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I know it really is time to put something new up about the gardens I am working on, the trouble is I'm not! I have plenty of work in the pipeline, I just can't get it done because of the weather.

The next time I hear someone say, at least it's pretty I may not be responsible for my actions!

At least I have been active musically, on Thursday and Friday I was out caroling with my Church, as we were walking and few in number it was easier to use the Euphonium, and being in pitch closer to the cornets a much more satisfying overall sound. As I have cut the marching lugs off my EEb I also had a band Tuba with me, on Friday I left both these instruments at the Church to save cluttering up the house too much, so last night I played the band EEb Imperial for our Carol Service, it made me remember what a class instrument this is. Both my wife and daughter sang solos so I think my poor efforts on the bass were rather overshadowed, I know pride is meant to be a sin, but I did indulge myself last night.

Out of sequence

It was so good to get out on Friday and do some work. I was able to work as I had some prep work to do for a landscaping job I'm just starting so it didn't matter that there was still snow on the ground. I think it was and probably still is too cold to do any "proper" gardening.

But it was great to be outside in the air breathing fully and using some muscles, bending my back and .... yes working.

This concert is now in it's second edition

Tonight we repeated last Saturday's Christmas Praise concert, this time at All Soul's Church in Langham Place. Again we started with the Saint Saens Organ Symphony, and as we were playing this it struck me that this is about as much fun as it is possible to have, certainly for a heavy brass player like myself there is not much that I can do that is more fun (these days with or without my clothes on).

With Graham Kendrick as a guest of the Orchestra it also struck me just how special the All Soul's Orchestra is, our guests are great stars in their field but they just join in with the rest of us, somehow we have a unity of purpose that I don't quite find with any other ensemble I play with. Don't get me wrong I get an enormous amount of pleasure from all my playing, but there is just something a bit special about ASO. I think this is illustrated by the fact that I went for a quick pint after the concert with my friend who leads the second violins. In most orchestras there is no way that a violin would even talk to a tuba player, ( "Fiddle! fiddle indeed, you will kindly address us as violins!")

Did I mention that Graham Kendrick was our guest? tomorrow morning I will be playing for a service at a local Methodist Church and we will be singing "Shine Jesus Shine" and it will be really difficult not to keep thinking "last night I was singing this standing next to Graham Kendrick" (who wrote it) I still might just mention it to the rest of the worship band though.............

Good Morning

Good Morning! the sun is out, the snow is melting, I may be able to do some work today!

Saturday Night's Concert

Not sure why it's taken this long for me to comment on this concert, it was a great night and I am sure that both the performers and the audience got a lot out of it. This was my first proper Christmas concert so maybe I am reluctant to bring Christmas on too soon.

The All Souls Orchestra, the Christmas Praise Choir, Graham Kendrick, and Michelle Todd came together under the baton of Noel Tredinnick at Croydon's Fairfield hall. The programme started with the finale from Saint -Saens' Organ Symphony and concluded with Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride, via some of Nutcracker, a few of the Carnival of the Animals, a good selection of Christmas worship songs and the Chicken Reel.

The Fairfield is a great hall, as well as being my local hall it is still one of the best in the UK, it is always a joy to me to play here, it is so familiar yet still manages to be a special event each time. Added to that it is a real privilege to be on the same platform as such special talents as Graham Kendrick and Michelle Todd












Graham Kendrick

Michelle Todd

We will be repeating the concert next Saturday at All Souls Church with a different audience and choir, but I am sure it will still be a "joyous sound"

This is the best thing I do

Still Cold

Yep it's still freezing here, cold enough that I can't think of any useful work I can do as a gardener, so staying at home again to day, catching up an a bit of admin, and stuff.

Ever since this snow began, my wife has done nothing but stand there looking through the window, if it gets any worse I shall have to let her in! Thanks to "The Now Show" for that last one

More snow

What can I say, more snow, more cold and it looks like it's here to stay, into next week at the least. I have now got to the point where I just want to get back to work and make some money.

Last night we had a rehearsal for tomorrow night's Christmas Praise, the orchestra was a little thin on the ground so I hope everyone can make it OK tomorrow. There are still some tickets left and available through the Fairfield box office http://www.fairfield.co.uk/showInfo.php?showid=15785 If you can't make that then we do the whole thing again next Saturday at All Souls Church - link at the side.

Saturday mornings performance with the Brass Band has been cancelled, so that's a little time pressure removed, but to be honest we could with both the exposure and the money. Sorry not a very cheerful post today, I'm getting a bit fed up with pretty white, I'm ready for some boring grey now.

Another snow bound day

Yep another white out! It is nice to have some time off, the usual trouble though is when I have time, there is money, when I have money I have no time. Now add to that I can't get out and do the things I want to do when not working.

Still it does give me an opportunity to get on with some practise! no excuses really work now. Last night's band rehearsal was cancelled, and of course Monday was stick waving, so I haven't had the tuba out much. We have an ASO rehearsal this evening in Central London and I should be able to get there OK, it will be nice to see some non relations and play some music with other people.

Daughter still home from school as well so at least I have some company.

More snow

First I shall get my rant over with, best to do it early!

Yesterday my daughter's school decided that the weather was not so bad that they couldn't open, so off to school they all went. Then at midday they decided that the weather was too bad after all, we were told that the school would be closed from 12:30, and by the way the buses had stopped running. Why wait till the buses had stopped, now we were faced with the prospect of 13 year old girls being asked to walk more than 7 miles home in the snow.

I made the rash decision that it would be better to get the car out and pick them up, the 15 mile round trip journey took me about six and a half hours. There was no communication from any authorities as to what was going on, which roads were open, or indeed the causes of hold ups. I know in a lot of places gritters had been out and roads were clear - this is LONDON after all, but in Bromley there was no sign that even main roads had been gritted before the morning rush. The consequence buses cancelled, grid lock on the roads gritters unable to get through because of the grid lock. It has to be said that some of the problem comes from people not knowing how to drive in the snow, but it is more difficult in modern cars than those from say the 60s and 70s. Also those like me making unnecessary journeys (as it turned out they would have been home quicker if they had walked.

Today I'm staying home, and possibly all week as far as work goes!

OK rant over

Like everyone else my garden is covered by snow, but already I am worried about the damage. All my Kerrier is weighed down but my main concern is my Pittosporum, it is a variegated form which currently stands about 12 feet high with a potato vine (Solanum Jasimoides) growing through it. The snow has weighed it down to no more than 6 - 7 foot high, I have been trying to pluck up the courage to give it a good prune for a while, I think it may now have been thrust upon me.

Yeh sure, Very Pretty

Yeh sure, very pretty were my first thoughts this morning when I looked out of the window. I know some people get excited at the prospect of some snow, it's just that I'm not one of them when I would rather be out doing some work, earning some money.

The few from my back door this morning

For the last couple of weeks I have been worried that I have taken on too much work, and have begun to slip behind schedule, now I will be losing at least another full day, by the look of the forecast it could well be the rest of the week. I shall try to look on the bright side and take it as a opportunity to do some practise for the plethora of concerts coming up, and catch up with some paperwork.........

Hey ho nothing I can do about it so might as well make the most it.

The Organ Symphony

We are playing the last movement of the Saint Saens 2nd symphony, the Organ, at Christmas Praise this year. I have been playing this piece regularly every second year or so over the last 35 years, so when I saw it in the pad thought "no problem", then I looked at the dots and a rather worrying thought dawned on the rather slow Goodwin mind, I've never seen this before!


I don't know how it's happened but I think that every time I've played this great work I have been on my second instrument - Bass Trombone. That's no bad thing since there is a major Bass Trombone solo in the last movement (Bass Trombone solo, not a phrase you come across very often), but none the less very surprising since I still, and always have played a lot more tuba than trombone.


We are playing the concert at both the Fairfield Hall in Croydon and at All Soul's Church Langham place, and since the Fairfield is my "home" hall I am looking forward to this as something of a high point for this Christmas.....more will follow

regular posting

I read a few blogs written by other people, and I am in awe of their ability to make regular, interesting and varied posts. There are a couple who make me feel totally inadequate and question why I do this.

Of course I know the reason why I do this, it is to inflate my own ego! why else would I think that other people would be interested in my verbal wanderings? Well I hope that very soon there will be some more before and after photos as well as reports on concerts I play in. I think it's all very interesting even if no one else does

It all starts now

I am majorly busy these days, not just with the day job (which is good news indeed at this time of the year) but with music making as well, I just had a quick count up and I have 8 performances as well as my Church Carol Service and going out caroling around the Parish.

Just a few quick lines (Presto agitato) to let you all know I'm alive before dashing up to Town for an ASO Rehearsal.

Weekends

It's been a long and tiring weekend, but basically a good one. went abroad to Wales to visit my mother - good - meant I was away from wife and daughter - bad - saw eldest bother - good - spent ages sitting in traffic - bad - got home so late daughter and wife in bed - bad:

Hey ho, another week starts over and above work something on every night this coming week, by Saturday I shall be wasted. - and all I want to do is a bit a tuba practise...................

Another day another concert

On Tuesday night I was out with the London Charity Orchestra, we were playing a concert in aid of the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust http://www.cwmt.org/ a charity active in the area of mental health, specifically depression, they do a lot of excellent work, and I think the whole orchestra is both glad and proud to be associated with them.

The venue was St Johns Smith Square, a decommissioned church within a stones throw of parliament, it has been tastefully and effectively adapted for use as a concert hall, and has become one of the more prestigious central London venues.

Playing Bass Trombone I was involved in two pieces, a selection from the Gadfly Suite, and Tchaik 5. While I have played the Tchaikovsky many times the Schostakovich was totally new to me, and due to a strained rehearsal schedule I ended up sight reading the first movement on the stand. That always adds to the excitment! Now I have played this piece I know it to be a fine work, and I will be seeking out a recording, any suggestions?

The Tchaikovsky was the piece that first made take up the Bass Trombone, playing with my youth orchestra I commented to the tutor that it was a shame that none of the trombones we had were proper basses, but that we ended up with the best tenors on first, the next best on second and the beginners on third. In this symphony all three parts are equally important, indeed I think the Bass has more solos than the first. Well half an hour later the Tutor comes back with a Yamaha student Bass Trombone, gives it to me and tells me that I'm playing it in the concert at the end of the week. I did play in the concert, and wasn't the worst there, but I think I have made some substantial progress in the intervening #* years.

This was an excellent concert, well played and well programmed, the LCO has one of the best string sections of any of the non professional orchestras in London, and a very fine conductor in Will Carslake (and I havn't been paid to say that -- yet)

It is always a joy to play with this Orchestra, at this venue, and then have a pint or three at the Marquise of Granby afterwards.

Hairy Situation

Those of you who actually know me will know that for most of the last 25 years I have worn a beard, sometimes it changes shape a bit, but it has been a pretty constant companion. Just before going on holiday last month I decided to get my hair cut short and shave off the beard, a bit of a shock to the system and to those around me.

Well we duly went away and for once I got a tan on all of my face, as soon as we as reasonable after we got home out came the new toy for a blow, I went through my normal warm up procedure, and made an interesting discovery I could get pedals! The main concern I had with this tuba was that I couldn't get the pedals, but lose the beard and there they are. I have no explanation for this so if anyone can come up with one I'll be in your debt.

Remembrance

First sorry not to have posted for quite a while, since getting back from our short holiday things have been quite frantic, work has been busy which is of course something of a relieve as the winter draws closer, but there also seems to have been an awful lot on with other commitments, not least rehearsals for my various bands and orchestras.

This morning the Croydon Brass Band played for the remembrance service on HMS Belfast, she is a second world war cruiser, now permanently moored on the Thames between Tower Bridge and London Bridge. As part of the Imperial War Museum and home of the London Sea Cadets this service does not warrant a full Marines Band so Croydon have been playing for it for at least 30 years now. Although I have played many times this is the first year I have conducted the Band for this service. Over the last few years I was getting a little worried that we were beginning to take the whole thing a little casually, we have been playing the same selection as long as I can remember and maybe not very well recently. So this year I made a few changes to the pieces and rehearsed what we were to play.

HMS Belfast

There was an excellent attendance at the service, and I think the Band played at their best. The ceremony was very moving, and this was enhanced by two of our cornet players doing an excellent job of the last post and reveille. After the service I received many favorable comments from members of the congregation, all in all a very encouraging morning.

Home!

Well we had a great time, enjoyed the sun and some serious (or maybe frivolous) relaxing by the pool as well as a couple of more cultural trips. So we have returned bronzed and refreshed - could have done with another week though - I promise lots of photos and reports, before falling back fully into the work/music/church round.

A view form Medina, the old capital of Malta, known as the silent city.

Holidays - at last

At last indeed, it has been a long, long summer with no breaks at all. We had a long weekend with the Band at the end of May, and I've not stopped since. Being a gardener I feel I can't really get away during the summer months so we try to have a holiday in October, well this is it, half term and we're off for a week in Malta.

This is my third visit and the families second, last year sold us so a return this year was a "no brainer"

Here are some photos from last year

Last night's Gig

I thoroughly enjoyed last night's performance with the South London Concert Band. A very different type of gig to the ones I play with my main band, Croydon Symphonic. We were playing in a lovely old Church in Surrey, raising funds for maintenance of the fabric.

The music was entertaining without being too challenging, since some of the band's sections are weaker than others, the selection of music was made very carefully. This meant that it was all reasonable for me to sight read on the stand. Indeed it was quite good for my self confidence since my sight reading is still not as strong on the CC as on EEb, but I am determined to keep the new toy as my principle instrument.

On a slightly different note, since we now have two regular Bass players at Croydon Brass, on Monday night we had the embarrassing problem of not having enough working instruments. Both players prefer EEb to BBb but only one of our two Imperial EEbs was working, the other having ceased up through lack of use; so I now have that one up stairs for overhaul. Just what I needed more to do!

Busy Busy Busy

We are going on holiday in a couple of weeks so I'm working like blazes to make sure I have caught up on all my back log before we go. It's better to be busy than slack when you're self employed, but the last few weeks have been manic. Looking back I can see so much that I have missed posting on, playing on Eastbourne Bandstand with All Saints, back to rehearsal with CSB, first rehearsal with LCO, a booking with ASO for Christmas Praise and lots and lots of gardening.

Well I'm just putting up a quick post now before going off to play with the South London Concert Band, an outfit I haven't played with for years, but got a call from the other day, I trust they are still at a decent standard!

In the mean time here are a couple of shots of one of the job I have been so busy on

Out of the comfort zone

On Saturday evening we had a cabaret night at our Church. Various members of our congregation performed, songs and instrumental solos, a band played a couple of numbers and we finished the whole thing off with a sketch based on Grease but set in Ancient Greece - work it out for yourselves.

Well when I saw all the talented people who had come forward to perform I thought that there would be no one in the audience who would think "What that night really needed was a Tuba solo". However this does not mean I was not performing, this was a chance to let another side of me out, I was Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Not quite like Emcee in Cabaret, but still quite a large part of the evening requiring me to stand up in front of people, talking, telling jokes, and no impressive piece of plumbing to hide behind. I have done this a few time before but each time I get more nervous than when I am playing, it's great fun, but way out of the comfort zone.

Best bit of the night, for me having my daughter sing. She has a special talent, and it's great on a night like this to have others confirm this so that it's not just a doting father getting carried away, although I may have a bit when I introduced her.

This week the old German Band career may be revived, I have a gig on Tuesday with a band I haven't played with before, this is most welcome since by the end of this year all of the professional bands I used to play with will have called it a day.

Tchaikosky

On Monday we had the first rehearsal for the London Charity Orchestras Autumn concert. We only had time to play through the Symphony, Tchaik 5. I am playing Bass Trombone (for some reason LCO seem to have loads of tuba players on thoer books but just me on Bass Bone, over the years I have been playing I can't get on tuba even when two are needed) but on this occason no complants at all. This was the piece that first inspired me to take up the trombone.

I must have been about 15 or 16 on a Croydon Youth Philharmonic Orchestra holiday course, at the time I was CYPO's principle tuba but beginning to be pressed hard by Nick Hacket a very talented musician and gifted tuba player. We had, I think 4 of us on tube including Nick and another very competent player, and something like 9 trombones. The trouble was all the trombones where tenors, with the best players on first, then second and only some basic near beginners on third. This symphony needs a proper confident bass trombone, I observed this to our tutor during a break on the first day, he promptly went out to his car, brought in a bass trombone and gave it to me, five days later I played it in the end of course concert. By the end of the next term I was CYPO's Bass Trombone, Nick was in his proper place as the principle tuba and the rest as they say is history.

The orchestral bass trombone is a wonderful sound, and there are many, many well written parts for the specialist to enjoy, but my first love is still the tuba!

All Saints Concert Band

It has just been pointed out to me that I have refered to this band a number of times over the summer, and have not put a link to thier web site. Well thanks Pat! there is now a link on the right.

I recently played with All Saints down in Eastbourne and had a thourghly enjoyable time. there was a decent audience and an entertaining programme, also I was playing Tuba so was a lot more confortable, thanks guys.

More Hever

I think I may have been a bit unfair on Hever's gardens, I should say that the grounds at Hever are splendid, well maintained, and well thought out. It is a great place for a day out with plenty to maintain interest throughout the day. It is just that I think so much more could be made from the idea of a dahlia border.

I have found my camera now (in the wife's car!) and can share my shots from that day , make up your own minds

More stuff and nonsence

Sorry not to have posted much for quite a while now, truth to tell I've just been too busy with all sorts of things, so that by the time I've slowed down in the evening and actually have a bit of time I'm just too tired.

I have been playing and did go down to Hever Castle and enjoyed the day enormously, however I was rather disappointed with the Dahlia borders. This should have been a glory of colour and for, instead all the dahlias were of the same type and more or less the same height. Allowing for the profusion of types and colours available I think a lot more could be made of this idea, I just need a customer with enough space and money to let me try. I did take a few pictures, but after all my busyness now I can't find the camera.

I will try to post something more interesting and coherent when I am a little more settled.

Why I hate John Fletcher

Well, maybe not quite true, John Fletcher was the finest Tuba player of his generation, and maybe since the instrument was invented. He didn't bequeath us some significant innovation in our machinery - like the Helleberg mouthpiece named after the principle tuba player in the Sousa band, neither did he innovate in how we learn to play and technique, like Arnold Jacobs. He just did it better than anyone else around. Follow this link, listen and see (or rather hear) what I mean, http://www.johnfletcher-tuba.co.uk/Resources/flight.html

So why do "I hate John Fletcher", well he did ruin the classic Boosey & Hawkes Imperial model EEb Tuba by introducing the big bell, but no it's not that, and on the occasions that he heard me play he was very complimentary and helpful, so it's not that. I always found him very friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic, he started and led the Tuba Christmas parties in London and was evangelistic about our instrument, so it's not that. No Fletch was the first Tuba virtuoso whose recordings became mainstream, non tuba players listened to what he did - and liked it. The trouble is they then expected us all to be able to the same., AND WE CAN'T http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK58EE5b4qc well I

There are many very fine players around now, the current generation have brought our instrument into the solo field and extended the repertoire, with players such as Walter Hilgers, Sam Piliafin, Jim Gourlay and so many others around we all have the opportunity to hear great soloists playing great solos - but Fletch was first.

Finally a quote from some old programme notes I found

Before John Fletcher the reputation of the tuba as a musical instrument was not altogether grand. It was considered almost entirely as a bass instrument for the brass section of bands and orchestras. Any use of the tuba in a solo capacity was normally in order to gain a laugh.
John Fletcher changed all that by treating the instrument as a vehicle for his remarkable musical talents and establishing that it was after all capable of expressive and technical virtuosity. It was, in his hands, capable of producing the whole gamut of musical expression. His special talent though was not so much what he could do technically but how to use his ability to master the instrument in the service of the music. He had no time for empty flamboyance but loved to provide just the right sound and style for whatever music he was playing.

As a teacher he hated pomposity and avoided the ‘master-class’ situation. He preferred to explore the instrument with his students, avoiding quick-fix answers in favour of discussion of the possibilities. He always managed to present his views with humour and gave the impression that he was gaining as much from the sessions as his students were.
Whenever possible he like to demonstrate through enjoyable performance.

It is still relatively unusual as a tuba player to get to play many "tunes", but certainly the parts I get to play - especially in contemporary wind band music - are so much more interesting than they were, in no small part thanks to Fletch

Heroes

I noticed the other day that on my old "myspace" page there is a question about heroes, I listed mine as Joseph Paxton and Fran Cotton. I also commented that you won't often see those two names together - I think there might be a brownie point for anyone who already knows who they both are.

Joseph Paxton was one of the great gardeners, his most famous accomplishment being the design of the Crystal Palace and the laying out of it's grounds, just up the road from where I live.

For those of you who don't know this particular part of South East London, the Crystal Palace is now both a major park and the sight of the National Sports Centre. There used to be a motor racing circuit there as well, but they built the stands for the running track over part of the circuit. Every time I went swimming we used to walk past this bust of Paxton. I'm not sure when this went up, but there is a lot of statuary around the park, including the famous Dinosaurs, it has to be said that this is not one of the best pieces on display.

Fran Cotton is a different proposition altogether I have lifted this article from Scrum.com "as an England and British and Irish Lions prop he was ahead of his time in levels of fitness and conditioning, he soon became a legend in the white of England and the red of the Lions. Cotton's international debut came against Scotland in March 1971 and while he was too late to arrive on the international scene to warrant inclusion on the Lions' 1971 tour of New Zealand, he made his mark three years later in South Africa.

Cotton played in all four Tests of the Lions' famous win in South Africa, forming a powerful scrimmaging unit alongside Bobby Windsor and Ian McLauchlan. Cotton, at over six feet tall, was seen by some as too tall for the front-row but he was complemented perfectly by the compact and powerful McLauchlan.

Cotton's versatility was another key string to his bow, with his four caps in 1974 coming on the tighthead side and three against New Zealand in 1977 on the loosehead. In 1977 Cotton was also the subject of one of the sport's most famous pictures, his mud smeared face being captured as a reminder of the terrible weather conditions against the Junior All Blacks.

Cotton's association with the Lions looked to have ended in 1980 when he left the tour early due to a bout of viral pericarditis, originally mis-diagnosed as a heart-attack, but in 1997 he served as the tourist's team manager as they won the series in South Africa.

Following his retirement from playing Cotton set up rugby leisure company Cotton Traders alongside fellow England international Steve Smith."

What this doesn't tell you is that both of these men started from relatively humble backgrounds and rose to the very top of both society and their chosen fields through their own hard work determination and talent. I have a copy of Fran Cotton's autobiography, but like so many sportsman's books it just tells of his playing career, and more or less finishes when he stooped playing. Given that he now heads a major multinational company, has managed a successful Lions' tour and is a leading RFU luminary I await a second volume! - are you reading this Fran?

There is of course a name missing - John Fletcher, if you don't know John Fletcher then you may be reading the wrong blog I will write more on Fletcher and heroes in general, now I need to sleep.

Bank Holiday Monday

Having only just commented that there was not much going on on the music front, I am now going to play at Hever Castle on Bank Holiday Monday with the All Saints Concert Band. I shall be on Bass Trombone so had better do a bit of practise before then.

I like Hever gardens, they are a good selection of parkland and garden with some nice statuary and a great lake, there is also a dahlia border which should look good in late August, I shall try to remember my camera and get you a few shots.

Little to report

Life has been fairly quite (while still busy) with me and Mrs T. Very little is happening on the music front with a bit of a lull now as most bands and orchestras are having a bit of a break until rehearsals start again in September. Croydon Brass Band keeps going through the summer, although at the moment we have nothing in the diary until November. I am hoping to get a concert organised for October but haven't got any dates through yet.

Work is busy, but unexciting, we harvested masses of plums and gooseberries from one garden I look after, the house is unoccupied and there is more fruit than my family can use so this morning we are going to take some up to Church and offer them to anyone who would like some.

BUT the main event of the week has been my daughters birthday, 13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we took her and a friend out to dinner at Pizza Express on the day, and yesterday I went with her to buy THE present. For months she has been agitating for a new semi acoustic guitar so with the money from Granny etc. we bought one for her birthday. This now makes four instruments in her bedroom, and almost untouched keyboard, a much played and loved electric guitar, and my old bass. This bass resurfaced at a friends house a few months back after not having been used at all for around 20 years, and more like 30 years since I took it anywhere near seriously. My friend refurbished as a bit of a project and returned it to me, however I just can't get back into it, I couldn't even remember which notes the open strings play, so have gracefully accepted defeat and passed it on to the next generation.

Just a quicky!

It has been a busy old time just recently. lots to do on the work front and on the personal front as well. Yesterday - Sunday - my wife and I found that we had no commitments and with our daughter away a full day to ourselves, this is most unusual for us so we thought we would make the most of the day and went down to Wisley, the RHS garden for the day.

As always there was plenty to see and enjoy, this is a shot of one of the long borders

running up the hill.

A personal favorite of mine though is the Alpine house. When ever I go to Wisley, at whatever time of year there is always some exquisite specimens to be enjoyed in the Alpine house. If my number should ever come up and I win the Premium Bonds then one of the luxuries I have promised myself is my own Alpine house. The only trouble would be that then I would have to build my wife a cactus house as well!

I count an Alpine House as a luxury, whereas of course a full set Miraphone Tubas is a necessity

Horsham

On Saturday I played with the All Saints Concert Band, on the Bandstand in Horsham Town Centre. Horsham is a fairly traditional market town in Sussex, and on Saturday, yes there was a market. It is quite unusual to have a bandstand in the middle of town rather than in a park, but it does mean that lots of passers by get entertained, indeed I gather the bandstand is something of an attraction.

Finally a picture of yours truly playing the "New Toy" in anger. Final proof that it does get played for "real"

Being Proper?

It's been good to get back top a couple of days proper gardening this week. With the little bit of rain we have had I have gone back to cutting grass, and there is always weeding to do. After a few days doing a garden construction (see below) and a day on admin stuff actually going out and playing with the plants was a joy.

It's about 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning now, and I'm just getting ready to go down to Horsham in Sussex to play on the bandstand there with the All Saints Concert Band, I hope that there will be some friendly non combatants who will take some pictures for me, so in the mean time, if you have been thanks for reading.

More Proms

Last night (Wednesday) we went to the Proms, wow twice in one season, that's more than I've managed for years.


The work was Mahler's 3rd symphony, for those of you who don't know it this is a monumental work in 6 movements, the first movement alone lasting about 45 minutes. All the performances were first class, but special mention should perhaps go to the Mezzo Soprano Karen Cargill, and off stage trumpet - superb. Off course with a set up like the BBC Scottish Symphony you would expect that.

This is what the Proms website says "Donald Runnicles conducts Mahler's massive Third Symphony, the most rousing and touching of his early efforts to encapsulate the whole world within a single work. Its visions of verdant nature and heavenly love sprang from the composer's intention to give 'the whole of nature a voice'." I think that pretty much covers it.

Of special personal joy, my wife enjoyed the evening - since she is not a hard line classical music fan I was a little worried that this might just be too much for her, but the excellence of the performance and the sheer quality (if eccentric) of the writing shone through and won the day.

Before and after

I have been working on a local small back garden, a friend of mine (a euphonium player) owns the house and has been getting it ready to rent. It needed a garden so I was called in to sort out the mess here are some shots of before during and after.... I trust you can tell which is which

This is what I do!

St James's Park

I love St James's Park, the planting, the lake, the location, and of course the flamingos we all love them, but I love the audience for the bandstand. Of all the bandstands I play on - and that is quite a few - St James's has the most has the most knowledgeable and appreciative audience. I am quite sure that a lot are band music fans and come to the park specifically to hear a band play.

Saturdays gig went well the programme not being to taxing for band or audience but still entertaining enough for both to command attention. This band is superb on the bandstand, it really is their natural habitat. We played pieces like "In a Persian Market" and "Bandolgy" and all the audience enjoyed them selves, - what more could you ask for.

I did take my camera with me, in the hope of getting some shots for the blog, but missed the opportunity. I checked out the bands web site for photos, and there are several that include me, but you can only see the top of my head or the edge of the instrument's bell; hey ho......

Update

Sorry not to have been around for a while, life has been intervening a little too much into my blogging time. Having spent this morning doing lots of the work involved in running a business that nobody pays you for, I am now just off to get changed before going up to London to play at St James's Park with the Band of the Surrey Yeomanry.

More later - I promise.

Doctor Who

Last night (Saturday) we (the whole family - yes all three of us), actually went out together to a concert that none of us were performing in. That may not sound so unusual, but for us it is quite an event. My wife treated us to seats for the Doctor Who Prom. I think this is the second of these, the first was such a success that they decided to put on another this year.

For my wife and daughter it was the first time at the Royal Albert Hall, I think both were suitably impressed, and I had the chance for the very cheesy line "It's a long time since I was here in the audience!)

The programme was a mixture of some short classical pieces and musical from the TV series, for me most of the pieces were a little short, with too much introduction from the stars, but for the target audience this was probably about right. I enjoyed most of the music, and the enthusiasm from the audience was contagious. All round an excellent evening

Of interest to me, of course was the bottom end of the brass section, where the tuba player had two instruments a standard British style EEb and what looked to me like a 5/4 CC which he used for the "Rode of the Valkyries". Next to him the Bass Trombone also had a Contra Bass Trombone, used for some of the Doctor Who music.

In all it was a real monster Orchestra with I think triple wood wind, seven horns, six trumpets, and six trombones, and of course only one tuba. With a lot of use of the mighty organ and an orchestra that big, the poor lone tuba player did get a bit swamped, but overall a very big exciting sound, I hope that a lot of the younger members of the audience were inspired.

Pressure Wash

I mentioned the other day that I was cleaning some paving up with the pressure wash. There is always an issue doing this with the pressure of water damaging the pointing. In this case there wasn't any pointing left so not so much of an issue. There wasn't any pointing since the paving had been cleaned this way a few times before. However my customer did observe that each time it was cleaned the paving seemed to get dirty(er) quicker. I wonder if the water lifts off a smooth finish from the casting, leaving the surface a little rougher and therefore more susceptible to gathering grim? Any thoughts?

These pictures give some idea of how dirty the paving was, it looked pretty much black or at best a dingy dark grey, after cleaning you could tell that this was in fact a pattern of green and light grey slabs. Generally I am not a fan of coloured paving slabs, but in this case I have to say that a lot better clean than dirty.

The rather yawning gaps between the slabs where they may once have been pointed showed up like a missing tooth in a pretty smile, since the slabs have become pretty uneven I thought the best thing was to just sweep some sharp sand intro the cracks. I suspect that the ants will soon lift this but it looked a lot better in the short term.

More Work - good!

Yesterday was a little less stressed that the previous couple of days, a straight forward morning in the garden, weeding, tending plants, potting on some cuttings, the sort of thing that I LOVE. I feel so close to the creative, nurturing side of the trade on mornings like this. In the afternoon I carried on with a clearance of an abandoned plot I have undertaken to do.

I have had two goes at this so far, and have made a big difference, I hope to get to a point soon where I can start setting this plot up as a garden again.

In the mean time here are some more photos from my own garden

It looks like it is about to stop raining which is a shame since here in the South East we really need it, so I had better go and get ready to go and do some work this morning. This afternoon and evening I am playing supporting the All Souls Choir for a concert raising funds for ASLAN, All Souls Local Action Network, working with the homeless. I will be playing trombone for this one so a little out of the comfort zone again.

too tired

Just too tired to think, after long hard day..............

Passions

When I started writing this blog, my idea was very much to chart the musical life of an amateur tuba player, but find that a lot of what I write is about my gardening. I think this is a reflection of both my life and my passion. On the course we are currently following in my Church Home Group the writer comments that "you can tell where a Christian's passions are by what he prays about", well, I think you can tell a bloggers passions by what they blog about.

We watched the wonderful film Julie and Julia the other night, following a couple of women who followed their passions, eventually finding success and fulfillment through food (another passion of mine). This is an excellent film especially interesting to foodies, but very funny and absorbing to anyone. It also got me thinking about passions.

Clearly music and gardening are currently my two personal over riding passions - I have made a conscious decision not to write about my family - so that will be they will form majority of this blog. I am writing this first thing in the morning, so now I am off to work, this morning pressure washing a patio, I just hope I manage to leave some of the pointing in place.

More later, hopefully with some nice photos.

Sacrilege

I am now going to upset a lot of people in the brass band world.

Yesterday Croydon Brass played out, and it was an excellent performance, I have been thinking about why it was so good, and have decided that it was not just the quality of the players, although that was impressive, it was in part the instrumentation. We had French Horns!

For the uninitiated brass bands usually use Eb tenor horns, these are "Saxhorns" a bit like tubas that have been put on too hot a wash. French horns are on the other hand much longer narrow bore pipes, indeed they are different to every other brass instrument in so many ways, but they make the most marvelous sound. Indeed I think the Orchestral Horn makes the most exciting sound in music. I think this is one of the reasons I enjoyed Saturday so much.

It was wonderful a the conductor to have so many good quality players, they followed everything I meant to do, and ignored all mistakes, it could all go to my head, but it's still a good thing that you can't hear the conductors wrong notes.

Brass Band Gig

This morning we played for the reopening of the New Addington leisure centre, although I wasn't aware of an audience we did have some very favorable feed back from centre staff and local shopkeepers, which is always encouraging.

We did have a few friends helping the band out and I think it was the best we have sounded since I took over conducting the Band. When numbers are a little low it is very easy to get a bit despondent, but this morning's performance has really encouraged me again. We don't have any more engagements in the diary now until remembrance Sunday, but I hope to put together a concert in October some time, so will start rehearsing some music for that.

I did remember to take my new camera, but didn't remember to use it, hopefully I will be able to blag a couple of photos off some of the others to put up here..........watch this space!

Busy Busy Busy

It's been a busy couple of days, and doesn't look like getting any easier so in the mean time a few pictures from the garden

Hostas is pots on the Patio

The "Frog Prince" on guard duty

Hydrangia in pot with busy lizzies - this "deck" is made out of timber I reclaimed from a block of garages, they were the lintels over the garage doors, so solid and heavy they should last for ages.

Last year this was a mixed border with a couple of shrubs, roses and a bit of bedding, now veg in raised beds. I keep thinking of growing a peach or nectarine against the wall.

All these were taken on my new (second hand) digital camera so I hope the improvement shows. Now back to the grind, tomorrow we have the funeral then back to "normal" on Friday and another brass band gig on Saturday morning.

A good weekend

Quite a weekend!


The Brass Band played at a local School Fete on Saturday, with a couple of helpers from other local bands. I think we put on a reasonable performance, but we do still have to rely too heavily on the solo cornets, without a regular solo horn or solo euphonium the cornets have to carry the band a lot of the time. On the personal front, I think I am slowly improving as a conductor, but there is still a lot of scope for more improvement. I look forward to not worrying about my technical performance and thinking more of making music.

The school we were playing at is a Roman Catholic Church school, there were a lot of people there including the Local Bishop who had a few nice words for us.

On Sunday we watched the British Grand Prix, I didn't have high hopes for the British drivers, but both did very well. I was particularly impressed by Jenson Button, finishing 4th after starting down in 14th. Even if he doesn't win the Championship this year I think he has shown that last year was not just a lucky blip. Drives like this weekend show that he is a worthy champion, indeed I think he would have been on the podium if he hadn't been running low on fuel.


A little more work in our garden has it almost straight, however I found a major ants nest in one of the new raised beds I put in earlier this year. I'm not sure if they are effecting the courgettes we are growing in the bed.


The picture is of some lillies we have already out. We grow lillies in pots since planting in the ground they only seem to flower for one or two years, and then just rot. Growing in pots we get year after year of colour where ever we want it. I am pretty pleased with the garden this year we have already started cropping from our little veg patch with lots more to come.



This is a picture of our seating area made from reclaimed timber lintels. Although this is meant to be a seating area we tend to fill it with pots. I am particularly pleased with the hydrangea (a cutting from Fowey) alongside the pink busy lizzie. Not so pleased with the quality of the picture, my old digital camera seams to have developed a few problems, and compared with my daughters new one (see lillies above) the overall quality is not there either. I think I need to spend some money and buy a new one, it's just that I hate spending money unless it's on tubas or plants.

Smith Square

Well we played and generally I would say we played pretty well. I have had to pause a little before saying this as personally I did not perform to my own standards which is always disappointing, and can also cloud my judgement about the overall performance of the band.

We did have a few very challenging items in the programme, which the audience seemed to appreciate and enjoy, we started with the Holst First suite in Eb, this is a "classic" of the wind band repertoire and is well known to many classic fm listeners as well. Since it starts with a Bass solo it is also dear to my own heart. Well about 3 notes in our string bass (yes we do have a string in a concert band!) had some sort of technical difficulties which sounded a bit off, but we carried on, and carried off the piece. Philip Sparke's "A weekend in New York" is a very difficult contemporary piece with something for every section of the band. It is the first time we have performed this piece so in all honesty most of us were happy to just play all the notes in roughly the right place and order, but a great piece and once we really get to grips with it and start to bring the music out I think it will be a stormer for CSB!

We finished the programme with a transcription of Bizet's Carmen, this took most of the second half and is a very good interpretation of the original suite, if a little boring on Bass - never mind I think everyone enjoyed it.

All in all a pretty good concert with a pretty good audience - it's always more fun playing to a decent appreciative audience than a half empty hall! so if you were there -thank you!

For Shayla

It appears that a recent post by the admirable Shayla may have been misinterpreted by some as being a little - anti male... I thought it was all in good humour but for those who didn't get it maybe this sculpture snapped at Wisley last year will help

I don't know the artist but I want to thank them for a great laugh