quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
Well this was not so funny. At least it was a [flyweight] Lemon parked on the stairs, and not a two ton Volvo.

But ...

On Christmas day you have to keep a sense of humour.

In the last two days I have been so priveleged to enjoy the company of two Forum stalwarts and great people as really met - my two oldest Forum friends, Frank and Geoff - and most kindly Frank's dear wife, Anniu ...

Twelve courses on Christmas Eve from Anna, and a truly English Christamas dinner from Frank today.

It was so nice this afternoon to bring Geoff into Frank's front roon and listen to the least heroic of Beethoven Symphonies - the Eighth - and then settle tosome equal master pieces from Astor Piazzola.

This was replayed via a set which is acually precisely what I would dream of as my perfect replat set [see Frank's profile no doubt], so no question that what emerged was well done ...

I suspect that Geoff found the old BBC tape not quite as fine as the best studio recordings, but could find the result at least an indication of significant, and possbly great music making ...

_______________

I have been priveleged to listen to vinyl replay via Ekos 2 with akiva on a top Linned TT, Dyn XVS on Aro [Naimed LP12 without Keel] and I did not care for the Akiva one tiny bit - perfectly hateful cart.

Well, at my request we shall try the Dyn on the Ekos, to see how kind that might be compared to the Aro.

And we shall see what comes with the Scoutmaster from VPI, which is such a kind TT.

Maybe we shall fit all these great cartridges to the simple [not so simple as a Rega] deck ...

_______________

But the morning started with Haydn's Clock Symphony 101] bringing a certain joy to the house, via the eminently kind CDS3 ...

_______________

I should emphasis that my old Volvo is parked safely in Bristol Airport, and that I am not going to join the tendency to take Dutch courage in driving ...

Best, and sincerely kind wishes from George

Last night [of 2008] in the lovely house of Frank and Anna in Spain and with the equally kind company of Geoff [P].

What could be said beyond the thought that I have been treated so wonderfully that my frame of mind is alpha plus!

If I thought [in replay terms] that Lp was more than fine, from when I came to Frank and Anna's in February almost two years ago, now I know that it is splendid indeed.

And also that Wyborowa does not spoil in transport ...

Dobranoc and a Happy New Year to you all! ATB from George

You are back in one bit then

Dear Stu,

If I don't end up in the Bay Of Biscay, then I land at Bristol [BHX] at 20.05 GMT, later today ... in other words, New Years Eve.

Catch you perhaps 22 hours GMT?

ATB from George

Cool man,
Have a safe trip.
Any bits Frank dosent want, bring them with you

Dobranoc, dear Stu! Catch ya tomorrow ... G

Back home after hopeless flight delays etc.

Frank and Anna were the perfect hosts to me and Geoff, who still has a few days left there. I could hardly have had a nicer Christmas week.

Happy New Year to everyone here! Best wishes from George

Dear Manni,

Visiting Vienna would be such a thing for me! How would I find the time to visit all those great composers' grave - a habit of mine to seek out the burial places of heroes.

But it is right in the time when we are busiest at work. Ice cream is a rather seasonal product. So I could never ask for the time.

But it is a lovely thought. And thanks for it.

Best wishes from George

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
Dear Manni,

Visiting Vienna would be such a thing for me! How would I find the time to visit all those great composers' grave - a habit of mine to seek out the burial places of heroes.

But it is right in the time when we are busiest at work. Ice cream is a rather seasonal product. So I could never ask for the time.

But it is a lovely thought. And thanks for it.

Best wishes from George

Dear George,

isn`t it possible to work harder during the week, so that you don`t need to make ice cream on Saturday and Sunday?

Or try to find a doctor, who loves classical music like you do. Tell him from the Vienna tour and he will write you off sick, a summer influenza is always possible .

Another reason for coming ( no joke ): It would be a pleasure for me, to pay for your drinks during your stay in Vienna.

Best wishes

Manfred

Dear Manni,

I do plan a trip to Poland in my car sometime this year, so perhaps I could make a stop at Neuss!

The trouble is that I am part of a production team of only five, and any absenteeism really does make it very tough for the others. Plus, I am still the junior in the team, and if things get tough, I do not want to be the first out of the door ... I very much like this job as it is in a nice place where the only stresses are related to being very busy for roughly six months of the year. After almost two years of employment instability the last thing I want is more of it. The company is now in its 131st year, and the owners are fourth generation in the same familly. I am lucky to have this potential long term stability. What we make is truly of the highest quality - no artificial colours or preservative, milk from one farm, cream from also one other farm, all naturally derived flavourings and ingredients, fantastic hygieme in production, and enough time and resources to do the job really well etc. The end product is selling very well even in our times of reduced spending, and sales were one quarter up on last year in the two months running up to Christamas compared to last year.

I would guess that a simple pleasure like a really nice ice cream is still possible even if the new car purchase has been put off ...

But perhaps towards the end of August or early September might see me on a two week ramble across Europe in my ancient Volvo.

Thamks for the kind thoughts. ATB from George

My best Polish friend with his lady are returning to England on Tuesday from a Christmas break with his familly.

This will quite probably herald a party of mamouth Wodka consumption and memorability! The journey through a snowy Poland started a few hours ago, and they should land at Dover early on Tuesday morning. My friend is still working at the bakery where I trained him in what I knew of conserve making, but a big row awaits him I suspect when he returns to work.

Two days before finishing for Christmas, he was told his holiday was cancelled as his supervisor had never handed in the paperwork applying for the time applied for more than two months earlier.

Unfortunately I used to work with this certain supervisor, and I am not in the least surprised by this sort of behaviour.

Ironically my friend had no reason to see the problem coming as he has, in his turn, been training someone else to cover the conserve making during holiday time.

I sense that like me, my friend is quite probably going to be subject to some rather unfair and unkind actions now, and merely hope that he can transfer departments to get away from such petty empire building politics of a small minded little ...

It is hard to get away from the observation that in that place one does better by being useless, and brown-nosing one's way along.

Fingers crossed that he is not treated quite as badly as me [who eventually found going on working there impossible] ... But at least he could return home to Poland and security ... at the worst.

George

George,

Up until 18 months ago I too worked with bosses who quite deliberately made life extremely difficult for me, up to the point where the only sensible option to preserve my health and sanity was to leave. My wife and I decided to use the opportunity to start our own business, something we had long dreamed of. In these difficult times it is questionable how the business will fair. It is quite conceivable that before too much longer we will both be unemployed. Of one thing I am certain - no matter what happens I made the right decision to leave the living nightmare of my previous employment. Life is just too short to put up with that.

Regards,

Peter

Wednesday afternnon and evening saw a most enjoyable Wodka party where three of us consumed, over a long enough time, a bottle of that Polish speciality, Bison Grass Wodka, called Zubrowka. It went with the correct apple juice in separate long glasses, and no hanging about, the shots taken properly, but as it happened very well separated in time.

Three of us were much too poorly with colds to be doing such a thing, but we added a real cold cure to the end, consisting of eight yolks, sweetened and beaten to froth, two litres of beer and all taken to hot coffee temperature, not boiled. Enough to make a weak man vomit, actually very enjoyable at the end of the evening. It has coincided with a reduction in feeling so full of cold ...

This evening I collected a nearly veteran Carlton racing bike from an old friend who no longer has a use for it. What a thoroughbred! Light as a feather, and so full of finesse. All the aluminium fittings and frame joints are so neat that it makes most bikes look like the work of a farmyard blacksmith! Luckiliy it is almost my correct size as well - it is slightly taller than any bike salesman would allow me to take from the shop. I like a tall bike - always got old second hand ones that were little too tall! Unlike with my Eagle [which really is too tall], I can just stand over the cross-bar without tip-toes! It has those toe-clips, which will have to come off and be stored - replaced with some fine light ally type pedals, methinks. Just for practicality ...

The forks are chromed, and are the only part that look the age of it. I am not sure whether to have them restored ... The bike is worth it, but not sure if it the right thing to do to an antique ...

Photo to follow when I can get a camera to it.

I shall also have to buy a good pump as it has those fiddly racing valves on tyres about three quarters of an inch across. All the gear work is supebly tight and quiet without being lubricated to dripping point, almost as if it had bearly seen service, which it definately has! And the gearing is VERY long. I wondered about the sin of having mudguards, but there is no place to bolt the stays! So I will keep the Eagle on for rough weather, and fit new mudguards on that, plus paniers, so as to allow for the possibility of grocery shopping when no car is possible.

Though I don't plan to ditch the old Volvo now, I do plan to use it even less. Last twelve months between MOTs saw only 3700 miles added, and this year is already looking like it will be significantly less, I can see a time when I shall no longer motor ... But the average might be spoiled this year if I do drive on holiday to Poland later this year! Not sure which is environmentally worse - driving or going by aeroplane ...

I have DVD replay working on a PC for the first time in three years, so for once music here has been largely on film sound tracks for the last few days ... The music for Eric Williams' Wooden Horse was by Malcolm Arnold, so I discovered yeaterday!

Anyway, other good things have been happening though these are not so interesting I suspect, so I shall sign off now.

Best wishes from George

Train to Brussels or Paris, sleeper to Berlin then on to Poland.

Fabulous trip and great for the environment. Man in seat sixty one has the details.

George,

I have a particular interest in film music. You may like to investigate "The Battle of Britain" on DVD and also the CD soundtrack. The film was scored by Sir William Walton, but all but one piece (Battle in the Air - a superb piece) of his music was rejected by the producers, who then got Ron Goodwin to re-score the film, and it is his music that appears in the final film. However, the DVD contains both the Goodwin score and the restored Walton score - either can be selected from the menu on playback. This makes for a fascinating comparison, as does the CD which again contains both scores. The experience apparently put Walton off scoring any more films - nobody bothered to tell him what had been done and he only found out when he went along to see the film!

Dear Peter,

I have the double DVD with William Walton's music contained on the second one. I have never managed to yet work the menus to get to it, as it came a week before my DVD replay died three years ago [and have only had replay agin since Wednesday], but certainly the way Walton was treated in that instance was very shoddy. Of course Goodwin wrote a suitable score and the "Battle in the Air," was retained from Walton's own score, which is historically nice.

Walton also wrote the film music for the "First Of The Few," about the creation of the first Spitfire by RJ Miitchell, woreking at Vickers Supermarine. That film was I believe made in 1942, and the DVD and VHS issues of it contained an interview with Mitchell's son who contextualised the film very neatly.

Another favourite film sound track I like very much [from Malcolm Arnold] was "Whistle Down The Wind." I love great film scores!

ATB from George

That Carlton is like riding downhill even when going up one! And 20 odd mile an hour is gentle work on top gear ...

Amazing bike. I shall be surprised if I do not get very fast on it! Probably kill myself ...

I am not sure the posh bike shop was so terribly happy to see it, and supply me with a pump. I suspwct they realise that such an owner is not a very likely customer for something else!

C'est la vie!

ATB from George

George,

I love Ron Goodwin's music, and his score for Battle of Britain is full of heroic pomp in the same way as his scores for 633 Squadron and Where Eagles Dare. Walton's score is quite a contrast, being much more reflective IMO and with much of Goodwin's pomp replaced by a deep sense of sadness which evokes feelings of the futility and loss of life involved in war. Incidentally, Malcolm Arnold's score for The Sound Barrier is also superb, as is the film, about the development of the jet engine and supersonic flight. I have a great fondness for 50's and 60's British films! Glad you are pleased with the new bike!

Regards,

Peter

Just found bottom cog on the bike! It is so light that though it is rather a long bottom gear, standing on it really allows a fast ascent even on a one in five bamk. Grand. And it is so strong against torshional flexibility in its reaction to stress on the pedals. Makes the Eagle seem like a bag of rubber snakes as far as handling goes.

I put some lights on it to comply with the law ready for a return to work in the morning! Are reflectors still a legal requirement? There are none. In fact apart from lights there is no non-essential weight at all.

Will arrange a photo soon ...

ATB from George

quote:

torshional flexibility

Hi Fredrik,

That looks like the Polish Vodka effect!!!

Anna and I were on a Tapas round last night 2 Riojas and one tapas in each of 3 bars!! We slept well inspite of the return to work of our former boss,

FF