psmv5: Cello

Back to St. Luke's a week or so ago for some cello with piano, one of the St. Luke's 'X and friends' concerts, the programming for which is often not much to our taste. But liking violin with piano well enough, we thought that cello with piano ought to be OK. Mendelssohn (Op.17 and Op.58) and Britten (Op.65), and we may have heard the Britten sonata - before.

An overcast, cool and damp day. Some consideration given to the choice between the Tavistock Dannimac, bought in 2018 (see reference 3), but not worn for a while, and the Duffel coat. In the end, I decided that it was likely to be more cold than wet and settled for the Duffel coat. The right decision as it turned out.

A chap on the tube from Balham sporting trainers with rather elaborate laces. But I didn't have the brass to ask someone in the tube if I could snap their shoes, so I can't now remember what was elaborate about them - about from the young man who owned then taking quite a long time getting the tying up just right. And while I was engaged with laces, BH had a very cute baby to make faces at, as were at least two other passengers, one male and one female. Don't usually see males doing this sort of thing.

On the way out, a poster advertising the services of gopuff - who appear to be a shopping and delivery outfit. To be found at reference 4. I was interested to see this evening, given out recent flirtation with coconut milk, that coconut water - presumably more like the stuff you can pour out of a coconut bought in a shop here than coconut purée - is a feature of Ramadan life. They also do alcohol, so clearly what one might call a broad church. I wonder as I type if many strict Muslims refuse to do business with people who do business with alcohol? Would a Saudi prince buy a used car being retired from the Diageo senior officers car pool? Or the limo once used by the Arch-Infidel, aka the Archbishop of Canterbury?

At the top of the long escalator at Old Street, we pass an entry to the spiral stairs down. Maybe one day I will try down, not sure about up.

Onto Whitecross Street for my bacon sandwich and her brown toast at the Market Restaurant. All up to their usual standard. We noticed a picture framer across the road from the café - something we had to look around for in Epsom a couple of weeks back. Like they used to say about offies and chippies - never there when you want one, but all over the place when you don't.

Into the hall, where we did not have seats together, their having been booked at different times, but after deep thought the young usher though we might use seats in the unallocated row at the back of the main block of seats, before you cross the aisle to the bleachers. So that was good.

Introduction by a smartly turned out, business-like lady who I think she said was the managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra. I think she told us of some change in the broadcast arrangements, a change which sounded like a cost-saving measure, but I have forgotten now what it was. We were spared the irritating people & music chat that the regular presenters used to go in for.

The concert itself was good, with my being on good form on this occasion. Alert and attentive all the way through. And while I was expecting to like the Britten - I also liked the Mendelssohn, which I was not expecting.

Then back to the restaurant noticed at reference 5, the Iskelé, the place named for the long thin finger pointing out of the north east of the Turkish part of Cyprus. The snap above being the Long Beach there. Full of Russians or do they prefer the Greek part?

On this occasion we took white wine from Mount Athos, on a peninsular sticking out of the northeastern part of Greece, far away to the northwest. It did not occur to me as odd at the time that a Turkish restaurant ran to Greek, but not to Turkish wine, which we used to buy when we lived in Palmers Green, just north of the North Circular. The wine, however, was fine and you can read all about it at references 6.

At this point the restaurant was crowded and noisy, but we had a good table and we got served fast enough. And it calmed down fast enough after the end of the lunch period, us having come in at the tail end.

After the hummus, I took slow cooked lamb, which turned out to be an interesting cut, involving backbone. Dark, with a rich dark gravy, the sort of gravy which I tend to be suspicious of, but here it worked fine. Much better than the sort of lamb shank dished up in so many public houses now. Presumably, freshly microwaved out of a bag from Bidfood. While this one, while quite possibly microwaved, probably even, probably did not come from Bidfood.

The bones. All in all, a fine dish, which I shall take again when we next visit. BH had something made of chicken; also entirely satisfied.

For dessert I had something which was new to me called 'Antioch Kunefe, shredded pastry, fresh unsalted white cheese with honey syrup on the side'. Freshly made on a griddle, rather in the way of a griddle scone. The staff were rather proud of it and we thought it was very good. Our waitress even appeared to know that Antioch, in Biblical times one of the biggest cities in that part of the world, had shrunk to a more or less deserted village.

We shall be back!

It had come on to rain while we were eating, but luckily it had stopped in time for us to stroll back to Moorgate in comfort.

A pitch marker, a remnant of the days when Whitecross Street market was rather busier than it is now.

And there was a flugelhorn shop where you could, no doubt, spend a good deal of money. With what might be a stray sousaphone in the window.

A handsome chimney in the curious, late afternoon light. I think I have snapped it before, and tracking it down will be an exercise for later.

Passed a small van with a small antenna poking out. From Links Broadcast of reference 7, but no idea what they were up to. Filling in some gap at the Barbican centre in BBC's equipment? Positioned to get line-of-sight to some satellite? Chimney off-snap to the right.

The Barbican centre was looking well, inside and out. We thought that the flats overlooking the water garden had stood the test of time very well.

On into the church of Cripplegate without, St. Giles. A good restoration job after the war, with the parson in attendance explaining that a lot of the fixtures and fittings had been taken from St. Luke's when this last was unfrocked. Including one of the two organs. A place where we had once seen a production of the 'Tempest'. Much swinging from the rafters. Interesting this morning to read my original take on it all, back in 2011, at reference 10.

Scored the piano and the book, previously noticed at references 1 and 2. I declined a Folio edition of Trollope's 'The Way We Live Now', well made, but marred by the Folio line in excessive decoration. The Trollope Society did rather better with their edition, previously noticed at reference 9. Plus the church wanted £15 for the Folio, a fair enough price but too strong for me.

I wondered why it was that the outside usage of 'without' had not survived, while the inside usage of 'within' had. Noting also that we now say 'with biscuits', in opposition to 'without biscuits', rather than 'within biscuits'.

All explained in OED which devotes around three pages to 'without'. Cluster I, the old meaning, gets about two columns; Cluster II, intermediate meanings, gets about two column inches; Cluster III, the modern meanings, gets the rest - something more than five columns. All arranged on maybe six layers or levels. While 'within' gets around two pages.

A second visit to the rusty bridge. After which we came across a plaque for Lorimer's Hall. It turning out that lorimers made the the metalwork gear for horses, that is to say excluding most of the saddle (riding) and collar (hauling). An important trade before the advent of the engine.

A term which was properly explained in OED, but with a shorter and more restrained version in Websters.

I had forgotten that we get a real chunk of old city wall next to the street now called 'London Wall': Roman base with more modern topping. Complete with a rather expensive looking plaque explaining all.

We were then treated to a real skip, just like one of the models in use in my concreting days. It might be a big bucket, but you must need a lot of bucketfuls to put up one of the tower blocks round about. Even allowing for only doing the central shaft and maybe the floors. Thousands?

Do the two caps go up bodily with the building, or does they move more organically, with the bottom layer being taken off and the new top layer being put on, step after step?

Some relics of old still left at Moorgate. With the lowest building looking very much like the sort of thing that you can still find in Soho and Covent Garden. I am told by a correspondent that the City Fathers are working quite hard to develop the area's bars and restaurants as an evening destination for young people from Essex and Estuary, with some success, the idea being to fill the gap left by all the working from home.

All a bit clearer in Street View. Better quality camera you know. And a properly trained operator.

Some rather tired and old-fashioned joinery at Sutton Station. I suppose you can still find carpenters up for this sort of work - some banks still have serious joinery and a lot of heritage places do - even if they are getting a bit thin on the ground. Apart from anything else, young men want to get on these days and won't put up with five years of badly paid apprenticeship anymore.

On the way to Sutton a young lady had been quick to offer BH her seat. I got one not long after.

Tired after what had been for us quite a long day out, so back on the taxis for the last leg of the journey, from Epsom Station.

PS 1: my Travelcard failed to work at any gate on the way home. BH's worked OK, so she much treat hers with more respect. Maybe being in her bag, rather than jangling around with my keys is the difference.

PS: gmaps seems to get confused with names in Cyprus, at least it did with me. So how does it handle lots of places there having English, Greek and Turkish names? Plus, while the restaurant seems to be spelled 'Iskelé', with an accent on the terminal 'e', the place seems to be spelled 'İskele', with an accent of the intial 'I'. More confusion.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/03/piano-81.html. The Cripplegate piano.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-hopkins-manuscript.html. The Cripplegate manuscript.

Reference 3: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-coup.html. The Tavistock coat.

Reference 4a: https://www.gopuff.com/gb/.

Reference 4b: https://www.gopuff.com/gb/e/about-us.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/02/new-restaurant.html.

Reference 6a: https://tsantali.com/.

Reference 6b: https://tsantali.com/portfolio/agioritiko-abaton-white/.

Reference 7: https://linksbroadcast.com/.

Reference 8: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Giles-without-Cripplegate.

Reference 9: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/02/orley-farm.html.