Come along to one, you won't regret it!
Showing posts with label edinburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label edinburgh. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2012
Requiem
Come along to one, you won't regret it!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Marian Consort revisited
In July the cathedral choir decamped south to sing the services in Beverley Minster for the weekend, and to my surprise and delight one of the small number of 'extras' singing was a friend I knew very well from the 1990s when we both sang in The Marian Consort although we'd since lost contact and the last time we met or spoke was probably 1996.
The Marian Consort was an ad hoc choir consisting of friends of the choirmaster who he'd met during his time at various churches around the UK, including Glasgow, Wells and Horsham amongst other places. Between 1991 and 1996 we gathered from far and wide and met for a week each year singing the daily services to a very high standard in the cathedrals of Wells (twice), Lincoln, Norwich, Edinburgh (Episcopal). and Winchester. The increasing workload in organising this annual treat combined with young children meant that it sadly didn't continue beyond our Winchester visit, and although contact between some remained there were some good friendships which seemed to have fallen by the wayside. Some of those friendships still haven't been reestablished as yet, but I'm glad to say one has because of that visit to Beverley!
Reminiscing fondly in the pub at Beverley I was genuinely surprised when Becca pointed out that it was over 20 years since the choir had burst onto an unsuspecting Wells Cathedral, and so the talk inevitably turned to a reunion, so we've been putting our heads together and consulting some others and we think we've come up with a list of most of those who sang at some point over the six years of the choir's existence.
And so yesterday I sent an email to 19 people, asking if they'd be interested in getting together again for a weekend, hopefully next year, to sing somewhere. And of course to socialise, because that was one of the great things about the Marian Consort, we sang to an astonishingly high standard for a choir that only met for a single week every year and although most of that was down to the skill of our choirmaster, part of the reason for it was that we very quickly turned a group of people who didn't know each other into a cohesive body simply because we socialised together and became real friends really quickly. Lots and lots of alcohol, that was the key! Those weeks were genuinely some of the best ones of my life.
Hopefully most of the initial 19 people I just contacted will be up for it, and hopefully they'll still be in contact with some of the other people I named in the email but for whom I don't have contact details, so we can continue to spread the word.
Watch this space.
Oh, and I know there's currently a UK choir called the Marian Consort, but it's unconnected.
The Marian Consort was an ad hoc choir consisting of friends of the choirmaster who he'd met during his time at various churches around the UK, including Glasgow, Wells and Horsham amongst other places. Between 1991 and 1996 we gathered from far and wide and met for a week each year singing the daily services to a very high standard in the cathedrals of Wells (twice), Lincoln, Norwich, Edinburgh (Episcopal). and Winchester. The increasing workload in organising this annual treat combined with young children meant that it sadly didn't continue beyond our Winchester visit, and although contact between some remained there were some good friendships which seemed to have fallen by the wayside. Some of those friendships still haven't been reestablished as yet, but I'm glad to say one has because of that visit to Beverley!
Reminiscing fondly in the pub at Beverley I was genuinely surprised when Becca pointed out that it was over 20 years since the choir had burst onto an unsuspecting Wells Cathedral, and so the talk inevitably turned to a reunion, so we've been putting our heads together and consulting some others and we think we've come up with a list of most of those who sang at some point over the six years of the choir's existence.
And so yesterday I sent an email to 19 people, asking if they'd be interested in getting together again for a weekend, hopefully next year, to sing somewhere. And of course to socialise, because that was one of the great things about the Marian Consort, we sang to an astonishingly high standard for a choir that only met for a single week every year and although most of that was down to the skill of our choirmaster, part of the reason for it was that we very quickly turned a group of people who didn't know each other into a cohesive body simply because we socialised together and became real friends really quickly. Lots and lots of alcohol, that was the key! Those weeks were genuinely some of the best ones of my life.
Hopefully most of the initial 19 people I just contacted will be up for it, and hopefully they'll still be in contact with some of the other people I named in the email but for whom I don't have contact details, so we can continue to spread the word.
Watch this space.
Oh, and I know there's currently a UK choir called the Marian Consort, but it's unconnected.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Bikes, Brides, Blow-Downs and Breakdowns
After a year and a half of it being off the road due to a slipping clutch I couldn't justify spending money on to replace, last Friday I collected my wonderful BMW R1100RT motorcycle from my work colleague who had kindly offered to use it as his autumn/winter project and who'd been busy fixing it up in his spare time. With not only a new clutch, but a full service, new brake pads and pins, various minor repairs and two new tyres it sailed through the MOT without a hitch, so on Saturday morning I took advantage of the unseasonably mild and dry weather and went for a ride up through Argyll to Inveraray and back. Fantastic fun!
On Saturday evening with Glasgow Chamber Choir I sang in the Old World, New World concert in St Bride's Church in Hyndland, with glorious music by Victoria, Villa-Lobos, Casals, de Padilla, and Guererro. Lately most of the GCC concerts have featured music which has been a bit more modern in style than my first choice would be, so when for various personal reasons before the new term started in September I was considering whether I would leave the choir, perhaps temporarily perhaps permanently, the largely 17th century choice for this concert swung it towards me staying, for the moment at least. Suffice to say that the concert on Saturday, and repeated again on Sunday in the historic Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh (the church in which Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall were married in July this year), contained some of the best sounds I've heard the choir make (as well as one or two slightly less enjoyable arse-tightening moments!).
Before heading to Edinburgh on Sunday though, Ruth and I went to Motherwell to watch the demolition of Glencairn Tower, where I used to live a long time ago with my parents. We've both been meaning to catch a "live" blow-down of a tower block for the past few years but never managed to hear about one in time until now, and it didn't disappoint albeit it was over in just a few seconds. The images below weren't taken by me, but are "official" press ones which I've seen on several news websites so I've reproduced them here on the basis that they're of public interest, and the photographers will have been reimbursed by the mainstream media. In particular I think the third one, with the controlled buckling of the walls so apparent, is very striking. In the top picture our old house can be seen three floors from the top and roughly near the centre of the left half. In fact the large white banner is covering the window of my old bedroom!
So, taking the bike to work this morning I jumped at the chance to deliver a couple of pieces of mail which needed hand-delivery, one to Edinburgh and one to Kirkcaldy, but after already noticing oil leaking from one of the front forks when I was on the way to Edinburgh, the clutch cable snapped as I approached a set of lights at a very busy junction in the city centre. Fortunately I managed to bring the bike to a halt safely without hitting anything or dropping it, and made the call to the RAC. To cut a long story short (3 hour wait) a recovery truck eventually took me and the dead bike back to Glasgow and dropped it off at the garage who'd done the MOT, where it's now sitting waiting for the replacement parts to arrive, for the mechanic to fix it, and for me to shell out another £160! Hopefully though this will be the last such sudden expenditure for a while and I can get back to using the bike as much as is reasonably practical and safe over the winter.
On Saturday evening with Glasgow Chamber Choir I sang in the Old World, New World concert in St Bride's Church in Hyndland, with glorious music by Victoria, Villa-Lobos, Casals, de Padilla, and Guererro. Lately most of the GCC concerts have featured music which has been a bit more modern in style than my first choice would be, so when for various personal reasons before the new term started in September I was considering whether I would leave the choir, perhaps temporarily perhaps permanently, the largely 17th century choice for this concert swung it towards me staying, for the moment at least. Suffice to say that the concert on Saturday, and repeated again on Sunday in the historic Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh (the church in which Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall were married in July this year), contained some of the best sounds I've heard the choir make (as well as one or two slightly less enjoyable arse-tightening moments!).
Before heading to Edinburgh on Sunday though, Ruth and I went to Motherwell to watch the demolition of Glencairn Tower, where I used to live a long time ago with my parents. We've both been meaning to catch a "live" blow-down of a tower block for the past few years but never managed to hear about one in time until now, and it didn't disappoint albeit it was over in just a few seconds. The images below weren't taken by me, but are "official" press ones which I've seen on several news websites so I've reproduced them here on the basis that they're of public interest, and the photographers will have been reimbursed by the mainstream media. In particular I think the third one, with the controlled buckling of the walls so apparent, is very striking. In the top picture our old house can be seen three floors from the top and roughly near the centre of the left half. In fact the large white banner is covering the window of my old bedroom!
So, taking the bike to work this morning I jumped at the chance to deliver a couple of pieces of mail which needed hand-delivery, one to Edinburgh and one to Kirkcaldy, but after already noticing oil leaking from one of the front forks when I was on the way to Edinburgh, the clutch cable snapped as I approached a set of lights at a very busy junction in the city centre. Fortunately I managed to bring the bike to a halt safely without hitting anything or dropping it, and made the call to the RAC. To cut a long story short (3 hour wait) a recovery truck eventually took me and the dead bike back to Glasgow and dropped it off at the garage who'd done the MOT, where it's now sitting waiting for the replacement parts to arrive, for the mechanic to fix it, and for me to shell out another £160! Hopefully though this will be the last such sudden expenditure for a while and I can get back to using the bike as much as is reasonably practical and safe over the winter.
Monday, November 07, 2011
Old World, New World
The 2011-2012 season for Glasgow Chamber Choir is about to kick off with a concert in St Bride’s Church in Hyndland and in Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh over the weekend of 19th & 20th November 2011.
The concert is entitled Old World, New World, and features Tomas Luis de Victoria’s Requiem Mass of 1605, the lively Mexican baroque Missa Ego flos campi by Juan Gutierrez de Padilla, Ave Virgo sanctissima by Francisco Guererro, Bendita Sabedoria and two settings of Ave Maria by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and O vos omnes by Pablo Casals.
On both days the concert starts at 7.30pm, in Glasgow on the Saturday and in Edinburgh on the Sunday. Tickets cost only £10 (£7 concession) and are available on the door.
On Wednesday 21st December why not tune in to BBC Radio Scotland’s Get it on with Bryan Burnett from 6.10pm, where you’ll hear us singing carols live on the show as a small group of us did last year. It’s a request show, so you have your chance to get us to sing your favourite!
Our season continues with performances of Handel’s Messiah in Glasgow and in the beautiful Abbey of Culross in Fife over the weekend of 31st March – 1st April 2012.
We look forward to welcoming to Glasgow a choir from Gothenburg at the end of April and in early June we are planning a reciprocal visit to Sweden, then on 9th June in Glasgow there will be our White Nights – Music from the Baltics concert, with music from Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Finland.
Full details of venues and concert times can always be found on our website at www.glasgowchamberchoir.org.uk
The concert is entitled Old World, New World, and features Tomas Luis de Victoria’s Requiem Mass of 1605, the lively Mexican baroque Missa Ego flos campi by Juan Gutierrez de Padilla, Ave Virgo sanctissima by Francisco Guererro, Bendita Sabedoria and two settings of Ave Maria by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and O vos omnes by Pablo Casals.
On both days the concert starts at 7.30pm, in Glasgow on the Saturday and in Edinburgh on the Sunday. Tickets cost only £10 (£7 concession) and are available on the door.
On Wednesday 21st December why not tune in to BBC Radio Scotland’s Get it on with Bryan Burnett from 6.10pm, where you’ll hear us singing carols live on the show as a small group of us did last year. It’s a request show, so you have your chance to get us to sing your favourite!
Our season continues with performances of Handel’s Messiah in Glasgow and in the beautiful Abbey of Culross in Fife over the weekend of 31st March – 1st April 2012.
We look forward to welcoming to Glasgow a choir from Gothenburg at the end of April and in early June we are planning a reciprocal visit to Sweden, then on 9th June in Glasgow there will be our White Nights – Music from the Baltics concert, with music from Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Finland.
Full details of venues and concert times can always be found on our website at www.glasgowchamberchoir.org.uk
Saturday, November 13, 2010
One down, two to go
The first of three Glasgow Chamber Choir concerts over successive nights took place last night in Canongate Kirk on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.
A slightly lopsided concert at first glance, the first half consisting of two motets by William Byrd (c1540-1633), Ne irascaris Domine and Civitas sancti tui, sandwiching the magnificent Take him, earth, for cherishing by Herbert Howells (1892-1983) written for the memorial service of President John F Kennedy, interspersed with the piano pieces Prelude from Suite for pianoforte duet by York Bowen (1884-1961) and Nocturne from the same suite, all of which lasted about half an hour. It seemed like no sooner were we walking on we were walking back off again, but it all made sense because the second half consisted solely of the comparatively lengthy Ein Deutsches Requeim (German Requiem) by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), in the piano duet version arranged by Brahms himself soon after he composed the piece.
Having heard Bearsden Choir performing Brahms' full orchestral version of the Requiem just a couple of weeks ago in Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church in Paisley (coincidentally where the next performance of RSCM Scottish Voices is due to take place when we sing Choral Evensong there on 4th December) I definitely prefer the more intimate piano version. That's not to criticise Bearsden choir, it's personal preference for an alternative arrangement of the music.
I have to confess I think we just about nailed last night. I don't think a better performance of the Howells piece was possible (and in fact afterwards a musically knowledgeable member of the audience commented that he'd never heard a better sung recording of it) and in particular the first Byrd motet, which we sang spread out round the sides of the audience, was magical. The Brahms itself was powerful when needed, and beautifully quiet when appropriate. And the soloists, Emma Harper (soprano) and Anders Östberg (baritone) sang magnificently, accompanied by Ed Cohen and Jennifer Redmond on piano.
After the concert last night we went next door to the Tolbooth Tavern, where refreshments were consumed before the 2300hrs train back to Glasgow, some chips, and a bus trip back home. So it was about 2am before I manasged to get to bed, tired yet happy.
Unfortunately the performance last night was marred a bit for me by the fact that in the afternoon I pulled a muscle in my back when stupidly trying to lift a speaker stand while I was twisted round. It was a mild tweak, and if I hadn't thereafter been standing in one position holding a folder of music for hours I would have been fine by bedtime, but unfortunately that wasn't an option and it made the pain almost unbearable at times, taking my mind away from the singing. It's a bit better right now though, and hopefully fully dosed up with painkillers I'll be fine for tonight when we do it all again in St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Newlands, Glasgow at 7.30pm. And then again tomorrow evening at the earlier time of 7pm in The West Kirk in Helensburgh. All with appropriate alcoholic refreshment afterwards, naturally!
Tickets are available on the door, costing £10 for tonight's performance and £8 for the Helensburgh one. And there'll be a bar available at the Glasgow performance.
A slightly lopsided concert at first glance, the first half consisting of two motets by William Byrd (c1540-1633), Ne irascaris Domine and Civitas sancti tui, sandwiching the magnificent Take him, earth, for cherishing by Herbert Howells (1892-1983) written for the memorial service of President John F Kennedy, interspersed with the piano pieces Prelude from Suite for pianoforte duet by York Bowen (1884-1961) and Nocturne from the same suite, all of which lasted about half an hour. It seemed like no sooner were we walking on we were walking back off again, but it all made sense because the second half consisted solely of the comparatively lengthy Ein Deutsches Requeim (German Requiem) by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), in the piano duet version arranged by Brahms himself soon after he composed the piece.
Having heard Bearsden Choir performing Brahms' full orchestral version of the Requiem just a couple of weeks ago in Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church in Paisley (coincidentally where the next performance of RSCM Scottish Voices is due to take place when we sing Choral Evensong there on 4th December) I definitely prefer the more intimate piano version. That's not to criticise Bearsden choir, it's personal preference for an alternative arrangement of the music.
I have to confess I think we just about nailed last night. I don't think a better performance of the Howells piece was possible (and in fact afterwards a musically knowledgeable member of the audience commented that he'd never heard a better sung recording of it) and in particular the first Byrd motet, which we sang spread out round the sides of the audience, was magical. The Brahms itself was powerful when needed, and beautifully quiet when appropriate. And the soloists, Emma Harper (soprano) and Anders Östberg (baritone) sang magnificently, accompanied by Ed Cohen and Jennifer Redmond on piano.
After the concert last night we went next door to the Tolbooth Tavern, where refreshments were consumed before the 2300hrs train back to Glasgow, some chips, and a bus trip back home. So it was about 2am before I manasged to get to bed, tired yet happy.
Unfortunately the performance last night was marred a bit for me by the fact that in the afternoon I pulled a muscle in my back when stupidly trying to lift a speaker stand while I was twisted round. It was a mild tweak, and if I hadn't thereafter been standing in one position holding a folder of music for hours I would have been fine by bedtime, but unfortunately that wasn't an option and it made the pain almost unbearable at times, taking my mind away from the singing. It's a bit better right now though, and hopefully fully dosed up with painkillers I'll be fine for tonight when we do it all again in St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Newlands, Glasgow at 7.30pm. And then again tomorrow evening at the earlier time of 7pm in The West Kirk in Helensburgh. All with appropriate alcoholic refreshment afterwards, naturally!
Tickets are available on the door, costing £10 for tonight's performance and £8 for the Helensburgh one. And there'll be a bar available at the Glasgow performance.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
British Classics concert
Today, at 7.30pm tonight, it's at St Mary's Cathedral, 300 Great Western Road, Glasgow G4 9JB, and tomorrow it's at the earlier time of 6pm in St Giles Cathedral, High St, Edinburgh EH1 1RE.
The music, as the title on the poster suggests, is all by British composers and includes
William Walton (1902-1983) - Coronation Te Deum; The Twelve
Jonathan Harvey (b. 1939) - Come, Holy Ghost; I love the Lord
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) - O clap your hands; Drop, drop slow tears; This is the record of John
Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) - When David heard
Thomas Weelkes (d. 1623) - When David heard
I should have posted this earlier, but a variety of stuff has got in the way. Last weekend I was laid very low by what I thought was food poisoning but upon my return to work on Monday realised that 6 out of 8 of us had it too and we hadn't all been eating the same thing.
On Friday morning (i.e. yesterday) at 0320hrs I was woken by a huge crash from the kitchen, and thinking that Elmo my cat had knocked something over I rushed through in a dazed just-awake state, to be confronted by the sight of the floor littered with glass and other debris, and disappearing out the back door was the housebreaker who'd caused it (in the rest of the UK, and probably the world, they're called burglars, in Scotland the crime of Burglary doesn't exist, instead it's called Housebreaking). I'll probably describe that in more detail later, I don't have time right now as I need to head off to the rehearsal for today's concert, but suffice to say it has shaken me. A lot. An awful lot.
Friday, January 08, 2010
The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody
It's Queen and the Muppets, what's not to like!
Thanks to Andy for bringing this to my attention a while back.
On a slightly related topic, I'm off to see the musical We Will Rock You in the Edinburgh Playhouse tomorrow. I've never been to any musical before, unless you count Riverdance in the same theatre several years ago, but I love Queen and I'm going with good friends so I'm really looking forward to it. Doubtless a report on the experience will follow! Oh, and it's the final day of the tour at the Playhouse before they go to Dublin, so hopefully it'll be a party atmosphere. Or alternatively the cast won't give a shit and it'll be crap!
Thanks to Andy for bringing this to my attention a while back.
On a slightly related topic, I'm off to see the musical We Will Rock You in the Edinburgh Playhouse tomorrow. I've never been to any musical before, unless you count Riverdance in the same theatre several years ago, but I love Queen and I'm going with good friends so I'm really looking forward to it. Doubtless a report on the experience will follow! Oh, and it's the final day of the tour at the Playhouse before they go to Dublin, so hopefully it'll be a party atmosphere. Or alternatively the cast won't give a shit and it'll be crap!
Friday, January 01, 2010
A Musical Whore
One of the joys of being a musical whore like me is that occasionally at short notice you get drafted in to sing in a concert without having to bother with rehearsals. This is I think particularly true if like me you're a tenor, which for the uninitiated is the least common voice part and therefore if you are one you are often in great demand.
Yes this is actually leading somewhere.
Yesterday afternoon along with five other tenors I received a message via Facebook asking if any of us was available to sing in a performance of Handel's Messiah in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union at mid day on Saturday 2nd January (i.e. tomorrow). Apparently the place is almost sold out and the audience will be in the region of 2000+ people. So, musical tart here said yes. It's been quite a few years since I sang that piece, but it's hopefully so ingrained into the consciousness that there won't be much sight reading required, if any, but there's a rehearsal at 10am anyway. And it helps that Michael Bawtree is the conductor and he also conducts Glasgow Chamber Choir so I know he's easy to follow.
So my musical holiday is cut short slightly. Oh well. At least I'll get my money's worth out of the cheap "wear it a couple of times and throw it away" machine-washable DJ which I bought for the Raymond Gubbay concerts a few weeks ago. Asda, £40 reduced to £30. You can't go wrong!
Yes this is actually leading somewhere.
Yesterday afternoon along with five other tenors I received a message via Facebook asking if any of us was available to sing in a performance of Handel's Messiah in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union at mid day on Saturday 2nd January (i.e. tomorrow). Apparently the place is almost sold out and the audience will be in the region of 2000+ people. So, musical tart here said yes. It's been quite a few years since I sang that piece, but it's hopefully so ingrained into the consciousness that there won't be much sight reading required, if any, but there's a rehearsal at 10am anyway. And it helps that Michael Bawtree is the conductor and he also conducts Glasgow Chamber Choir so I know he's easy to follow.
So my musical holiday is cut short slightly. Oh well. At least I'll get my money's worth out of the cheap "wear it a couple of times and throw it away" machine-washable DJ which I bought for the Raymond Gubbay concerts a few weeks ago. Asda, £40 reduced to £30. You can't go wrong!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
So far so good
The music I mentioned previously has gone well so far, and now there remains only the midnight service and the one on Christmas morning.
The Glasgow Chamber Choir concert in Hyndland went well, and the 70 primary school kids were surprisingly well behaved and more importantly stayed out of my way!
The New Quartet's public debut in the Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday afternoon seemed well received and I think it made a pound or two for charity, which was the whole point.
Glasgow Chamber Choir's involvement in the Raymond Gubbay Carol Spectaculars, while inevitably a bit shouty, were a success and it seems we'll likely be asked to do them again next year. Interestingly, on the Sunday the Edinburgh area of the National Youth Choir of Scotland also performed a few pieces and on the Monday it was their Falkirk area counterparts, and both choirs were directed by ex Glasgow Chamber Choir members, Mark Evans and Kirsty Yeoman respectively (except I think Kirsty may have a new married name now, but I didn't catch it). Small world this musical choiry-stuff lark! The Sunday was a long day which ended with spectacular real deep crunchy crisp snow on the streets of Edinburgh as the last four of us battled through it from the pub across the road from the Usher Hall (All Bar One if you must know), where we'd indulged in a post concert fluid replacement session, to the Chinatown Restaurant in Atholl Place (near Haymarket Station) where we had a very tasty meal before catching the train back to Glasgow. I got back in the door a few minutes before midnight, having left to catch the bus a little after 7am. Long day.
The Monday concert in Glasgow was followed by a few drinks in La Bonne Auberge, across the road from the Royal Concert Hall. A bit pricy, but quiet unlike most of the other city centre Glasgow pubs this close to Christmas. This time I didn't get the bus home from the city centre until almost half past midnight, so it was another long day albeit not as bad as the previous one.
So just the two to go now.
The Glasgow Chamber Choir concert in Hyndland went well, and the 70 primary school kids were surprisingly well behaved and more importantly stayed out of my way!
The New Quartet's public debut in the Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday afternoon seemed well received and I think it made a pound or two for charity, which was the whole point.
Glasgow Chamber Choir's involvement in the Raymond Gubbay Carol Spectaculars, while inevitably a bit shouty, were a success and it seems we'll likely be asked to do them again next year. Interestingly, on the Sunday the Edinburgh area of the National Youth Choir of Scotland also performed a few pieces and on the Monday it was their Falkirk area counterparts, and both choirs were directed by ex Glasgow Chamber Choir members, Mark Evans and Kirsty Yeoman respectively (except I think Kirsty may have a new married name now, but I didn't catch it). Small world this musical choiry-stuff lark! The Sunday was a long day which ended with spectacular real deep crunchy crisp snow on the streets of Edinburgh as the last four of us battled through it from the pub across the road from the Usher Hall (All Bar One if you must know), where we'd indulged in a post concert fluid replacement session, to the Chinatown Restaurant in Atholl Place (near Haymarket Station) where we had a very tasty meal before catching the train back to Glasgow. I got back in the door a few minutes before midnight, having left to catch the bus a little after 7am. Long day.
The Monday concert in Glasgow was followed by a few drinks in La Bonne Auberge, across the road from the Royal Concert Hall. A bit pricy, but quiet unlike most of the other city centre Glasgow pubs this close to Christmas. This time I didn't get the bus home from the city centre until almost half past midnight, so it was another long day albeit not as bad as the previous one.
So just the two to go now.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A Festive Public Information Announcement
How very remiss of me, I've just realised I haven't publicised any of the Christmassy type stuff in which I'm involved this year. So here goes.
Sunday 13th December
Tonight at 6.30pm in Hyndland Parish Church at 79-81 Hyndland Road in Glasgow, there will be a carol service in which Glasgow Chamber Choir is taking part. In addition to GCC, there'll also be around 70 primary school children whose teacher is a member of GCC and they'll be singing some stuff on their own.
Also tonight St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow has their regular Choral Evensong at 6.30pm. This isn't specifically a Christmas event, obviously, but is well worth mentioning because the introit they'll be singing is Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, an outstandingly lovely piece by Elizabeth Poston. Last year's performance of it in the Cathedral caused shivers in the spine when the sopranos sang their "solo" start and ending incredibly beautifully and tenderly, and I would expect tonight to be the same. Not that they don't normally sing beautifully, lest I get pelters from any of them for mentioning it as though it was out of the ordinary! The other music is by Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Ebdon, Tomas Luis da Victoria, and JS Bach. Anyway, I won't be singing Evensong tonight as I'll be in Hyndland with GCC.
Sunday 20th December
Next Sunday Glasgow Chamber Choir will be singing in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh at 3pm in the annual Christmas Classics - A Grand Christmas Gala extravaganza put on by the music entrepreneur Raymond Gubbay. It's not our own concert, which is good because we have no organising or selling of tickets for it, and we are effectively the main "chorus" along with the NYCoS Edinburgh Area Choir, the Scottish Concert Orchestra, and the tenor Iain Paton and trumpeter Mark O'Keefe, all conducted by Robert Howarth. Oh and we get paid for doing it, obviously. Not as individuals (lest a representative from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs is reading this) but into choir funds. Tickets range from £13.50 to £30.
That night the Christmas Carol Concert at St Mary's Cathedral will take place at 6.30pm, and music includes The Lamb (John Tavener), Where riches is everlastingly (Bob Chilcott), Hail, happy morn (F. Walker), Cantemos a Maria (Dominican Republic traditional), Eg vil lofa eina þá (Bára Grímsdóttir), In the bleak mid-winter (Darke), and God to Adam came in Eden (John Barnard). Quite an eclectic selection and I'm sorry to be missing singing in it at least partially because having learned the Bára Grímsdóttir piece a couple of years ago it gives me a sense of smug satisfaction to sing in Icelandic even if I have no clue what the words mean!
Monday 21st December
Glasgow Chamber Choir will be doing it all again in the Raymond Gubbay Carols and Classics concert in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow at 7.30pm, this time with the NYCoS Falkirk Area Choir instead of the Edinburgh one, but everything else is the same. Tickets range from £17 to £29.50 for this one.
Much more importantly though, before the Monday evening concert, that afternoon between 1pm - 2pm you can hear a much less grand but no less worthy rendition of traditional carols in aid of Save the Children. This will take place inside the Royal Bank of Scotland branch at 10 Gordon St, Glasgow G1 3PL. Taking part will be a modest number of singers (four to be exact) including yours truly, and this will be the inaugural (and possibly only) public performance by The New Quartet which was "founded" earlier this year with the twin purposes of singing and socialising! So if you're in Glasgow city centre on Monday 21st December at lunchtime, please pop in to the bank (it's next to the TGI Friday which is on the corner of Buchanan Street and Gordon Street) and show your support for this worthy charity and for the four members of The New Quartet. And on the subject of the RBoS, they have received a hell of a lot of largely deserved bad press recently, but they actually offer an awful lot of support to charities, almost all behind the scenes and almost all unreported and unrecognised. So all credit to them for that.
Thursday 24th December
On Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist (aka the Midnight Service) will take place in St Mary's Cathedral at 11.15pm and the setting is the Festival Missa Brevis by Frikki Walker, who is the Director of Music at St Mary's Cathedral and also of RSCM Scottish Voices amongst others. The anthem is the hauntingly good O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen who is one of the increasingly famous and popular group of American contemporary composers which also includes Eric Whitacre. I've sung O Magnum Mysterium a few times before, and also his larger scale piece Lux Aeterna, and if you haven't heard his style of music before you should make an effort to, because it's worth it. As is Whitacre's. And that's high praise from someone who generally dismisses much of what has been written since the 17th century!
Friday 25th December
Finally, well as far as Christmas stuff goes, Sung Eucharist will take place at 10.30am on Christmas Day in St Mary's Cathedral, and the setting is by Proulx & MacMillan, with other music being Cantemos a Maria (Dominican Republic traditional), and Hail, happy morn (F. Walker).
And then ....
And then begins a short break from singing. Well, a week anyway! The Cathedral choir gets back in harness on Sunday 3rd January 2010, and Glasgow Chamber Choir starts rehearsing on Thursday 14th January for our next concert of British Classics which is on Saturday 20th March 2010 in St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow (small world!) and Sunday 21st March 2010 in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and music includes:
William Walton (1902-1983) - Coronation Te Deum; The Twelve
Jonathan Harvey (b. 1939) - Come, Holy Ghost; I love the Lord
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) - O clap your hands; Drop, drop slow tears
No doubt further adverts will appear before that though!
Other music things? Well RSCM Scottish Voices will next meet on Saturday 16th January to sing a service in St Mary's Parish Church in Haddington, just east of Edinburgh. Keep an eye on our Blog for more details of all our services, and of what to do if you feel you'd like to audition for the choir.
Sunday 13th December
Tonight at 6.30pm in Hyndland Parish Church at 79-81 Hyndland Road in Glasgow, there will be a carol service in which Glasgow Chamber Choir is taking part. In addition to GCC, there'll also be around 70 primary school children whose teacher is a member of GCC and they'll be singing some stuff on their own.
Also tonight St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow has their regular Choral Evensong at 6.30pm. This isn't specifically a Christmas event, obviously, but is well worth mentioning because the introit they'll be singing is Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, an outstandingly lovely piece by Elizabeth Poston. Last year's performance of it in the Cathedral caused shivers in the spine when the sopranos sang their "solo" start and ending incredibly beautifully and tenderly, and I would expect tonight to be the same. Not that they don't normally sing beautifully, lest I get pelters from any of them for mentioning it as though it was out of the ordinary! The other music is by Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Ebdon, Tomas Luis da Victoria, and JS Bach. Anyway, I won't be singing Evensong tonight as I'll be in Hyndland with GCC.
Sunday 20th December
Next Sunday Glasgow Chamber Choir will be singing in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh at 3pm in the annual Christmas Classics - A Grand Christmas Gala extravaganza put on by the music entrepreneur Raymond Gubbay. It's not our own concert, which is good because we have no organising or selling of tickets for it, and we are effectively the main "chorus" along with the NYCoS Edinburgh Area Choir, the Scottish Concert Orchestra, and the tenor Iain Paton and trumpeter Mark O'Keefe, all conducted by Robert Howarth. Oh and we get paid for doing it, obviously. Not as individuals (lest a representative from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs is reading this) but into choir funds. Tickets range from £13.50 to £30.
That night the Christmas Carol Concert at St Mary's Cathedral will take place at 6.30pm, and music includes The Lamb (John Tavener), Where riches is everlastingly (Bob Chilcott), Hail, happy morn (F. Walker), Cantemos a Maria (Dominican Republic traditional), Eg vil lofa eina þá (Bára Grímsdóttir), In the bleak mid-winter (Darke), and God to Adam came in Eden (John Barnard). Quite an eclectic selection and I'm sorry to be missing singing in it at least partially because having learned the Bára Grímsdóttir piece a couple of years ago it gives me a sense of smug satisfaction to sing in Icelandic even if I have no clue what the words mean!
Monday 21st December
Glasgow Chamber Choir will be doing it all again in the Raymond Gubbay Carols and Classics concert in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow at 7.30pm, this time with the NYCoS Falkirk Area Choir instead of the Edinburgh one, but everything else is the same. Tickets range from £17 to £29.50 for this one.
Much more importantly though, before the Monday evening concert, that afternoon between 1pm - 2pm you can hear a much less grand but no less worthy rendition of traditional carols in aid of Save the Children. This will take place inside the Royal Bank of Scotland branch at 10 Gordon St, Glasgow G1 3PL. Taking part will be a modest number of singers (four to be exact) including yours truly, and this will be the inaugural (and possibly only) public performance by The New Quartet which was "founded" earlier this year with the twin purposes of singing and socialising! So if you're in Glasgow city centre on Monday 21st December at lunchtime, please pop in to the bank (it's next to the TGI Friday which is on the corner of Buchanan Street and Gordon Street) and show your support for this worthy charity and for the four members of The New Quartet. And on the subject of the RBoS, they have received a hell of a lot of largely deserved bad press recently, but they actually offer an awful lot of support to charities, almost all behind the scenes and almost all unreported and unrecognised. So all credit to them for that.
Thursday 24th December
On Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist (aka the Midnight Service) will take place in St Mary's Cathedral at 11.15pm and the setting is the Festival Missa Brevis by Frikki Walker, who is the Director of Music at St Mary's Cathedral and also of RSCM Scottish Voices amongst others. The anthem is the hauntingly good O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen who is one of the increasingly famous and popular group of American contemporary composers which also includes Eric Whitacre. I've sung O Magnum Mysterium a few times before, and also his larger scale piece Lux Aeterna, and if you haven't heard his style of music before you should make an effort to, because it's worth it. As is Whitacre's. And that's high praise from someone who generally dismisses much of what has been written since the 17th century!
Friday 25th December
Finally, well as far as Christmas stuff goes, Sung Eucharist will take place at 10.30am on Christmas Day in St Mary's Cathedral, and the setting is by Proulx & MacMillan, with other music being Cantemos a Maria (Dominican Republic traditional), and Hail, happy morn (F. Walker).
And then ....
And then begins a short break from singing. Well, a week anyway! The Cathedral choir gets back in harness on Sunday 3rd January 2010, and Glasgow Chamber Choir starts rehearsing on Thursday 14th January for our next concert of British Classics which is on Saturday 20th March 2010 in St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow (small world!) and Sunday 21st March 2010 in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and music includes:
William Walton (1902-1983) - Coronation Te Deum; The Twelve
Jonathan Harvey (b. 1939) - Come, Holy Ghost; I love the Lord
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) - O clap your hands; Drop, drop slow tears
No doubt further adverts will appear before that though!
Other music things? Well RSCM Scottish Voices will next meet on Saturday 16th January to sing a service in St Mary's Parish Church in Haddington, just east of Edinburgh. Keep an eye on our Blog for more details of all our services, and of what to do if you feel you'd like to audition for the choir.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Jumping around and singing on the phone
A while ago I posted about the incompetence of my local council-run gym when they failed twice to give me an induction session despite me having booked it both times. The jury was out as to whether they were going to get a third go at it, but I'm afraid the much-cheapness of their deal has won against local privately-run gyms, and I've now booked, for the third time, an induction session for tomorrow evening. I've even paid in advance for it this time, so it'd bloody better take place!
On a related topic, I had a blood pressure check this morning at my GP, and I'm glad to report that it's now down to a much less deadly level! A few months ago it was something like 140/115 and it's now about 105/81. Put in an over simplified way, it's the bottom reading, the diastolic one, which is important because that's the pressure when the heart's at rest, rather than the higher, or systolic, figure, which relates to the heart pumping the blood.
The weekend just past was a busy one musically for Glasgow Chamber Choir, as we had concerts in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. They both went well, on the whole, although there was one bowel-loosening moment in the Edinburgh concert on Sunday when I came in on a completely exposed (i.e. the only part singing) top G tenor entry without the company normally offered by my two fellow first tenors! It all happened in a flash, as I sang the German word "Ein" very briefly, then stopped dead and my neighbour then sang the same word and note in the next beat after which the other first tenor and I joined in and we carried on as if nothing had happened. Except I was thinking something like "bollocks bollocks bollocks bollocks bollocks" for the next few minutes. How could I have ruined the piece, I was thinking. Oh well, that's life.
Only, in the pub afterwards, our music director told me that the other two first tenors clearly owed me a pint as I had been right and they were wrong, although in my own mind I now think I should have had the courage of my convictions to keep going instead of stopping, but it all happened so quickly that my subconscious took over and I didn't have time to rationalise what was happening, and that can't be helped. The knowledge that my original entry was correct helps my conscience though!
After the Glasgow concert we had some wine and nibbles in the church hall, which was OK as far as it went, but as a party venue it rather lacked atmosphere. Not helped of course by my one glass of wine, since I had decided to drive there.
After the Edinburgh one though, we adjourned to the pub next door. I can't remember the name off hand, although I should try as it's another one to add to the my pubs page of my Website, which is an ongoing effort to list every pub in which I've ever had a drink. It's a long page! After two or three pints of Deuchars IPA, a very fine pint and well worth trying if you get the chance, and an exceptionally ordinary cheese and onion toastie, the world seemed at peace. The train journey back the 50 miles to Glasgow, then the bus journey home, didn't seem so bad either. It was a good crowd of friends, so that helps.
I forgot to mention my new boys' toy. After a year and a bit of using a Palm Treo mobile smartphone, it was time to speak to Vodafone about an upgrade again, so after taking advice in the shop, and having a look around and a read at some specifications, I chose a Nokia E66, and at the same time upgraded my monthly tariff from £25 a month including 125 free call minutes, to £35 a month including 500 free minutes, 100 free SMS messages, and unlimited mobile Internet access.
My average monthly bill recently has been £38, so in fact I'm paying roughly the same as I have been, but with more free minutes, and Internet access thrown in. And in fact, having been given a couple of months of free insurance for my Palm Treo last July, I found out at the weekend that it seems like I forgot to cancel it after the free period was over, so I've been paying just under £7 extra every month over and above my tariff, making an average spend of about £45 per month recently! So that's cancelled now!
I'm still playing with it, sorry, finding my way round the functionality of it, but I'm very impressed so far. I like the solid feel of the slider, it's the first slide phone I've had, and the functions are good. Like GPS navigation, which I can use at no extra cost since I have Internet access, and the FM radio, which I haven't had on a phone for a few years now.
On a related topic, I had a blood pressure check this morning at my GP, and I'm glad to report that it's now down to a much less deadly level! A few months ago it was something like 140/115 and it's now about 105/81. Put in an over simplified way, it's the bottom reading, the diastolic one, which is important because that's the pressure when the heart's at rest, rather than the higher, or systolic, figure, which relates to the heart pumping the blood.
The weekend just past was a busy one musically for Glasgow Chamber Choir, as we had concerts in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. They both went well, on the whole, although there was one bowel-loosening moment in the Edinburgh concert on Sunday when I came in on a completely exposed (i.e. the only part singing) top G tenor entry without the company normally offered by my two fellow first tenors! It all happened in a flash, as I sang the German word "Ein" very briefly, then stopped dead and my neighbour then sang the same word and note in the next beat after which the other first tenor and I joined in and we carried on as if nothing had happened. Except I was thinking something like "bollocks bollocks bollocks bollocks bollocks" for the next few minutes. How could I have ruined the piece, I was thinking. Oh well, that's life.
Only, in the pub afterwards, our music director told me that the other two first tenors clearly owed me a pint as I had been right and they were wrong, although in my own mind I now think I should have had the courage of my convictions to keep going instead of stopping, but it all happened so quickly that my subconscious took over and I didn't have time to rationalise what was happening, and that can't be helped. The knowledge that my original entry was correct helps my conscience though!
After the Glasgow concert we had some wine and nibbles in the church hall, which was OK as far as it went, but as a party venue it rather lacked atmosphere. Not helped of course by my one glass of wine, since I had decided to drive there.
After the Edinburgh one though, we adjourned to the pub next door. I can't remember the name off hand, although I should try as it's another one to add to the my pubs page of my Website, which is an ongoing effort to list every pub in which I've ever had a drink. It's a long page! After two or three pints of Deuchars IPA, a very fine pint and well worth trying if you get the chance, and an exceptionally ordinary cheese and onion toastie, the world seemed at peace. The train journey back the 50 miles to Glasgow, then the bus journey home, didn't seem so bad either. It was a good crowd of friends, so that helps.
I forgot to mention my new boys' toy. After a year and a bit of using a Palm Treo mobile smartphone, it was time to speak to Vodafone about an upgrade again, so after taking advice in the shop, and having a look around and a read at some specifications, I chose a Nokia E66, and at the same time upgraded my monthly tariff from £25 a month including 125 free call minutes, to £35 a month including 500 free minutes, 100 free SMS messages, and unlimited mobile Internet access.My average monthly bill recently has been £38, so in fact I'm paying roughly the same as I have been, but with more free minutes, and Internet access thrown in. And in fact, having been given a couple of months of free insurance for my Palm Treo last July, I found out at the weekend that it seems like I forgot to cancel it after the free period was over, so I've been paying just under £7 extra every month over and above my tariff, making an average spend of about £45 per month recently! So that's cancelled now!
I'm still playing with it, sorry, finding my way round the functionality of it, but I'm very impressed so far. I like the solid feel of the slider, it's the first slide phone I've had, and the functions are good. Like GPS navigation, which I can use at no extra cost since I have Internet access, and the FM radio, which I haven't had on a phone for a few years now.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Blatant concert advert
Glasgow Chamber Choir is performing in Glasgow and Edinburgh next weekend, 22nd and 23rd November 2008, and I hope you don’t mind me reminding you of it.In fact, since 22nd November is St Cecilia’s day, and she is the patron saint of musicians and church music, it seems right that you should come to the concert on that day!
As you can see from the image of the poster it’s a progamme of Germanic choral music, and includes a combination of UK and Scottish premieres of some works by Hans Gál, who fled Vienna to settle in Edinburgh when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938, living and working there until his death in 1987. Other pieces are by Schütz and Brahms.
I’m not sure about the
The
The
You can buy tickets at the door for each concert, beforehand from any choir member or, thanks to modern technology, you can buy them online for the
Hope to see you at one or both.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Loathsome & Boring
An allegedly true, but anonymised, series of correspondence between a member of the public and Lothian & Borders Police (L&B):
Dear Sir/madam/automated telephone answering service
Having spent the past twenty minutes waiting for someone at
As I'm writing this e-mail there are eleven failed medical experiments (I think you call them youths) in West Cromwell Street which is just off Commercial Street in Leith. Six of them seem happy enough to play a game which involves kicking a football against an iron gate with the force of a meteorite. This causes an earth shattering CLANG! which rings throughout the entire building. This game is now in it's third week and as I am unsure how the scoring sytem works, I have no idea if it will end any time soon.
The remaining five walking abortions are happily rummaging through several bags of rubbish and items of furniture that someone has so thoughtfully dumped beside the wheelie bins. One of them has found a saw and is setting about a discarded chair like a beaver on speed. I fear that it's only a matter of time before they turn their limited attention to the bottle of calor gas that is lying on it's side between the two bins. If they could be relied on to only blow their own arms and legs off then I would happily leave them to it. I would even go so far as to lend them the matches. Unfortunately they are far more likely to blow up half the street with them and I've just finished decorating the kitchen.
What I suggest is this. after replying to this e-mail with worthless assurances that the matter is being looked into and will be dealt with, why not leave it until the one night of the year (probably bath night) when there are no mutants around then drive up the street in a panda car before doing a three point turn and disappearing again. This will of course serve no other purpose than to remind us what policemen actually look like.
I trust that when I take a claw-hammer to the skull of one of these throwbacks you'll do me the same courtesy of giving me a four month head start before coming to arrest me.
I remain sir, your obedient servant
Mr ,
I have read your e-mail and understand you frustration at the problems caused by youth playing in the area and the problems you have encountered in trying to contact the police.
As the Community Beat Officer for your street I would like to extend an offer of discussing the matter fully with you.
Should you wish to discuss the matter, please provide contact details (address / telephone number) and when may be suitable.
Regards
PC
Community Beat Officer
=======================
Dear PC
First of all I would like to thank you for the speedy response to my original e-mail. 16 hours and 38 minutes must be a personal record for Leith Police station and rest assured that I will forward these details to Norris McWhirter for inclusion in his next book.
Secondly I was delighted to hear that our street has it's own community beat officer. May I be the first to congratulate you on your covert skills. In the five or so years I have lived in
Whilst I realise that there may be far more serious crimes taking place in Leith such as smoking in a public place or being Muslim without due care and attention, is it too much to ask for a policeman to explain (using words of no more than two syllables at a time) to these twits that they might want to play their strange football game elsewhere. The pitch behind the Citadel or the one at DKs are both within spitting distance as is the bottom of the Albert Dock.
Should you wish to discuss these matters further you should feel free to contact me on (). If after 25 minutes I have still failed to answer, I'll buy you a large one in the Compass Bar.
Regards
?
P.S If you think that this is sarcasm, think yourself lucky that you don't work for the cleansing department
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Albarone
I've had a good weekend, thanks very much for asking.
Finished a three day course in Edinburgh on Friday and had a quick drink in All Bar One in Glasgow city centre en route home, then a mixture of lounging about doing very little (very enjoyable) and spending time with RE (even more enjoyable) who has been rehabilitated and allowed back into normal society after spending lots of time over the past weeks and weeks studying for an exam which happened last Tuesday. In truth we didn't do all that much, apart from a good walk along the Forth & Clyde canal which passes close to where I live, but being again able to spend time in each other's company was great.
Evensong tonight was pretty good, with the full choir including adults and the relatively recently formed trebles choir participating, and FW conducting (best conductor I know) with OR on the organ. OR is a fantastic organist, and his psalm (and hymn) accompaniments are, for me, pretty much on a par with those of BP when he was at the cathedral. Those who know the organist emeritus of the cathedral, BP, will realise that this is intended as very high praise of OR, who due to work commitments is sadly leaving his post as assistant organist at the cathedral at the end of this term. He will be missed, but at least he's not leaving Glasgow, so I look forward to our paths crossing in the future on a hopefully regular basis, both musically and socially.
After a public holiday last Monday (and the preceding Friday which made it a very long holiday weekend), followed by one day, Tuesday, at work then three days at the other side of the country on a course, it's back to reality tomorrow.
Finished a three day course in Edinburgh on Friday and had a quick drink in All Bar One in Glasgow city centre en route home, then a mixture of lounging about doing very little (very enjoyable) and spending time with RE (even more enjoyable) who has been rehabilitated and allowed back into normal society after spending lots of time over the past weeks and weeks studying for an exam which happened last Tuesday. In truth we didn't do all that much, apart from a good walk along the Forth & Clyde canal which passes close to where I live, but being again able to spend time in each other's company was great.
Evensong tonight was pretty good, with the full choir including adults and the relatively recently formed trebles choir participating, and FW conducting (best conductor I know) with OR on the organ. OR is a fantastic organist, and his psalm (and hymn) accompaniments are, for me, pretty much on a par with those of BP when he was at the cathedral. Those who know the organist emeritus of the cathedral, BP, will realise that this is intended as very high praise of OR, who due to work commitments is sadly leaving his post as assistant organist at the cathedral at the end of this term. He will be missed, but at least he's not leaving Glasgow, so I look forward to our paths crossing in the future on a hopefully regular basis, both musically and socially.
After a public holiday last Monday (and the preceding Friday which made it a very long holiday weekend), followed by one day, Tuesday, at work then three days at the other side of the country on a course, it's back to reality tomorrow.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Rip off
I was in Edinburgh yesterday, the great whore of the east, on a training course learning all about GIS mapping systems. Or at least learning about a specific type of software which is a GIS mapping system. I'll be there again today, and tomorrow too.
The return rail fare to Edinburgh is £21.90 from my local station. I would have to catch the 0740hrs train to Glasgow Queen Street, then change onto the Edinburgh train to get to Waverley station in time to walk (10 minutes) to the course venue for 0930hrs, and finishing the course at 1730hrs I would not get home again, or to my local station anyway, until 1930hrs. Total travelling time, about 3 hours.
The journey is 55 miles each way and I could probably do it in a little over an hour on the bike, at a cost of about £10 for the return journey. Total travelling time, about two and a bit hours. Total cost, about half that of the rail journey.
Can't think why I don't use public transport more!
The return rail fare to Edinburgh is £21.90 from my local station. I would have to catch the 0740hrs train to Glasgow Queen Street, then change onto the Edinburgh train to get to Waverley station in time to walk (10 minutes) to the course venue for 0930hrs, and finishing the course at 1730hrs I would not get home again, or to my local station anyway, until 1930hrs. Total travelling time, about 3 hours.
The journey is 55 miles each way and I could probably do it in a little over an hour on the bike, at a cost of about £10 for the return journey. Total travelling time, about two and a bit hours. Total cost, about half that of the rail journey.
Can't think why I don't use public transport more!
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