World's Shipping Routes

Looney Facts repost from 2011

Here is a list of seemingly looney facts. Can you spot the one that 's not true?

• Japanese research has concluded that moderate drinking can boost IQ levels.
• The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth is called Arachibutyrophobia.
• Macadamia nuts are not sold in their shells because it takes 300 pounds per square inch of pressure to break the shell.
• Florida: An elephant tied to a parking meter must pay the regular parking fee.
• In Samoa, it is illegal to forget your wife's birthday.
• In Alabama it is illegal to stab yourself to gain someone's pity.
• In the UK it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
• Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
• London taxis (black cabs) must carry a bale of hay and a sack of oats.
• Descendants of Sweeney Todd, the cannibalistic barber, founded a sausage factory in Somerset, England after the First World War.
• The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.
• Queen Elizabeth Ist regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not.
• An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

These facts have all been verified by the Internet....so they must be true! Answers at the weekend.

I'm listening to Dion & The Belmonts singing Ruby Baby, one of the all-time great rock and roll songs. Listen here.

REPOST from 2012: Painting of the Month, Alex Snellgrove

Persian Girl by Alex Snellgrove

On my recent visit to Australia (from November 2012)I was lucky enough to meet up with esoteric fellow-Blogger Stephen Simmonds. He and his wife Rosalie took Leah and I to a gallery in Clovelly, a suburb of Sydney near Bondi Beach, where their friend, local artist Alex Snellgrove, was showing her latest work.

As you can see she has a wonderful way of painting water. The series of paintings, of which the above is one, displays her great ability to convey the luminosity and movement of water. The effect of light and the translucence it gives the water is delightful. We met the charming artist and bought some cards with prints of her work; I would have liked to have purchased a painting too but they were (justifiably) out of my price range!

Coogee Beach, Sydney by Alex Snellgrove

I'm listening to Dion's version of Leonard Cohen's much-recorded Sisters of Mercy. There are many excellent versions of this wonderful song but Dion's is surprisingly good. Hear it here!

Ruth's Birthday

Leah and I walked a mile-and-a-half through the deserted streets to the home of Ruth, our oldest daughter, and we held up a banner while singing Happy Birthday. It's nice to get out now and then!

As we were leaving an ice-cream van pulled up outside. They had placed their order and paid online. The Italian ice-ream guys made up the orders right there and left it on their doorstep - no contact! Very enterprising I think.

I'm listening to Jackson Browne singing his own song Linda Paloma live on The Letterman Show. He is a top-class live performer. The song is in a Californian-Mexican style. Listen here.

The original studio recording features a harp and it's here!

John Prine 1946-2020

I was saddened to learn that Covid-19 had claimed the life of John Prine, one of my favourite singer-songwriters.  By all accounts he was a decent family man. His songs are often very humorous and can be full of hard-hitting social commentary. When he first appeared on the scene he was dismissed as just another Bob Dylan clone but he persevered and showed his true worth. Here are some links to a few of my favourite songs and a cover by Bette Midler:
Sam Stone - a very moving song from early in his career. Listen here.
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness - lovely lyrics, catchy tune. Listen here.
In Spite of Ourselves - with Iris DeMent, very funny. Listen here.
Hello in There- such a sad song. Listen here.
And finally an emotional cover of Hello in There by Bette Midler. Listen here.
Joan Baez has also covered the song but, for me, it doesn't work so well at the high tempo she has used.

Re-post from 2010: The Naming of Parts by Henry Reed

I am currently re-posting some of my favourite posts from the last ten years.

This is one of my all-time favourite poems. It was written in 1942 during the War and it has various ways of being interpreted. I feel that there are two voices speaking. The first one is an army instructor, rather drily and somewhat sarcastically putting some new conscripts through their paces in learning about a particular weapon and the second voice is that of a young recruit (which I have italicised).
The recruit’s mind is wandering as he notices all the signs of spring-time around him. His mind is doing what a young man’s mind will do in spring-time and everything he is thinking has a secondary sexual connotation. The more you read it the more of these hints will be picked up. (‘Cocking bolt’, ‘we can rapidly slide it backwards and forwards’, ‘assaulting and fumbling’ and so on).
Henry Reed has not used punctuation to distinguish the two voices and make our job easier but it is clear what he intends. Rather clever don’t you think?

Today we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And tomorrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But today,
Today we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighbouring gardens,
     And today we have naming of parts.

This is the lower sling swivel. And this
Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings. And this is the piling swivel,
Which in your case you have not got. The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
   Which in our case we have not got.

This is the safety-catch, which is always released
With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your thumb. The blossoms
Are fragile and motionless, never letting anyone see
   Any of them using their finger.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
   They call it easing the Spring.

They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance, Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards
and forwards,

   For today we have naming of parts.

Nothing changes!

RE-POST FROM 2012: Isaac Albeniz

As I am a bit of short of time currently, I am going to re-post some of my favourites from over the previous ten years.

Isaac Albeniz 1860 - 1909. A little flamboyant don't you think?

Isaac Albeniz was a Spanish pianist and composer who died at the early age of 48 (from a kidney ailment known at the time as Bright's Disease). I was once a student of the classical guitar and came to his music through the many transcriptions of his piano music for the guitar. Transcription is when a piece of music written for one instrument is arranged and notated for another.

My two favourite pieces are Granada from the Suite Española and the Tango in D and here are links to piano and guitar versions of both where one can see how well they work for the guitar.

Granada for piano (there are better versions but this is the best I could find on You Tube). I'm not sure who plays this.

Granada for guitar played by John Williams.

Tango in D for piano. Again, I don't know who the pianist is.

Tango in D for guitar played by John Williams again.

Draft 1

While I am stuck at home self-isolating, instead of music, I will be posting jokes:

North Hill, Highgate, Part Two

This is the second  post about the amazing North Hill in Highgate, London.
See the first part and introduction here.

 4 North Hill, Highgate

Number 4.This is a good example of Venetian Gothic which differs from that of Florence or Rome. The steeper roof and smaller windows make it more suited to a colder climate. The windows are the first appearance in North Hill of a pointed and angled arch as is the use of varying colours of brick. The heavy entablature at the top would have served to throw rain-water forward to avoid it soaking the walls.

 47-49 North Hill, Highgate

Numbers 47 and 49. Known as Provincial Georgian style (not a derogatory term!). These houses, unique to London would have been outside of any building regulations and, most probably, from a pattern-book so no involvement of an architect. The equal spacing of the windows and brickwork between them was a typical feature and the lintel at the top hides the roof.

 51 North Hill, Highgate

Number 51. An ornate Regency Villa of 1780. Although the ground-floor windows are classic Georgian the downstairs has been more recently extended. It is the only property in North Hill in which the front door opens directly onto the street. I love the first floor bay and wrought iron decoration.

Castle Yard, North Hill

The Victorian Cottages of Castle yard; although tiny and quaint, these former worker's homes,

directly off North Hill, are worthwhile mentioning. These neat, sought-after houses can fetch a million pounds each! Location, location, location.

Highpoint One at the top of North Hill

And the final treat at the top of North Hill is HIGHPOINT (1935) the first of two apartment blocks on one of the highest spots in London and often cited as one of Britain’s finest buildings. It was designed by the Russian-emigré architect Berthold Lubetkin and commissioned by Sigmund Gestetner. Although it was originally intended for his staff, it was never used for that purpose. Next door is Highpoint 2 but I think Gestetner must have copied the first one 😊. Corbusier described it as “a building of the first rank.”

I'm listening to Country Girl by Brinsley Schwarz, the very talented 1970s band who never really made it despite having Nick Lowe as their vocalist. Take a listen here!

North Hill, Highgate, Part One

North Hill in Highgate, north London is a unique road in the UK, probably in Europe and possibly in the world! It's about half-a-mile in length and contains an absolutely incredible variety of English domestic architecture; almost a complete collection of all the styles and variety since Tudor times. Here is a selection of some of the more interesting buildings. More will follow in a future post.

41 North Hill, Highgate London

Number 41 was built in 1600, at the end of the Tudor period although in the Elizabethan age. Its typically Tudor arrangement of black beams on white walls is far too tidy to be the original design and it was extensively remodelled in 1926. It is easily the oldest building in the street.

121 North Hill, Highgate

Number 121, an almost over-the-top Gothic Revival house from 1880 is unusual for the style in being symmetrical. It was the first appearance of glazed panels in the front door. The sills are made from an artificial aggregate called coade stone, named for its inventor, Mrs Coade who took the secret of its manufacturing process to her grave. Personally I rather like the downstairs windows and all the fussy details and additions.

Morven House, 6 North Hill, Highgate

Number 6 was badly neglected when used by Haringey as sheltered accommodation for homeless people and drug addicts. Now fully restored, one can see the Palladlian-influenced building at its best. The stucco on the ground floor has been incised to give the appearance of large pieces of masonry. Stucco would have been much cheaper than stonework. The first-floor railings are also typical.

80 North Hill, Highgate

Number 80 is a typical Edwardian house built around 1905 and is, perhaps surprisingly, the only example in this street. Features include the recessed entrance below an upstairs window and, above the upstairs bay, is something that became very popular during the inter-war years: small areas of pebble-dash between wooden verticals, possibly reminiscent of the Tudor style. 

169-175 North Hill, Springfield Cottages, Highgate

Springfield Cottages, 169-175. Built in 1877, this neat row of cottages shows the influence of the 1870 Building Regulations: the taller chimney stacks and you can just make out the vertical row of bricks between the properties, which acted to stop the spread of fire. Also, not really visible, there is a row of blue bricks along the base which helped to prevent damp. These cottages had bay windows where the earlier Georgian ones would have had bow windows

I'm listening to the irresistible Negro Y Azul, The Ballad of Heisenberg by Los Cuates de Sinaloa

from Breaking Bad. LISTEN HERE