Ten days ago to the Wigmore Hall to hear the Marmen Quartet of reference 1, with the accent used above having crept into the name of the first violinist on the Wigmore handout - but not yet appearing anywhere else. Mozart K428 and Janáček's 'Intimate Letters'. This last seemingly last heard back in 2019, and noticed at reference 2. While I could not find any notice of K428. And I am pretty sure the Marmens are new to us too.
A wettish day, so we both took folding umbrellas. BH deployed hers on the way to the station, I toughed it out, preferring to get wet than to have a wet umbrella for the rest of the day. Not that I was carrying them.
One duck present on Fair Green, although the big puddle that sometimes appears after rain was absent on this occasion.
Trains all present and correct and our four coacher was surprisingly quiet - these Sunday shorts can get pretty full.
Big cherry picker just up the road from All Bar One. One chap driving the platform up and down while the other chap washed the windows. Perhaps ladders are not permitted above two floors and the roof of this particular building was not suited to suspension - as otherwise it seemed a rather expensive way to wash the windows.
All Bar One quiet too - maybe all the bright young things were late on shopping parade following the adjustment to the clocks. New model teapot but no smarties. The phrase 'no sugar thank you' being interpreted to include sugary supplements.
Following the post at reference 3, BH alleged that Richard was a Welsh name, which prompted me to ask my telephone, which told me that it was Old Frankish and meant strong ruler. Came to us with the Normans and widely used in the rest of north western Europe. Later on, I found that reference 4 was much more informative about both Richard and Henry Cromwell than the Oxford History. While this evening I have read the preface again, which seems promising. Perhaps I will get going.
We also wondered whether my yawning so much after a good night's sleep was a reaction to said adjustment to the clocks. A version of jet lag?
Onto the Hall, where foyer clock was still missing after what seems like a lot of weeks, but the quartet did us well and I was very taken with the Janáček on this occasion. One portrait computer, one landscape computer, two paper scores. A curious black spot on the front plate of the cello, a little below the left hand f-hole as one faced it. Looked like a hole, but that seems a bit unlikely. Two little speeches from the first violin, nicely judged. And for the encore, a version of Judy Garland singing about rainbows. Nicely judged too. See, for example, reference 5.
Off to Ponti's for lunch where, for a change, we were shown into the left hand seating area, the one near the open plan part of the kitchen. Which meant one of the waitresses, rather than the waiters who nag us about not changing our order often enough. So we stuck with the bread basket and the wine called Etna, this last first noticed at the end of January at reference 6. Both good. But then I broke out and took a linguine with prawns - in which there was too much tomato and the pasta was too soft for my taste - much too much like the sort of thing you might get from a tin from Heinz. But it was substantial and I was far too full to attempt a proper dessert - and, almond biscuits (as snapped above) not being an option, settled for a spot of grappa instead, while BH took her Earl Grey. She having been quite happy with her risotto, so perhaps that is what I shall go for next time.
On exit, a smart car. We had not spotted a likely owner inside, but one never knows. Someone had done a good job on the polish: was that the owner? How many owners of such cars do their own washing? We have at least one enthusiast in our own road who does not trust anyone else to do it for him, let alone a machine.
References
Reference 1: http://www.marmenquartet.com/.
Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/belcea-30.html. The 30 being a reference to the date of the concert, some days before the date of posting.
Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-curiosity.html.
Reference 4: Britain in Revolution: 1625-1660 - Austin Woolrych - 2002.
Reference 5: https://youtu.be/AV0egqnphV0.
Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/01/trio.html.
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