A Funny old week

Well my week has been rather mixed, with no major events to report just very much the usual cycle of rehearsals and work. I have started putting in a new patio for one of my regular customers, but due to other work commitments and poor weather have not managed to progress as much as I would have liked.

Of course there are always things going on in the family, my daughter is in a show later this month and preparations and rehearsals for that are gaining pace, this is not the place to publicise it, this is http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000777333945

Having to ferry her around for rehearsal etc. now makes me appreciate what my parents went through while I was learning. In addition to that we have just bought her a new electric guitar, now twangy things are a bit a mystery to me, but I do have say that this guitar is pretty cool. I will add a photo soon.

Just for fun

Here's a little bonus, I know I'm going to be very busy this week so there is unlikely to be anything else here until next weekend now.

I love 9 Chickweed Lane, found it by accident but have followed it everyday for quite a few months now, so I can recommend it highly.

More on Last weekend

I mentioned Mike Ray, a super musician and good friend, well now he can add photographer to his CV, he sent me through these pics he took last Saturday night. Of these six reprobates I'm the only one who might not be described as a professional tuba player anymore, I think we all have at least two instruments, some of us more, yet we all choose to take a Besson EEb admittedly 5 different models, but I think you can still see that they are all basically pretty much the same. I do know that my little Besson is the oldest of the bunch since the others were all manufactured in concert pitch and mine is a sharp pitch conversion, sound wise though it held it's own against it's much newer brothers.

One of the things we enjoyed most about being at Expo '92 was the fireworks. Every evening, not long after we had finished our set there was a big display of fireworks and holograms over the central lake of the show ground.

We were both really struck by the music, but like so much about this Expo the whole show was something very special. See what you think follow this link to see someone's home video on facebook..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y2Y3ST-URI&feature=related

Great Weekend

What great weekend, I travelled down to Bournemouth on Saturday for an "End of an Era" party. A professional German band I used to play in over a period of about 25 years packed up last year. After years of declining bookings due to venues being too mean to pay for a full pro band the band leader finally bit the bullet, sold the kit and wrapped up the trading company. Very sad for all of us, but none the less inevitable.

The good thing was that one of the last members of the band and a good friend to the band leader decided to mark the event with a surprise party! Musicians, and families came from across the UK to reminisce, play a few tunes and meet old friends. Personally it was a special pleasure to meet up with Mike Ray, the accordionist who worked with me in Seville at Expo '92. This was a pivotal time in my life as during that year, I got engaged, my father died, my wife's best friend died, and oh yes we got married. During the party lots of people were taking photos and videos, I think actually everyone except me, so as soon as I get copies of some of these I will put them, in the mean time this one was taken at Expo '92 outside the bar we were working in. There is now a lot less hair, we both shave now, and what hair is left is a lot greyer.

A Drive Finnished

I have just completed a job more or less on time. When I say more or less it is in fact a week behind schedule, but by recent standards this is pretty good. Because I am busy with maintenance work through out most of Spring Summer and Autumn I like to do my landscaping during the winter, previous years I have got away with this, but this year I am very behind. Of the three jobs I had in the book one is now complete, one half done - now just waiting for warmer weather to complete the deck and the planting; and the one that was originally scheduled to have been completed this coming week, not yet started.

These are some shots of the drive just after we had started, I always seem to forget to get proper before shots, just to keen to get stuck in I suppose. In this case it does mean that the shots include both Sue and Gloria - there are no prizes for working out which is which.







And these are the after shots. I am really pleased with this job, I have been undertaking maintenance at this garden for several years now, and have wanted to redo this drive since I started. The gravel had got bedded into soil, leaves had rotted down into it and the levels had long been lost.

There were big dips and mounds where vehicle tyres had kicked up the gravel and then bedded it in, paving slabs had been put in up to the garage but most of them had broken, in all this gave the whole house a bit of an unloved demeanour. Now it all looks a lot more kempt and loved, and I cam in within budget! all in all I am pretty pleased.

The house is a fantastic Edwardian Family House near Beckenham Junction, it is the last of these houses in the area that is still in single family occupancy, all the rest have been knocked into flats, or turned over for commercial use of one form or another, so we have been trying to keep as much of the original character as possible, with a period style of rockery gravel drive and a lavender hedge under the bay window. I replanted this hedge a couple of years ago, so the this coming year I hope it will put on some serious growth and start to look more like a hedge.

Late resoltions

There are a few blogs that I follow, and look forward to their comments on the world they observe. I am a little in awe of these people who manage to put up a new post just about every day, sometimes more than one a day. Anyone who has read this blog will know that I am a serial non poster. It must now be around a month since my last post, although this is partly down to initially being down because of the weather, and then being too busy, because of the weather I think it is largely lack of commitment.

Well back to the title of this post, I have resolved that I will make at least one post each week, usually on the Saturday. I know this is not much but if I set my sights on an easily obtainable target then I hope I may not just succeed but also exceed my my aim. So to all my readers, (or maybe that is now both my readers) a very happy 2011.

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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.