Time for an end-of-year update, for all of you hurrying here, having seen the URL in your Christmas card.....
The sad truth is that the second half of 2008 has been in some ways a rather testing and frustrating period.
We had set ourselves the objective of getting a roof on no 6 by the onset of this winter (which implied also some masonry work on the shell, and a working first floor). But once I got back into working harness after Bruges, we probably, literally, never had more than 2 consecutive fine days right through into September.
The disappointment of our hopes in this respect was also in part contributed to by an extraordinary series of events involving our (and Mum's) neighbour who lives immediately above no. 6. At the end of July ( it was pretty much datable) there was a marked change in his behaviour, yes, towards us, but also towards the whole locality. Things were at their most difficult in late August and early September ( I felt I needed to sleep in Mum's house each night for a period of around three weeks ) until he was eventually taken off to hospital, where he remains.
Just as that was all passing astern, Nina's 1st-cousin-once-removed Barbara (sister of Nina's godfather, who since his death describes herself as Nina's godmother) had a minor stroke, and has spent most of the autumn in a residential home. Nina has been much up and down to Gosport, putting together an infrastructure of care and modifications to Barbara's house which last week enabled Barbara to go home.
However, there have been some bright spots, too.
Emily, Ben. Leo and Angharad (and Bonzo) came home from Australia early in October. They are now back in their old home in Guildford, and Ben is working for Microsoft. We've both spent time down there, me 'building' and Nina 'being Granny', and we're looking forward to seeing a lot more of them, and of Jenny and Alex, at some stage over the year-end holiday.
At half-term, Lesley and David were down here in Wales, and viewed a house in Godre 'r' graig, just about within walking distance of Clees Lane, and finally came out best in a fairly extended 'auction'. The transition from Linton seems likely to be a matter of years rather than months, but hopefully will start soon.
So, are we down-hearted ? Well, not for long. My reaction to such pressures is often to find a way of striking off in a new direction, and this time it has taken the form of finding myself a music teacher to help me develop aspects of my keyboard playing - improve memory- and by-ear- work, and improvisation, both in terms of baroque figured bass, and jazz. Early days yet, but very exciting so far. Nina is fairly forbearing.......
I close by repeating our urgings / invitation of a year ago - see Cymru am bydd (below) ! A few of you have been..........We must surely be due for a good summer next year ? (!) But you don't have to wait that long - just phone or email us any time.
P.S. The snooker table has become a crucial element of our domesticity. There has been barely a day all year ( when we have both been here ) when we haven't had at least one frame. We have improved quite markedly - we even have 'breaks' now !
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Bruges - then and now
Jenny and I had five nights in Bruges, 30th June - 4th July. The main reason for our visit, of course, was Jenny's interest in Jan Van Eyck and 'early Netherlandish' painting. But there was a second 'research' element of a more private kind.
My (maternal grandmother) Gran's brother, Leslie Haydn Reeve (1891 - 1919) was, like his sister and his parents, a teacher. Family tradition has it that he worked in Belgium before the First World War, and that Gran (not yet married) had a holiday with him in Belgium, in the course of which they visited Bruges. More concretely, we have, pasted in to Auntie Tot's Friendship book, a small water-colour sketch apparently signed by Uncle Leslie, that we have long suspected was of somewhere in Bruges.
We, now we know - it is.The bridge is De Sleutelbrug, at the north end of Speelmansrei. The church is St Jacobskerk. The little chapel at the left of the painting was once the guild chapel of the Bruges Speelmansrei - the professional musicians who in medieval times had the monopoly of playing for weddings etc. in the city. And I would like to acknowledge the kindness of the staff in the Regional Development office on JanVanEyck Plein who put us on the right track.
Finding the place - inevitably - raised new questions. In reality, the church is more distant than the sketch shows it, and in fact, is only visible from the Speelmansrei / Artoisstraat are at certain angles. We couldn't pin down an actual viewpoint corresponding to that implied in Uncle Leslie's sketch. We came away, in fact, uncertain whether there was such a viewpoint, or whether the view as painted might not be a conceived view, a theoretical answer to the questions of view and perspective.
Anyone who's been to Bruges will know that there is a popular 'template' for views of the city - "canal, bridge, distant tower" - which you can find exemplified in postcard after postcard, as well as in paintings old and new. However, we found only one painting which related to this locality and view - De Speelmansrei in Brugge by Albert Baertsoen, (1895), which we were fortunate to catch in the 'Brugge in de verf' exhibition at the Gruuthuse - a big, splendid, vigorous in pasto oil from a viewpoint much farther back along Speelmansrei (and, I suspect, a slightly 'tweaked' perspective). We also found two old photos, probably postcards, in a Tempus 'old photos of Bruge' book - but no modern ones.
The two photos below are: a straight shot of me on de Sleutelbrug; and a pano/stitch based on four radiating shots from the middle of the bridge. (Pano made with Autostitch).
Thursday, 3 April 2008
First quarter, 2008 !
Today is a beautiful day - the sun has real strength, both in temperature and light. But more cold and wintry weather is forecast for the week-end. The season is on the cusp.
Time, at least, for a quick evocation of the first quarter of 2008 here in Clees Lane.
For the first weeks of the year, we virtually hibernated. The weather was predominantly wet, and we've inclined this way in recent years, and now we can give way to it without guilt. We got the fires lit, and played lots of snooker on the 6' table I gave Nina for Christmas. She did quite a lot of family history online. I got stuck into extending my understanding of Midi control, particularly in the context of playing live. Talking of the snooker, Brindle has evolved her own routine ! She's always been 'big' on balls, especially tennis balls. Now, when we 'set up the balls' , she appears (from sleep, quite often) with a ball in her mouth, and if we make sure she has a second one, she has her own game under the table while we play - a sort of football with her front paws, but there must be a ball in her mouth for it to start. What I find interesting is the social dimension of it - there is such an undoubted sense of 'this is what I do while Nina and Ian are playing on that table.'
As we got into February, it became easier to find work to do. I began the process of rescuing the pine-end of no 5, adjoining our house (partly visible in the background of some of the photos published here in August). Work with lime mortar is very satisfying - it is a markedly more 'organic' material than cement mortar, despite being caustic. Inside no. 4, Nina stripped back the original lime 'plaster' (and some later cement patchings) of the stone wall beside the stairs, and re-clad it in lime, and she is now following on onto some of our adjoining plasterboard surfaces.
Jenny and Alex came down for a night so we could all go to Y Polyn again (Alex's first visit) for St David's Day lunch - it was deemed well worth the trip - and we touched base at Allt Y Capel (Alex's first sight of that, too) . Later, Nina and Brindle and I went down to Guildford, where we and Jenny went to see an excellent (Peter Hall) production of Uncle Vanya, with Neil Pearson as Astrov. Brindle and I came home next day, leaving Nina and Jenny to jet off for a week at Sharm El Sheikh.
I've 'had a skip' and emptied the garage of number 2 (untouched for 20 years, I should guess), and am making some basic fittings and repairs before we repatriate our stored possessions to this new space. We've also snatched several of the best days for trips to the wood. A new 'big beast' chain saw has been inaugurated (demonstrating again, that in the case of tools, bigger and sharper can, properly handled, also mean safer). And Nina has at last mastered the starting of the smaller saw. Anyway, several good days (going to the woods always feels like touching base - it puts everything else into perspective) and several goodly loads of fire wood.
Yesterday Nina had a small operation as a day-patient in Singleton Hospital to tackle a cyst near the opening of her Eustacian tube. She is for the moment recuperating quietly. I can hear 'Lorna Doone' quietly behind me.
These months are 'the' time for evening classes and similar activities. I'm taking a Photoshop course on restoring photos, and at the Ystalyfera Heritage Society we are finally in full process of archiving old photos and other paper artefacts from the locality. So some weeks I've been out three evenings.
When we judge spring has really come, there is work to do in the garden (the potatoes are chitting quietly in waiting), and then no 6 awaits - we'd like to get a floor and roof done before next winter.
Time, at least, for a quick evocation of the first quarter of 2008 here in Clees Lane.
For the first weeks of the year, we virtually hibernated. The weather was predominantly wet, and we've inclined this way in recent years, and now we can give way to it without guilt. We got the fires lit, and played lots of snooker on the 6' table I gave Nina for Christmas. She did quite a lot of family history online. I got stuck into extending my understanding of Midi control, particularly in the context of playing live. Talking of the snooker, Brindle has evolved her own routine ! She's always been 'big' on balls, especially tennis balls. Now, when we 'set up the balls' , she appears (from sleep, quite often) with a ball in her mouth, and if we make sure she has a second one, she has her own game under the table while we play - a sort of football with her front paws, but there must be a ball in her mouth for it to start. What I find interesting is the social dimension of it - there is such an undoubted sense of 'this is what I do while Nina and Ian are playing on that table.'
As we got into February, it became easier to find work to do. I began the process of rescuing the pine-end of no 5, adjoining our house (partly visible in the background of some of the photos published here in August). Work with lime mortar is very satisfying - it is a markedly more 'organic' material than cement mortar, despite being caustic. Inside no. 4, Nina stripped back the original lime 'plaster' (and some later cement patchings) of the stone wall beside the stairs, and re-clad it in lime, and she is now following on onto some of our adjoining plasterboard surfaces.
Jenny and Alex came down for a night so we could all go to Y Polyn again (Alex's first visit) for St David's Day lunch - it was deemed well worth the trip - and we touched base at Allt Y Capel (Alex's first sight of that, too) . Later, Nina and Brindle and I went down to Guildford, where we and Jenny went to see an excellent (Peter Hall) production of Uncle Vanya, with Neil Pearson as Astrov. Brindle and I came home next day, leaving Nina and Jenny to jet off for a week at Sharm El Sheikh.
I've 'had a skip' and emptied the garage of number 2 (untouched for 20 years, I should guess), and am making some basic fittings and repairs before we repatriate our stored possessions to this new space. We've also snatched several of the best days for trips to the wood. A new 'big beast' chain saw has been inaugurated (demonstrating again, that in the case of tools, bigger and sharper can, properly handled, also mean safer). And Nina has at last mastered the starting of the smaller saw. Anyway, several good days (going to the woods always feels like touching base - it puts everything else into perspective) and several goodly loads of fire wood.
Yesterday Nina had a small operation as a day-patient in Singleton Hospital to tackle a cyst near the opening of her Eustacian tube. She is for the moment recuperating quietly. I can hear 'Lorna Doone' quietly behind me.
These months are 'the' time for evening classes and similar activities. I'm taking a Photoshop course on restoring photos, and at the Ystalyfera Heritage Society we are finally in full process of archiving old photos and other paper artefacts from the locality. So some weeks I've been out three evenings.
When we judge spring has really come, there is work to do in the garden (the potatoes are chitting quietly in waiting), and then no 6 awaits - we'd like to get a floor and roof done before next winter.
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Sir Francis Drake as aesthetician ?
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Friday, 28 December 2007
Cymru am bydd!
The insert that I sent out with Christmas cards this year concluded with the following rousing
reminder that the Tawe Valley, where we now are, is, despite its industrial past, very different from 'the Valleys' as the English usually think of them. It's a beautiful and intriguing place, and, what's more, very convenient, for the Gower, the Brecon Beacons, and the southern reaches of mid-Wales - the Towy Valley and Brechfa Forest. A whole wide area which anyone with a taste for British landscape and regions should know. Come and see it / us!
If you come by train, it's better to head for Neath, than Swansea. We can meet you at the station.
This is how to find us by car.
From the M4
Take the A4067 Brecon from Junction 45 (it's signed A4067 N on the junction roundabout. The lane markings on the roundabout are a bit of a pain, but basically, coming from east or from Swansea itself, you need to end up in the middle lane.) Follow A4067 Brecon signs throughout these instructions as far as the Church Road turn-off, where you leave the main road. The signing will take you over several small roundabouts (getting into the right lane can be important at at busy times). When you pass a large Tesco, you're getting closer. When you then come to a set of traffic lights, go straight over, but now look out for the Ystalyfera name sign on the left-hand verge, and then immediately for a blue bus-shelter and a left turn into Church Road. Take the turn. Go up the hill and round the bends. At the top (virtually a right-handed hairpin) you'll get a 'Pant-teg' sign. Look out for a large chapel on the right, and then two blue bus-shelters. Turn down the steep little lane before the shelter on the right. There's a small lay-by a little way down. Park there, and come in at the gate a little way back up the lane.
From the A40 (Brecon / Hereford direction)
The A4067 branches off the A40 just before you get into Sennybridge, signed to Ystradgynlais and Swansea. Enjoy a very pleasant ride! Eventually, the A4067 threads between Ystradgynlais and Ystalyfera (it actually comes through Ystalyfera in a cutting, and Ystalyfera is 'bracketed' by roundabouts where the 'new' A4067 intersects with the 'old' A4067). After the second roundabout, look out for the Godre'r Graig name sign on the left-hand verge, and then immediately Pant-teg is signed to your right. You turn right into Church Road just in front of a bus shelter. Thereafter route as above. If you come to traffic lights, you've gone too far. See route from the M4.
There is a curiosity here : the Church Road turn is in both Ystalyfera and Godre'r Graig, according to the roadside name signs ! It's not altogether without meaning - there are many small touching communities in this part of the valley, and it's evident in several locations that the exact boundaries have shifted over time.
reminder that the Tawe Valley, where we now are, is, despite its industrial past, very different from 'the Valleys' as the English usually think of them. It's a beautiful and intriguing place, and, what's more, very convenient, for the Gower, the Brecon Beacons, and the southern reaches of mid-Wales - the Towy Valley and Brechfa Forest. A whole wide area which anyone with a taste for British landscape and regions should know. Come and see it / us!
If you come by train, it's better to head for Neath, than Swansea. We can meet you at the station.
This is how to find us by car.
From the M4
Take the A4067 Brecon from Junction 45 (it's signed A4067 N on the junction roundabout. The lane markings on the roundabout are a bit of a pain, but basically, coming from east or from Swansea itself, you need to end up in the middle lane.) Follow A4067 Brecon signs throughout these instructions as far as the Church Road turn-off, where you leave the main road. The signing will take you over several small roundabouts (getting into the right lane can be important at at busy times). When you pass a large Tesco, you're getting closer. When you then come to a set of traffic lights, go straight over, but now look out for the Ystalyfera name sign on the left-hand verge, and then immediately for a blue bus-shelter and a left turn into Church Road. Take the turn. Go up the hill and round the bends. At the top (virtually a right-handed hairpin) you'll get a 'Pant-teg' sign. Look out for a large chapel on the right, and then two blue bus-shelters. Turn down the steep little lane before the shelter on the right. There's a small lay-by a little way down. Park there, and come in at the gate a little way back up the lane.
From the A40 (Brecon / Hereford direction)
The A4067 branches off the A40 just before you get into Sennybridge, signed to Ystradgynlais and Swansea. Enjoy a very pleasant ride! Eventually, the A4067 threads between Ystradgynlais and Ystalyfera (it actually comes through Ystalyfera in a cutting, and Ystalyfera is 'bracketed' by roundabouts where the 'new' A4067 intersects with the 'old' A4067). After the second roundabout, look out for the Godre'r Graig name sign on the left-hand verge, and then immediately Pant-teg is signed to your right. You turn right into Church Road just in front of a bus shelter. Thereafter route as above. If you come to traffic lights, you've gone too far. See route from the M4.
There is a curiosity here : the Church Road turn is in both Ystalyfera and Godre'r Graig, according to the roadside name signs ! It's not altogether without meaning - there are many small touching communities in this part of the valley, and it's evident in several locations that the exact boundaries have shifted over time.
Sunday, 23 December 2007
Christmas comes early
JENNY AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Back yesterday from our trip to England, nay, London even !
On Wednesday (19/12/07), Jenny gave an evening lecture in the theatre of the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery to mark the publication of her book (see link top right). Afterwards there was a reception and book-signing. Not an easy assignment, given the (presumably) very mixed audience, but the girl carried it off with some aplomb, I think. Difficult for us to judge, given that she is our girl, and we knew many of the best lines already, but the audience seemed warm and receptive, and not anxious to rush off. We were told some 200 tickets had been sold in advance. I would guess the theatre was about 3/4 full, which probably implies rather more than 200 present on the night. Such is the wide appeal of Van Eyck.
A notable bonus of the setting was the gorgeous theatre-screen-size display of the pictures - not only the actual Van Eycks, but also some of the analytic/comparative detail (e.g. so many versions of what were probably just two or three original representations of the two brothers), and also the many 'popular' images Jenny has dug up, like a set of German 'chocolate cards', dating from 1904, or an engraving of the Arnolfini portrait from the Illustrated London News. To say nothing of the Habitat advert from last year !
I had hoped to lead this with a suitable photo, but all of ours (yes, every one!) have caught Jenny at the worst micro-second. We could have done with Ben's motorised super shooter.
On the Thursday, Jenny and I went into 'the Smoke' again, to meet a small group of her students and then, together at the Barbican, the curator of the current exhibition at the Barbican (of which no more at this point !). And then on Friday, the three of us had lunch at The Barn before walking on the downs with Brindle, returning to a take-away and sharing of gifts with Alex.
Altogether, a very happy three days.
Back yesterday from our trip to England, nay, London even !
On Wednesday (19/12/07), Jenny gave an evening lecture in the theatre of the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery to mark the publication of her book (see link top right). Afterwards there was a reception and book-signing. Not an easy assignment, given the (presumably) very mixed audience, but the girl carried it off with some aplomb, I think. Difficult for us to judge, given that she is our girl, and we knew many of the best lines already, but the audience seemed warm and receptive, and not anxious to rush off. We were told some 200 tickets had been sold in advance. I would guess the theatre was about 3/4 full, which probably implies rather more than 200 present on the night. Such is the wide appeal of Van Eyck.
A notable bonus of the setting was the gorgeous theatre-screen-size display of the pictures - not only the actual Van Eycks, but also some of the analytic/comparative detail (e.g. so many versions of what were probably just two or three original representations of the two brothers), and also the many 'popular' images Jenny has dug up, like a set of German 'chocolate cards', dating from 1904, or an engraving of the Arnolfini portrait from the Illustrated London News. To say nothing of the Habitat advert from last year !
I had hoped to lead this with a suitable photo, but all of ours (yes, every one!) have caught Jenny at the worst micro-second. We could have done with Ben's motorised super shooter.
On the Thursday, Jenny and I went into 'the Smoke' again, to meet a small group of her students and then, together at the Barbican, the curator of the current exhibition at the Barbican (of which no more at this point !). And then on Friday, the three of us had lunch at The Barn before walking on the downs with Brindle, returning to a take-away and sharing of gifts with Alex.
Altogether, a very happy three days.
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Review of the Year
The year has been shaped by family concerns, to the extent that we have made less progress on 'the Street' (as local usage sometimes calls a row like 3 - 9 Clees Lane) than we would have hoped at the beginning of the year.
Nina's godfather Martin, one of her late mother's cousins, died suddenly in February, and we have been drawn into much closer contact with his surviving sister Barbara, with whom we now find ourselves somewhat in loco filio filiaeque. Nina took a lot of the responsibility for clearing Martin's cottage, and Barbara has not always been in the best of health. So there have been regular trips down to the New Forest and Gosport.
Emily gave birth to a daughter, Angharad, our second grandchild, in May, and Nina spent a month with them in Melbourne around June. And the autumn has been taken up by the renovation of no. 2 for my Mum (see previous blog.)
Nonetheless, the demolition of the old back extension of no. 4 and the clearing of no 6 (see two blogs back) has at least set the stage for positive progress next year, and our work in no. 2 has also reminded us what we are capable of , whetting our appetitite for our own spaces.
2007 has also been the year when I finally got into exploiting the computer for music purposes, allied to a strong burst of new interest in jazz. Again, at the moment it's a highly hole and corner business, setting up where I can, but the development of new spaces will give me the chance to set up a dedicated space.
We are currently looking forward to Jenny's book launch at the National Gallery, which we will combine with a pre-Christmas festivity with Jenny and Alex in Guildford. More of that when it's happened!
One of the curiosities of the year has arisen from 'the family' giving me a DNA (y chromosome) test for my 60th. It turns out that I am (haplogroup) I1a U-N in which the U-N stands for Ultra Norse. In other words, my n times great-grandfather (and thereon back) came from Scandinavia, probably Sweden or Norway. Or to put it crudely, I am (distantly) a Viking ! This may ('non-paternal events' - i.e. an unfaithful grandmother (not you, Dora !) - permitting) link with my surname i.e. Graham. Graham is generally derived from 'de Grantham' or 'de Graeg Ham', the name borne by a Norman lord who went north to Scotland in the 1120's. His father or grandfather was one of William the Conqueror's closer associates, so is quite likely to have been of Viking derivation. The finer details of this, which I won't go into, also mean that Tankervilles and Chamberlain(e)s may be very distant cousins. There was a Chamberlain(e) in my Methsoc group at Cambridge.................Hello, John !
Nina's godfather Martin, one of her late mother's cousins, died suddenly in February, and we have been drawn into much closer contact with his surviving sister Barbara, with whom we now find ourselves somewhat in loco filio filiaeque. Nina took a lot of the responsibility for clearing Martin's cottage, and Barbara has not always been in the best of health. So there have been regular trips down to the New Forest and Gosport.
Emily gave birth to a daughter, Angharad, our second grandchild, in May, and Nina spent a month with them in Melbourne around June. And the autumn has been taken up by the renovation of no. 2 for my Mum (see previous blog.)
Nonetheless, the demolition of the old back extension of no. 4 and the clearing of no 6 (see two blogs back) has at least set the stage for positive progress next year, and our work in no. 2 has also reminded us what we are capable of , whetting our appetitite for our own spaces.
2007 has also been the year when I finally got into exploiting the computer for music purposes, allied to a strong burst of new interest in jazz. Again, at the moment it's a highly hole and corner business, setting up where I can, but the development of new spaces will give me the chance to set up a dedicated space.
We are currently looking forward to Jenny's book launch at the National Gallery, which we will combine with a pre-Christmas festivity with Jenny and Alex in Guildford. More of that when it's happened!
One of the curiosities of the year has arisen from 'the family' giving me a DNA (y chromosome) test for my 60th. It turns out that I am (haplogroup) I1a U-N in which the U-N stands for Ultra Norse. In other words, my n times great-grandfather (and thereon back) came from Scandinavia, probably Sweden or Norway. Or to put it crudely, I am (distantly) a Viking ! This may ('non-paternal events' - i.e. an unfaithful grandmother (not you, Dora !) - permitting) link with my surname i.e. Graham. Graham is generally derived from 'de Grantham' or 'de Graeg Ham', the name borne by a Norman lord who went north to Scotland in the 1120's. His father or grandfather was one of William the Conqueror's closer associates, so is quite likely to have been of Viking derivation. The finer details of this, which I won't go into, also mean that Tankervilles and Chamberlain(e)s may be very distant cousins. There was a Chamberlain(e) in my Methsoc group at Cambridge.................Hello, John !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)