Rather a different feel, this one, as the conceit of the concert was to mix early music with some contemporary compositions influenced by those earlier periods.
Central to the concert was Purcell, whose 350th birthday was that year and who therefore featured a lot in 2009 concert programmes.
Here is the full listing for this 1 February gig:
In truth, Janie and I got a lot more out of the early music than the contemporary stuff, although I always enjoy Arvo Pärt more than I expect and the Shostakovich was interesting too.
But Purcell was the star of the show, as was Clare Wilkinson, who specialises in singing this Renaissance and Baroque stuff; often with Fretwork.
We’re big fans of Ian McDiarmid. We think he worked wonders running the Almeida with Jonathan Kent and he is a fine actor to boot. He is also a nodding acquaintance of mine in Notting Hill Gate (although, writing in April 2017, it is a while since I have seen him around).
But in truth I don’t think this play/production did much for us. It all felt a bit grim. It sounded like it might be a bit like a Bergman movie, but ended up a rather drab stage equivalent.
The Silence Of Lorna is quite a harrowing film about Albanians in Belgium trying to get an EU passport.
Perhaps not ideal fare at the end of a hard week’s work, but that’s what we did.
To cheer ourselves up afterwards, we took away food from the Thai Bistro in Chiswick – one of our favourites. It has changed its name a few times since 2009, including some infeasibly unpronouncable and unmemorable names, but at the time of writing, June 2019, it is named Tor Thai Bistro.
…so Janie and I arranged to take Souad and Jamil there – an opportunity to reciprocate for their warm hospitality in (mostly Lebanese) restaurants.
I don’t recall much about the evening – nor does Janie. I think they liked it but I also think Souad and Jamil’s European food preference is for Italian.
We arranged for a gathering of friends and the three sisters to see in 2009. With Phillie’s health now unquestionably in decline, it was a fine balance between ambition and pragmatism. But the big points were that Phillie wanted to dance and she wanted that close set of friends and family with her.
So we planned to take a big table at a public gathering in that hotel in Ealing currently (2016) known as the DoubleTree Hilton – I can’t remember what it was called at that time – Janie thinks it might have been a Ramada back then. You know the one; on the junction of the Uxbridge Road and Hanger Lane. Not normally our sort of thing, but the ability for the out-of-towners to simply retreat to their room without the need for transport/going out of doors was a big plus.
These five must have been a terrifying quintet at school
Considering the quality of photographers present (not least Anthea Simms and Mitchell Sams) the overall quality of the photo set is less than special…
…with a handful of notable exceptions….
This proves that the photo pros were mostly busy enjoying themselves rather than taking snaps, which is a good thing.
It was a remarkable evening, not least because Phillie had been so poorly in the run-up to the evening, we thought even the day before that she might need to be in hospital over the new year festivities. In the end, Phillie had a great time and danced almost all evening. We did not get any pictures of the dancing, although dancing we all, not just Phillie, certainly did.
Indeed, we all had a great time. Even me, despite evidence to the contrary in the following picture!
This will have been a Christmas presents visit with Janie cooking dinner for all of us. The details of the menu are not recorded in Janie’s diary, but we do know that Janie & I took a cab after dinner and stayed at my flat, letting Hil and Chris have Sandall Close for the night while we went back to Sandall Close via the tennis court in the morning.
21 December 2008 Charlie
Charlie visited her grandma and then came over to Sandall Close for dinner and to stay the night. The menu is not recorded again, but the words “Champagne in fridge” do appear in Janie’s diary. Priorities.
25 December 2008 Christmas Lunch In Battersea
With Dad and Len now gone, we felt that the gathering at Janie’s place would no longer be appropriate. We ended up booking a restaurant in Battersea – I cannot remember its name or how we came across it, but it seemed keenly priced for Christmas Day and suitably located twixt North-West and South-West London.
I recall our Addison Lee driver really struggling to find Battersea High Street and getting very stressy with us. I recall the place being pretty darned good for the price, in terms of food, drink and ambience. I’m pretty sure it was just me, Janie, Hils, Jacquie and Mum that year. Janie thinks Michael and Dorothy joined us, but I think their first appearance for a Christmas Day do was the following year.
I think mum picked up the tab for all five of us – hence me not having a record of the name of the place.
31 December 2008 – New Years Eve Gathering At The Ramada
Phillie really hadn’t been at all well that autumn and there was real doubt as to whether she should or would attend this event. But we had arranged it with her in mind – she wanted to dance – so we took a large table at a communal New Years Eve dinner and dance at the Ramada Ealing (the DoubleTree by Hilton at the time of writing, January 2019).
Wouldn’t have been our choice independently but, hey, it was what Phillie wanted and everyone at that time thought this might be her last hoorah. In the end, Phillie needed to have herself put together with sellotape and promise the doctor that she wouldn’t not to dance too much to get permission to attend.
We think the attendees were Max, Micky, Kim, Anthea, Mitchell, Hil, Chris, Tony, Phillie, Charlie (I think), Janie and me.
Phillie, in her inimitable style, complied with “doctors orders” by dancing all the rest of us off the dance floor – I’m talking non stop dancing for hours. Kim and Janie’s thoughts on the matter are captured photographically below:
I think we went to two movies in one afternoon/evening that season.
Janie wrote down both of these movies in her diary fort hat day and I seem to recall working out a way round seeing them both on the same day – by seeing Lemon Tree (the shorter) in the afternoon in Swiss Cottage and then driving to Panton Street for I’ve Loved You So Long.
You could park around Panton Street, even on days when the parking was free, at Twixtmas time back then. Of course, Twixtmas wasn’t known as Twixtmas back then.
