Thursday, November 20, 2008
This is how awesome my day was
I woke up a little late, did some interneting before hopping on a bus and then the tube for a convoluted journey to Hyde Park for my friend's Ellie and Caz's lunchtime concert. I got there too early (! I was expecting to be late, so fast!) and so wandered around the park a bit. Then I went and listened to a saxophone and percussion recital. They did a very good job, I was impressed. I chatted with Ellie and Caz and Ed (composer) for a bit before deciding to go wander around the Serpentine in the brisk, leafy smelling air. Hopped on the tube back to school where I sat down in front of a computer to find as many recordings as I could find on YouTube of the songs I'm supposed to be learning for my singing lessons. Spent far too much time doing that before going to Waitrose to grab a sandwich and a bag of clementines. I managed to get to Waitrose right as they were marking down the sandwiches so I was able to get a nice one for 99p. Not bad at all. Then off to Creative Ensemble rehearsal where I passed out the clementines while we endeavored to continue work on a new piece for a performance on December 5th. It's chugging along and we in the rhythm section were having far too much fun, I'm really enjoying CE for the first time. Now a little blogging and off home- doesn't that sound like a lovely day?
Monday, November 17, 2008
CYO the return to London
I don't really have that much to say about this except that I finally arrived home- laden with my bass, my weekend bag, and my sleeping bag, to find a whirlwind of cleaning activity. I meant to help them out but was so overwhelmed that instead I walked in to my room, dropped everything on the floor, and fell asleep for three hours.
After which I helped to clean the oven. It sparkles now.
After which I helped to clean the oven. It sparkles now.
CYO the piece
So the circle piece is progressing along. We gained a new member- Cathy the clarinetist. Instead of weird pet stories, this time I made all the kids tell me about a weird medical deformity or a stupid human trick they could do. Why did I come up with this? I'm not really sure. But! Jenny (violin) can play the piano behind her back, which sounds kinda cool but not that weird until you find out that she can play it behind her back with her hands facing down because she is so amazingly (freakishly) double jointed. I was well impressed. Pretty much all of them are bizarrely double jointed- I felt left out.
This time we worked mostly in small groups- I put the wind players together to make some more circles and the strings together to make some backgrounds/chords. I think it went pretty well and will bring the recordings that I made with me back to Seattle come Christmas time. The challenge at this point is to make sure that the final piece ends up sounding like real music and not like random vignettes strung together without any real point. Or musical coherency. I think it will work because a bunch of the material that we've made will be brought back at the end (big red circle and heavy brown line) but we haven't actually played that part yet and we don't meet up again until February.
In spite of my concerns about the piece, it was way way too much fun and I really enjoy working with teenagers. I think 11+ is really my kind of age. The time went so quickly; we had two hour and a half sessions this time instead of four forty-five minute sessions and while that was useful in terms of getting in to the flow of things, it also disappeared instantly.
This time we worked mostly in small groups- I put the wind players together to make some more circles and the strings together to make some backgrounds/chords. I think it went pretty well and will bring the recordings that I made with me back to Seattle come Christmas time. The challenge at this point is to make sure that the final piece ends up sounding like real music and not like random vignettes strung together without any real point. Or musical coherency. I think it will work because a bunch of the material that we've made will be brought back at the end (big red circle and heavy brown line) but we haven't actually played that part yet and we don't meet up again until February.
In spite of my concerns about the piece, it was way way too much fun and I really enjoy working with teenagers. I think 11+ is really my kind of age. The time went so quickly; we had two hour and a half sessions this time instead of four forty-five minute sessions and while that was useful in terms of getting in to the flow of things, it also disappeared instantly.
CYO the cottages
We had a lovely cottage this time around in Cornwall. The drive was quick and scenic and we drove by Stonehenge which was just about the most exciting thing ever. Especially for Emma who was literally bouncing in her seat. We stayed at Colesent Cottages (www.Colesent.co.uk) and the blondies and I were in the Bull's House Cottage so you can go see what that looks like on their website.
After last time it was a pleasant shock how nice this place was. Everything was very thoughtfully laid out (like a dish scrubber and drying cloths right next to the kitchen sink) and they've done a really good job with space usage. We got in right after dark and built a fire while making dinner and watching BBC's "Children in Need" which is this giant fundraising variety show thingy that raises money for, well, children in need... basically charities that do things to help kids in the UK with medical issues or bullying or grief counseling; stuff like that.
Basically the show was full of popular TV shows doing things a bit differently. I don't really watch TV here because I don't have a TV, but in spite of that I thought everything was pretty funny. (While at the same time pretty confusing) My two favorites were MasterChef where they had these 10-12 year olds cooking incredibly fancy and impressive food. They were all adorably nerdy about food. And EastEnders which is a very long running British soap opera where they changed it to WestEnders and did songs from a bunch of WestEnd (Broadway) shows. I love me some singing and dancing.
On the drive to the school on Saturday we got a *little bit* lost and were driving slowly behind a lawnmower that mowed at a 90 degree angle so that the hedges got trimmed. We stopped at the intersection and were deliberating amongst ourselves about whether to turn left or right when this ruddy faced, white haired man climbed down from the tractor/lawn mower/hedge trimmer and came to help us with directions. He had the thickest Cornish accent *ever* and do you remember how excited Emma was about Stonehenge up at the top of the page? I was at least that excited about his accent, it was awesome!
After last time it was a pleasant shock how nice this place was. Everything was very thoughtfully laid out (like a dish scrubber and drying cloths right next to the kitchen sink) and they've done a really good job with space usage. We got in right after dark and built a fire while making dinner and watching BBC's "Children in Need" which is this giant fundraising variety show thingy that raises money for, well, children in need... basically charities that do things to help kids in the UK with medical issues or bullying or grief counseling; stuff like that.
Basically the show was full of popular TV shows doing things a bit differently. I don't really watch TV here because I don't have a TV, but in spite of that I thought everything was pretty funny. (While at the same time pretty confusing) My two favorites were MasterChef where they had these 10-12 year olds cooking incredibly fancy and impressive food. They were all adorably nerdy about food. And EastEnders which is a very long running British soap opera where they changed it to WestEnders and did songs from a bunch of WestEnd (Broadway) shows. I love me some singing and dancing.
On the drive to the school on Saturday we got a *little bit* lost and were driving slowly behind a lawnmower that mowed at a 90 degree angle so that the hedges got trimmed. We stopped at the intersection and were deliberating amongst ourselves about whether to turn left or right when this ruddy faced, white haired man climbed down from the tractor/lawn mower/hedge trimmer and came to help us with directions. He had the thickest Cornish accent *ever* and do you remember how excited Emma was about Stonehenge up at the top of the page? I was at least that excited about his accent, it was awesome!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Bonfire night and wallets
Wednesday was bonfire night, and since I crapped out of seeing the fireworks with Dave last year I was honor bound to go see them this year. I met up with Dave and his friend Tim at Herne Hill in South London and we tromped through the mildly drizzly night to get a good place to see the fire works. We had hopped that they would be selling cotton candy/candy floss there, but were disappointed to find only pancake stands and vendors with glowing light sabers and (oddly) fluorescent, fuzzy bunny ears.
The sound track was a cycling set of John Williams tunes so we amused ourselves in the particularly nerdy fashion of figuring out which symphony he had ripped off for the various themes. That and singing along with the correct words when the opening of Carmina Burana came on. I love that.
The fireworks started a big late, but we could see various other displays going on around the city- eventually they got going and were buckets of fun. The final flourish had me watching the ground instead of the sky though because we were close enough to see the giant flames go up when they set the fireworks off. It was cool.
Last night (Thursday) I went to a show at the Bishopsgate Institute. The first band was HandMade with Manu Delago playing a set of three hang drums. If you don't know what they are (and you probably don't, they were only invented in 2001) you should get over to YouTube and search for hang drum or just Manu Delago- he's got a lot of videos up and the music is divine. The second half of the program was a bunch of GSMD leadership grads playing a 50 minute long piece based on principals of gamelan composition but played on cellos and flutes and other western instruments. It was pretty trance like and well done.
The only problem with last night was that I managed to leave my wallet on the bus. BUT! There are more good people in the world than bad so today I got a message on Facebook from the woman who has it- we haven't actually managed to get a hold of one another beyond that but I know that my wallet is safe and am very pleased about that.
The sound track was a cycling set of John Williams tunes so we amused ourselves in the particularly nerdy fashion of figuring out which symphony he had ripped off for the various themes. That and singing along with the correct words when the opening of Carmina Burana came on. I love that.
The fireworks started a big late, but we could see various other displays going on around the city- eventually they got going and were buckets of fun. The final flourish had me watching the ground instead of the sky though because we were close enough to see the giant flames go up when they set the fireworks off. It was cool.
Last night (Thursday) I went to a show at the Bishopsgate Institute. The first band was HandMade with Manu Delago playing a set of three hang drums. If you don't know what they are (and you probably don't, they were only invented in 2001) you should get over to YouTube and search for hang drum or just Manu Delago- he's got a lot of videos up and the music is divine. The second half of the program was a bunch of GSMD leadership grads playing a 50 minute long piece based on principals of gamelan composition but played on cellos and flutes and other western instruments. It was pretty trance like and well done.
The only problem with last night was that I managed to leave my wallet on the bus. BUT! There are more good people in the world than bad so today I got a message on Facebook from the woman who has it- we haven't actually managed to get a hold of one another beyond that but I know that my wallet is safe and am very pleased about that.
Fresh and Fruity
Is the name of the vegetable stand/store right by my house/flat. It is brilliant and I am devoting an ENTIRE post to how much I love it. They're cheap and friendly and a month ago you could get and ENTIRE box of avocados for two pounds. Currently you can get an ENTIRE box of cherry tomatoes for £1.50. Which, I think you'll agree, is pretty sweet. And by box I mean, like, a flat. As in a box, not an apartment. Oh, this is getting confusing...
The best part is that everyone in the neighborhood shops there so you've got all the Hasidic Jews and then the Polish folk and the assorted people from African countries I'm not sure about as well as me-sitting there just loving the fact that the produce is all good and tasty and not limp and a bit moldy like you often find at the worst grocery store ever.* Also, they have the only orange juice from concentrate that I've ever actually enjoyed drinking- I think it is from Turkey.
And the carrots! My only complaint is that they don't sell everything else I might need (see: cheese) so I have to go to the worst grocery store ever** from time to time.
*The worst grocery store ever is the Somerfield up the road. Normally I really like Somerfields but this one frequently runs out of food. On, like, Wednesdays. Also they only ever have about four people working there total so even if there aren't many people in the store there will be giant, slow moving lines that take forever to get through.
**Did I mention the riding toy at the entrance that has the creepiest recording of children laughing? The entire store will be empty of people and the mechanical laughter will echo through the building...
The best part is that everyone in the neighborhood shops there so you've got all the Hasidic Jews and then the Polish folk and the assorted people from African countries I'm not sure about as well as me-sitting there just loving the fact that the produce is all good and tasty and not limp and a bit moldy like you often find at the worst grocery store ever.* Also, they have the only orange juice from concentrate that I've ever actually enjoyed drinking- I think it is from Turkey.
And the carrots! My only complaint is that they don't sell everything else I might need (see: cheese) so I have to go to the worst grocery store ever** from time to time.
*The worst grocery store ever is the Somerfield up the road. Normally I really like Somerfields but this one frequently runs out of food. On, like, Wednesdays. Also they only ever have about four people working there total so even if there aren't many people in the store there will be giant, slow moving lines that take forever to get through.
**Did I mention the riding toy at the entrance that has the creepiest recording of children laughing? The entire store will be empty of people and the mechanical laughter will echo through the building...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Yay!
Thanks for all the calls at 4:30am. I was in bed and a little too groggy to manage actually getting up and over to my phone- which really I probably should have done at some point seeing as how there were five calls/texts, but thanks! It was great knowing who had won at such an early hour!
This morning all of the morning free papers (probably all of the papers, really) had Obama's face plastered on them. I was getting skippy walking to work with a massive excited grin on my face. Man, I wish I could have been in Chicago last night...
This morning all of the morning free papers (probably all of the papers, really) had Obama's face plastered on them. I was getting skippy walking to work with a massive excited grin on my face. Man, I wish I could have been in Chicago last night...
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