renaissance man
Serendipity or Synchronicity? Or synchro-serendipi-popalopagosity? I don’t know. You tell me…
Only yesterday, out for a winter walk with Teresa, I discovered the above churchical book, by an author and stone-mason I’ve not encountered before.
And what pops up amongst my emails today? Only the above! It transpires the book I spotted at our local library is fresh off the press. And the author will be giving a talk on the subject, in Jan’, ‘25. I’ve booked us tickets. Fab!
I’ve arrived at the last few segments of this slight but endearing volume. I’m currently reading about Rick Stein’s adopted home, Padstow.
There’s a part of me that’s forever juvenile, and that part can’t help but snicker at the thought of hearing Betjeman’s plummy voicing enunciating ‘Brown Willy’ and ‘Rough Tor’.
And now we’re playing Scrabble and listening to great music…
After the mellowness of solo Metheny, this 1972 Mainstrean recording by Dizzy Gillespie’s pianist, Mike Longo, is quite manic. Diz’ guests on… congas! Mickey Roker drums, and Ron Carter is on both upright and, more unusually, electric bass.
The first to test out the new throw cover on the nice armchair is… Chester!
We all love this seat. And now even more so.
Well, I clumsily knocked over the Scrabble game. We could’ve re-set the board, using the pic above. But we couldn’t be bothered! Never mind.
Teresa’s now doing dinner. And I’m listening to this:
Paul Humphrey is a master drummer. And just dig these threads:
The personnel on his Cool Aid album is top notch: David T Walker on guitar, Clarence McDonald on keys, and Bill (aka Phil, I suspect?) Upchurch, on bass. It’s a damn funky little record, that deserves to be heard. I wonder if it’s been reissued on CD? I’ve had a look, but not found it.
We finished off the day with duck dumplings, a Bento Box ready meal and Norman Wisdom’s Up In The World.
And to bed… where I started reading my newest book:
And lo, ‘tis good! Very good. Epic in ambition and intent. Well written, and – amazingly, for territory so oft written about – filled with new sources, fresh insights, and even a welcome leavening of wit. Terrific!
Oh, Harvey also deploys my favourite form of structural approach – especially for doorstop-sized tomes such as this – many but short chapters. Splendid.
On this, my first dip in, I’ve read five chapters. The last of which, by way of example of the unexpected freshness, is about a character I’d not encountered before (at least not in any meaningful way).
50p well spent. I look forward to reading more…
It’s been quite a while since I did any church crawling. Today I managed to visit a couple. First was St John The Baptist, in Baston. There were traces of snowfall in the graveyard.
A nice if not terribly remarkable church. Kind of run of the mill. But still, as ever, worth a look. One unexpected windfall: I purchased a book on the Napoleonic Wars, for 50p!
Perhaps my favourite thing, on this visit, would be the carving on the screen at the altar? This choice might’ve been influenced by the lovely golden sunlight falling on it.
Betwixt here and the next church there was some very lovely countryside.
Both spots I stopped at featured avenues of trees. Always an attractive feature, blending human control and natural beauty.
The second Church o’ The Day was St Martin’s, Barholm.
Sometimes one just gets a feeling. This was one of those times. As I opened the screen doors into the porch, the old Norman arch bespoke age, and intrigue. Excitement mounted.
The churchyard on the approach is lovely. And was extra nice on this cold, clear, crisp winter’s day. I like the carvings on this old monument (above).
I love the carving over the door in the porch. No idea exactly what scene it depicts. The door itself is a beauty. The metal work around the handle/knocker and keyhole is lovely.
The font is nice as well, with very old looking carving on the stone font itself.
The stained glass is quite nice. More for its overall effect than on close inspection. And in today’s sunlight the coloured light these glasses cast was very pretty.
This is a church I’d like to re-visit, and sit meditatively in, time allowing.
One of a number of features of this beautiful little church is the angel roof. We have a fabulous example at St Wendreda’s in our home town, March. This much smaller church has just four pairs of winged folk, and some of their wings are clipped!
It was a chilly 2°C, but I was very happy to stop and have a Quick Look at this enchanting edifice.
Walking around the church, I spotted a rather large excavation. Who lives here, I wonder?
So much, for Pleasure! The Pain element came during my second work shift. Flo’ broke down! It seems the ‘master cylinder’ on her clutch is failing. So it’s off to The Garage, for Flo’.
Sitting in the waiting room at the Doctor’s, which, as a kid, I recall being pleasantly relaxing.
These days, chiefly thanks to the ultra shite radio – dreadful Muzak, and a radio that’s not-working properly (squalls of digital distortion!) – it’s a form of torture.
Once in, altho’ over an hour late, the doc was friendly, quick and efficient. Oh… he had to examine my rectum. Never fun! Life, eh!?
I’m back home now. I’m soooo tired. It’s really quite worrying. I mentioned this to the Doc’. So, as well as stool samples, they vant mein blut!
Much later… today’s work shift took us – Teresa joined me – past all that remains of Thorney and Crowland Abbeys.
That warmongering serial-killer and religion wrecker Henry VIII was a proper fucking venal vandal!
Teresa is watching The Mirror & The Light. I have to confess that I find such ‘historical dramas’ more irritating than entertaining.
I recall art historian Kenneth Clark noting how late Renaissance art was surely and obviously on a downward path, once all the actors became paragons of beauty.
What Clarke was getting at, I believe, is that there ought to be a truthful relationship between art and life. Turning ugly and ordinary people – if, granted, in extraordinary circumstances – into super-models does art, truth and life disservice.
So why does it always happen? That entertainment lies so frequently and flagrantly? There are doubtless many reasons. But wishful thinking, or fantasy, and worldly success, seem obvious reasons.
In some ways Carry On Henry is at least as historically accurate as Wolfe Hall, albeit in a very comical and irreverent way. But at least Henry is less conventionally handsome, more obviously and grotesquely selfish, and – from a safe distance – an utterly risible fool.
What I dislike most of all in everything from this, to the recent Louis Sun God thing, or Downton Abbey, is the romantic rehabilitation of royalty and privilege.
As (?) said, monarchy is the Popery of government. So fat serial-killer Harry splits with Rome? It doesn’t make him Martin Luther, or any other kind of religious reformer.
Turiya Sings arrived yesterday, and Eternity came today. Looking for’ard to listening to these two!
I’ve got two shifts today. The first isn’t till 2.30 pm. So I had a lie in. Then we took Chester to the vets. He has a fight wound. Luckily it’s healing ok, and there was no charge. Phew!
Now I’m reading Betjeman’s radio talks again. I’m now onto the final few chunks. Currently reading about Holiday Escapes. Lord knows, I/we need much more of those!
I cleaned and polished what might be the final item from our small silver-plate set.
I think we should keep these items as purely decorative things. Not use them.
I wonder if we’ll ever find the broken leg of the damaged jug? It’s a pity it got that way.
I’ve been having another of my occasional Alice Coltrane reveries.
The above was released on a label called Hi Hat, in 2018. And contained just one track, Africa. The concert itself was recorded waaay back, in ‘71!
Impulse – aka ‘the house that ‘Trane [John!] built’ – finally released the full concert, only this year, 2024.
In between these two releases from the same concert, this – another full live concert, but from ‘72 – came out:
Released as a limited edition of 750, by BCT records, this one is hard to buy. But it’s all over YouTube.
I’m enjoying her musical legacy so much, I’ve ordered a few more of Alice’s recordings:
My Alice Coltrane collection is growing. And now looks a bit like this:
A Monastic Trio, 1968
Ptah The El Daoud, 1969
Huntington Ashram Monastery, 1970
Journey in Satchidananda, 1971
Universal Consciousness, 1971
World Galaxy, 1972
Lord of Lords, 1973
Illuminations [w Santana], 1974
Eternity, 1976
Transcendence, 1977
Transfiguration, 1978
The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane, 2017 [Compilation]
Kirtan, Turiya Sings, 2021
Not quite a complete collection, as I don’t have all of her live recordings, or all the stuff from her post Translinear Light return to the music biz later period. But I do now have all of her major label releases, from her ‘68-‘78 period, and then some…