Memory games

Prompted by the remarks about 'Shetland' at reference 1, I have been poking around a little to see what I remember from the distant past. This (Saturday) morning, I thought I would take a look at the record from ten years ago to see how much of that I remembered, actually lighting on eleven years ago, it being a little early.

'Flowers' was a short post, an early indication of what became a rather stronger interest in the matter of what controls how many petals a flower has.

'Albert' was another short post, the product of my having come to learn about 'Fat Alberts' in the course of my time with C&W at Swindon in the course of my time with the Home Office, in the early years of the present century. I remember the Fat Alberts, but have no idea what prompted this particular post.

'Another puzzle' was about a couple of odd books from an outfit called 'Nabu', an outfit which still exists at Abebooks, from which I learn that it is really 'Nabu Public Domain Reprints', probably nothing to do with the people at reference 2. I think I still own the books in question, but Nabu had vanished from the memory banks.

'A visit to Disney World' is a report of something dream-like. Re-reading has not prompted any memories, although it is recognisably the sort of thing that I might have written.

'Mothering Sunday 1' is a report of an interesting storm felled tree at Polseden Lacey. A report which has not prompted any memories.

'Mothering Sunday 2' is the larger report of that day out, which took in both a book fair at the Dorking Halls and Polesden Lacey. A report which prompted no memories of the day out - but I did remember about the book about Evelyn Cheston. A curious book, which I correctly remembered as having red covers and which I was able to put my hand on quite quickly: curious enough to have survived the various culls in the intervening years. The sort of thing that, these days, if it were produced at all, would be published as website rather than as a book. Presumably Mr Cheston had to pay Faber & Faber to publish rather than the other way around. Presumably he had money. Or perhaps his wife's money.

Surprised to find this morning that Google knows all about Mrs Cheston. Would he have done eleven years ago? Did I bother to look?

I also learned from reference 3 about the Royal Female School of Art and a connection to Axminster, in Devon.

Left from the Tate website, right from the book. Maybe a fellow artist would get more of the sense of the original from the collotype than I did.

But the big take-away is how much more we packed into this day out than we would now. 

'How awful' is a short post about pay-day lenders, presumably topical at the time.

'The day of the bullingdon' is a report of a day out in London, involving a lot of Bullingdons. Again, I packed a lot more into this day out than I would now. And while I remember nothing of this particular day out, I do remember the café in Duncannon Street and I do remember being fascinated by the white head gear of the lady snapped at the top of the post.

The café is still there - although I think that they may have invested in a new blind - and I still use it occasionally, most recently a little more than a year ago, as noticed at reference 5.

And 'Messrs. B & P' is a report of a rather large concert given by Pollini, the favourite pianist of my late brother. A much larger concert than I would attempt now - and I was a bit concerned about that ten years ago, a concern which turned out to be misplaced. I remember nothing of the concert, apart from thinking that Pollini used a Fazioli rather than a Fabbrini - but reference 7 knows better. I wonder now how much it cost him to carry his piano around with him on tour: it must have taken quite a chunk out of his fee.

Conclusions

Memories of events of ten years ago pretty much non-existent, despite these prompts. But there is some memory left of the things in those events.

PS: some time later: a curiosity: I have just learned that 'train oil' usually means whale or seal oil. From an old German or Dutch word. Nothing to do with proper trains at all. Maybe also the original cod liver oil - cod not being an oily fish in the way of herring or mackerel.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-new-trek.html.

Reference 2: https://www.nabu.org/.

Reference 3: https://modjourn.org/. The work of a couple of universities in the US.

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

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/01/pie-and-wain.html.

Reference 6: https://www.fazioli.com/en/.

Reference 7: https://www.classical-scene.com/2010/04/28/thoughts-on-hearing-maurizio-pollinis-hamburg-steinway-fabbrini-in-concert/.

Reference 8: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2014/04/. The home of the posts in question.

Reference 9: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collotype.