Soldering irons - advice

I wish I had never bought a soldering iron with a tip like this:

Completely useless for directing the heat to the place where you need it. I would much prefer a flat tip for applying the heat so that you are kind of pressing the tip against whatever it is you're soldering.

Perhaps the pointed tip comes into its own in certain situations and in the hands of an adept.

The plan today was to prepare 3 sets of points for installation (Henry Ford Style).

By first severing the little connecting wires beneath each one:

Then secondly, removing the spring-loaded mechanism which accompanies the changing of the points from one position to the other (one needs to do this to accommodate the smooth action of the Tortoise points motor). Managed to cut my thumb doing it.

And thirdly to solder little connecting wires underneath the points. A foul experience.

There was a fourth, fifth and sixth step that I had intended doing as well but the cut thumb and the stupid-shaped soldering tip dispirited me from doing them.

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Alfred Brendel:

Listened to Alfred Brendel talking about and then playing Schubert's Piano sonata in C minor, D958; which he described as "forbiddingly dark" or was it "darkly forbidding" - I can't remember.

I once saw Brendel at an art exhibition in London -  much taller and more gangling than I had imagined he would be. Toyed with the idea of asking for his autograph but for 3 reasons didn't:

1) thought it might be a bit of a naff thing to do;

2) was scared of a very public rebuff; and,

3) was only 95% sure that it was actually him.

The exhibition was of the German expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.