Out and about

While returning to Kantara is still only a vague plan (that is, we'll do it some time, dependent upon circumstances) I fill my time with as much leisure as possible whilst avoiding any kind of work like I'd avoid a rabid Dobermann.

The only work I've done - and thoroughly enjoyed - since my last post was helping to complete the Incredible Edible project we almost finished last week. After which there was an hour's tidying-up to do at their first, much smaller site. The loft cries out for more attention, but I ignore it. It can wait until next winter.

There was also work being done by someone else that required my presence and attention, viz. the installation of thermostatic radiator valves. What a difference they make! Why did we not get them decades ago?

Despite the snow and ice, which hasn't been particularly bad here, we drove out to Dunstable Downs a couple of days ago. Even though it's only a short journey away, it's a place we haven't visited for many years. The wind gnawed at our faces, so we didn't stay out for long. Much more tempting was the café, the cappuccino and the jacket potatoes with cheesy beans, and the glass wall gave us fabulous views while we enjoyed those.

A few days before that, we'd visited a couple of places even closer to us than Dunstable. We'd never been to either before, and we knew that the full enjoyment of both of them depended upon it being summer. And it's not. But in both cases it was a matter of giving them a reccy to determine if we wanted to go back when everything's in full leaf and flower. We do, and we shall.

First of all the Whipsnade Tree Cathedral.

This lovely mini-park was created as a memorial.

Born in 1898, Edmund Blyth served in the infantry in World War I and suffered the loss of dear friends Arthur Bailey and John Bennett, who died in the March retreat of 1918. He wanted to create a lasting legacy for his comrades-in-arms who were no longer with him. From 1930-1939, with the help of just one man, Albert Bransom (1872-1940), Mr Blyth began planting.

Next came the Stockwood Discovery Centre.

Not only did we discover lovely gardens that'll look even better in the other three seasons, but also a fabulous collection of ancient horse-drawn carriages.

And a few early motor-vehicles, too.

Notice the Roses and Castles on the side of this travellers' lorry.

I can't finish this post without mentioning the official launch today of the new line-up of Said the Maiden with Minnie Birch. The response in social media is phenomenal! Enjoy!

As the official Facebook release says,

If you don't already know our new maiden, Minnie Birch go check out her Facebook page or her SoundCloud https://minniebirch.bandcamp.com  She's an incredible and much-admired singer/songwriter from Hertfordshire, a dear friend of ours, and also a member of The Company of Players.

We're really looking forward to seeing them onstage in the autumn!

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Notice to my book readers! There's an update to "Chapter 6 – Miscellany" on the Addendum Blog for "Hints and Tips for life with your feet under water". https://amzn.to/2zsct8L

A lot of a break

Last Thursday evening marked a major point in the almost-seven-year history of Said the Maiden. They played two fabulous sets at a packed Redbourn Folk Club, the club at which they started their folk-singing career together. On this occasion, they were saying goodbye to Hannah, who was leaving to concentrate on her musical partnership with her fiancé. It was a really good evening, with the Maidens on really good form.



Jess and Kathy have been rehearsing with a new third member for several months now, and her identity will be revealed in the new year. It's all very exciting, and Grace and I are very much looking forward to their first gig around autumn 2019. The past six years of our close association with Hannah, Jess and Kathy have given us a great deal of pleasure. It's been fun, and it's been a great privilege to have had them rehearsing in our front room, to have followed them around the UK for many of their gigs, to have been involved in small ways in the recording of their albums, and to have had the inside story of their experiences from Jess. This Thursday night saw the end of Said the Maiden's original line-up, but there are great things in store for the new trio. The best is yet to come!

Jess got some surprise news last week. Very good news! Without the members of The Company of Players even being aware that this was on the cards, their debut album "Shakespeare Songs" was included in the Sunday Times Magazine's top 100 albums of the year! Only the top 10 are numbered; the other 90 are just lumped together, though divided into categories - Pop, World/Roots (where CoP were put), Jazz, Classical, Contemporary and Historical. So the Players were up there with top orchestras, The 1975, George Ezra, Bodega, Ariane Grande... the list goes on! You can imagine their excitement!!

Last Saturday was our 45th wedding anniversary, and we chose to spend a long weekend in Peterborough. We needed a bit of a break. A lot of a break! I'd seen the cathedral on TV, and views of the old town with its half-timbered houses and quaint streets and passages. It looked interesting, and so it was, though the weather - damp with knife-like winds - tried hard to put us off.

We'd reserved a room in a central hotel, and were given an upgrade because their restaurant was going to be unavailable during our stay. Our top-floor window looked out over the railway, the River Nene and the edge of the town. Yellow brick railway warehouses are now Asda, solicitors, estate agents, and Pets Я Us. One morning we watched as a huge cloud of steamy smoke brought an old steam train past, hauling smart Pullman carriages. You don't see many of those these days!



Must-sees in town were the splendid cathedral in which a choir and orchestra were preparing for a major Christmas music concert that evening...

...the Church in the Square - the Church of St John the Baptist...

...and the River Nene.

Something of an oddity was an ancient Dutch barge, once a restaurant but now looking very neglected, which lies between two bridges, neither of which are tall enough for it to go under.



The same applies to a nearby floating Chinese restaurant.



Whilst shopping was far from being a reason why we visited Peterborough, it would have been foolish for us not to venture into the Queensgate Shopping Centre - not all of our Christmas shopping had been done. It was a very busy mall dotted with joyous groups of carol-singers and heaving with stressed shoppers. Joy to the world!

Our drive home was via Kantara - she was fine, of course - and Ikea. More heaving humanity. And now back to Christmas reality. We have a sagging floor under a kitchen sink. The worktop the sink is in is sinking in sympathy. It's an insurance case. Someone's coming tomorrow to start to dismantle a large chunk of the kitchen to find out what's going on. Fun!

It's panto time! We haven't been to a pantomime for decades, and this one seems to be exceptionally good. "Snow White" at the Harpenden Halls is Jess's baby. She was responsible for finding and engaging this particular company, and the show has been really well received. So we'll be seeing it on Friday. More fun!

Magic! Pure magic!

This has absolutely nothing to do with Kantara, nor any other boat, nor canal, river or other wet thing. This post is written to record the making of a piece of musical theatre history that will be remembered by hundreds of people for the rest of their lives.

On Friday and Saturday evenings of last week, St Albans' Maltings Arts Theatre hosted the official launch of The Company of Players' debut album, "Shakespeare Songs". The band playing and singing the songs would have been excellent entertainment alone, but on these two nights they shared the stage with three members of the Maltings' resident theatre group, Ovo, who interspersed the songs with brilliant performances of excerpts from Shakespeare's plays, each chosen to complement the song that followed.

The result was unforgettable. There was laughter, there were tears, there was huge excitement. Magic! Pure magic!

All photos are by the amazing Keith Bache, who must be the UK's foremost supporter of folk and acoustic groups and soloists, and a very big fan of The Company of Players and Said the Maiden.

 

Yes, my appreciation of the show is very prejudiced. Our youngest daughter Jess is the founder of The Company of Players, and the one who had the vision for the album launch - that's her in the middle of the last photo - but two full houses with standing ovations endorsed my fulsome homage of the twelve very gifted, talented people who made those evenings so special. Social media comments have been rapturous, and rightly so.

Those of you who are persuaded by my almost-hyperbolically glowing account are advised to keep your eyes open for my announcements, some time in the not-too-distant future, of this show coming to a theatre near you. It's already under discussion, and it shouldn't be missed!

Find out more on their website.

And buy the album here!