The Rinse Cycle
Wednesday 12th April - There's STORMS a-brewin'... but, after an audibly blustery night, things had cleared up enough on Wednesday morning for me to travel. No reported 'LINES BLOCKED BY DOWNED TREES' or the 'WRONG KIND OF WIND' or anything, at least not in this neck of the woods. The precipitation has eased, but it's still a bit BLOWY, so the walk to the station needs to be cautious...
I spotted not just one but TWO FOXES at the railway yard. The resident male "JUNIOR" was pottering around as usual, ducking in and out of the holes in the fence and watching the world go by. But there was also a female, snoozing behind one of the portacabins. Not that they seemed to be having anything to do with each other!
A few weeks ago, while 'GIVING A SHIFT', I noticed a (still sealed) DVD box-set of Wagner's complete "RING CYCLE" (the televised version by the New York Met), waiting for valuation. A quick scan through the internets revealed that one could pick up a copy on that eBay for about thirty quid, so I suggested that, if nobody else was interested, I'd have it for twenty-five. Well, this morning, it was still on the "TO BE LISTED" shelf awaiting someone's attention.
But thank goodness for PROCRASTINATION, because an even BETTER version just arrived! The Bayreuth production of "Der Ring" conducted by PIERRE BOULEZ was 'serialised' by BBC2 over several weekends in 1980, and that was the first time that I'd ever sat through a whole one (They say you never forget your first!) Yay! sixteen hours of Teutonic GRAND PROFUNDITY without the uncomfortable wooden seats! So another quick glance on eBay and the manager confirmed that I could have that one (also still in its wrappers) for twenty quid...
(It'll certainly be more enjoyable and uplifting than the production of "Das Rheingold" that I glimpsed on Sky Arts recently. One of those 'modern' interpretations, with the gods and dwarfs dressed as gangsta-rappers and all being sung in English. The horror!)
Meanwhile, it appears there had been SOME WEATHER during the day while I was shut in my cupboard! There was a large lake in the road, just up the lane from the shop. I stopped to put on some extra clothes for the walk up the hill 'cos the wind has got some iciness about it... and when I got to the station, I learned that we were in for another 'DIVERTING' adventure. A tree had blocked the line near Hedge End (again?), so the train went via St Denys and the line through Netley. Anyone travelling to Hedge End or Botley had one of those ever-popular REPLACEMENT BUS SERVICES laid on at Eastleigh. I suppose it gives us something different to look at, as the train parked for ages next to the Itchen, while the driver walked from one end of the train to the other for the TURNAROUND.
There was an interesting mixture of CONTEMPORARY MUSIC on Radio Three's "In Concrete" last night. The London Sinfonietta were doing their thing on the South Bank and very good it was too. But I drifted off to sleep listening to a recent STEVE REICH piece in the second half (that's not meant as a criticism, it was lovely!)
I spotted not just one but TWO FOXES at the railway yard. The resident male "JUNIOR" was pottering around as usual, ducking in and out of the holes in the fence and watching the world go by. But there was also a female, snoozing behind one of the portacabins. Not that they seemed to be having anything to do with each other!
A few weeks ago, while 'GIVING A SHIFT', I noticed a (still sealed) DVD box-set of Wagner's complete "RING CYCLE" (the televised version by the New York Met), waiting for valuation. A quick scan through the internets revealed that one could pick up a copy on that eBay for about thirty quid, so I suggested that, if nobody else was interested, I'd have it for twenty-five. Well, this morning, it was still on the "TO BE LISTED" shelf awaiting someone's attention.
But thank goodness for PROCRASTINATION, because an even BETTER version just arrived! The Bayreuth production of "Der Ring" conducted by PIERRE BOULEZ was 'serialised' by BBC2 over several weekends in 1980, and that was the first time that I'd ever sat through a whole one (They say you never forget your first!) Yay! sixteen hours of Teutonic GRAND PROFUNDITY without the uncomfortable wooden seats! So another quick glance on eBay and the manager confirmed that I could have that one (also still in its wrappers) for twenty quid...
(It'll certainly be more enjoyable and uplifting than the production of "Das Rheingold" that I glimpsed on Sky Arts recently. One of those 'modern' interpretations, with the gods and dwarfs dressed as gangsta-rappers and all being sung in English. The horror!)
Meanwhile, it appears there had been SOME WEATHER during the day while I was shut in my cupboard! There was a large lake in the road, just up the lane from the shop. I stopped to put on some extra clothes for the walk up the hill 'cos the wind has got some iciness about it... and when I got to the station, I learned that we were in for another 'DIVERTING' adventure. A tree had blocked the line near Hedge End (again?), so the train went via St Denys and the line through Netley. Anyone travelling to Hedge End or Botley had one of those ever-popular REPLACEMENT BUS SERVICES laid on at Eastleigh. I suppose it gives us something different to look at, as the train parked for ages next to the Itchen, while the driver walked from one end of the train to the other for the TURNAROUND.
There was an interesting mixture of CONTEMPORARY MUSIC on Radio Three's "In Concrete" last night. The London Sinfonietta were doing their thing on the South Bank and very good it was too. But I drifted off to sleep listening to a recent STEVE REICH piece in the second half (that's not meant as a criticism, it was lovely!)
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