Mainly sonatas

The last outing to the Wigmore Hall prior to the western break was a Monday lunchtime concert, mainly made up of sonatas, with violin, harpsichord and cello. There was some Bach, but otherwise both executants and music were new to me.

Rain threatened and what with one thing and another I opted for lift to the station and no Bullingdons. Not least because the ride from Waterloo to the Portuguese Consulate seems rather further than it did only six years ago, as noticed at reference 1.

A long walk at Waterloo from a low numbered platform to the Bakerloo platform, but not as bad as that at Kings Cross. And I had found time to admire the elaborate coupling between two of the coaches of my train from Epsom. A far cry from the sturdy hook and eye of old. Presumably, inter alia, the coupling carries the data cables supporting both the helpful indicator boards and the loud, intrusive and usually unhelpful announcements.

Out at Oxford Circus to admire the wrapping of the Niketown building. A rather heritage sort of wrapping, so I though perhaps refurb rather than public art. That is to say paid for out of the private rather than the public purse. I also harked back to the days when I first used the shop, prompted by the New Statesman, back in 2009. And then the day I flipped from Clarkes shoes to trainers, never to return, noticed at reference 2. Not quite the start of the Merrell era, but nearly. In which connection I might say that I bought yet another pair a couple of days ago, well over six months since the previous purchase. I am pleased to be able to report that Wolverine/Merrell/Vietnam are still making the same trainers, Moab Ventilators - with the only changes being a move from Model 2 to Model 3 and a move from around £80 to around £100. Although I could have had a size too big for a hefty discount.

Two beggars seeking change - although my understanding is that very few people carry change these days. I certainly don't and I am only very rarely moved to give a beggar a note.

A little early so a sit in Cavendish Square, where I was amused by a couple of smart looking chaps trying to take their lunch but who were scared away by wasp attack, clearly attracted by whatever was in their wraps.

Admired a lady's kilt in Margaret Howell, going so far as to go in and take a closer look. £595 for a kilt which was not even solid wool, rather half and half. The story was that half and half held the pleats better than solid. That said, it did look rather well, although I doubt whether BH would have been attracted. And not helped by the snap above, which does not do the thing justice.

Onto the Wigmore Hall for what turned out to be a violin show, that is to say with cello and harpsichord very much in background rather than foreground mode. The violinist used two violins, not sure why, one with brown pegs and the other with conspicuous white pegs. He also used a computer. While I think that the harpsichord was one of those classy modern replicas, complete with picture inside the lid.

Not the sort of thing I would usually go to, but it turned out rather well. Rather liking the slightly fairground feel to the second piece by Farina. All very appropriate given the French fairground source for our word foreigner. Bing failed to find a recording, but Google managed, turning up a recording on YouTube made the very same team. To be heard at reference 5.

Onto 2Veneti for lunch, my first visit for a while. Mixed bread, a sort of fish mousse - white and a little salty, more calves liver and a tiramisu. All very good, even if the calves liver was a little underdone to my mind. And they still had the wine that I liked last time, as noticed at reference 6. From which the waiter had no trouble rustling it up. Still the same vintage. All followed by some of their yellow grappa, the stuff from a square rather than a round bottle. Liqueur rather than a rough spirit knocked out for farm workers. I could not find it on their website - but I did find out that they sell some very fine wine, rather too fine for my pocket. See reference 7. A very civilised restaurant.

Along the way the legal status of cats came up, the story being that cats have no legal status at all, unlike dogs. That you can neither steal them nor leave them money. On which Bing turned up reference 9, which suggests that the status of animals in general and pets in particular may have been tidied up in the Animal Welfare Act of 2006. The reference 9 story seems to be that cats are a special kind of property, which can be stolen but to which the owner has a duty of care. Furthermore, while you cannot leave money to a cat or dog directly, you can set up a trust - technically an imperfect trust - the business of which trust is to feed your pet caviar, or whatever it is you want done. A trust which, if a bit over the top, can be challenged by cross relatives. No doubt the law differs in the US, but there you have some very rich cats and dogs. Perhaps I only got onto all this after I had taken my grappa.

Cavendish Court. A rather grand frontage, more or less opposite 2Veneti. Fancy furniture shops below, fancy apartments above. With one recently going for £4,000 a month: two bedrooms, fifth floor (there is a lift), 1,100 or so square feet - perhaps the equivalent of half a suburban semi. Maybe you are allowed to smoke out on the balconies. One could feel very superior, fat cigar in one hand, balloon glass in the other, standing in state in the central window right at the top, framed by all that fancy stone work. But would anyone down below actually notice?

Some serious looking blockboard opposite the bus stop. No.88 bus to Vauxhall, passing what looked like some sort of Bible flavoured gathering in Piccadilly. Just missed a train to Epsom, so took a break at Raynes Park instead, where I picked up a few oddments.

Two items for me, top right, the balance possibly providing entertainment for a granddaughter in due course. The Biblical stuff came inside the purse, inside the box. A bonus! The blue magazine was noticed at reference 8. While the number of 'Light Rail and Modern Tramway' is still waiting for its day in the sun.

The offer of a seat at Worcester Park was accepted.

PS: shortly after posting this, we took our first Brussels sprouts of the season, in a plastic bag from Sainsbury's. Very nice they were too. With New Model potato pie, that is to say the version involving a small amount of milk rather than the heritage version. Surprising how much difference it makes.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/09/wigmore-two.html.

Reference 2: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-was-i-on.html.

Reference 3: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=niketown.

Reference 4: https://www.wolverineworldwide.com/.

Reference 5: https://youtu.be/WoL130-o0h0.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/06/hammerklavier.html.

Reference 7: https://www.2veneti.com/.

Reference 8: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/09/a-nearly-new-magazine.html.

Reference 9: https://www.cats.org.uk/media/1024/eg13_cats_and_the_law.pdf.