Choral

I enjoy some classical music but Moonface isn't keen, so we rarely get to concerts.
She was ill and tired yesterday evening after an afternoon of art so I decided to go to the choral concert at the Colston Hall by myself. I'm so pleased that I did.
The programme was of three pieces from British composers between 1912-1917, so there was a clear theme and cohesion to the evening. It started with Holst's Hymn of Jesus which immediately sent me into a reverie-like state of intense peace, so much so that I just concentrated on the music for the next hour. The next piece was Vaughan-Williams' Lark Ascending, with such a soft start and subtle quiet playing that the whole audience was hushed and attentive throughout. It was wonderful.

I didn't even feel like a Billy-No-Mates, as I bumped into several people I knew in the interval and spent it nattering with John the Archer's Vicar and Lindsay. An easy evening with a good walk to finish.

:o)

Walking home

Today was quintessential November: grey, cold, drizzly. We trolled around an art trail yesterday, so fancied a change today. I also needed to try my contact lenses for an extended period in which I wouldn't want to either read or use a computer, so a walk was the obvious answer. As I didn't want to drive anywhere Moonface & I took the local train to Shirehampton and walked home via the riverbank.

Seeing the Avon at low tide from this new perspective and at walking pace is to see it in a very different light as it's lined by low grey cliffs above the mud-line. The walk home is about six miles, of which only the last is through town, and there's about another quarter-mile of tarmac along the Portway to Black Rocks, before climbing up to the Downs.

A few observations: in spite of the weather and the omnipresent sound of traffic the walk had interest and was effectively rural. And I could see without glasses! Today must have been the first time for forty years that I have spent so long awake without glasses on my face. When I finally succeeded in the prolonged struggle to remove the contacts ( I hope that this gets easier with practice ) and replace my glasses, they felt very strange and unwelcome. I should have tried contacts years ago, before my ability to focus atrophied.

In the final mile we stopped for cake & coffee in a new-to-us caff on Whiteladies, then scouted for others to try on subsequent Sundays: winter is coming.

:o)

Tasty

I like it when food turns out better than expected.
I knew that I couldn't be bothered to put lots of effort into cooking today, but what I did, worked. We had some rather old streaky bacon in the fridge, as well as a fraction of a chicken-breast that I had been intending to cook for my lunch, but hadn't got around to using. That too needed using. When I went shopping for the essentials of apples (Coxs) and bananas I saw that the greengrocer had some cheap bags of tomatoes & oyster mushrooms, so I bought those too. 50p per bag!

So we had pasta with:

120g streaky bacon, chopped & fried until starting to brown. Then add
1 large onion, finely chopped.
Fry gently until translucent.
Add:
70g chopped chicken breast
fry for 2-3 mins, then
5-600g tomatoes , chopped
150g oyster mushrooms
1 finely sliced cooking chorizo
dash of soy sauce
handful of mixed herbs

Cook for 10-12 mins while the pasta cooks & softens

Not bad at all.

:o)

Contact

I've not worn contact lenses for nigh on twenty years until today, when I was given (sold) a trial by my opticians. I remember the itchiness and the way that my eyes contracted into slits when I was using the semi-permeable hard lenses back then, but today's trial went much better. I've taken them out now after 2½ hours since my older eyes can't focus closely enough to read or use the computer easily with them in, and because I was advised to start slowly. I was so pleased that I suffered very little discomfort except for the fiddliness of removing the damn things from my narrow eyes. Let's see how I get on with wearing them for a longer period. It'll be nice to walk in the rain without becoming blinded by the raindrops obscuring my glasses.

As a plus, I will also have to improve the way in which I care for my fingernails so that I don't scratch myself. Anything that forces an improvement in my hygiene & appearance must be good.

:o)

83

I've been away on business three times over the last month or so, so have exercised less than usual whilst eating more than is good for me. This morning, my first at home for a week, Moonface patted my tummy and remarked that I'd grown.

She is right, I have. I weighed myself at 83kg, the heaviest I've been since I lost so much back in 2003. Yes, I was 82 kg a couple of years ago, but I don't like it. Time to up my exercise and watch what I eat. No wonder my clothes are feeling tight.

To think that at the tail-end of our Cuban holiday in January 2004, I'd dropped down to 71. Perhaps that should be my aim again. It would make cycling uphill much faster than now.

:o(

Jack

Moonface and I paid our annual visit the RWA Autumn exhibition show on Sunday, and enjoyed it more than usual. There were several stand-outs, but one portrait caught my eye: something that looked remarkably like Rio's suave friend, Jack Willingham. I asked Moonface, who agreed that it could be him. Then we checked the catalogue: it was titled "Jack" .

So I sent Jack a message on facebook, and he replied yes. So that's his portrait above.

:o)