Check out the website

Hi everyone - this is a link to the entry about Brian on the spnm website
http://www.spnm.org.uk/?page=shortlist/composer.html&id=283
This is making it feel very real! Also he has his picture in the magazine this month too! He is going to London at the end of october to have a sort of meeting of all the new shortlisted composers which is both exciting and scary.

We are off to Poland in march with the Choir - (did my email reach you Jo? We would really really appreciate it if anyone has any folk songs we could use - we do have a Polish student to teach us pronounciation) which is exciting too, though perhaps chillier.

Nic is back from the USA having had a wonderful time and with a pressing need to find work to earn money - good thing say I.

I have downloaded a web authoring package and had my first play with it this afternoon. If it all works *(very big if that) you will be able to look at Brian's own website. As a daughter and a niece are professional marketing managers I feel a bit on thin ice here, doing the marketing thing with Brian, however everyone has to learn something new and start somewhere. We are not being ambitious with this website though - simple and elegant is what we're aiming for.
(my aim has never been very good either) I hope everyone is well and happy
love Helen

Joanne in BCN

While I am nervous of pushing HP off the top of the list here, I thought I would toss up this photo of Joanne and the girls in Barcelona today, she was here for five or so hours, of which we could see her for about two...work is a pain sometimes...

We met, we ate paella and ice cream, we ran for the bus, and we parted.

Short and sweet, but a little too short.

Book 7

I've been waiting around, oh so politely, for a while for someone to pick up and talk about #7...that's enough of that now, since you all waited for me to read it, I'll start.

First of all, it was brilliant. I loved it and it was fantastic. Not as dark or scary as some of them, and I think she has managed to keep Harry aging appropriately.

I had two concerns toward the end of the book. These were the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione never killed anyone, portraying them as good guys, unsullied and in direct opposition to Voldemort. That said, obviously Harry kills off the big V, but that was indispensable. Their friends however, also good guys are left with all the dirty work of off-ing folks left right and center, while the central trio at worst go for a crucio curse. I couldn't quite hold those two images.

The second problem that I had was in the King's Cross station scene at the end when D and Harry are chatting. The flapping 'flayed' baby in the background that they are unmoved by and inured too I could not get past. It goes without saying that it is an image of the underdeveloped soul/inner being/nature of V, but the fact that these two could be so disinterested, especially when the image was specifically a flayed child I could not go beyond. I was abruptly and fatally unable to suspend my disbelief at this stage, and it just didn't work for me. The word flayed alone is probably what did me in. The thought that those two could just walk past a child in that condition, however dream like was untenable.

Those were my only beefs with the book, I was sorry my problems with it came towards the end because they stand more strongly in my mind than if they had occurred earlier, but that was a great series. What is she going to do next?

Things

Just some general things as lots of stuff seems to be happening at the moment:

1) Finally received some birthday greetings from my errant sister - all is forgiven :)
2) Carl and I are getting a new kitchen next week, courtesy of dad, veeerrrrry excited about it.
3) Carl whisked me away to Paris for my birthday which was absolutely fabulous but I've lost the lead that connects my camera to my laptop so can't upload the phots :(
4) I tried oysters for the first time in Paris. Have discovered I don't like them and they didn't like me either...
4) My new job (I still call it that although I've been there a year now) is going really well and I've just been told I'm getting a payrise - yay!
5) Is anyone else watching Heroes? I think it's aboslutely brilliant.
6) Are we nominating another book for everyone to read? I was late finishing the last one but would love some recommendations for books as I'm still mourning post-Harry-book-7.

Hope everyone's well
Love Kate xxxx

Nicky goes sailing!!!

The arrival of Nicky and her home girls, along with a, well, a guy. Chaperoned carefully by her Uncle....



On the ferry....



On the boat....they had lovely short skirts on a windy day.



They were a ton of fun, and we had a lovely time, though I hear a rumour that book 7 may be headed my way, although it seemed to have been forgotten.

Ah well.


They were lovely fun, they are headed off to the shoe museum, and possibly the Art Gallery, there is a show on of photographic weaving, and one of Nicky's friends is in textile design school specialising in weaving so interest is high.

They are all off to Niagara Falls tomorrow, another boat ride, this time the Maid of the Mist. An apparently obligatory trip on a voyage to Canada.

Hooray!!

We have cause to celebrate. There is an organisation called the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM and the title says it all) who have what they call a shortlist of undiscovered composers who they take on for a period of 3 years on what they call their shortlist. The people on the shortlist appear in a brochure that spnm produces, they are promoted on the website, they have access to training and classes for free, the spnm try to get their compositions played and promote any concert at which the music is played. it is a hefty push to open the door for an unknown composer. And Brian has been selected as one of the 18 who are going to be on the shortlist over the next 3 years. chosen from more than 400 applicants. Happy - scared and happy. Hooray!!

Harry Potter Your questions answered

For all who have finished the septology (is that a word)http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/full_story/1156
This is a webcast JKR did answering fans question. It is chock full of spoilers so you'd better not read it, Chris!
Enjoy

Lapdog Vs Laptop

Out dog Gromit is a cavalier king charles spaniel. He is a lap dog and after centuries of interbreeding he may be as far removed from the wolf original as is possible but he is an expert at getting on people’s laps. You go around any stately home in the UK and the chances are you will see a painting of a bulgy eyed cavvy gazing out at you from somebody’s lap. They have few talents but this is one of them.
Gromit’s favourite lap is Erin’s. However since she became a student she has had a laptop computer which has become a rival for her lap. This does not defeat our small toothless hound however as with some persistance he still manages to find a bit of her lap to rest his head even when the computer is already there.
Imagine his surprise then, when the other day she shut her computer and trapped one of his ears in it. Apparently, he didn’t notice it till she moved the computer and his ear went with it! Ouch!
Toshiba 1 Canine 0!

Broody...

So my friend Alison who Carl and I met in Cyprus and whose wedding we went to last year, has just had her first baby. Wee Isla Buchanan joined the world on 28th July (same birthday as you mum) so I went out at lunch time today to get her some presents. Found myself in the baby clothes section of Next and just turned into a gibbering, broody wreck! Can't believe it! Who'd have thought a few cute pink frocks and some Winnie the Pooh merchandise could do that to a Marketing-Manager-who's-quite-happy-having-a-dog-and-no-children-thank-you-very-much?

So she ended up with a gorgeous denim dungaree dress and this lush teeny hoodie plus a little cuddly Piglet to go with her Winnie the Pooh...she's also pictured here with their dog Ringo who Carl still misses 5 years after leaving Cyprus.

Swimming Pool Rage!

Well, enough of lovely holidays and weddings and I will relate the strange experience I had this morning. I have taken to going swimming at our local baths at 6.45am. A bit ghastly but to be honest I’m barely awake enough to know what’s happening and the pool is full of people who just want to swim, no flirting teenagers or other people generally enjoying themselves. Anyway, at this time I often see people I know. (I’m not saying that Saffron Walden is a small town, but at Jon and Niamh’s wedding I was talking to Niamh’s Irish aunt who knew one person in SW and I know them too!)
The swimming pool is 25m by 10m. Two lanes are cordoned off for fast swimmers, two for slower swimmers and the other four just for general dawdlers (like me!)
Anyway, one of my acquaintances, Carol, is rather a fast swimmer but she was doing her serious lengths in the dawdling area for some unknown reason. Kathy, another acquaintance was swimming rather slowly with a friend chatting all the time. (How does one hold a conversations at that hour in the morning is beyond me). Suddenly Carol went up to them and told them off. She said that the pool was for swimming not chatting! They went and complained to the lifeguard who obviously couldn’t really do anything (because he was 12!). But when Carol saw this she went ballistic and laid into them again. Very strange indeed.
To be honest, I think Carol was wrong. You pay your £3 to use the pool, providing you don’t break the rules I don’t think you actually have to swim. Actually Carol and I talked about doing a job share when our kids were younger. I’m glad that didn’t go anywhere, she would have shouted at me for being a slacker!

Sea dogs in China

The Wedding pictures were great. Chris has finally told us how to get in to this site. Attached is a link to our China pictures. Please see if it works and let us know.

Click here

Marriage of Niamh and Jonathan

A few pictures from 28th July in Silverton and Fursdon. All of these are available at high resolution so if anyone wants any let me know and I'll either mail (if one or two max) or put on CD and post.
Here is the church of Saint Mary the Virgin.



















Followed by the bride, groom, best man and bridesmaids just outside the church. No pictures inside as the camera declined to steady my hand or focus properly, I blame the technology.















Here is Bill and Piers.















Happy Hulls
















The new family, well parents and new children if you like.















After the church, we all went to Fursdon House for the reception. Here is a view from the front of Fursdon house - before it rained!















Next we have a bunch of cousins
















Helen conversing with Richard's sister and brother in-law (yes, Iforgot the names...)
















Fran snapping














Pensive Jon, are they memories leaking out of his head? (On their way to a pensieve? Just had to get an HP reference somewhere....)














After the photographs, and there was the obligatory bossy photographer, we went into a marquee. Here is Jon watching his memories being transferred via a cup (Stop it!)















Jon doing his speech:




















Not to be outdone, Niamh did a speech


















Boo enraptured by the speech, Ann and Helen watching it on a portable TV















Andy and Moira talking at each other

















The throwing of the Bouquet. I have a brief video, so we know who caught it.
















And finally, the cake. Made by Fran, hereafter to be known as superwoman. Fabulous wedding, brilliantly organised, and lovely to see such a happy couple. And no embarrasing drunks! Well done everyone.

Spot the baby moorhen among the lillies

Very old Celtic cross with Ogham writing by Carew Castle
Sunset from the back garden in Llandeloy
Wierd stratification on the rocks you get all along this coast, plus the black rocks as well - very peculiar.
Sunny day - the sea off St David's Head - spot the seagull this time !!

Arty picture of a bit of heather
These were all taken in Pembrokeshire last week. Not quite as glamorous as Morocco, but as you can see stunningly beautiful in the right weather!!

I'm back...

...following Carl's tinkering with things he knows nothing about and breaking our laptop, it's now been mended so I'm back contributing posts again.

Diet updates will resume this week as I'm still plugging away with the weightloss.

I just wanted to a) exhort everybody to finish Harry asap so we can discuss! And b) post some piccies up of our trip to Marrakech which is now nearly 2 months ago. However, it's a wonderful place and one I'd thoroughly recommend - lots to see and do, bargains to be had in the souks and great food :)

Love Kate xxxxx

No spoilers please!!!

OK OK OK.....


SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo

how is it???

Holes by Louis Sachar

Well at last I am ready to blog. I have been putting this off as it was becoming like and English essay. Anyway here goes. It is not an in depth analysis but if I don't post what I've got so far I never will!

Holes
Although this is obviously a children’s book I think it has appeal to all ages. I first heard of it when the BBC did a list of the top 100 most loved books as voted for by the public. It had all the usual suspects – Austen, Brontes etc. As well as some, like the Da Vinci Code, which will probably prove more passing popularity? This however was the only book I had never heard of. I decided I needed to see why so many had voted for it.
I suppose a lot of its popularity is down to the fact it is about an underdog becoming triumphant and a hero. However I think there are a lot of layers to the story which makes it stand out. It is written like a folk story. Sachar simply expects you to believe in ancient curses and bad luck. So it is like going to the opera where you have to suspend disbelief. That done you enter into Stanley’s world and can empathize with him more fully. Like many good folk stories it has horrible baddies, mythical beasts (the lizards) a lost civilization and magical food (the onions). Like a lot of children’s literature, such as Secret Garden, the Narnia books and of course Harry Potter, Stanley ditches his parents and all the trammels of his previous life which have been holding him back. This allows him to start from scratch and it means that everything is as new to him as it is to us. So we see this whole new rather alarming world through his eyes. On this new stage Stanley manages to make friends for the first time in his life and actually have some respect in his new community.
This is a book that I know is taught in schools so I looked on the Web for crib notes. And apparently the main themes in it are the benefits of friendship, fate reuniting people and the importance of history in every day life. There are also adult themes like racism. I think the power of fate could be an annoying theme (Ok, Helen – let’s not start the Thomas Hardy thing up again!) however the way it is handled just emphasises the folk story feel. So it becomes like Greek legends or even the Bible. However fate also means that Stanley and Zero meet again and make right ancient wrongs. I liked the way the history was introduced and made relevant to the current story being told. I suppose it could be argued that the coincidences were a bit hard to believe but this has not held back a lot of great literature – Oliver Twist for example.
Basically, sweeping themes or not I enjoyed this book because I rooted for Stanley and Zero and was glad that it ended happily. I think it was like a Shawshank Redemption for children and as that is in my top ten films ever what further compliment can I give it?

Travels between Universities

Nice to see so many posts! We spent last weekend picking up Kieran's stuff from Bath, including staying a night and taking Kieran and his housemate (landlord sort of - well it's his parent's money) out for dinner. Here is a picture of Kieran and Fred in Yak Yeti Yak (great name and a great restaurant).

On Sunday we went out for lunch at Demuths, a marvellous vegetarian restaurant, this time with Kieran and Kate. Annoyingly, although I took the camera and spare batteries, I didn't take any pictures.

We had a wet drive home with Kieran's chattels. On Wednesday we're going back to Bath to see him get his degree in Bath Abbey - we're going by train this time. Then on Friday we're off to York to collect Erin and her belongings. Maybe there is a business opportunity for someone here......

Holidays

View from ramparts of a nearby village The gite from the front
Brian on the stepping stones in the river by the gite
To give you some idea of the frescos and painting in the churches - this is just one of many


Wine on the terrace
We got back from a week in France yesterday and had a lovely restful time. The gite was in the Vienne in the middle of France and the place was really quiet. The roads were great long straight two lane roads (these were the minor white ones on the map) and we were usually the only car on them! It is really beautiful there but you can also see that it is very poor. Highlights were the frescos in the churches which were unbelievable - a tiny village of a couple of hundred people with a 10th century church and the walls still covered with frescos. And there are so many of them!! It really makes you realise what britain lost between the reformation and the puritans - our churches used to look like that. We went to a plainsong mass at a Benedictine abbey which was wonderful. We went to Oradur sur Glane, a village where the Germans set fire to the church with the whole village inside as a reprisal for resistance activities, then they burnt the rest of the village. It has been left ruined as a memorial, and as you go round there are plaques saying who lived in which house, where the hairdresser was, etc. There are rusting bedsteads and cars, it is really very evocative.


We also saw kingfishers, heron, grebes and buzzards, but no red squirrels despite what the comments book in the gite said. We managed to find one (only ) tourist office open, and not many cafes - despite the opening hours saying that they were open a lot of the time. There is a little supermarket called 8 a huit - opening hours are 9-12.30, 3-7. Good eh? They haven't quite got the hang of tourism there which is a shame because i think they could use the money.

We mostly had nice weather, a few thunderstorms but mostly at night, so we were lucky there i think

I have no idea why I can't get the photos to go where I want them, or why the text is underlined!! Oh well

.

Nicky has gone off to the USA for the summer now and left me with a mess (called her bedroom) a bill to pay for her glasses, and a car to sell!! Some things never change it seems.

Banana Bread

That is SO weird - just made banana bread this morning with George, I Love banana bread because despite the overwhelming majority of ingredients being things like sugar, butter and white flour, you stll somehow feel like it is ok to eat it as it is "based" on fruit - yummy. To save some calories - we gave some to our neighbors :-)

Book group

I'm thinking that I will post about the book group at the beginning of July. I think everyone who is going to read it will have read it by then.
I could do it now I suppose but I'm going to make a banana cake instead as we have overripe bananas and too many eggs.