Menopdate; A Bit Behind

Last month, I received a couple of little updates from Nobby... I know that several of you will have seen this as you follow him on his new book of phisogs address. However, I also know that a few, like me, have resisted that platform, so here we read about Nobby and Dru having raised some funds for charity (well done to them!), and more recently, Nobby's latest coiffure...

Smart, spring cut, I think we can all agree. Sorry that I am a bit behind with posting these... I feel a bit behind myself in general. Spring has been so slow to start here - one might say, elusive to non-existent. There have been bursts of brightness on occasions, and when the sun has appeared, there is some real warmth with it (breaking into double figures, just). The snow, graupel, sleet, gales, a prodigious amount of rain, and, incredibly, on Sunday, there was the most incredible thunder and lightning. Not something one expects in temperatures hovering around freezing. This little article was informative.

So, spring is a bit behind, too. The daffodils out in the backyard barely got their yellow glowing before the big storms hit at the start of the month. Very poor showing. 

Anyhoo - that's all for today. Soon the week will be behind me, and I'll be wondering yet again what I have to show for it. Although I did have a big spring clean in the kitchen last week and this week have been learning some new knitting technique. Not entirely unproductive...

Menoizikul; Midweek Musicalisms

Well, I never, another birthday month. Mine as well as each of the composers chosen for the first four Wednesdays... remember that the months with a fifth will have a surprise!

Rachmaninov was a first-of-April baby, and a big favourite of mine, but I held back and stuck to the lesser-known choice of Ferruccio Busoni, born on this day in 1866 in Empoli, Italy. A pianist himself, he composed quite a lot of pieces, acknowledging the influence and thematic use of other composers such as Bach and Chopin. 

However, I was caught by the Indianisches items... having travelled in the United States, he connected with a lady who had been studying the songs and sounds of the Native Americans, producing a book which she passed on to him. Busoni did not like how the Indians were being treated... You can read a bit more about that if you wish, over on this linked page. Here, though, is one of the piano pieces inspired by the Indian Harvest Songs...

Menonday Art Vibe; Home Hangs Series

Another offering from the Hornsby Art Collective... I really, really liked a painting that this young lady had done, but it was rather large, and I had also by then decided on selling up and going to India. So, when you can't have wall art, take something else instead...