Place de la Concorde

Was listening to part of Radio 3's tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte as an influence on classical music; it was fascinating. The obelisk in the Place de la Concorde was mentioned and I realised what a significant symbol a ceramic model of it would make, situated somewhere on my HO scale diorama. And, because the physical dimensions are so easy to get hold of, converting it to HO scale would be a piece of cake.

I wouldn't surround it with the stuff in the actual Place de La Concorde, but simply have it as a focal point for the HO scale cars to tour around.

 

 

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And the end is in sight for the mosaic.

Yesterday

Today

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Black pudding:

Last night's dinner: bream, potatoes and black pudding

Today's lunch: artichokes and black pudding

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Vanessa Paradis:  Joe le Taxi

This classic pop song has just come up on random from my iTunes collection.

Stereophonics

Some more tiles laid:

The day before yesterday.

Today

Avec Jouef.

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Stereophonics:

A real omission from my record/CD/download collection are the Stereophonics. This is ridiculous because not only are they one of the few rock groups that I like, but Kelly Jones must have the best voice in rock. Also, they hail from a village in South Wales only a few miles from my father's home village.

They are coming to Glasgow next week and tickets are still available BUT it would be too noisy and I don't think my hearing would survive the experience.

Anway, I've just downloaded a Best of ... collection AND their latest single "In a Moment". The latter has been played frequently on office radio for several weeks and I must say that I thought it sounded like a cross between Depeche Mode and something else. Quite un-Stereophonical, a real grower and now I find it addictive.

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Last night's dinner:

Rib-eye steak and cauliflower.

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Glasgow Tango Club:

As part of our final class of the year, we all visited Glasgow's Tango Club which is held in the basement of Blackfriars pub.

Very basic decor, reminded me of a youth club in the 60s. Glasgow based enthusiasts gather here on a Wednesday evening and take to the floor (a very small floor). I did too for two dances, got slightly bored and since I wasn't drinking and had to get up early the following morning, made my excuses and left. But the atmosphere was very convivial. I might go again.

Beryl Cook's 'Tango'

Last night's ceramics class

A little progress:

The 4 walls have been successfully fired (one dislocation which, apparently, is fixable with epoxy resin).

But there wasn't a suitably coloured glaze in the college collection so Pauline, the lecturer, is bringing something in from home next week.

Once glazed, the walls will then be glued together, also with epoxy resin.

I held the walls in position to see what the effect will be.

Dislocation apparent in bottom right wall.

 

Bearing in mind the shrinkage which occurs in clay at different rates and at different stages of the process, it's amazing that the pieces fit together as well as they do.

In the meantime, I experimented with a terracotta tile. The hairdryer is used to dry the clay to 'leatherhard' whereupon it can be worked on.

Dissolving porcelain in water to make the 'slip'

One then paints the tile with the 'slip'.

And then scrapes out further detail with a knife or some such.

After Christmas, when the class resumes (still two more left before then), I'm going to use this porcelain slip technique to make a tiled mural as a townscape background for the layout.

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French House Music of the 1990s:

Continuing to go through my old French electronica CDs.

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Last night's dinner:

Didn't feel hungry, so just had two poached eggs.

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Poetry:

My boss likes poetry and after that encounter last week with 'Adlestrop' I've decided to make more of an effort to read the stuff and get satisfaction from it.

Today, he gave me the book in the above photograph.

Ceramics class tonight

Hopefully, tonight, the 4 walls of my HO scale ceramic model of a building on the Boulevard Haussmann will be assembled and given a glaze of pale rose.

In the mean time a few more mosaic tiles laid on the final platform.

Yesterday

Today

Another angle

And another one.

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Bruno Mars:

For the last few weeks, the office radio has been churning out 5 or 6 times a day what I thought was an updated version of an old Police record. In the end, I asked someone what it was and they said it was "Locked out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars. Interestingly, I downloaded it last night from iTunes and was slightly disappointed by it. But then, I heard it again today on the extremely modest office transistor radio and really liked it.

Turned out the song was written and produced by Mark Ronson who used to produce Amy Winehouse. I'm a great fan of his.

Mark Ronson

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Last night's dinner:

Roast Duck leg and bubble 'n' squeak.

Took a photograph of it but accidentally deleted it 5 minutes later.

Cannabis, alcohol, Buddhism and Catholicism

5cm more mosaic

Latest edition of the SNCF Magazine arrived through the post.

Front cover

Back cover showing some intrepid train spotters.

Always full of fascinating photographs eg La Rochelle 1987.


 

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Last night's dinner:

Roast beef, cabbage and potato.

Still can't discipline myself to serve smaller portions.

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Human beings tackle their discontentment in different ways. I wish, very briefly, to compare 4 methods as reported to me by various people over the years.

Cannabis smoking: takes the edge of things whilst leaving one in  control of the situation and with sharpened cognitive powers. Pretty sociable but with no obvious aesthetic attraction.

Alcohol: takes the edge of things but deprives one of self-control and probably diminishes one's mental powers. (However, I have heard some say that a moderate amount of alcohol actually heightens their mental powers). Sociable and with many aesthetic qualities eg the aroma of wine.

Buddhism: takes the edge of things, increases self control and has the advantage of not relying on an outside agency to produce these results. The power comes from within oneself. Sounds brilliant but it's hardly an aesthetically satisfying pursuit.

Catholicism: often sharpens the edge of things! Depends on an outside agency, God. Eschews the power of oneself to help oneself. Aesthetically very pleasing - often linked with alcohol consumption. Socially very powerful.

French Model Railways: provides new and irritating edges; control is associated with being 'big and fat and the wearing of a bowler hat', utterly unsociable, expensive and time-consuming, but does have redeeming aesthetic qualities.

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Currently listening to:

The Attraction of Tango

Mosaic progress:

Yesterday

Today

Overall view.

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Hot Chip:

Played squash today and lost in the fifth set, 17-16, having had two match points. But what was really important was that my opponent was a big Hot Chip fan and had been to see them last year.

Currently listening to my collection of Hot Chip tracks on random.

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Today's lunch:

It wasn't worth photographing last night's meal which was a forgettable buffet at the Tango Ball. (See below.)

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The Attractions of Tango:

Went to the Glasgow winter Tango Ball as part of my Tango studies: pretty well the whole class went and everyone was very nervous and drinking beforehand to get the necessary Dutch courage.

We had no idea what to expect; after all, attending, would be Tango fans from all over Scotland. What should one wear? Would useless people be allowed on the floor? Would we be laughed at?

But this is the thing: the quality of dancing covered a wide spectrum (although rather disappointingly, no cartwheels were on display) and the majority just shuffled around the floor doing whatever step they damn well pleased. That's attraction number 1: as long as you move in an anti-clockwise direction, don't stand on your partner's toes or bump into anyone, you can't really fail.

Attraction number 2 is that there is no dress code. I wore what I wear to work each day minus a tie. One of our class wore his normal Doc Martins. Loads of men wore jeans and a T-shirt. A few couples had dressed up Tango style - see photos below - but they were a tiny minority.

What I hate about formal balls, ceilidhs and Scottish Country Dances is a) the music, b) the fact that you have to do all the steps that everyone else is doing and c) that you have to wear event-specific clothes.

These were the only fancy shoes in evidence.

The chap doing the demonstration wore a pale green suit and gray shoes. I don't like wearing black shoes so again Tango is right up my street.

It was definitely a pale green pin stripe suit.

The only disappointment of the evening was the buffet which was dull and, for some reason, heavily potato based!

More mosaic tiles

Here are two photographs proving that I have laid some more tiles since yesterday. It doesn't feel like it.

Yesterday.

Today

Overall view.

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Melancholia:

Can't shift this melancholia.

For a few minutes the following piece of hi-energy pop music seemed to do the trick:

"The Age of the Understatement" by The Last Shadow Puppets.

Then decided to complement the feeling and sit back and listen to the whole of Bruckner's 4th Symphony: The Romantic.

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Last night's dinner:

Chicken curry at the Shenaz, Glasgow.

Forgot to take photograph.

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Thank goodness for Mass at St Paul's, Whiteinch this morning.