Classical Music

This particular form of music was always a bit of a mystery to me.  As a child, my wonderful infant school teacher Mrs Cooper always tried to open our ears to many forms of music, and as a result, I started learning the guitar, attended folk festivals and, perhaps most importantly, attended a classical concert.  It was, rather predictably, the 1812 overture, complete with small cannons and smoke!  It left quite an impression on our little band of 7 and 8 year olds, and even now when I hear that particular piece, I feel like a kid again.  Of course, the ravages of adolescence and inverse snobbery denied me too much more exposure to classical music, save the obligatory Holst Planet Suite album, purchased from the bargain bin.  I discovered a love for Rock, Punk, alternative and Indie, and lost myself in that for many years.  I even remember arguing against the merits of classical music with a work friend of mine during the 1980s, basically saying that classical music could not operate on an emotional level without poetry (Lyrics).  Obviously this was nonsense, and I realise this now.  I really happened upon classical again over the last 10 years.  During a particularly stressful time in an office environment, I tried listening to what was horrifically referred to as "Chill Out" music.  Not the kind of godawful Pan Pipe music that you can buy in Garden centres, but more the ambient works of people like the Orb and Brian Eno et al.  It certainly helped, and I started revisiting Classical music through a touch of Mozart.  The Internet has proved to be the real catalyst for me, giving me access to the kind of variety that previously you could only dream of.  I then made a very good friend, who also had a love for Classical music, and he was able to recommend and advise.  Within a matter of months, I found myself in the fortunate position of being able to work with a professional orchestra on several projects.  How fantastic an opportunity.  Since then, I have really not looked back.  Recently, I have also been using more music in my theatrical ventures, and realised the power and beauty all over again.  The way a simple piano line can suggest so much more than a page of dialogue is fascinating to me.  So I found myself loving so much of what I heard, but not really having the time to start from scratch and learn all over again.  Then I discovered two resources, which have transformed the way I listen to music.  Spotify, the online music streaming service, and a website called Classical.net, which has what it describes as a "Basic repertoire".  I have spent a few hours already compiling playlists based on their suggestions to get you started.  I am still compiling the "Romantic - Basic Repetoire Playlist", but the "Classical - Basic Repertoire" is pretty much finished, and I have managed to find roughly 95% of what is in their suggested list.  It has 830 tracks and takes three days to listen to!  I have discovered so much already, and found some beautiful music.  I am up to C on the Romantic list, and already I have over 700 track that would take 2 days to listen to!  Today, I have already realised a love for Brahms..perhaps someone who I had heard before but just didn't know it.  It would be delightful to be able to hear some music and be able to place it, but for now, I am settling for simply falling in love with it, and suffering from mild regret in not being able to do this when I was younger.

For any of my readers with a fleeting interest...here are the lists so far.  

Classical.net Basic repetoire Classical

Classical.net Basic Repetoire Romantic

I still have to finish Romantic, and then move onto;

Medieval Repertoire

Renaissance Repertoire

Baroque Repertoire

20th-Century Repertoire

Modern Repertoire

I have no idea how long this will take me to either compile, or to listen to, but it is such a worthwhile exercise for me.  The thing that makes me most happy, is that the website suggests these lists as only a starting point!  

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LIKE

I am not one of the pedants from the "Must speak the Queens English or you are guilty of cultural rape" brigade.  I realise that language is constantly changing and evolving, and for this, we must be grateful.  In many ways, Shakespeare would be a far less attractive prospect to us now had language not evolved and changed since his day.  However, I feel I must have a moan and a gripe about one particular thing that I do not like.  That was it in fact; "Like".  It has become the equivalent of "Umm". or "Err" or just a pause.  "I was, like, walking down the street, and like, this woman came up to me and she was like...."       .AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH.  My children use it, in fact everyone under the age of 18 seems to use it, and I fear for the appalling lack of vocal dexterity of anyone unable to complete a sentence without using it.  I have started dreaming up all sorts of punishments for the use of it.  I wonder if, I'm like, alone, like?

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iPhone app

I use Posterous as my basic blogging platform, and it then automatically updates my Wordpress blog at mr-plug. co.uk from there. Posterous has now released a fully functioning iPhone app that I am now trying for the first time. So far so good but it doesn't seem to have the landscape function so typing is a little taxing. This us the reason I will not use the celtx app as I cannot imagine writing anything of any length on an iPhone. Perhaps I will review this as I go along?

I have included a photo of my disgusting desk just to see if the app is any good

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Broom, Broom and thrice broom

Bit of an odd day today.  I struggled to wake up in any way shape or form, and as a result, achieved next to nothing all morning.  I find myself having days like this from time to time, but usually manage to snap out of it these days.  Today was slightly unusual however, in that I needed to be at my most alert.  I did something today that I have not done for about 27 years.  I had a driving lesson.  Finally, after all this time, I managed to pluck up the courage and the money to do it.  Most of the morning was spent trying to wipe the experience of last time out of my mind, although it was so long ago that I feel sure that I remember a man with a little red flag wandering along in front of my the last time I took my test.  I have to report dear reader, that it all went rather swimmingly, and that as a result, I am rather looking forward to next week. I hope to be on the road very soon!

This afternoon, we received word that a very close relative, and perhaps most importantly, a dear, dear friend, had received encouraging news from a publisher with regard to her book.  This is SO well deserved, and I am keeping everything crossed for her!

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Another Letter to Mrs Dorries

I have tried to contact my MP on a few occasions recently, and received no response or acknowledgement other than an automated email. I have today posted and emailed this letter to her, and I hope that I might receive a response this time

"Dear Mrs Dorries

Please forgive the long letter, but after many years of being your constituent, I have a number of issues I would like to raise with you.

Expenses.

Your thoughts and views on this subject were widely reported, and your blog made your views very clear, however, as one of your constituents, I would like you to clear up the following;

On your blog of 21st May 2009 http://blog.dorries.org/arc-2009_May.aspx You state the following;

“I’ve finished going through all my receipts and thought I had better make some things crystal clear:

I do NOT own a home in South Africa.

I do NOT own a home from which I receive a rental income.”

Yet the register of members interests published on 6th May 2009 states this as your entry;

“DORRIES, Nadine (Mid Bedfordshire)

8. Land and Property

House in Gloucestershire, from which rental income is received.

Holiday home in South Africa.”

I have written previously, and I am yet to receive a reply on this matter. I am concerned that this ambiguity might lead people to have the wrong idea about you.

Your Blog & Twitter

You have recently decided that Twitter is a waste of time, and you have criticsed those that use it heavily. This is fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion, however, I am sure you will acknowledge that you used it to great effect during the election campaign to smear your opponents. I was wondering when it became a waste of time to use it? Was it at the exact moment you got elected?

I read your blog regularly to keep updated on all the work you do in your constituency. At times I commented on it, not always in a positive way, but always in a polite way. Now it seems that you have removed any form of comment on the blog, which really is a shame as it was good to share our opinions with you openly and honestly? What did you remove this facility? Was it because of one or two troublesome people, and would it not have been worth blocking them?

You also blocked me on Twitter for asking the question about your expenses above! It does begin to look like you want to spend time in office making pronouncements, not entering into debate, which I think is a shame.

You recent diatribe against one of your constituents I am afraid does you little credit. As a taxpayer, I have become increasingly concerned with the money that is being wasted by MPs. I know that you believe the campaign on expenses to have been cruel and unjustifiable, but we want openness and honesty, not hysterical mentions of suicide to try to stop people from looking. I realise that your salary is not the biggest in the world, but I would respectfully suggest that beecoming embroiled in a personal campaign about one of your constituents is NOT the best way to spend tax payers money, surely your time could be usefully employed elsewhere? There are also some worrying comments you make abou the hustings meeting in Flitwick that I will cover below. Whatever your views of Ms Cullen, I would again, respectfully suggest that if you spent the amount of time on every one of your constituents in a campaign of vindictive accusation and bile on more constructive things, you may well avoid the amount of negative publicity that you have been receiving. Your outbust has led to personal information being published about Ms Cullen on a well know political blog. I want my MP to be a voice of positivity, not a voice that belongs in the dark ages of politics. Your comments about the Labout candidate’s service record, and the Liberal Democrat’s “Handcuffs” were childish to say the least, and are exactly the kind of smear that you have been so vocal in crtiticising.

I sent you an email last week about you blog. I was disgusted to see that you had referred to a website as containing Porn and then provided a link to it on your website! This was so deeply irresponsible from a member of Parliament. My eleven year old daughter was looking at your blog. As I said on my email, I only wish that you had shown the same level of responsibility to children that I did in supervising her online time. In the spirit of sense and decency, I have asked her to check with me before visiting your website again. Yet you then spend time in the local paper criticising others for doing so! I would ove to hear your view on this, so that I may perhaps see this as something other than base hypocrisy. Why not acknowledge publically that you made a mistake rather than pointing the finger at other people? What other people spend their time writing is none of your, or my business. In your case, it IS my business, as my taxes are paying for you to do it. Perhaps you only edited your blog as the complaint I sent was copied into David Cameron’s office?

The Flitwick Hustings

I attended this meeting, and I cannot believe that you are still bringing it up, and still doing so inaccuratley. Ms Cullen did not, at any point “storm” anywhere, or “Pace up and down”. She did not raise her voice any louder than anyone else when you left the meeting early. Why do you persist in stating these things as fact? I met Ms Cullen for the first time that night, and have not met her since by the way, and I am not a Labour party supporter either. You are careful not to mention that you only told us that you had to leave at 8.45 after you had the spat with the man and the camera, and in fact left at 8.30, only to stand outside chatting and smoking for 15 minutes before you left. The reason people were shouting was that we wanted to hear your opinion and perspective. I was happily able to question the Labour and Liberal candidates that evening, but the only impression I got from you was that of a candidate that treated her constituents with disdain and contempt. You told the whole meeting that you were going to another really important meeting. It must have beeen extremely important to take precedent over the hustings of the general election, and a chance for people to hear your voice days before they vote. It must also have bene extremely brief, as you were on Twitter within an hour of leaving the Flitwick Hustings. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that creates the impression of an MP so safe and secure in her seat, that she does not really care about the thoughts of her constituents.

Mrs Dorries, I find your style of politics to be stuck in the dark ages. You won the election with an increased majority, but this does not give you carte blanche to behave in the way you have. From your ridiculous publicity stunts (High heels, Reality TV shows, ignorant pronouncements on abortion), through to your insulting and personal comments, for example referring to a colleague as Dr Death. You personal campaign against a constituent is quite frankly a disgrace, and I would seriously question this behaviour if it came from a ten year old, let alone a grown woman in her 50’s who is paid by the taxpayer. You have done everything you can to actively discourage open, honest and grown up debate, and if you are questioned on this, you seem to resort to personal attacks. Let’s have some honesty, decency and integrity from you rather than the half truths, insults and downright lies.

Yours sincerely

Keith Badham

p.s I am sending this via email as well as post in an effort to ensure I receive a response this time."

I shall of course update the blog with any response

The Globe

Back from another day in London.  We went pretty much straight after the session this morning, and I found myself as a groundling at the Globe for the first time.  What a fantastic experience it was.  Myself and Eldest saw Henry IV Part one, and the three hours on our feet were worth every minute and every penny.  The play was full of commanding performances, brilliantly timed comedy and just down and out thrilling theatre.  It was the final performance, and I felt privileged to have been able to witness it.  I started the day feeling tired, irritable and ill, and finished it in awe of what one can do in a theatre, and feeling lucky that I have even the vaguest of connections with this wonderful industry.

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Dorries Snides again

MP would 'rather die' than form electoral pact: ePolitix.com

Well far be it from me to discourage the woman from whatever course she deems necessary.

 Yet again we see our MP in the course of her job, insulting and persecuting rather than doing anything constructive or worthwhile. Where is the discussion on policy? Where are the suggestions on how to improve anything? Where are the New Politics? Her Japanese prisoner of war comment is truly repugnant, and I have to say, nonsensical. It was not, after all, the prisoners of war who thought the war was still continuing, but the soldiers who were not in captivity. So we get deep insensitivity AND crass stupidity all in one sentence. Why is this woman allowed to continue by her party? She must surely be a liability?

A Bit of an arty Catch Up

It has been a while dear reader since I regaled you with tales of my recent visits out to various Arty Farty type events, of which there have been a fair few lately...So I will try to summarise...

The Saatchi Gallery - The simplest way I can describe this is a large building full of hang ups and hopes loosely based in the wonderful world of contemporary arts, which is neither a short or particularly well constructed sentence.  It was, I have to be honest, a rather cold and lifeless experience for me, and though there was some work in there that I really enjoyed, I felt that the space and its atmosphere were a bit stiffling.  I suppose when you have been to the Galleries in Paris recently, you will always find anything else slightly less inspiring...  

Jim Bob - Was, and occasionally remains, as the lead singer of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - A solo gig at my old haunt; The Bull and Gate in Kentish Town, and a fine evening was had by all...Support act Tim Ten Yen was a revelation to myself and Mrs Plug, and his album has had quite an effect on us.  Mr Bob was excellent, and warm and entertaining, and I was relieved that someone who I had held in such high regard turned out to be a genuinely nice bloke.

The Tate Modern - More Modern Art madness, but as it is in such a special place, it works better than The Saatchi...Fell in lots of love with Cy Twombly, who really does lots of scribbling, and the old 6th form me would probably be sneering at the middle aged attractive me for saying it...

Re-Orientations - The Soho Theatre - Amazing Play...just beautifully staged, and wonderfully acted.  I can not praise it enough

Coming soon.....

Henry iv part one at the Globe :-)

Blasted  - Sarah Kane at The Lyric

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Professional Satisfaction

Received my Union membership today, which when I consider where I was five years ago makes me rather proud.  I also have received an approach from an educational establishment to help with a production, which I cannot begin to explain in terms of my happiness.  When I set out on this particular path five years ago, I didn't really believe deep down that I would really make a go of it.  After a particularly difficult day yesterday, I found that these two bits of news provided a very welcome relief...

I made the decision a few weeks back to seperate my political rantings into a different blog.  I understand that those kinds of posts can attract a bit of attention and as a result, can have a negative effect on some people close to me...so the Political stuff can be found over at http://mrplugsrantings.blogspot.com/.....You will see that today, I have continued with a theme so close to my heart...My MP

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