornwall. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Xc4MskgrDPhjunKJfFm6rGeZZLqqKWAWYQ0eelSJaHlFHQAkbLM0MJ0B-fRdRVgDcwge22Llg8BBmoMkk_1h66cBllvRCDfZaiOmtuDQUJ8GPW68RhruPgFFtX_V_6gmBYL0fo6tqhvg7TSemStioWEWnGltLDT9m9ZuzrbgZNMA-GSBJQYYGg65BPCa/s4076/P1320102.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2614" data-original-width="4076" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Xc4MskgrDPhjunKJfFm6rGeZZLqqKWAWYQ0eelSJaHlFHQAkbLM0MJ0B-fRdRVgDcwge22Llg8BBmoMkk_1h66cBllvRCDfZaiOmtuDQUJ8GPW68RhruPgFFtX_V_6gmBYL0fo6tqhvg7TSemStioWEWnGltLDT9m9ZuzrbgZNMA-GSBJQYYGg65BPCa/s320/P1320102.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Nature was out to oblige - a Stonechat or two kept us company</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbneAF4af23oI76ICUOFipFXNRPszwfvcAh58vdEKEwKTbIGZd02aB8FgAu71-a_2oDorLRfdEh26oBQ_GrjYidbE7LreXXJ9MkvaPY6ymWlxXV2u0PX7IAY8reMrufBmjIBi40_1ZI9-_imdaWN266Cj9YP_HUpis2Yt9MC9TAbKqed-eWK8Kj1n_PFs/s800/P1320105.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbneAF4af23oI76ICUOFipFXNRPszwfvcAh58vdEKEwKTbIGZd02aB8FgAu71-a_2oDorLRfdEh26oBQ_GrjYidbE7LreXXJ9MkvaPY6ymWlxXV2u0PX7IAY8reMrufBmjIBi40_1ZI9-_imdaWN266Cj9YP_HUpis2Yt9MC9TAbKqed-eWK8Kj1n_PFs/s320/P1320105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and this beauty, which turns out to be not a bee but a very large fly, rather basically named as of the Yellow-Faced variety.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8HwcsuYwvznxJ66RrGuq0reDyj9VmpqnFX1_qFN3kHHJCNHQ-5OfKTB7kX4LZfsXx2lAzNm26WoRHYwwV4ZehT1USQX4kCDUjfGbwSaFU24Gg3ZMzDjU1u0sHWknDGCJcVmzTnzCK2q5nEivl73nZ5D6WZ1uJBa4mA9CJ3GXgfyYks9c3tGC3omSVigJ/s800/P1320115.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8HwcsuYwvznxJ66RrGuq0reDyj9VmpqnFX1_qFN3kHHJCNHQ-5OfKTB7kX4LZfsXx2lAzNm26WoRHYwwV4ZehT1USQX4kCDUjfGbwSaFU24Gg3ZMzDjU1u0sHWknDGCJcVmzTnzCK2q5nEivl73nZ5D6WZ1uJBa4mA9CJ3GXgfyYks9c3tGC3omSVigJ/s320/P1320115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>We stopped for a picnic at Bryony's and Jon's favourite spot</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpk2w8zdsY8wMZQxmSYPdidEZHctlgPgBj2M3X8b2Mh1rWCkna6nCLldCGZGCdR3RV0WBJRnpmMb_rHBzOoYcBaLfISX7htV-1gf-XUeSg6LvCj2KB6UtD68XmpN538waSnTbrvNm-O77T8KP1vMfyNQng9XAl94J_J0zwfZRPJisj6C31sJM1vIOsvVO/s800/P1320129.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpk2w8zdsY8wMZQxmSYPdidEZHctlgPgBj2M3X8b2Mh1rWCkna6nCLldCGZGCdR3RV0WBJRnpmMb_rHBzOoYcBaLfISX7htV-1gf-XUeSg6LvCj2KB6UtD68XmpN538waSnTbrvNm-O77T8KP1vMfyNQng9XAl94J_J0zwfZRPJisj6C31sJM1vIOsvVO/s320/P1320129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>and J and I went down to the beach with its splendid rock formations</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_V-3KxVQA6P3JYSt3XGFwpINl2yA4-ZhaW5Jlxr1vVbu_lrhFGLIQg5YANQD1EKXe2hfnSTe5I7jYaBQNu2_2r_E9DG-m09K8fnVLcQVQUKslDsuzNL91zFagE7lwKq7F3Nnc4PedYxaSYHEMLJl24_Bjae80g6eKiXXnF-2CZeaTXrIwB-QxrHrR-bR/s800/P1320143.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="800" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_V-3KxVQA6P3JYSt3XGFwpINl2yA4-ZhaW5Jlxr1vVbu_lrhFGLIQg5YANQD1EKXe2hfnSTe5I7jYaBQNu2_2r_E9DG-m09K8fnVLcQVQUKslDsuzNL91zFagE7lwKq7F3Nnc4PedYxaSYHEMLJl24_Bjae80g6eKiXXnF-2CZeaTXrIwB-QxrHrR-bR/s320/P1320143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7H4u2ETJNPM_fL9jPAIX5Bdypyc5XDPve4yRzDSecji7DfvWkMuGmdz1oteVyT5I2OYLuYsM_VtfY00aBTf0WZh77BFNKoaIrr471p9LaTjs27dq3r-kHwmfFhor1tzef0FxtRwiGzveicUGQMnN9nq_dddJZ6Ag_3klwTn-2AF9Ng5NHyIrsThmuBCS/s800/P1320167.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7H4u2ETJNPM_fL9jPAIX5Bdypyc5XDPve4yRzDSecji7DfvWkMuGmdz1oteVyT5I2OYLuYsM_VtfY00aBTf0WZh77BFNKoaIrr471p9LaTjs27dq3r-kHwmfFhor1tzef0FxtRwiGzveicUGQMnN9nq_dddJZ6Ag_3klwTn-2AF9Ng5NHyIrsThmuBCS/s320/P1320167.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_J59jahrrkfju9xySkyfSbWHD2V4ck_Q-e1wleQTT3XYEVxDvamChgvh3dNSh4fiw2tBFadCB_RHUu0goSH16avuDd6XOXiiqDMB3OxkF2Uu34-Pi_8_Dzxy083RINMVkzZ3ky5vIZRavd1Dj9X7o8sfoAR6XKRUWjLHRUSv075f-2QG6-AnJ4lBHE9E/s800/P1320153.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_J59jahrrkfju9xySkyfSbWHD2V4ck_Q-e1wleQTT3XYEVxDvamChgvh3dNSh4fiw2tBFadCB_RHUu0goSH16avuDd6XOXiiqDMB3OxkF2Uu34-Pi_8_Dzxy083RINMVkzZ3ky5vIZRavd1Dj9X7o8sfoAR6XKRUWjLHRUSv075f-2QG6-AnJ4lBHE9E/s320/P1320153.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>while diverse shades of green tumbled down the cliff close to a cave entrance.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBBwKiLRfNHIDyWWcJmnlfeEFhBioZkJ3Ih0EnXoNY_bj9H0496OazFpeGaSYSZWB6aef3sCk4cWE--fOMbYeALMAb_ka9OIpsBG5JSuQpDVdfXwYA0b-t-rIphoTH43MDf-JFaj6NxyJQWNXEUR4D8anrptNJuqs2ZqgY8JLnLLAtB4VQDbJOr3Um2jx/s800/P1320174.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBBwKiLRfNHIDyWWcJmnlfeEFhBioZkJ3Ih0EnXoNY_bj9H0496OazFpeGaSYSZWB6aef3sCk4cWE--fOMbYeALMAb_ka9OIpsBG5JSuQpDVdfXwYA0b-t-rIphoTH43MDf-JFaj6NxyJQWNXEUR4D8anrptNJuqs2ZqgY8JLnLLAtB4VQDbJOr3Um2jx/s320/P1320174.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>More familiar companions on the route back.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8jNYNplvuyj9mPsTWBB61XGuispc-qUp4ES4WlmBQwlpNAjsq0zJCXLfN7X6abEp834VmFFWO6ldu9UXPxHfjoAnAiWmWv-1zbLgEFwQs0tAct6gXQYgZctxUwjGfHWW7RY8797zpPGKjvDkJXT-hoLYT6EWv6nFhsIa0KztjHJrDvwDz6vsV3Q7lQu-/s800/P1320180.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8jNYNplvuyj9mPsTWBB61XGuispc-qUp4ES4WlmBQwlpNAjsq0zJCXLfN7X6abEp834VmFFWO6ldu9UXPxHfjoAnAiWmWv-1zbLgEFwQs0tAct6gXQYgZctxUwjGfHWW7RY8797zpPGKjvDkJXT-hoLYT6EWv6nFhsIa0KztjHJrDvwDz6vsV3Q7lQu-/s320/P1320180.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYyNe8Ikb0hOQKM5vVbbdAs2SbgjnGKPK9ghwQ_2gYRs1reqtXlo5-QIwPb7StxTNUITqvS_PMMniXRQ-MoCK21DsoqBCOx-NIZw-aNtdgtoKJfIQGw7O6WfaS_pLu1AfuWCoit4hTSS7PCoYhxAcMnjNY7OKRr04KpgWYZhpsBMx8tbHUbzq-__2hHe9/s800/P1320190-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYyNe8Ikb0hOQKM5vVbbdAs2SbgjnGKPK9ghwQ_2gYRs1reqtXlo5-QIwPb7StxTNUITqvS_PMMniXRQ-MoCK21DsoqBCOx-NIZw-aNtdgtoKJfIQGw7O6WfaS_pLu1AfuWCoit4hTSS7PCoYhxAcMnjNY7OKRr04KpgWYZhpsBMx8tbHUbzq-__2hHe9/s320/P1320190-001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>As coda to the swimming time, I got two more delicious early morning plunges at Aldeburgh around<a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/ligeti-day-kolesnikovtsoy-aldeburgh-festival-review-14-musicians-16-premieres-and"> a cluster of sensational festival events</a>, <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaNNgO2AF4h7TMP5JtfFWBuE_gWjy1dPvMRqYbcHrfZlu18lBaY2DBEqyqXOfIAdD6Q6-QOgIoh3KwVqyUUuTuc4TukDCCrhsP5NOesheCr3vrNAU3uZpJKsI-RHC241chk9bZic_4mjlN-2hSwrN15ZpanQv5mX5ZXCRuCjhcpJ7h8DfHChuW_ihyYuR/s800/P1320392.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="800" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaNNgO2AF4h7TMP5JtfFWBuE_gWjy1dPvMRqYbcHrfZlu18lBaY2DBEqyqXOfIAdD6Q6-QOgIoh3KwVqyUUuTuc4TukDCCrhsP5NOesheCr3vrNAU3uZpJKsI-RHC241chk9bZic_4mjlN-2hSwrN15ZpanQv5mX5ZXCRuCjhcpJ7h8DfHChuW_ihyYuR/s320/P1320392.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and the daily dips in <span>Pä</span>rnu. The good news is that I can swim with my stoma, too... But my, does that take some getting used to. The first four days in hospital weren't so good, though thanks to the epidural I mostly slept through the first two, and then vomiting sessions meant I had to be intubated - the ghastliest thing I've ever had done to me while conscious. But the staff were a joy, a model of collegiality, professionalism and good humour. I'm glad I got a fair cross-section of them together for this shot, which I treasure.<span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowArJNPttMGEQC0TeO96GZydb-9rg3CsgWjEXMOYlAUW7QzqktU7StVBAgh9_wjmi1PnPn_lFtv7PS9QQyiA976pjjc1UhHuew293ovZ-Dezgz7nr28a-wNsGZwtbdZBgV21oRJctGL_IKXvv9hAP90vB3MVHFBOPeQxhdd0sv9p0ZEJqeWHMPmOMZ6z8/s800/F2hLptzWIAA62u-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowArJNPttMGEQC0TeO96GZydb-9rg3CsgWjEXMOYlAUW7QzqktU7StVBAgh9_wjmi1PnPn_lFtv7PS9QQyiA976pjjc1UhHuew293ovZ-Dezgz7nr28a-wNsGZwtbdZBgV21oRJctGL_IKXvv9hAP90vB3MVHFBOPeQxhdd0sv9p0ZEJqeWHMPmOMZ6z8/s320/F2hLptzWIAA62u-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span>So many wonderful visitors, too, whom I welcomed in the second week - first, I wasn't really up to it - and the biggest surprise of them my beloved godson Alexander, who came down from Scotland specially. Not a bad view from the window either, looking out over to the Wetland Centre.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdTOdnv54f9pyjMaIC7945lg4YVcCFwb7J6uY9sXr9HNjE8mHkxyKbnCb3h90rGzGTwpYX124vHxQJZFFuY5crObsXPizbrmqSHxA_ISrGS9EkzZLmZCjlxbRSRZmr9xFVz_QYs82l6-WxU4M9i8AbcbNCjvafN0aS98M9iaPx4X4tJmYHVHbEsFbrQ7Q/s800/20230728_160931.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="800" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdTOdnv54f9pyjMaIC7945lg4YVcCFwb7J6uY9sXr9HNjE8mHkxyKbnCb3h90rGzGTwpYX124vHxQJZFFuY5crObsXPizbrmqSHxA_ISrGS9EkzZLmZCjlxbRSRZmr9xFVz_QYs82l6-WxU4M9i8AbcbNCjvafN0aS98M9iaPx4X4tJmYHVHbEsFbrQ7Q/s320/20230728_160931.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Having completed my stoma diploma, I was free to leave on the evenng of 31 July, and amen to home being so close via the Margravine Cemetery that I was able to walk home. J put this out on WhatsApp as 'David putting the hospital behind him'.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8C7pSuRhPtKKoycs62Apje_mECSlelOT-IBGskzIw0drnYSe-om-xivnLzEXwTWQnm1PF9Bno4i7VrXPRlGphNntdAlHSCtHVdcxU9fvjdlh7hbXlvL99Re_-HlRB2fKOZcEwFrPKN_ZDVZTMHX7nkp-WfSE6sjUKObX7oiI6zyqEoIpct158Uay9damO/s800/20230731_195633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="800" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8C7pSuRhPtKKoycs62Apje_mECSlelOT-IBGskzIw0drnYSe-om-xivnLzEXwTWQnm1PF9Bno4i7VrXPRlGphNntdAlHSCtHVdcxU9fvjdlh7hbXlvL99Re_-HlRB2fKOZcEwFrPKN_ZDVZTMHX7nkp-WfSE6sjUKObX7oiI6zyqEoIpct158Uay9damO/s320/20230731_195633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Since then I've been blessed with many home visits and tried to do a daily walk. Tuesday's circuit of the cemetery with friend Simon and therapy dog Max</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbxptr_iFZEeHyQTFUy8Ny3AcwU8FU0sXDHhmIvNqFMRv2UaRTirtlH4IVLFOPxO7gGSltKnMLJMDxEtCp_z--16GgVKSNT1yqhsbYVMC4v5JqUsXwhF9qyTXzFDfp6qgRXCZ7OVjFq5_pqIKZitkTeXTPPTeWkICIC4X9mVRg8OXzYvlsRgnqiwng1nK/s800/F2hD51pXQAA1QXM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbxptr_iFZEeHyQTFUy8Ny3AcwU8FU0sXDHhmIvNqFMRv2UaRTirtlH4IVLFOPxO7gGSltKnMLJMDxEtCp_z--16GgVKSNT1yqhsbYVMC4v5JqUsXwhF9qyTXzFDfp6qgRXCZ7OVjFq5_pqIKZitkTeXTPPTeWkICIC4X9mVRg8OXzYvlsRgnqiwng1nK/s320/F2hD51pXQAA1QXM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>was exhausting, but it's been getting a bit easier. On Thursday I went by foot and tube to meet friend Jill at Paul, South Ken tube, before J's birthday supper at Ognisko. And yesterday, before he departed back to Dublin, I took a bus to meet him at my favourite of all the gardens along the river (yes, even including Kew), the Walled Garden of Eden (as I call it) within Fulham Palace's grounds.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKIKpYRt-mfuY5dOX2ZYf7Ilz_ieKycHvOdAGIMfstLDyc0Ubj6fJJkz0cbBIBHaftFR8LWPyNeMgKazEK793I3Y1b-dpqWPulot4ADBUJHb7eq0huXzukxIRQqn35cj21wmp_Ko0dpqVBD7B3B6-ExniIWiUPsO7pVeB10iSV9cXuyesa0z5In995eTu/s5184/P1330649.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKIKpYRt-mfuY5dOX2ZYf7Ilz_ieKycHvOdAGIMfstLDyc0Ubj6fJJkz0cbBIBHaftFR8LWPyNeMgKazEK793I3Y1b-dpqWPulot4ADBUJHb7eq0huXzukxIRQqn35cj21wmp_Ko0dpqVBD7B3B6-ExniIWiUPsO7pVeB10iSV9cXuyesa0z5In995eTu/s320/P1330649.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Let's end with some cemetery visitors, as I've just embarked on Patrick Barkham's <i>The Butterfly Isles</i>. Margravine shows what happens when you let No May May extend, in part, throughout the summer. Butterflies everywhere, but my absolute discovery was the beautiful Marbled White, first seen with the eyes on its undercarriage, then displaying.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OE6CRk7YyvIEl3d7FqOHi_FtGo92S9azRq32fZbAEBxqu4_eOuMj0i9s1nV1UTFheeZ6KQp3MvAJ1cIgFBnc4ZZPOqmEpjGRvYokVAubXUq2S86WRUQZiB2LN5ew-BAHqTao0AsyXZ-aw6XZSRxqqMD4s33oz4WXUdiAggWwldT6HEAQB1RUA8so-T_L/s800/P1320691.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="800" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OE6CRk7YyvIEl3d7FqOHi_FtGo92S9azRq32fZbAEBxqu4_eOuMj0i9s1nV1UTFheeZ6KQp3MvAJ1cIgFBnc4ZZPOqmEpjGRvYokVAubXUq2S86WRUQZiB2LN5ew-BAHqTao0AsyXZ-aw6XZSRxqqMD4s33oz4WXUdiAggWwldT6HEAQB1RUA8so-T_L/s320/P1320691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9KLwTzTLanQOWLiK7HWWV7JNAUy6LLJSpcQNcTdAC2ckDPW79_X2dvDPc3vu9n8wQbbpIkJJfSjk5Qyetyna7esMNgfbFYYDcy00WaI11Bq603f7SpksoqOlAquzKCrKOqlCHAvxnuK-7C0QQWaovIrwx0wvLaPdC29kpxMjOt6NCqcYoN6eikVIcSj7/s800/P1330163.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9KLwTzTLanQOWLiK7HWWV7JNAUy6LLJSpcQNcTdAC2ckDPW79_X2dvDPc3vu9n8wQbbpIkJJfSjk5Qyetyna7esMNgfbFYYDcy00WaI11Bq603f7SpksoqOlAquzKCrKOqlCHAvxnuK-7C0QQWaovIrwx0wvLaPdC29kpxMjOt6NCqcYoN6eikVIcSj7/s320/P1330163.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Their season is now over, I think. Earlier I saw a Comma</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKacKE0-RjojUiswZOv2ahwmwxKY7IMhdpC96x-efYbZKrYIV-vstHEuMMjEDuBiIiVelLtFXIRxn41Vlyfk9i2MZoptnoaa1sLpTeBQXBOty0yDK_FC1UC0faz-HlbzJYqRUF2bCwk7AdJkBszUdQ8MDTbREpHBNz-WQok-B0q3HSVgTfkDqyhK4Q8wh/s843/P1330115.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="843" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKacKE0-RjojUiswZOv2ahwmwxKY7IMhdpC96x-efYbZKrYIV-vstHEuMMjEDuBiIiVelLtFXIRxn41Vlyfk9i2MZoptnoaa1sLpTeBQXBOty0yDK_FC1UC0faz-HlbzJYqRUF2bCwk7AdJkBszUdQ8MDTbREpHBNz-WQok-B0q3HSVgTfkDqyhK4Q8wh/s320/P1330115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>while Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers are still abundant.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOo-GeTpEH-tqemNNKtlOdDey2JmcPFJGWEUYBx6icvKIJVM6DUOqnwH7jiyDlEiN20j8ZjQ8yK1Kp-E0dI7uxtQc43jzPrwyjusQo0dTIRV1avsremDxiRDTJfdcWBeAC_UnsJfE4_eth1AK57WpE1mRYGcTzsb7pbnkWPsaZYJET-632yKPJUHEpx5zE/s800/P1330154.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOo-GeTpEH-tqemNNKtlOdDey2JmcPFJGWEUYBx6icvKIJVM6DUOqnwH7jiyDlEiN20j8ZjQ8yK1Kp-E0dI7uxtQc43jzPrwyjusQo0dTIRV1avsremDxiRDTJfdcWBeAC_UnsJfE4_eth1AK57WpE1mRYGcTzsb7pbnkWPsaZYJET-632yKPJUHEpx5zE/s320/P1330154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0f7vRUBxiMHRh4y9-4bJA77pDmUTqZcthEGDm5Y3ny-7DRWnQxdCUiqJ1xMxvTJnni-RlIXIiq5Ve-TNqGxKfubuCiXpwFUoNbMMKN8bBZ7K6YcUA3F8rjx25bIe0x0uIAd87-LZwOV2qTJ62R8QoRoISQitJ6ux48bzt2ceyODySL0u5QoaWtIaiHe_T/s800/P1330176.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="800" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0f7vRUBxiMHRh4y9-4bJA77pDmUTqZcthEGDm5Y3ny-7DRWnQxdCUiqJ1xMxvTJnni-RlIXIiq5Ve-TNqGxKfubuCiXpwFUoNbMMKN8bBZ7K6YcUA3F8rjx25bIe0x0uIAd87-LZwOV2qTJ62R8QoRoISQitJ6ux48bzt2ceyODySL0u5QoaWtIaiHe_T/s320/P1330176.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>The distinctive yellow and black caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth, overlooked by a ladybird that might have consumed them, promised much, but not yet seen the results. </span><p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWMrP5uTCHRaqzFlJLOL0uHFpPoC5tyK3NOpJ5PIQw3ASBn3gaEwXvMpllvlch6TzWz_Y_YerfhKdC5mrIGb-UN1gr3wJ2i4jojmJATTD4nXaBBdlbvdY_XVn0m4dMxME0EVhNJfVSrVNP7OXCchBuh11qUAadXmPT_S1VnavUiuKalT5HOKbilOYXM6P/s800/P1330129.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWMrP5uTCHRaqzFlJLOL0uHFpPoC5tyK3NOpJ5PIQw3ASBn3gaEwXvMpllvlch6TzWz_Y_YerfhKdC5mrIGb-UN1gr3wJ2i4jojmJATTD4nXaBBdlbvdY_XVn0m4dMxME0EVhNJfVSrVNP7OXCchBuh11qUAadXmPT_S1VnavUiuKalT5HOKbilOYXM6P/s320/P1330129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />One thing Barkham tells one is about the different rates of progress from egg to caterpillar, pupa (or not) and butterfly. Looking forward to learning so much more. <br /><p></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-42909886607039277782023-07-02T20:02:00.004+01:002023-07-03T08:12:57.020+01:00Ten days of great Zoom visitors<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkrnd7xpPeMbUpfsdiOBfG57s8oaqbbkpgCS7m0d1lzvFgyq8EymtMEYRXfGg2i1hcQM2tSXe0_--FoN7dpCE0gsfIAihXWrK9lbFOnBYPym9Ue_hBcNZolIy_1QPR1frZ3ZMDGCPeU_ImPOXUUpxdPXOX6DG8pCeisEvJCpY9xZxTXcDinx9fV8GlsKw/s1536/Zoom%20Golda%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="1536" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkrnd7xpPeMbUpfsdiOBfG57s8oaqbbkpgCS7m0d1lzvFgyq8EymtMEYRXfGg2i1hcQM2tSXe0_--FoN7dpCE0gsfIAihXWrK9lbFOnBYPym9Ue_hBcNZolIy_1QPR1frZ3ZMDGCPeU_ImPOXUUpxdPXOX6DG8pCeisEvJCpY9xZxTXcDinx9fV8GlsKw/s320/Zoom%20Golda%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I rely upon the kindness of great performers for adrenalin highs in my Zoom classes, and a recent run has, though I say it myself, been spectacular on both the Opera in Depth and Mahler 1 courses - I might as well drop the names right now: Anna Larsson, Golda Schultz, Robin Ticciati and Mark Wigglesworth. You may need to click to enlarge a lot of these screenshots, and I've tried to reduce them to a cross-section rather than the full crowd, but above, bottom right, is glorious Golda, part of a very special duo of visits. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_sxdXdLhEZEknl7qs8J4ACYV8qQ8ABQ5YOt6m7A9V6K4Y7XpE_akl7lInSTzPrsbxTHPAOlfgW1EA7fO-w9zaSSoxHKi1pjaxQyLOjAA3fJHVR5i3zPA8B46VN93E0nS28QpVsGmR8nTw8b-krnlhjSVFm2qy-zWO3wopGCtguDyRzgPNfo8YLv0WVSE/s1913/Zoom%20Robin%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1913" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_sxdXdLhEZEknl7qs8J4ACYV8qQ8ABQ5YOt6m7A9V6K4Y7XpE_akl7lInSTzPrsbxTHPAOlfgW1EA7fO-w9zaSSoxHKi1pjaxQyLOjAA3fJHVR5i3zPA8B46VN93E0nS28QpVsGmR8nTw8b-krnlhjSVFm2qy-zWO3wopGCtguDyRzgPNfo8YLv0WVSE/s320/Zoom%20Robin%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Robin Ticciati decided he'd like to see us between final rehearsal and first night of the sensational (opera production of the year?) <i><span>Dialogues des Carmélites</span></i> at Glyndebourne, and for it was better since I wouldn't be prone to gushing about the first night, so overwhelming that I took the liberty of snapping a full company bow, Ticciati and director Barrie Kosky included.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfivso5sGGVoByV-VQsUBHgiT-M__fNZNr1FLQgUEMz7zlBmP9wu7ssh3K8y98V8r7RgrAZH9k5D9G1tJ_HKNN78wq2_j80E3osnDNqJO8HmetnLBnVQsLJZIW96iquszjt5iGXxjspQkUodW8Mt1TnNRQDP13oYgPNRarMU7v-QE4i6sEU3CGYW-vOr8/s4522/P1310652.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2687" data-original-width="4522" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfivso5sGGVoByV-VQsUBHgiT-M__fNZNr1FLQgUEMz7zlBmP9wu7ssh3K8y98V8r7RgrAZH9k5D9G1tJ_HKNN78wq2_j80E3osnDNqJO8HmetnLBnVQsLJZIW96iquszjt5iGXxjspQkUodW8Mt1TnNRQDP13oYgPNRarMU7v-QE4i6sEU3CGYW-vOr8/s320/P1310652.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I reviewed that <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/ariadne-auf-naxos-garsington-opera-review-golden-thread-leads-deep-emotion">here on theartsdesk</a>; you might conversely say I'd drunk the Ticciati kool-aid, but what I think of as the professional relationships I have with the great and good are based on total respect in the first place. Of course I'm at liberty to say if there was a style mismatch, or I didn't think the work was quite as great as the performer did - <i>The Wreckers</i>, prepared at the very highest level, was a case in point. But we know how Poulenc's masterpiece - one of the greatest in all opera - never fails, even if I wasn't prepared for the cruelty and devastation of Kosky's vision. </p><p>After a very excited RT phoning on Thursday to say he was ready to talk, Friday's visitor was very reflective - clearly tired, but so friendly with everyone, and so eloquent as ever. He talked, among other things, of the joy and necessity of being there at the start of rehearsals, how inspiring Kosky was in his first speech to the company, the special nature of silences (something that had struck me when I first met him, <a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2009/10/red-and-ellie-go-to-glyndebourne.html">sharing a panel at the end of a study day on <span><i>Jenůfa</i></span></a>, which he conducted on the Glyndebourne tour) and finally - very movingly - the nature of home. Which is now, for him and his wife, very much Sussex. Over six years in Berlin, he loved the experience of living in the city but never felt entirely at ease with the level on which he could converse in German. And the Glyndebourne experience is, at its best, the most enriching you can have in the operatic world.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07TeKfLdpQS1fIAzE3Z6yuMAbRQOIJ_N3zdKPlzNetkQzKv7pa0PCEkqS6kZ1AKWog6Or3_xmA3njEGly3Q3JDJIRgVwp5J3L2INbp5UEF48untyH2mLQ5z5jwd6lbC6bChY_xKh17hjHotanGYzk9DW3gMRSdJX8vTRHrmeRRWaUBdL639CeLg7ux_j9/s1920/Zoom%20Golda%205%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="1920" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07TeKfLdpQS1fIAzE3Z6yuMAbRQOIJ_N3zdKPlzNetkQzKv7pa0PCEkqS6kZ1AKWog6Or3_xmA3njEGly3Q3JDJIRgVwp5J3L2INbp5UEF48untyH2mLQ5z5jwd6lbC6bChY_xKh17hjHotanGYzk9DW3gMRSdJX8vTRHrmeRRWaUBdL639CeLg7ux_j9/s320/Zoom%20Golda%205%20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Golda, whose presence was due to another positive spirit who's just joined my course, Julia Noakes, was bright and bouncy on the Monday afternoon. She'd had the day after the first night to come to herself, and the parallels with the down-to-earth, forthright, empathetic and incorruptible Madame Lidoine, the second Prioress, whose arrival brings a breath of air in to the claustrophobic world so emphasised in Kosky's production, are striking. Golda thought of becoming a nun at 17, but her priest-advisor suggested her gifts might be used on other ways. And so they are. A marvellous human being in every way. I'm going to segue to my next guest via two production shots, cropping to emphasise the connections (credits: Glyndebourne image, Richard Hubert Smithl Garsington image, Julien Guidera, I think - I got sent three different sets of photos). It's amazing how strong an image is a reassuring hand laid on another, and Schultz's Lidoine does that in Kosky's production, more than once.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1Yn6vZ4C095JraDLjuLp18gw3iubn6iiCya3ygI1Ar9Ofhjnf5SFR_VY_CkYuV1z2uAt5cuyFFhsp2h7FHMNh7_8NJKV_Z0HuGBZU-T5QxGRE-JrOncQDYsYz_DMRidmAa6KG5GplE8IbCaUxcJbefNDGmWrEnsJBfisK6FhWjElIRPexU5LikX_-wb1/s1003/HUCCNscc.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1003" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1Yn6vZ4C095JraDLjuLp18gw3iubn6iiCya3ygI1Ar9Ofhjnf5SFR_VY_CkYuV1z2uAt5cuyFFhsp2h7FHMNh7_8NJKV_Z0HuGBZU-T5QxGRE-JrOncQDYsYz_DMRidmAa6KG5GplE8IbCaUxcJbefNDGmWrEnsJBfisK6FhWjElIRPexU5LikX_-wb1/s320/HUCCNscc.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's also a very moving moment in Bruno Ravella's <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/ariadne-auf-naxos-garsington-opera-review-golden-thread-leads-deep-emotion">Garsington production of Strauss's <i>Ariadne auf Naxos</i> </a>when Young Woo Kim's Bacchus places his right hand on top of the left hand of Natalya Romaniw's Ariadne.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZliKfX-j3Suxx6QoNja3cun-Xl7tq4mjAxeHi2a85t1zMT1uWMBQDGwRn5QLNmDAbnswLyif4qqvK6TiS_Z5P5CRJtB2Gb34HZvTt4ALj3Y6kEXIJltGpRskXbntZSnQfzIMilYMs9h9lwMwnmnVmEVdndTbuD6xLOMAuxfPbE_7OYVPHqS-GgSYOU4Jn/s547/Ariadne%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="547" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZliKfX-j3Suxx6QoNja3cun-Xl7tq4mjAxeHi2a85t1zMT1uWMBQDGwRn5QLNmDAbnswLyif4qqvK6TiS_Z5P5CRJtB2Gb34HZvTt4ALj3Y6kEXIJltGpRskXbntZSnQfzIMilYMs9h9lwMwnmnVmEVdndTbuD6xLOMAuxfPbE_7OYVPHqS-GgSYOU4Jn/s320/Ariadne%207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'd never been more moved by this scene. and never heard a Bacchus as good live. The South Korean tenor is adored by his colleagues, another blithe spirit, as I think one can tell from his performance on stage. In my review for theartsdesk, I suggested that though <i>Carmelites</i> and <i>Ariadne</i> are very different operas, the respective Glyndebourne and Garsington achievements are on the same extraordinary level - thoughtful production, perfect cast, and radical but perfect conducting: in this case from my long-term generous visitor to the classes Mark Wigglesworth. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBECg6S32PaxVg2KN8UVysoSayT3F0ctE_zanpc-4aDRw6B3VWhLPAs_cRQq7qlY_7bJ5m0ESUBRcJEW9gk3FrgW-0tpY86Eh2HK2I92zRDdboyzjD418XLQ5L-X5XydlmUWAJ_lgNzJB_G7M0T1zZSfT13HVHNBqoMb8Q1w_YuspF_7b1NOn_81Jt6iB/s1438/Zoom%20Mark%20W%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="1438" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBECg6S32PaxVg2KN8UVysoSayT3F0ctE_zanpc-4aDRw6B3VWhLPAs_cRQq7qlY_7bJ5m0ESUBRcJEW9gk3FrgW-0tpY86Eh2HK2I92zRDdboyzjD418XLQ5L-X5XydlmUWAJ_lgNzJB_G7M0T1zZSfT13HVHNBqoMb8Q1w_YuspF_7b1NOn_81Jt6iB/s320/Zoom%20Mark%20W%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I enlisted MW's help in my Mahler 1 course, covering Symphonies 1-5, <i>Das klagende Lied</i> and the earlier songs (the second term, starting in late September, will deal with 6-9, <i>Kindertotenlieder</i> and <i>Das Lied von der Erde</i>). He's conducting the BBC Philharmonic in the First Symphony at the Proms on 18 July, but was heavily involved in <i>Ariadne</i> rehearsals when we covered that. So just before the last of the 10 classes, on movements 3-5 of the Fifth, he visited for a more general discussion, but again with fascinating chapter and verse (I must summarise at some point, but need to watch again).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qU8mpwcWy4tk4Ofxewjm7ZSZpZRIt-1r3cnVEMVzn-z0_be2Bxqs1lf1cu41ztadwenF_JLo--mYrvKv_iF8AJXWOPw49b4xn3Oj5Jl81nM477YafUE9ULujlqKsBPTto4kFBa3O4fPAW31wAdZcFXs_ygaHmuVaCZ2KW1PmT37TVe9bsYMbSAa28kA8/s1444/Zoom%20Anna%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1444" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qU8mpwcWy4tk4Ofxewjm7ZSZpZRIt-1r3cnVEMVzn-z0_be2Bxqs1lf1cu41ztadwenF_JLo--mYrvKv_iF8AJXWOPw49b4xn3Oj5Jl81nM477YafUE9ULujlqKsBPTto4kFBa3O4fPAW31wAdZcFXs_ygaHmuVaCZ2KW1PmT37TVe9bsYMbSAa28kA8/s320/Zoom%20Anna%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>First of the visitors, and absolutely not least, was the great Anna Larsson. I used a mixture of DVDs for complete movements, and when it came to the Second and Third Symphonies, it had to be Abbado in Lucerne; AL is his mezzo/contralto soloist in both, on stage from the beginning and engaging directly with the audience <i>sans</i> score. and she confirmed that these performances were beyond any others. </p><p>I'm glad my New York student Alan compared her with Christa Ludwig and asked if they'd met, because we had a fascinating chronicle of how Abbado, having first heard Larsson in audition, told Ludwig she must hear her. Intense sessions followed. Here's another performer with feet firmly on the ground, colleagial and warm (we'd become friendly when I visited the <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/theartsdesk-dalarna-rhinegold-swedish-barn-lake">musically excellent <i>Rheingold</i> </a>she facilitated in the barn of the family farm in Dalarna, in which she sang both Fricka and Erda). But then I think it's true of (nearly) all artists who are truly at the top of their profession: they are secure in what they do, and generosity flows from that. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPp37G2NWfqGE4lW3ZcnpJjay61Z5abvd-frBONO95hwRYwRHX4mdc5bAdnThUH1U9iBXUfb-N6nD_KkXKBY6wZKWqdEcqMC9FrBVKyeAZGIuZarq-rLnZ_gzSzT7YPFGRLfwTrwc_5eoSYLGQbyCo8QKpdzZBuGSH1JaskbVDjgzdq2sDSXwQcVIqXLui/s909/Zoom%20Arnings%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="909" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPp37G2NWfqGE4lW3ZcnpJjay61Z5abvd-frBONO95hwRYwRHX4mdc5bAdnThUH1U9iBXUfb-N6nD_KkXKBY6wZKWqdEcqMC9FrBVKyeAZGIuZarq-rLnZ_gzSzT7YPFGRLfwTrwc_5eoSYLGQbyCo8QKpdzZBuGSH1JaskbVDjgzdq2sDSXwQcVIqXLui/s320/Zoom%20Arnings%20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Finally, a sadness. Sondra Arning's son gave his mother the present of joining these classes. She has been a vibrant contributor, with so much to say about all the music she experienced and - as a singer - participated in while living in New York. Soon her husband Patrick also joined up; they both attended both courses this term, sometimes on separate screens, sometimes together (as pictured above). Having made some pithy observations as usual, Patrick had to leave the last Mahler class early to go to see his doctor. On the Friday he felt il in an interval at the Wigmore Hall, where they were regular visitors. He died of a massive heart attack on the Saturday. A huge shock to everyone, above all to Sondra - they had been married for 51 years - but in one way, since he'd reached a great age, a blessing, as there was a lot wrong with him and cancer had just been detected. </p><p>Patrick will be with us in spirit when we embark on the summer course, Wagner's <i>Parsifal</i>, in association with the Wagner Society of Scotland (it's a while back that I began an adventure which began with the first two Ring operas up in the Trossachs, the last two online, followed by Tristan and Meistersinger). More on that, and the season proper, anon.</p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-35782587017454911612023-05-27T10:58:00.004+01:002023-05-28T12:06:18.470+01:00Gannet aeronautics off Dalkey Island<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL28osjTOFMkm-Sj0isV5SQJF-WmGn6G6Xb7-HTMBTnXGByvLNYIWgfv4pjfWm8yh1kA1nt9pt4L9vM88WpBUq20AgqGpNKw-Ru6Yj3o0cUhYQ906hCt02U7uzPk4YC7j14MHx6qRDxMWCWYEHlj7ZET6dZYfFln2PMP2zs54Xk9GFb1JibX_Ev6b3Xg/s800/P1300434-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="800" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL28osjTOFMkm-Sj0isV5SQJF-WmGn6G6Xb7-HTMBTnXGByvLNYIWgfv4pjfWm8yh1kA1nt9pt4L9vM88WpBUq20AgqGpNKw-Ru6Yj3o0cUhYQ906hCt02U7uzPk4YC7j14MHx6qRDxMWCWYEHlj7ZET6dZYfFln2PMP2zs54Xk9GFb1JibX_Ev6b3Xg/s320/P1300434-001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Took my first sea dip of the year with one of my New Best Friends in Dublin, Catherine Bunyan, around 'the Forty Foot' at Sandycove, as immortalised (along with the Martello Tower there) by Joyce in the first chapter of <i>Ulysses. </i>I say 'around' because the spot itself, though amazingly quiet, proved too savage for immersion at high tide; prior to donning the socks and gloves I've just received to make staying in cold water for longer possible, cold water swims are time-limited to a few minutes. Catherine was well attired - she's to be seen at a respecful distance here.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBBqyQrH8RunkfsX6hWminr5CRKImWXOOQOVAktR1YskE3BXA7tUlJx3f49hNIKnPrRMROCnvKdFpbALSoBZEFNFvnOfoNXwoVVZOX2K4TL2QZRzQOxD_t2FFb-OBsyiazd2Ph5_q3LHZaNqFKFWEtZUSat0H2826yyLNNfRgwXx1UUl_eHEibNY1OQ/s800/P1300362.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="800" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBBqyQrH8RunkfsX6hWminr5CRKImWXOOQOVAktR1YskE3BXA7tUlJx3f49hNIKnPrRMROCnvKdFpbALSoBZEFNFvnOfoNXwoVVZOX2K4TL2QZRzQOxD_t2FFb-OBsyiazd2Ph5_q3LHZaNqFKFWEtZUSat0H2826yyLNNfRgwXx1UUl_eHEibNY1OQ/s320/P1300362.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I chose to go round the promontory to the sandy cove opposite Dun Laoghaire, and that was good; it's coming up for a year since I first swam here on <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2022/08/">Bloomsday morning </a>with Swedish friend Sophie and Latvians Artis and Kristaps. There's no record of my immersion this time, but Catherine snapped me betowelled and happy afterwards.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJ2yAQiW5-z7dBXp6FFUizjjLSdlBLN4wyk3fIh9-O0UaduuOJS5CDir-pkvOioksjnOHu8Hqt2cVnVB69tBcitqLXpPt10k60__JeJGW99dwSCyt_3AvtmsKWMAJWH_toQY6iELE5PWcVZgAjZW17eM4KoV2RKC9ms82P1EGaLx-vvMRHVg-NYgVPQ/s800/P1300367.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="800" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJ2yAQiW5-z7dBXp6FFUizjjLSdlBLN4wyk3fIh9-O0UaduuOJS5CDir-pkvOioksjnOHu8Hqt2cVnVB69tBcitqLXpPt10k60__JeJGW99dwSCyt_3AvtmsKWMAJWH_toQY6iELE5PWcVZgAjZW17eM4KoV2RKC9ms82P1EGaLx-vvMRHVg-NYgVPQ/s320/P1300367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>She had to get back to the centre of town after this, but I walked on round to Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey, where I saw more folk swimming and noted that this would be an excellent spot too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAjxQXUYzfB6azBGDx46i8nQ7zy_xJTHK0TwFAlTL_tH5ChPeAry96MsVfkem7k0g6gEzsFxkJ0I1Cu1RE7ZWgbRjlKK6S7zhQwF_IVo1XaoRPQ8Gb2iUP2yweKgEeiiMgUF5LfCDLvRg4uWo4ySuYrqt6yy4tqyDofipDRX99SF1PNQFYfVhlOidkQ/s800/P1300392.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAjxQXUYzfB6azBGDx46i8nQ7zy_xJTHK0TwFAlTL_tH5ChPeAry96MsVfkem7k0g6gEzsFxkJ0I1Cu1RE7ZWgbRjlKK6S7zhQwF_IVo1XaoRPQ8Gb2iUP2yweKgEeiiMgUF5LfCDLvRg4uWo4ySuYrqt6yy4tqyDofipDRX99SF1PNQFYfVhlOidkQ/s320/P1300392.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>This is possibly the first location going south from the city centre along Dublin bay where the views out are truly wild (North Bull Island is closer), though of course with signs of human occupation which only add to the picturesqueness.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3QHOui3CRwj6gpQ7CibvkB-obwjXfDHn0OilHY79ur1m7u543aQ_0Fia8gp7w0PuHfGp-uKWoNhAeiUohKpYxQ88pV5XmmAnFdDBwjIOeUTMgygAyOWlrWvYGNGm0JxO2rQR5QMV_LutLFxLo0oViHyICYJlhuiLpcY2DvwTuoLRx0AtEGjVOsWc7A/s800/P1300398.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="800" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3QHOui3CRwj6gpQ7CibvkB-obwjXfDHn0OilHY79ur1m7u543aQ_0Fia8gp7w0PuHfGp-uKWoNhAeiUohKpYxQ88pV5XmmAnFdDBwjIOeUTMgygAyOWlrWvYGNGm0JxO2rQR5QMV_LutLFxLo0oViHyICYJlhuiLpcY2DvwTuoLRx0AtEGjVOsWc7A/s320/P1300398.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>There are colonies of terns and other rarer seabirds out there, as former nature warden Richard Nairn's <i>Wild Shores </i>tells me (annoyingly I've had to leave it in the Dublin flat as part of the Irish library so can't access it now). But I had a good view of a natural phenomenon: first one gannet, then two, performing a ritual repeated at least a dozen times. I'll start with the gannet in the water.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZI74vhieieNLLzHRX2nHJBCkxLLuT0IWpBprSbei3KjhrmQoXLEf2LNwBIlwcddFfHZcdw7k1VojN0CXYOUOycD3CBrKmwtXzkPMJx5xNP0QmMPVrxUnpHNZ-xLkaeU0T4GHtJf6PsNKgbMmGW23Caz45K7sLAYEQmzr0TdtRKtbcVcha52aWA5xQg/s800/P1300416.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="800" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZI74vhieieNLLzHRX2nHJBCkxLLuT0IWpBprSbei3KjhrmQoXLEf2LNwBIlwcddFfHZcdw7k1VojN0CXYOUOycD3CBrKmwtXzkPMJx5xNP0QmMPVrxUnpHNZ-xLkaeU0T4GHtJf6PsNKgbMmGW23Caz45K7sLAYEQmzr0TdtRKtbcVcha52aWA5xQg/s320/P1300416.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then we have take-off,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CxHlB5WXEDfDcsiY-DTICuLseuT-_cusMfGmwWEdYJNTe4yiRpJieXmULu7iILSpb0nRscYj7fyYasLFFd3TCdfjvQRfysZNaOhKhUBIIuwasWNkBPIa59GIeW4X2glhz4mQ-VGjBXPNh0zHQZtC8rU64eVn19iANUIDmggcBG56Qc2i5lUelz5pkg/s800/P1300417.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="800" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CxHlB5WXEDfDcsiY-DTICuLseuT-_cusMfGmwWEdYJNTe4yiRpJieXmULu7iILSpb0nRscYj7fyYasLFFd3TCdfjvQRfysZNaOhKhUBIIuwasWNkBPIa59GIeW4X2glhz4mQ-VGjBXPNh0zHQZtC8rU64eVn19iANUIDmggcBG56Qc2i5lUelz5pkg/s320/P1300417.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>a circling and a soaring between island and harbour, a dipping<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2vLUj3_wVYjnKp3vPh7XRuHsmqQzLoZmnJ1C3ucg0Ecq6Dkx4OI2pJCfBlqub0lGG8wVnQTgwAPccmtfwFeoq-nK-MjQc5WZdyE0cF_33EMF0l4U6aFQLjWGRBjPd6FilZGYBO52Mldk_C56a75obPhrXpc_hYPIWDcEGqqj6gsIX2i_1ATZ3S9BWg/s1356/P1300424.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1356" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2vLUj3_wVYjnKp3vPh7XRuHsmqQzLoZmnJ1C3ucg0Ecq6Dkx4OI2pJCfBlqub0lGG8wVnQTgwAPccmtfwFeoq-nK-MjQc5WZdyE0cF_33EMF0l4U6aFQLjWGRBjPd6FilZGYBO52Mldk_C56a75obPhrXpc_hYPIWDcEGqqj6gsIX2i_1ATZ3S9BWg/s320/P1300424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>then a soar to close above my head</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHUbi2ev96xOSqw_umALDmmZ7W6G0Gsmd_sVExYe0QdEp83FNOa4Ql3ouA6qN8OPzZXTulGXdCJFk9BzYU8_zsAMYSmjLbs4RzAtA0kfDjlcbd6vhcF9OlNHxlHrfgQwj28Ch4p2JnIf31dlH5QY8KQSpkbuqxlfadjE9rdm6KZBofAPeeVo0FL2KXQ/s800/P1300431.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHUbi2ev96xOSqw_umALDmmZ7W6G0Gsmd_sVExYe0QdEp83FNOa4Ql3ouA6qN8OPzZXTulGXdCJFk9BzYU8_zsAMYSmjLbs4RzAtA0kfDjlcbd6vhcF9OlNHxlHrfgQwj28Ch4p2JnIf31dlH5QY8KQSpkbuqxlfadjE9rdm6KZBofAPeeVo0FL2KXQ/s320/P1300431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>another descent</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjY-Ny8qH8PQlibf_OEJR8X0CsWfNWG2nnCnXRnpYebhqepuDfoo-mBmjRl1BDSc-vND82Tdlhlctd0UYrY67mixos6KApjB8nOM-WLtzJTWn_hBwfdqkkQvW3dDSc13YYukGTSN_XHsBcHA5xkL3uDtUfFp5c1xCODWXw9pd58iQAjSGyn1KdQH15w/s1356/P1300424.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1356" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjY-Ny8qH8PQlibf_OEJR8X0CsWfNWG2nnCnXRnpYebhqepuDfoo-mBmjRl1BDSc-vND82Tdlhlctd0UYrY67mixos6KApjB8nOM-WLtzJTWn_hBwfdqkkQvW3dDSc13YYukGTSN_XHsBcHA5xkL3uDtUfFp5c1xCODWXw9pd58iQAjSGyn1KdQH15w/s320/P1300424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and a plunge to get a fish</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfRGvzFXijr_32cew2G-1qGabMSM3osc99sodFfcE1l7R5bSIEyr30pKnOOYK9A7wBh4UE8ftA4n9OdefF8RcggVn2AYT0IfqWY1utjShqLaDt_cNwKxsVVeTCQJChuPJZystxHBV4Aul0vySU9LIZvCmxHeY-Ic59iF3ufLq9VI2ohQ7eVoeyDOBZw/s558/P1300428.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="558" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfRGvzFXijr_32cew2G-1qGabMSM3osc99sodFfcE1l7R5bSIEyr30pKnOOYK9A7wBh4UE8ftA4n9OdefF8RcggVn2AYT0IfqWY1utjShqLaDt_cNwKxsVVeTCQJChuPJZystxHBV4Aul0vySU9LIZvCmxHeY-Ic59iF3ufLq9VI2ohQ7eVoeyDOBZw/s320/P1300428.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1N0jpdlheNDh5WibxiG04aoSmEdt4PM2HzcZEP67vGLKFnip12XZ6Qpr-t2CjU6D5EKf6NLJcHNcyg3DEA8oubRlufifvQXbO193Tjt82a2mPZWkg6Tmnt6lWRCpkFOEqw3rfPgaaUQGzozohOS9B7mbRW45hlLSG0YNh5pXwQVUCDe4XbCEfXQDz4Q/s800/P1300427.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="800" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1N0jpdlheNDh5WibxiG04aoSmEdt4PM2HzcZEP67vGLKFnip12XZ6Qpr-t2CjU6D5EKf6NLJcHNcyg3DEA8oubRlufifvQXbO193Tjt82a2mPZWkg6Tmnt6lWRCpkFOEqw3rfPgaaUQGzozohOS9B7mbRW45hlLSG0YNh5pXwQVUCDe4XbCEfXQDz4Q/s320/P1300427.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The second gannet did its dive at one end of the island (see top pic, and this detail).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdKUuxDXdgTNF0x4EltbEOc6E4J6HlyCzXsR4N9ToDvSrBxuxPhsoZGdy3-NZgagNaLRS-8_SKnTgIPx2G5ZF3eOWDr__PjX03J_yheFLEufHQqLK5OFtRWYoxWsQPomCvVWRz4NE51QsgmMy9KX1vYZ8bLX5q5b4s8PtNXXDK7udWRZNl4-uNKwmxw/s487/P1300434.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="487" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdKUuxDXdgTNF0x4EltbEOc6E4J6HlyCzXsR4N9ToDvSrBxuxPhsoZGdy3-NZgagNaLRS-8_SKnTgIPx2G5ZF3eOWDr__PjX03J_yheFLEufHQqLK5OFtRWYoxWsQPomCvVWRz4NE51QsgmMy9KX1vYZ8bLX5q5b4s8PtNXXDK7udWRZNl4-uNKwmxw/s320/P1300434.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>So that was a happy afternoon. I look forward to many more when I return - this time with the gloves and socks.</p><p>Addendum (28/5) - cycling up and down the river in London is 'not too shabby', either, as the Irish like to say. It seems timely to add two shots from yesterday evening, heading back from Richmond Park after a glorious afternoon: five swans a-swimming</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxWIuSmzTKwZdtTWfS-EthFpexnmdAy-SPRIjFpzwIHm9KdeVRBTHSKEzVn4J1c0CUM-02TbDHe17CeYGgSiuTnJeXYkrF7l_rqjynVhCN-gkOKDsYTh70Nz-NDOEMs5oNoj-B2QxRmT3FZYKnvMh6mslJQjxeDwyRfywZUBNku0mGHwVKImZfQkoKw/s800/P1310274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxWIuSmzTKwZdtTWfS-EthFpexnmdAy-SPRIjFpzwIHm9KdeVRBTHSKEzVn4J1c0CUM-02TbDHe17CeYGgSiuTnJeXYkrF7l_rqjynVhCN-gkOKDsYTh70Nz-NDOEMs5oNoj-B2QxRmT3FZYKnvMh6mslJQjxeDwyRfywZUBNku0mGHwVKImZfQkoKw/s320/P1310274.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />and then suddenly taking off, a beautiful sight.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTLF6c3LZzlfCcK_GAFtPJ2fOIn8LoIgzObczzEHAElYbzJooeGNBCooXRtPJjbZ7iuELWVezi1okXJnCeE3PZ4GIT_o7se5AXotx4qEKsVxPatUyVybKyUktRvnrpVUnF7O0yQmVlPvrpo67ZyeSF3ivD-isPk4ZBJ1cLAxcpxlDnIHn5LskA2MX1A/s800/P1310276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTLF6c3LZzlfCcK_GAFtPJ2fOIn8LoIgzObczzEHAElYbzJooeGNBCooXRtPJjbZ7iuELWVezi1okXJnCeE3PZ4GIT_o7se5AXotx4qEKsVxPatUyVybKyUktRvnrpVUnF7O0yQmVlPvrpo67ZyeSF3ivD-isPk4ZBJ1cLAxcpxlDnIHn5LskA2MX1A/s320/P1310276.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-37271894527156687082023-04-19T11:23:00.002+01:002023-04-19T11:24:38.226+01:00Zoom courses: from Nielsen to Mahler<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgugwjk8UthGjINtUdQ4b6AnPzHEjQnvPdjLc6pxq4r4b_eNDlrUPQch1bE0OIpZ8XVwuGi9VqItD5Imc9Y_rFwEZtFiM04GXHswc2edBhMjieJlomHF1vm9ig4n8chGspZmkZyyQ22m0I05RegNPvWPnSA3H0JMO3dPoUCZT1Cl9u2BkjTddiLv2DZQ/s406/NandM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="406" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgugwjk8UthGjINtUdQ4b6AnPzHEjQnvPdjLc6pxq4r4b_eNDlrUPQch1bE0OIpZ8XVwuGi9VqItD5Imc9Y_rFwEZtFiM04GXHswc2edBhMjieJlomHF1vm9ig4n8chGspZmkZyyQ22m0I05RegNPvWPnSA3H0JMO3dPoUCZT1Cl9u2BkjTddiLv2DZQ/s320/NandM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>After four Zoom terms on Russian music, one apiece on Czech and Hungarian, then homing in on great symphonists Sibelius, <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2022/12/zoom-courses-from-vaughan-williams-to.html">Vaughan Williams and Nielsen</a>, it's time for the Big One: Mahler, starting this summer (tomorrow - Thursday 20, to be precise) with the first half, Symphonies 1-5, <i>Das klagende Lied</i> and the songs, then continuing in September with 6-10 and <i>Das Lied von der Erde.</i></p><p>Not that Nielsen has any less status in my eyes, now that I've spent 10 weeks with the great but modest Dane. His essential robustness kept me buoyant, along with the sheer joy and richesse of Strauss's <i>Der Rosenkavalier, </i>through those <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/02/wings-and-weather-around-visits-to-beast.html">not-too-awful five weeks of radio- and chemotherapy</a>. </p><p>As well as<i> </i>getting to know underrated piano masterpieces like the Chaconne and <i>Theme with Variations</i>, my admiration for Nielsen's consistently original but ever more extraordinary symphonic journey has gone through the roof. The second movement of the Fifth, unquestionably one of the 20th century's greatest symphonies, has long been my favourite finale, infinitely rich, but the continuation of the journey in the opening movement of the Sixth, so misleadingly (jokily?) named <i>Sinfonia Semplice</i>, takes us one<i> </i>step further. Passages from it were running through my head for weeks. Lucky that we have this superb performance from Paavo Järvi with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra on YouTube.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SRLT5vq1weM" width="320" youtube-src-id="SRLT5vq1weM"></iframe></div><i> </i><p></p><p>It seems beyond doubt, to me at least, that Nielsen's recent heart attack fed into the weirdnesses and frenzies here, no less than Mahler's arrythmia informs the peaks and troughs in the first movement of his Ninth Symphony. But I love equally the way Nielsen takes apart the machinery in the rest of the Sixth, making sure never to lose sight of the first movement's essence. </p><p>So there will be plenty to connect Nielsen and Mahler, even if the timeframes of their works are different. I must say that, still in the thick of Nielsenmania, I found it hard to adjust to the scale of <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/mahler%E2%80%99s-third-symphony-philharmonia-paavo-j%C3%A4rvi-rfh-review-phosphorescent-glow">Mahler's Third live at the Festival Hall with the Philharmonia</a> - another Paavo performance, which might have been even more revelatory with one of his regular orchestras. But enough time has elapsed to return to Mahler's own very specific world - even though I'm lucky enough to be returning to Denmark, following the amazing time I had celebrating<a href="https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/theartsdesk-denmark-150-years-nielsen"> Nielsen's 150th anniversary,</a> to hear performances of <i>Hymnus Amoris </i>(such an opportunity) and the Second Symphony, as well as to look at the new Carl Nielsen Museum in Odense. </p><p>Here are the full details (click to enlarge) for the coming Mahler term - still time to sign up if you're interested. And you can get the videos if you can't attend on the day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9c7sHCUXpQ7MrDzuxjmcoXnZIO5wHO6vQ-zLcgJtIRCWaY0AQd6WQq2oANQi1D-wj8do-ni5sKVYUsS-mwR71aK25iy2vPp09K5_aUOWnuuPcf9giaRGsrFsARNF1Fx7qgtnGkKNkEcQ0zeRky1-HqiIsojrO3IRydHpmAH-ygh0qveI7lxaAHtNCw/s879/Mahler%201%20Summer%202023%20screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9c7sHCUXpQ7MrDzuxjmcoXnZIO5wHO6vQ-zLcgJtIRCWaY0AQd6WQq2oANQi1D-wj8do-ni5sKVYUsS-mwR71aK25iy2vPp09K5_aUOWnuuPcf9giaRGsrFsARNF1Fx7qgtnGkKNkEcQ0zeRky1-HqiIsojrO3IRydHpmAH-ygh0qveI7lxaAHtNCw/s320/Mahler%201%20Summer%202023%20screenshot.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-23712325748157920972023-04-13T16:25:00.005+01:002023-04-14T09:52:48.509+01:00More Opera in Depth cross-dressing<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zPO61C70a3LdZl00YCZm8zZClmOHlRhwostNZ4CZZ64PUOUf9hjUGJUFXsuYTmlf4y0gtzhyzZdnuSUig-i9bNerfzGmkn2XMuyqaRtlvoNxPLlTy0Xqj5bD3QsSUt1YF2o1M3um55czG0-ZucMGMY7CoaEwsENYEDG_6pB4tq5KTTqem0_6WbN5wQ/s800/FaMD7jbWYAE2Cbf.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zPO61C70a3LdZl00YCZm8zZClmOHlRhwostNZ4CZZ64PUOUf9hjUGJUFXsuYTmlf4y0gtzhyzZdnuSUig-i9bNerfzGmkn2XMuyqaRtlvoNxPLlTy0Xqj5bD3QsSUt1YF2o1M3um55czG0-ZucMGMY7CoaEwsENYEDG_6pB4tq5KTTqem0_6WbN5wQ/s320/FaMD7jbWYAE2Cbf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Hardly surprising if I love the above image by Bill Knight of the sexy-in-any-wear Régis Mengus in Poulenc's <i>Les Mamelles de Tirésias. </i><a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/la-voix-humaineles-mamelles-de-tir%C3%A9sias-glyndebourne-review-phantasmagorical-wonders">Laurent Pelly's Glyndebourne double bill</a> kicks off with the most unusual and powerful staging of <i>La Voix humaine </i>I've seen; little surprise if it was one of my top performances of the year in the<a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/best-2022-opera"> 2022 Arts Desk 'Best of Opera'.</a> So was the English Concert semi-staging of <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/serse-english-concert-st-martin-fields-review-star-turns-five-remarkable-women">Handel's <i>Serse</i> at St Martin-in-the-Fields </a>with five classy women (Emily D'Angelo pictured below by Paul Marc Mitchell, Lucy Crowe, Paula Murrihy, Daniela Mack and Mary Bevan) and vivid playing under Harry Bicket.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmaH7erYSil_IFNopDBueMbY4TBVEgRa53uWtPrM-S7ONwtS2Aft-AqGs0kqbVwEkO6HcQ6Y7aVJAb8ehQzA6xCsmshhfCp4SY7jUhQyNeoq1k6bjQPzFOsTg9a9JY9yyZYj_-dPci9iVw8wNwpK3Y_OXQ4wTjfiNMy2JGVFMceAAHopqtBILjjnJOg/s2500/Emily-dAngelo-as-Serse.-Photo-by-Paul-Marc-Mitchell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1667" data-original-width="2500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmaH7erYSil_IFNopDBueMbY4TBVEgRa53uWtPrM-S7ONwtS2Aft-AqGs0kqbVwEkO6HcQ6Y7aVJAb8ehQzA6xCsmshhfCp4SY7jUhQyNeoq1k6bjQPzFOsTg9a9JY9yyZYj_-dPci9iVw8wNwpK3Y_OXQ4wTjfiNMy2JGVFMceAAHopqtBILjjnJOg/s320/Emily-dAngelo-as-Serse.-Photo-by-Paul-Marc-Mitchell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>So I've chosen these three operas along with Poulenc's masterpiece, <i>Dialogues des</i> <span><i>Carmélites</i></span>, for summer's Opera in Depth classes. Not least because I hope Robin Ticciati, steeped in Poulenc at Glyndebourne over two seasons, will join us along with some of the singers and Bicket from the EC <i>Serse</i>. <a href="https://www.glyndebourne.com/events/dialogues-des-carmelites/">The Glyndebourne </a><span><a href="https://www.glyndebourne.com/events/dialogues-des-carmelites/"><i>Carmélites </i>opens on 10 June</a>.<br /></span></p><p>We certainly did well over the seven<i> Rosenkavalier</i> classes. First came Paula Murrihy, one of the best Octavians in the world today, and conductor Fergus Sheil, giving us quality time after a day's rehearsal ahead of the <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/der-rosenkavalier-irish-national-opera-review-world-class-delight">Irish National Opera spectacular.</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOVtBRr72Fig1yi5v-OpqNnQQ77mEFFTaxASzBeljY5hEFD9BpAUHmH-O72P4sbAHhpacPUwV7rLjQ01cpiKkNIJevNPjMz95ZwnZWx5xTq6H-tlVtO4EVzFPUUXM8yvuTsK5ZiR3SXToqVyOraS9RmQ_p_cA-LDatm3n_0P-pWFF2PPKx4qRm_fQTQ/s478/Rosenkav%20Fergus%20and%20Paula.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="478" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOVtBRr72Fig1yi5v-OpqNnQQ77mEFFTaxASzBeljY5hEFD9BpAUHmH-O72P4sbAHhpacPUwV7rLjQ01cpiKkNIJevNPjMz95ZwnZWx5xTq6H-tlVtO4EVzFPUUXM8yvuTsK5ZiR3SXToqVyOraS9RmQ_p_cA-LDatm3n_0P-pWFF2PPKx4qRm_fQTQ/s320/Rosenkav%20Fergus%20and%20Paula.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Then, in the last class, a Marschallin and Ochs for the ages, Dame Felicity Lott and Sir John Tomlinson, appeared TOGETHER (quite a dream come true; you'll have to click for the bigger picture but I wanted the two to appear as we all saw them - FLott is top left and JT on the right of the second row). </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35qqaSV2sdxWOuvCAN4C94HbnuAJHDuH1mFfG1A7ieGGP5_H19Z-K-wVs3BQLm3gySwvsf30kLOGkNhuDxkRr5CLKFfcNJcohpp3QO5m2BDB6n6v0N0fEnOUqBp0QBxxLAZAkdIl3shDEUKNPNWBBNar7TyHMWtuLpyeaFiNhPOSwCuGUxGE5b9fbMA/s1920/Rosenkav%20Zoom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35qqaSV2sdxWOuvCAN4C94HbnuAJHDuH1mFfG1A7ieGGP5_H19Z-K-wVs3BQLm3gySwvsf30kLOGkNhuDxkRr5CLKFfcNJcohpp3QO5m2BDB6n6v0N0fEnOUqBp0QBxxLAZAkdIl3shDEUKNPNWBBNar7TyHMWtuLpyeaFiNhPOSwCuGUxGE5b9fbMA/s320/Rosenkav%20Zoom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Students have agreed that FLott's characterisation is the most moving and gracefully real of all; it's a shame there's not more of John Tom's Ochs to be seen.<p></p><p></p><p>And in a last-minute bonus, Richard Jones and his inspiring choreographer/movement director Sarah Fahie, whose <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/der-rosenkavalier-glyndebourne">Glyndebourne<i> Rosenkavalier</i> </a>was the most meticulous and inventive movement-wise of just about any opera production I've seen, were able to join us once their stupendous <a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/rhinegold-english-national-opera-review-tacky-edgy-brilliant">ENO </a><i><a href="https://theartsdesk.com/opera/rhinegold-english-national-opera-review-tacky-edgy-brilliant">Rhinegold</a> </i>was up and running, so we got quite a bit on that from them too. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1PoH_iP3cGHnPTH77swptCbaQJTH9k96QZRAK4cM4PzVy-ukBvqv9KXVn6eoHtV904SxQm3hFwWuh0nmTtPOVJOFuCeLbp4txU8pKF9aGSyfJZcM_1f0vDJpr_4hDFzN6jOK0cL8xNtKl5Vtcmc1usnad6s-Tq58uNbVW59pTSKs85rqqMmaDNlyZA/s959/Richard%20and%20Sarah%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="959" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1PoH_iP3cGHnPTH77swptCbaQJTH9k96QZRAK4cM4PzVy-ukBvqv9KXVn6eoHtV904SxQm3hFwWuh0nmTtPOVJOFuCeLbp4txU8pKF9aGSyfJZcM_1f0vDJpr_4hDFzN6jOK0cL8xNtKl5Vtcmc1usnad6s-Tq58uNbVW59pTSKs85rqqMmaDNlyZA/s320/Richard%20and%20Sarah%204.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>What had to be cut out of the chat on Richard's request - that Bertie Carvel will be taking the role of Henry Higgins in his (RJ's) <i>Pygmalion</i> at the Old Vic - can now be revealed as it's official. Shaw's play, fascinatingly, was premiered only two years after <i>Rosenkavalier</i>, in 1913, and (very surprising, this) at the Hofburg Theatre, Vienna, in a German translation. </p><p>Anyway, full details of the new term, which starts on Monday (17 April) below - click to enlarge (do join us, from anywhere in the world - if you can't make the live class I always send a video).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-Ntzvi0fbBreWAiUlN58NhSDy2J2hA5iNuIHfYbZjJv1QuGHn-lozgNtdos9R3-vz4rrfAJ7bra28Z79Sn2A17hUK_norUHfynbjKPvDIsTTP4LpFBz8ICB2B-ppygDCR6IwlKL5Rb9vMgbEyHvXHwq01LZzSOTFmMybfCZffiLvcsgHJ2KQ4VxpyQ/s871/Opera%20in%20Depth%20Summer%202023%20screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-Ntzvi0fbBreWAiUlN58NhSDy2J2hA5iNuIHfYbZjJv1QuGHn-lozgNtdos9R3-vz4rrfAJ7bra28Z79Sn2A17hUK_norUHfynbjKPvDIsTTP4LpFBz8ICB2B-ppygDCR6IwlKL5Rb9vMgbEyHvXHwq01LZzSOTFmMybfCZffiLvcsgHJ2KQ4VxpyQ/s320/Opera%20in%20Depth%20Summer%202023%20screenshot.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><i></i></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-25836538960498062202023-04-01T18:33:00.004+01:002023-08-29T07:35:00.977+01:00St Paddy's western stamping ground<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxOLykhMBrCBJm3L1LR3TzBSXMOVwZUAl8eh5__Yb6SNrtDaDMTlpTpHlxylvJuRxxgTWVcQ81T082IuhPbLrOqYrgY2mKdLuOLIQZka-MCm9QZXFRFn2kW4RpyS6OueoalqSRCZ0pWHjpRnKdjt6CDgm-WtvuvfcUzpnYJw24L6FqZUhKMyuAVOTvA/s1000/P1280645.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxOLykhMBrCBJm3L1LR3TzBSXMOVwZUAl8eh5__Yb6SNrtDaDMTlpTpHlxylvJuRxxgTWVcQ81T082IuhPbLrOqYrgY2mKdLuOLIQZka-MCm9QZXFRFn2kW4RpyS6OueoalqSRCZ0pWHjpRnKdjt6CDgm-WtvuvfcUzpnYJw24L6FqZUhKMyuAVOTvA/s320/P1280645.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I doubt if the saint ever stamped around this part of Ireland's glorious west coast in any sense (the Catholics will be after me), but <span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span><span>Croagh
Patrick (Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning 'Patrick's stack',
nicknamed 'the Reek') in County Mayo, with a peak at 764 metres, makes a fine place of pilgrimage. We didn't make it to the top, making only a fair part of the ascent, since on the glorious Friday of our visit, the mountains were all covered in snow from the previous day's blizzards (seen on the coast-to-coast train journey from Dublin to Westport), a rare occurrence, First glimpses of Croagh Patrick so coated were awe-inspiring, and even more so from Westport Harbour, first stop on friend Justin's chauffering of us about the place.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_CJ8ooQ-rpBh4dQ5K9Wv_W87I-dPAn2yQTOdpr0Ez4MEE9Q7tUcFC10PrnQP2WWBZJHoRT9mFTVF5xTOU9T5ff_Hi5SFcpynWnjMImveP3GwaZ9na-GmiFs6CtZ2ylpEd_Ayr-pYrQq2owKOr_kQ5iB_8YZjhnIqTpnE-kQfOJolV62-uI6Kk780Pw/s800/P1280499.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_CJ8ooQ-rpBh4dQ5K9Wv_W87I-dPAn2yQTOdpr0Ez4MEE9Q7tUcFC10PrnQP2WWBZJHoRT9mFTVF5xTOU9T5ff_Hi5SFcpynWnjMImveP3GwaZ9na-GmiFs6CtZ2ylpEd_Ayr-pYrQq2owKOr_kQ5iB_8YZjhnIqTpnE-kQfOJolV62-uI6Kk780Pw/s320/P1280499.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Westport proper is about a mile or so inland, one of the few 'planned towns' in Ireland dating from 1767, when John Browne, later first Earl of Altamont, advertised its foundation, with the Carrowbeg river turned into a tree-lined central canalisation<br /><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx_9YxMpOgRYNSf-n4q5UaGquZ3GYOEJvTgKDH6ZbpCzWghaYJ9OEnQUjUbhccPtjDJ50EI1gA_oCpzQSOvdMK2VWBTAFgR0mQNYoSbK_tasUFROGcbkhuoGlDVxCL8ylh23jGlROp9O51LIae6lVM7EKBGJGBdjCShJKOFcnBIw8H6iL-jWaImBxOg/s800/P1280821.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx_9YxMpOgRYNSf-n4q5UaGquZ3GYOEJvTgKDH6ZbpCzWghaYJ9OEnQUjUbhccPtjDJ50EI1gA_oCpzQSOvdMK2VWBTAFgR0mQNYoSbK_tasUFROGcbkhuoGlDVxCL8ylh23jGlROp9O51LIae6lVM7EKBGJGBdjCShJKOFcnBIw8H6iL-jWaImBxOg/s320/P1280821.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span><span>and a pretty octagon on which our hotel sat, Patrick atop the column since 1990.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMzrKd0YzfBkrpkegN9FimywYGCtBwFuOwT5fpUBItUCqMQaUz_yvlKK9iuNJirLNK4DFHJMJtKE1clxNMrKwSnr45QFmDLexgc-0Uu_Ah9WSXwnPRAKOuJcRQXqf-x_ntOna4za3FcttXAP6Q52H-nnGQ23zaciKU3mIM6VBQ6hTnpd1j0XENVlOig/s800/P1280650.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMzrKd0YzfBkrpkegN9FimywYGCtBwFuOwT5fpUBItUCqMQaUz_yvlKK9iuNJirLNK4DFHJMJtKE1clxNMrKwSnr45QFmDLexgc-0Uu_Ah9WSXwnPRAKOuJcRQXqf-x_ntOna4za3FcttXAP6Q52H-nnGQ23zaciKU3mIM6VBQ6hTnpd1j0XENVlOig/s320/P1280650.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span>The 'planned town' went into a swift decline along with that of the textile industry and the arrival of the famine, but it's remained a pleasant backwater, good (if you want) for shopping and eating. The most exciting emporium for me was the very individual bookshop on the Quay, <a href="https://tertuliabookshop.com/">Tertulia</a>. <span><br /></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26jPQo1RnTxcCG00Azhi3z57N3URairQ7mm28GgRuS9_HYfhFvOyqohbE9h9F53WpoamvsrOiyeIwm4FhxmsLgKJaWhyb5To9rEIriSR_eXwH8nR-7CPcnXfIS9vFHERMsQw-v3D5XfOQgNgQnceq-MyvH59xbjnA4sfRp23GWcf0gSPthPMeAdp5MA/s800/P1280571.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26jPQo1RnTxcCG00Azhi3z57N3URairQ7mm28GgRuS9_HYfhFvOyqohbE9h9F53WpoamvsrOiyeIwm4FhxmsLgKJaWhyb5To9rEIriSR_eXwH8nR-7CPcnXfIS9vFHERMsQw-v3D5XfOQgNgQnceq-MyvH59xbjnA4sfRp23GWcf0gSPthPMeAdp5MA/s320/P1280571.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">It was - I have to stress again - our exceptional good fortune to look out from this neck of Clew Bay to mountains covered in snow. From my map, I can't quite work out what I'm seeing here - the mountainous bit of Clare Island, perhaps (hoping Justin will eventually help out).</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4By72gFQY79-XTgmjrO-g1ol1LbD1Vn8Fwn4JooZomTS6vi2H2sIJGWRZ8DY4_EvhBLZnE3vT4K-jTHUjQSkZvXLC9HWyUPdSJnrnSlbEIGr4nSzuc9eQljnnWulnM0vX01D59Md5Ehf-VTF5AQAjHjuQScYHqrnHSuuXfPy-VX2R33L3AiQqxt52GA/s800/P1280501.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4By72gFQY79-XTgmjrO-g1ol1LbD1Vn8Fwn4JooZomTS6vi2H2sIJGWRZ8DY4_EvhBLZnE3vT4K-jTHUjQSkZvXLC9HWyUPdSJnrnSlbEIGr4nSzuc9eQljnnWulnM0vX01D59Md5Ehf-VTF5AQAjHjuQScYHqrnHSuuXfPy-VX2R33L3AiQqxt52GA/s320/P1280501.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">I'll also need some help with bird identification. Clearly this is a lone Curlew (and we heard many more calls),</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOjA5bHqJIP_lJd-JcEbZw9M_sCWUcCnt831cIICUxjalH1xe3Zg2mE8oWoNmOJf2pYkuxSvgX8l1wzi38yfb8uf8SGm7xizjQWnlcVOUtUyYzOq4Wk7aEacmjrfEPMYqI5lfVaA5li7U-Uku14KXlnlT92q4CM6QUTa9CFkrvD0TdK27m4CbC5QdDA/s800/P1280523.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="800" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOjA5bHqJIP_lJd-JcEbZw9M_sCWUcCnt831cIICUxjalH1xe3Zg2mE8oWoNmOJf2pYkuxSvgX8l1wzi38yfb8uf8SGm7xizjQWnlcVOUtUyYzOq4Wk7aEacmjrfEPMYqI5lfVaA5li7U-Uku14KXlnlT92q4CM6QUTa9CFkrvD0TdK27m4CbC5QdDA/s320/P1280523.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">and these Redshanks,</span></span><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5PCgH6uROXVJuiiGaOVxIylh-ZQWjX8elwUsC8ak3nUGItpP7xDF40xLZIXP31vR4a0Ybt7g2nPAZtwWkoZyZfxNvCkYazKEwII1mGJSuif-FLEb-v_j1PkW0DDSdrIMix-JwnA6ruGIpP9NHPM119fYhTE4Vlzz9lNUH7ogzER7tGA3I0ULxNOe-w/s800/P1280904.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="800" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5PCgH6uROXVJuiiGaOVxIylh-ZQWjX8elwUsC8ak3nUGItpP7xDF40xLZIXP31vR4a0Ybt7g2nPAZtwWkoZyZfxNvCkYazKEwII1mGJSuif-FLEb-v_j1PkW0DDSdrIMix-JwnA6ruGIpP9NHPM119fYhTE4Vlzz9lNUH7ogzER7tGA3I0ULxNOe-w/s320/P1280904.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><br /><span class="hgKElc">but the beak on this one is too long for an ordinary Dunnock. Any suggestions? Looks more like a Warbler or Chiffchaff, but do they frequent seaweed and kelp?<br /></span></span><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDt1gMALR2edAEbOTai8XsLOm6OvvIrvr6we9dIVRZooASu4n6qgjH8YY4yC3cbv28EsT2uClXW6r7SPe9PmA62IKwJEcvLJknS2XiF8h4Pvu_hzxnnKVv3zyBVU03ukM17nVL0kRef2lNGEfwjGyY2bHBXNwGAXiPPdRmaCRnpG_F7hDyP1lYrjOVMg/s800/P1280510.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDt1gMALR2edAEbOTai8XsLOm6OvvIrvr6we9dIVRZooASu4n6qgjH8YY4yC3cbv28EsT2uClXW6r7SPe9PmA62IKwJEcvLJknS2XiF8h4Pvu_hzxnnKVv3zyBVU03ukM17nVL0kRef2lNGEfwjGyY2bHBXNwGAXiPPdRmaCRnpG_F7hDyP1lYrjOVMg/s320/P1280510.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><br /><span class="hgKElc">The river channels were rich with birdlife a couple of days later, but the main interest that Friday was in the boats, this one</span></span><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl_8YEpYhy_gb_hodRHo_ZgCRXIN7YT4CYfSdabahsCsdBFkjn6O6GmN0jTaZfg55MhmxkFqq99lcDG3DZRlZcJXBdEZVk_EEOamoeZ8XHA3OnhaGjY41S-PuuD7ek50RQK7VmD0MBNnjRbFpAYQieoDeX1uoz3qV3v7kDm0Z9lhZVr81BIHSFflrjQ/s800/P1280526.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl_8YEpYhy_gb_hodRHo_ZgCRXIN7YT4CYfSdabahsCsdBFkjn6O6GmN0jTaZfg55MhmxkFqq99lcDG3DZRlZcJXBdEZVk_EEOamoeZ8XHA3OnhaGjY41S-PuuD7ek50RQK7VmD0MBNnjRbFpAYQieoDeX1uoz3qV3v7kDm0Z9lhZVr81BIHSFflrjQ/s320/P1280526.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en">named after the fascinating figure of 'Queen' Grace (</span>Gráinne) O'Malley, head of the clans hereabouts in the 16th century, who met with Elizabeth I in London and refused her gifts. There's a (recent) statue to her in the grounds of Westport House; the former inhabitants claimed (dubious) descent from her.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQkrBAukRau5VBRKVCEAIB5siDrKrVpdHoaNTyR7yiv8cFgv1GL0nKAirfkk3mSCng9CoFqj8QOjUnbDR_349Ik7kEVpPpeiwBijbzqQxPDMd21_lv02nvF2OodfU7lCIJ44O-LEdIFgOGMNibIyehDZsbdvax4S9EVMu8Q6PG6Q8pYidXe6pLT0NEg/s800/P1280842.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQkrBAukRau5VBRKVCEAIB5siDrKrVpdHoaNTyR7yiv8cFgv1GL0nKAirfkk3mSCng9CoFqj8QOjUnbDR_349Ik7kEVpPpeiwBijbzqQxPDMd21_lv02nvF2OodfU7lCIJ44O-LEdIFgOGMNibIyehDZsbdvax4S9EVMu8Q6PG6Q8pYidXe6pLT0NEg/s320/P1280842.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Clew Bay is rich in crustaceans, as this informative board to which Justin is directing our attention makes clear, though the famous muscles come from Killary Fjord further south, where we walked during our time at the <a href="http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2011/06/irish-rock.html">best of weddings, David's and Gwendolen's, in Connemara</a> back in 2011.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0_2SotviZDPSyt7PgZ2hza-Um1jvUIb1qu1wQoMbYjr1MKeUyA8SdWGBrp7tgH5AW6u8yfAE1YtvS86Ek_aOPVlGSQ5E1MDN6265vXoKOskLl9CeqiYRwsQy6-G_qi8Ow-A-k-_1P1RW6up0Rw2kcmO_QvqwQ_zguvlQi8XaXkXuR3H1snV7UbiX0w/s800/P1280536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0_2SotviZDPSyt7PgZ2hza-Um1jvUIb1qu1wQoMbYjr1MKeUyA8SdWGBrp7tgH5AW6u8yfAE1YtvS86Ek_aOPVlGSQ5E1MDN6265vXoKOskLl9CeqiYRwsQy6-G_qi8Ow-A-k-_1P1RW6up0Rw2kcmO_QvqwQ_zguvlQi8XaXkXuR3H1snV7UbiX0w/s320/P1280536.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I think we're looking over here to Nephin Beg range</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWKbLAyzQ5pKE8DnjjDRlkdGtYe3uMYKRWY9-s-_019vAtUgNg8XekEsnYsuMTva-UXmJjfHTxTEZOhCX7ThjquOoSxXfamucbTxBcm_evoJRhRUIDNsbz7ruYYrgOn1MPe5LzBAzhJPZ4I7SBFoK4Fe3GkiNQ0nd6xZtVytvNVKiEvrctL1tbndrWg/s800/P1280534.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="800" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWKbLAyzQ5pKE8DnjjDRlkdGtYe3uMYKRWY9-s-_019vAtUgNg8XekEsnYsuMTva-UXmJjfHTxTEZOhCX7ThjquOoSxXfamucbTxBcm_evoJRhRUIDNsbz7ruYYrgOn1MPe5LzBAzhJPZ4I7SBFoK4Fe3GkiNQ0nd6xZtVytvNVKiEvrctL1tbndrWg/s320/P1280534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQSvqT8BCJ7iQ8BklB44XtToxz70i1MIU6DO89a7vPTPLiffQZsZ9bCDo_7jfQYvS6M1mBa8aDxC059fHiLSdF3uWc7no5M5rDK_jrnoJIgFiBWStsUUxjKUtB7MgFFebwjY01G32NZJ1UiJ69H3F4xqbu2blp830dSkVJzuPMOKI7LTlzEs35Wz1yA/s800/P1280541.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="800" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQSvqT8BCJ7iQ8BklB44XtToxz70i1MIU6DO89a7vPTPLiffQZsZ9bCDo_7jfQYvS6M1mBa8aDxC059fHiLSdF3uWc7no5M5rDK_jrnoJIgFiBWStsUUxjKUtB7MgFFebwjY01G32NZJ1UiJ69H3F4xqbu2blp830dSkVJzuPMOKI7LTlzEs35Wz1yA/s320/P1280541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>but our pressing destination was Croagh Patrick, and we didn't have to ascend much to have spectacular views of bays and mountains.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNF6oe1NS0aIT9DQNFn0BIK3jXc_MH2wfEUSZ2V8A6yKJ1cy6hsWaz_49HADEVZictyvpX6bIXvL6o2qqjgP-ZkjrJXn4Y2CP4sycM-Wbm-oS7QKj2Vf716unkftXQe2MMipt2TqKO1UssBZm6z9PyPR3C7OW_nVWG6VLKJVNJ3kKQ_dgsqBfmy7LuDQ/s800/P1280638.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNF6oe1NS0aIT9DQNFn0BIK3jXc_MH2wfEUSZ2V8A6yKJ1cy6hsWaz_49HADEVZictyvpX6bIXvL6o2qqjgP-ZkjrJXn4Y2CP4sycM-Wbm-oS7QKj2Vf716unkftXQe2MMipt2TqKO1UssBZm6z9PyPR3C7OW_nVWG6VLKJVNJ3kKQ_dgsqBfmy7LuDQ/s320/P1280638.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq68njXUAbyyb5HvytYtGpOwFJfTzzr33YUnVFirHYMlzGiznhC4EE9TxUTtCh8ad8_GYVoCrDr_F3NYCEuUo7mylFppaZHH7oROC99y7bd3_2JL0zoK6YW2aPVPm2-SRWJeru90VqXF-Asypfikn5HpnbphBn4N0ZM7w8b6RqqphVmumG5tVchmmvsQ/s800/P1280628.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq68njXUAbyyb5HvytYtGpOwFJfTzzr33YUnVFirHYMlzGiznhC4EE9TxUTtCh8ad8_GYVoCrDr_F3NYCEuUo7mylFppaZHH7oROC99y7bd3_2JL0zoK6YW2aPVPm2-SRWJeru90VqXF-Asypfikn5HpnbphBn4N0ZM7w8b6RqqphVmumG5tVchmmvsQ/s320/P1280628.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The mountain is composed (thank you, <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/02798b0f92014bfba623e76f3a7c8510">Geological Heritage Sites of Mayo</a>), of 'metamorphosed sedimentary rocks (originally formed during the Silurian Period some 435 million years ago) including quartzites', </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_e22U-tlCYBLBOjenBSsyIo-E6ipCnMEy_g-ZwZbWpQ-TY36giPYUrGvKLJf1f3DTAO3QsVA4CmeacGxDYKsTi2TFEKtTMpvBBw8n4HB_N2rJ1-gMUCNpTeS3010hDjEGjLO-3bA70AZ4GnRkUs86nqHhEzrZKsYW0Mopkr_NSeQtwSjdwU6gwf-7w/s800/P1280632.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_e22U-tlCYBLBOjenBSsyIo-E6ipCnMEy_g-ZwZbWpQ-TY36giPYUrGvKLJf1f3DTAO3QsVA4CmeacGxDYKsTi2TFEKtTMpvBBw8n4HB_N2rJ1-gMUCNpTeS3010hDjEGjLO-3bA70AZ4GnRkUs86nqHhEzrZKsYW0Mopkr_NSeQtwSjdwU6gwf-7w/s320/P1280632.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>and abundant green serpentite - Justin pointed out whole rocks of it, but there's some in here, I think. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lWyAbnu4Pie5SLCBfFf3npiDQdYJQuM9p_z6xZWF0uvt6evwb9L8gh8zdxuJLwPyBOwlhgQcn-K20BCebzY17J4-6XkiVq0ywIzCDwihFeqqpRBEDGgHaiRsltSnEwi0SIw5Fm1Pq5pJ28Ije570pnnMhs9t-8ixKPsn4AT5QaqYO-yGS1sJfvDH_A/s5184/P1280636.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lWyAbnu4Pie5SLCBfFf3npiDQdYJQuM9p_z6xZWF0uvt6evwb9L8gh8zdxuJLwPyBOwlhgQcn-K20BCebzY17J4-6XkiVq0ywIzCDwihFeqqpRBEDGgHaiRsltSnEwi0SIw5Fm1Pq5pJ28Ije570pnnMhs9t-8ixKPsn4AT5QaqYO-yGS1sJfvDH_A/s320/P1280636.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>He also told us there was plentiful gold in this here hill, but no way will permission ever be given to mine for it. </p><p>The summit looked a long way distant</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoOUJKiJ0g8pa9xD1A3LIsLRl0fx-CDvq2X6MUN_VFAagjnf_m7zuB1OByRgx2UJcSI7-zn2GfB6Xr9zMyU3XYkXQZE_r1bT3C4F13f61olJFb-Mo4lf7LASLMx5KDO4bvsQuStHynXeg03DLwk7sEmxrSlRWZXq0vdQIWKa1mRXehFycDfAPcXL_ZQ/s5184/P1280604.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoOUJKiJ0g8pa9xD1A3LIsLRl0fx-CDvq2X6MUN_VFAagjnf_m7zuB1OByRgx2UJcSI7-zn2GfB6Xr9zMyU3XYkXQZE_r1bT3C4F13f61olJFb-Mo4lf7LASLMx5KDO4bvsQuStHynXeg03DLwk7sEmxrSlRWZXq0vdQIWKa1mRXehFycDfAPcXL_ZQ/s320/P1280604.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>but we could probably have made it further, since the thaw was already beginning, if Justin didn't need to get back for afternoon preparation of the big evening supper. So four more shots on the way down</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vWpAnmWsXbV2hQDHAnPptd8X5LZg8WOapEr5ukoGBVQG5dOtE8rcQFxnZyXk4I25Z7Ze0VjmMRsLAmfAmgI2audr3FaseHMYxbL8aR9bz-_lMjR-Ndfb5eJqMXFFjjHSUX9L7NInf7rgZYPpCJ_hBtTcxrRol9cWt4a2K_Mm3mxmjnpTbpwA5JNbRQ/s800/P1280638.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vWpAnmWsXbV2hQDHAnPptd8X5LZg8WOapEr5ukoGBVQG5dOtE8rcQFxnZyXk4I25Z7Ze0VjmMRsLAmfAmgI2audr3FaseHMYxbL8aR9bz-_lMjR-Ndfb5eJqMXFFjjHSUX9L7NInf7rgZYPpCJ_hBtTcxrRol9cWt4a2K_Mm3mxmjnpTbpwA5JNbRQ/s320/P1280638.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnQq9tJy2OttAJfAr6SvNeuSvMYAJnMhfQFIT276AjZt4DM7mVzq87YXc5qp_euSGxuKw1hfzLprSmnVXhCrMK9ERKIUcmX7OAVzqa6XFJN1yDvmPXFGRmfZXE0FTcGUjMvpcS8_UGRA0IYvn9jIVe8rZ1C1HvQXvMOTHhy1_IKaJ1BR_C2KYFxI53g/s800/P1280640.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnQq9tJy2OttAJfAr6SvNeuSvMYAJnMhfQFIT276AjZt4DM7mVzq87YXc5qp_euSGxuKw1hfzLprSmnVXhCrMK9ERKIUcmX7OAVzqa6XFJN1yDvmPXFGRmfZXE0FTcGUjMvpcS8_UGRA0IYvn9jIVe8rZ1C1HvQXvMOTHhy1_IKaJ1BR_C2KYFxI53g/s320/P1280640.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SjmRz6F_bCEHkPeMYbJsfvjvmYoGrwMRw-tSxqP-DoZ7gdNYCHthv_zsHTlD-HUqbDuu2kifOFjN1flBK7ZhiWY-ZhzWU1-yzrZXFwUsiEHxvC7xfxlcQCsviDRx6MictbxLZmIpDM71nnp3ffss7l05PbOVXK5EvehytdlOKKDdg_sl94578a9OTw/s800/P1280648.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SjmRz6F_bCEHkPeMYbJsfvjvmYoGrwMRw-tSxqP-DoZ7gdNYCHthv_zsHTlD-HUqbDuu2kifOFjN1flBK7ZhiWY-ZhzWU1-yzrZXFwUsiEHxvC7xfxlcQCsviDRx6MictbxLZmIpDM71nnp3ffss7l05PbOVXK5EvehytdlOKKDdg_sl94578a9OTw/s320/P1280648.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIR7UiLiVHbbYD_TfeBDGlPdjPNLUPUrRJmVnknMsspSBxWe4P_hPvBElYIkalu15aBf2iQI1t8o5IGHzI_yy5JGIlbZQ8OS4SJYRH0Jowrp0X1nattflu63XIc640WpI28Qbpe8ys62Aw7bNGiws_peqJMXGudgJBNDPkLl4odTXs_LqlX3pG1yTvg/s5184/P1280610.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIR7UiLiVHbbYD_TfeBDGlPdjPNLUPUrRJmVnknMsspSBxWe4P_hPvBElYIkalu15aBf2iQI1t8o5IGHzI_yy5JGIlbZQ8OS4SJYRH0Jowrp0X1nattflu63XIc640WpI28Qbpe8ys62Aw7bNGiws_peqJMXGudgJBNDPkLl4odTXs_LqlX3pG1yTvg/s320/P1280610.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>After a rest back at the hotel, I was keen to make the most of our one perfect day (plentiful rain was forecast), so we climbed out of town</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscJ6lZIhY70isEVLAl3XK0dJhieE-N39_uxbCJdDkscIgCvZwXIGFm8xwYCcVRCqG1AScbQ7n1bA8m8GnCbyo6PDNtsdTfKh1qgrCqLcv_tRNWDBDuQJuowmJaKqBS0WVpThNK5NNXYWOQeC961HSjlTQx-x3hqxRm5Xy0morW_LImucmvKKBhT71Ew/s800/P1280651.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="800" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscJ6lZIhY70isEVLAl3XK0dJhieE-N39_uxbCJdDkscIgCvZwXIGFm8xwYCcVRCqG1AScbQ7n1bA8m8GnCbyo6PDNtsdTfKh1qgrCqLcv_tRNWDBDuQJuowmJaKqBS0WVpThNK5NNXYWOQeC961HSjlTQx-x3hqxRm5Xy0morW_LImucmvKKBhT71Ew/s320/P1280651.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>to follow the start of the Great Western Greenway (disused railway line)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bHM-Eeg1f4gAJHd5D_IqV86Tmjkk0Q_pRPg7Jt-e8NDAagtGTjN8sY7EZ80ImbvUth0kTB9Hkt3roo02K5lVLJDpuq1TzrjoLVzEMc-GmEBEIgBhZvMjDbWyKC1ITJgi3CBZMK54VcrQO2k9IePAgd5PLhGAhohw4MJaqzZFwAzasHNJ0zzDQ5OoNQ/s800/P1280653.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bHM-Eeg1f4gAJHd5D_IqV86Tmjkk0Q_pRPg7Jt-e8NDAagtGTjN8sY7EZ80ImbvUth0kTB9Hkt3roo02K5lVLJDpuq1TzrjoLVzEMc-GmEBEIgBhZvMjDbWyKC1ITJgi3CBZMK54VcrQO2k9IePAgd5PLhGAhohw4MJaqzZFwAzasHNJ0zzDQ5OoNQ/s320/P1280653.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>with more fine views of Croagh Patrick to our left</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgBwR1jL4X013aXmdDNAHEfOiTxG8EWobSH7c0PeLWIFGf4gYR6sDsB24R-SpV2i1jw3C-rzOMBVip4a9KKtoIJO2pB961B2VPGiOvsF1EfqywiDc1y_MSWQRvqts00kaoxxnCWLQI9YHY_NH50iAgEUKG6YbjQ7v2zjWSjCVeuyU-ZteSTuMwVwciQ/s800/P1280659.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="800" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgBwR1jL4X013aXmdDNAHEfOiTxG8EWobSH7c0PeLWIFGf4gYR6sDsB24R-SpV2i1jw3C-rzOMBVip4a9KKtoIJO2pB961B2VPGiOvsF1EfqywiDc1y_MSWQRvqts00kaoxxnCWLQI9YHY_NH50iAgEUKG6YbjQ7v2zjWSjCVeuyU-ZteSTuMwVwciQ/s320/P1280659.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>to have a snack overlooking the bay and mountain.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJRdmtDDLjv7OX-R62LKke7zUnZjNBCh7hf24GkvU4OFLdbwJyevnLMFvAeY5SByzNha5jrxwTU3IUZDbLKdvXEKpmZBkg_p3ep9ZQreYroQfoInaei63Xi-j1kyeEfoJ8muSgwivFTpVYseHRdrd7LC70OjGVoYvyfcqvMr_SeiRV2VgQsY6QfNq9Q/s800/P1280664.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJRdmtDDLjv7OX-R62LKke7zUnZjNBCh7hf24GkvU4OFLdbwJyevnLMFvAeY5SByzNha5jrxwTU3IUZDbLKdvXEKpmZBkg_p3ep9ZQreYroQfoInaei63Xi-j1kyeEfoJ8muSgwivFTpVYseHRdrd7LC70OjGVoYvyfcqvMr_SeiRV2VgQsY6QfNq9Q/s320/P1280664.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Supper, it goes without saying, was extremely convivial, and we met more splendid people, two of whom we'd have tea and lunch with over the next few days. Saturday was wet and windy and, by the time we crossed the bridge to Achill Island, ferociously cold outside the car, with the water of Achill Sound a very different colour as we looked across to Cnoc an <span>Chorráin</span> (Corraun, or Carrane, or Curraun, Hill, 524m), on which some snow still remained<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUxhGome2r0AoFL2ImxEu8WTzzwURP2dl8FGF912eh_GxZpwEqGEDTxfGUUqnLM2Nb5zLnrv1Llju0zGNfTDiztKoW4bjs_8JmZp-OEjYChrDiKlNmGNADep-XLWl5HxZDpNBLg-MCJKbOVxvriOwt9nMhQGL_UdWay7eLgaeF-Q48oxHFCiCVF2ykg/s800/P1280677.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUxhGome2r0AoFL2ImxEu8WTzzwURP2dl8FGF912eh_GxZpwEqGEDTxfGUUqnLM2Nb5zLnrv1Llju0zGNfTDiztKoW4bjs_8JmZp-OEjYChrDiKlNmGNADep-XLWl5HxZDpNBLg-MCJKbOVxvriOwt9nMhQGL_UdWay7eLgaeF-Q48oxHFCiCVF2ykg/s320/P1280677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>All that remained to make the view even more rugged and dramatic in the blasting wind was the 15th century tower house known as Kidavnet Castle. Built in 1429, its fame remains as another stronghold of our Pirate Queen. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4Q8nB8zdhNWDe0mxVQGHLIPbik0OLWcYuCUpYolm9a5j_RTuNffMPBDafafN_qXTHMU1wAAKnXDc0LyOEjEPjpxwvCnB5gnQ67I0BPwTMjEoj3q9wSfrFK_Xhf9cmQA3vfGxRyUraYRdDUUZDq2V3Ua1WGOaywTVCRXpVi9JreYhEe-NeAkoAGfWBw/s800/P1280715.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4Q8nB8zdhNWDe0mxVQGHLIPbik0OLWcYuCUpYolm9a5j_RTuNffMPBDafafN_qXTHMU1wAAKnXDc0LyOEjEPjpxwvCnB5gnQ67I0BPwTMjEoj3q9wSfrFK_Xhf9cmQA3vfGxRyUraYRdDUUZDq2V3Ua1WGOaywTVCRXpVi9JreYhEe-NeAkoAGfWBw/s320/P1280715.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />A lifeboat station is crucially positioned a little further along - here's one of the boats from inside the tower.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgwAvJYsSry3aMyyp1IdAuGjzBv3srHToGSCAmiKEoT5WTHrclyFy1YFRyS9wg8fsO5u7cHS1P86hKtLpozOwxxa1R0CotEf86eQGx3qfrD8j1XhjLJKPl7QmDgS3YRlGA8bKMEVY5lskR57DMAZXemnGBNNtDq8YtWsjd6UovotLt1A8eX6qeCt_FA/s800/P1280698.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgwAvJYsSry3aMyyp1IdAuGjzBv3srHToGSCAmiKEoT5WTHrclyFy1YFRyS9wg8fsO5u7cHS1P86hKtLpozOwxxa1R0CotEf86eQGx3qfrD8j1XhjLJKPl7QmDgS3YRlGA8bKMEVY5lskR57DMAZXemnGBNNtDq8YtWsjd6UovotLt1A8eX6qeCt_FA/s320/P1280698.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Glad to be chauffered in the dramatic weather, and not making our way round the island on foot, we rounded to the wild west opening out on to the Atlantic Ocean. Two more necessary stops, one for this dramatic cleft</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlMrdTBo28_dcB0rfgPlfRA6LlM_MmjH-PAqPcoNCT-bHn-LLYPJLR2EFwTZiV3-n33vaFkxtIJIp581a8O4gcxYYm0EQvr1mKDySGEXbm02yEguaD3fBATNsqJ_5_qJnBUKQBtNaPVgroLRuD3Su11SCFNj8RUOYTeCWB8PKW42wt9Gkn-38w0Z7Sw/s800/P1280730.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="800" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlMrdTBo28_dcB0rfgPlfRA6LlM_MmjH-PAqPcoNCT-bHn-LLYPJLR2EFwTZiV3-n33vaFkxtIJIp581a8O4gcxYYm0EQvr1mKDySGEXbm02yEguaD3fBATNsqJ_5_qJnBUKQBtNaPVgroLRuD3Su11SCFNj8RUOYTeCWB8PKW42wt9Gkn-38w0Z7Sw/s320/P1280730.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>on one ledge of which a colourful local sheep was lodged (on closer inspection, not trapped)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPF-7N4SL8JPi13QgqBMnQHl3Rf4OtOV6NHwQY3oxn_Be8KdFa9NkbKeIu0OFskV45DvLkd2Sc_QpWjmAR7SuEHfaXZtl72d5CEjlIKeVmHTd7yc4_1eM1qHaBk4j5v3bpT6RfA-F7F6wDqs3R__DoaWHhPFsYJVSUadWjycvro9-rJFHVixgUEwEcQ/s800/P1280734.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPF-7N4SL8JPi13QgqBMnQHl3Rf4OtOV6NHwQY3oxn_Be8KdFa9NkbKeIu0OFskV45DvLkd2Sc_QpWjmAR7SuEHfaXZtl72d5CEjlIKeVmHTd7yc4_1eM1qHaBk4j5v3bpT6RfA-F7F6wDqs3R__DoaWHhPFsYJVSUadWjycvro9-rJFHVixgUEwEcQ/s320/P1280734.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Peat moors to the right, officially protected but still often resourced, then looking across to the cliffs at <span>Dumha Éige.</span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC-9-L6k0Jt8uTdIQtds2-TZpdVtx9vfcihssOy8snpCBDaxdFGrsbPFHzaglie2S5Oy5D18vDI4wQ31l7i8bKJD95nSwIr0qYMA8CbSAft6J5OtSl2FmrSLJefYvrp8W-g0YmlZDV2x4e5bkRKrrjFug93WpYOw26ckLFhQEw_dMwEnpukgxzWk0Wg/s800/P1280742.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC-9-L6k0Jt8uTdIQtds2-TZpdVtx9vfcihssOy8snpCBDaxdFGrsbPFHzaglie2S5Oy5D18vDI4wQ31l7i8bKJD95nSwIr0qYMA8CbSAft6J5OtSl2FmrSLJefYvrp8W-g0YmlZDV2x4e5bkRKrrjFug93WpYOw26ckLFhQEw_dMwEnpukgxzWk0Wg/s320/P1280742.JPG" width="320" />, <br /></a></div><br />Much-needed refreshment at the beautifully-designed home of writer and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Kevin Toolis, whose book on the IRA and <i>My Father's Wake – How The Irish Teach Us To Live, Love and Die</i><span> I'm about to read, at Dookinella. <a href="https://www.mayonews.ie/features/35661-a-day-in-the-life-kevin-toolis">This article</a> gives a very good flavour of the man, Looking out to the long beach at Trawmore</span><p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrc7jXlPWmjFKATU4X9D2ZgmwyBeFYNifGw3DbSll7QncJGKNREtQ8uFCP088n3_oC14njCLzdPMWvIZIrvW4jQmOIC0TB7Mv5HnuyCCPpgnqPm--AaQfxvvn7v4bYvX58ugJdWxzJLvebSn6cLH8ax7Y7q9Mqct-nsEVfeUW7fu4SMVc9BbLBQKdgow/s800/P1280748.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="800" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrc7jXlPWmjFKATU4X9D2ZgmwyBeFYNifGw3DbSll7QncJGKNREtQ8uFCP088n3_oC14njCLzdPMWvIZIrvW4jQmOIC0TB7Mv5HnuyCCPpgnqPm--AaQfxvvn7v4bYvX58ugJdWxzJLvebSn6cLH8ax7Y7q9Mqct-nsEVfeUW7fu4SMVc9BbLBQKdgow/s320/P1280748.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>and through another window to the Cathedral Rocks.</span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwAZOSYCTT1Np9essFVsZld3_nATIlUiP8nmhxBxPq9RLHwKQegqvY1CCl3EvB1zxRwO2P6HlpzcujZ6F7D7NdZ5tkmdGbonE7_EO3xn2f_yjfx6Zc0CkZMBFmUlU6mXZOw3Qb5I__od1YmsQjemMKTJBXbzVr2h1twHKRbn2iQs-xI0p_xyviqhCpw/s800/P1280750.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="800" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwAZOSYCTT1Np9essFVsZld3_nATIlUiP8nmhxBxPq9RLHwKQegqvY1CCl3EvB1zxRwO2P6HlpzcujZ6F7D7NdZ5tkmdGbonE7_EO3xn2f_yjfx6Zc0CkZMBFmUlU6mXZOw3Qb5I__od1YmsQjemMKTJBXbzVr2h1twHKRbn2iQs-xI0p_xyviqhCpw/s320/P1280750.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The plan had been to go for a walk, but the rain was lashing down now, so we went for a further drive, via <span>Heinrich Böll's cottage, now offering two-week residencies to writers and artists, and<i> </i></span><span>the tree-girt Achill Colony founded by Protestant Edward Nangle near Dugort (I'd love to join one of Kevin's tours around it). Our next stop-off was at the studio of<a href="http://www.redfoxpress.com/"> Redfoxpress</a>, </span><p></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZoA9sMKJScn6nCMsU5KvZtxo4DLJnYFtHDz3oTdNox6W0s0hbC5RJjGzYOuePkGPB-IO8CY5jXnrOb6Vve95or4LhLOTcW6nwzCoa4yup-xXMtNUo5LKiMRoe6T-N6pfrNiUrNHrFDW_v0reQXre2jL0SUcCwer-cEuWuynIe9O3p8oDc_B6bKNyOg/s800/P1280760.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZoA9sMKJScn6nCMsU5KvZtxo4DLJnYFtHDz3oTdNox6W0s0hbC5RJjGzYOuePkGPB-IO8CY5jXnrOb6Vve95or4LhLOTcW6nwzCoa4yup-xXMtNUo5LKiMRoe6T-N6pfrNiUrNHrFDW_v0reQXre2jL0SUcCwer-cEuWuynIe9O3p8oDc_B6bKNyOg/s320/P1280760.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><span>looking across the bay to Slievemore (772m)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1XbUSDCQxWtB0GFOWL_UHhWgJXEImUV7i41JeShQphLiEFj8c6JLwYYD5CMy4J4rn1NC96fuMZKX2TleAUODuKPbqca0XuiokpGF8ZVQZzCXpCj_mO5dnemZzjr8kPG3cOESq1WsVVhwp2-DYPtO2vjKKQwS7ER5wLyIeFrqWTSIrJqUdxAfKhVxig/s800/P1280770.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1XbUSDCQxWtB0GFOWL_UHhWgJXEImUV7i41JeShQphLiEFj8c6JLwYYD5CMy4J4rn1NC96fuMZKX2TleAUODuKPbqca0XuiokpGF8ZVQZzCXpCj_mO5dnemZzjr8kPG3cOESq1WsVVhwp2-DYPtO2vjKKQwS7ER5wLyIeFrqWTSIrJqUdxAfKhVxig/s320/P1280770.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>The singular bookmakers here are Belgian Francis Van Maele and Korean Hyemee Kim, aka Antic-Ham, whose illustrations are precious. I already knew I coveted the book she'd worked on with </span><span><span style="font-size: small;">Man</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">chán Magan, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span>inspirational </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">curator of Irish words<i>, Sea Tamagotchi. </i> <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eGmtv78dQ3HCWx219hrq2FoKE1LaN--SJ-fKq3dAWKlLOrGt2rPs_V3AYQRhj5XNsN2jdvJCaQS7P7h_qvhkK0kIBtsDpe0MVcD459fE_OQ2Z1ZYvzJxprLNAkUiNiaVqThfYU3kaq2Z67uf3SwmjuMZB0kLszQw60t2l1jK1Rvlfp_du88OJ4EPbQ/s582/sea-tama-s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eGmtv78dQ3HCWx219hrq2FoKE1LaN--SJ-fKq3dAWKlLOrGt2rPs_V3AYQRhj5XNsN2jdvJCaQS7P7h_qvhkK0kIBtsDpe0MVcD459fE_OQ2Z1ZYvzJxprLNAkUiNiaVqThfYU3kaq2Z67uf3SwmjuMZB0kLszQw60t2l1jK1Rvlfp_du88OJ4EPbQ/s320/sea-tama-s.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>A <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">continuation of Magan's idea for giving special native words to people to take care of, like the original tamagotchi, it's the product </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> of his journey along the coast roads of Mayo, Donegal,
Sligo and Galway, seeking out forgotten sea words, maritime terms and coastal customs.
The 38 here are accompanied by Antic-Ham's drawings, collages and photographs. I'm entranced by so many, but especially the image for '<i>Caibleadh</i> (Cab-loo): spirit voices heard in the distance at sea on calm nights', on the right below.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZ898sv_uCz7DMOYE1WJbwM1nS4CDaJN4ngZmlrchOwsrM-1-z3ZdXroWp6v9DjwSBvLk82nrgaeKSMmxTGzrkmNyg626jZ72fQMvQ_vAsJYYKv65fd4ESPT5O1p8rUMWwYUwHMeeB3YJz0V1SLcc8MtF58lR8WCHpRZBOUuKELJe5ZGwABzloitE0g/s652/sea-tama-9-s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="652" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZ898sv_uCz7DMOYE1WJbwM1nS4CDaJN4ngZmlrchOwsrM-1-z3ZdXroWp6v9DjwSBvLk82nrgaeKSMmxTGzrkmNyg626jZ72fQMvQ_vAsJYYKv65fd4ESPT5O1p8rUMWwYUwHMeeB3YJz0V1SLcc8MtF58lR8WCHpRZBOUuKELJe5ZGwABzloitE0g/s320/sea-tama-9-s.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I asked about the problem of keeping paper unfoxed in such a damp climate, and that's precisely why one book is produced at a time; when it's sold, they make the next one.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Kevin advised us to ask to see the shed, which turned out to be full of polaroid cameras (as in one wall of the studio). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxnJYwJILMY86s-ePXoKsQ34MY5sAQXmSXXlBxApjdFNFCtuW0WrYgngDND7xSi_Jm4H3y9I7niXMlrv1niwbYk3tOrDXHH0ubCHmt78uTmBPLmXtSx_H8Iskep5qGFfZiZwhFOU_2sP7_iG7JTcRFX5JU82huSAVWfd86YJzJ6wsCpzwEULS37qVIg/s800/P1280761.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxnJYwJILMY86s-ePXoKsQ34MY5sAQXmSXXlBxApjdFNFCtuW0WrYgngDND7xSi_Jm4H3y9I7niXMlrv1niwbYk3tOrDXHH0ubCHmt78uTmBPLmXtSx_H8Iskep5qGFfZiZwhFOU_2sP7_iG7JTcRFX5JU82huSAVWfd86YJzJ6wsCpzwEULS37qVIg/s320/P1280761.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Our artists heading back from shed to studio. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY07RbHm9iMqG1T84QxAOGmDxCpgnlbohXcpkRbuS9sCzZ-SFjIN8H45kFao_DZ8rsQBbAQbQvdgPmTWkoFUNCV8D_M37f7Do7AbtH1iUyeUEuy802Urn8naxsnWxOd8P7BndfHs_p8q_04GKg-Qt1oQm6iut5KaeOyxQ3DB__51j26-NvTtClcLHEbg/s800/P1280766.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY07RbHm9iMqG1T84QxAOGmDxCpgnlbohXcpkRbuS9sCzZ-SFjIN8H45kFao_DZ8rsQBbAQbQvdgPmTWkoFUNCV8D_M37f7Do7AbtH1iUyeUEuy802Urn8naxsnWxOd8P7BndfHs_p8q_04GKg-Qt1oQm6iut5KaeOyxQ3DB__51j26-NvTtClcLHEbg/s320/P1280766.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last stop on Achill Island, a long-delayed stop at Ted's Bar, a spacious epicentre for eating and entertainment, with one sign indicating where a lot of the Achilleans went,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCESNnbgjMjrohmgVKGwQkhglRK3ARXsJMNSNqqdXdNuzmMW5gNgfbTKiq6QJsqTNfjKCUN8VARABEzFPOSPK7uPndELbVKZxVrnlbG9rwieyG0k7ENoU16JpSO1fNYls8SOyk2L51aEliebmFb6RvOoukUcIjsHEp6p5QekRU5fULaz9X66zrrqZKEg/s800/P1280775.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCESNnbgjMjrohmgVKGwQkhglRK3ARXsJMNSNqqdXdNuzmMW5gNgfbTKiq6QJsqTNfjKCUN8VARABEzFPOSPK7uPndELbVKZxVrnlbG9rwieyG0k7ENoU16JpSO1fNYls8SOyk2L51aEliebmFb6RvOoukUcIjsHEp6p5QekRU5fULaz9X66zrrqZKEg/s320/P1280775.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">and then tea with new friend Rosemary (and her soppy Hungarian schnauzer Bartok) outside Newport.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbNKSN4vbCY4jCZXcMIHIvCb-2gEh1OLB71AzkZN2SrY7UVMMaYZ5x0_hV-WXuXo9lHSZg6Ee87tMk4zl-g9URENSc0MefLzPPe8VaqGrsFcgZgxSvjx0xpvZVLMdoOkDF2ajuu-R_-KwoNh4qYgx4jgTc07ab06J2VXCfvXtKSiWGJ14l7BqyB-pSg/s800/P1280784.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbNKSN4vbCY4jCZXcMIHIvCb-2gEh1OLB71AzkZN2SrY7UVMMaYZ5x0_hV-WXuXo9lHSZg6Ee87tMk4zl-g9URENSc0MefLzPPe8VaqGrsFcgZgxSvjx0xpvZVLMdoOkDF2ajuu-R_-KwoNh4qYgx4jgTc07ab06J2VXCfvXtKSiWGJ14l7BqyB-pSg/s320/P1280784.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBipuD9yxcG_zFwG3Nfmbp-691djzOUSzNXUSUGs5v0smiipD4SuU1-5ctDo7_K88lmdmBeOllo42xl2p1vYBWfm89FSUgxxg_mhvk1QZfQHYpQ0nJ79giIV0U2i5frzz7DsI6cZDgPBJ85o7mt9OF30XUkgVoDa9VVGtYN37ec0VwCOmjb4UlgbEAig/s1000/P1280790.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBipuD9yxcG_zFwG3Nfmbp-691djzOUSzNXUSUGs5v0smiipD4SuU1-5ctDo7_K88lmdmBeOllo42xl2p1vYBWfm89FSUgxxg_mhvk1QZfQHYpQ0nJ79giIV0U2i5frzz7DsI6cZDgPBJ85o7mt9OF30XUkgVoDa9VVGtYN37ec0VwCOmjb4UlgbEAig/s320/P1280790.JPG" width="240" /></a></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sunday gave us a chance to see inside Westport's rather interesting Holy Trinity, consecrated in 1872 and designed upon Ruskinesque principals, the priotity being airiness, in which the architect certainly succeeded.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnogGhH-hkHlbbAnUpzjebCeSmxdRifl7GavV0HtIRwHYdmkhi2XdiDRnPyGsQtkc5npcjlFD9Mp39t4DAZdj8PsW45hJXqBBHtEFYpUo4eb9zeEfpZnxfhIkuyLrWDe7UqZgz_4b_X5y5-ymgUJDw3tkxV3qvwtTsiIZ9U4sJU9-z2AIvgnHVznksmA/s800/P1280800.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="800" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnogGhH-hkHlbbAnUpzjebCeSmxdRifl7GavV0HtIRwHYdmkhi2XdiDRnPyGsQtkc5npcjlFD9Mp39t4DAZdj8PsW45hJXqBBHtEFYpUo4eb9zeEfpZnxfhIkuyLrWDe7UqZgz_4b_X5y5-ymgUJDw3tkxV3qvwtTsiIZ9U4sJU9-z2AIvgnHVznksmA/s320/P1280800.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Thus the west end, with its fine rose window, and this the east<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5IFG6F2mteJyKa1RdzAMhJBXRpfvIoVKEYs_6uaoV04qy73-ClNAJ8ajJNY3BUOTMHMlZUhFL0lCiWXTC-nDRC_Puavo3XHsz2xmpEzH_i2XgaHcN3PwX-f_YW5KKAFOQL3wnm9-pmNosgjzwJ6DfoPbaBAbi3FnQUFP8yc8DP6fZHLqtgJYF4glAw/s800/P1280802.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5IFG6F2mteJyKa1RdzAMhJBXRpfvIoVKEYs_6uaoV04qy73-ClNAJ8ajJNY3BUOTMHMlZUhFL0lCiWXTC-nDRC_Puavo3XHsz2xmpEzH_i2XgaHcN3PwX-f_YW5KKAFOQL3wnm9-pmNosgjzwJ6DfoPbaBAbi3FnQUFP8yc8DP6fZHLqtgJYF4glAw/s320/P1280802.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The main designs were traced in marble and inlaid with black cement.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HiQr84k173tWaY6AxLZwzOlE9VpzDXI6sLd-DwcP-U1DZ1S4kEnCzk0Z-vbqU-8wIwOOCFgPJbkfrCQ-VYYP0nVP7N_zYPrIC6SM7LzG9gRLv4a0jXLwPRvfTKgtXsvks-BCy3u-fxeLnwU4NEKokyYF8aUKHIBQF7s1LK4t9alwnaieAZ53AUUV4Q/s800/P1280806.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HiQr84k173tWaY6AxLZwzOlE9VpzDXI6sLd-DwcP-U1DZ1S4kEnCzk0Z-vbqU-8wIwOOCFgPJbkfrCQ-VYYP0nVP7N_zYPrIC6SM7LzG9gRLv4a0jXLwPRvfTKgtXsvks-BCy3u-fxeLnwU4NEKokyYF8aUKHIBQF7s1LK4t9alwnaieAZ53AUUV4Q/s320/P1280806.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Some of the stone carving is rather good too, especially so in the case of this door.</span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhkXCzwhcAP58f9nzIcSP5IltPFVjEI65cIbXgjYFKVgYbyIoFDkOYZhdkDit0TvN1IpMnhIeSsaD6q0k5pCkWCl-X5UYQ8GZD8Xs00mWu8tbTbCKPu3jLCwOaD2oIOKFvXcklPOvCZcB9bSGUb9b3wpc6lO9agpjEWuj8-MUA10stZil0_i_tDEIXw/s800/P1280799.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhkXCzwhcAP58f9nzIcSP5IltPFVjEI65cIbXgjYFKVgYbyIoFDkOYZhdkDit0TvN1IpMnhIeSsaD6q0k5pCkWCl-X5UYQ8GZD8Xs00mWu8tbTbCKPu3jLCwOaD2oIOKFvXcklPOvCZcB9bSGUb9b3wpc6lO9agpjEWuj8-MUA10stZil0_i_tDEIXw/s320/P1280799.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'd been encouraged by another new friend, Benita, to come and hear the local Archibishop, who was indeed rather good (I'd been aiming to slip in at the end, just to see the church, but everything had started half an hour later so I caught the end of the sermon). Later Benita gave us lunch, up another beautiful creek near Newport, with its fair share of remaining rainforest, though once again the weather was vile, so we didn't do much walking.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7fEt9GuYsUhwJvjH2i5oAVECwhdEL3ybSwKYcuAU_am6kp26IhmdrFPI2b8bRTbFbRkgabJgvJqs6wSdnh8RVZKgqGnFCti2q4gq6bCX2SVkz4nmMAI2sXAL74fZGrPSqqHBo_5PeZkROKriZVyb9du61hPJ0ynXXIuo_xVrBOR3Zl2NLcnl6uKeSw/s5184/P1280817.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7fEt9GuYsUhwJvjH2i5oAVECwhdEL3ybSwKYcuAU_am6kp26IhmdrFPI2b8bRTbFbRkgabJgvJqs6wSdnh8RVZKgqGnFCti2q4gq6bCX2SVkz4nmMAI2sXAL74fZGrPSqqHBo_5PeZkROKriZVyb9du61hPJ0ynXXIuo_xVrBOR3Zl2NLcnl6uKeSw/s320/P1280817.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fortunately the rain cleared away late on Monday morning, and as our train back to Dublin wasn't until after 6pm, there was time to do an extended circuit from town to harbour via the grounds of Westport House - fortunately still giving access to pedestrians even if the house, under new ownership, is currently shut - and back via the Greenway. Spring blossom was only to be found in sheltered zones, like the banks of the Carrowbeg in the grounds.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIMmKFiHqZjU1bEhruco3I546E2TmqhA-Twk309gr3cZfl5809rCdbVqX4T7MgtufA8Uhs9aNURoI1sdwVyaXk9viq66-ux6SKhyVhFt4GRURYmaVWPJ2JW0JcWsXaYReE_FhXRf0zucAhPwwWa2tXGHmCHl8GxgathGKrDLbQ_n-amTNOTChSYdn4w/s800/P1280828.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIMmKFiHqZjU1bEhruco3I546E2TmqhA-Twk309gr3cZfl5809rCdbVqX4T7MgtufA8Uhs9aNURoI1sdwVyaXk9viq66-ux6SKhyVhFt4GRURYmaVWPJ2JW0JcWsXaYReE_FhXRf0zucAhPwwWa2tXGHmCHl8GxgathGKrDLbQ_n-amTNOTChSYdn4w/s320/P1280828.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then the not especially attractive house came into view.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3J7RL3a2aKUqsuj94j0JGVUuMk9eyr2rLkyfyxJEah_vAMTwFIRRDL9Fpc8y1i_jRQFw3tdzBzJYOOgQuW9TzQ1aQeOp-ONxf1ezGc9ko7um6IiUSp5uOl8TSvswZSuqq61Pj9xCXhFo7D_lGItqGpO-dds4A3DfjmocQN2Sl8ZvPx7igOa5IkBbMw/s800/P1280841.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3J7RL3a2aKUqsuj94j0JGVUuMk9eyr2rLkyfyxJEah_vAMTwFIRRDL9Fpc8y1i_jRQFw3tdzBzJYOOgQuW9TzQ1aQeOp-ONxf1ezGc9ko7um6IiUSp5uOl8TSvswZSuqq61Pj9xCXhFo7D_lGItqGpO-dds4A3DfjmocQN2Sl8ZvPx7igOa5IkBbMw/s320/P1280841.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looks better from a distance, as part of the landscape</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGbuMQONTVaSzZ9lHE924wCZDVyIBYPiXdwTc_acP5OmriZZb52uiED8vOaBdU5x0ORpntsiDkIo1qgUovgcRC2-mGE-9VsJKLbHNgLoMzZ2eJsaJKwH-yKpmJq8ArhA9Dqnyq-cNdf4TQCF93M6k2SZX2PKYUlAr4c-7DqA-U-6TvD2Cqxbj3NbSCgA/s800/P1280852.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGbuMQONTVaSzZ9lHE924wCZDVyIBYPiXdwTc_acP5OmriZZb52uiED8vOaBdU5x0ORpntsiDkIo1qgUovgcRC2-mGE-9VsJKLbHNgLoMzZ2eJsaJKwH-yKpmJq8ArhA9Dqnyq-cNdf4TQCF93M6k2SZX2PKYUlAr4c-7DqA-U-6TvD2Cqxbj3NbSCgA/s320/P1280852.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">and on the other side the Carrowbeg leads out to the harbour.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pd81clUapQu-Cpzrp3u5EPnxHUTzXbT_Gu843tspV_qYecnqJEcV95_IZRe3XJfZmofbVG8vYPVqJLjJcb14chuCpFgQ8rGlDw7Ab3enmgPYmKXACepaPF7ILyQhR-CTq9vJTfsPAXzXxkcGKDKMl7g8rT5wfp1Nob05ziPSXeFjDJWgSqt2W-Ckfg/s800/P1280860.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pd81clUapQu-Cpzrp3u5EPnxHUTzXbT_Gu843tspV_qYecnqJEcV95_IZRe3XJfZmofbVG8vYPVqJLjJcb14chuCpFgQ8rGlDw7Ab3enmgPYmKXACepaPF7ILyQhR-CTq9vJTfsPAXzXxkcGKDKMl7g8rT5wfp1Nob05ziPSXeFjDJWgSqt2W-Ckfg/s320/P1280860.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This time the bird life was abundant - or rather, the variety was. More Redshanks,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6q7fw4cJ12xMZWgpcGDCSDI0NSL9nzryDjM3nIxKhMVRzM1XkTp5gSH4I5YovyAT0W5c914_-7DhO12Ebpx0zbvemuQp-J84JKgxhJA2eWh1cy56R3U5LFsq99I-J7bmsXHmhiyxgshpPrPsyrYEODMAVwjLckzp_L_biZWliPXRL3DSWFJInEw4Ug/s800/P1280871.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6q7fw4cJ12xMZWgpcGDCSDI0NSL9nzryDjM3nIxKhMVRzM1XkTp5gSH4I5YovyAT0W5c914_-7DhO12Ebpx0zbvemuQp-J84JKgxhJA2eWh1cy56R3U5LFsq99I-J7bmsXHmhiyxgshpPrPsyrYEODMAVwjLckzp_L_biZWliPXRL3DSWFJInEw4Ug/s320/P1280871.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">a lone Oystercatcher,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdETIhmoBvCIRfQRYt7GRAch-Q-o9VO52ERAHzHKJXz1yBOyGyQirxFd7bG2kOK2x3iJbyp95VQVb0x-vdB3EbQzKkRtcEezoULzxYxnOkmxHH8XHlC9BPS3CMS_HliJP2S8EdiD4b1R419oSfXzvUorkftKuCnMwP1uK_O-MYAwlsgbImkqkqKTeag/s800/P1280873.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdETIhmoBvCIRfQRYt7GRAch-Q-o9VO52ERAHzHKJXz1yBOyGyQirxFd7bG2kOK2x3iJbyp95VQVb0x-vdB3EbQzKkRtcEezoULzxYxnOkmxHH8XHlC9BPS3CMS_HliJP2S8EdiD4b1R419oSfXzvUorkftKuCnMwP1uK_O-MYAwlsgbImkqkqKTeag/s320/P1280873.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wigeons swimming and on the banks,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPe7rwm5UWWwIQ4mMOxldDtxjIUreIYLzD6zPP180EH0wtP1z3lyaW42mhpgkb-Q5oQZv2Hf8AfA3VWhcWLUC7sdeF04sRUU-9hQ6KkwUXghUP25IfcKsvtLl9KC5A3djv-4CBZZsUpiBQ5r7H02pY2p2cJ5Nrp9xTScD7zCSf4FYkvBgA8cw8d4pMg/s800/P1280875.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="800" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPe7rwm5UWWwIQ4mMOxldDtxjIUreIYLzD6zPP180EH0wtP1z3lyaW42mhpgkb-Q5oQZv2Hf8AfA3VWhcWLUC7sdeF04sRUU-9hQ6KkwUXghUP25IfcKsvtLl9KC5A3djv-4CBZZsUpiBQ5r7H02pY2p2cJ5Nrp9xTScD7zCSf4FYkvBgA8cw8d4pMg/s320/P1280875.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">a solitary Little Egret, <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DD5H9opzTOQbRXfxPWlGiHJELxcYELMDgKWVurMMCrwmrU85QHH1XLOWH0bz-jUWJdJHjpyIaRFEVa0ylKbgItQ4TZUls9fHcj29GLSxulYm2odugVlmpM9zrxgdhbkVDROzcm9tK7Faw7jxYWL4VSDlzmV7RijP1Clif5LtqA6qbMtTWSI_DHPrdQ/s800/P1280889.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="800" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DD5H9opzTOQbRXfxPWlGiHJELxcYELMDgKWVurMMCrwmrU85QHH1XLOWH0bz-jUWJdJHjpyIaRFEVa0ylKbgItQ4TZUls9fHcj29GLSxulYm2odugVlmpM9zrxgdhbkVDROzcm9tK7Faw7jxYWL4VSDlzmV7RijP1Clif5LtqA6qbMtTWSI_DHPrdQ/s320/P1280889.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">and possibly the same Curlew in the bay.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfn8SrHgHIxOBNzIKs2knPrRC9laRPQ70NarQGDZCUxbNtQYAFLluCgaSz7H-8PT2ggIIdTxfM2Zj1tuBs109q7ugiyg9QAIaY_ctzQMF45gSNQw1LFCsDUJQn5LVFLXPWgFkpZBroggUzBf7DNXTSXQ2fdNBQIX0Pp3kCAP40q3drW1VJ4sBmRROVA/s800/P1280900.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="800" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfn8SrHgHIxOBNzIKs2knPrRC9laRPQ70NarQGDZCUxbNtQYAFLluCgaSz7H-8PT2ggIIdTxfM2Zj1tuBs109q7ugiyg9QAIaY_ctzQMF45gSNQw1LFCsDUJQn5LVFLXPWgFkpZBroggUzBf7DNXTSXQ2fdNBQIX0Pp3kCAP40q3drW1VJ4sBmRROVA/s320/P1280900.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Snow had now vanished off all the surrounding mountains.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzJdnR1_5vHFETEyTtKcrzu_F3YCkDjFd6aiPOR92O73BB3AqlT1Ila2aYOyf2BBS-8shvBl4h4ZcW6yyeHQYcbd7qHpsOGax1yP7VuSgMXjIDiqXE8bNL6gClX9055sPBkwsF189dpqweu7pl_NfGhXdZIm-p8RfwUWc_2KXtNYP2odevLcSAf_UTA/s800/P1280914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzJdnR1_5vHFETEyTtKcrzu_F3YCkDjFd6aiPOR92O73BB3AqlT1Ila2aYOyf2BBS-8shvBl4h4ZcW6yyeHQYcbd7qHpsOGax1yP7VuSgMXjIDiqXE8bNL6gClX9055sPBkwsF189dpqweu7pl_NfGhXdZIm-p8RfwUWc_2KXtNYP2odevLcSAf_UTA/s320/P1280914.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_obmvXt5fDgkpYzgxzuKj8XR1rCrf7LT6Va7l7XLsr0C4aBDn1qWH71-CLuUwjNE1F4Nev1tLkx0kI3HQ_vcpTwIyT1vFrQPWhIi36xBTagHxoJCYxYJnPI9U5mToRbq85Xu24fxa0lKlJV4vLXfdjLgpLvXHa0235mMROPld25TCgoE8suJbvUJ-A/s800/P1280923.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="800" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_obmvXt5fDgkpYzgxzuKj8XR1rCrf7LT6Va7l7XLsr0C4aBDn1qWH71-CLuUwjNE1F4Nev1tLkx0kI3HQ_vcpTwIyT1vFrQPWhIi36xBTagHxoJCYxYJnPI9U5mToRbq85Xu24fxa0lKlJV4vLXfdjLgpLvXHa0235mMROPld25TCgoE8suJbvUJ-A/s320/P1280923.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">but there were also more signs of spring. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWME_q48RSNA7V_W2ozdpPQAI29txx4qeHxwtKx8KaFnbqPyIhA5Ho5wKKV4Ylqcp5Q9H8DQ6tzBWLC8P7pZ56MaLcgofs5qC2NT0VQZZcu_S8KjN-Csu_pmtz7WMa6wBCjvySAZYArKPB4-qAlZByTIebFupuEVvfUPvOyHhOx-HldbJU0lyHe0ERnw/s800/P1280919.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="800" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWME_q48RSNA7V_W2ozdpPQAI29txx4qeHxwtKx8KaFnbqPyIhA5Ho5wKKV4Ylqcp5Q9H8DQ6tzBWLC8P7pZ56MaLcgofs5qC2NT0VQZZcu_S8KjN-Csu_pmtz7WMa6wBCjvySAZYArKPB4-qAlZByTIebFupuEVvfUPvOyHhOx-HldbJU0lyHe0ERnw/s320/P1280919.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcKdDCUkd7FeQqvP0a5f8EQ6JZ-7W4C3jMBoKx27MY5tF5wuSjjs6joy0oXc1LHA62O0Qrs6wYrqSHvJI5MH3RfsaEPIXBsur0kM27dQk-iV41ghqRQq3BQuHCXsI_OTLrh9A2qPnEP--WTSRFRbSwdMJTjiw-Sjvgx2EZYCFPgmGHi2HqHQnCJM99g/s800/P1280927.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcKdDCUkd7FeQqvP0a5f8EQ6JZ-7W4C3jMBoKx27MY5tF5wuSjjs6joy0oXc1LHA62O0Qrs6wYrqSHvJI5MH3RfsaEPIXBsur0kM27dQk-iV41ghqRQq3BQuHCXsI_OTLrh9A2qPnEP--WTSRFRbSwdMJTjiw-Sjvgx2EZYCFPgmGHi2HqHQnCJM99g/s320/P1280927.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: black;">An extended walk around the nearest peninsula wasn't quite what I expected at first - luxury gated houses either side of the road - but became lovelier towards the end, and a stonewalled, treelined mini road to the south opened out on to more bay and Croagh Patrick, with darker skies behind.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgCD39ec0Gm-B9iKWqQzJINOM0zSIfWwKJwy28fyT7ZXesMFlxDoGI3myYoeep7iEOZWxKOmDm1S0oS6OA3cMSVLefBn9Hsche3Oo3nRRnatBNzztm6u5dX4dLSE1jwzBZ7cWh0axJ4M4-xn-cT52WDN4DPgLdwfSQlGY7Vw3W6MUsKuOTRxPTbbvFQ/s800/P1280936.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgCD39ec0Gm-B9iKWqQzJINOM0zSIfWwKJwy28fyT7ZXesMFlxDoGI3myYoeep7iEOZWxKOmDm1S0oS6OA3cMSVLefBn9Hsche3Oo3nRRnatBNzztm6u5dX4dLSE1jwzBZ7cWh0axJ4M4-xn-cT52WDN4DPgLdwfSQlGY7Vw3W6MUsKuOTRxPTbbvFQ/s320/P1280936.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eMuDIln5abQ5nSLo69FLHJB9nUajL-Mvi4B86qDsn6OfUo-OGKf3xMESjBmc_qxNCUosMSqCNrivt23tDyosU6jO7ERcBL_D28f53aMMev7A6rXhak7n2ZxD8PEwGOuMu722L0A9-aRvbTT-QqzR7mTVnvkAxG9p6VyRfZh0EJnRswa0GfFj-eErsg/s800/P1280940.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eMuDIln5abQ5nSLo69FLHJB9nUajL-Mvi4B86qDsn6OfUo-OGKf3xMESjBmc_qxNCUosMSqCNrivt23tDyosU6jO7ERcBL_D28f53aMMev7A6rXhak7n2ZxD8PEwGOuMu722L0A9-aRvbTT-QqzR7mTVnvkAxG9p6VyRfZh0EJnRswa0GfFj-eErsg/s320/P1280940.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black;">Time was running out, so I made for the Great Western Greenway back, lichen and pools to the left</span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXi3sv6DSSpmDScjFcdIXmcxI9EPKxJQeqee7BM2pgxfwiJKDqrWrQQxbOx02OKKeKSIh4WVJecUALVAmyVmPfS9jSyTwNdbKVdWl6lIoPVp72hV9UAO28WoDa84DFqDFlXnfknkjrZyQh4X8li7uBIquqTB96t4AcmGgaXTyVZDVy2uhxN7J5exbXg/s800/P1290004.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXi3sv6DSSpmDScjFcdIXmcxI9EPKxJQeqee7BM2pgxfwiJKDqrWrQQxbOx02OKKeKSIh4WVJecUALVAmyVmPfS9jSyTwNdbKVdWl6lIoPVp72hV9UAO28WoDa84DFqDFlXnfknkjrZyQh4X8li7uBIquqTB96t4AcmGgaXTyVZDVy2uhxN7J5exbXg/s320/P1290004.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><br /><span style="color: black;">and mountain again to the right, leafing in the foreground,<br /></span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFACShm5o9vr_WNVP_QT34yraHOpsC6aMsIw5TfCvieTedY_O2mwQCsifGSXFQSg4KG6b2JNTw3mhmtGWczcAXufUdGrpmPMYt4EqKIaztIIqLyHMEsp8tMjgrRJRdadz2iVPq8OnECZNOOtFkOiSP3-mQBywB3_LA0jR1LGTp4KRlx8rxFi4eFXeMA/s800/P1290005.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFACShm5o9vr_WNVP_QT34yraHOpsC6aMsIw5TfCvieTedY_O2mwQCsifGSXFQSg4KG6b2JNTw3mhmtGWczcAXufUdGrpmPMYt4EqKIaztIIqLyHMEsp8tMjgrRJRdadz2iVPq8OnECZNOOtFkOiSP3-mQBywB3_LA0jR1LGTp4KRlx8rxFi4eFXeMA/s320/P1290005.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><br /><span style="color: black;">with a final enlivening by a noisy call from a Chaffinch <br /></span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFdtNIFdOut0c_cTLkeJd3R4TVj4uEI7QKlBCBfL3cc5CBStFlu7C5Unn5jRKQbDM2GGnWoELWjPJOfhjyG_O1I8Heiw39avzFivtT7t6RjoZTWxA-Owdkp-D4NJIhKrOSyX2Tm_Q3-R9D5ofJfkvsObBv_eXGclMN96-F2HnXST_yY134_9-Q30VJw/s800/P1290009.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFdtNIFdOut0c_cTLkeJd3R4TVj4uEI7QKlBCBfL3cc5CBStFlu7C5Unn5jRKQbDM2GGnWoELWjPJOfhjyG_O1I8Heiw39avzFivtT7t6RjoZTWxA-Owdkp-D4NJIhKrOSyX2Tm_Q3-R9D5ofJfkvsObBv_eXGclMN96-F2HnXST_yY134_9-Q30VJw/s320/P1290009.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span>before reaching the town and setting off for the station. A bracing time away indeed.</span></span></p></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-72675600704690509112023-03-21T20:30:00.007+00:002023-03-26T15:58:24.520+01:00Korngold saved in Munich miracle<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFRI7Bc9fu3mXBVC1o9TAvUoweUe4h5K58L09WjXqDyBJDemU4S_ofRKgF_m68eKIoUIBJIfSBsqS8ZOg_q3QsdacMnOOaVMCfUuBuJGUxUiyUc5HgPWiKLxs7gQQ16t2PmQZjGM11AUdxE6tTfL-T2l9PkhiwJ_Uz45DieDiLNgbJ7kIHarbGjFFTA/s1000/Die%20tote%20Stadt%208.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1000" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFRI7Bc9fu3mXBVC1o9TAvUoweUe4h5K58L09WjXqDyBJDemU4S_ofRKgF_m68eKIoUIBJIfSBsqS8ZOg_q3QsdacMnOOaVMCfUuBuJGUxUiyUc5HgPWiKLxs7gQQ16t2PmQZjGM11AUdxE6tTfL-T2l9PkhiwJ_Uz45DieDiLNgbJ7kIHarbGjFFTA/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%208.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was only under pressure from several of my Opera in Depth Zoom students that I didn't spend a whole term on Strauss's <i>Der Rosenkavalier</i>, covering it in a mere seven lectures and saving three for Korngold's <i>Die tote Stadt</i> (which, as <i>The Dead City</i>, opens at ENO this coming Saturday*). Ultimately, I'm glad I did, because it introduced me to one of the most moving and real productions of any opera I've seen, Simon Stone's for the Bavarian State Opera with dream casting in Jonas Kaufmann as Paul (never better) and Marlis Petersen as Marietta/Marie, and simply phenomenal conducting by Kirill Petrenko.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1YPcTzWv9F-CC28iGOeWk0zXW9n2znoG9oH8uu4xtitB32mBQQUBaS_cEVneVeGDrNSpv0sWi55gcyTI-FXYtLJDLSChyczUjYnAOs7D3hkR-6Vu8BBrm8fD5jA1EIvUUkNA7hjyFZ3RefgbTnljfrQI20hxOLplxtyK1PnKdkQxMPSXTMC0YPXv0g/s1000/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="1000" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1YPcTzWv9F-CC28iGOeWk0zXW9n2znoG9oH8uu4xtitB32mBQQUBaS_cEVneVeGDrNSpv0sWi55gcyTI-FXYtLJDLSChyczUjYnAOs7D3hkR-6Vu8BBrm8fD5jA1EIvUUkNA7hjyFZ3RefgbTnljfrQI20hxOLplxtyK1PnKdkQxMPSXTMC0YPXv0g/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Everything's been topsy-turvy in my acquaintance with this peculiar opera. I should have seen it in Vienna, but the baritone was ill, so they replaced it with <i>L'elisir d'amore</i> (and we went instead to see a somewhat crapulous Otto Schenk in an all-male production of Wilde's <i>Bunbury, oder wie wichtig ist est Ernst zu sein</i> - novelty value, but poor, we left at the interval). I myself was ill during the Royal Opera run. I'd only half-listened to the Leinsdorf recording, and before the classes read Georges Rodenbach's <i>Bruges-la-Morte </i>in a translation by Mike Mitchell, approaching the opera from the wrong end, as it turned out.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5G_Ul83XH42ALtS36VGSefWPzWnXkZMpT1L3b6uMxoWyPQSB2mQBsZokJvCy3uPnjlNl6FbqsEGWvfZPVzkHIpjh5gWs7wKqDZ-g51M3Og6zb6h_YKk2whLSrc-jZntMqQuVkunUycigyjCz_RxlLSh3N3T-2pFPATf2zMauJKJCl1vwRLSYt5eBKQ/s1268/61l4zW2MkNL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5G_Ul83XH42ALtS36VGSefWPzWnXkZMpT1L3b6uMxoWyPQSB2mQBsZokJvCy3uPnjlNl6FbqsEGWvfZPVzkHIpjh5gWs7wKqDZ-g51M3Og6zb6h_YKk2whLSrc-jZntMqQuVkunUycigyjCz_RxlLSh3N3T-2pFPATf2zMauJKJCl1vwRLSYt5eBKQ/s320/61l4zW2MkNL.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><p>Decadent, melancholy Bruges is the protagonist in the book, twinned in the Dedalus edition with Rodenbach's essay <i>The Death Throes of Towns, </i>with which it shares so many phrases and images. 'How moving she is in this centuries-old consumption, in which the town stricken with death spits out one by one her stones - as if from her lungs - and especially moving on this autumnal November morning, beneath a sky whose pallor is in perfect accord with her own!' It chimes - bells playing a crucial role, incidentally - with the main character of the novel, Hugues, who 'needed a dead town to correspond to his dead wife...He needed infinite silence and an existence that was so monotonous it almost failed to give him a sense of belief'. (Portrait of Rodenbach below with Bruges in the background by Lucien <span>Lévy</span>-Dhurmer). <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d8J9qwqOrYfi9x5jMIClqDFQuMHFVx2sAnw6ai9uiqrNKlDTLlgshZC1lx3MOZujVQcnx4AIX-E2x9-FvWnP_OzMiZUkdK5fOzY-QNJoM-jOZ64pFNhseAE7uG_Wckc_VfIB-fgIu9haTy_1fY6gRZY5ZuJ8rm1hi3PcyYi4l67MOYb6Q7kUW1PZVg/s900/Tote%20Stadt%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="900" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d8J9qwqOrYfi9x5jMIClqDFQuMHFVx2sAnw6ai9uiqrNKlDTLlgshZC1lx3MOZujVQcnx4AIX-E2x9-FvWnP_OzMiZUkdK5fOzY-QNJoM-jOZ64pFNhseAE7uG_Wckc_VfIB-fgIu9haTy_1fY6gRZY5ZuJ8rm1hi3PcyYi4l67MOYb6Q7kUW1PZVg/s320/Tote%20Stadt%205.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Into this buried-barely alive-existence comes Jane, a dancer in the local production of Meyerbeer's <i>Robert le Diable</i>, who seems to bear a direct resemblance to the unnamed wife. The novel isn't in the first person, but nearly everything is seen from the obsessive widower's perspective, and the living woman's character resides only in her responses. I came eventually to see that Korngold and his critic father, disguised librettists of the opera, don't really care much for characterising Bruges - which the composer may or may not have visited as a teenager - or finding water music. But the operatic take on the renamed Jane, Marietta to Marie the dead wife, is marvellous and modern: a feminist figure of immense vitality, embodying the spirit of life as dance (Petersen seen as Marietta below in Stone's production with her fellow players in an intermezzo that starts out like the one in <i>Ariadne auf Naxos</i> but eventually turns sinister).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmsmG9ZtLoTDYNPQ9elEsHm4HYDUTJUwStq7TTKt6edOJ8JeeQMhM5cZf81mCdDvw9yfokbE_OF9S0HpwaQc6z22GcnB1lRiMO2C8E5LZDt0K6I-KWMdCXvZLRg8DoEYNXmGjDSWGlQJAfv60t1vno5q6JPasiEiipkC4TR5q3FZyRTyuwZLI_0Bl0Q/s1000/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2015.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1000" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmsmG9ZtLoTDYNPQ9elEsHm4HYDUTJUwStq7TTKt6edOJ8JeeQMhM5cZf81mCdDvw9yfokbE_OF9S0HpwaQc6z22GcnB1lRiMO2C8E5LZDt0K6I-KWMdCXvZLRg8DoEYNXmGjDSWGlQJAfv60t1vno5q6JPasiEiipkC4TR5q3FZyRTyuwZLI_0Bl0Q/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Stone capitalises on this, as he outlines in a booklet interview. He says he wants to avoid the 'old fashioned and conservative interpretation' of Marietta as wilfully tormenting Paul (which seems to be the case in the novel, where the character is called Hugues). Instead, Stone declares,</p><p><i>Marietta is a self-confident, happy, affectionate, freedom-loving, adventurous, open-minded woman. And it's exactly this woman whom Paul needed to come into his life and drag him out of his coccoon of sorrow, a dead person whom he had completely under his control. He packed her life into boxes and catalogued it. The desire for control is an instinct that all men carry within themselves and which lead to tension in relationships. Paul is an extreme example of this. So, Marietta is the most challenging of polar opposites to Paul that you could imagine.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4eYfrWr4WuJmxKyBo0wLBxRquxniZ3RgQDhsuU3DfZhgs62CY5YpfDI_JbLN4MrS-I9l_-lUZ4-NGPXw1NbuLm_NAQEshrArLoRCLuufgo4kAoPVbPQJDkkhdZsFzJtXvd7zcZ25-FYA--EXq_KFkELA-kerskbMTnggHCCaPqrR8R1vEtcFchFrvw/s941/Die%20tote%20Stadt%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="941" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4eYfrWr4WuJmxKyBo0wLBxRquxniZ3RgQDhsuU3DfZhgs62CY5YpfDI_JbLN4MrS-I9l_-lUZ4-NGPXw1NbuLm_NAQEshrArLoRCLuufgo4kAoPVbPQJDkkhdZsFzJtXvd7zcZ25-FYA--EXq_KFkELA-kerskbMTnggHCCaPqrR8R1vEtcFchFrvw/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><i></i></p><p>We believe in Paul's obsession and Marietta's vitality almost from the start in this production. And we witness Marietta's despair in trying to bring Paul back to life and love that she feels for him - that he, clearly, reciprocates, if only he could break away from his control of the dead wife. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx5r8_kZlelnjEQaZsJ08uVdDXQHaMnG_5zaLaheNZg525V3M1qvqQECkf8C1mTjXGi64Pf2S4Yn4NFoXltHz2qIw7Gc0C4nBGrK4VHZLvhmThLRO8SUWOvNSdKs9kQ1p2ef40JJrW9dYYkgqMXbENVKQE60mLoSqr9lCElVDJxVY4clHLdS-OLQ1FA/s1000/Die%20tote%20Stadt%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1000" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx5r8_kZlelnjEQaZsJ08uVdDXQHaMnG_5zaLaheNZg525V3M1qvqQECkf8C1mTjXGi64Pf2S4Yn4NFoXltHz2qIw7Gc0C4nBGrK4VHZLvhmThLRO8SUWOvNSdKs9kQ1p2ef40JJrW9dYYkgqMXbENVKQE60mLoSqr9lCElVDJxVY4clHLdS-OLQ1FA/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%205.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Is this only a partial vision? In relation to the original story, yes; in terms of Korngold's wish to have his cake and eat it, the solution seems to me totally engaging and moving. The first two acts, after all, end with dancing vibrancy, while at the end of the third the Korngolds, having dispensed with the actual ending of Rodenbach's bleak novel, waken Paul from his nightmare and suggest a brighter future, though Stone points out in the interview that it will be a tough one. I now understand why there's less melancholy in this opera than I originally wanted - Korngold, after all, seems to have been very exuberant in his early 20s - although a Bruges-like dankness hangs around Paul's dialogue with the vision of Marie, which Stone, and Petersen's stunning transformation, make all too plausible.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvjiVBlNVm6s8CTB8qrqCCUZA7vfYCwHkcJsYC4F6s1egP60pveVwUUmDAkCe6WH9cHHciAkiu4iTuDRjc7w11GvqWt--PHBXYD8wo6S90F_OxIzbTTvazfSbctlLhY6sDf9e0dYsRAWHZ3vxZUqbfgyISsQCI6km3MwE0pKhXPA_ZXy1ie4HZMHMzw/s1000/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="1000" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvjiVBlNVm6s8CTB8qrqCCUZA7vfYCwHkcJsYC4F6s1egP60pveVwUUmDAkCe6WH9cHHciAkiu4iTuDRjc7w11GvqWt--PHBXYD8wo6S90F_OxIzbTTvazfSbctlLhY6sDf9e0dYsRAWHZ3vxZUqbfgyISsQCI6km3MwE0pKhXPA_ZXy1ie4HZMHMzw/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Quite apart from the utterly involving theatrical experience, we witness two singers tackling roles of superhuman difficulty - the tenor especially needs massive stamina to sing so often in the middle to upper reaches of his voice - without drawing attention to the fact. As one of my students pointed out, she'd only seen productions before this where the strain is in the tenor's voice, while here that never happens with Kaufmann, so all the tension can go into the acting. And Petersen has no hard edges to her voice, so we get none of the usual dramatic-soprano hysteria and just total, lovable energy (her Marietta pictured below at the start of Pierrot's Song in Act 2, so well sung by baritone <span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="pl"><span class="hgKElc">Andrzej Filończyk</span></span>, who incarnates both Paul's friend Frank and the troupe player Fritz).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiRUdryvgV448NjqQE_9CdaGOs6-NzjipSUzL3Q8UD86H7Cu5FeUgIO4PX-dqYKXBtdJr-IOtsVob-mHK6APfUH0iW0Yq2vcj5oJpAhau4MWxQzmADHiRNa2TayulEISRsTsdws9BFxIjhsrP0dWJTaPyRhJ2V8EaNbzeifvZ7UZZT15d-K_kf1dkSA/s1000/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2013.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="1000" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiRUdryvgV448NjqQE_9CdaGOs6-NzjipSUzL3Q8UD86H7Cu5FeUgIO4PX-dqYKXBtdJr-IOtsVob-mHK6APfUH0iW0Yq2vcj5oJpAhau4MWxQzmADHiRNa2TayulEISRsTsdws9BFxIjhsrP0dWJTaPyRhJ2V8EaNbzeifvZ7UZZT15d-K_kf1dkSA/s320/Die%20tote%20Stadt%2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Leinsdorf's recording made me feel that the score is too splashy, with way too much celesta, piano and harp, too many voice-smothering outbursts; there's none of that from the amazing Petrenko, who makes it sound like a masterpiece. Perhaps it is; I wonder what the ENO production will tell us. But one thing's for sure - these DVDs should be an essential part of anyone's opera collection.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZWdhlyg6okUtaPEchkwvkeTf9Sn9Qy4wYl8Ll176HBG7NXusbrtF53boiNzf4mbBGCY1_Av_Ic7iaIhyaCc6ciZcFFKOAajTt9EaAbx8Ed-RzwsgUv6j_3XqARNr7av-qgXSMoxW6999EDP6BRJrqN6IaKXtLy6tHnW1OctXW1ekiWqe8YmMaWT-dw/s1200/61nYW5gCKpS._AC_SL1200_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="889" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZWdhlyg6okUtaPEchkwvkeTf9Sn9Qy4wYl8Ll176HBG7NXusbrtF53boiNzf4mbBGCY1_Av_Ic7iaIhyaCc6ciZcFFKOAajTt9EaAbx8Ed-RzwsgUv6j_3XqARNr7av-qgXSMoxW6999EDP6BRJrqN6IaKXtLy6tHnW1OctXW1ekiWqe8YmMaWT-dw/s320/61nYW5gCKpS._AC_SL1200_.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>More on the<i> Rosenkavalier </i>experience anon (what guests we had: Felicity Lott and John Tomlinson together for the final session, and in separate Zooms, Richard Jones and his movement directer/choreographer Sarah Fahie, Peter Rose, Paula Murrihy and Fergus Sheil while they were rehearsing for the superlative <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/der-rosenkavalier-irish-national-opera-review-world-class-delight">Irish National Opera production</a>). What it does seem pertinent to mention in connection with <i>Die tote Stadt </i>is my first acquaintance with the great Irish writer Sebastian Barry in his most recent novel, <i>Old God's Time. </i>So seductive is the prose in the early chapters that you might be lulled - I was - into thinking this is a poetic reflection on the past by a retired detective in his Dalkey retreat. What's to tell about the past? In fact this turns out to be another high drama about lacerating grief - without giving too much away, it turns out that Tom Kettle is a veritable job in his past afflictions - bound in with a surprising element of thriller. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeRzfrWQQvkgFglW4pMXo9jlf3kPv2vUblfFxyP2X9Ggp25viqytsfrm3OwZo7ZS3TdJRL7nRaWtrz-W5LuC3uw19YV7dZXXawrUz_3rEnt2P3ZT4qTpNgErA8nfCnw6MVrptCce5NsLFqlmGzK3ueX9A7wlqan6nUpQpBTz3AaYMaCGjVUL19mODsw/s500/9780571332779.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeRzfrWQQvkgFglW4pMXo9jlf3kPv2vUblfFxyP2X9Ggp25viqytsfrm3OwZo7ZS3TdJRL7nRaWtrz-W5LuC3uw19YV7dZXXawrUz_3rEnt2P3ZT4qTpNgErA8nfCnw6MVrptCce5NsLFqlmGzK3ueX9A7wlqan6nUpQpBTz3AaYMaCGjVUL19mODsw/s320/9780571332779.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'll say no more; read it, and meanwhile I'll get hold of other Barrys once I've worked my way through Alan Hollinghurst's <i>The Folding Star</i> - more essential set-in-Bruges reading to follow Rodenbach (Hollinghust provides a fine introduction to the English translation of <i>Bruges-la-Morte</i>. </p><p>Next term's Opera in Depth choices, by the way, are Handel's <i>Serse</i> - inspired by the peerlessly cast English Concert performance last yeat in St Martin-in-the-Fields, due for release very soon - and (because I'll spend three rather than the usual five classes on that), a Poulenc survey over seven Mondays: one class apiece on <i>La voix humaine </i>and <i>Les mamelles de Tirésias, </i>triumphs of Glyndebourne's 2022 season, and then five on <span><i class="hcV4Re nkGKTb">Dialogues Des Carmélites, </i><span class="hcV4Re nkGKTb">due this year. Leave a message with your email (I won't publish it but I'll get back to you) if you're interested in joining us - which, thanks to Zoom, you can do from anywhere in the world, and claim videos of any classes you can't make live.</span></span></p><p><span><span class="hcV4Re nkGKTb">*26/3 <a href="https://davidnice.blogspot.com/2023/03/korngold-saved-in-munich-miracle.html">Review now up on theartsdesk.</a> Yes, Stone's production spoiled me - though Miskimmon's was far from bad. <br /></span></span></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-79328364788111737042023-02-24T13:28:00.003+00:002023-02-24T16:08:03.057+00:00Wings and weather around visits to The Beast<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_clZ0N0kiP_Ei24GAFu8a8Yg7L2gsfEtWsxzfpH6kS8hAi0fGSI1hFj6Di3mkjq_drlnYI14V8OLW3xe9R-dQYzWnheY-lf4YEPc41mzSguQMHxcEbPV12HHHMHQTja2i3NkQOe2ENgoErzmfijMCMglI-4fAbEl4n9t9fkoFjeWOPJrJv_w-8-v5hQ/s800/P1270738.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_clZ0N0kiP_Ei24GAFu8a8Yg7L2gsfEtWsxzfpH6kS8hAi0fGSI1hFj6Di3mkjq_drlnYI14V8OLW3xe9R-dQYzWnheY-lf4YEPc41mzSguQMHxcEbPV12HHHMHQTja2i3NkQOe2ENgoErzmfijMCMglI-4fAbEl4n9t9fkoFjeWOPJrJv_w-8-v5hQ/s320/P1270738.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>On Tuesday I rang the bell to mark an end to five weeks of radio/chemotherapy which, it's hoped, will have frazzled my bowel tumour. Before that, a colonoscopy, various scans (several involving unexpected manual probes...), and two biopsies under general anaesthetic. Borderline Stage One/Two cancer like this would normally be removed in an op, but as mine is in a difficult place, and it would be a whopper involving plastic surgery and stoma, my wonderfully energetic surgeon Maria suggested I try an alternative route first. </p><p>I now wait eight weeks for an MRI scan to see if this has done the trick, and if not...still the op. But at least I know I'll be fine; I'm one of the lucky ones. Below is one of the three identical Beasts, so named by my kind friend Maev, who also took the photo below. Very impressive; it circulates around you like the spaceships dancing to the <i>Blue Danube</i> Waltz in <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3owaxTTZN7MGEFZ9wa0g6aNeoD2RC7A-YNmo2XPGOjgytKzdLpY_zmpelUNqkjyqfUOcR5NYwAX_u9txxY-BtO1d1kE0PJu5IwtAZNF0fLt1MujjflpmlxS657PfOTNygnz7wozRL_eCgwI_itbZN_S2QN-e2K0zZsaRJUiEVysa0UI979cK-HBYHw/s1000/IMG-20230117-WA0002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3owaxTTZN7MGEFZ9wa0g6aNeoD2RC7A-YNmo2XPGOjgytKzdLpY_zmpelUNqkjyqfUOcR5NYwAX_u9txxY-BtO1d1kE0PJu5IwtAZNF0fLt1MujjflpmlxS657PfOTNygnz7wozRL_eCgwI_itbZN_S2QN-e2K0zZsaRJUiEVysa0UI979cK-HBYHw/s320/IMG-20230117-WA0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I've also been fortunate in having only a ten minute walk to Charing Cross Hospital each weekday morning., with various cafes to stop off at on the way back if I have the time. I asked for early appointments because I wanted to carry on my Monday and Thursday afternoon Zoom classes - on<i> Der Rosenkavalier</i> and Nielsen respectively - which have helped keep me buoyant. I've also kept on reviewing, and witnessed some wonderful chamber and orchestral concerts, plus operatic production of varying degrees of success, mich the most impressive being <a href="https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/rhinegold-english-national-opera-review-tacky-edgy-brilliant">Richard Jones's wacky new ENO take on Wagner's<i> The Rheingold</i></a>.<br /></p><p>The main payoff of this is Margravine Cemetery, an arboretum with 70 different kind of trees and attendant birds: my big delight here was to witness the return of the overwintering Redwing flock which I missed last year.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4emhjbcx5G6AvR31sRQoOPl9BOKztNZbKgDs-wSDB7bpqM3tFaZiGyFZtrhLp68h8zCwv99dFD69UL-AzCtAcz71L-2GyCJmiRXPjdNC4hTCdLNNMw58VQPdmo6XrwuHuEIkr0HqeQTWqrWydzw92FFTdqatN8PX3tM-ntj80Es984Vk4Of4-klwjw/s2054/P1270691.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="2054" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4emhjbcx5G6AvR31sRQoOPl9BOKztNZbKgDs-wSDB7bpqM3tFaZiGyFZtrhLp68h8zCwv99dFD69UL-AzCtAcz71L-2GyCJmiRXPjdNC4hTCdLNNMw58VQPdmo6XrwuHuEIkr0HqeQTWqrWydzw92FFTdqatN8PX3tM-ntj80Es984Vk4Of4-klwjw/s320/P1270691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />I also took it as a good omen that while walking along the home square to the first treatment, I heard, then saw, Goldfinches in the early morning light. They haven't been back to the Niger seed feeder in the back for about a year, but good to know they're still around.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1czJLnTTtKdRLydmO4b6nVKyk3mhRZFptveVvp4ED35JUjpf-4moNbTXAvjIQBTxplq58PthHYZU6e3ZKzLxAYv2Zv91gZxHBjSCETwOEcySpkjtCNZjLF9Z64Tbh-i28Q1IOEAAwGTB8KzBUON2E1bunPL90OdHgCP7l9r2UhI51k7-siJK4G_CGKg/s800/P1270670.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1czJLnTTtKdRLydmO4b6nVKyk3mhRZFptveVvp4ED35JUjpf-4moNbTXAvjIQBTxplq58PthHYZU6e3ZKzLxAYv2Zv91gZxHBjSCETwOEcySpkjtCNZjLF9Z64Tbh-i28Q1IOEAAwGTB8KzBUON2E1bunPL90OdHgCP7l9r2UhI51k7-siJK4G_CGKg/s320/P1270670.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>This was Day One, 18 January - a frosty day, one of many, beautifying the graveyard.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnWbkPaGrgsZToTsNc4vVwwQgx0I5C-MzkR2WL8EdhLp9oVj1B9WC6XwAnDp6xW0Asu7ZvsY8YXzj_HzzUwd3ZuaDlJSn6Sj1yOXGuuB1uyyGv_hJ5TJqP9gKogSuHMhFUWpfweZUuXUE25UvC27XU4RSzMfJ0QIThq3RnXeYJbMK7_PpSbNJ1MiTgA/s800/P1270673.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnWbkPaGrgsZToTsNc4vVwwQgx0I5C-MzkR2WL8EdhLp9oVj1B9WC6XwAnDp6xW0Asu7ZvsY8YXzj_HzzUwd3ZuaDlJSn6Sj1yOXGuuB1uyyGv_hJ5TJqP9gKogSuHMhFUWpfweZUuXUE25UvC27XU4RSzMfJ0QIThq3RnXeYJbMK7_PpSbNJ1MiTgA/s320/P1270673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofUJ1vjb0goG2irOf-7C1hx4J3v056l8KO2FWRCHa-xsi5DfEspmoGcsImfkVA6lCb63wxLpeTLrEkrSODvlm6aSsGfJKp5lVYcqzArFxhIIwDdDd9u5iit8ZOjqpXvFXlXOZSov2rfKd9c6GPIraKs08bn_3LBrbuzq3a5QrlhLWkCSGqzuNkPhvUQ/s1000/P1270671.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofUJ1vjb0goG2irOf-7C1hx4J3v056l8KO2FWRCHa-xsi5DfEspmoGcsImfkVA6lCb63wxLpeTLrEkrSODvlm6aSsGfJKp5lVYcqzArFxhIIwDdDd9u5iit8ZOjqpXvFXlXOZSov2rfKd9c6GPIraKs08bn_3LBrbuzq3a5QrlhLWkCSGqzuNkPhvUQ/s320/P1270671.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39_2kIvZNQoS3yjmJfOamvj80vVuqmIXEvyB_3KFu7FPx8-qCdK8E_RVy4PZXPqN52hiTyODPB9lAakRyo516JNPXSqOK9Xj5KoVEa3F3aFbfYnlVx7_PiKhY7yfeS3cSyVrgbvuf1oy88lZXD82CXGeX8v4QFW-zKYifVBjG3R6FT4M0fu-1Z078_A/s800/P1270672.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39_2kIvZNQoS3yjmJfOamvj80vVuqmIXEvyB_3KFu7FPx8-qCdK8E_RVy4PZXPqN52hiTyODPB9lAakRyo516JNPXSqOK9Xj5KoVEa3F3aFbfYnlVx7_PiKhY7yfeS3cSyVrgbvuf1oy88lZXD82CXGeX8v4QFW-zKYifVBjG3R6FT4M0fu-1Z078_A/s320/P1270672.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>On the way back, it was surely serendipity that I bumped into near-neighbours <a href="https://www.suchis.com/">Suchi</a> and Jonathan, whom I hadn't seen since semi-Lockdown walks around the cemetery. We'd been planning to meet up, but now they were insistent that I joined them for supper as many nights of the week as I liked. Didn't want to overdo it, but have enjoyed two evenings of superb southern Indian vegetarian food and excellent company, the second on the eve of my last treatment earlier this week. I'm so grateful to them and all friends far and wide who've been supportive in one way or another. Certainly not been short of invitations to lunch and coffee...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb6Np4gqnHuf_bQr3mf7nASf1iv9BudlRVnO_iAImD1AO9XKDO4MOkVBWcvYPtG4GXNiBe8N_NgiN1nIpm2aXL69xJ40J0gbezRxnUNlhQXH9U3Y-F3PmBUOn-3FmjVoRsBQ5qz7LGDWeGdMFoU6G6h6YKkDKfmN-2GTl_Q-8ayI5wJwkTjtVQ2ptGg/s800/P1270677.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb6Np4gqnHuf_bQr3mf7nASf1iv9BudlRVnO_iAImD1AO9XKDO4MOkVBWcvYPtG4GXNiBe8N_NgiN1nIpm2aXL69xJ40J0gbezRxnUNlhQXH9U3Y-F3PmBUOn-3FmjVoRsBQ5qz7LGDWeGdMFoU6G6h6YKkDKfmN-2GTl_Q-8ayI5wJwkTjtVQ2ptGg/s320/P1270677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>While a hint of spring was already evident that day,</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEp77Q3AYkB9_8uYkWcmATeF-hNhFQdSAITByR98CJBhkZD9x3ox9wjH6kUiJnrbRbS0ggCxQSrBS4iQKQ0Eufl3bsQhpE1VSeOcKcZdxZ2CsuUsDOTIUUHqs5HePGSxu0whO7fXAvn2WjromdxCSnGuJizeaLyLzhe_AgNBJ0LhGtdlQ_YkToAI4UEQ/s800/P1270685.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEp77Q3AYkB9_8uYkWcmATeF-hNhFQdSAITByR98CJBhkZD9x3ox9wjH6kUiJnrbRbS0ggCxQSrBS4iQKQ0Eufl3bsQhpE1VSeOcKcZdxZ2CsuUsDOTIUUHqs5HePGSxu0whO7fXAvn2WjromdxCSnGuJizeaLyLzhe_AgNBJ0LhGtdlQ_YkToAI4UEQ/s320/P1270685.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I snapped the first crocus in Margravine territory on 20 January, </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kbjSwMgegVquIIbKOa6wuRih9iz3wvID96uD2EHMO_DEExloHD1h0KojRjYUpyWumPy6VfN3Qh5oVfJb7eABKnZa9lI-AkuLkqfD63J8MNk-JYG6-Ufnfptnp2_6HLocPbBsuQzGwctbnk4GjJj98lrPGyhpr6B9Bi5H7Tr8CDW6ypjat73PLjEQ3g/s800/P1270702.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="800" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kbjSwMgegVquIIbKOa6wuRih9iz3wvID96uD2EHMO_DEExloHD1h0KojRjYUpyWumPy6VfN3Qh5oVfJb7eABKnZa9lI-AkuLkqfD63J8MNk-JYG6-Ufnfptnp2_6HLocPbBsuQzGwctbnk4GjJj98lrPGyhpr6B9Bi5H7Tr8CDW6ypjat73PLjEQ3g/s320/P1270702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>which was when I first saw the Redwings this year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARAsCgDrl5BkSTeuv1xRcGMKvGbJ6d2eO0xsXFTWLKPn_ZPDA4_jPrbs0cxNHa1BjL1RsJU_R_Cv0A74yOdVNV7zbidc79z6k6ONs84JjDnrfamzPaxHoFhCCZrkjEHGhLNjTdI64_wb2kbZwrVoh4RgBzgF6RmjTiiRvm2tBpbmMZTaq8eUVa07Hjw/s800/P1270698.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="800" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARAsCgDrl5BkSTeuv1xRcGMKvGbJ6d2eO0xsXFTWLKPn_ZPDA4_jPrbs0cxNHa1BjL1RsJU_R_Cv0A74yOdVNV7zbidc79z6k6ONs84JjDnrfamzPaxHoFhCCZrkjEHGhLNjTdI64_wb2kbZwrVoh4RgBzgF6RmjTiiRvm2tBpbmMZTaq8eUVa07Hjw/s320/P1270698.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Three days later, an even more spectacular frost hit. I don't remember one quite like it in London, but probably I'm not usually walking in semi-nature so early in the morning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFw2CjvQwj8x3YyH0hxCYp6_KwcOMA3DE3U_jPVAjIHwM0ewUIFW7-WPIXvMUPzsgkPHL2j_axY7uHa2-9ffLZohVb9xdoFbnIrSDzlAdl4veztzGax8pO1Q44NQHfQLvR9bjIQCYWoW6Koe7dsnYrX3GTUc1EXjuS0GpP8l-xlLrLixNT4T5NyOpOFw/s800/P1270724.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFw2CjvQwj8x3YyH0hxCYp6_KwcOMA3DE3U_jPVAjIHwM0ewUIFW7-WPIXvMUPzsgkPHL2j_axY7uHa2-9ffLZohVb9xdoFbnIrSDzlAdl4veztzGax8pO1Q44NQHfQLvR9bjIQCYWoW6Koe7dsnYrX3GTUc1EXjuS0GpP8l-xlLrLixNT4T5NyOpOFw/s320/P1270724.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7geptK5bD9At2HeaOHFgAGogWk7JWoa-4n4apg4EYSrbWQ_1DHTvJVouO6tsQOSFCp3ybyTJ0Rh4d5D9UjzXVEUR1KzfFjOVnESs3FEOcPlMTGSWL-0NSkIUv47sR3W5q--SnCNgKIBs6oIK8DGnnyScIQ04YP5EgVtw7qdmbYYuO5XEEqIS7nLP1Q/s800/P1270728.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7geptK5bD9At2HeaOHFgAGogWk7JWoa-4n4apg4EYSrbWQ_1DHTvJVouO6tsQOSFCp3ybyTJ0Rh4d5D9UjzXVEUR1KzfFjOVnESs3FEOcPlMTGSWL-0NSkIUv47sR3W5q--SnCNgKIBs6oIK8DGnnyScIQ04YP5EgVtw7qdmbYYuO5XEEqIS7nLP1Q/s320/P1270728.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipA1Svv5vzvGi1XkAko9_ZpEub0S8NnPNbCl_qNPpykYmpz4KeRdmJlxtOKDojQVITOrTC_bmsByC22AoGoxIopOtEAfbaCYcxtZsdU7gWNW1fmh5VXMnjokKKdScjxyjD6YdDqk3qYToYW7ZHQVabjIEpGCYOO85TJq8vpXWjNtDVIMnmBD6siewtSg/s800/P1270730.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipA1Svv5vzvGi1XkAko9_ZpEub0S8NnPNbCl_qNPpykYmpz4KeRdmJlxtOKDojQVITOrTC_bmsByC22AoGoxIopOtEAfbaCYcxtZsdU7gWNW1fmh5VXMnjokKKdScjxyjD6YdDqk3qYToYW7ZHQVabjIEpGCYOO85TJq8vpXWjNtDVIMnmBD6siewtSg/s320/P1270730.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxEHfW3VRa8tTv-PHG7VT4t7ncGBC9jHDeJ-IoTQVIU7E7DrFNeYnKqSKXHLz57ialQSzWsFq6jqayt9s0NhVjCiKXNlqnBe4n3TyoSnsZbgR7KFeYLyEEzVlEq-tLB4q8drB3VyuyDW3uNsqgo-WJUdNV1r2Cnx1QI7xg2ecaxpEPMFS4fB-nTqRBQ/s800/P1270736.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxEHfW3VRa8tTv-PHG7VT4t7ncGBC9jHDeJ-IoTQVIU7E7DrFNeYnKqSKXHLz57ialQSzWsFq6jqayt9s0NhVjCiKXNlqnBe4n3TyoSnsZbgR7KFeYLyEEzVlEq-tLB4q8drB3VyuyDW3uNsqgo-WJUdNV1r2Cnx1QI7xg2ecaxpEPMFS4fB-nTqRBQ/s320/P1270736.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigk7Q1z7qx_8vbMMMzKgpEW1gvbwKZabLYwKaWW4feFv0_4WzCwa9jYwD8udJTwcnm_OCS06C2Y0sgb3k4n1S6AzE5BepIqUKNSsLPDU1nT3pkpdbj-26IHqZowYXcoAk8-cp8w2QF0XqnkljgUNP7O2_LOsQL9SmrxtwvjL_dzrnH4n9-W3kRefvzxg/s800/P1270742.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigk7Q1z7qx_8vbMMMzKgpEW1gvbwKZabLYwKaWW4feFv0_4WzCwa9jYwD8udJTwcnm_OCS06C2Y0sgb3k4n1S6AzE5BepIqUKNSsLPDU1nT3pkpdbj-26IHqZowYXcoAk8-cp8w2QF0XqnkljgUNP7O2_LOsQL9SmrxtwvjL_dzrnH4n9-W3kRefvzxg/s320/P1270742.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Attempts have been made to have plenty of 'art' on the walls of the Radiotherapy Centre, and the theme here was alphabet-themed, but I did have to wonder about the wisdom of this one, next to one of the rooms where I had regular bladder tests (machine below pic) before the meeting with The Beast.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6szLqey56OcCyqAd7YCmVDSDN0paUVGKSuRbV4EnmaK8Kfl0NGJ_v1f2DxidYy07fbF0q1Vyk03v4T-Cz5wFXhe4kfCZxETSF2Z0T-KjQQsM5z6TYSgrHz0rQNx57rtYOtF6DEhY51D08DNiwqzkhuLMslc7sWHj4b1ontAE7D8CZ_9RIhyK2xd1M2g/s800/P1270739.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6szLqey56OcCyqAd7YCmVDSDN0paUVGKSuRbV4EnmaK8Kfl0NGJ_v1f2DxidYy07fbF0q1Vyk03v4T-Cz5wFXhe4kfCZxETSF2Z0T-KjQQsM5z6TYSgrHz0rQNx57rtYOtF6DEhY51D08DNiwqzkhuLMslc7sWHj4b1ontAE7D8CZ_9RIhyK2xd1M2g/s320/P1270739.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Moving swiftly on, here from 30 January is a clump of snowdrops from 30 January,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbmSS7mmLUaRNTU0XP1VRgDrFa4z4f5YH3K1pareJIWBVaEgH0e7Ydml9oipWed8uuU_EU1t95JbAy4QZGyfSMVxfkAyUd8z0HAug8uV47SYcD212pxkWjrBKjOrq1PDf35yWkgxbc_P7Xzgp3eNC1rkqaI5NUNim6lFtVgExBJJviTbwOzZwCfZkyQ/s800/P1270764.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbmSS7mmLUaRNTU0XP1VRgDrFa4z4f5YH3K1pareJIWBVaEgH0e7Ydml9oipWed8uuU_EU1t95JbAy4QZGyfSMVxfkAyUd8z0HAug8uV47SYcD212pxkWjrBKjOrq1PDf35yWkgxbc_P7Xzgp3eNC1rkqaI5NUNim6lFtVgExBJJviTbwOzZwCfZkyQ/s320/P1270764.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>carkins</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqv2dKdtFqVQstE8y-1iHKO6XNqsfn-qFYiJUXNMIgH-1lkcpIjTvjZN8znx7Rcxhclqn2O9IxETM98yDcjH6tNu23MfxahIhiM1HRcZHJWV6asgN2THAZHTLKgCBgi9_KDxUd2jNRzyHQQDY8XdXTV9jAgBolrDMwPj6l34n6eJsk-WbSEvm5IpQL-Q/s800/P1270769.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqv2dKdtFqVQstE8y-1iHKO6XNqsfn-qFYiJUXNMIgH-1lkcpIjTvjZN8znx7Rcxhclqn2O9IxETM98yDcjH6tNu23MfxahIhiM1HRcZHJWV6asgN2THAZHTLKgCBgi9_KDxUd2jNRzyHQQDY8XdXTV9jAgBolrDMwPj6l34n6eJsk-WbSEvm5IpQL-Q/s320/P1270769.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />and crocuses waxing more abundant.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFanMISpmJlOZw6wJcND-koFnQxqd09IM2VXj1CJKS-omHpC5tJyZx3gq4lOV5uw2sMfJNJ5JUaKqUVeO-v3j7EDXA4Ion9-0dF1Uc_lMOnAzV4graERIemAe-64Lz7Ro1JxcvXyW2kz6PVJS87iocgbIo67Fvo_Iv8TOaXKYSv26RSFjRaZwouV60g/s800/P1270804.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFanMISpmJlOZw6wJcND-koFnQxqd09IM2VXj1CJKS-omHpC5tJyZx3gq4lOV5uw2sMfJNJ5JUaKqUVeO-v3j7EDXA4Ion9-0dF1Uc_lMOnAzV4graERIemAe-64Lz7Ro1JxcvXyW2kz6PVJS87iocgbIo67Fvo_Iv8TOaXKYSv26RSFjRaZwouV60g/s320/P1270804.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYXjwKBZ3zHzGw2jss-KRCOxh2c0wqgyHFQXlpwdQTL2jIrvg8LMwY-xp1Gr956vtrpKhEBbJf3OuORrf-s4XuuzWnwwQju6o7NoiO55QkCX4WPr8w1jv6jajLsBCDNQqpO61svTvtT81hsudjoCYC_bjVB_Zwd913vyP0Dgo0exWVFgs5g_yStTJfw/s800/P1270793.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYXjwKBZ3zHzGw2jss-KRCOxh2c0wqgyHFQXlpwdQTL2jIrvg8LMwY-xp1Gr956vtrpKhEBbJf3OuORrf-s4XuuzWnwwQju6o7NoiO55QkCX4WPr8w1jv6jajLsBCDNQqpO61svTvtT81hsudjoCYC_bjVB_Zwd913vyP0Dgo0exWVFgs5g_yStTJfw/s320/P1270793.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>For about a week resurfacing of the cemetery paths meant I had skirt the edge, but that was all the better for catching the female Peregrine perched on the top of the hospital from different angles. Using my Leica Zoom to the full meant these aren't ideally sharp, but you get the gist.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmr48C8MW6olXt6FWbqtT-AQhkTQy7KOGh1oHjzA4f_73BRBB-a6Rk1kxGBLXx_Lrpw5oz6vkOpENLb1wx0AP8WzKOyliyTBt3Utpp5DFKu0tfKGlO3WEdhYDMEb3jvXDuhZMisOoV2xqZD0pfR6_0nuYZCt8Gp81mI5jVHixQ0NDVgHk-njzCNYR1Ag/s800/P1270848.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="800" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmr48C8MW6olXt6FWbqtT-AQhkTQy7KOGh1oHjzA4f_73BRBB-a6Rk1kxGBLXx_Lrpw5oz6vkOpENLb1wx0AP8WzKOyliyTBt3Utpp5DFKu0tfKGlO3WEdhYDMEb3jvXDuhZMisOoV2xqZD0pfR6_0nuYZCt8Gp81mI5jVHixQ0NDVgHk-njzCNYR1Ag/s320/P1270848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIR2yxsmes3c0lsP7gOjIaIlV98OKkNtilS11M6_7v4vGBBc0khXkqPdraSLYxhCNjl6wrZvSzyLvp0d28NnXVntfTgwXUeDNcHuL_Y-eGTDrJPmfcE8OeGf2pe8mE2ghEXXXLVqFOW2Kd1Q-YYI1ZLT_4GVvG3hzto5aPrIcK1W3vsN1tajElGfYwg/s800/P1270802.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="800" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIR2yxsmes3c0lsP7gOjIaIlV98OKkNtilS11M6_7v4vGBBc0khXkqPdraSLYxhCNjl6wrZvSzyLvp0d28NnXVntfTgwXUeDNcHuL_Y-eGTDrJPmfcE8OeGf2pe8mE2ghEXXXLVqFOW2Kd1Q-YYI1ZLT_4GVvG3hzto5aPrIcK1W3vsN1tajElGfYwg/s320/P1270802.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Only a couple of weeks earlier, I'd joined the Peregrine watchers in the graveyard, was summoned to look through their telescope - 'be quick, before she flies off' - and then saw her swoop at immense speed over Margraviniana, circling back again (though without prey). Many of the hospital staff didn't know about their nesting guests who bring such glamour to the massive block, so it was good to be able to tell them and show them the pics. </p><p>More common, but still a delight: on the morning of 6 February, there was a twitterfest going on just a couple of block further down the square, a convocation of Great Tits (here's one),</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpLU3_zFJS60g2dilmILmKtXbgvqPRsmajqo3xy8CbhjSPT_QyzKIOH6b0yY3vSV06Cj6qeNbVZVKmtQ6GJhOgZxj9SH6_eb92YtAPg6ZuHm93onsJGBfFAKIiXtNphkYpe5chC6QN5kAkHiXsUqMj6NkZDRh0VPNDh0UiNbIFWZ1FgnsA2zhYldqjA/s800/P1270813.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="800" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpLU3_zFJS60g2dilmILmKtXbgvqPRsmajqo3xy8CbhjSPT_QyzKIOH6b0yY3vSV06Cj6qeNbVZVKmtQ6GJhOgZxj9SH6_eb92YtAPg6ZuHm93onsJGBfFAKIiXtNphkYpe5chC6QN5kAkHiXsUqMj6NkZDRh0VPNDh0UiNbIFWZ1FgnsA2zhYldqjA/s320/P1270813.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>and the ubiquitous Ring-Necked Parakeets still add such colour, especially when they're eating the blossom on the cemetery's first flowering tree.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Afhapn1ruglJQiMP83zOg_dOEmkwCMYw30BsufOvyynki7LtvEUQ2AmsKsMwWLeCyptlIvad6P9r8ZQWkBGsJD8gFq-qUMzxNMdhClCoYfHOTxDGal7PD1nuQE7CKGi_-sljsDqXSfZ6btR3c_MCZmJ0baTsolnOAg7JyzcrUy-oeWHXSRMFz-OVnA/s800/P1270954.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Afhapn1ruglJQiMP83zOg_dOEmkwCMYw30BsufOvyynki7LtvEUQ2AmsKsMwWLeCyptlIvad6P9r8ZQWkBGsJD8gFq-qUMzxNMdhClCoYfHOTxDGal7PD1nuQE7CKGi_-sljsDqXSfZ6btR3c_MCZmJ0baTsolnOAg7JyzcrUy-oeWHXSRMFz-OVnA/s320/P1270954.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Snowdrops were now flourishing nearby,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3L8LHeG9ftQk5Ovl6hvF1kIsUNflxJ6TxkiK2GfbNLNos92Ppoglwdg78cV58ZAfF3aL0NDnqwD5O4s_STHmiI8ysprVH8TsVs3G2ihoxc8C7mve-6x7VuTzJ7DhD23-XiPv0gbVRAJHL6OVqxp1pFaZBteUW9-nH81gMS88xdI4UwprTCQaJbk9hQ/s800/P1270961.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3L8LHeG9ftQk5Ovl6hvF1kIsUNflxJ6TxkiK2GfbNLNos92Ppoglwdg78cV58ZAfF3aL0NDnqwD5O4s_STHmiI8ysprVH8TsVs3G2ihoxc8C7mve-6x7VuTzJ7DhD23-XiPv0gbVRAJHL6OVqxp1pFaZBteUW9-nH81gMS88xdI4UwprTCQaJbk9hQ/s320/P1270961.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>and the magnolia next to the prunus will be flowering soon (though at the end of last week, there were no signs of that in Kew Gardens' magnolia grove.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5Q8Bmcu_iGpH9cJFrldvhOAm_MzZTB9vVVSHSNXHHubySI633Ma-RNMA6Qkz1YeFWztfgjmuH2t0ACcDE4fKsNp_87mLOTKd7d6ki4amGLwYIJ3k7DINmGzPEvabUbqzrDtyKJeT4iHwwTlf4G3oMsWBlcmuJ5BXZA_x96v8W24q0AAuCyRVNumedw/s800/P1270823.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5Q8Bmcu_iGpH9cJFrldvhOAm_MzZTB9vVVSHSNXHHubySI633Ma-RNMA6Qkz1YeFWztfgjmuH2t0ACcDE4fKsNp_87mLOTKd7d6ki4amGLwYIJ3k7DINmGzPEvabUbqzrDtyKJeT4iHwwTlf4G3oMsWBlcmuJ5BXZA_x96v8W24q0AAuCyRVNumedw/s320/P1270823.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Here's the first magnolia flower I saw, on Monday morning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUC66X3NFdyIi1BXwi4K0sN5WVPRtYUKpQV1B2BMJyfYoDVlc42GMZILH_yL-I7_DmYYKJ0SH9XlPjlNnAkMseiPT6aBYVS16R1HMhfbmXfGnEE15871QSGLhpyxzR_5sPHICsGrTEFA620G2fkV76vtLH-PASgXVOGlEiEeVIhETC3L_sRDKi0KVPA/s800/P1280125.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUC66X3NFdyIi1BXwi4K0sN5WVPRtYUKpQV1B2BMJyfYoDVlc42GMZILH_yL-I7_DmYYKJ0SH9XlPjlNnAkMseiPT6aBYVS16R1HMhfbmXfGnEE15871QSGLhpyxzR_5sPHICsGrTEFA620G2fkV76vtLH-PASgXVOGlEiEeVIhETC3L_sRDKi0KVPA/s320/P1280125.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's part of the beautifully landscaped garden in front of the <a href="https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/maggies-west-london/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3eGfBhCeARIsACpJNU8W2hsUY4gWM_psz6rviZ8D594hyIaeZrJVm295otwIhEbzaaM4m9gaAibeEALw_wcB">Maggie's Centre in the grounds of Charing Cross Hospital</a>. Read the story of the inspirational Maggie Keswick Jencks and her husband Charles <a href="https://www.maggies.org/about-us/how-maggies-works/our-story/our-founders/">here</a>. I really regret not having gone there earlier - I hadn't even noticed it, though I knew of its existence from friend Cally, who found and still finds it a godsend during and after her extensive treatment last year - but I investigated on my penultimate day of treatment, and found it a very Utopia.</p><p>The building, like all Maggie's Centres, is an architectural treasure, designed by Rogers (as in Richard) Stirk Harbour + Partners, and won two RIBA awards in 2009; again, the <a href="https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/maggies-west-london/architecture-and-design/">website entry</a> is excellent on this. This is the entrance as I first saw it</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2gh4P5BzQ8aOybQ7rlCEBNUsa3B37KljaXE2tF94vpZw3LEzp099rl6DML7R9i9Kcd91IxMXRR3gMrCSIAX5OBhePwPp0SkQ9GVwKL1vA9fnOG76yNzWuR-qePS3nstEOop-pRxj9oODCwvSFwRF0A0TRT-MeZgoKizk3kBEkKFuhsuX57qjePIiFw/s800/P1280118.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2gh4P5BzQ8aOybQ7rlCEBNUsa3B37KljaXE2tF94vpZw3LEzp099rl6DML7R9i9Kcd91IxMXRR3gMrCSIAX5OBhePwPp0SkQ9GVwKL1vA9fnOG76yNzWuR-qePS3nstEOop-pRxj9oODCwvSFwRF0A0TRT-MeZgoKizk3kBEkKFuhsuX57qjePIiFw/s320/P1280118.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>and one side of the building with the magnolia in front of it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6M-GxWrpjBqLkunur7SI6rhdRBdbKLuvS7D9XaeDbArb-mnLT4v2Atkj04E2v3RLvqG8XhXYudxwl2sBwls0z1Wc3gT4TI5twoDxckc9KMX8cHQsBOHxexR5JBjA-DiJ02AS9_lEn5azVmDWAxoNXdXEmve12Tl1XjOx3gzI9X6Nj8jjrjcc0amvaw/s800/P1280122.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6M-GxWrpjBqLkunur7SI6rhdRBdbKLuvS7D9XaeDbArb-mnLT4v2Atkj04E2v3RLvqG8XhXYudxwl2sBwls0z1Wc3gT4TI5twoDxckc9KMX8cHQsBOHxexR5JBjA-DiJ02AS9_lEn5azVmDWAxoNXdXEmve12Tl1XjOx3gzI9X6Nj8jjrjcc0amvaw/s320/P1280122.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I look forward to the garden, designed by Dan Pearson, flourishing as the spring arrives - this is one of the first bloomers, a hamamelis or witch hazel - </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzPu0rE0JTN6GhV2aAXLM682tj3FsuJBrZxvTlWPDElU0EKWmdtPHdtp--7G8vREMz-VOKgVZEz2fAgdlrji41W2pn9gGdWzr1xxoDTmjBkuzbdOhkuQPGH9CINgfx-2Cln0rV23JGCsis4n_SYpatQvncFIv6GjwqT7ltLazrNMBskOrOs5XR_OVnQ/s800/P1280126.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzPu0rE0JTN6GhV2aAXLM682tj3FsuJBrZxvTlWPDElU0EKWmdtPHdtp--7G8vREMz-VOKgVZEz2fAgdlrji41W2pn9gGdWzr1xxoDTmjBkuzbdOhkuQPGH9CINgfx-2Cln0rV23JGCsis4n_SYpatQvncFIv6GjwqT7ltLazrNMBskOrOs5XR_OVnQ/s320/P1280126.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> and the three lovely people I met who worked there told me I was welcome to visit for as long as I wanted - one person in remission have been coming for nine years. Anyway, I earmarked it to host the four friends who wanted to come and hear me ring the bell on Tuesday. After my quickest ever treatment - 20 minutes; bladder and bowel fullness or not mean getting to be zapped can take up to an hour or more, and if you go later, there are inevitable delays - I had time to kill, so I wandered round the cemetery again and was very happy to hear the Redwing flock in full voice and see them in full flit and forage<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsMr4QTceMgPppknHO6DXRWkm1u9ZTJ9x8UiMBCamXV3rL87oQP37YfVCjlPVOR6dM0RWJY81kPO2Xyf4A1Ul8Tp9I9-_shrMj2N20P48-4xhWhxRcZpiQQq_ZahHtxLaB7QDC2Iok7Xdp-BNIWeRYdjbRCm1oXHLgl0W8Sv8oCveiYe5ur3c7nxQEA/s800/P1280138.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsMr4QTceMgPppknHO6DXRWkm1u9ZTJ9x8UiMBCamXV3rL87oQP37YfVCjlPVOR6dM0RWJY81kPO2Xyf4A1Ul8Tp9I9-_shrMj2N20P48-4xhWhxRcZpiQQq_ZahHtxLaB7QDC2Iok7Xdp-BNIWeRYdjbRCm1oXHLgl0W8Sv8oCveiYe5ur3c7nxQEA/s320/P1280138.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSttr_kZcWTpZ7HqPIJQ9_GRzO_VIcoBRPoD3W3ia8C3k4-39KXfJIzzhx9dA_GjVIghNmJXncI7ctULO1l8_KzvSDZ9j1ub0xBTvFWvVUux1hgBReK74SE9Hw7aK2gZ_Jp_64gBuuSSCEeNGkmQq4B2tB1_FBHz6DWDPHJuZnAp56FkUdRiQloqN6Q/s800/P1280131.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSttr_kZcWTpZ7HqPIJQ9_GRzO_VIcoBRPoD3W3ia8C3k4-39KXfJIzzhx9dA_GjVIghNmJXncI7ctULO1l8_KzvSDZ9j1ub0xBTvFWvVUux1hgBReK74SE9Hw7aK2gZ_Jp_64gBuuSSCEeNGkmQq4B2tB1_FBHz6DWDPHJuZnAp56FkUdRiQloqN6Q/s320/P1280131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>before returning to radiotherapy reception at the time I'd told my pals to come along, 10.15. Wonderful Sharon, seen in the second photo below beckoning in the flowery blouse, summoned as many of the staff who could make it to witness my three rings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKxXNSEmTXJnYRCTsJCpEep6I1ykLrECpt9BGB913y3-btfoAj5eU04zV2z26FLGxiyqHbY83ZD3O5614jlQr7i-J60lQfhbp0AmChpJrbQtc10mDmfT83eq9TcWeeuLX6ossi3WswMCOCgIIoUpqDcQ2EwIfQ25ZePQ3Crb01zN3UP4hNI9_UM1aiQ/s800/P1280143.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKxXNSEmTXJnYRCTsJCpEep6I1ykLrECpt9BGB913y3-btfoAj5eU04zV2z26FLGxiyqHbY83ZD3O5614jlQr7i-J60lQfhbp0AmChpJrbQtc10mDmfT83eq9TcWeeuLX6ossi3WswMCOCgIIoUpqDcQ2EwIfQ25ZePQ3Crb01zN3UP4hNI9_UM1aiQ/s320/P1280143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TjUmkrsRrSuTlzy06lYOchmMQvmwhOAeVqXMCuuDHnV_CF_IxDgso7Eov5suqEle6BiBO-OShlMRCm0K4HCWpfVyxJa43Nz-gWSrLMSk-dnH9DXYXnuV6PYMXb3QLHOEcatNslGSLi4BcE0LBqovchkmJSedzUF4XERmwLgytIWSIXS-yblrttDnxQ/s800/P1280144.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TjUmkrsRrSuTlzy06lYOchmMQvmwhOAeVqXMCuuDHnV_CF_IxDgso7Eov5suqEle6BiBO-OShlMRCm0K4HCWpfVyxJa43Nz-gWSrLMSk-dnH9DXYXnuV6PYMXb3QLHOEcatNslGSLi4BcE0LBqovchkmJSedzUF4XERmwLgytIWSIXS-yblrttDnxQ/s320/P1280144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMNx8x0unIguSEXM-Z2y-VupnFjp9KndpxTjuB8gdefUY8tQKV6UusqvUxzXQgkYKykwIjV6--tgIhD87149cKJrXMz0CLYy2HUG6BYjr_NnnIRWURNV9kDTzN7nqV0UZk7O6Yl8f3iyhsMrWAYM_MFAzTSQ70zQdoqfbQfBRLslpAOagrLnU3ChGcQ/s800/P1280152.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="800" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMNx8x0unIguSEXM-Z2y-VupnFjp9KndpxTjuB8gdefUY8tQKV6UusqvUxzXQgkYKykwIjV6--tgIhD87149cKJrXMz0CLYy2HUG6BYjr_NnnIRWURNV9kDTzN7nqV0UZk7O6Yl8f3iyhsMrWAYM_MFAzTSQ70zQdoqfbQfBRLslpAOagrLnU3ChGcQ/s320/P1280152.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>My absolute faves weren't on duty at the time, but all the staff have been kind and courteous, without exception, and I was especially pleased to see my oncologist, Dr Basiak, who looked delighted: she's next to my flowers in the third pic, with friend Deborah behind. Then with a Gail's bag full of buns and cakes to Maggie's, where we sat at the central table and had excellent conversations with other visitors. None of them is in the below picture, because reasonably enough when I asked if I could take it, the request was to keep it to my friends - Carolyn, Tania, Henrik and Deborah. But you can see how lovely it is.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQfhM3hMdMTz9TH5fO502Y7IminjOaN_ZKYmU20o8BLlF-b6l8OHm8lA0mj3bzydGhUZ7lBpqkRvK5W4g-rK4FupXxxB5n6mrzvMkNmb2OHIBnIaCMnOaigjCENz5gLsf9r3CrL-1NgPO67kjM2853-zf2OyABSgJJQVc5t_9qR0t3_oqlwuDX-Q_3bQ/s800/P1280154.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="800" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQfhM3hMdMTz9TH5fO502Y7IminjOaN_ZKYmU20o8BLlF-b6l8OHm8lA0mj3bzydGhUZ7lBpqkRvK5W4g-rK4FupXxxB5n6mrzvMkNmb2OHIBnIaCMnOaigjCENz5gLsf9r3CrL-1NgPO67kjM2853-zf2OyABSgJJQVc5t_9qR0t3_oqlwuDX-Q_3bQ/s320/P1280154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>And soon, at last, I get to see my one and only in Dublin after a month apart; he was here for five weeks over Xmas and New Year, but the start of my treatment was put back, so he could only be around for my first four days. But how blessed I am in such good friends to provide support. Onwards!</p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.com15