Christmas in Wales

I've just had a lovely few days in Penarth (near Cardiff, where Dr Who and Torchwood are filmed). I stayed with family friends, who welcomed me for nearly 4 days of festivities. We partied, played games (I was introduced to Articulate and Charades), cooked up an English feast (plus mini pavlovas - see below), ate, played and sang and danced, and gave gifts. Marvelous. And we all sat down and watched the Dr Who Christmas Special. Yay. Jo and I even went for a Boxing Day walk.

I had a great time and received some lovely presents (some of which I'm wearing). Becky, however, felt that she got the best gift - a vintage Chanel bag. Well done David!
Then on the 27th I went to Taunton in Somerset (actually just outside Taunton) to visit more family friends. In fact, my family spent Christmas with them 21 years ago! It was a lovely visit. More eating (nice fish stew Tim), more walking, a little concert and chatting. And one of the best night's sleep; 12 hours in an awesome, cozy bed. Very nice.
I'm now back in Newcastle. But Lisa arrived today and we're going up to Edinburgh to stay with Chris and Holly and do Hogmanay.
Happy New Year. (I'm sorry I didn't send individual emails.) I wish you all a wonderful 2008.

1st Week of Holidays

I've had a very exciting week! I spent 3 days visiting Jodie, Russell, James and Emily in Zurich. It was lovely to catch up with them. I got to see Emily's end of term violin concert and James played his new clarinet for me. Very impressive. They showed me their school, where they toboggan, and SNOW. Yes, it was very cold.We spent one day walking around the city, buying beads for my lovely Tedora bracelet (Emily helped me choose), lunching at a vegetarian restaurant. We also visited lovely Churches, which you can see in the postcard below.

They are very old. The one on the right has beautiful stained glass windows by Marc Chagall.

We also saw the amazing Swaravski Christmas tree in Central Station. Wow. It's a very large tree covered in small crystal decorations. It looks fantastic.

This picture shows how cold it was; the fountain behind us had completely frozen! (And I had lots of clothes on.)

After Zurich, I had 2 days in Prague. What an amazing place! I really loved it, although the smoking everywhere was difficult to handle. (I moved out of my hotel room after 2 hours, to a room that was theoretically smoke free.) And it was really cold. More than Zurich, more than Stonehenge last year. COLD.

I did 2 coach trips. First I went to Terezin, where the Nazis had used the town as a Jewish Ghetto, and the existing fortress as a prison for political prisoners. It was very bleak. I was cold in MANY layers of clothing; my hands and feet hurt from cold. I can barely imagine how it would have been without enough clothing or food.

On the final day of my trip I did a city tour. The first postcard is of the Old Town Sqare. It was full of Christmas market stalls. The second postcard is of Charles Bridge. While it wasn't covered in snow like that it felt like it should have been. I don't think the temperature rose above -5 degrees the whole time I was there.

Although there wasn't snow in Prague, it had fallen around the city. But there was a heavy fog the whole time I was there. While at Prague Castle, we watched the changing of the guard. The band was fantastic. And the guards very...efficient. It was trying to snow then (at midday) but the flakes were melting as they touched the ground. Again, even with 6 layers of clothing, I was very cold!

View of Prague from the Castle. The trees on the mountain to the right were snow-covered.

It was a truly lovely trip, and I've come back very relaxed.

Next I'm off for Christmas in Wales.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas.

Ode to a Long Shower

'Tis quite a guilty pleasure
but one I feel I must
admit I do partake in
(I tell you this in trust).

To have a long hot shower
that's more than four by sixty
seconds to wash and bathe in
is rather neat and nifty.

When first I did arrive here
upon this damp and green isle
I stuck my Council timer
upon the bathroom clean tile.

But as the days grew short and cold
my shower plans revised
to warm my numb and shivering form
I quickly realised

That water here was EVERYWHERE
(today it came as snow!)
and I could stand and philosophise
under the heated flow.

Though on reading back upon these lines
I realise that my time
would much better have been spent
not making up this rhyme.

Concert

It's been a little while, I know. But, I have been busy preparing for a concert. Held at St Francis Church, it featured Australian fiddler, Emma Nixon (that's me), guests, and students from Stage 1 of the Folk Degree (1st years).
The concert started with all students (including me) playing a set of jigs. Three of the small 1st year ensembles then played - very well.
Then I played a range of tunes in various combinations with guests.
At interval, my flatmates Maeva and Whitney had cups of tea - very British. (Thanks to Maeva for the photos and vidoes.)

After interval the final first year ensemble played and I did another half hour. We then had the Vocal Ensemble (voices only), and the large Ensemble (with instruments) to finish.

One of my guests was Vic Gammon, my supervisor, who has a wealth of knowledge and musical expertise. With Vic on cittern we played some Australian jigs and reels, Northumbrian 3/2 hornpipes, and Scottish jigs and reels. This video is part of a jig set with Lady Elizabeth Cole's Reel and Natalie MacMaster's Volcanic Jig.

My other guests were Chris and Holly from Australia via Edinburgh. I played a set of traditional Shetland reels with Chris, and 2 sets of contemporary tunes with both Chris and Holly. The video is of us playing "Boston Urban Ceilidh" by our American fiddler friend, Hanneke Cassel.

The concert was well received. I had quite a few friends there, which was lovely.

And now I need to focus on the 3 pieces of work that are due this week, and the 2 orchestral concerts that are also on this week!