Getting on my bike… …again

Fifty-five to sixty years ago I spent quite a lot of time on my bicycle in the leafy suburb of London in which I was brought up. Not every child had a bike but I was one of the lucky ones. On one day it would be a cowboy’s horse and the next day a policeman’s motorbike. The day after that it would be something else and I suppose if Doctor Who had been around in those days it might have been a Tardis at least once a week.

A few years later an asssortmernt of “grown-up” bikes provided daily transport to the farms on which I worked for a time between school and college. Many years later in the 1970s a rather trendy folding bicycle ferried me to and from work in a Nottingham factory for a time (no, not “The Raleigh”) but I have not cycled since then.

Now, at nearly three score years and ten, and with most of a lifetime of motoring behind me, I am about to start cycling again, mainly for the healthy and (hopefully) zero-impact exercise that it provides. I intend to start in very small doses, taking it gently and increasing distances etc. gradually. Apparently cycling is on the increase, so all of a sudden I am in danger of becoming fashionable again.

Traffic conditions have changed since I last took to the road on two wheels but cycling remains a very safe activity. Tomorrow I will be shopping for a bicycle. More about that later.  

 

 

Henry the Tortoise - an update.

Henry has been outside, day and night, for about a week now  (May 7th) and is enjoying the run of the entire garden for the first time in around twenty years. We arrived here in the winter when Henry was in hibernation still and since then the whole garden has been “tortoise-proofed” so that he cannot get trapped in small spaces and it is surrounded by walls so he has no chance of escape, especially as he doesn’t have a motorbike.

The space to which he has access includes a  small lawn with surrounding borders containing trees and shrubs, and an equal area of paving on various levels. It is amazing how many nooks and crannies are created by trees and shrubs and other features and when Henry couldn’t be found a few nights ago we were almost inclined to believe that he had discovered a way out, though we knew it was impossible. Sunshine the next day brought him out on to the lawn again, totally oblivious to our overnight anxiety - in fact I am sure that he was gazing around as we approached, whistling softly and with a “What me?” expression on his face.

 

We have discovered already that he has a talent for climbing and a fine sense of balance. Though the heights involved are not great, they are impressive in relation to Henry’s size but he seems less able to work out how to climb down again. So I have modified some features of the garden to allow him to climb safely while also providing an easy descent. 

 

There are quite a lot of myths and misunderstandings about tortoises. Information is available on the web and the following links would be good places to start: 

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/faq.html#numbers

http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/

We are enjoying a particularly warm spell of weather at the moment with mild nights. However, this could change quite abruptly so the weather forecasts are being watched for any indications of sudden cooling, especially at night. Henry’s indoor accomodation remains on standby just in case there is any risk of frost over the next few weeks (unlikely as it may seem).

 

Cancer Research UK Relay for Life, Cardiff.

The Cancer Research UK Relay for Life is an event which takes place in dozens of venues around the UK each year. It will be Cardiff’s turn to stage the event during the weekend of 30/31 August, 2008 and it will be in the Millennium Stadium.

If you can be in Cardiff on August 30/31 there are many ways in which you could take part and support this most worthy cause and have a lot of fun at the same time. Plenty of information can be found here on the official website of Cancer Research UK and, for the latest news specific to the Cardiff event, visit the unofficial Cardiff Relay blog. 

 

Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists

For my birthday present this year my wonderful daughter took me to a concert at St David’s Hall, Cardiff last night. What a treat! The event was the opening concert of the 2008 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, which has been described as “The Junior Olympics of Violin Playing”.

The competition takes place every two years and is open to violinists from around the world under the age of 22. This is the 25^th anniversary of the competition and there were 156 applications from candidates of 34 different nationalities, This year 20 Junior and 22 Senior participants of 19 nationalities were selected to take part and their average age is 16. Amazingly the youngest contestant is just 10 years old.

During the eight days between the opening and closing concerts there are several musical events in and around Cardiff in addition to those featuring the contestants. More information is available from the competition website.

Last night’s concert opened with the Overture to the Marriage of Figaro by W. A. Mozart, played by the Menuhin Competition Orchestra conducted by Maxim Vengerov. This was followed by Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor featuring previous competition winners Akiko Ono and Hrachya  Avanesyan. The contrasting styles of these young violinists was fascinating: Akiko Ono calm and so graceful with barely an unnecessary movement, while Hrachya  Avanesyan was emotional animation personified. Their performance was superb.

The next item was the World Premier of the Elegy for King Arthur by Welsh composer Mervyn Burtch. This featured Akiko Ono again but with harpist Catrin Finch and the choir Serendipity, and conducted by Timothy Rhys-Evans.

Later Catrin Finch played an unscheduled solo for us based on a popular Spanish tune. This piece demonstrated not only Catrin’s excellence as an instrumentalist but also how she has grown as an entertainer. The audience enjoyed it, she enjoyed it, and it showed.

Hrachya  Avanesyan’s considerable prowess as a violinist was demonstrated again in Ravel’s Tzigane, conducted by Paul Watkins.

The concert finished with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major Opus 35 with Joshua Bell as the soloist and the Menuhin Competition Orchestra conducted by Maxim Vengerov. This piece is one of my personal favourites and Joshua Bell did not disappoint. Indeed his performance was stunning.

It has been a long time since my last attendance at any sort of live music event. After last night, that will have to change.

Masters of Jazz

A couple of weeks ago I was searching on Google for details of recordings by those consummate masters of jazz, the late Oscar Peterson and Count Basie and by the Count’s small groups. I have several old LPs of both and wondered whether there were any more out there. I am a big fan of all sorts of jazz and it doesn’t come any better, so far as I am concerned, than when Oscar and the Count are playing together or when Bill Basie is swinging along in his own economical style with his rhythm section including Freddie Green on guitar. I didn’t find any discographies. I was distracted by actual performances. Click here for a sample of what I found and then let me know what you think, not only about the music but whether it should be freely available in this way.