Another concert at St. Matthew's Church in Sinclair Road, and again featuring sopranist Dorinel Bastide, together with Hilda Teng on the piano and tenor Fraser Steel.
As always, Dorinel sang beautifully; the subtitle of the programme was "An Evening of Sacred Songs" and that was a good description.
The concert was in aid of Sightsavers, who do so much to treat eye disease in Third World countries, and we were luck enough to get Frances Johnson, from Sightsavers, to come along at extremely short notice to talk about their work,
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Monday, 24 June 2013
History of Belgravia
On Monday evening I went to a lecture at Victoria Library in Buckingham palace Road, given by an archivist from Westminster Archives on the history of Belgravia and Pimlico.
it was a fascinating lecture, accompanied by slides on a computer, and I left feeling I knew a bit more about the area than when I arrived - no, a lot more about it,
The lecturer was extremely knowledgable and promised to email us copies of her notes; there was far too much to take in, so i will be able to refresh my memory later,
it was a fascinating lecture, accompanied by slides on a computer, and I left feeling I knew a bit more about the area than when I arrived - no, a lot more about it,
The lecturer was extremely knowledgable and promised to email us copies of her notes; there was far too much to take in, so i will be able to refresh my memory later,
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Music from the Coronation of Elizabeth I
Saturday evening I went to a concert at Southwark Cathedral, where the Renaissance Singers were performing works from the coronation of Elizabeth I. Quite a change from the afternoon's offering!
Southwark Cathedral, although not enormous, is still quite large, and provides a splendid venue for concerts like this.
I'd heard the Renaissance Singers before, so expected the concert would be very good, and I was not disappointed. A mixed choir of about 30/40 singers, all smartly dressed in black, they sang a variety of music mostly, but not entirely, from the actual coronation.
There was also a commentary, from which I learned quite a lot of things which I hadn't known previously about here coronation, For instance, she should have been crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but unfortunately he had recently died and no-one new had been appointed, Next in line was the Archbishop of York, but unfortunately he was in prison, so couldn't do it. Several other who were further down the line made excuses not to do it, and finally the Bishop of Carlisle agreed.
Despite her own religious views, Elizabeth I was crowned according the the rites of the Catholic Church, with much ceremonial. However, disapproving of the elevation of the Host before communion, she disappeared into a side room so she didn't have to be present. Before her coronation, she had made a very leisurely journey to Westminster Abbey, meeting her subjects on the way, and after all the ceremonies were over, she again mingled with the people, who were extremely enthusiastic about their new young queen, who apparently took the vows of her coronation very seriously indeed.
She was so much loved that the day of her accession became a public holiday for 200 years - perhaps we should start a tradition of a public holiday for the accession of our current Queen, who has contributed to much to the life of the nation.
I was lucky enough to be able to get a front seat, which made the concert even more enjoyable; it was a delight to be able to just sit there and let the music swirl around me.
There is something about the music from that period; not only was a tremendous amount produced, but so much of it it absolutely beautiful to listen to.
Southwark Cathedral, although not enormous, is still quite large, and provides a splendid venue for concerts like this.
I'd heard the Renaissance Singers before, so expected the concert would be very good, and I was not disappointed. A mixed choir of about 30/40 singers, all smartly dressed in black, they sang a variety of music mostly, but not entirely, from the actual coronation.
There was also a commentary, from which I learned quite a lot of things which I hadn't known previously about here coronation, For instance, she should have been crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but unfortunately he had recently died and no-one new had been appointed, Next in line was the Archbishop of York, but unfortunately he was in prison, so couldn't do it. Several other who were further down the line made excuses not to do it, and finally the Bishop of Carlisle agreed.
Despite her own religious views, Elizabeth I was crowned according the the rites of the Catholic Church, with much ceremonial. However, disapproving of the elevation of the Host before communion, she disappeared into a side room so she didn't have to be present. Before her coronation, she had made a very leisurely journey to Westminster Abbey, meeting her subjects on the way, and after all the ceremonies were over, she again mingled with the people, who were extremely enthusiastic about their new young queen, who apparently took the vows of her coronation very seriously indeed.
She was so much loved that the day of her accession became a public holiday for 200 years - perhaps we should start a tradition of a public holiday for the accession of our current Queen, who has contributed to much to the life of the nation.
I was lucky enough to be able to get a front seat, which made the concert even more enjoyable; it was a delight to be able to just sit there and let the music swirl around me.
There is something about the music from that period; not only was a tremendous amount produced, but so much of it it absolutely beautiful to listen to.
Excerpts from the Musicals
Another event in Trafalgar Square - a day long selection from various current musicals,
When I go there, with some friends, about one o'clock, it wasn't really busy; the queue to get in was moving rapidly, and there wasn't any waiting, except for the time needed to snake around the barriers. Obviously they had been expecting a far larger crowd than actually came.
We were able to find a place on the steps on the left hand side of the square, where we had a good view of the large screen where they were showing the live performance on the stage; there didn't seem much pint in trying to get a place directly in front of the stage, which actually was crowded with a very enthusiastic audience.
Unfortunately, I wasn't terribly taken with the music, Most of it was far too loud and certainly wouldn't have encourage me to go along and see any of the shows. Obviously, West End theatres have got louder since I was last at a performance! That said, the crowd in front of the stage were obviously enjoying it.
Although it didn't ruin the afternoon by raining, the sky was very overcast with black clouds threatening to spoil everything with a downpour. We left just before three o'clock, as we were getting hungry, and repaired to the nice little cafe just across the road, where they serve good plain food at very reasonable prices - unlike some of the other establishments in the West End!
When I go there, with some friends, about one o'clock, it wasn't really busy; the queue to get in was moving rapidly, and there wasn't any waiting, except for the time needed to snake around the barriers. Obviously they had been expecting a far larger crowd than actually came.
We were able to find a place on the steps on the left hand side of the square, where we had a good view of the large screen where they were showing the live performance on the stage; there didn't seem much pint in trying to get a place directly in front of the stage, which actually was crowded with a very enthusiastic audience.
Unfortunately, I wasn't terribly taken with the music, Most of it was far too loud and certainly wouldn't have encourage me to go along and see any of the shows. Obviously, West End theatres have got louder since I was last at a performance! That said, the crowd in front of the stage were obviously enjoying it.
Although it didn't ruin the afternoon by raining, the sky was very overcast with black clouds threatening to spoil everything with a downpour. We left just before three o'clock, as we were getting hungry, and repaired to the nice little cafe just across the road, where they serve good plain food at very reasonable prices - unlike some of the other establishments in the West End!
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Propaganda
The Propaganda Exhibition at the British Library has been open since mid May, but I hadn't had a chance to go and see it until now.
When I booked I asked how long it would take to go around, as it was already 2.30 p.m., and was told just over an hour. Well, I was there until a quarter to five, and wouldn't say I had studied everything in great detail.
The full title was Propaganda - Power and Persuasion, and the aim of the exhibition was to look at the role propaganda played in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries - a rather large undertaking, considering the wide definition they gave it.
It started with the origins of propaganda, when it had no negative connotations, but simply referred to the propagation of information, as by the Catholic Church.
Since then, of course, it has grown in scope, and become an important tool of governments, enabling them to direct and influence public opinion, and the second part of the exhibition looked at this aspect of propaganda under the heading of "Nation". Governments use propaganda to build a strong, united state, inculcating shared values, beliefs and interests among the people. They use it to bind people together and make them feel that they are part of something good and positive. The cheap radios which the Germans produced and encouraged everyone to buy in the 1930s were an important tool in getting the message across to the population that Germany was a great nation. One unusual item in this section was a recording of the National Anthems of a large number of countries - national anthems are frequently nationalistic, and are used to bind citizens together.
Equally, nations sometimes use propaganda to demonise other nations, and the third section was entitled "Enemy" Posters from the Second World War clearly demonstrated this use of propaganda.
The fourth section was called "War", a time when propaganda really comes into its own. Every nation at war needs to strengthen and encourage its own people, and produce, at the very least, dislike of the enemy. Biased, or even completley false, information is one way of doing this, and it didn't end with the Second World War - it's still very much alive today, as in the case of Tony Blair saying that Saddam Hussain had WMDs and declaring that he could bomb London in 45 minutes. Frankly, I thought he was a lying toad and said so to anyone who would listen, but a great many people believed him, and so we went to war.
The fifth section was on "Health" , and the way the government tries to influence behaviour, from the "Stope Smoking" campaigns to the "Don't Die of Ignorance" AIDS campaign and the "Green Cross Code".
Lastly, it looked at the 21st century, when propaganda is even more alive and well, with a hugely larger means of spreading instant information. Now everyone can be a propagandist if they want, by posting information on the internet.
The sheer scope of the exhibition made it impossible to take more than the briefest look at each section, any one of which could have justified a complete exhibition just to itself.
An intersting feature of the leaflet accompanying the exhibition was a "User's guide to basic techniques" or perhaps it should have been called "How to deceive people without them knowing it". Either way, it outlined the way in which people, usually politicians, but also others such as salesmen, seek to influence how people think, not necessarily by telling outright lies, but by propagating half-truths, statements with just enough truth for people to believe them.
When I booked I asked how long it would take to go around, as it was already 2.30 p.m., and was told just over an hour. Well, I was there until a quarter to five, and wouldn't say I had studied everything in great detail.
The full title was Propaganda - Power and Persuasion, and the aim of the exhibition was to look at the role propaganda played in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries - a rather large undertaking, considering the wide definition they gave it.
It started with the origins of propaganda, when it had no negative connotations, but simply referred to the propagation of information, as by the Catholic Church.
Since then, of course, it has grown in scope, and become an important tool of governments, enabling them to direct and influence public opinion, and the second part of the exhibition looked at this aspect of propaganda under the heading of "Nation". Governments use propaganda to build a strong, united state, inculcating shared values, beliefs and interests among the people. They use it to bind people together and make them feel that they are part of something good and positive. The cheap radios which the Germans produced and encouraged everyone to buy in the 1930s were an important tool in getting the message across to the population that Germany was a great nation. One unusual item in this section was a recording of the National Anthems of a large number of countries - national anthems are frequently nationalistic, and are used to bind citizens together.
Equally, nations sometimes use propaganda to demonise other nations, and the third section was entitled "Enemy" Posters from the Second World War clearly demonstrated this use of propaganda.
The fourth section was called "War", a time when propaganda really comes into its own. Every nation at war needs to strengthen and encourage its own people, and produce, at the very least, dislike of the enemy. Biased, or even completley false, information is one way of doing this, and it didn't end with the Second World War - it's still very much alive today, as in the case of Tony Blair saying that Saddam Hussain had WMDs and declaring that he could bomb London in 45 minutes. Frankly, I thought he was a lying toad and said so to anyone who would listen, but a great many people believed him, and so we went to war.
The fifth section was on "Health" , and the way the government tries to influence behaviour, from the "Stope Smoking" campaigns to the "Don't Die of Ignorance" AIDS campaign and the "Green Cross Code".
Lastly, it looked at the 21st century, when propaganda is even more alive and well, with a hugely larger means of spreading instant information. Now everyone can be a propagandist if they want, by posting information on the internet.
The sheer scope of the exhibition made it impossible to take more than the briefest look at each section, any one of which could have justified a complete exhibition just to itself.
An intersting feature of the leaflet accompanying the exhibition was a "User's guide to basic techniques" or perhaps it should have been called "How to deceive people without them knowing it". Either way, it outlined the way in which people, usually politicians, but also others such as salesmen, seek to influence how people think, not necessarily by telling outright lies, but by propagating half-truths, statements with just enough truth for people to believe them.
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Antiquarian Book Fair
The Antiquarian Book Fair at Olympia is quite a big event, with antiquarian booksellers from all over the world - literally! The furthest they came to it was from Australia, and you can't get much further than that.
I spent a very pleasant hour or two wandering around looking at all the ancient books and manuscripts - and marvelling at the prices! It was no wonder that they checked your bags for books as you came in, and that most of the exhibits were securely locked behind glass panels. From more recent volumes for under £100, the prices went up to tens of thousands for some of the older and rarer items.
I was especially struck by the absolutely beautiful and intricate drawings in some of the books. The artists must have spent days on each picture, carefully painting things such as rightly coloured flowers and unusual birds and animals.
Most of the books were not the sort of things you would find in a bookshop, even an antiquarian one. In fact, I was surprised at how few of the companies I had ever heard of, even when they were quite local - they obviously don't have premises were one can just go and browse.
I spent a very pleasant hour or two wandering around looking at all the ancient books and manuscripts - and marvelling at the prices! It was no wonder that they checked your bags for books as you came in, and that most of the exhibits were securely locked behind glass panels. From more recent volumes for under £100, the prices went up to tens of thousands for some of the older and rarer items.
I was especially struck by the absolutely beautiful and intricate drawings in some of the books. The artists must have spent days on each picture, carefully painting things such as rightly coloured flowers and unusual birds and animals.
Most of the books were not the sort of things you would find in a bookshop, even an antiquarian one. In fact, I was surprised at how few of the companies I had ever heard of, even when they were quite local - they obviously don't have premises were one can just go and browse.
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Jenny Hill
This evening, singing teacher Jenny Hill's students gave a concert of operatic works at St. Matthew's Church in Kensington.
About a dozen students sang a variety of operative pieces, and in the interval, there were glasses of wine in the garden; I got the opportunity to catch up with the news with Belinda Donovan who again has a little bit of spare time since her stint at Mayor is now over. During the past year she has been constantly busy, with never-ending events to attend.
Once again, one of the stars was Dorinbe Bastide, with his incredible soprano voice and obvious talent; it was he who was instrumental in arranging the concert there.
About a dozen students sang a variety of operative pieces, and in the interval, there were glasses of wine in the garden; I got the opportunity to catch up with the news with Belinda Donovan who again has a little bit of spare time since her stint at Mayor is now over. During the past year she has been constantly busy, with never-ending events to attend.
Once again, one of the stars was Dorinbe Bastide, with his incredible soprano voice and obvious talent; it was he who was instrumental in arranging the concert there.
All Saints, Vange
I intended spending several hours enjoying the seaside at Southend before going on to the open day at All Saints Church in Vange. But when I got to Southend, it was definitely not seaside weather, so after a brief look around the shops, I caught the bus into Basildon, where I had lunch before catching the bus to Vange. Or at least part of the way to Vange.
Vange has two Anglican churches; the old one, surrounded by fields, which has been there for centuries, and the new one, at least a mile away, which was built when the new housing estates were put up. The bus driver had no idea where All Saints was, but knew he passed a church in Vange, which had some bunting up, so I got off there, even though it definitely didn't look old. Asking at the cafe outside the church resulted in my being pointed in the right direction, although they had no idea where it really was, but thought it was probably on the housing estate.. Obviously Vange people don't travel far, or don't look around them if they do. I blame mobile phones!
Anway, after a long walk, I finally got there, The church is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, and was re-opening after a lengthy leriod of being neglected and vandalised; the congregation had dwindled, and it had been closed for years. Now it is open again for the public to visit, looked after by a team of local volunteers who have raised money to carry out repairs.
I arrived just in time to listen to a very interesting lecture being given to a coach party of enthusiats, mostly older people who asked a lot of questions. Listening to them, it seemed they visited many other ancient and now closed churches.
The church is tiny, and the roof just sits there, not secured in any way. Much of the fabric is the original, although there have been some replacement beams. The sanctuary is very small - no room there for a choir or piles of servers.
But it speaks of times past, when all the local farmers and labourers would have attended it every Sunday, a time when religion was as much a part of people's lives as breathing and sleeping and eating.
Today it has just one service a year, but is a valuable historical resource for local schools, who are encouraged to take the children there and involve them in looking after it.
Whilst there, I sampled a cup of their tea and a cake - a welcome addition to the visit after the logn walk.
I also contributed to the book sale, coming home with two very heavy volumes, including a history of English kings and queens by Antonia Fraser.
Vange has two Anglican churches; the old one, surrounded by fields, which has been there for centuries, and the new one, at least a mile away, which was built when the new housing estates were put up. The bus driver had no idea where All Saints was, but knew he passed a church in Vange, which had some bunting up, so I got off there, even though it definitely didn't look old. Asking at the cafe outside the church resulted in my being pointed in the right direction, although they had no idea where it really was, but thought it was probably on the housing estate.. Obviously Vange people don't travel far, or don't look around them if they do. I blame mobile phones!
Anway, after a long walk, I finally got there, The church is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, and was re-opening after a lengthy leriod of being neglected and vandalised; the congregation had dwindled, and it had been closed for years. Now it is open again for the public to visit, looked after by a team of local volunteers who have raised money to carry out repairs.
I arrived just in time to listen to a very interesting lecture being given to a coach party of enthusiats, mostly older people who asked a lot of questions. Listening to them, it seemed they visited many other ancient and now closed churches.
The church is tiny, and the roof just sits there, not secured in any way. Much of the fabric is the original, although there have been some replacement beams. The sanctuary is very small - no room there for a choir or piles of servers.
But it speaks of times past, when all the local farmers and labourers would have attended it every Sunday, a time when religion was as much a part of people's lives as breathing and sleeping and eating.
Today it has just one service a year, but is a valuable historical resource for local schools, who are encouraged to take the children there and involve them in looking after it.
Whilst there, I sampled a cup of their tea and a cake - a welcome addition to the visit after the logn walk.
I also contributed to the book sale, coming home with two very heavy volumes, including a history of English kings and queens by Antonia Fraser.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
A Bridge to your Sole
Aother lecture at the Chemistry Society, this time with the intriguing title "A Bridge to your Sole". Actually, it was about shoes, and how an architect has applied the load-bearing principles of architecture and building to designing shoes which correctly align the body's weigh, even when wearing high heels.
The shoes were plastic, and cost a couple of hundred pounds; they looked decidedly odd, but according to a young woman in the audience, were incredibly comfortable, and evenafter fifteen months constant use, the hard-wearing plastic in the heels hadn't started to wear down.
I don't think I would be tempted to buy them - they are definitely aimed at the younger market - but at the same time it was interesting how he approach the problem of designing shoes that would evening distribute the wearer's weight on the feet.
It was also an evening that was slightly different; instead of tea or coffee after the lecture, there were cocktails. I don't know what was in my glass, but it was certainly very nice, and not too alcoholic.
The shoes were plastic, and cost a couple of hundred pounds; they looked decidedly odd, but according to a young woman in the audience, were incredibly comfortable, and evenafter fifteen months constant use, the hard-wearing plastic in the heels hadn't started to wear down.
I don't think I would be tempted to buy them - they are definitely aimed at the younger market - but at the same time it was interesting how he approach the problem of designing shoes that would evening distribute the wearer's weight on the feet.
It was also an evening that was slightly different; instead of tea or coffee after the lecture, there were cocktails. I don't know what was in my glass, but it was certainly very nice, and not too alcoholic.
Monday, 3 June 2013
Summer in February
I had a free ticket for a preview of Summer in February, courtesy of the Daily Telegraph. I had hoped to get a seat at the Courthouse Cinema in the West End, but they were fully booked, and the only other place they were showing it in London was at the Odeon in Greenwich. So I booked it and thought about how I was going to get there in time afterwards.
In the event, it was very easy to get there. The Northern Line to London Bridge, and then the Jubilee Line to North Greenwich, which is a state-of-the-art station near the Dome; incredibly spacious with all the latest gadgetry, and at the moment situated in the middle of nowhere. There is a bus station attached to it, so that you just come out of the station and there are all the bus-stops.
The Odeon is about a mile away, and it was obvious that the station is not going exist in isolation for long. Everywhere there are buildings going up, and I imagine in a few years time, north Greenwich will be a thriving area, with lots of new shops and offices and a large number of posh estates.
I arrived at the cinema in very good time, and indeed, I needn't have worried if I had got there just two minutes before the film started. At all the other previews I have been to, the cinema has been packed, and anyone who arrived just fifteen minutes before the start probably wouldn't get a very good seat - more like one at the front and on a far side. But at Greenwich, there were only about 20 people there, so I could have had an excellent seat whatever time I arrived.
The film was rather sweet. Set in the beautiful Cornish countryside just before the First World War, it is based on the true story of a circle of artists known as the Lamorna Group, who were part of the Newlyn School. Bohemian and carefree, they spent their time painting each other (sometimes nude) and enjoying being artistic. Into this group came the slightly unstable Florence Carter-Wood, played by Emily Browning, who had ambitions of becoming a famous artists, but also wanted to escape from her father. The result was a love triangle, involving her, the later famous A.J.Munnings (played byt Dominic Cooper) and the agent for the Lamorna Estate, Gilbert Evans (played by Dan Stevens), which ends in tragedy.
Based on a book by Kent teacherJonathan Smith, with the part of Gilbert being played by one of his former students, it is beautifully scripted and filmed; it would be worth going to see for the scenery alone. But it has a serious storyline which makes it even more memorable and worthwhile.
Until the final credits, I was unaware of the fact that it was a true story; I believe A.J.Munnings and the other famous artists Laura and Harold Knight, later deleted this episode in their lives from their official biographies. Only Gilbert Evans wanted to remember Florence, and the film ends with a touching scene when he returns to Lamorna form Nigeria and lays flowers on her grave.
In the event, it was very easy to get there. The Northern Line to London Bridge, and then the Jubilee Line to North Greenwich, which is a state-of-the-art station near the Dome; incredibly spacious with all the latest gadgetry, and at the moment situated in the middle of nowhere. There is a bus station attached to it, so that you just come out of the station and there are all the bus-stops.
The Odeon is about a mile away, and it was obvious that the station is not going exist in isolation for long. Everywhere there are buildings going up, and I imagine in a few years time, north Greenwich will be a thriving area, with lots of new shops and offices and a large number of posh estates.
I arrived at the cinema in very good time, and indeed, I needn't have worried if I had got there just two minutes before the film started. At all the other previews I have been to, the cinema has been packed, and anyone who arrived just fifteen minutes before the start probably wouldn't get a very good seat - more like one at the front and on a far side. But at Greenwich, there were only about 20 people there, so I could have had an excellent seat whatever time I arrived.
The film was rather sweet. Set in the beautiful Cornish countryside just before the First World War, it is based on the true story of a circle of artists known as the Lamorna Group, who were part of the Newlyn School. Bohemian and carefree, they spent their time painting each other (sometimes nude) and enjoying being artistic. Into this group came the slightly unstable Florence Carter-Wood, played by Emily Browning, who had ambitions of becoming a famous artists, but also wanted to escape from her father. The result was a love triangle, involving her, the later famous A.J.Munnings (played byt Dominic Cooper) and the agent for the Lamorna Estate, Gilbert Evans (played by Dan Stevens), which ends in tragedy.
Based on a book by Kent teacherJonathan Smith, with the part of Gilbert being played by one of his former students, it is beautifully scripted and filmed; it would be worth going to see for the scenery alone. But it has a serious storyline which makes it even more memorable and worthwhile.
Until the final credits, I was unaware of the fact that it was a true story; I believe A.J.Munnings and the other famous artists Laura and Harold Knight, later deleted this episode in their lives from their official biographies. Only Gilbert Evans wanted to remember Florence, and the film ends with a touching scene when he returns to Lamorna form Nigeria and lays flowers on her grave.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Beethoven at the Royal Festival Hall
I hadn't intended going to the Royal Festival Hall this afternoon - in fact, as the weather was quite pleasant, I was thinking of going somewhere outdoors, but when someone at Mass offered me tickets for the afternoon concert, I couldn't turn them down. So after a quick lunch, I was off to the South Bank
The Royal Festival Hall really is a superb venue; either it has been improved, or I had forgotten just what a marvellous place it is. Or maybe I just hadn't sat in some of the most expensive seats before,
Anyway, I climbed up all the stairs to the fifth level, and found myself sitting in an aisle seat with a marvellous view of the orchestra.
The music was wonderful - Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and the piece de resistance, his Ode to Joy. I know it's become associated with the EU, but one can forget that connection when sitting there listening ot it.
Afterwards along with hundreds of other people, I wandered along the Embankment, looking at all the stalls.
The Royal Festival Hall really is a superb venue; either it has been improved, or I had forgotten just what a marvellous place it is. Or maybe I just hadn't sat in some of the most expensive seats before,
Anyway, I climbed up all the stairs to the fifth level, and found myself sitting in an aisle seat with a marvellous view of the orchestra.
The music was wonderful - Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and the piece de resistance, his Ode to Joy. I know it's become associated with the EU, but one can forget that connection when sitting there listening ot it.
Afterwards along with hundreds of other people, I wandered along the Embankment, looking at all the stalls.
Saturday, 1 June 2013
Metamorphosen
Another opportunity to hear the Oxford Spezzati Soloists and Orchester at St. Matthew's Church in Kensington.
Their programme included not just Strauss's Metamorphonen, but also works by Bruckner, Parry and Walton - all performed in their usual polished style, under their conductor Nicholas Mumby.
Their programme included not just Strauss's Metamorphonen, but also works by Bruckner, Parry and Walton - all performed in their usual polished style, under their conductor Nicholas Mumby.
Pompeii Exhibition
The Pompeii Exhibition at the British Museum has, I've read, been attracting an unexpectedly large number of visitors - many more than they had anticipated. So I just had to go along and see it.
As a member, I didn't have to queue up for a timed entrance; members just show their card and walk straight in to all exhibitions, so you don't have to arrave early to make sure of being able to get in within a reasonable time.
There was a lot to see, and with the crowds it was impossible to move quickly from one exhibit to another.
I hadn't realised before that two cities had been destroyed in the AD 79 eruption - not just the more famous Pompeii, but also Herculaneum on the other side of Versuvius. Nor was I aware before of the time scale, with Pompeii being showered with debris first, then a change of wind destroying Herculaneum and finally another change of wind resulting in Pompeii being completed destroyed by the same 70 mile an hour deposition of ash at 400 degrees. It was that latter that resulted in everything it touched being incinerated instantly. No-one knows how many people died, as many may have escaped - Pliny the Elder was reported to have died while trying to rescue people by sea - but the estimated populations of the two cities was around 16,000, and only a few hundred bodies have been identified.
It is difficult to envisage the terror that must have accompanied the eruption of a volcano like that after such a long period of inactivity; one can imagine people fleeing the moment they saw the first signs.
The bodies of those showered by the ash were burned instantly, but the voids they left in the ash have been filled with plaster by archeologists, so that we can see exactly the position they were in when they died. In one instance, the void was filled with resin, but that was too expensive for normal use.
The main aim of the exhibition was to depict life in the cities at the time of their destruction, and in this they succeeded very well. There were exhibits of the food they ate, carbonised but still recognisable by their shape; gold jewellery, statues, pottery, cooking utensils, furniture which was a charred mass but still recognisable, tiles. and other items which had survived the heat which had meant death to all living things.
The press had made much of the ruder aspects of the exhibition, and certainly a couple of items fell into that category, including one which was hidden away for decades after being found. But they were a very small part, and were also a reflection of how people lived in those days.
I came away with the feeling of how ephemeral life can be; the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum had been going about their ordinary lives when suddenly everything ended.
But the very suddenness of the disaster means that archeologists today have been able to disover much about the lives of people at that time - not just the rich and famous, but the poor as well.
As a member, I didn't have to queue up for a timed entrance; members just show their card and walk straight in to all exhibitions, so you don't have to arrave early to make sure of being able to get in within a reasonable time.
There was a lot to see, and with the crowds it was impossible to move quickly from one exhibit to another.
I hadn't realised before that two cities had been destroyed in the AD 79 eruption - not just the more famous Pompeii, but also Herculaneum on the other side of Versuvius. Nor was I aware before of the time scale, with Pompeii being showered with debris first, then a change of wind destroying Herculaneum and finally another change of wind resulting in Pompeii being completed destroyed by the same 70 mile an hour deposition of ash at 400 degrees. It was that latter that resulted in everything it touched being incinerated instantly. No-one knows how many people died, as many may have escaped - Pliny the Elder was reported to have died while trying to rescue people by sea - but the estimated populations of the two cities was around 16,000, and only a few hundred bodies have been identified.
It is difficult to envisage the terror that must have accompanied the eruption of a volcano like that after such a long period of inactivity; one can imagine people fleeing the moment they saw the first signs.
The bodies of those showered by the ash were burned instantly, but the voids they left in the ash have been filled with plaster by archeologists, so that we can see exactly the position they were in when they died. In one instance, the void was filled with resin, but that was too expensive for normal use.
The main aim of the exhibition was to depict life in the cities at the time of their destruction, and in this they succeeded very well. There were exhibits of the food they ate, carbonised but still recognisable by their shape; gold jewellery, statues, pottery, cooking utensils, furniture which was a charred mass but still recognisable, tiles. and other items which had survived the heat which had meant death to all living things.
The press had made much of the ruder aspects of the exhibition, and certainly a couple of items fell into that category, including one which was hidden away for decades after being found. But they were a very small part, and were also a reflection of how people lived in those days.
I came away with the feeling of how ephemeral life can be; the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum had been going about their ordinary lives when suddenly everything ended.
But the very suddenness of the disaster means that archeologists today have been able to disover much about the lives of people at that time - not just the rich and famous, but the poor as well.
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