Consone

A fortnight ago to the Wigmore Hall to hear a couple of quartets from the Consone Quartet, a quartet I had heard a couple of times previously at St. Luke's, as noticed at references 2 and 3. A young, period instrument quartet.

On this occasion a quartet from Haydn (Op.76 No.2) and the A minor quartet from Czerny, a pupil of Beethoven, an eminent and prolific musician of the first half of the nineteenth century. Curious how one who was eminent then was invisible to me now and he is apparently best known now for the music he wrote for teaching purposes.

To Ewell West in the first instance where I paid for the day's parking without fuss, to find as we arrived at the station that our train had been cancelled and there was a prospect of further cancellations. Rather than going back to Epsom and parking in the NCP there, which might have been the best thing to do, we opted to drive to Sutton, by which time it was rather wet. I managed to drop my woolly hat in a puddle.

I then got confused about who the car park operator was, with the RingGo options not seeming quite right. Eventually I found my way back to Apcoa which worked rather better. But then the ticket machine at the back entrance to the station was not working properly and refused to give us Travelcards for the day and we had to settle for day returns to Vauxhall - which seemed rather an odd option for the machine to land on. In any event, they got us into the station and served us well enough for the rest of the day.

Confusion continued when we managed to board what turned out to be a No.38 bus rather than a No.36 bus at Victoria, which dropped us somewhere near Hard Rock rather than somewhere near Selfridges. A place we have visited occasionally in the distant past, a place which has survived the vicissitudes of casual dining fashion. Which left us with a rather longer walk than we had bargained for and not enough time.

Past a serious crane in Berkeley Square where they were probably dismantling some elaborate New Year decoration. A Bronto Skylift from Sunbelt, people that seem to be getting everywhere since I first  noticed, back during lockdown, outside what was soon to be the Lidl HQ in Jubilee Way. See reference 6 for the sky lifts - and I must look out for the six axle job snapped above.

Don't think you would find me in this snap or anywhere near it. Presumably the long blade top left is some artefact of the small camera carried by a small drone.

And so to Hedonism, another place I have not visited for a while. I remember once leaving them with a couple of bottles in a bag hanging round my neck on a piece of sisal I happened to have in my cycling bag, and then cycling back down to Victoria so encumbered. A least probably Victoria. Vauxhall or Waterloo would have been a bit far.

The Running Horse, another establishment we used to visit occasionally, may have got lost inside a development. Left in the snap above? Street View not yet caught up with things.

In the event, we made it with just seconds to spare, the first time that has happened for a very long time, as we usually allow plenty of time, liking to get seated and settled in good time, without fuss.

Pretty full for a good concert, with Czerny sounding more Schubert than Beethoven. A short encore, something fugal from Haydn. Possibly Op.50. Which Bing and Hyperion tell me may have been the final fugue from Op.50 No.4.

Out to spot what I thought was a modest white car with registration 270, 27O, 220 or 22O. The letter works if the number does not, giving me a white BMW model 13 or a Porsche Macan GTS S-A of unknown colour. I settle for the BMW as the more likely option.

Into All Bar One for a modest lunch where they did not get the order of delivery quite right, with the hummus turning up at the same time as BH's bean salad bowl. Hummus a bit fancy and flatbread a bit flat, but it served well enough.

Followed by a focaccia burger with chicken, cheese (of a sort) and bacon. A bit dry, but again, it served well enough. Bring back the paella!

Downstairs, for the first time, at least for a while, I noticed how close the tube was. At least, you could certainly hear the trains rumbling through somewhere underneath. Presumably on the way to or from Warren Street.

We at first thought that we ought to try the tapping in and out experience on the tube, foregoing our senior discount, but in the end settled for a No.390 bus to Victoria. - which turned up five minutes or so after the one that we just missed.

Thought about buying some the nice looking figs on offer at the station, but declined at £6 for 200g, which seemed a bit strong. Subsequently, in Epsom, I was only able to find the half dried figs which I do not much like - Grape Tree, Waitrose and M&S - so maybe I should have taken a few grams here. Maybe a visit to Turkish store at Clapham Junction is called for?

And so to Sutton without further incident, from where BH drove us home, again without further incident. I wondered, not for the first time, about a side trip to Sutton to collect some of the Wellingtonia we keep passing but not scoring.

References

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

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-near-thing.html. At St. Luke's, with harpsichord.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-near-thing.html. At St. Luke's, for quartets.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Czerny.

Reference 5: https://cafe.hardrock.com/london/.

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

Reference 6b: https://brontoskylift.com/product/bronto-s-hla-truck-mounted-access-platforms/.