D956

A week or so ago our first outing of the season to the Wigmore Hall, to hear the Belcea Quartet, augmented by Jean-Guihen Queyras, give us the Schubert string quintet.

Bur before getting onto that, I thought I would check how many times we have heard it since I retired. Search of the archive records three times, once in 2012 and twice in 2014. Slightly surprised that there was nothing more recent. But looking at the notices, I did turn up various odd snippets of information and there was the near miss at reference 1. Where I thought that Cratfield was a typo, but Bing reveals that it is a heritage church offering classical music, possibly some of spin-off from the Aldeborough festival a little to the south east. Their website, as it happens, today offers a more attractive photograph of our late queen than most, even though it is not helped by the deployment of the 'make background black' feature of Photoshop.

While searching for 'belcea' yielded 8 mentions, the first of which at least, from 2015, was another performance at the Wigmore. But I dare say that some of the eight were references to concerts, rather than notices of concerts.

Searching for 'queyras' yielded another 8 mentions, the first of which at least, was also from 2015, another performance at the Wigmore, but not the same as the one just mentioned.

I note in passing that searching the archive for 'd956' produced results more or less instantly, unlike some seemingly similarly innocuous searches which can take some minutes. One is sometimes reduced to closing File Explorer so that one can get on while it gets on with its indexing. But I have yet to spot any pattern. Beyond remembering that the File Explorer search only searches files that are online, which can be an issue when using Microsoft's OneDrive, clever and useful product though it is.

The day turned out to be overcast, but we took a chance and took no folders. Two trolleys from Sainsbury's outside the station, a long way from their home. A ticket office clerk demonstrating how to make tooth picks out of blank tickets. Seemingly just the ticket, so as to speak.

While waited for the train, we admired the large fig tree across the tracks, it taking quite a few seconds before we started to lock onto fruit. Small and green, generally a few inches short of the tip of the shoot. Even harder to pick them out of the snap above, even though I have enlarged it. I suppose one has lost the advantage given by being able to move one's head about a bit, which increases the amount of information getting to the brain from any one sector of the visual field. A trick which does not work when all one has to work with is a two-dimensional image.

We will see if the figs ripen in due course, perhaps next year. But if reference 4 is anything to go by, growing figs in this country is a bit tricky, a recent neighbouring fig notwithstanding. I think I shall leave it to neighbours and Turks. These last being responsible for most of the ones that we eat.

Green Park tube station had closed as a mark of respect, but All Bar One at Regent Street was open, even if it was a bit quiet (at 14:30). The pot for smarties seemed to have got smaller, while there was smart new crockery for the tea. Something more like a teacup than the great heavy thing one often gets.

I had thought that Luxcrete were the only people that made these things. And maybe they are, as according to reference 5, these people having sold up in 1967 after which the trail goes cold. Luxfer exists in the US, but it is not at all clear that they still make pavement lights, let alone in this country. Maybe not such a good business as it was, back when people really needed natural light in their basements.

Into the hall, with, on this day, red, green and white floral displays flanking the stage. Occupied by five stands holding computers. Director to the left. A minute's silence for the monarch, which we thought pitched things about right. A fine performance, only slightly marred by some irritating perfume in front of me.

From the hall to Ponti's where, it being an Italian family owned restaurant, the wine was labelled in Italian, front and back. None of this English business sneaking in around the back. I Favati - Fiano di Avellino - Pietramara - Venfemmia 2018. Which I track down to reference 6. A respectable looking house and a respectable tasting wine. Initial tasting delegated to BH, as per usual.

Bread and olives to start followed by pizza for me and chicken salad for her. Bread better than average. Pizza nicely presented and tasted rather good once I had picked out all the bits of red chilli. Luckily, the active ingredient had not had time to get out into the open. From where I associated to a soup that I once made involving chillies: slightly nervous about them, I pulled them out very soon after I had put them in, but too late. The heat had thoroughly soaked into the body of the soup, which was rather spoiled in consequence. I suppose soaking into melted cheese takes that bit longer.

For the moment, a restaurant which is suiting us well. Middle of the road, handily located between the Wigmore Hall and Oxford Circus tube station.

Out to rather a flashy car. Probably not the house vehicle for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. All a bit vulgar really, but then I don't have that sort of money, little interest in cars and no interest in driving one into London - so perhaps my views don't count.

Vauxhall busy with people piling out of a cricket match at the Oval. Aeroplane viewing conditions good, but I only managed a couple of ones.

Stopped by Raynes Park to pick up the brochure already noticed at reference 7.

With the day closing with the green skin already noticed at reference 8.

References

Reference 1: http://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2011/07/searching.html.

Reference 2: https://concertsatcratfield.org/.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/08/tower-time.html. Advertisement for Duplo tower as well as for a fig.

Reference 4: https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/figs/grow-your-own.

Reference 5: https://glassian.org/Prism/Lenscrete/index.html.

Reference 6: https://cantineifavati.it/.

Reference 7: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/09/mons.html.

Reference 8: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/09/green.html.