Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

Pump Up The Volume

My speakers arrived today!

One of the difficult, and time-consuming, things about having a second house is recreating all the comforts and conveniences of the first house. My music studio in Berkeley has evolved over the years from a bank of synthesisers to just my Apple G5, midi-controller keyboard, and software.

Before I left Berkeley in September I digitized several of my analog tape tracks from the 1980's to remaster and release as part of my analog archive series on Magnatune. Last week I got a cool Roksan amp and today the JBL speakers came so I'm ready to remix.

The panorama stitching program got a little funky stitching the photos together but you can get the idea. With the depressing weather in London right now and the fact we have nothing scheduled for this week, this is the perfect time to work on my music.

Culture Clash

or... Why We Live In England.

Note the two graphics. One is a screen capture from iTunes U.S. and the other from iTunes U.K.

I am not a big iTunes fan, I think their DRM (digital rights management) policy totally sucks. On the other hand they have so much effing music that I can't help myself. It's like being an alcoholic only with music.

However, today I had a shock when I switched from the U.S. store to the U.K. store. Behold:

The U.S. store features an album by Lindsay Lohan, a movie star (well, uh...) who has decided she can sing. Not. A celebrity playlist by some country singer I never heard of. Then a greatest hits from Reba McEntire whose permanent smirk makes me want to slap her except she probably wouldn't feel it because she's so botoxed. And let's just say her music isn't my thing.

Now, look at the U.K. iTunes store. Ok, it starts with a band I never heard of. But then it features the soundtrack to the new Harry Potter film and the new Enya album. Two out of three is a great score.

These two graphics tell me everything about why I live in England. Now you know too.

Mozart at Handel's House

Last night John and friend Tim Harris recorded a recital at the wonderful Handel House.

This recording was a test to determine the acoustics of the room, etc. for the possibility of recording future recitals in partnership with Magnatune. The recital was Kasia Tomczak (harpsichord), Marianna Szucs (baroque violin) and Julian Hubbard (baritone) performing works by Mozart.

Such gorgeous music and talented musicians!

Naked Windows

Today the window covering designers came over to remove all the shades in preparation for the installation of secondary windows in a couple weeks.

Yikes, I didn't realize how naked the windows would look. But the secondary windows are going to make a huge difference for blocking out street noise. And then we can pick some fabrics for new window shades.

Of course, now it's really bright in the house. Well, not exactly "bright" as it's mostly gloomy these days. But sometimes even when it's dark and grey in the morning the sun comes out briefly in the afternoon.

BTW, the gas company filled in the hole in the sidewalk last night and the gas smell didn't come back so it seems to be finally gone. Yay!

Remixed

One of the great things about living in London is that interesting people are often just passing through so we get the opportunity to meet them.

Today, Ashwan, one of the winners of Magnatune's Remix Contest at CC Mixter, stopped by to say hello.

We got a ton of submissions for the contest and picking the winners was really difficult. Ash's tracks were so good we just had to include both of them. He's really talented and it was great to have the opportunity to meet him.

You Never Can Tell

This evening we saw the George Bernard Shaw play You Never Can Tell starring the amazing Edward Fox, yet another famous face on stage. We saw him last year in Simon Gray's "The Old Masters."

The entire cast was excellent. It's the kind of play they just don't write anymore. Not as witty and clever as Oscar Wilde but it had a kind of old-fashioned wackiness that was amusing and entertaining. A really fun evening.

An Afternoon with Harry

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, that is!

Today we went to the theatre where they had the London premier, on Leicester Square a couple weeks ago.

It's a great theatre for seeing films except for the huge annoyance of the 1/2 hour of commericals. Seriously, 1/2 hour of completely obnoxious and stupid commercials. All the central London theatres do this and we hate it.

But we loved the new Harry Potter film! It lacks the really cute stuff of the early films and is dark and gloomy without actually being violent and scary. The kids are growing up which is fun to see although some of them are growing so quicky I barely recognised a couple of them.

BTW, it's starting to actually feel cold outside. Not just chilly. Cold. I kind of like it!

The Accidental Shopper

I swear it was an accident, I shopped.

My regular blog readers will know that I really hate shopping. The crowds, the lack of selection, the useless salespeople, the endless walking; all of it gets on my nerves. For years I've been a catalog shopper and was particuarly excited when the web happened. I think I may have been one of the first customers at Amazon. And I still buy my socks online.

But even I realize that I will have to shop for something eventually. Today John went to buy computer stuff so I walked up to Tottenham Court Road with him because the best Boots store is there. It's not that it's a better store exactly but it has the advantage of being new so it's not cramped and scuzzy like many of the other ones.

Boots is a huge chain that's almost a monopoly and their selection is pretty feeble but all I needed was toothpaste and floss. Disappointed that they don't have Crest, I settled for the Colgate Kids flavour which is tolerable but not as yummy as Crest Kids toothpaste.

On our way to Tottenham Court road we walked down Neal Street, where we used to live. While walking past Birkenstock John pointed to some shoes in the window and said, "They look like potential Jan shoes." I do have the perfect husband, he's always looking out for me. He knows how picky I am and can pretty much guess my taste in nearly everything. It's kind of scary but after 11 years I'm used to it.

So, on my way back from buying toothpaste and floss I stopped into the Birkenstock store. Now this is remarkable mainly because I could. The Birkenstock store is usually mobbed. In fact, on weekends in the summer there is a line out the door and they only let in a few people at a time, like a nightclub.

But it was 10:30 and the store had just opened. Neal Street was still empty; the shopping craziness doesn't start until noon really. Since the store was empty it took about 5 minutes to try on the shoes. They were perfect so I bought them in both colours (black and brown).

Shopping success! It was an accident. It was. Really.

The Elephant Man Meets Uncle Dursley

This evening we saw Heroes, by Gerald Sibleyras, adapted by Tom Stoppard. We were once again star struck: John Hurt (Alien, The Elephant Man, 1984), Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter, The History Boys). It is always exciting to see such famous faces on stage. The play was rather silly, some of the humour was very dry but it was often hilarious and very well done.

practice Makes Perfect

I've spent about a half hour a day at the piano so far. That's about as much as my hands can take before they start aching. Even though the piano is lovely and the touch is divine, I am way out of practice and need to build up the strength in my hands again. It's going surprisingly well and I discovered that I have three of my preludes memorised which comes in handy since my scores are in California and I can't get to them for another month.

BTW, no gas smell today. Fingers crossed.

An Evening with Handel

Last night we went to a reception and recital at the famous Handel House, where composer George Frederic Handel lived and composed the majority of his music, including Messiah. We're big fans of the Handel House organisation; they're really enjoyable people and we love what they're doing. Last night's recital was soprano and harpsichord. Lovely! We met some really interesting and fun people too (I see lunch in my future)!

Chilly and Gassy in London Update on the gas leak. The side walk has been dug up all this time and no one has returned to measure the leak or deal with the leak's source. Last night when we got home, the barrier around the hole in the sidewalk was gone and the hole was covered over with a metal plate. When we entered the house we smelled gas. So I called them this morning and they came and measured and, yes, it's the same reading that it was weeks (months) ago. Apparently they are completely understaffed and underfunded. The guy went on a rant about privatization and the government, etc. which I don't have a clue about. I just want the gas smell to go away. So, they'll either dig up the street and fix the leak or they won't. One thing for sure is that I'm not keeping a window open to ventilate the hallway now that it's 40 degrees. Maybe I Should Buy A Canary Today's conclusion: Instead of digging up the street, they decided to prevent the gas from coming into the house. So they removed the dead and unused pipe under the sidewalk that the gas was following (gas does that, apparently). After they did that he said the measurement in the hallway was zero. Zero is good. They decided not to dig up the street because they're not sure where the leak is specifically and the level is not actually dangerous. Well, a couple weeks ago the crew said they thought it was a serious leak. But if they're telling me there's no danger I have no choice but take their word for it. We'll see if the smell is permanently gone now... sniff... tweet... sniff...

Piano (crane not included)

Wow, Steinway delivered the piano today.

Although the city put up "no parking" warnings last weekend, there were several cars parked in front of the house. The truck arrived at 8:00 (I was impressed) and then the traffic police came to have the cars moved. I felt really badly about it but the warning sign had been there for several days. Interestingly, they don't tow the car away, they use a crane to just move it. In fact, they move it nearby. I think that is very very interesting. BTW, just to be clear that in the photo it's the police crane moving the car, not the piano movers.

First the delivery guys removed three windows. Two for The Sofas from Hell and a third for the piano since it wouldn't fit through the living room window because of the balcony.

They started by moving the sofas from the first to the second floor, since they could position the crane more easily for that. It's nice to have the sofas where they belong.

After the city moved the cars then the movers put the crane in position for the piano. It was quite a scene and many passersby stopped to watch. One asked the movers if they've ever dropped one and everyone chuckled. Ok, like I wasn't already nervous. Even crazier, the crane doesn't "grasp" the piano as I was expecting, the piano was dangling from a cable. Wow.

I'm delighted to report it went very smoothly. As you can see from the photos, they lifted the piano out of the truck with the crane, lifted it up into the window and pulled in in from inside. Then they wheeled it to the living room, unwrapped and polished it and were done!

The whole process took 4 hours, because of having to wait for the city to move the cars and disassembling and reassembling the windows. They did an amazing job. Yes, I tipped them. Particularly since they moved the sofas around inside the house to where they should be, including carrying one up to the third floor.

The piano is the most beautiful instrument I've ever played, I can't believe I own it.

Buffy Meets Little Britain

Tonight we saw Simon Gray's play "Otherwise Engaged."

The theatre was right on Piccadilly Circus (see photo). As usual, I was star-struck. Seeing Anthony Head of Buffy (which I've never seen) and Little Britain (which I love) was so fun, especially since he was playing a character not at all like the ones he usually does. The main character was played by Richard E. Grant who was amazing; a truly excellent performance (with real tears).

The play was absolutely fantastic and the cast and the acting were completely extraordinary. It's one of the best nights of theatre we've seen in London, ever.

A Book in 20 Minutes

One of the things I love about London, and one of the reasons I live here, is the bookstores.

My favorite is Foyles on Charing Cross Road which is about a 10 minute walk from our house. Below is a panorama of Charing Cross Road this morning on my way to Foyles. At the end of the street to the left is the intersection of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road (called St. Giles Circus). Straight ahead is Denmark Street which is lined with music/guitar stores that have everything a musician would ever need. To the right at the end of the street is Cambridge Circus which is the intersection with Shaftesbury Avenue.

Foyles opens at 9:30 so I like going early before everything else has opened and the craziness hasn't started yet. Charing Cross Road has several bookstores: Borders (no way), Blackwells (pretty good) and Foyles (excellent) as well as various used bookshops that aren't very good. The enormous Waterstones is on Piccadilly which is a mere 15 minute walk.

Today I bought Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith, the sequel to the hilarious 44 Scotland Street.

Update: John posted a blog entry about his lute-building workshop last August. Great photos!

House Concert No. 4

Wow, our fourth "Live from Covent Garden" house concert!

This evening was lutenist Jacob Heringman with Ilton Wjuniski playing clavichord.

Jacob Heringman is one of the nicest people we know and so incredibly talented. We have a pile of his cd's in our collection, many of which are available at Magnatune. I was excited to hear that he plays on the soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Ilton Wjuniski is also extraordinarily talented and his wonderful performance was the perfect introduction to the clavichord for many of those attending.

Tonight's concert was particularly beautiful. The lute and clavichord are not typically played together but they should be, it was gorgeous. Clavichord maker, Peter Bavington, provided two wonderful instruments and I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet him.

It was packed with the most people yet; standing room only. There were many familiar faces (including my vacationing friend Diane from California) and many many new ones as well. I was particularly happy to meet lutenist Jakob Lindberg (see photo) whose cd's I've owned and adored for many years.

Evenings like this really make my head spin. I just can't believe it, pinch me.

Early Music in Greenwich

Today we took the train from Charing Cross Station to Greenwich for the Festival & Exhibition of Early Music.

It was only a 15 minute train ride which was really easy. We walked to The Old Royal Naval College where the exhibition was taking place. It was filled with early music instrument makers and many beautiful instruments. Since I want a full-size harpsichord for the house I wanted to look at the harpsichords they had. Most were pretty awful but there were a couple lovely ones. I took brochures from those makers for future reference.

Dan Larson, who made John's vihuella, was there. It's always fun to see familiar faces. We also ran into a couple other people we knew. At one point I lost John and finally located him in a room playing his vihuella with viola da gamba maker Richard Jones. They were just sitting and playing together, it was lovely. You'll see in the photo that they were in what the College called "Skittle Alley", a bowling alley. Hilarious! Nice acoustics.

Paris Disney: Thursday and Friday

We're back in London! Paris Disney was a lot of fun, we loved it.

Thursday was a beautiful day but really cold. So, I bought a little scarf that has the Paris Disneyland logo on it that I will now cherish. We spent the morning in Disney Park and the afternoon at the Disney Studios Park. I think the Disney Studios park is totally lame. John is less cynical and thought it was ok but not the best time he's ever had. Another incredible dinner at the restaurant in the Disney Hotel avec pink champagne.

Friday (today) was cold again but also grey. This time when we got to the park gates there were actually long lines. Up until today the park had been relatively empty. I guess on Friday the early weekenders are getting started.

Today we did The Haunted House, always a favorite of ours, and Thunder Mountain which is really a great ride. Thrilling without being violent and no 360 degree loops. The version of Indiana Jones is not like California which is a clever theme ride. This one's a super fast roller coaster with a loop in it. We decided to skip it.

We also did all the little children's rides like Peter Pan (which normally requires a fastpass it's so popular, apparently), Snow White and we went up inside the Magic Castle which I didn't know you could do. It was really neat inside which is one of the things we love about Disney; the details. Carvings, tapestries, stained glass windows. Really creative and lovely.

We had a great time but I think we're done with Disneyland. We've been about 5 times total now to 3 different Disneylands. I think we like the one in California the best, mostly because of the California Adventure Park which has some great features. We liked DisneyWorld in Florida the least because it's too spread out and traveling between parks is tedious. Paris Disneyland is great and is definitely our second favorite.

Dealing with the crowds is quite a challenge. I am amazed at what some parents consider acceptable behaviour from their truly horrible children. On the other hand I've seen some parents treat their children very badly which I find extremely upsetting. If they're treating them like that in public I don't even want to think about what they're doing to them at home. Scary.

The hotel etiquette here was the worst yet. The noise level at night was almost as bad as Saturday night in Covent Garden. Some people in hotels just don't get that they are not at home and that there are other people around them perhaps trying to sleep at 1 a.m. Last night it sounded like a party in the hallway. They were not French but from... elsewhere.

On the positive side I find France and the French themselves to be extremely civilised. There was a general level of sophistication among the French we saw that I've not seen in any other culture. It was really delightful. The food was exquisite in several of the restaurants we went to. The staff was also excellent, as Disney staff always is, but the French were particularly pleasant. The language is so beautiful, I really wish I could speak and understand it more. John's fluent French makes getting around very easy and is delightful to listen to. I can pick up about 3 words per sentence. Sometimes.

Of course, the language barrier made it possible for me to suggest to Tweedledee, who sat down next to me in the wi-fi area this morning while doing my email, that he wanted to borrow my computer to surf the web for porn. I'm sure he didn't understand a word I said and he nodded his giant head and gave me two thumbs up. C'est bon!

Paris Disney: Tuesday and Wednesday

It's fabulous. The train ride was a piece of cake. It's the easiest trip to Europe ever. Just get on the train, plug in our ipods for 3 hours and we're there!

The weather was lovely the day we arrived (Tuesday) but today (Wednesday) was cold and rainy. Undaunted, we we're so excited to be here we went out with our umbrellas. The weather cleared up later in the afternoon but it was still cold. Many of the Disney staff speak English but many do not, so John's fluent French is really handy.

The hotel is gorgeous and doesn't look at all like the somewhat plain photos on their web site. And it's literally right next to the entrance to the park, only a few feet from the hotel door. Fabulous!

Unfortunately, they've changed Space Mountain which has always been our favorite. They replaced the charm with high-tech sophistication so now it's just a scary and violent roller coaster in the dark. I preferred it when it was simpler and just a little cheesy.

This morning in the hotel lobby children got to meet the cartoon characters. The characters were adorable and the children were completely captivated. One little girl reached up and pulled Tiger down to give him a kiss. OMG, it was precious.

Also in the photos are Space Tours and It's A Small World. Space Tours was in French! It was hilarious. C3P0 spoke in French as you approached the launch area and the signage and video introductions were also in French. I loved it.

The hotel restaurant is called "California Grill." We were dubious and expected it to be pizza with tofu and sprouts but it turns out to be elegant and spectacular French cuisine. We can't figure out what's California about it except the barely noticeable artwork. Everything else about it is wonderfully French which is why we're here. We loved it and had dinner there both nights so far and will again tomorrow.

This evening after dinner we bumped into Tweedledum who kindly posed for a photo. So cute!

Disney français

Tomorrow morning we walk over to Waterloo Station and take the train directly to Disneyland Paris for 3 days!

We're so excited. We love Disneyland in California and have been there several times.

I don't know what kind of internet access we'll have so there may not be any blogging until we get back. I was wondering what my favorite ride, Space Mountain, was called in French but they call it Space Mountain. Hmmm.... I hope the food is French!

Fashion Quest

Up to now I've been buying all my clothes from J. Jill and Flax in California and schlepping them to London. It's sort of comforting having the same wardrobe here as in California but I think it may be time to go native. I've said before on the blog that I think the styles in women's clothing shops in London are hideous. Zara, FCUK (oh, puleeze), H&M, Next: all awful. We often walk past a store nearby called BluNauta. The clothes in the window are elegant and beautiful, we haven't seen anything else like it. So today John and I thought we'd give it a try. Wow, I bought a lot of stuff, including the skirt/top/jacket in the photo. The skirt is black silk, the top and jacket are grey velvet. I've never worn a skirt that elegant. I feel like a nerd dressed as a princess. (Yes, my self-image is a little neurotic.) I'll be keeping an eye on this shop in the future. Different wardrobes? Whodathunk?

Guy Fawkes Redux Guy Fawkes Night was last night but apparently someone in the apartment complex across the street had some leftover fireworks and set them off. Yikes, hope that gas-leak isn't too close...

The Fan-Shaped Box

Today we took the train from Waterloo Station to Winchester (it's only an hour) to go to an "open studio" of various artists including one our favorite friends, Stephen Gottlieb.

It is always such a pleasure to spend time with Stephen and his wife Jane Dorner. Also, we got to meet harpsichordist Sophie Yates (photo with John), who is a friend of Jane's and Stephen's. I've been a fan of Sophie's playing and have several of her cd's so it was really great meeting her (she was lovely and a lot of fun). Her husband Bill played the lute for a while in the afternoon and it was delightful.

There were many artists showing their work, including glass, jewelry, paintings, scarves, ceramics, etc. Stephen Gottlieb was exhibiting one of his lutes and also some very special items I'd never seen before: little wooden boxes. They are stunning! They varied from little square boxes to visitor card holders to the fan-shaped boxes you see in the photo. I bought the fan-shaped box in the front.

I had never taken the train this direction before so it was neat seeing things like the Battersea Power Station out the window.

When we got back to London the view while walking across Waterloo Bridge at night was particularly pretty. BTW, it's Guy Fawkes Night so it's pretty noisy with fireworks and rabblerousers. Just a little more boisterous than the typical Saturday night in London...

Ok, crane me up

Steinway came today and determined that the piano will not fit up the stair and will have to come through the window by crane. I asked them if they would also be able to move The-Sofas-From-Hell up from the first floor to the second floor with the crane. They said yes! It'll be a couple of weeks for them to get the permissions for the crane so stay tuned.

Plastic Hangers, Finally

I forgot to mention that after I played The Magical Piano the other day, I went to Selfridges and they had the really nice plastic hangers again! I'm so pleased. I bought 30. That should last me a while.

Early Bird

John came back from North Carolina a day early!

I'm so happy he came back early. He had a great time at the symposium, got to see some fun people he already knew as well as meet some great new people.

When I told him about the amazing magical piano he convinced me I should at least try out some others just to be sure. So we went to the other piano store. We were not impressed. The store was too crowded with pianos, their sales style felt like a stereo component store, and the pianos were ok, just not as nice as the Steinway.

Then, we walked over to the Steinway store. I played him my favorite Scarlatti Sonata (F minor K. 466 L. 118) as well as one of my preludes (No. 24) and he agreed that the piano is gorgeous. He noticed all the same nuances I did the other day so...

... we bought the piano! Now they just have to determine if they can bring it up the stairs or will need a crane to bring it in through the window. It will be so nice to have a piano to play everyday again. And this piano is truly extraordinary, I can't wait to get my hands on it!

The Magical Piano

I think I found the piano of my dreams.

This morning I went to the Steinway and Sons store. All my life I've been hearing about how incredible Steinway pianos are but since I've never played one I thought "whatever, a piano is a piano". Well, they're not.

It was magical. As soon as I started to play my favorite Scarlatti sonata the room was filled with incredibly beautiful music. I felt like looking around the room because I thought it couldn't possibly be me playing like that. The touch was amazing; subtle and easily controlled. After John gets back I'll take him over to hear it and we'll make a decision. Now I'm really glad that other store was closed when we went last week.

The saleswoman couldn't have been nicer. When I said I needed someone to come to the house to see if the piano would fit up the stairs she said that "a viewing" is recommended and could be arranged easily. They're coming Friday.

Chilly and Gas-Free

Well, sort of.

The smell is back to being so subtle that I can't decide if I'm imagining it or not. It's a lot better than gagging when I walk down the stairs so yesterday's digging up the sidewalk must have helped. No sign of the gas company today so they didn't come back to recheck the leak as promised and no word on digging up the street.

I can't believe it's November 1 already! After all my exclaiming about the warm weather, today turned chilly. I wore a sweater plus jacket for shopping. But the sky was blue and the crisp air felt very much like autumn and it was delicious.

The workstation in the living room is looking very empty without John here, sigh. So, how much Star Trek The Next Generation can I watch? A lot, apparently. I hope I have enough dvd's to last me until Friday.