Playing with the light cord

Both the cats love playing with the bathroom light pull cord. Monty has been able to do it since he was quite small, but it took Rolo a little longer as he didn’t get the idea of hanging on to the tie-back with one front paw and using the other front paw to bat the pull cord around.

However, now he’s bigger and better balanced, he has no trouble with the game, and can be seen here getting ready to launch himself at the dangling pull cord.

Rolo eyeing the pull cord for the bathroom light switch

The next picture shows the game in full swing! 🙂

Rolo playing with the pull cord for the bathroom light switch

Considering how often Monty has played with this pull cord, it’s surprising that I don’t also have pictures of him doing this. I will have to lie in wait for him!

Entry for December 07, 2008 – Marlowe Ensemble Light Music Concert

I’m only a week late in posting this: the Marlowe Ensemble did a light music concert in the Holy Redeemer Church Hall at Days Lane, Sidcup last weekend, and I was the bassoonist. I would have been welcome to show up for a few Wednesday rehearsals, but I’ve just been too occupied with my job to be able to do that, so I went along on Saturday afternoon for a rehearsal and went back in the evening for the concert.

Here was the programme:

• Folk Songs from Somerset (No.3 of English Folk Songs Suite) – Vaughan Williams
• Last Love – Eric Coates
• Water Music Suite: Bourree and Hornpipe – Handel – the bassoon part turned out to be quite important in this, so I was glad of the run-through in the afternoon to clue me in on where the important bits were!
• a) Jazz Pizzicato – Leroy Anderson
  b) A Trumpeter’s Lullaby – Leroy Anderson
• Songs sung by Arthur: a) On a Januairy Morning
  b) Boys of the Old Brigade
• Selection: The Mikado – Arthur Sullivan – I got a couple of solo bits to do in this – as with the Handel, I was glad for the afternoon run-through to know what was going to be expected of me!

INTERVAL

• Selection: The Maid of the Mountains – Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional numbers by Jas.W.Tate, who apparently wrote all the best stuff in the selection!
• a) Valse Bohemienne (No.1 of Four Characteristic Waltzes) – Coleridge-Taylor
  b) Demande et Reponse (No.2 of Petite suite de Concert) – Coleridge-Taylor
• Songs sung by Arthur: a) I’ve Got a Motter
  b) The Shark
• Selection: Fiddler on the Roof – Jerry Bock
• Tik Tak Polka – Strauss – this was surprisingly hard – it had both first and second written on the sheet music and I elected to play second, which was a bit less twiddly. I could keep up with that!

Stephen came along and sat in the audience, and I think he enjoyed the concert. He loves people-watching, and is inclined to take note of and get entertainment out of who visibly counts their bars of rests. He also mouthed a private joke at me when I just had to hitch up my bra strap while onstage!

Entry for August 06, 2008 – Coffee Morning

As usual, the Coffee Morning was held on Wednesday morning. We had a good audience, including a contingent from Ivor Newton House, the Musician’s Benevolent Fund home for retired musicians. Leonard Davis (who conducted the Orpington Symphony Orchestra for many years and played the viola with Marlowe after he’d ended his professional career as a viola player) now lives there, and he was one of the retired musicians who attended. I’ll write more separately about Ivor Newton House.

We played the programme of light music that we’d rehearsed the day before, and one of our double bass players, Carl, stepped out from behind his bass to sing a solo. We’re a multi-talented lot!

Much of the sheet music we play from is old, as light music has fallen somewhat out of favour. One of my parts was almost falling apart as it was obviously much-played. The Marlowe Ensemble enjoy light music and like to keep these lighter items in their repertoire. On the other hand, one of my obviously old parts was in pristine condition and could have almost come out of a music shop last week, except that it had its price on it. 1s 3d. That’s a bit over five pence in New Money!

Entry for August 05, 2008 – Light Music Rehearsal

This morning’s Marlowe Music Week activity was a rehearsal of light music in preparation for tomorrow’s Coffee Morning, which is a fundraiser for the church whose hall we are using all week.

The first half of the rehearsal was rather Viennese in flavour, without a Strauss in sight though. We moved on in the second half to include Eric Coates, The Pirates of Penzance and The Sound of Music.

I was one of the last to arrive, and Margaret was already seated by the time I got there. All the music seemed to be in one pad, and I commented that it had been a bit of a waste of time to put my music stand up. Then Margaret decided that she needed a drink of water and stood up and we discovered that she was sitting on the second bassoon pad and that we had two copies of all our music!

I’m afraid that I interrupted the rehearsal with a little bit of Von Suppe’s “Light Cavalry” Overture, which is the ring tone on my mobile phone. At least I realised that it was my phone going off, so putting the “Light Cavalry” on there seems to have worked. I switched the phone off. I don’t know who called.

The other disruption to the rehearsal came when Malcolm got a bit too enthusiastic with his conducting and knocked the music off the leader’s stand! Things ground to a halt while sheet music was fielded off the floor, and before recommencing, the two at the front desk moved their chairs back a bit to keep out of Malcolm’s range.

Many people went back to Joyce’s place for lunch, but I came home, where Stephen was waiting for me. I had some seasoned grillsteaks in the fridge and we lunched of those, done in the George Foreman grill, with some sliced potatoes and a can of baked beans. I added a bit of coarse ground pepper to the top of the grillsteaks, but we didn’t think they were as good as peppered grillsteaks, so I’ll have to watch out for those in Asda.

Now I’ve got to do a bit of practising, as I’m attending the String Orchestra With Soloists session this evening and I will be the soloist in Hargrave I. When not being the soloist, there will be cello parts to play, and Malcolm assures me that I’ll be kept busy. I’ve been wondering whether there will be anything to sit out, as I could take my camera along tonight if I think I’ll get the chance to use it.

Entry for August 07, 2007 – Light music rehearsal and band rehearsal

Today’s Marlowe Music Week activity was a rehearsal of the light music to be performed tomorrow at the coffee morning where we have our one and only paying audience for the week. We ran through the whole programme and ironed out a few bumps and wrinkles.

Most of the musicians then headed off for lunch with one of the cellists at her place, but I returned home, where I discovered that Stephen had gone down to his Mum’s, so I was home alone.

I made myself some lunch and sat down with a Greater Than Killer Sudoku (here’s the latest one: http://www.killersudokuonline.com/#gtkweekly) and it didn’t seem long before Stephen was home again. As this week is a holiday, if I spend the afternoons chilling out with a Killer Sudoku, then so be it.

As the Marlowe Activity this evening didn’t require bassoons, I put in an appearance at the Beckenham Concert Band’s rehearsal. We spent the evening working on Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances and Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance. After mostly playing things straight through with the orchestra earlier in the day, it was interesting to sit down with the band and really dissect some quite challenging music.

I took back the purple band jacket I wore on the bandstand in Greenwich Park the other weekend. The band’s next outing is in Surrey and I’m undecided about whether to put my hand up for it. I’ve been on that particular gig for the past two years, and as I’m not a “regular” in the band, I don’t feel that I have to do it if I don’t want to this year. By taking the jacket back, I don’t have it hanging up at home acting as an influence making me do that gig (and travelling there!) but if I change my mind and decide nearer the time that I want to go, the wardrobe department will be happy to lend it to me again. Meanwhile they’re just as happy to have it hanging up in the band’s wardrobe than at my house.