NEW BEGINNERS SPANISH GROUP
A New Group set up from nothing in two weeks, why didn't I think of using my email address bank in this way before? I know I had to trawl the whole list of members with email in the attempt to find the 2% who were interested - most declared their interest within two days of me sending out the broadcast.
First the facts the group set up to teach beginners will meet for the first time in the Dry Side of the Craft Room at Hazel Court at 10am next Wednesday 6 April under the tuition of Keith Barry, tel 795672. He was keen to form a group which will learn from scratch with no members previous knowledge daunting the genuine beginners. If you've always wanted to learn the language here is your opportunity.
It looks as though the group will originally number nine, sufficient - but a few more would be welcome. A small amount of rusty fore-knowledge several years ago should not put the anyone off trying the new group out so long as they do not flaunt it. One member declares she now has young grandchildren in Madrid, if she's as lucky as us with our French connection she will have a few delightful years being spoken to in Spanish whilst she replies in English until the kids overtake her and speak English as fluently as she does.
The group will meet weekly and looks set to run through the summer, though that as usual will be for the group to decide themselves.
SPANISH CONVERSATION
Alison Burns run this informal group which meet alternate weeks at 2pm in the basement at Starvin' Jacks coffee shop in the town centre, more precisely in Portland Street opposite the HSBC bank just up from the Oxford Street entrance to the market. I have only attended once when they wee still searching for a suitable venue but intend to go there this Tuesday 5th April where the topic being prepared by members will be 'Things I Hate'.
At the same time as I trawled for interest for beginners I tried to establish a list of people interested in Improvers a more advanced potential course. The ten positive responses to this were slower coming through and quite a lot were from members who joined our U3A this year. I formed the impression that most were motivated by the need to improve or to maintain their speaking skills. They have been invited to Tuesday's meeting with Alison's blessing.
TRAWLING FOR INTEREST
I hope members are not unwilling to receive such bulk mailings, because I intend to do a couple of other topics soon, emails are easily discarded and in any case today's Inboxes have huge capacity.
ITALIAN
Complaints that Carolina, our diminutive octogenarian Italian tutor, has finally lost control of her group keep reaching me. The latest complaint is that she is now apparently conducting her own Male (well almost all) Voice Choir as they prepare to top the bill in Italian voice at our silver birthday celebration. So much so that in a delicious irony, to me at least, I hear that two of the Arty-Farty Wets are thinking of jumping on the band-Wagon next door. For the uninitiated Wet and Dry refer to the two halves of the Craft Room at HazeI Court. I wouldn't put it beyond her, for she doubles in the role of leader of Swansea Writers, to have them reciting specially home crafted poetry as well, and maybe coming out in favour of her fallen hero, the fascist 'Il Duce' - Mussolini to you lot.
JAZZ
The best concert I've heard this year was two weeks ago from the Geoff Eales Quintet who are on a 25 concert 60th birthday tour of the UK. Small matter that it was my first visit of the year to Swansea Jazzland, for Geoff will still be there or thereabouts at the top by December. A hard working unit who specialise in puffing and blowing together in ensemble, unusual for modern jazz players who usually take it in in turns to show off in solos, but a feature of the best Trad Bands, I'm thinking here of post-war stars like Black American George Lewis and our very own Ken Collier.
The non-stop vigour of Geoff's piano playing put in mind that in Trad jazz piano was always thought of in the role of percussion, that is not to forget that classically trained he was often tuneful, even reflective. This time his trio featuring excellent drummer Asaf Sirkis and Fred Thelonious Baker on bass guitar, was front-lined by Ben Waghorn, an exciting saxophone player (who never did pick up his base clarinet), and Carl Orr on guitar. They played standards, like Miles Davis's 'All Blues' from his landmark best-selling album 'Kind of Blue', mixed with Geoff's own excellent compositions.
The good news is that you have a second chance to hear them since they are playing as Geoff Eales and Friends at Porthcawl International Jazz Festival on Sunday Monday afternoon 24 April, the morning of the same day his trio will perform.
The festival runs from 22 to 25th April with many fine performers across the spectrum spectrum from trad to modern and perhaps beyond including singer Jacqui Dankworth. We will not be there for we will be in France for a grand' daughter's 16th birthday.
The very next week Karen Sharp, who won the 2010 British Jazz Award for tenor saxophone, Alan Barnes got the award for alto sax, reminded us how musical and tuneful modern jazz can be. I was so pleased she played one of my bossa nuova favourites 'The Dolphin', that when I got home I played the Stan Getz version and appreciated the edge and phrasing and changes in tonality which made him one the all-time greats on tenor. He like Miles Davis transcended the gulf with popular music and was so popular in the 60's with this form of jazz music - remember his recording with singer Astrud Gilberto of 'The Girl from Ipanema' or the instrumental 'Jazz Samba' album with acoustic guitarist Charlie Byrd.
You have a second chance to Karen Sharp since she is playing with tenor Robert Fowler at the jazz festival at Upton on Severn from Friday 24 June to Sunday 26 June. We will be on our second trip of the year to France. Robert Fowler was playing in Alan Barnes band not so long ago at the Taliesin, I think to perform Alan's then new 'Sherlock Holmes Suite'.
POLITICS and CITIZENSHIP
We had an excellent lunch out in the Brasserie, Wind Street, on Thursday attended by around a dozen group members. It was arranged that day so we could go on to the public gallery of the Council Chamber to hear the Monthly? plenary session of the Council, the topic for discussion at the next meeting of the group. More joined us at the Civic Centre having come from the Gardening Group meeting, an unfortunate clash - but then there is so much going on these days such random clashes are unavoidable.
It's the first time I have been to a council meeting anywhere and in general I did not hold a good view of local politics and councillors. I must say the experience modified my view and some of those who spoke were most impressive, the fact that many such came from the senior members of the Cabinet benches was encouraging. On the downside there needed to be better amplification from the floor, although unlike say my wife Joan I have no acute problem with hearing some of the special presentations in particular were difficult to follow.
I must say I found many of the exchanges about the problems of Swansea's most deprived areas and concern about the education in these areas was moving and it was good to hear the discussion of professionally prepared planning documents. A few members fitted my previous buffoon image of councillors, none more so than the one who seemed more concerned to get photos with to promote himself on Facebook than the business of the chamber.
ARTS
I was heartened to read that my favourite Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol was given a grant from the Arts Council for the very first time (after twelve glorious years) and that in a year in which there were 15% cuts in the London based top end and savage cuts in the rest of the country making a total budget cut of 30%. The Bristol Old Vic also held onto the whole £1.2 million of their grant, another of my favourite venues and one which is currently closed for stage two of its rebuild.
The choice of enterprises to support and those to drop had clearly been re-evaluated from scratch - and from my admittedly limited observations it has been done well. Appropriate targeting, including cutting out dead wood, is vital but it is a shame that there had to be a cut at all in this most vital area of British excellence, there aren't too many other areas where we are at the top echelon of the world league these days. Certainly not manufacturing industry, football or cricket! Is investment banking really the best we can do?
EDUCATION
Question Time this week unusually had a complete panel who were prepared to argue logically and even Boris Johnson showed he was prepared to lend his support to sense talked by those of normally opposite views.
To my mind that applied to the discussions about the Libyan crisis and education. The bit that pleased me most was to find most of the panel agreed that support so that talented but poor students could continue their studies was vital, previously called the EMA (educational maintenance grant) under Labour. There was also a universal acceptance that the recently revised (narrowing) targeting was a step forward, but as with the Arts Council many expressed the view that it was too important an area to be cut at all. Education of our young is our future, without matching the importance that India and China give to this area our grandchildren will be dead meat.
I have many times in this blog returned to the belief that our grand'children's generation that suffers most from this crisis, even The Guardian is now belatedly preaching that theme. Just as our children's generation suffered most in the 80's. Many never recovered from their experiences in the 80's we called it the lost generation, the greed of us older generation will see it re-enacted.
Mark Serwotka, a name new to me, was that unusual thing a trade unionist very clear about his personal philosophy and willing and able to use that to express eloquently the opinions derived there-from. You may take it I was heartened to hear logical argument by a member of a lobby which so often seems blinkered, and so often, usually for good reason, comes over as being simply defensive. He is a free thinker a breath of fresh air for Labour politics.
WAR and LIBYA
Anything I say about this crisis is more than probably to be overtaken by fast moving events, especially tonight because I haven't even listened to today's news. But here goes!
My opposition to war is clear, I believe the use of military force is nearly always counter-productive. We went into Libya to protect a population from undeserved violence, an arguable position I admit. Having largely achieved that aim what could be worse than arming the 'rebels' so that they can prolong the killing.
The only beneficiaries of that are the manufacturers of arms, like ourselves, we should aim to wean ourselves off such a dirty, overpriced, corrupt, trade.
CRICKET
I think I n must be the only one in Rugby mad Wales who has regularly stayed up till One pm to listening to the exciting World Cup games.
Don't miss the climax tonight with the final in Bombay between Sri Lanka and India. Seen another way it is Master Batter Sachin Tendulkar, indisputably the best since Bradman, who hopes to make his swansong his 100th Test Century today versus Master Tweaker the ham-strung Muralitharan (with Shane Warne one of the two best spin bowlers of all time). He will fight through an injured hamstring to sign off from Test Cricket with a triumph.
Since England tied with India in one of their sequence of exciting close finishes whilst they were trashed by ten wickets to Sri Lanka the result should be a no brainer. But it won't be. Remember the sub-continent is even more crazy about cricket than Wales and New Zealand are about Rugby. Remember also that Tendulkar by his own admission used five (of his nine) lives in top scoring against Pakistan in their semi-final or they wouldn't be there at all. Home advantage should be a huge advantage to India in Mumbai, but the level of expectation may get to them as it does so often to England's football team at Wembley, if it doesn't and if Sri Lanka also perform to the standard they can reach expect a classic cliff hanger.
A New Group set up from nothing in two weeks, why didn't I think of using my email address bank in this way before? I know I had to trawl the whole list of members with email in the attempt to find the 2% who were interested - most declared their interest within two days of me sending out the broadcast.
First the facts the group set up to teach beginners will meet for the first time in the Dry Side of the Craft Room at Hazel Court at 10am next Wednesday 6 April under the tuition of Keith Barry, tel 795672. He was keen to form a group which will learn from scratch with no members previous knowledge daunting the genuine beginners. If you've always wanted to learn the language here is your opportunity.
It looks as though the group will originally number nine, sufficient - but a few more would be welcome. A small amount of rusty fore-knowledge several years ago should not put the anyone off trying the new group out so long as they do not flaunt it. One member declares she now has young grandchildren in Madrid, if she's as lucky as us with our French connection she will have a few delightful years being spoken to in Spanish whilst she replies in English until the kids overtake her and speak English as fluently as she does.
The group will meet weekly and looks set to run through the summer, though that as usual will be for the group to decide themselves.
SPANISH CONVERSATION
Alison Burns run this informal group which meet alternate weeks at 2pm in the basement at Starvin' Jacks coffee shop in the town centre, more precisely in Portland Street opposite the HSBC bank just up from the Oxford Street entrance to the market. I have only attended once when they wee still searching for a suitable venue but intend to go there this Tuesday 5th April where the topic being prepared by members will be 'Things I Hate'.
At the same time as I trawled for interest for beginners I tried to establish a list of people interested in Improvers a more advanced potential course. The ten positive responses to this were slower coming through and quite a lot were from members who joined our U3A this year. I formed the impression that most were motivated by the need to improve or to maintain their speaking skills. They have been invited to Tuesday's meeting with Alison's blessing.
TRAWLING FOR INTEREST
I hope members are not unwilling to receive such bulk mailings, because I intend to do a couple of other topics soon, emails are easily discarded and in any case today's Inboxes have huge capacity.
ITALIAN
Complaints that Carolina, our diminutive octogenarian Italian tutor, has finally lost control of her group keep reaching me. The latest complaint is that she is now apparently conducting her own Male (well almost all) Voice Choir as they prepare to top the bill in Italian voice at our silver birthday celebration. So much so that in a delicious irony, to me at least, I hear that two of the Arty-Farty Wets are thinking of jumping on the band-Wagon next door. For the uninitiated Wet and Dry refer to the two halves of the Craft Room at HazeI Court. I wouldn't put it beyond her, for she doubles in the role of leader of Swansea Writers, to have them reciting specially home crafted poetry as well, and maybe coming out in favour of her fallen hero, the fascist 'Il Duce' - Mussolini to you lot.
JAZZ
The best concert I've heard this year was two weeks ago from the Geoff Eales Quintet who are on a 25 concert 60th birthday tour of the UK. Small matter that it was my first visit of the year to Swansea Jazzland, for Geoff will still be there or thereabouts at the top by December. A hard working unit who specialise in puffing and blowing together in ensemble, unusual for modern jazz players who usually take it in in turns to show off in solos, but a feature of the best Trad Bands, I'm thinking here of post-war stars like Black American George Lewis and our very own Ken Collier.
The non-stop vigour of Geoff's piano playing put in mind that in Trad jazz piano was always thought of in the role of percussion, that is not to forget that classically trained he was often tuneful, even reflective. This time his trio featuring excellent drummer Asaf Sirkis and Fred Thelonious Baker on bass guitar, was front-lined by Ben Waghorn, an exciting saxophone player (who never did pick up his base clarinet), and Carl Orr on guitar. They played standards, like Miles Davis's 'All Blues' from his landmark best-selling album 'Kind of Blue', mixed with Geoff's own excellent compositions.
The good news is that you have a second chance to hear them since they are playing as Geoff Eales and Friends at Porthcawl International Jazz Festival on Sunday Monday afternoon 24 April, the morning of the same day his trio will perform.
The festival runs from 22 to 25th April with many fine performers across the spectrum spectrum from trad to modern and perhaps beyond including singer Jacqui Dankworth. We will not be there for we will be in France for a grand' daughter's 16th birthday.
The very next week Karen Sharp, who won the 2010 British Jazz Award for tenor saxophone, Alan Barnes got the award for alto sax, reminded us how musical and tuneful modern jazz can be. I was so pleased she played one of my bossa nuova favourites 'The Dolphin', that when I got home I played the Stan Getz version and appreciated the edge and phrasing and changes in tonality which made him one the all-time greats on tenor. He like Miles Davis transcended the gulf with popular music and was so popular in the 60's with this form of jazz music - remember his recording with singer Astrud Gilberto of 'The Girl from Ipanema' or the instrumental 'Jazz Samba' album with acoustic guitarist Charlie Byrd.
You have a second chance to Karen Sharp since she is playing with tenor Robert Fowler at the jazz festival at Upton on Severn from Friday 24 June to Sunday 26 June. We will be on our second trip of the year to France. Robert Fowler was playing in Alan Barnes band not so long ago at the Taliesin, I think to perform Alan's then new 'Sherlock Holmes Suite'.
POLITICS and CITIZENSHIP
We had an excellent lunch out in the Brasserie, Wind Street, on Thursday attended by around a dozen group members. It was arranged that day so we could go on to the public gallery of the Council Chamber to hear the Monthly? plenary session of the Council, the topic for discussion at the next meeting of the group. More joined us at the Civic Centre having come from the Gardening Group meeting, an unfortunate clash - but then there is so much going on these days such random clashes are unavoidable.
It's the first time I have been to a council meeting anywhere and in general I did not hold a good view of local politics and councillors. I must say the experience modified my view and some of those who spoke were most impressive, the fact that many such came from the senior members of the Cabinet benches was encouraging. On the downside there needed to be better amplification from the floor, although unlike say my wife Joan I have no acute problem with hearing some of the special presentations in particular were difficult to follow.
I must say I found many of the exchanges about the problems of Swansea's most deprived areas and concern about the education in these areas was moving and it was good to hear the discussion of professionally prepared planning documents. A few members fitted my previous buffoon image of councillors, none more so than the one who seemed more concerned to get photos with to promote himself on Facebook than the business of the chamber.
ARTS
I was heartened to read that my favourite Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol was given a grant from the Arts Council for the very first time (after twelve glorious years) and that in a year in which there were 15% cuts in the London based top end and savage cuts in the rest of the country making a total budget cut of 30%. The Bristol Old Vic also held onto the whole £1.2 million of their grant, another of my favourite venues and one which is currently closed for stage two of its rebuild.
The choice of enterprises to support and those to drop had clearly been re-evaluated from scratch - and from my admittedly limited observations it has been done well. Appropriate targeting, including cutting out dead wood, is vital but it is a shame that there had to be a cut at all in this most vital area of British excellence, there aren't too many other areas where we are at the top echelon of the world league these days. Certainly not manufacturing industry, football or cricket! Is investment banking really the best we can do?
EDUCATION
Question Time this week unusually had a complete panel who were prepared to argue logically and even Boris Johnson showed he was prepared to lend his support to sense talked by those of normally opposite views.
To my mind that applied to the discussions about the Libyan crisis and education. The bit that pleased me most was to find most of the panel agreed that support so that talented but poor students could continue their studies was vital, previously called the EMA (educational maintenance grant) under Labour. There was also a universal acceptance that the recently revised (narrowing) targeting was a step forward, but as with the Arts Council many expressed the view that it was too important an area to be cut at all. Education of our young is our future, without matching the importance that India and China give to this area our grandchildren will be dead meat.
I have many times in this blog returned to the belief that our grand'children's generation that suffers most from this crisis, even The Guardian is now belatedly preaching that theme. Just as our children's generation suffered most in the 80's. Many never recovered from their experiences in the 80's we called it the lost generation, the greed of us older generation will see it re-enacted.
Mark Serwotka, a name new to me, was that unusual thing a trade unionist very clear about his personal philosophy and willing and able to use that to express eloquently the opinions derived there-from. You may take it I was heartened to hear logical argument by a member of a lobby which so often seems blinkered, and so often, usually for good reason, comes over as being simply defensive. He is a free thinker a breath of fresh air for Labour politics.
WAR and LIBYA
Anything I say about this crisis is more than probably to be overtaken by fast moving events, especially tonight because I haven't even listened to today's news. But here goes!
My opposition to war is clear, I believe the use of military force is nearly always counter-productive. We went into Libya to protect a population from undeserved violence, an arguable position I admit. Having largely achieved that aim what could be worse than arming the 'rebels' so that they can prolong the killing.
The only beneficiaries of that are the manufacturers of arms, like ourselves, we should aim to wean ourselves off such a dirty, overpriced, corrupt, trade.
CRICKET
I think I n must be the only one in Rugby mad Wales who has regularly stayed up till One pm to listening to the exciting World Cup games.
Don't miss the climax tonight with the final in Bombay between Sri Lanka and India. Seen another way it is Master Batter Sachin Tendulkar, indisputably the best since Bradman, who hopes to make his swansong his 100th Test Century today versus Master Tweaker the ham-strung Muralitharan (with Shane Warne one of the two best spin bowlers of all time). He will fight through an injured hamstring to sign off from Test Cricket with a triumph.
Since England tied with India in one of their sequence of exciting close finishes whilst they were trashed by ten wickets to Sri Lanka the result should be a no brainer. But it won't be. Remember the sub-continent is even more crazy about cricket than Wales and New Zealand are about Rugby. Remember also that Tendulkar by his own admission used five (of his nine) lives in top scoring against Pakistan in their semi-final or they wouldn't be there at all. Home advantage should be a huge advantage to India in Mumbai, but the level of expectation may get to them as it does so often to England's football team at Wembley, if it doesn't and if Sri Lanka also perform to the standard they can reach expect a classic cliff hanger.
1 comment:
Glad to hear that another new Group (Spanish) has taken off!
Armchair Travel had a short but successful meeting on Friday 1 April to plan next year’s programme. A good number volunteered to host sessions. I will circulate a draft programme to interested parties shortly. Our thanks to Brian and Mary Davies for so ably running the Group for many years, and we are all glad to hear they both plan to continue active involvement in Armchair Travel in the future.
Bob Hughes, Convenor designate 2011-2012, Armchair Travel
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