Two Conferences, a Rally and a Baby

On Wednesday 17 October it was the lovely Sounds of Intent Conference  at the West Park Centre; on Friday 19 October in was the Musicicans' Union Teachers' Conference. I was on the 9.05 train down to Cambridge via Peterborough [here's a picture of the wonderful UK crossroads that is Peterborough Station].

Really enjoyed keynote speech about the Virtuoso Teacher. Nice meal; nice wine with nice meal; the celidah got me out of the dining room pretty soon after the apple pie; had a pint; had the conversations I needed with workshop leaders about 1. adjudicators' asking steel pannistes to smile as they play [my point: why?] 2. alternative systems of notations [hobbyhorse]. This got me to the second pint with Alan from Lincoln. I thought I would retire, having drunk quite enough for one getting up early to go on the TUC rally in London the following day.

Debs, I didn't count on meeting Dawn. She greeted me with the words, "You're Walter's mother!" Dawn was in possession of an unexpected bottle of red; when we finished that we had to buy some more pints;  at some point another unexpected red arrived. Dawn is a drummer doing research into the effect of music on the brain, the very organ we were seeing off. Excellent [as in OMG, never again].

I nearly missed the Rally. I spent an hour in Hyde Park before I realised that the march must have started someplace else. [Here's some pics - picnic-ing on the woodchip and Christine Blower on the big screens]. I walked and walked and walked back along the march till I found the last and wonderful band, and joined in. In effect I walked half the length of the march twice, back and then forward again. This way, not entirely planned, I got to see all the wonderful marching bands [and here's some photos of them, and a choir at Hyde Park Corner].

I sat down on Park Lane, opposite the memorial to the animals who suffered in wars [see dog and horse below, and the two pack animals. Also a randon dog near Grosvenor Square.]

Grafton found what was left of me in the Chinese restaurant in Waltham Cross; met Charlotte and baby Skye Melody; next morning we put the world of steel pan teaching to rights; I got to Kings Cross by way of Theobalds Grove and Liverpool Street, and thus to Leeds.  Rick picked me up from the station; I fell into the sofa and got up in time for the  Leeds Wind Orchestra at the West Park Centre.

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Yummy.  A great way to round off what might be called an exhilerating weekend.

Next! Rest of the Best on tour.