Impromptu piano

An expedition which started all about cheese but mission crept to include some piano at the Wigmore Hall.

A cold, bright day and I arrived at the top of the ramp at Waterloo to find that a lot of the Bullingdons had gone electric and their posts were sporting flashing red lights, whatever that might have meant. But working my way down the ramp I found a regular and was able to pedal off to the cheese shop in Shorts Gardens. The new wheeze was to take my bicycle lock so that I could leave the bike outside the cheese shop while I stocked up on Lincolnshire Poacher. And, for a change, a piece of Gubbeen, from an interesting looking Irish outfit in the far south west.

Not a cow to be seen in the snap above, at a resolution at which one would have thought they would be visible if they were there. And their website at reference 1 does suggest that there are cows - along with pigs and poultry. The pigs might live in one of the sheds, but what about the cows? They also do knives, knives which look in the pictures as if they have been damascened. To judge from the pictures, you probably pay art prices for them.

Back on the Bullingdon and headed up to Oxford Street. Where a passing police car honked me, turned his blue light and siren on briefly, before coasting gently down Oxford Street towards Marble Arch. Making much the same speed as I was. Perhaps the driver's hand hit the wrong button.

Stand outside the Portuguese Consulate in Portland Place was full, which was unusual, so I threaded my way through to Hinde Street, just by the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square. Using the bicycle lock and just the one Bullingdon had speeded things up considerably and so I had plenty of time to spare. Which I started on by taking my sandwiches on one of the benches outside the Wallace Collection. Not so much time to spare that I wanted to go in.

The church in Hinde Street was not open, but they had compromised and fashioned a place where you could sit in the porch - or look through the plate glass into the church proper. Decided that the columns holding up the balcony must be fake, that is to say tubular steel dressed up to look like stone. I wonder now whether the large columns at the back are fake too, after the way of the ones which burned down at Clandon. Impressive place for all that, even seen through the glass. See references 5 and 6.

Thought about but declined the Cock & Lion in favour of the bar at the hall, which turned out to be shut. As was the Beat One across the road, the place which once used to be called the Pelican, have an Irish flavour and stock a good range of Irish whisky. The place where I once caught the barmaid practising her pouring; apparently an important part of the brand. Settled for a sit in the Beckstein Room.

Passing on the way a smart looking wagon from Stage Freight of reference 3. Presumably the driver had not been told about the servants' entrance around the back. From Leeds, and clearly made of the right stuff as they are into shopping trolleys as well as orchestras.

The hall was something less than half full. Programme notes by one Richard Wigmore, clearly an interesting chap in his own right, to be found at reference 7. I read that Schumann, along with Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan) was another burrower in Schubert's cupboards. Perhaps a rite of passage for musicians of the second half of the nineteenth century.

I rather liked the opening pieces, more than I expected, which was a bonus. And to me there seemed to be echoes from Shostakovich's preludes in both the Sibelius (Op.75) and the Matthews - for which last the composer was present and took his bow. To follow, the Schubert (D760, the Wanderer Fantasy) seemed a little loud to start with, but I settled to it. A piece I used to hear or listen to a lot in the past. A piece which I thought I had heard Jonathan Bliss play on another lunchtime occasion, but an occasion which I cannot presently trace.

A Chopin nocturne by way of encore, familiar enough although I could not put a number to it. The musical people behind me probably could have, but I decided not to ask.

In odd moments, an odd visual illusion where the bright yellow underside of the piano somehow got attached to the brown wood panelling behind the piano, the whole forming a sort of round-fronted, low pulpit in front of the piano. An illusion I seemed to be able to turn on and off, more or less at will.

Afterwards, pulled a second Bullingdon on which to more or less roll down to Victoria. Rather odd feeling, rolling down the more or less pedestrianised Bond Street. But not pedestrianised enough to stop a very fancy looking Ferrari being parked outside one of the shops. Presumably a footballer, known for their taste in fancy or flashy looking cars. Bit of trouble with low flying sun in Park Lane, but not enough for me stop and don the shades.

Thought about one of the sports bars in the development opposite Victoria Station, but decided in favour of the Wetherspoons inside the station, a place I used to use when I commuted through Victoria. But then caught a waiting train to Horsham instead. A ten coach train, so you might have a bit of a scramble at Mitcham Junction which an announcer told us could only manage seven coaches.

Spotted a clump a three Wellingtonia at Sutton and a singleton beyond Priest Hill at Ewell East. To be run down in due course,

Strolled down to the Blenheim, to find it shut, despite it being a Friday afternoon - a busy session under previous management, when they catered to the van man trade. So that was that.

But managing on arrival to notice that the winter flowering jasmine - probably Jasminum nudiflorum - is in full flower. Despite there still being plenty of leaves and so not properly nudiflorum at all. Cortana says flowering November to March, but BH says it is unusual for ours to flower before Christmas. While to the left we have the bergenia - probably Bergenia crassifolia - is also trying to flower. Both Cortana and BH say early spring.

References

Reference 1: https://www.gubbeen.com/.

Reference 2: https://www.beatone.co.uk/oxford-street.

Reference 3: https://www.stagefreight.com/.

Reference 4: https://www.tongpianoduo.com/. There turns out to be two Tongs.

Reference 5a: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-interior-of-church-at-hinde-street.html.

Reference 5b: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/06/vivaldi.html.

Reference 6: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/06/more-clandon.html.

Reference 7: http://wigmoresworld.co.uk/about-aim/.