Friday 9th May.
I think my engagements calendar needs sorting out; two concerts in two
days do seem rather like bad planning to me. I have form for doing this sort of
thing, though, and it isn’t really my fault if there are things I would like to
attend in close proximity. I blame the people who organise these events for not
being familiar with my tastes and thus messing up!
OK, the Yes concert was probably something, in the usual scheme of
things, I would have ignored if it wasn’t for Dad wanting to see them and
offering to buy us tickets too. Now the Moscow Philharmonic is much more on my
radar and was, in fact, the penultimate concert of the 2013/14 International
Concert season at the City Hall. We have been to all but one of these
performances (incidentally, so has my immediate ‘boss’ from work, Mrs Briggs)
and will probably do the same again for the next season.
I know that my Dad (maybe Mum too) thought my taking to listening to
Classical Music was a mere affectation from my childhood. Once they realised I
was serious and was actually saving my pocket money to buy Classical Music CDs
they sort of looked upon it as my preferred choice in music. They probably
attributed it to my precocity. (I could read when I was three, for example.) It
did set me apart from my peers and made me different and apart from them, which
(to be honest) I have actively cultivated all my life. I have always refused to
be part of the herd.
Tonight’s performance was a programme of Russian greats as you might
expect, given whom the performers were, we had Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and
Rimsky-Korsakov. Played with great gusto and obvious feeling. We were
treated to Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty; Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade.
I knew the Tchaikovsky and the Rimsky-Korsakov but I had not heard the Cello
Concerto before. It was very good indeed. I do like the Cello though, my
favourite piece being Max Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” (I may have spelt that wrong!)
The Tchaikovsky was so beautiful, lyrical and poignant yet exuberant at
the end and the Rimsky-Korsakov is just a masterpiece. I know this one very
well having played it to death as a child, along with Moussorgsky’s “Night on a
Bald Mountain”. I guess I love loud, brash, joyous pieces. That’s probably why
I love Beethoven so much. He does loud, brash and exuberantly joyous extremely
well.
We did meet up with Mrs Briggs in the bar during the interval and she
was impressed by what she had heard. I wasn’t sure whether, owing to the
current Ukraine crisis, we ought to have boycotted the event. We talked about
this and decided the actions of their president didn’t have any bearing on the
concert and to have not gone would have been spiting ourselves rather than
making any difference to the situation.
What was surprising was her reaction to my outfit for the evening; I was
wearing what I had worn to the Yes concert on Wednesday (slight change
obviously for the top and my underwear). I had a pair of dungaree shorts on, a
yellow crop top and Dad’s leather biker jacket. I had wedge espadrilles on my
feet rather than the sex on legs, stiletto ankle boots from Wednesday. Mrs B
thought it was a good job that Christopher hadn’t been there or he’d have been
drooling at me. I wasn’t sure whether she was joking or not; or even if it was
a compliment or not. Certainly I attracted a lot of glances on Wednesday whilst
wearing the dungarees, in fact one drongo came over when we were chatting with
Poppy and asked if he could buy me a drink!
I am not averse to displaying my legs and midriff while I still have a
midriff that stands scrutiny and I know my legs are probably my most attractive
feature. Laura was also in legs on view mode in a bright red mini dress and my
denim bolero jacket, so I guess there was a feast of female limbs on display
for all to ogle. There are times, like this, when I wish I hadn’t taken out my
belly button piercing – as it would have looked so cool. However, I was such a
dork at times with it that I kept catching it on my clothes and it just drove
me to distraction in the end, so I removed it and have allowed the hole to
close.
After the show we headed back home and had to make a detour up through
Worral as there had been an accident on Middlewood Road and the blue lights had
closed the road. I always worry when I see there have been accidents on roads
we use frequently that one day it may be us! Silly, I know, but I can’t help
it.
They must have closed the road right up to St Christopher’s Motors in
the village as loads of cars were coming round the one way system and heading
up the hill towards Bradfield and the Convent as part of the diversion I
suppose.
The vehicles were still using that route as I walked Callie, about an
hour later, for her last walk of the day.
Saturday May 10th.
Strange weather this morning, very cloudy at times, with breaks that
allowed bright sunshine to show through and then torrential downpours!
I avoided any rain when I walked Callie first thing and was lucky to
have got back home before the heavens opened; yet by the time we were going to
the pool (just a few minutes later) the sun was out!
Sarah was once again envious of our concert going during the week. She
was surprised we had gone to a rock concert and she had heard of Yes. I
explained we had just freeloaded the tickets from Dad. She wanted to know all
about Poppy Hughes. In fact so did the family in Australia when I Skyped them
after breakfast too! We described what we had seen and what she had said. She
was quite tiny (just like Mum was my initial comment to Laura after we had left
her) but not slim. Her hair was still long and probably dyed. I can’t imagine
at 60 she would really have dark chestnut locks, I bet there is a badger
lurking underneath her mane.
After Uni she had gone to America where she met her first husband. When
that fell through she brought her photography business back to the UK and
married again. The second marriage also went belly up but the photography
business did well. She now just snapped for her own satisfaction, rather than
being a commercial photographer anymore. She had four children two were in
America – they had gone back to be with their Dad’s side of the family and two
were in the UK. Three boys and a girl. The girl was a teacher in the Midlands
somewhere and the boy worked for the Civil Service, which she found a huge
disappointment – he had become part of the establishment she had always railed
against as a student and young adult.
It is always fascinating to hear about other people’s exes, isn’t it?
When I met her I couldn’t help wondering if Dad does have a thing for small
women. Mum is only 5’ and Louisa can’t be much taller. I will bet his
dalliances with his former students were all with the petite ones too! Here you
see the problem with having an inquiring mind; it takes a few known facts,
extrapolates from those facts a theory and then assumes that theory is correct
without any recourse to proof of any kind.
After the swim and brekkers, I made the aforementioned call to
Australia. Suze and I talked for ages before the kids got a look in. (Poppy
again.) Annabelle wasn’t bothered about Grandpa’s old girlfriends she was keen
to get her Aunt and girlfriend out to visit this summer. She has already told
her Mum that she wants to come with us when we borrow the camper again. Jill
isn’t so sure. I hope she does want to come too.
They were full of the Dockers progress this season, they are pleased
they are ahead of the West Coast Eagles but rather worried by tomorrow’s game
against Port Adelaide who are currently top of the ladder. They were also
looking forward to going to Subi next weekend to see Matthew Pavlich’s 300th game
for the Dockers! They will be playing Geelong who are about third in the
ladder, so it may be a tight fixture. If Pav has played in every match in a
season that means he has played for over fifteen years as a Docker. The club
only began in 1994 so that must make him one of the longest standing players
they have.
We had a lazy day for the rest of Saturday, although Laura was at
Dominic’s again in the evening. I thought it might not be a good idea to go out
into the Peak with the weather being so unpredictable.
We did spend a happy afternoon in bed though.
Sunday 11th May.
We decided to go to rock today as it hadn’t rained in the night. Well, it
turned out it hadn’t rained in our little village but over by Stanage there
must’ve been quite a bit as the rock was quite wet and the weather still looked
unpredictable, coming sweeping down from the Dark Peak area.
I tried a few easy pitches to see how slippery they were and I thought
they may be do-able but Laura was a bit scared. She hasn’t been climbing all
that long and so I decided we’d go and be tourists in the Peak and if it fined
up we’d try again.
We went to Bakewell and bought some more puddings (dodging the rain spots).
We went to Calton Lees Garden Centre at Chatsworth (more dodging). Had a bite
to eat at Caudwell’s Mill south of Bakewell and then hit Calver Craft shop in
the early afternoon. Still no luck with the weather, so after Calver (because
it was so close) we drove to Mum’s.
We had afternoon tea with Mum and had a good old gossip. Laura mentioned
Poppy and Mum laughed like a drain. She wondered if she was still as neurotic
as she had been when Dad knew her. She told us that she used to do Dad’s head
in having massive attacks of PMT every month. She would get really irascible
and unpleasant, taking it out on everyone around her, including Dad. She
remembers Dad telling her it was like living in the same cage as a sleeping
Tasmanian tiger! Not that they lived together or anything, they were both
students at the time, living on campus.
Mum was pleased we’d enjoyed the concerts and was glad she hadn’t been
invited to see Yes. She thinks they are a set of pretentious losers who are
still churning out unintelligible songs for people who delude themselves into
thinking it is profound. (Well thanks Mum!)
I think she must have seen my face, as she tried to retract her remarks,
claiming I wasn’t a pretentious loser. She asked if I would have gone if Dad
hadn’t been going and when I said, “No!” She replied with, “Well, there you are
then!”
Laura recounted how I had been bought a drink by a guy in the bar; which
made Mum laugh again and say, “I bet she was showing a lot of leg, wasn’t she?”
Oh Mum, you sting your little girl at times. LOL
We headed for the hills at about 6.30 driving through more showery rain.
Boo hoo. Back home, as Laura wasn’t going to Dom’s tonight she asked me if I
could show her lots of leg. I told her I would if she would.
So we did. For quite a while.
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