Polish Vodka? Part the Second.

This is Fred - my second dog - after he had started to work. He was an excellent and tough sheep dog - a lttle bit too hard to quite have the finesse of a competition dog. He could easily deal with a bunch of 500 hundred sheep, whilst the competition dogs usually have perhaps five sheep to control! So finesse is not the most significant requirement of the "working dog."

Here he is as a one year old in late 1985 or early 1986. I am glad to say that he never lost his sense of mischief! Sometime I will post some pictures of of him listening to his favourite music. The great quartets of Joseph Haydn. I kid you not he adored them!

ATB from George

PS: Getting the key for the new flat on Friday! Then we shall have a parepatuwa - or house-warming-party!

Possibly not interesting at all, but today is one exact year since I started to work [permanently] in my ice cream factory.

Perhaps this is not the most inspiring sounding of jobs, but it is not one that will cost anyone else their life savings or pension due to false speculative activity, and may allow some, through hard times, to enjoy a nice scoop of ice cream to make up for the lack of a jet-holiday, or new car ...

It is just over two years since my departure from a job of nearly thirteen years ... Though I wondered if I ever would find a permanent job [considering over twelve months of shifting insecurity and no money at all to spend on anything for fun] again.

My lesson - more correctl;y, the lesson I learned - is that what is going to happen cannot be predicted, and certainly cannot be expected, but can work out quite nicely if you have the patience to keep trying to keep what is possible in order ...

Best wishes from George

Dear Stu,

Must have completed the move by the First of April.

Given the need to spend money on horrid necessities in the form of white goods, I do imagine that moving will take place nearer the end of March than the begining!

Accoustically there is good potential there ... !

ATB from George

Finally got my old Carlton exactly as I want it!

I apologise to the purists, who would say that such a bike should not carry a straight handle bar, but the frame is too large for me to ride it fitted a with a drop handlebar, without setting off pain in my left shoulder and arm ... The guy in the bike shop [consumate trained salesman] pointed this out very quickly before I pointed out that I could not afford a new machine of the quality of the old bike!

I am also quite blind and looking over my specs is not an option. I have to look through them! So the very forward position was not good.

I think the straight bar looks somewhat old fashioned rather than very modern ... Almost like something from the 1920s!





ATB from George

Just been out on the old thimg, and the transformation in the ride is immense, and for me all to the good.

It will not make the bike faster on a long trip - though it will not slow it down much - but it is far safer in the context of traffic ...

Very pleased with the result.

ATB from George

Now tested in the heat of a real journey!



Back home safe after showing Mr Patch my flat to be - only 2 minutes walk from his familly home!

My other best Polish friend is only two minutes the other way!

Oh goodness! The new Bermuda Triangle ...

No need for a bike to go to a party in either direction!

_______

Funny story from last Friday! I was returning from Pawel's house very tired after a hard week at work, and very early - only about 7 pm!

It was nigh dark - there is a footpath down to the Worcester Evening News [print-works] off Hylton Road.

I naturally walked the bike down what is more or less one in three.

There were about five 10 to 12 year old boys, who started the usual fainty unpleasant chit-chat...

"Your back wheel's going round!" "Why don't you ride that thing down the bank?" etc

When suddenly a rather more perceptive one commanded his cohorts,

"Don't be rude. He's old." On being disagreed with, he said, "No leave him alone. He's really old!"

In a funny way that was really nice, and also deeply worrying!

I am only 47 ...

ATB from George

In mid-move to Saint Johns, Worcester.

We shall have Braodband in the new residence from Wednesday, so I may get a little irregular for a few days now. Some people already think I am irregular, so they will not notice any change!

You will know when the move is complete as I shall change my location to Saint Johns, Worcester!

ATB from George

Here is a nice youtube film about the my prep school.

The Headmaster, Mr DH Gritffith died just over six years ago, and the school has been closed for about ten years.

It is sad, but probably true, to think that such an institution would be thoroughly out of place in our modern go-get world, and I can only say that I am grateful that I had five of the happiest years of my life at the school [1971-75], and that I had the good fortune to know Mr and Mrs Griffith as lifelong friends. I saw Mrs Griffith today.

Such people are the salt of the earth. The school actually had more to do with shaping me as a chracter than either of my parents [which is just as well], even if the result is that I am not particularly fitted to the way the world is nowadays, but rather to the way the was perhaps two generations earlier for people of the social class of the Griffiths.

I do not regret that.

Mr Griffith's comment right at the end of the film is intetresting:

"Discipline that results in self-discipline is one the keys to life."

ATB from George

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmR3nIF9h3Y

George,

If you find yourself becoming irregular then I suggest you procure some Milk of Magnesia promptly - it can work wonders! As for your feelings about the modern world, you are not alone. I believe we are about the same age (48), and I identify strongly with your views. If it's not too personal a comment, I gather that you did not get along well with your parents. I find this quite tragic and you have my sympathy. Having had excellent parents myself I know how important this is to provide a strong foundation for one's future life. Luckily you found an alternative in your headmaster, who comes across as a very decent sort. Anyway, I hope the move goes smoothly and I'm sure we all look forward to hearing about the new listening rooom/set-up problems/solutions etc.

Peter

I shall look out some photos of my time at Aymestrey School for this thread. Not so difficult as they are resurfacing in the move.

The issue of the passing of time occasionally hits one as one sees one's oldest most openly known friends departing this mortal world. Well it is life ... for what the good Lord giveth He certainly taketh away in mortal terms.

I remember leaving Aymestrey in July 1975 and going into a forlorn gloom two weeks before the end.

I knocked on the door of Mr an Mrs Grithith's room at gone elevem at night .. in streams of tears - and Mr Grifiith taking me down to the Stone Room, where Lewis Caroll, Tolkein and others were read to us after prayer on Sunday evenings. He counselled me for a long while, and then read me words from Milton's L'Allegro ed Il Penseroso. The man was not only a great human but one who understood human nature, ever that of a child.

So to see Mrs Griffith today, and seeing the impending end of a dear frienship was so incredibly sad for me. I have never seen her with her glasses off before.

ATB from George

PS: The film mentioned earlier has been taken off. What a shame. I shall certainly be finding out why over the next few days. I want a copy for myself if nothing else.

Same bike: New house.

The door is mine but leads to upstairs!



One of the last trips for my old Volvo 240, which was to be scrapped next week, but will live a little longer as I am giving her to a friend of Pawel's, who is learning to drive!

If he can get insurance then no finer learner vehicle exists!



My newly bought mattress is on the roof! Where there is a will there is a way!

I shall miss having such a lovely old car, bought nearly ten years ago now. Surely I shall never have such a nice motor, even if I ever run one again, but it has been troubling me that I have been making insufficient effort to reduce my carbon footprint, so this is my next cut in personal consumption. Above it is a picture of what I see as naturally being the old car's replacement, even if it is even older in terms of Date Of Manufacture! I suppose that there will be some conveniences, so far taken for granted, which will go when the car does [on Monday], but I shall cope! This to add to giving up smoking at the end of February! Successfully I must add!!!

We have the broadband working though I do not have the wireless attachment for my PC yet. This is my final posting from my old residence, so quite possibly another few days - a week even - till I am back firing on all cylinders on the Forum.

In the meantime, keep being kind to each other and enjoying the music and kit!

ATB from George

Polish Birthday Party last evening. Started about six thirty, and we had an excellent BBQ, and I finally went to sleep about 4 am! Back home at ten to nine this morning. Amazingly once again having found the use of my legs which seemd to stop responding to commands in timely fashion about three this morning. I was content to stay still in the chair talking drivel, which seemed the sensible thing to do!

Fantastic!

ATB from George

PS: Had one bottle of best Russian Vodka to sample, and also another type of Stomach Wodka [from Poland] but not the herb style! This to add to the four bottles of Wyborowa that were enjoyed, and the bpttle of Pan Tadeusz, which I said we should keep to enjoy on a day when its wonderful taste would be appreciated for its subtlety rather than its ability to make the legs even less responsive to brain commands ... !

Happy Easter to you all.

ATB from George

The old Volvo will be taken for scrapping tomorrow.

The one person who would take her on [for free] could not get insurance, so to the car park in the sky she goes!

It seems ungrateful to break the neck of what has prooved such a wonderful and comfortable old work-horse, but I cannot justify running an I/C powered vehicle.

Good night from George

Happy Easter George.

Hope all is progressing well with the new place, system set-up etc. Please post some pics soon!

Best Regards,

Peter

For Peter,

On account of the modern type of construction of this flat the sound insulation is splendid between flats, and dreadful within them!

So I am not going to set loudspeaker replay up at all.



I went up to Aymestrey today [and yeaterday] which was very pleasant.

I will try to scale some more photos to fit for posting ...

ATB from Geogre

My old head mistress [on thre left in the photo] looking very well today.



Crown East Court, Aymestrey School, and now called Aymestrey House. One of the very first private residences in the World to be built on an iron frame. It was a school until about ten years ago, and I was there from January 1971 until July 1975.



The view across to the Malvern Hills from the front lawn is priceless!



And on the same trip I introduced my Carlton to a new friend. A friend's Peogeot, also in 501 Reynolds tubing, but built somewhat more heavily!

We shall be taking these two veterans out for good life enhancing 10 or 20 mile runs as the season goes on!



ATB from George

George,

Thanks for the pic. I can sympathise with your predicament, much the same is true of our new (not newly built) small bungalow, which has internal stud plaserboard walls throughout, so that there is virtually no sound insulation from the listening room. At least the bungalow is detached, so no worry with neighbours. Is your arrangement using headphones to be a permanent one? What of your Minstrels and amp set-up? Is a Naim Headline on the agenda at some point? Also I don't see any sign of your Rotel.

Peter

Dear Peter,

Eventually I shall be sole occupier of the place, and then things will obviously be easier, but I guess that till then headphones remain the answer.

I plan to put the Rotel onto a headphone amp for radio, and Tivoli can continue on quiet speech radio which annoys nobody!

Could be a Headline, especially if it could run off my Hi-cap for power, and fed signal directly out of the Rotel, which does give a robust output. There is no reason on the recorded side to use anything other than the Lavry headphone out in reality, and that does simplify the issue with recordings.

No reason to set the 72 up, and this allows time to get it gradually serviced and fitted with link wires where the straight through boards would have gone ...

Provided I keep the Royds inside, and everything nicely strored, I can see no reason why the set should go down hill.

I had, until a couple of days ago, a fine sounding headphone amp made for me by a friend, about ten years ago, but it died ...

Suddenly the double bass in Bach's Second Brandenburg concert sounded terrible and then gradually the whole orchestra died ... Shame, but not to worry! A Headline shall soon be investigated for radio concerts! At least in time for the Proms Season!

ABT from George

George,

Just a thought. If you find heaphone listening to be a bit restrictive (if you don't then no problem!). Have you thought about using a good computer type speaker system at low volumes run from a headphone output? I use an Acoustic Energy 2.1 system on my TV (which I only use as a monitor for watching DVD's - no live TV God forbid!). This sounds really very good. Alternatively, how about some small monitors like Wharfedale Diamonds with your 72 etc? Used at low volumes and for near-field listening they would perhaps not be intrusive to your flatmate?

Peter

George,

I actually posted my last post (above) before I read your reply. As you say, I see no reason why anything should go downhill so long as it is properly stored, and when you are sole occupant it can then easily be resurrected. I guess it comes down to how long that will be and how much of an inconvenience you find headphones to be.

Peter

Dear Peter,

It is a bit of my own shy psychology!

I would be mortified if I was even moaned at for music! It is probably why I enjoy listening quietly - I did it to avoid annoying people - I got used to it - I found I liked it - and then found I prefered it!

No, the answer is patience. My flat mate is to get married, and then I dare say a familly will come along, and I shall stay here all on my tod! And with a run up at the costs of getting a place already covered, will be able to keep it bowling along.

The last independant flat I had that I could afford was in Hereford and very nice it was too! That was more than three years ago now.

SBLs on a 200 in those days fed with a 52 and CDS2, so a rather nice arrangement!

No aim to get back to that level, but it will be nice to get the Minstrels, 72 and 140 going again - all serviced up and in the front room in the fullness of time.

Probably an eighteen month project or perhaps two years, but I can wait.

The job situation is such that I can happily wait. The situation there is both happy, and challenging, but without the unpleasant false challenge of others' personal jealousy or animosity, so with luck I may retire from there in a couple of decades, and hopefully still be living here, which is so close to work as to remove the need for a car.

That last point may be rather significant in the medium term in terms of cost, I suspect!

ATB from George

Here at last are some of my books and scores [of music] in the garage to my flat!

Also visible are some vintage wooden Norwegian ski, and other junk suitable for a car boot sale!

Other books and scores have made it into my room [worst luck as it is not yet organised], so really eventually things will settle down properly for the first time in years and years.

You may note some rodent damage on the book spines.



It was very sad to actually burn almost as many as I brought here, as they had been in an outhouse at Aymestrey since 2002, and so moth and rust had certainly, metaphorically, corrupted these most treasured things.

I am getting to be not very materialistic in my older age!

Perhaps I shall become a monk or something eventually!

This garage is where my bike lives. A bike in a garage. Very spoiled bike!

ATB from George

George,

I too suffered from enforced listening at low volumes for the past 20 years for exactly the same reasons as yourself. I too got used to it in time. In our new home it is nice to occaisonally wind things up a bit without fear of causing annoyance to anyone. It is good to hear that you have found a place that you like so much and where you feel able to put down some roots. This is infinitely more important than any hi-fi IMO. Sorting out possessions is a long job I know, but at least you now have time to do it at your own pace. I wish you the very best of happiness in your new home.

Peter

Just home after the second day of my friend Pawel's birthday party!

I was able to leave as the last guest out of the door sometime very late last night, and return there only, once again, to be the last to leave, and today we had on the table some Vodka called Russian Standard, which we reckoned was somewhere better than Smirnoff, but not in the league of Wyborowa!

Probably tomorrow will be a slow day ...

ATB from George

PS: Very late last night I walked home to fetch some of the splendid ice cream that I make, and this was a complete hit after the good food and drink enjoyed earlier ...