Kurt Elling

Recently I heard on Jazz FM one of the tracks of ‘1619 Broadway’ performed by the above gentleman and it made such an exciting impression on me that I just had to go out and purchase the album, which I did do while visiting my brother at Stratford-upon-Avon on Tuesday.

I have just finished playing the CD through now and am so moved by the slick expertise of the whole album that I have had to sit down straightaway to talk about it.

I am quite blown away by the way Kurt manoeuvres his voice, to swing his melodious way through eleven old favourites with such ease and panache. The jazz arrangements are very modern but the harmonies and rhythms are so sublimely eloquent that it has brought a wetness to my eye and a lump in my throat, which I haven’t experienced for some time. Kurt Elling’s voice is wonderful and  he weaves his way through numerous improvised phrases with such ease and style, while his voice, breath control and range is magnificent. The CD will remain a favourite of mine for a long time and I shall keep my eyes open for other albums.

To quote one of the tracks in the album, written by Sam Cooke;

‘You Send Me’ Mr Elling.

Frosty Fotos

 

 

Wintery webs

 

 

 

Freezing Face  (but my klaxon bracket still shows a happy one)

Granddaughter and Godunov

The days at Warwick pass by swiftly but quietly, as the year hurtles towards its Solstice. The weather remains variable, alternating between periods of wet but mild spells and clear cold snaps, slipping easily from one to the other as if the system was navigating a chequerboard. At the moment there is freezing fog outside and a severe frost is forecast for tonight, making both the ‘Squirrel’ Stove in the Saloon and the ‘Epping’ Range, aft in the Boatman’s Cabin, work hard to keep us comfortably warm inside.

It’s not the sort of evening to encourage one to venture out.

I am glad therefore that it was last weekend that I travelled to Malmesbury instead to see my son Alex and family. He and Catherine have a daughter Penny who is now six months old and I met the little lady for the first time on Saturday.

And she’s lovely too; a very bright happy little girl who looks just like her Mummy. But then I suppose every doting grandfather tends to have exactly the same feelings at this time.

I arrived on Saturday and Alex collected me from the train station at Swindon and then on Monday morning I travelled with him on his way to work and caught the train back to Warwick from Bath. It was a long and tedious journey involving three changes but it was a wonderful weekend which I had been looking forward to for some months.

 

Grandfather and granddaughter with the same silly grin

 

But mostly my time here at Kate Boats has been quiet, and so I’ve had a chance to get a myriad of small jobs completed. I have made the most of the 240 volt hook-up from ashore in as much as I think everything aboard has been washed thoroughly in the machine and of course it’s a pleasure to have the decadent use again of the electric kettle and toaster.

And you know? I’ve even cleaned ship on occasions.

Life is wonderful.

But frequently too I have been travelling to Stratford-upon-Avon, where my brother David lives out his bachelor existence. It’s good always to see him as we get on very well together.

Of course living so close to the Royal Shakespeare Company he visits the theatre regularly and though it is always well booked up and I normally have to make do with his description of the different productions that he has seen, he managed recently to get a ticket for me as well. This was a thorough, though unexpected treat for me.

It wasn’t a Shakespeare play that we went to see but Alexander Pushkin’s ‘Boris Godunov’. I had never seen it before, either as a play or the operatic version by Modest Mussorgsky and as in the past I had struggled to follow other Russian contemporary literature, by Chekov and Tolstoy, I was rather anxious that I might even let myself down by nodding off in the middle somewhere.

However this production adapted by Sir Michael Boyd and directed by Adrian Mitchell was performed beautifully with great spirit and understanding by the understudy members of the cast and it just shows how versatile and professional these RSC players are. I didn’t even feel like dropping off to sleep once and was gripped totally the whole way through by the vibrant production.

Well done the RSC.

The Winter Skipper

Well! I think it’s a disgrace! Don’t you?

All he managed for November was two postings! He should feel ashamed of himself.

As usual, it’s left to me to extrapolate his credentials from the mire again.

……. Well you know what I mean.

It’s just not good enough though. It’s a good job he has me around I think.

The Old Man’s not been aboard at all very much actually. He’s been going off regularly to Stratford-upon-Avon and places to see his brother and other friends as well. He does seem to make the most of this time of the year to catch up with things like that. It’s a ten minute walk to the railway station and then he travels everywhere from there.

I’ll bet he gets into the ‘Old Railway Tavern’ too with their big TV screen. I’m sure he loves watching the live football the sneaky old so and so. But he don’t tell me much and I have to use my common sense a lot.

I don’t know why he doesn’t have TV on board. I know he’d like it. All normal people watch TV so why doesn’t he?  All I know is that his little face lit up like a Halloween pumpkin the other night when Janis appeared on the computer screen very clearly, all the way from New Zealand, with the help of Skype, which is the same as telly really……. I’ll tell you he's definitely an odd ‘un ….. as well as being ockard. I have an awful job to work him out sometimes.

But I’m happy, sat quietly here on my own waiting with great patience till the end of February when we can cruise again. But for the last month we’ve had lovely weather in a November-y sort of way. No ice anyway and we could have cruised beautifully for all that time. I don’t even mind ploughing my way through the ice. It’s so exciting ….. But I know the Skipper’s worried about ripping all the paint off my bottom and having to get me re-blacked afterwards. And as he loves his country overnight moorings, I also think he worries about getting iced in somewhere during the night, miles from a fresh water tap and a shop.

The poor old chap….

So here we stay tied up snugly at Kate Boats with nothing better for me to do but count the ducks that pass by.

Hey Ho!

November

The time is here again when the thin dawn light of winter begins to seep into the day at around seven every morning, with a persistent damp and dismal lethargy. Then later, as soon as all has arrived, it immediately starts to creep out again and is gone by five o’clock never to return for another long fourteen hours.

In fact I am reminded at this time of the year of a poem that I learned while at school many years ago. It’s called:-

 

November

By Thomas Hood

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!

 

On these dark mornings one is encouraged to remain within the cocoon of one’s bed indefinitely. But eventually, having finally shaken off the shackles of sleep, it is wonderful to rise and still be able to remain somewhat self indulgent by just  sitting within the cosy confines of the boat luxuriating in the warmth of the Squirrel fire, whilst reading a good book.

Let the rest of the World carry on with its busy hectic life outside. I have happily maintained my alternative here for a number of days now.

 

However we do get the occasional morning without the cloud

 

I have just finished reading Terry Pratchett’s novel ‘Nation’. It was recommended to me by Janis before she left and I must admit that I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I have done. I’ve not read any of his books before and since the author’s note announced that the plot was set in a parallel universe to ours, I was expecting some kind of fantasy genre, which I have never enjoyed when I have tried to read them before; I must be the only person in the world for example who hasn’t enjoyed a Harry Potter book (yes I have tried one) or seen a Harry Potter film. But I did thoroughly enjoy ‘Nation’ with its simple profound  logic and witty prose that I found almost poetic in nature.

 

‘Roots and Wings’ at her safe berth for the winter

 

‘Futurest’ with that certain lived aboard look

 

Apart from a couple of visits to my brother in Stratford-upon-Avon and to the funeral of my friend Lyn in Banbury recently, after which, friend’s John and Maggie kindly put me up for the night, I have led a quiet life.

I’ve been for a number of walks around the district, for interest's sake trying to vary them as much as possible, and these have been very enjoyable. On Saturday 3rd September I was out in the evening for a stroll, watching the numerous and colourful firework displays around Warwick.

In turn briefly each would impress and flourish brightly and loudly for about twenty minutes before the normal traffic noise and the orange glow of the town took over once more. Furthermore on the following morning all over, like discarded skeletons was the anti-climactic debris of spent sky rockets, wet, soggy and forlorn in the morning dew.

The local pubs were hoping to be busy on that Saturday night too. Loud music from some and/or massive television screens blazed a bright path across the dark pavements, while outside the ‘Old Railway Tavern’, a board announced ecstatically the usual football matches ‘LIVE’ between teams I hadn’t even heard of.

Though damp and misty, recently the air temperature has been very mild and in conditions like this it is tempting to take ‘Futurest’ out for a cruise. But of course one cannot trust the weather and at any moment, within hours, icy conditions might descend leaving us stuck miles from anywhere without any sustenance.

We shall remain here safe and sound till the end of February as planned.

Back Safely at Our Home Port

Eight months ago ‘Futurest’ and I set off in excellent spirits from Kate Boats in Warwick for another exciting season of cruising, never quite knowing what adventure lay ahead for us. Now we’ve arrived safely back having travelled a total of 650.5 miles, through 408 locks and 10 tunnels since we left.

I know this is a modest amount to what some people manage to cover in the same period but then ‘Futurest’ and I were never designed for getting there-and-back-as-quickly-as-we-can and neither of us intended to go for any speed records. Having managed an average speed of 1.53 mph overall, which includes all locking time and other stoppages, I am certainly most happy with the result.

Our pattern has been slightly different this year in that we managed to join up with Janis and ‘Roots and Wings’ in Newark at the beginning of May. We’ve remained happily in tandem ever since and arrived at Kate Boats on Monday afternoon. Everything seems the same here; we are at our old berth, just beneath the bridge and the smiles of welcome we found unchanged.

I winterised ‘Roots and Wings this morning and she is moored snugly a little further away, adjacent to the paint shed. She should be fine for the coming winter months.

Her skipper Janis, far from relaxing after arrival, had to prepare herself for her forthcoming travels abroad and for a lot of the time was arranging flights, insurance, packing etc. that she would need for the next four months in Cambodia and New Zealand. She is looking forward to seeing home again particularly as she has not been back there for eight years or so.

However we did have some time to relax together and appreciate the wonderful atmosphere of Warwick.

 

My little Shipmate

 

Caesar’s Tower from Mill Street

 

Golden Glory in St Nicholas Park

 

Golden Sunset across the Avon

 

At this time of the year, forgetting the traffic and its noise, the town is an absolute delight with its medieval castle, its collegiate church and tall tower designed by Sir Christopher Wren and so many oak framed houses built during the Tudor period. They are all a pleasure to both eye and intellect. The park land too is wonderful with a myriad of golds and browns and carpeted with so many fallen leaves that in passing, one cannot help, like a child, swishing one’s feet noisily through them.

We managed to fit in a couple of urban walks, which took in both the castle and the nearby River Avon, high with rainwater and magnificent as usual but not currently in flood. The quaint little tearooms as well, where we shared a cream tea (or two), were full of their usual magical charm.

On one of these walks, which was taking us between the railway embankment and some allotments, behind which was an ordinary housing estate, we came upon a wonderful sight. We were walking along a narrow tarmac-ed path when suddenly from the hedge on the right, about ten yards ahead of us, jumped a brown animal which from its size, at first we thought was a dog. It looked at us briefly and decided to trot along the path in the direction away from us and it was then that we noticed that our dog had horns! We had spotted a Muntjac deer. I fumbled in my pocket quickly for my camera but in the excitement was not quick enough before the animal, spotting a man coming from the other direction towards us, skipped back nimbly through the hedge and into the allotment. Though Janis and I searched hard we never saw our little friend again. How brave wild animals are becoming these days, venturing so close to human habitation.

Janis left on Thursday to begin her World journey and I went with her as far as the railway station. The train was on time; I find generally that they are these days and at 6.41 pm she climbed aboard and disappeared from my life just as quickly as she had arrived.

The change will be nice but I shall miss her.

She has been a brilliant shipmate but very capable on her own anyway. Though we’ve remained in close convoy, she hasn’t needed my boating assistance in any way. She has been a good chum and I shall miss her laughter as well as her fine company and her advice.

Bon voyage Janis. I shall be thinking of you.

Leamington Spa

This week schools are on half term holiday. As a result Kate Boats are very busy sending out their hire boats. So when I phoned them to confirm our arrival at Warwick, Cheryl asked If we could possibly hold off till Monday, when it was anticipated all would be quieter to receive us. So we’re happily dawdling for a little longer before ending our voyage and settling down for the winter.

Currently the Sun is shining but for a few days earlier the cloud base was zero and we were enshrouded by a damp, drizzly mantle, which kept everything dripping wet and visibility to less than two hundred yards. It is cooler today but much brighter so it is no hardship for us to be contentedly moored for the time being on the visitor rings at Leamington Spa. We are at the bottom of the main Street and only fifteen minutes walk away from a large Sainsbury’s on the retail estate.

We filled our tanks at the last water point so what more could two contented boaters possibly want?

 

A muddy tow path at Leamington

 

It’s been a pleasure in fact to enjoy the delights of civilisation once more. We have visited the shopping malls and experienced all that the glossy expensive occupiers have to offer and we’ve walked around the town marvelling at the architecture of the grand town houses that were, with their big ornate porticos and steps down to the kitchens and servants quarters. Most of them are now occupied by firms of accountants or expensive estate agents….

And the prices of houses here….. Wow!

We’ve had lunch at the Pump rooms and though one can no longer ‘take the waters’, the ornate marbled Victorian fountain remains, albeit with flowers in its bowl. The building also houses a large library, the local museum and  a very fine art gallery.

After our lunch Janis and I sauntered around the Jephson Gardens filled now with the golden colours of autumn and watched little children, with their mothers, excitedly feeding ducks on the ornate lake. Grey squirrels, well accustomed here to lots of visitors, crept up on us soundlessly, sitting up perkily on their hind legs close to our feet and looking at us with alert and expectant little eyes. All we had was chocolate, but the offer was quickly accepted straight from Janis’ hand.

 

Janis in Jephson Gardens

 

An Autumn Scene

 

Hungry Squirrel

 

Foraging Squirrel

Last night we went to the local municipal theatre called The Royal Spa Centre. It is really a most splendid place and Janis and I enjoyed ‘The Sound of Music’, performed very enthusiastically by a local amateur team called The Spa Opera Group. We have both seen the show many times but last night’s was as good as any of them I thought. We returned to the little ships afterwards, happily singing all the well known tunes.

 

Leamington Old Town from the River Leam

 

Today we have one of our quiet days organised, when we both do our own thing. The towpath alongside is not the best, considering our proximity to the town so I shall go outside now to enjoy what remains of the Sun and wash off the starboard side of ‘Futurest’ which has been liberally splashed by bikes speeding through the muddy puddles.