Tuesday, January 03, 2023

It's good to have a plan...

Playlist
Lucy Kaplansky - Reunion
The Sixteen - Love's Goddess Sure Was Blind
Dominic Waxing Lyrical - Rural Tonic
Isaac Hayes - Isaac's Moods - The Best Of Isaac Hayes
Bach, C P E - Double Concertos
Peter Thalheimer - Flötentöne Mit 19 Querflöten Vom 16. Bis Zum 20. Jahrhundert
Jason Vieaux - Guitar Recital
Andrea Ernest Dias, Marcos Suzano & Paulo Braga - Muacy Trio 3-63
Alexander Balanescu, Dave Hewson, Troy Banarzi - Dimensions
Janet Bean & The Concertina Wire - Dragging Wonder Lake
Birtwistle - Earth Dances
Larry Page Orchestra - John Paul George Ringo
Tchaikovsky - Piano Music
Les Musiciens De Provence - Musique Des Trouvères Et Troubadours
Bob Cooper - The Bob Cooper Sextet
Mozart - Don Giovanni (Arr. for Wind Ensemble)
The Unwinding Hours - Untitled EP No 2
Roy Buchanan - Sweet Dreams: The Anthology
Dawes - North Hills
Glen Campbell - Classic Campbell

Up a little earlier today and, today, we had a plan...


It was still Xmas...



...and it was the third day of the year...


At ten, we left the house and walked down the hill...



...to catch a 900 to that Glasgow...


The views from the bus, as CBQ and his Exec Producer were out and about....






Arrival just before 11:30...


My first stop was Love music, where a disc by the erstwhile neighbour of our first record shop (1991-1995), Dominic Waxing Lyrical, was acquired, along with a compilation from Isaac Hayes (which I was delighted to find, on our return home, that I do not already have)...

A quick and small lunch at McDonalds, the bakers not the burger purveyors and, then, with Anne off again, looking again for things she likes, I headed to the BHF (3 classical purchases - no doublers), Fopp (nothing) and, then, Missing...



...where 9 CDs were acquired for the equivalent number of pounds...

Outside, after an hour spent there, I met up with Anne and we walked to the East End and Mono, where a further four, slightly more expensive items were picked up...


Noted this, nailed to a lamp-post outside, reminding me of US music collaborator, Blue Sun Chasing...


To The Tinderbox for a warming coffee and to escape the rain...


Then, to Mitchell Lane, passing the road that leads to George Square where, once upon a time, your correspondent was employed...


Our target was Tabac...


...expensive drinks were enjoyed...



...so much so, that further expensive drinks were enjoyed...



The imbibing of said expensive drinks may have affected our judgement and we decided to head for Rishi's Flavour in Bath Street for an Indian - I'd enjoyed a meal there back in April when brother in law Keith and I constituted the jazz monkeys for an evening...

But first, we popped by Nando's to visit nephew Olly, midway through his only shift of the week...


At Rishi's, more imbibing...


...and the biggest Dosa in the world for a joint starter...



...followed by a Chicken Bhuna for Anne and a Lamb Kadai for Mr CBQ....


...with rice and naan...


Superb...

A short walk to the Bus Station...


...and we were soon on our way home...


...arriving back almost exactly 10 hours after leaving...


The rest of the evening was spent on TV catch up for Anne and the sampling of today's acquisitions for me...



It's good to have a plan...

Highlight of the Day : Glasgow trip...

Today's new music:-

Monday, January 02, 2023

Some things always require nit picking tools to be at the ready...

Playlist
Kali Malone - Living Torch
Martin Stürtzer - Relativity
Steffi - The Red Hunter
The Lickerish Quartet - Fables From Fearsome Heights
Horse Lords - Comradely Objects
Trio ELF - Fram
Tomáš Niesner - Becvou
Torino Guitar Quartet - Codex
Martin Stürtzer - Relativity
Various Artists - Spirit of '69 : The Boss Reggae Sevens Collection
King Buffalo - Regenerator
Suzanne Vega - Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers
Black Sky Giant - Primigenian
Billy Woods - Aethiopes
Kid Arrow - Happy New Strange Year
Blue Sun Chasing - Version 3.0
Bill Spooner - Way Out West (EP)
King Buffalo - Acheron
Trio ELF - RMXD
Culture - Two Sevens Clash
Roberta Flack - First Take
Tower of Power - Bump City
Fela Ransome Kuti - And His Koolo Lobtas
Various - Silberland
Various - Rise Jamaica

Day two of the year, a Monday...

Up late...

The views...





Last night, we'd watched the final of the Alumni Xmas "University Challenge" and scored rather poorly...

Here are our scores for the whole series...


So, a reasonable average of 138.5...

Not bad I suppose...

Anne was off with Jane to see Hearts beat Hibs 3-0 in the New Year derby (Queens had a rare win on Saturday, beating Clyde 1-0)...

I tagged along until the Zoo and then caught an Airport bus into town...



Alighted at Princes St and walked down to Stockbridge...





...but, this being a holiday, all my targeted shops were shut...

A bus back towards Princes St and a visit to Fopp, noting things I might want...




...and, then, HMV, also noting things I might want....


Nothing purchased however and I took the bus home...







...arriving back at my desk at just after 5...


...where I downloaded things I might have wanted, as noted earlier - i.e. Tower of Power, Fela Kuti, 1962 reggae and 1970s & 80's "Kosmische Musik" compilations...

Such is the way of music acquisition these days...

Popped to give Anne a lift up the hill - she was in a good mood re Hearts' win of course...

Being a Monday, it was baked potatoes for tea followed by a real "University Challenge" where I think we scored a mere 80...

Then a special New Year edition of "Task Master"...

Later on, post some new music listening and organising, the new series of "Silent Witness" commenced - we had our nit-picking tools ready and they were, of course, duly called into service....

It was still quite good though...

That was about it...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Out and about...

Today's new music:-


Sunday, January 01, 2023

Vienna and Cleopatra...

Playlist
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
Suzanne Vega - Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers
David Bowie - Let's Dance
ZZ Top - Eliminator
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
The Church - Seance
Dio - Holy Diver
Yello - You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess
Asia - Alpha
Moraz/Bruford - Music For Piano & Drums
Tomáš Niesner - Bečvou
Lucrecia Dalt - ¡Ay!
Silvia Tarozzi & Deborah Walker - Canti di guerra, di lavoro e d‘amore
Roxy Music - Starnded
Roxy Music - Country Life
Goose - 2022/12/31 Andrew J. Brady Center, Cincinnati, OH

Welcome to 2023, the nineteenth year to be included in this diary...

Below is the first picture of the year, snapped a few seconds after midnight...


Around 10 hours later, this for breakfast...


...and then, at 10:15, the annual tradition of the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna...







There was a top notch film during the interval (which, for me, underlined why you don't need to pay £1,000 to attend in person!)...

Here, a couple of pieces from its soundtrack for me to perhaps track down...




Post lunch, took Anne to her mum's, these the view from the office...



...before I headed to my own mum's to deliver her shopping and to have some chat etc (no pics)...

By the time we both got home, we needed an orange gin and tonic...


...and the year's teas got off to a good start with this beauty...


Before heading out to the mums' respective homes, we'd gotten a little sucked in by the first half hour or so of "Cleopatra", the four and a half hour 1963 film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton and Roddy McDowall...

So we continued watching that tonight...

Amazing how the decisions made by these few people as to what to do and/or not to do, over 2,000 years ago, set us on the course to today...

And now, history marches on into 2023...

Highlight of the Day : Vienna and Cleopatra...

Today's new music:-