Aha, I’m onto a winner here, working my way through Simon and Garfunkel lyrics. Except, of course, the song only goes from April to September. At least you know the title of my next Post (but not what it’s about). Need my thinking cap on after that. Apologies to our antipodean friends for not getting this out in August, I forget to allow for the time difference each month.

I could go to Scarborough and reference one of S&G’s other hits? Although we did pop into Scarborough quite a few years ago. We both remembered it as a lovely old coastal holiday place from our youth. We thought we’d splash out and stay at The Grand. It’s a very impressive looking structure. Neither of our families could afford it when we were kids. I’d forgotten, it was so long ago it was before mobile phones. There was a phone in the corridor next to the bathroom that served all the bedrooms on that floor. We were told dinner was at seven o’clock. ‘Till when?’ we asked, to be told it was seven o’clock. When we got there we joined rather a long queue. I cannot remember the food but I seem to remember we went out afterwards to find something else to eat. Maybe we should go back to see if it’s improved? I see there’s nightly bingo!

https://www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/the-grand-hotel-scarborough

After a glorious June (see photos of Oxford below, where G had to wear a mask due to extreme hay fever), the rest of the English summer has been reminiscent of Bill Bryson’s remark in The Lost Continent: “Sometimes it rained but mostly it was dull, a land without shadows. It was a little like living inside Tupperware.” I’m sure those of you over here will agree. I must find the book and read it again, a good way to cheer up a dull day.

Ooh, I’ve got a Russian follower (or, at least, a follower in Russia). Not sure if that’s good or bad. Do I need to boycott this Blog?

Sorry, I’ve gone into rather a rambling Post. I’ll concentrate. We’ve been pretty busy so I’ll give you a brief rundown of some of the places and things we have been up to over the last few months that I’ve missed out.

We attended St James Palace for the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 90th anniversary. No photos I’m afraid, we had to turn in our mobile phones on arrival. It’s a spectacular venue, as I’m sure you know. What, you’ve not all been there? I went a few years’ ago when George received his Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold award (but again, no photos). Instead, here’s a shot of a different type of venue we ate at one night recently.

As I’m a supporter of the LPO, as well as their anniversary concert we went to the Battersea Arts Centre for a Gala dinner with some pals. This is another impressive venue where I do have a photo, of the roof (shown near the beginning of this Post). It was built in 1893 but scheduled for demolition in the mid-1960’s with a swimming pool planned to replace it. Luckily it was saved, only to suffer a devastating fire in 2015. You can see the fire-damage in the photo below.

https://bac.org.uk/our-history/

We were in London when the first Trooping of the Colour of King Charles’ reign happened, so we were able to watch the flypast. I took loads of photos of the sky with tiny blobs that I think are helicopters or planes. Thank goodness we don’t have to pay to develop films to find out how much rubbish we’ve taken.

For a better view of the whole event, here’s an official Sky News release, although even they had problems filming the Lightnings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYBjUAi-MSk

We went to a concert by the Firebird Orchestra at St George’s Church, Hanover Square (London). A lovely church with an interesting crowd supporting the orchestra. We saw the Austrian violinist Yuri Revich playing his own composition plus Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor. He (YR) is the same age as our George. Such a talented boy (I have to clarify I mean YR. Although, of course, our G is very talented too!). He (YR) also has a link to our other Brave Boy as he’s Austria’s Honorary Representative for Unicef. Not sure what that entails but it sounds impressive.

https://www.londonfirebird.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC28LzykEbRI4_NUT2wx7-Lw

After the concert we ate at a trendy (innovative) restaurant called Humo, where they smoke everything, including the cocktails. Although they tell us humo means smoke in Spanish, the food was more Asian fusion. The courses are called ignite, smoke, flame and embers. Enjoyable but I’m not sure we’ll go back any time soon. You can only take so much smoked food.

Moving out of London, for a change we spent a weekend with George and Yangtze in Oxford and had more cultural experiences. They treated us to dinner at Brasenose College on our first night.

We listened to a piano trio of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra at the Holywell Music Room, the oldest custom-built concert hall in Europe (therefore, I suspect they’d say, in the world). It’s not that large but one wall has the most enormous curtain we’ve ever seen. I really wanted to go and put the cord to see what was behind it but was held back. Spoilsports! Is it just me, whenever I see piano trio (or quartet) I mentally visualise three (or four) pianos on stage?

https://www.music.ox.ac.uk/holywell-music-room

https://oxfordphil.com/event/piano-trios/

One curious fact I learnt about Oxford a few months ago is Oxford Time. Before the railways became widespread in England, most towns and cities had their own time zone, with Oxford operating five minutes later than Greenwich Mean Time. I’m told many lectures at the University still start five minutes past the hour. It’s also, apparently, why the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures is always late, as Lewis Carroll studied there. The Great Tom bell at Christchurch College rings out a curfew for the students at five minutes past nine every night!

https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/tom-quad

We went to a few pubs and restaurants, the most memorable being The Perch on the Port Meadow. This is in theory a close taxi ride (or maybe a quick 20-minute walk if you have the energy). However, one bridge was closed so it became a marathon (almost) around the city up to the motorway and back.

https://the-perch.co.uk/

We also, of course, had to go out on a punt. I didn’t have a go but JD did. You can see the clearance on some of the bridges in today’s header (look online if not on your email alert).

A home-made cocktail that I created in April and forgot to tell you about involving our favourite yoghurt liqueur. I thought you might like to see what it looks like when you use this as an ingredient. Mix equal parts Campari and Cointreau with half the amount (each) of white rum, yoghurt liqueur, red vermouth and vanilla liqueur. Sprinkle with dried rose petals.