The organist librarian

On underground yesterday young man wearing shorts and tank top which revealed most of his chest. He was with young woman obviously been doing something sporty. But I rather think he should have put a T shirt on. So many people are wearing flipflops and scant clothing these days!  Swam 20 and wrote my Catenian Provincial president's blog. Painted a picture of flowers at art and started an angel picture. To see the doctor and mole must come off and knee to be Xrayed - it is much better thanks to icepacks and rest! Watched Proms Extra and a bit of Bake off. Took car to Battersea Park for parking. Enjoyed the Proms poetry entries very much although one fo them bore no relation to Dukas that I could hear!  2 Proms. Beethoven violin concerto seemed rather too confidential in places. Reger and Strauss and Wagner encore from Dresden Stattskapelle all enjoyable. Why no big Reger organ work this season? The late night prom featured Handel coronation anthems. The altos trills made me la...

X68 to Waterloo and northern line to East Finchley. Asked TFL chap at station for St Mary's church and he said to walk up High Road - we should have taken the bus! Any way found church and it was a 2 manual Wyvern and all went well. Carole's mum was 92 and was buried with his first husband in Marylebone cemetery - Stokowski is buried there. Carole and Kevin took us to the very nice lunch at Albany House which has a museum about Stevens ink! Walked to station and got 82 bus to town and then to the queue for Last Night list. To V and A - fashion is open but the ballgowns display is not that cheap. Saw the Tony Cragg sculptures there and in Exhibition Road and the British photography display. Had tea and chocolate muffin -  a lovely day again! Bruce took our swimming tickets. To presentation with Juliet Stevenson of Proms poetry awards with Wendy Cope and Ian McMillan who is a scream. A lovely prom Haydn and Alpine symphony - what a storm - thunder machine, wind machine, full orga...

Writing this at 3.25 a.m. having come home late and now woken up again! The joys of insomnia! Proms plus literary Ian McMillan and former Children's laurate Michael Rosen and the poems they chose read by the lovely Imogen Stubbs. The poem had to be inspired by music played at the Proms. The 8 year old winner wrote of the bright cat inspired by Liszt's first piano concerto. The older child's poem seemed pretty remote from the Firebird to me but the adult winner was clearly inspired by the Lone ranger and William Tell overture. All the poems we heard had an element of surprise and worked well. The Pittsburgh symphony orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck played Braunfels Fantastic appearances on a theme of Berlioz, Beethoven piano concerto no. 4 (score) Helene Grimaud and Tchaikovsky 5 (my score). Stunning playing and brilliant encores too - Carmen and an American dance. What an orchestra! Notable that they play before and during interval too on stage.