2 Willow Road, the British Museum, etc

Last week was half term here and so things were a little different with visits from my oldest son and his family (five of them all week) the other two married sons (3 in each family, half a week each). My youngest son lives with us and the other couldn't make it. We also got to see Eleri's two sisters and husbands plus one nephew and her father and his wife, briefly. Hectic week then. Colds and hay fever didn't help.

On treat was going with Rhodri my oldest to see 2 Willow Road in Hampstead (he is a fully paid up NT member). A volunteer guide showed us around the modernist house, built in the thirties by Goldfinger and very interesting it was. Great to have it all explained. It made you appreciate it more. It felt a little like a school but one could imagine living there quite happily. World's smallest kitchen (they're all designed by men).

We also got a good look at the British Museum's Egypt section and had a look at Cleopatra's Needle more by accident than design.

Great to see the kids enjoying themselves in the water outside the Royal Festival Hall.

Christmas with Kate Rusby on the Southbank 2019

As noted we were at the Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday evening for another of these annual Kate Rusby Christmas concerts. The format appeared to be similar to previous years - about 16 carols and other songs, lots of talking, a short period when Kate is off stage and Damien and the boys do some instrumentals, an audience video for Facebook and a two song encore. About half the twelve songs on the new album were done along with pieces from the other albums. One quibble our Barnsley nightingale suggested that many of the carols sung in pubs were kept out of the church by the Victorians. That would suggest that Kate has never heard of Sankey's Sacred Songs and Solos or Sankey's Sacred solos and sea shanties as some humorously call it. There aren't many carols in Sankey it is true but Rolling downward, Once in royal David's, While shepherds watched, Hark the herald, etc are all there. Great evening.

Day Off Week 50 2019

Yesterday's day off had a real Christmas theme. I did some blogging but mostly I was either reading about Christmas or listening to Christmas music. The snow goose is not really a Christmas book but it has a winter vibe. I enjoyed reading it again, especially in the edition I own illustrated by Angela Barrett. I also have a Wordsworth children's book 'Twas the night before Christmas which is a Christmas anthology. I read Clement Moore's poem, Louisa May Alcott's Christmas dream, a shortened version of A Christmas Carol done by Dickens himself and Hans Christian Anderson's The Fir tree. All full of god morals. In the evening Eleri and I went down to the Royal Festival Hall to see Kate Rusby and her band singing Christmas music. Very nice - more on that anon.