I had a funny (sort of ) conversation over lunch with one of the History Teachers which started off with him saying that the parents of a JApanese boy had asked him to teach Pearl HArbour objectively...
Then he said that the Stuart/Tudor Period was tricky because it was a diatribe against Catholicism (not when I was at school...)
So I said that we were used to that and that anyway we now have Eamonn Duffy and are very happy with our revisionist history of the period.
He then said that boys were wide eyed when transubstantiation and indulgences were mentioned. Continuing in my, jolly japes, mode I said that transubstantiation was still very much the thing and that folks were getting indulgences even now visiting the relics of St Therese of Lisieux, not to mention the Year of Priests, but we just don't pay for them anymore.... 'Year of Priests?' this was all beginning to get too much for him! Just to over egg the pudding a bit more I said I thought that the Missal of Pope Pius V was great.
We then had the usual twaddle about Henry VIII was really a Catholic, he just didn't want to follow the Pope. Oh yeah... I pointed out that the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the iconoclasm of the period were really quite something.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Followers
I've picked up a few new ones recently, including, dadwithnoisykids, whom I have long admired greatly.
Better start doing a bit more than sticking pics up and the odd Youtube link... oh so you'd noticed too!
Better start doing a bit more than sticking pics up and the odd Youtube link... oh so you'd noticed too!
Rosary Crusade
It's this Sat for anyone within striking distance of London who is not going to Aylesford.
All being equal, I'm going.
Then, having had a look through the itinery for St T of L at Westminster Cathedral, I'm planning a dawn raid. All the Evening Masses are ticketed and let's face it there will not be any spare room, even standing room.
I occasionally have to get into Town at silly times and by getting the 0545, I could get to the 7am Mass. I'd only have to get up an hour earlier than usual to do this and if I choose the day well, may not even loose it in front of a class ... Tell me folks won't be queuing round the block at 6.45!
We'll see.
All being equal, I'm going.
Then, having had a look through the itinery for St T of L at Westminster Cathedral, I'm planning a dawn raid. All the Evening Masses are ticketed and let's face it there will not be any spare room, even standing room.
I occasionally have to get into Town at silly times and by getting the 0545, I could get to the 7am Mass. I'd only have to get up an hour earlier than usual to do this and if I choose the day well, may not even loose it in front of a class ... Tell me folks won't be queuing round the block at 6.45!
We'll see.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Now that's what I call Horn Playing
The best orchestral solo, played by the best ever player.
Dennis Brain in 1944 on his piston valve Raoux, before he went over to the dark side and got an Alex, (see below.) Though being a high player, not for him the 103, but a single Bb with A/+ and a manual F extension, I believe. Because it's not only organists who have anoraks. He was probably in RAF uniform too having spent WWII in the RAF Central Band in Bedford, [popping down to London for concerts now and then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAIl5JlDnw&feature=related
Whilst we're on the subject of Tchaik.
4,5,or 6. Which is your favourite?
For me, it changes. Today 6 or maybe 4, without the pizzicato movement.
Dennis Brain in 1944 on his piston valve Raoux, before he went over to the dark side and got an Alex, (see below.) Though being a high player, not for him the 103, but a single Bb with A/+ and a manual F extension, I believe. Because it's not only organists who have anoraks. He was probably in RAF uniform too having spent WWII in the RAF Central Band in Bedford, [popping down to London for concerts now and then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAIl5JlDnw&feature=related
Whilst we're on the subject of Tchaik.
4,5,or 6. Which is your favourite?
For me, it changes. Today 6 or maybe 4, without the pizzicato movement.
OLR
As Fr Tim says we get to celebrate it twice and I don't think I'm singing tonight, (well I hope not...) so that's another plus, for me and the congregation.
Need something to cheer me up on this otherwise cheerless day.
Time for some horn tootling, I think. My next concert draws on apace and with an overture and two symphonnies, quite a bit to play therefore and a certain amount of stamina to rebuild. Sorry next door...
Need something to cheer me up on this otherwise cheerless day.
Time for some horn tootling, I think. My next concert draws on apace and with an overture and two symphonnies, quite a bit to play therefore and a certain amount of stamina to rebuild. Sorry next door...
Bach broke lots of rules
was all I needed to hear to know that the A Level Board has lost the plot.
That and the other half dozen morsels of nonsense and the florid lunchtime text from younger colleague to out boss.
Younger colleague was on the how to teach techniques and composition course, I'm doing the Set Works Listening/Performing today.
The fact that they seem uncomfortable with teachers wanting to know how to teach pupils so they get 100% is a problem because to get the new A* at A level you have to get 90% in the A2 modules. Oxford expect you to predict at least A*AA. So it matters quite a bit, because the boys actually have to get the grades too. I've written two UCAS References for boys in my form in the last few weeks.
On the plus side our three best AS candidates on a written paper with a maximum mark of 90 got 90, 90, 89.
The immediate question is, do I do as younger colleague and go for the Examiner, or shall I let someone else take that role? Apparently, there was lots of eye rolling yesterday. Something about the woman not identifying a note as a leading-note and then not following the 'leading-notes may fall at a cadence in an inner part to the fifth of chord I rule.' Why bother, maybe just slap some notes down that you feel sound nice.... Unless you are an organist of a certain disposition, you should not be the Chief Examiner dealing with Bach Chorales. It's just wrong.
Maybe it'll be a different woman....One can hope.
Update. Actually, it was good. The Performing guy was like Jools Holland and as an musician should be - strange shirt with clashy worn out tweed jacket and a wealth of useful and amusing anecdotes. Written Paper bloke Dumbledore, in a suit and a bit taller. We even got scripts and comments as to why candidates got vrious marks. Performing is always good because either it's excellent and well worth hearing or so bad that it's just funny. I shoudl say that I never laugh whilst pupils are doing their thing because that would be cruel, but remaining impassive in the face of somethings I have to listen to is challenging to say the least. Not becoming deeply depressed when listening to a string of indifferent Grade V Violinists playing to you in a freezing room in Jan during the Scholarship auditions is also a challenge. You can see they don't much like the instrument often, which just makes it worse. Sigh.
Must just be what passes for composition that no-one seems to know how to mark.
Also, their technique of asking random people to give a mark or comment on a piece of work, kept everyone awake. So definitely one of the better courses I've been on recently. Lunch was good, just a pity it was chucking it down on the way home and that Boro' Tube is on the City Branch of the N Line. Mustn't grumble.
Read some well written essays. Good to know someone knows something somewhere. Amazed that there is no dictation on the A2 Listening. Really amazed given what you had to do til last year. Random modulations and wacky chords in all sorts of inversions.... Frowny expressions from boys.... no longer.
That and the other half dozen morsels of nonsense and the florid lunchtime text from younger colleague to out boss.
Younger colleague was on the how to teach techniques and composition course, I'm doing the Set Works Listening/Performing today.
The fact that they seem uncomfortable with teachers wanting to know how to teach pupils so they get 100% is a problem because to get the new A* at A level you have to get 90% in the A2 modules. Oxford expect you to predict at least A*AA. So it matters quite a bit, because the boys actually have to get the grades too. I've written two UCAS References for boys in my form in the last few weeks.
On the plus side our three best AS candidates on a written paper with a maximum mark of 90 got 90, 90, 89.
The immediate question is, do I do as younger colleague and go for the Examiner, or shall I let someone else take that role? Apparently, there was lots of eye rolling yesterday. Something about the woman not identifying a note as a leading-note and then not following the 'leading-notes may fall at a cadence in an inner part to the fifth of chord I rule.' Why bother, maybe just slap some notes down that you feel sound nice.... Unless you are an organist of a certain disposition, you should not be the Chief Examiner dealing with Bach Chorales. It's just wrong.
Maybe it'll be a different woman....One can hope.
Update. Actually, it was good. The Performing guy was like Jools Holland and as an musician should be - strange shirt with clashy worn out tweed jacket and a wealth of useful and amusing anecdotes. Written Paper bloke Dumbledore, in a suit and a bit taller. We even got scripts and comments as to why candidates got vrious marks. Performing is always good because either it's excellent and well worth hearing or so bad that it's just funny. I shoudl say that I never laugh whilst pupils are doing their thing because that would be cruel, but remaining impassive in the face of somethings I have to listen to is challenging to say the least. Not becoming deeply depressed when listening to a string of indifferent Grade V Violinists playing to you in a freezing room in Jan during the Scholarship auditions is also a challenge. You can see they don't much like the instrument often, which just makes it worse. Sigh.
Must just be what passes for composition that no-one seems to know how to mark.
Also, their technique of asking random people to give a mark or comment on a piece of work, kept everyone awake. So definitely one of the better courses I've been on recently. Lunch was good, just a pity it was chucking it down on the way home and that Boro' Tube is on the City Branch of the N Line. Mustn't grumble.
Read some well written essays. Good to know someone knows something somewhere. Amazed that there is no dictation on the A2 Listening. Really amazed given what you had to do til last year. Random modulations and wacky chords in all sorts of inversions.... Frowny expressions from boys.... no longer.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Grandma RIP
Please pray for the repose of the soul of my Grandmother, whose second anniversary is today.
Grandma; born 13th Novemeber 1916 on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, died 6th October 2007 in a suburban London hospital.
Grandma; born 13th Novemeber 1916 on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, died 6th October 2007 in a suburban London hospital.
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