CCW Final Project

Long time no post.  Sorry about that.  No excuses.

I return to the world of blogging in order to keep track of my final project for my Foundation Diploma. Over the next few months, anticipate seeing (hopefully) frequent posts about the progress of my project, which I will explain momentarily.  If you notice it's been more than 2 days since I last updated, please comment (or email/Facebook me) and pester me into updating...AFTER 26 Feb., that is.  You'll be helping doing so.

The project is as follows (but may be tweaked as time goes by, depending on research results, fancy-tickling, etc.):

Context

Since the first term written assignment, I have found continual inspiration in the works of George Shaw, with particular interest in his portrayal of mundane or overlooked places and items.  Despite his relatively realist-style techniques, his pieces have a feel of abstraction through their composition.  Line and contrast, main aspects of his style, are vital words in my own practice.

I saw many of the same similarities between my own work and that of Kurt Schwitters, and therefore left the Tate Britain exhibition full of inspiration.  His mixed media collages expanded ideas to explore one of my personal tutor's suggestions: experimenting with drawing or painting on my photographs, or adding drawn aspects to their presentation.  The bold shapes, lines and contrast of Schwitters’ collages present overlooked bits of rubbish or daily life making them the focus of the artwork.  The juxtaposition of political or social articles also parallels my juxtaposition of unrelated subject matter.  It seems that we both tend to concentrate on bold shapes of overall form and composition, which, along with overlooked or abstracted locations, structures or items, will be the idea behind of my final project. 

Project Proposal Aims, Methods and Realisation

Continuing an idea I began with the “Place” project, I will develop the concept of pairing two images to be presented as a single print.  As the idea grows, I may combine images, perhaps a photo and a drawing, two drawings, two photos, collage, or mixed media - but still presented in pairs.

As I explore possible subjects for my juxtaposition and representation of objects, I may look into working with the Natural History Museum.  If they allow me to take photos and sketch from some of their collection, I would pair the natural objects with manmade objects (bridges, buildings, streets, etc.).  Another idea would be to pair sketches of the objects, or to place sketchs into photographs of the manmade structures.

On his visit for the “Place” crit, Colin Wiggins of the National Gallery connected my photography to my musical background through the words, “rhythm,” “colour,” “tone,” and “composition,” which I have used for years when describing my practice.  I would also like to explore photographing musicians in detail, taking words into account that relate to both areas, then pairing the photos with a photograph of a similar item – maybe the natural objects from the Natural History Museum, or my mechanical/structural photographs.

The project will produce a series of paired images.  Depending on the final outcome, and how the project develops, I will have to consider how it will be presented.  The final presentation will depend on what I produce and how the idea develops.
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This is an example of one of the photos from my "Place" project:

More can be found at http://www.ashleyndonaldson.com/photo-pairings

Please watch this space for the next few months, and pester me AFTER February 26 if I don't update regularly!

Why London is the Best European Capitol I've Visited

Disclaimer: I initially wrote this on my iPod on one of my long train rides somewhere in Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg.  They all blurred together.  I have tried to correct my thumbs' typos.

Also, I didn't write this to be negative about cities that aren't London.  I'm just pointing out differences that made my travels a bit annoying at times.

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Berlin is too spread out.  It's pretty impossible to walk from landmark to landmark, and the U/S bahn stations are far away from some of the landmarks (I.e. museum island).  Distance is important when you have to factor in walking through the museum/around the landmark.  Don't get me wrong - it's still nice to walk around and see the city, just make sure you know where you're going ahead of time so you don't walk more than necessary.

If you're in Zone 1, tourist London is walkable.  The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace is pretty long, but if you want the real experience of visiting (i.e. looking at) the castle, it's the way you have to go, not Green Park.  Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus (I really don't get why this is such a tourist destination), and Trafalgar Square are near enough to St Paul's Cathedral, which is by Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern.  Trafalgar Square et. al. are also near enough Parliament and Westminster Abbey, which are by the London Eye.
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To me, Brussels felt very unsafe.  Restaurants are pricy, even away from the tourist area, or involve deep fried things.  In a city known for waffles and french fries (which autocorrect just aptly changed to "franchise fries"), I suppose one shouldn't have high expectations regarding affordable cuisine.  I ended up just walking around for 2 hours, then giving up and retreating to my hostel at 5 PM.  I just wasn't interested in what I saw.  Everyone told me to go to Brugges or Ghent instead, but they were too far, and I had to leave from Brussels the next day.

Sure, England doesn't have the best food related reputation, but I beg to differ.  Most pubs provide decent meals, and places like EAT and Pret a Manger have tasty pre-packaged sandwiches made fresh every day.  Grab them and take them to a park with a drink....great way to have lunch without just sitting in a restaurant.

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Luxembourg is made up of a high city and a low city, which means there is a part-between-the-cities which involves being high and gradually becoming low, or, worse, the opposite.  As far as I could tell, there were no buses in the low city, so it's all leg work.

Aside from some slight inclines, London proper is pretty darned flat.  This is obviously counting out Hampstead.
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Amsterdam is expensive an overcrowded.  And Holland doesn't accept €.01/02 coins, so things get rounded up and you're shorted change you'd receive pretty much anywhere else. The Rijksmuseum won't be fully open until next year, meaning only part of the exhibition is visible. This means the same amount of tourists is jammed into 1/10 the space, and is paying the fully-opened entrance price of €14.  And there is no student rate. Under 18s are free, but thats it.  I was told how much a night at het Concertgebouw costs.  Ouch.

London's museums are free for everyone.  Tickets to the major orchestras and operas can be bought for under £10.  Sure, living is expensive, but tourists can stay in hostels for around £22/night.
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Dublin.  I spent most of my time at a concert, touring the Jameson distillery, or locked in a Starbucks bathroom, so I didn't form much of an opinion.  It's a lot like a smaller, more compact, hillier, Irish-er London.  River through the middle, and all.  I want to go back.

I haven't visited Paris, but general consensus seems to be that it's overrated and dirty, yet obviously a must-see.

It's now 10:30.  I'm moved into my own room, complete with a balcony overlooking the garden.  There's currently a ladder in place of a non-yet-built staircase to the garden, but it's still accessible.  

Upon opening my large suitcase, which was delivered by courier today, I discovered that a full bottle of face scrub burst, making a massive mess.  Also, TSA went through the bag, and failed to put my bottle of ink back in its secure niche.  They also didn't tighten the lid, so there was expensive ink dripped throughout my paintbrushes.  Filing a claim.  The ink is pricy, and it ruined a shirt, as well as an eraser, and likely some brushes.

Sunday's task will be sorting out my 1000 photos.  Until then.

I am a Jelly Doughnut

Disclaimer - I am on a German computer, and I don't know where any of the keys are.  Every word has a red squiggly line under it as I type, too.
...and all of my y-s are trying to be z-s.
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I come to you now on my final full day in Berlin with the incredible Julia.  It's hard to believe that we've put up with each other for 8 years, when she was an exchange student at FHS.  Look back to http://ashleydonaldson.blogspot.de/2009/08/prost.html and http://ashleydonaldson.blogspot.de/2009/08/and-now-end-is-near.html for youthful accounts of my visit to her in Munich in 2009.

The train ride to Berlin was about 8 hours long.  Somehow the German train system was not punctual, so I arrived 30 minutes later than anticipated.  Julia picked me up, drove back to her apartment, then exchanged my suitcase for her puppy, and drove to the Brandenburg Gate.  Lucy, the puppy, had her picture taken in front of Bellevue, where the President lives, the Siegessäule, and the Brandenburg Gate.  We enjoyed a coffee at Pariser Platz (next to the Gate, and where Julia works).

Monday, I arrived at the Pergamon Museum a few minutes before they opened.  I stayed for a little over an hour, then wandered on my merry way.  I took many photos, but forgot my sketchbook.  For that reason, I didn't bother paying to go into the Cathedral, as I would have wanted to sit and draw.

Instead, I aimlessly walked, eventually ending up at Alexanderplatz, where I bought a new memory card.  Yay for being able to take pictures of whatever I want, now!  I will not be able to upload any until I am back in London, though.

After relaxing in a Starbucks that had internet, I returned to the apartment to rest.  The afternoon was spent in a local park, where a lady angrily asked for directions.  I could not help, as I didn't understand the word for the place she was trying to find.  When she rode past me later, she hissed and asked, "I thought you didn't know where it was."  A lake, apparently.  Which was right next to us.

Tuesday, I hunted for the Berlin Philharmonie, with only a vague idea of where it was.  Luckily I found some maps along the way - it was like a treasure hunt.  The place was under construction, so I just shot some photos and walked on.  Moments later, a sign appeared: "Musical Instrument Museum - 50m."

During my 2.5/3 hours at the MIM, I learned that, before the war, they originally had a collection of 4500 instruments.  After the war, it was battered down to 700.  Some of the broken and destroyed instruments are still on display near the front door.  The collection is now back up to a healthy >3000, including the fortepiano on which Weber composed Der Freschütz, Ben Franklin's glass harmonica, and the piano Lizst is playing in the painting, "Franz Liszt Fantasizing at the Piano" which possibly includes my Berlioz standing off to the left.

I saw the painting itself later that afternoon at the Altes Nationalgallerie.  There was also a room full of Caspar David Friedrich, some incredible paintings of locations I had just seen the day before (Opera, Neue Wache - a 19th century war memorial), etc. etc.  I left full of inspiration, with names of artists I'd never heard, and some examples of texture I one day hope to be able to emulate.

Wednesday, a very hot and sunny day, Julia, Lucy, and I drove to Potsdam, stopping along the way at the Wannsee (a large lake between Berlin and Potsdam).  In Potsdam, we took a carriage ride around the park Sanssouci.  The ride (in a carriage of 20 people) ended up being more of just...a ride/escape from the sun.  There was narration (pre-recorded), but not much actual "seeing."  A 15 minute break at the Neues Palais provided some nice photos, at least.

Today I am resting and entertaining Lucy.  Today is even hotter than yesterday, so it will mostly be spent inside.

Early in the morning, I will be on the train to the Netherlands.  I am very excited to see yet another new place - one I have been looking forward to for a long time.  A huge fan of Dutch artists, I am ready to plant myself somewhere and just draw away a day.  Plenty of photos will be taken, as always, and hopefully at least one of them will turn into a painting.

Caio

5 Countries in 4 Days

For those of you who aren't on Facebook, I will give you a brief update of my travels from the US to Europe:

My plane from Toledo to Chicago was early, but the plane at the gate before us had to be towed.  We were told it would be a 5 minute wait, but it was 20+.  Therefore, I missed my connection to Orlando.  Luckily, the American Airlines lady was able to get me on a direct flight from Chicago to London Heathrow.  The problem with this, though, is that my luggage had somehow made it onto the plane to Orlando, and would thus land at Gatwick the next morning, 2 hours later than I would arrive at Heathrow.

I didn't hear from AA until I made it to Germany Friday afternoon.  My luggage went back to Chicago, then was flown to Heathrow, where it will be waiting for me when I return in August.

Saturday, Herbert and I drove his new RV to Lago di Garda, Italy.  While Google maps said it would be a 5 hour trip, we ran into traffic...pretty much all the way there.  The return trip Tuesday made up for it with smooth sailing.

We visited Riva, Ledro, Lazise, and Bardolino.  Lazise still has the old city walls, surrounding the old buildings, shops, cafes, gelateria, and harbor.  Bardolino has a wine named after it, and a nice old part of town which is also, of course, right along the lake.

We swam in Ledro and Bardolino, as well as a lake in Germany when we made it back Tuesday...though that was a very short swim.  Actually more of a "walk" in my case.  Germany saw freezing temperatures in the mornings while we were basking in the Italian sun.

Also in Germany on Tuesday, we decided to see Neuschwanstein.  Unfortunately, most of the castle was wrapped up for repairs.  Instead, we went up the Tegelberg (a mountain) in a cable car, then hiked up a little farther on foot.  It was a perfect day to be up in the mountains...

Dinner was traditional German cuisine at the local eatery, paired with a hefeweizen from a nearby town.

Today, I am off to explore the town.  It's cloudy, but warm, so I will plant myself somewhere and draw.
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Wed - US; Thurs - UK; Fri - Germany; Sat - Austria, Italy
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Off I go!

One Way Ticket

As you surely know by now, I am finally returning to London. This time, though, it will be for at least one full year. This trip is not just a vacation. I will will be a student at the University of the Arts London's Camberwell College of Art working on a Foundation Diploma.

 You surely just thought to yourself, "What the heck does that mean?" Allow me to explain! In England, many Bachelor's Programmes are 3 years long. The FD serves as the 4th year, in short. It's required for first year students, or in my case, a student who has a degree of some sort, just not in art. The course is divided into 3 sections. Here they are explained, taken directly from the school's website:

 Part 1 The first part introduces those aspects of art and design practice, that together form a sound working methodology, enabling you to work independently and with confidence. In this intensive period of study, you will learn research skills, media and materials development, and you will enhance your ability to develop ideas. You will also learn how to evaluate your own working practices and outcomes. During this period of study you will also be introduced to a range of art and design specialisms which will support your choice of pathway. This will be delivered through studio projects, lectures, seminars, tutorials and gallery and museum visits.

 Part 2 The second stage of the course allows you to elect to study one of the pathways (art, design and communication), focusing on your interests, and abilities. You will explore your specialist interest in greater depth, and develop your skills of research and evaluation further. Your continued independent investigation of ideas, materials and media will be supported through tutorial advice. The pathways and specialist areas are as follows: Art - Painting, Sculpture, Drawing and Photography / Media. Communication - Graphics, Illustration and Digital Media. Design - 3D / Product / Interior, Theatre / Film / TV and Fashion / Textiles.

 Part 3 The final stage of the course allows you to write your own project proposal, and develop your personal ideas. The emphasis of this stage of the course is on independent study and development. This project culminates in a body of work that will form your final assessment, and the end of year exhibition.

 If you're interested in more details, here is the website with all the information about the course: http://www.camberwell.arts.ac.uk/courses/courses-by-level/foundation/foundation-art-and-design/

 As for my travel plans, they're quite hectic. I fly from Toledo tomorrow afternoon to Chicago to Orlando to London Gatwick, arriving at 9:15 AM UK time. Friday morning, I fly to Germany from Stansted north of London. I'll be around Germany until August 3rd when I head to the Netherlands. 8th/9th in Luxemburg, 9th/10th in Belgium, back to England via the Eurostar on the 10th.

 Please leave me comments on here as I post throughout the year! I'll be sure to share whatever artworks I may complete, share photos, etc...

NY, NY

It has been ages since my last post, but only because it's been ages since I last traveled.

I arrived in the city on 13 October. Before even leaving Detroit, I had an encounter worth sharing. After going through security, I noticed a man with a Yamaha trumpet case, so I struck up conversation. Turns out he's played with Wynton Marsalis/Jazz at Lincoln Center and Maynard Ferguson. Check out www.walterwhite.com

Fresh off the bus in the city, I did some light shopping on 125th St. Yes, in Harlem. From there, I ended up in a Columbia U building sipping coffee and eating a scone. Little did I know my friend, Phil, was working in the building directly across the street. Upon realization, I found him, waited until he was off work, and went to yet another coffeeshop to catch up with him. Still with time to kill before another friend returned home to where I would be staying the first few nights, I sat in on Phil's masters/doctoral education class at Columbia.

The evening was spent lounging at Betty's apartment until I heard from Karl, my reason for visiting before the LSO arrives, called me to meet up. We ended up with 2 friends of his in an Irish pub way up on 181st Street.

Friday, Karl and I met up, then walked through Central Park to the Neue Gallerie (German/Austrian Expressionist art gallery) for lunch. As one of Karl's zen locations in the city, I can see why special trips have been made - lovely room, tasty German food, and a nice atmosphere, to say the least. From there, we sauntered to the Metropolitan Club at 5th Ave./60th St. for drinks.

The best way for me to describe the beauty of this building - club founded and built by JP Morgan - is to ask you to look at the slideshow on their homepage: http://www.metropolitanclubnyc.org/

Back to the Met. Club for drinks Saturday at lunchtime. We had the entire penthouse bar to ourselves as we sat on the rooftop overlooking Central Park. Photos of the view will come after I'm home later in the week. Lunch followed at a restaurant next to Lincoln Center, where I had to make the difficult choice between bread pudding or cheesecake for dessert.

Karl was off to the airport Sat. afternoon, so I returned "home" and changed for a social dance at the 92nd St. Y. Once there, I joined the intermediate lesson (foxtrot/rhumba) before the dance began at 8. As the first tune began to play, I asked someone to dance. Turns out he is a dance instructor for the event and at the studio that hosts it. Over the course of the night, he taught me some tango moves, the marengue, some new swing steps, and some other tips. He also invited me to a tango class Tuesday night at his studio. Wine, cheese, dancing, company...why not?
NOTE: if you didn't know, I've been (mostly ballroom) dancing for 13 years.

After the dance, new friend Alex (introduced via Karl), who also came to the dance, and I made our way by foot from 92nd St. down 5th Ave. to 60th St. We popped into the Met. Club (he's also a member) at 1 AM as a wedding reception let out, with the intention of only using their restroom. While washing my hands, a woman complimented my shoes. Making small talk, she shared that she had put together the music for the reception. Upon giving me her card, she told me to give her a call and she'd give me a trumpet gig in the city.

It's now 3 PM and I'm yet to leave the apartment. All this walking/dancing has left my feet in quite a state. No matter, I'll soon be off to visit some 5th Ave. shops and Roxy's Deli for cheesecake before heading to 92nd St. (W, not E, this time) for some jazz and lovely company.

I could get used to this place.

Blood's a Pumpin'

Disclaimer: I haven't realized how long it's been since my last post. Please forgive me, but as you read on you will see that my mind has not necessarily been around a computer recently.



I just returned home from lunch with Karl at The East India Club, a members-only gentlemen's club in St. James' Square. So many Victorian novels and stories suddenly breathed into life as I found myself not in Pall Mall, but the equally renowned St. James' Square. My elitist blood is pumping after lunching in the building shown above. I'm sure you don't have any difficulty in understanding why. Peeked into the window of the men-only smoking room and the beautiful library (both full of leather armchairs, but, as it was midday, decidedly few leather men).

I'm making a phone call to the airline/site through which I booked my flights to see if I can extend my stay by 2ish weeks tonight. Most likely will be returning as planned, but one can always hope. I cannot hear out of my left ear and currently feel that spending 8 hours in a pressurized environment wouldn't be all that good of an idea at this point. I'm off balance and feel like I have a fish tank in the left side of my head.

What have I been up to since I last updated, aside from being sick. Where to begin? What- you didn't think a nasty bout of illnesses would pin me down, did you?

Trying to remember back... On the 3rd, a Saturday, I saw Salome at the Royal Opera. I think it's required of my immune system to be shot when I go to the opera. My seat was 2 from the wall, stage right, as high as I could possibly get. In short, it was difficult to see anything that wasn't happening within 15 feet of the front of the stage (unless I rested my chin on the ledge in front of me).

Breakfast with Jonathan the next morning (Sunday) in St. Christopher's Place. We had intending on going elsewhere, but everything in the entire area was closed. Lovely. I figured out that morning that Bond Street is incredibly long. Spent the rest of the day wandering around all of the extravagantly elegant men's tailors and sellers of accessories in Savile Row and Jermyn Street as well as other pretty bits of Picadilly/St. James'. I told myself I needed to go back. Funny I should end up there today...

Monday...don't remember.

Tuesday- bedridden all day until I joined the hashers for post-run socializing near Baker Street.

Wednesday found me on a train to/in Tonbridge for a massage by Alain, an occasional LSO extra violin. Our hellos had been cut short, so we finally had a chance to chat over tea and an attempt to assist me along the road to recovery.

Thursday- City of London Festival concert at St. Paul's Cathedral (sold out). You may remember my recount of last summer's performance of Bruckner 9 by the LSO. This summer was a very powerful Beethoven 9 with John Eliot Gardiner. Seat was a the foot of the stage-right steps, so I was given some surprised faces as the players were taking their places. Actually, they were probably thinking, "Why are you still here?"

I had every intention of spending Friday in recovery mode. I was mistaken. Phone call from Ivor in the AM asking if I could turn pages for the evening's NLS concert- Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. Of course, I said yes- and volunteered myself for the rehearsal, as well. At the interval of the performance, I sprinted to Pret for some fruit before what I'm sure would have been my first fainting spell. The stage light was shining directly at me, and I had no hair tie. That, accompanied with nerves and illness made for a shaky Ashley. Food was my saviour.

Saturday was Emily and Lucia's joint birthday party at Ivor's. Emily and Lucia are sisters I have known since last summer. We are all in both the choir and the running club together. Ivor's, of course, the choir conductor. His flat was beautiful...check out some photos of the garden on my facebook page. Adam and I departed at 3 AM. I heard of some hearty souls who remained until 6. By time we had left, we had stolen the dancefloor. A benefit, perhaps, of a duo of professional-training (since he was 4) and close-enough-to-professionally-training gave us plenty of reason to strut our stuff together.

Sunday- slept late, watched the British Grand Prix in the afternoon and the World Cup final in the evening.

Yesterday- watched 3 episodes of Top Gear, 1 of QI, baked cookies, ended up spending some time with Lex and Princess, met up with Adam to assist in the devouring of some leftovers.

Today has already been described, but I would once again like to remind you that I ate here today, and you didn't:

Soz.

Sorry for the lack of writing, everyone. I believe my excuses are justifiable. Last week the worst case of allergies/hayfever/cold I've yet had. Not entirely sure what it was. Although I did still accomplish things, I really couldn't concentrate to write anything. Now, after singing Handel's Israel in Egypt through from start to finish 5 times (plus some rehearsing) in 3 days, my voice has painfully ripped itself to shreds and opening the door to exhaustion.

In my last post, I mentioned two American girls, Morgan and Sarah. I spent Monday showing them around after an orchestra rehearsal. We started by taking the tube to the Tower so they could take pictures of the bridge and the tower itself. Morgan wanted to see Somerset House, so we got off and Temple tube. From SH, we walked to Trafalgar Square and did a super-quick walk through the National Gallery. I showed them my 2 favorite rooms as well as the Impressionist rooms. From there we walked to Buckingham Palace. Morgan was brave enough to carry out a suggestion I was given a while ago from Gerry (Rader). He had run into a former B'ham Palace guard, who told him a sentence that would supposedly allow entry into the palace. Morgan tried on the friendly cop standing at an important-looking entrance. He was confused, so he asked the 3 other friendly cops who were standing nearby. One had heard of it, but had never been asked. They all determined it must either be for a different palace or applied decades ago and had since been abandoned. Sigh. Still, we took a picture with the cops so as to record our attempts.

I spent Tuesday morning in Spa Fields behind my flat reading Pygmalion (for you uncultured lot, My Fair Lady was based upon this play). I commandeered a bench at 7 AM and read for the next couple of hours until I finished. For some reason, I left inspired to do some art, so I went home and drew Karl's requested headshot, of which I'm quite proud. Spent the evening with Adam, who was just entering the heat of his heavy week of work.

Despite hayfever (or whatever it was) that had just kicked into full swing over the course of the next afternoon, I still went to see The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House (Wednesday). My good intentions only survived the first half- my ticket was a standing seat at the back of the top balcony, i.e. not worth the exertion as the opera started at 7 and wasn't set to finish until past 10. So, at the 30-minute-long interval, I decided to nip into the chemist (pharmacy) behind the ROH for some sort of medication then walk home. Halfway home, I got a text message from Martin, one of the bassoonists in the ROH orchestra, asking how I was enjoying the show and inviting me to the pub afterwards. Feeling guilty, I hightailed it back to the hall...just in time for the show to have started 2 minutes before my arrival.

You may think I dejectedly (yet thankfully) returned home at this point, but you would be wrong! One of the workers in the lobby said, "You can't get to your seat, but we have an empty box, if that's ok." If that's OK?! Um, I can't complain about a private box upgrade from an £8 standing seat. [other worker], go ahead and take her up."

For the first 5 minutes or so, seated one box up and back from the stage, I attempted to figure out who was who onstage since faces were all blurs from the nosebleed section. My body then decided that it would rather sleep. 20 minutes later, I awoke in the middle of a plot twist. Opera finished (btw it was good), found my way to the pub, and enjoyed chatting with various musicians from the ROH, English National Opera, and a regular player (i.e. over 4000 of over 6000 performances) in Phantom of the Opera over the last 23 years.

Hmm... What did I do on Thursday? Ah, yes. I spent the entire day laying in bed attempting to recover. I watched 3 Top Gear specials and drank a lot of chocolate milk. Yes, I realize the latter wasn't the best for recovery, but it tasted maaahvelous.

Friday afternoon was installment 4 of payment for my drawing for Sean. This means we went for burritos at Chipotle on Charing Cross Rd. His was on the house as he'd been in every day for the last week and half. He's admitted that he has a problem.

Friday evening was reason to celebrate, as Adam had survived his busy work week. Champagne and a delicious/elegant dinner sufficed.

Saturday- wandered around some strange little town as Adam's car was serviced, then returned home for some more rest.

Sunday- LSO open rehearsal, horrific England/Germany World Cup game, and Haydn's The Seasons with Sir Colin. I was glad I decided to leave my flat relatively early, as the concert started at 7, not the usual 7:30. I picked up my ticket 2 minutes before showtime.

Monday- listened to flatemates' tales from Glastonbury Festival, then we all trekked up to Hampstead Heath to revel in yet another day of sunshine. From there, bus to choir rehearsal. I happened to look down as we were stopped. Ivor, our conductor, was sitting in his car with the top down right in front of us! I sprinted downstairs (from the top of the double-decker), and jumped into the back.

Tuesday- rehearsal at Cadogan Hall with orchestra and chorus. Approximately 200 people on stage, if not more. Right before the break, Ivor said, from the podium, "Ashley?" Of course I assumed he was just going to have me go sit in the hall to listen for balance or something. No. He had me come up to the podium and conduct the movement we'd just done. I am pleased to say I shook far less than last time, despite my knowing that the bass player in the orchestra in front of me is a member of the LSO!!!! Concert that night was amazing.

Wednesday- trumpet lesson with Gerry at the Barbican. 30 minutes of Halsey Stevens. Ran to Cadogan Hall from there. Rehearsal from 3. I was assigned to sit right next to the soloists, i.e. very near the audience, which apparently encouraged me to be a bit too enthusiastic.

I'm now, as I've mentioned previously, completely fatigued and shredded to bits. Spending the rest of the day resting before returning to the Barbican for the final concert of the season (the one at St. Paul's next week is actually part of the City of London Festival). One of my friends in the 2nd violins is retiring after this concert, so they're having drinks for him, and he invited me to join in the festivities! But until then- rest. Lots of rest. Alas, I only have about 2 hours...

Ascot, etc.

I have been on my feet and GOING pretty much non-stop since Monday what with hashing, rehearsals, concerts, Ascot, World Cup, dinners, etc. etc. I'll try to give you the highlights, although too much has happened to write absolutely everything here. If I took 370 pictures in two days, you can imagine how much I could potentially say.

I got to Waterloo in plenty of time for the 11:05 train to Ascot. It was quite obvious that it was nearly everyone's final destination as there were top hats and feathers galore. Some old Irishman who worked at the station immediately helped me out (even though I didn't need it) with the ticket machine. He asked if I was Irish and seemed upset when I couldn't remember the county where my family lived at one point. A homeless woman walked by as we were talking and told me how beautiful I looked.

I somehow managed to snag a seat on the train. The aisles and ends of the cars were completely packed of people who had to stand for the duration of the hour-long journey. I was amongst a group of 6 guys who talked to me most of the way there and invited me to join them. When we got to Ascot, one of them bought me a rose for my jacket. They waited for me at the entrance to the Silver Ring (but I was in the Grandstand). By time I got my ticket, they had vanished.

I stood around in the parade ring until the royal procession so as to keep my wonderful place in the stands. If you check out my facebook, I have some wonderful photos of the Queen, Prince Philip, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I eventually realized that I was more in shock that I had seen ALW than the Queen, as I hadn't expected him to be there.

I placed all of my bets at the beginning, horses chosen mostly because of their names. Won nothing on the first race and immediately thought the whole day would be like that. Then my horse won the next race. And the next one. And the next two after that- 4 consecutive winners and 2 placers, overall (i.e. I won on 5 of 6 races)!!! By the end of the day, I'd paid for my entire day out and still had £13 in my pocket.

On the ride home, I stood in an aisle and chatted with three guys who all used to work for Proctor and Gamble. One of them now owns an IT company based right behind Trafalgar Square. One of the others looked vaguely like Prince William. They invited me to watch the England/Algeria match, but I had plans to head up to Camden to meet up with some hashers. I made it to the pub minutes before halftime. Shoulder to shoulder in the place. Changed. Tie. Curry. Bed.

Woke up early enough to make it to 5-hour Bart's rehearsal 20 minutes late. In the last 5 minutes of rehearsal, Ivor had us all move around and sit next to someone we "liked the look of." In short, just to get us listening a different way. Two seconds after we shifted around, he got off the podium and shouted, "Ashley- get up here." Completely in shock, I ran up to the podium and kept on chugging. By time I found my place on the page, I realized I was conducting what was supposed to be in 4 in 2, fixed my error, then spent the rest of the movement just trying to keep my hands from flying off my arms! I had a sort of involuntary Gergiev twitch going. No matter, I survived! Very glad he hadn't warned me about it. I'm going to be on edge every rehearsal from now on. So long as it doesn't happen in the concert....

I ran to the pub straight from rehearsal so I could get changed for a formal dinner at a hash friend's house in north London. Second outing (in as many days) for the Ascot ensemble (sans hat). Did my hair without being able to see the back of it (so I kept shoving flowers into it at dinner). LOVELY meal cooked entirely from scratch- delicious smoothie-type freshly-juiced raspberry/apple concoction, harvest soup, asparagus with secret sauce, lasagne, salad, potato salad, and DIY Eton mess for dessert. Charades, made-up dictionary definition game, and additional fun was had by all.

Vaguely slept in this morning. On the walk back home from King's Cross, I heard two American girls behind me saying, "This is King's Cross Bridge...maybe it's down this way?" I immediately knew they were looking for the Clink Hostel where I stayed last summer. How did I know? Because I made the exact error of turning down that road. I helped them out, they put their bags in the luggage room, then I played tour guide for a while. We walked down to St. Paul's, across Millenium Bridge, back up Blackfriar's Bridge, had lunch with Adam across from the Royal Courts of Justice, then walked back up to the flat/hostel. Likely meeting up again later in the evening, as they are only here for 2 days and would like the guidance on what to do in such a short period of time.

Adam has a 5-day tribunal in Reading all this week. It'll take him about an hour to get to Reading and an additional 20 minutes to get to the courthouse. He has to be there by 9 AM every day, won't be able to head back to London until 4:30-5ish, then will have to go back to the office for a while before finally being able to head home. Repeat until Friday evening. My schedule is also quite full this week: Monday- LSO and choir rehearsals and meeting up with Karl, Tuesday- hashing, Wednesday- Marriage of Figaro (with Sir Colin, I believe!) at the Royal Opera House, Thursday- some sort of club thing. It's going to be a very long week.

If I've forgotten anything, expect another post.

Neat Stuff.

I just tidied up the flat. Yesterday, I spent 6 hours painting- 9 doorways plus trim in a kitchen and hallway. Not pictures of them- the actual doorways and trim. Luckily someone else mopped, otherwise I'd seriously wonder what's wrong with me willingly doing all this stuff!

Dad sent me an email complaining that I'm not writing enough. Please forgive me, everyone back home, but I'm trying to wean myself off my internet addiction. So far, I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job. Sadly for you, that means less frequent news from Ashleyland.

Dad also pointed out that I'm not talking about music as much as usual. Perhaps I'm just failing to write about it. I'm still singing in Bart's- we have a concert on June 29 and 30 at Cadogan Hall (speak to me ASAP if you want tickets!). I'm currently only singing in the one on the 29th (which means I'm missing a hash), but will try to talk my way into both of them...although I'd *really* like to talk Ivor into letting me play trumpet on it... I'm not singing in the NLS, but I will still be going to their 2 remaining concerts.

Also will be going to most of the remaining LSO concerts. One of the reasons I haven't really been going to that many rehearsals is because they've been/will be gone, are doing sessions, etc. I DID go to the free lunchtime concert on Friday, though. The brass section gave a preview for last night's concert. Hot stuff. They did an arrangement of Ives' Variations on America. Of course some Brit had to ask the origins of the tune, as it's also "God Save the Queen." Patrick (tuba player. remember him from last summer?) said it was Beethoven's. It's actually older than that (I looked it up), but Beethoven and dozens of other composers have used it in their own compositions.

The hashers had 2 teams in a touch rugby tournament in West Dulwich (south London) on Saturday. I had NO clue how to play rugby until right before playing. After the tourney (a team dressed as Morris dancers won), we all watched the England v. US World Cup game. I painted a couple of George crosses on my cheeks and the other Ohio girl (from Dayton!) in the group was given a big ol' Union Jack right across her forehead.

Last night's World Cup game was much more exciting: 4-0 Germany! Poor Australia...