Concert last night; today planning.
Aug. 20th, 2003 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ewtProm last night was excellent.
MAde it on time, despite having to walk to Brent Cross because they closed Hendon Central for a security alert just as I got there. I don't think I've ever had such a convenient journey in terms of changing tubes - both changes, I walked up to the platform and a train arrived. Amazing. I think it only took about 50 minutes, total, to get to South Kensington, and I usually allow an hour and a half for that journey.
The music was excellent, although I would like the first horn player to be taken out and shot. He had an assistant first player for most of the concert, which was fine, but what's the point if you're going to have such poor quality playing anyway? He had lousy tone and pitch on a medium-low note at the end of a phrase, he split TWO high notes (only B-flats, I think, so not THAT high for a professional player), and cocked up a moving passage with a very messy slur. These were only the things that I heard, and I wasn't particularly listening hard to the horns (although as a horn player a bit of selective listening is unavoidable). His tone wasn't all that great either. All in all I didn't think it was a particularly professional performance from him. It is a sad thing to hear the BBC Symphony Orchestra and end up thinking to myself 'hey, I could play better than that, given a few years'. Maybe I will.
This did not spoil the rest of the concert. It would have been worth the money to go just to WATCH Evelyn Glennie, even without hearing it. Excellent. Astounding. Magical.
Afterwards I found a loo, as I didn't know if there was any water at home yet, and then we went to a pub where I had water, and then we went to a lovely Indian place. I had tarka dahl and mushroom pilau. I must learn to cook more things; I'm pretty good at Italian but that is really just typical stoodent food, and I want MORE.
Then I got the Last Train home. Checked the taps and there seemed to be water but I was soooooo sleepy, so left it until morning to find out properly. And yes, there is indeed water. And yes, I am indeed still sleepy, but this is what happens when one goes to bed late. Worth it in this case, I think.
Will attempt an early night tonight. Early = 10pm, maybe 11pm latest... if I go to bed at 10pm and then knit for a half hour, that would be ideal.
To do today:
-go to Oriental City to get edamame, maybe nori sheets and sushi rice as well.
-post a pair of hairfalls someone paid me for
-practise horn
-do laundry
-make burritos
-clean kitchen
-tidy room some more
-mow lawn
-meet with housemates about house stuff
Approx. schedule:
Oriental City (get a snack there) on the way home from work; try to be home by 4pm. Put frozen things in freezer, put load of washing in, grab parcel to be posted, put address on it (it is already stamped, I am so über-organised, go me), grab some stuff for the second-hand shop, go take stuff to second-hand shop and post parcel, go home, practise horn for an hour, make burritos, eat some and freeze the rest, clean the kitchen, mow the lawn, hang out laundry, tidy room a bit, meet with housemates.
Have bath, piss about on LiveJournal, research using greywater for flushing toilets, go to sleep.
The trick is not to piss about on LiveJournal until my Other Stuff for the day is done.
MAde it on time, despite having to walk to Brent Cross because they closed Hendon Central for a security alert just as I got there. I don't think I've ever had such a convenient journey in terms of changing tubes - both changes, I walked up to the platform and a train arrived. Amazing. I think it only took about 50 minutes, total, to get to South Kensington, and I usually allow an hour and a half for that journey.
The music was excellent, although I would like the first horn player to be taken out and shot. He had an assistant first player for most of the concert, which was fine, but what's the point if you're going to have such poor quality playing anyway? He had lousy tone and pitch on a medium-low note at the end of a phrase, he split TWO high notes (only B-flats, I think, so not THAT high for a professional player), and cocked up a moving passage with a very messy slur. These were only the things that I heard, and I wasn't particularly listening hard to the horns (although as a horn player a bit of selective listening is unavoidable). His tone wasn't all that great either. All in all I didn't think it was a particularly professional performance from him. It is a sad thing to hear the BBC Symphony Orchestra and end up thinking to myself 'hey, I could play better than that, given a few years'. Maybe I will.
This did not spoil the rest of the concert. It would have been worth the money to go just to WATCH Evelyn Glennie, even without hearing it. Excellent. Astounding. Magical.
Afterwards I found a loo, as I didn't know if there was any water at home yet, and then we went to a pub where I had water, and then we went to a lovely Indian place. I had tarka dahl and mushroom pilau. I must learn to cook more things; I'm pretty good at Italian but that is really just typical stoodent food, and I want MORE.
Then I got the Last Train home. Checked the taps and there seemed to be water but I was soooooo sleepy, so left it until morning to find out properly. And yes, there is indeed water. And yes, I am indeed still sleepy, but this is what happens when one goes to bed late. Worth it in this case, I think.
Will attempt an early night tonight. Early = 10pm, maybe 11pm latest... if I go to bed at 10pm and then knit for a half hour, that would be ideal.
To do today:
-go to Oriental City to get edamame, maybe nori sheets and sushi rice as well.
-post a pair of hairfalls someone paid me for
-practise horn
-do laundry
-make burritos
-clean kitchen
-tidy room some more
-mow lawn
-meet with housemates about house stuff
Approx. schedule:
Oriental City (get a snack there) on the way home from work; try to be home by 4pm. Put frozen things in freezer, put load of washing in, grab parcel to be posted, put address on it (it is already stamped, I am so über-organised, go me), grab some stuff for the second-hand shop, go take stuff to second-hand shop and post parcel, go home, practise horn for an hour, make burritos, eat some and freeze the rest, clean the kitchen, mow the lawn, hang out laundry, tidy room a bit, meet with housemates.
Have bath, piss about on LiveJournal, research using greywater for flushing toilets, go to sleep.
The trick is not to piss about on LiveJournal until my Other Stuff for the day is done.
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no subject
Date: 2003-08-20 03:22 am (UTC)I forgive them always, with the feeling that the french horn is possibly THE most difficult instrument to play, but nonetheless...
Glad it wasn't just me.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-20 04:52 am (UTC)I point out that these errors were not in Glennie's percussion concerto, but in Ravel's Daphis and Cloe which was after the interval. So I reckon they'd all been down the pub. Still, you expect a bit better for 23 squids a ticket. (We were in nice seats where you could really see what Evelyn was doing).
no subject
Date: 2003-08-20 03:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-20 04:32 am (UTC)They're taking security alerts outside stations a hell of a lot more seriously at the moment; there was one outside Boston Manor last week, and it really was a bomb. They had to do a controlled explosion, so the Piccadilly Line was suspended to heathrow as there was a danger it could have taken out the station and significant chunks of the track.
They've hushed up the fact it was an actual bomb, but earlier that week I received an anonymous phone call saying that a bomb had been placed at Ealing Broadway that would detonate at 2pm - the message coming through at 1pm. They did a search, but found nothing; they pulled the tapes on the call though and they're being analysed.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-20 07:35 am (UTC)