Malt Preparations

Not too much time to write, although you may get a healthier dose if the practice rooms are all taken (a reminder on the how to practice here: spend all the time in a queue for a practice room - and don't practice). I'm meeting Maria at 6 to go over Malta plans; a correction on the earlier post: We leave tomorrow - thereby terminating posts and internet contact for a week.

Materials currently on the desk:
Bach - St. John Passion
Bach - St. Matthew Passion
John Bunyan - The Pilgrim's Progress
Beatrice Batson - Master Guides' The Pilgrim's Progress

All for Malta, and of my own accord:

James Joyce - Dubliners

It looks like stuck in my luggage will be books, music, instrument, hopefully clothes (Malta is a bit clothes-minded, if you can stand the pun)

Next week postings next week will include jobs hunts, apartment hunts, more recent histories, artistic endeavors and viewings.

See ya' in a week!

Uprooting the Past 1: Texas Band

This is a post that should have gone out before; I have given myself time to reflect and contemplate the deeper meanings of such events, as part of a plan to enlighten myself to a deep, transcendental, experience. I hope you aren't believing any of this.

Case in Point 1: A college band from Texas (Trinity Uni) came over on a small tour of England. They spent time in London, and came up to have a rehearsal at RNCM, a quick sight-seeing in Liverpool, and closing with a joint rehearsal/performance with the NCCB. I was lucky enough to provide a tour of the school (a feat not easily triumphed: the school was built over a period from the late 60's-present. I wrote about this before, but it doesn't lend itself easily to awe)

Anyway, the tour went well, the joint performance was fine, ending with a two-band rendition of Berlioz's "Symphonie Funebre". I was sat between two euphoniumists, one who was in high, the other a Trinity Alum. The alum and I spoke for a little while, mainly about where he had grown up, and then onto the next question:

"So, have you lived here all your life?"

I paused for quite awhile as I 1) reheard the question in my head, 2 )Recounted my accent, and anything that may have led him to think I was from England, and 3) Found the right words to explain that indeed I hadn't lived in Warrington all my life, in fact I was from the same country as he (although that may be stretching it a bit)

"I'm from Michigan"

Eventually it was found out I was in school, working on my Master's, etc., etc. The other euphoniumist (the high school er) had been on my tour, and I imagine wishes to pursue euphonium or composition ("imagine" is a bit loose, because I point-blank asked him). Maybe I'll see him in several years (especially if Steve is still teaching here)

Plans for the Week

Last week of term. We have a month off, then delve into the final bit of my Master's program!
On for this week:

Today - Rehearsal. Quartet has gone okay, although we have switched a member due to scheduling problems. We have our second gig in late April.
Rest of the week - Get it sorted! Final plans for Malta, practicing, Composing, etc.
Thursday - Fly to Malta
Friday-Sunday - Workshop!!!
Monday-Tuesday - Sight-Seeing!!!!

I return late Tuesday night (Catherine is being the best and picking me up from Luton in the evening), and will promptly update the blog on Wednesday!

OK, so I lied (Sunday 18 March)

As my posts will be more expressions of British Culture and Scenery (I have a friend from Greece currently visiting, so I may have to show her and her boyfriend around Manchester), I thought it would be a good idea to try and move both forwards and backwards in my posts. Backwards because I tend to not include everything in my life, even some cool important events (as of yet, I still need to include posts on Berlin, Rome, Brighton, "A Place of My Own" by Michael Pollan, and so forth). Forwards, so I don't have to go really far backwards later on.

The events of the weekend are a good place to start. Yesterday Catherine and I ventured out to Liverpool. As it was St. Paddy's Day, we did see a lot of green, and even a small parade (the large spectacle was today, and certainly for the next couple days). Liverpool has a large Irish population, so SPD is a pretty big deal there; Manchester has a large(r?) Irish population, and they have 2 WEEKS of celebrations! I haven't seen any of the parades or Irish markets yet, but I think I still have plenty of time.

We only had a chance to visit the Tate museum there. We ended up spending about 4 hours over two floors (there are two more, but they are currently closed for changes). While not featuring the Art of Today, as Undercofler may appreciate, it did highlight wonderful pieces over the past 100 years (broken up into pre-WWII and post-WWII), and a whole floor dedicated to Liverpool's contribution to culture in the 1960's. Plus there was a bit on LS Lowry. The evening was concluded with a visit to Catherine's Auntie, whom I had not yet met. We had a nice time, enjoyed tea and chocolate cake, as well as discussions of so-called "pop" music (as a general misnomer for anything not classical), and rugby.

Anything else for the weekend? Well, today is Mother's Day. I was informed By Catherine's mum that it is still closely tied to Easter (originally "Mother and Son" Day), which dictates when it falls. I have to admit that I am unaware of why America is so late in the game (if anyone wants to look this up, I would be quite happy). The traditions of Cards, Chocolates, maybe even a breakfast-in-bed still hold true here.

Enjoy any fine weather you may be having, as it hailed quite a bit today (after a nice sunny interlude - possibly longer?). Well see if the sun puts it's hat on anytime soon.

More tomorrow

Sorry for the pause. More to be expected tomorrow.

Ghawar Is Dead

Not much to write, since it's all Here. An excellent article, although you may want to jump over the Oil Drum if you are unfamiliar with Peak Oil.

//End of Post//

England Outside the City

Over the weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to hike around a bit of the area outside Manchester. It's a rather nice pastime here to hike around the rolling hills, splotches of woodland, historic buildings, and sheep - and luckily the North Cheshire Concert Band has a monthly(?) ritual of planning short (5 miles or so) hikes.

This weekend we started off at Lyme Park, near Stockport. People may recognize the area as it is where they filmed part of (the recent) Pride and Prejudice. I must confess that I have seen the film, although the space in my mind has been commandeered by recent musical phrases in preparation of my recital (I know - lousy excuse!); but it wasn't beyond my knowledge to understand why the women in the group were looking for Mr. Darcy. Those not taking a fancy towards him (my eyes were scanning for Miss Bennet) were entreated to ask how a 5 mile hike which ended where it began seemed to only venture uphill.

And uphill we went. It's quite encouraging (albeit physically tiring) when Catherine is racing towards a summit, and I would expect to gain energy from this. Of course, after a slightly tired Catherine reaches "almost" the top, to find out it is indeed "almost" but not "quite", the legs just seem to try to turn around. This was the first 1-2 miles.

After that, we slowly proceeded downhill, moving past grazing sheep (England - especially compared to the US - has quite lax rules governing hikers. As long as they stay on the trail, people can venture in and out of private farmland, and zones that would surely be off-limits in the US - like airfields!), and quickly descended past the earth into the mud. There was TONS of it, whole fields digested into a thick ooze which threatened to capture our shoes and nibble on our trousers. I remained unscathed until I stepped in (evidently) a hold and a spurt of mud flew up, injuring the bottom half of my leg. Healing would have to wait until we returned home, and only after a tumble in the washer.

After looking up at the beautiful hills and countryside (it really is amazing to look out and see green fields broken up by fences and hedgerows. I really hope to post some pictures soon), we gradually made our ascent up the final peak, culminating at the Gatehouse. The trek was arduous to say the least, but finally making it was surely worth the effort. From the peak, you could look down on Stockport, Manchester (easily recognizable by Beetham Tower), and even as far away as Anglesey, the island making up the Western end of Wales! Clouds obscured the mountains, but the panorama was breathtaking.

From there, we descended past the estate, returning to the car park, where plans were laid for the pub trip.

Ticket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catherine and I will be in the US from 30 July to 3 Sep. Woo-hoo!!!