A Lark Ascending

As the Cornishman said " I went to England the other day. A day trip to Plymouth. Didn't like it - never leaving Cornwall again." Some people never make it across the Tamar, never mind North of Shepton Mallet ! I have relatives like that. Left Tregony in thr '40s to join the army, came back in '46. Have never left since!

Thank you, Tom. Still a bugger getting off the estate but main roads were clear so back to school. Amazingly, most of the kids showed up. Must have been getting bored at home! Still very cold (-14 when I got in the car this morning, -10 when I got out this evening) so nothing is shifting.

Cornishmen wouldn't be seen dead in Devon! Devon is The Midlands! Seriously, one I'd like to see, Manfred. Must be nearly 20 years since I last saw Westbrook in that format.

Something she can grow into. Or perhaps:

Thanks, Jazzjet. All you had to do was point and click - the weather did all the hard work. Snow in Cornwall - it was ever this, as I recall. One fall during my 1968-72 period there, gone by midday. I vaguely recall some snow when I was doing my teaching practice in Redruth in early 1978. The school didn't close but lots of kids from the countryside were missing.

He really struggled this time. Took two goes before he could even get his lips to move.

Yesterday was overcast and a bit of a thaw set in, though not enough to clear side roads. Today is clear skies and very cold so very little is shifting. Tried for a second time to get to Clumber Park but it's closed. So I went to nearby Thoresby Park (north Notts is full of former stately homes - it's known as 'The Dukeries'). Never been before.

Not much of him. He grunts once in a brief ten second segment; a bit later on he passes some comment but I can't remember what he said.

Bill F might be able to explain this one - Lancashire is beyond me! A folky version of the strange world of Gracie Fields/George Formby.

The Brubeck was shown in the UK last night. Quite enjoyable, though too many celebrities (Clint, Jamie Cullum, Sting) and family members drooping over the piano in awestruck wonder at the genius. A bit hammy in that respect. But worth watching.

I love this: Real bugger climbing a high enough tree to take it.

The last time it snowed like this in the UK, you chaps had to send Marshall Aid!

Tonight on BBC 4 TV at 9.00 a programme about Dave Brubeck (with a Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington pair to follow later - repeats, I believe). And tomorrow's Jazz Library on BBC Radio 3 is based round an interview with Louis Moholo.

Someone mentioned Narnia. Found it 3 miles down the road.

You certainly have a point there - Morse is definitely Thaw for me - I've never read the books! I'll keep those Swedish Wallenders in mind - I like having a series on the go from the online rental company.

Hopefully things are changing: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10993473 I had to laugh at this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4055651.stm A fine vocational qualification.

Visions of the jobsworth ARP warden in Dad's Army!

Very nice slideshow of pictures here from the Beeb: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11900122 Another day with work shut! Never happened before in the 33 years I've worked at the place! I tried to get off the estate yesterday afternoon. Got stuck halfway and had to do some digging. Made it onto the main A57 15 minutes later, went rounfd the roundabout and drove back. It took me 30 minutes, getting stuck twice. (Sidenote: Given all the art above, very enjoyable programme on BBC 4 yesterday called 'The Art of Cornwall' about the St. Ives scene. Not painting I'd ever paid much attention to - my one visit to the Tate there left me mystified. But this programme made much more sense of it - particularly taken by Peter Lanyon's painting of a mining disaster at the Levant mine).

Tunes made up of simple, repeated riffs were common in the 30's and 40's, but was there ever one simpler than "C Jam Blues?" It's just eight tones, and the first seven are all on the same pitch. (I know that the main theme of "Woodchopper's Ball is even simpler - five notes, all on one pitch - but "Woodchopper's" has a more elaborate second theme.) It first appeared on a Barney Bigard small-group session, but a big band version came along pretty soon after that. I listened to those two original versions, along with one live version from each later decade, including one from the band's last year, 1973. The soloists change, the background riffs change, but it all stays pretty simple, and I suspect little or nothing was ever written down. It's just an excuse to blow. Total musical illiterate here, but the way the piano notes are stabbed out has me in mind of Monk. It's not as off-centre as Monk, but it might be leading that way. Despite its simplicity it's a tune I never tire of in its many different guises.

Not a painting. But a snow related LP cover that brings back memories: As does:

You should be OK, Sidewinder, as the North West is relatively unscathed, being further from Russia than Lincs. or Notts. I believe you were out of range of the nukes during the Cold War too!

Worksop: Really eerie. Sky white giving a dull sheen to everything. No snow since I got up but it's just started pouring down again.

I don't know what it's like elsewhere, but the bizarre pricing structure works both ways here. Last night I downloaded half a dozen albums from the ECM New Series for very little. Two albums cost me less than £1 each! A very good way to experiment with the unfamiliar - which was e-music's strength in the past. I'm really surprised they've not shifted to a whole album pricing system.

I was just a bit too young for that. I connected to Fairport first - bought my first folk-related CD from money earned doing a traffic survey in Newquay! During the Folk Britannia season on BBC4 there was a film shown from the 60s about folky types camping on the Cornish beaches. I think it had that 'mystic' pull. Hilarious interviews with outraged Newquay councillors - today its surf-bums they seem to be hot under the collar about. Nothing much changes. Seek out Chris Wood's recordings if you don't know them, particularly 'The Lark Descending'. As good as anything from the golden age - great music, steeped in the past but very much of the present in its lyrics. 'Electric Eden' gets a very positive review in this month's 'Gramophone', of all places!