Kitten preview - The Devon Rex

So as I mentioned just a few weeks ago, we are getting a Kitten in January. The breeder today sent me a few more pics. Here she is!

Philharmonia Brittannica

This weekend despite recovering from the work christmas party on friday night I was asked to play with Philharmonia Brittanica. I have to say I really enjoyed playing with them as they were playing the whole of Holst's the planets. I have played most of this before but had always missed out saturn and neptune. I love those movements so this was great.

The concert was accompanied by music from Sam Fisher, which was interesting. For the initial pieces I was in the audience and I could not quite decide whether I liked it or not. Still it gave me something extra to think about!

All in all though a really enjoyable day. Thanks to Peter Fender and Maria Lord (on her Vienna horn).

Save the EMD cinema Walthamstow

It is ages since I last went to a demo, however having moved to E17, I seem to feel the need to write and complain! This weekend it was more than that. The EMD cinema is a listed building with a list of cinema companies waiting to buy it. Unfortunately a church bought the site a few years ago and they are basically allowing the site to become derelict. The Church needs council approval for change of use and the aim of the campaign is to stop them achieving this (and hopefully force the Church to sell).

It is not that I am against the church in any way. We have lots of them in the area. However our nearest cinema is either Woodford, or Dalston! Support the EMD by joining the facebook group.

Turandot at ENO - the naked prince of persia

So this last week, R and I were continuing to try and be cultured. The grotty evening standard may not be fantastic for news but it had a £10 offer to go to ENO and I was pleased to spot the 'naked prince of persia' above.

All in all good fun, except for an annoying character acting as a reporter and poor costumes (essentially the costumes were supposed to be a modern take on the opera, however they therefore missed the fun of the traditional lavish outfits).

Ipswich Bach Choir

So last a week or so ago R and I headed up to Ipswich for the weekend to see Sue Wiltshire star in the Ipswich Bach choir (on the very far right of the picture above). I have to say it was really enjoyable though I was not totally keen on 'The first Noel' by Vaughan Williams. Still a great evening, well done Sue.

Richard on Radio 4

Just a quick post to say that Richard was part of a feature on 'You and yours' today on archives. Pretty exciting to be on radio 4. Here is the link so that you can listen again on iplayer (click here). The feature with Richard starts at around minute 39, Richard himself from about minute 46.

Also there is a direct link which you can listen to with realplayer.

B x

A new addition

So this week we headed north to near the M25 for a kitten viewing. Above is the litter of Devon Rex kittens we saw. They are only 3 weeks old!

Here is one of the parents.

Here is our one (below). Am very excited.

Weekend in Bristol

So last weekend R and I headed over to see the Bristol Massive. Gaz, the new Baby, Gail and Dan. Lois and her man, Anna and Richard.

Great fun, R loved it despite the weather as it gave R the chance to bring out a puzzle (It is called the wings of love - by Stephen Pearson, from the local charity shop). We loved that the same picture was featured in the observer on the Sunday.

Looking after the kids

So last night our job (whilst watching x-factor) was to entertain Hester and Jack while their parent headed off for a night at the St Martin's lane hotel, with dinner at 'Asia de Cuba'. Here is what we had to contend with. However both them and us have survived the night. Off for a walk now before the parents return at 3.

Cinematic orchestra at the roundhouse

So a bit of an action packed week. On Friday night we headed to the roundhouse to see the cinematic orchestra. They performed to 3 movies

Metropolis

Entr'acte

The man with the movie Camera

Before doing some of there more well known stuff. Incredibly atmospheric but at times a bit to repetitive. Plus too much saxophone. I enjoyed but R hated it.

Diner at the house of Lords

So this Thursday R and I went to the house of Lords for dinner. It was a charity evening for the Marsha Phoenix Memorial trust. Richard has been involved in taking in the archives of Sybil Phoenix (the founder - above on the right). She is a fantastic woman and was lovely and friendly. Of course I took a couple of pics to prove I was there. Plus I was surprised to find a gift-shop and just had to buy some of their Sputnik Vodka.

Giles "Swing back in time" party

So just a few pics again, but Giles had a great party a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few of the people that made the evening fun. Sadly no pics of the host!

Scott, Mum and John in London

So a couple of weeks ago my Mum and my stepfather John came down to stay for the weekend. I also have my cousin Scott staying with us at the moment as he is doing an elective attachment with the HEMS team at the Royal London. Above is a pic that I quite like that I took near the festival hall.

So while in town we headed along to the Sir John Soane's Museum on Lincoln's inn fields (below). I have to say that this is a place that is hard to describe but definetely worth a visit. It is full of bizarre objects that initially should have gone to the British museum, but now make a fantastic interior to a great house.

The following day, we remained on an art theme and headed to see Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy.

LGSO concert in Soho (with Sue Perkins)

So I have to admit when I initially heard about us doing an outdoor concert in October I was a little worried. However it happened to be a great success. Here was the programme. Plus we were conducted by the lovely Sue Perkins (above in rehearsal)

Die Fledermaus Overture – Strauss
Hebrides Overture - Mendelssohn
Polovstian Dances - Borodin
Blue Danube - Strauss
The Simpsons Theme – Elfman

INTERVAL

William Tell Overture - Rossini
Danse Macabre - Saint SaensRide of the Valkyrie - Wagner
Largo from the New World – Dvorak
Raiders March – Williams

It has to be said that this seemed pretty ambitious however it was great fun to play. In the end there was a brief shower, but it quickly stopped. Plus we were protected by a giant bouncy castle.

Frieze art fair

So no. I did not pay and go in. I was off to Wales that afternoon and so only had time to visit the outdoor exhibition. To be honest it felt like I had seen most of it before (though I am not sure whether this was at Frieze. Here are a couple of pics (actually the one above was at Frieze but outside an exhibition along Euston Road). To see my other pics from the day click here.

Trip to Wales - Cadair Idris and Aberdovey

So this was a fantastic weekend away. Alex, his boyfriend Joel, Jasper and his boyfriend Dwaine, plus Richard and I headed into mid-Wales for the weekend (the gang above). I have to say it was fantastic. We were staying in a Chalet style holiday place that had a hot-tub near Newtown and it made a great base for heading into Wales.

Here are is a quick pic of the Chalet.

The Hot-Tub (brilliant watching x-factor with wine)

Early in the morning

On Cadair Idris

At Aberdovey

All in all a fantastic weekend. As you can see if you look at my flickr pages I have become a bit camera obsessed. You will find many more of my images there from the weekend. Bryn x

Sorry for the hiatus

So I have been really slow at updating the blog recently and can only apologise. Today I am going to do a catch up! B x

Travels in East London with bike and Camera

So I had to try out a few shots last weekend with my new Camera. R and I headed on a bike round down the river lea, past olympic park and then into victoria park. Here are a couple of

shots.

Lastly here is R on the train on the way home

Clapham with the girls and Ash

So after living there for a year historically since I am less than keen to head back south of the river for a night out. Anyways given that Shweta has moved to Wimbledon and with the presence of Elaine, Anna and Tina I was forced. Can't remember the name of the bar. All I know is that we were near 'Lost Society', which had been the plan for the night, however it was already full at 21.15 (bloody straight bars!)

Anyways here are a couple of pics.

Tim Smith and Ash Jha on the BBC

This week both Tim and Ash have made it onto the BBC. Tim with a huge segment on 'Bang goes the theory and Ash being experimented on! If you are quick you may still catch it on iplayer (Tim features from about minute 21).

I especially like this pic of Ash! You can read about his funny headgear here! Ash is no stranger to the media and you may recall him in his brothers feature on green homes on the guardian website (you can watch the video again here). His brother recently has moved into a more Jesus like role in his recent environment updates (the photo was in a rather useful feature on energy saving lightbulbs!)

I think it must be a sign that I am getting older that friends are now more and more on TV. The last time my friends were so media featured was when I was a child (in and out of the local rag every so often).

Oh though I must not forget about R's proud moment on BBC news a couple of years ago (here below just in case you forgot)!!

Tom's stag

So this weekend I headed up to the lake district for Tom Snows stag do. I was slightly nervous having never been to a stag before (bizarrely I have been to a hen do!). Anyways it was great fun. Above is a little collection of clips that I have put on youtube. As you will see the stag was a mix of country scenery and falcons, with football, karaoke and pole dancing. Overall a great mix.

Of course there are millions of pics. You can take a look at them here. All of Ash's pics are there too.

He's much to blame

So the purpose of our trip to Bury St Edmunds had been to go to the theatre. Basically a comedy by Thomas Holcroft about a two couples in an English hotel and their inter-twinning relationships. Enjoyable and funny, though a bit slow to start. I have to say one of the best things was that it was in the theatre Royal which is a great restored historic theatre. Again more pics (I did say we had bought new Cameras).

Last weekend in Ipswich

So last weekend R and I headed to his parents for a chilled out weekend. It was great as when you get there it is easy to enjoy sitting, eating and relaxing. Anyways we did eventually get out of the house and headed to Bury St Edmunds. I have never been there before and I was pretty suprised by how nice a place it was. Here are a few of the pics.

And finally R and his family (Mum, Dad and Auntie Sarah)

New Camera

So we have been away for the last few weekends. However I have managed to acquire some new toys along the way. I have bought a new Canon SLR and a second point and shoot for quick shots. This all started at Anna's wedding when my camera stopped working. Richard's camera stopped a few months ago, so we had nothing.

Anyways as you will see, you are now in for a flood of pics.

Queen's road Mosque - bringing international attention

So I subscribe to the RSS feed in Google news for Walthamstow. Anyways something that has caused E17 to feature in the worldwide press recently is the Airline plot. Throughout the articles there is constant attention to the mosque less than half a mile away that the ring leader is said to have been a regular attender at.

I don't really know anything about the mosque but I have to say its infamy is at least making my walk to the tube more interesting!!

You can read a recent article in the times with regard to the mosque by clicking here. B

Anna's wedding

So this weekend R and I headed over to Frenchay to go to Anna Crossman's wedding. It was lovely, though I have to apologise in advance. My camera has stopped working, so it was out with the iphone for the photos, hence the poor quality.

The wedding was in a church in Frenchay, followed by the reception in Chavenage house. Perfect. Thanks for a great day - felt pretty tragic yesterday though!

Bryn x

Josh Hunt - Gay about town

So it is coming. I know you are going to say that it is not quality or intellectual but I really enjoy the London paper. I have blogged about it enough and I even got into it once!!

My letter of the day

My biggest sadness though is going to be the end of Josh Hunt's column GAY ABOUT TOWN. I first noticed his column in one of my posts in 2006.

Since then I have enjoyed his weekly updates and quirky advice and ideas. Thankfully you can follow him on his new blog

GAY ABOUT TOWN

Or at least I hope so because despite being advertised in todays London paper it does not appear to be up yet.

The no.1 ladies detective agency

I have heard people rave about this author and despite having watched some of the TV series, I have to say I enjoyed this book. As easy going tube reading goes, you could even read a chapter within a couple of tube stops. Perfect!

Company of liars - Karen Maitland

So I quickly read this a couple of weeks ago for bookgroup (although stupidly I missed the meeting where we discussed it). Anyways a pretty good read, and I loved reading about the Pestilence! Bryn x

E17 art trail

So this weekend R and I headed out into the darkest depths of E17 and we were suprosed to find that one of the things to do for the weekend (in the London paper) was the E17 art trail. So on Saturday we decided to join an organised walk.

Despite the walk not feeling very organised and a woman that kept saying "I am writing a blog, can you give me a comment", or "I am writing a blog, I must take a picture", it was really good fun. By the way you can see her blog here!!

The blog is done by a lady called Valerie Grove, and despite my above comments, when it comes to her art I quite enjoyed her exhibits at Vestry house museum. They are of old suitcases, this one in particular.