Peter Burton's daily log, covering Peter's personal interests, e.g. jazz, travel and general grumpiness plus (occasionally) the business of Isomatic and its associate companies.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Ruesch International vs Lloyds TSB
After much deliberation we have decided to move Isomatic UK's Euro and Dollar accounts from Lloyds TSB to
Ruesch International. Advantages are:
1) Full internet banking for both currencies (Lloyds has no future plans for this !)
2) Fixed 10 pounds fee for transfers out regardless of value
3) No account fee (60 pounds/year for $US with Lloyds)
4) Easy to open new account, no need for Bulgarian directors to prove themselves.
Ruesch is a bank for international business. Lloyds TSB is a bank for personal users and street corner shops.
Labels: Money
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Apex Jazz Band at the Cricks
On Monday night we saw the Apex Jazz Band at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. The band was back to normal, comprising Tony Nutt (cornet), Peter Minett (soprano and alto sax), Clive Burton (trombone), Terry Twiss (guitar, banjo, vocals), Bert Shipp (bass guitar and vocals) and Ian Parry on drums. The novelty was a skiffle session in the interval with Ian on acoustic guitar, Terry playing finger-style banjo, Aileen May on double bass and Roger on washboard. This has scope for the future !
Labels: Jazz, skiffle
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
High Beech, Essex
On Monday we stopped off between business visits at the Place of my birth, High Beech in Epping Forest. We were amazed that, despite the spread of London and the nearby M25, it was the same lovely spot. The picture shows the beautiful view, there is adequate car parking (at least in mid-week) and a friendly pub.
Labels: Travel
Monday, November 27, 2006
Urban Gin House Band at the Europa
On Sunday evening we went to The Europa in East Molesey to see the Urban Gin House jazz band. It was the 'regular' quintet comprising leader Richard Wilcox (valve trombone), Alan Brock (trumpet), Alan Dandy (keyboard), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). Guests were Roy Stokes and Peter Clancy (slide trombones), John Shepherd (pocket trumpet) and John Ferguson (string bass and great vocals). Colin Lewry played solo keyboard in the intervals. The pub was busy, which must be good in view of the change of landlord.
Once again I was stopped by the police and breathalysed on the way home; why they chose me from the dozens of vehicles travelling at the same speed along the A3 is baffling. They missed the driver who passed us on the inside at 100 MPH or more. They were disappointed in the breathalyser reading of 19 so gave me a stiff lecture about drinking any alcohol at all.
Labels: drinking, Jazz
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Gatsby Jazz Band at the Wych Elm
On Saturday evening we went to
The Wych Elm in Elm Road, Kingston Upon Thames, for the monthly performance by the Gatsby Jazz Band. This is a fun band featuring comedians Mike on banjo and Alan Jenkins on trumpet and vocals. On this occasion they were joined by the fine trombone and vocals of Bob Dwyer. Mike likes to insult the women from both staff and audience, calling them 'crumpet', 'bits of stuff', 'scrubber', etc. and generally gets away with it. He met his match last night when he called Selina a 'floozy'. She really tore him off a strip; to the extent that he ended up buying us both a drink. When I explained the situation to a regular she responded with "I suppose floozy because of the short skirts but then she has got great legs !"
Labels: Jazz
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Magna Jazz Band with Goff Dubber & Leslie Dyos
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where
Brian White's Magna jazz band performs every week. On this occasion Brian was replaced by Goff Dubber, playing Clarinet and Tenor Sax (pictured, right). Guest trombonist was Leslie Dyos (pictured, left). Goff's tenor sax and vocals added another dimension to the band's performance. However, our favourite number was Alan Dandy's keyboard solo; 'Stardust'. I have previously written that my favourite Hoagy Carmichael composition is 'Skylark' but this was a close second.
Labels: Jazz
Friday, November 24, 2006
Panama Cafe Orchestra at the Cricks
On Monday night we saw the Panama Cafe Orchestra at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. This band comprised Dave Lowe (cornet), Richard White (clarinet and alto sax), Chris Lowe (drums), Chris Houslander (sousaphone) and guest Maurice Dennis (banjo and acoustic guitar). A large table was occupied by friends of Chris Houslander, who drew much flak from Richard, particulary for applauding Maurice's fine solos. Selina and I danced to 'Tin Roof blues', expecting to be alone on the floor as usual. Imagine our surprise when several partners from the Houslander table joined us. I commented that it was never contagious before.
Labels: Jazz
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Urban Gin House Band with Ken Ames
On Sunday evening we went to The Europa in East Molesey to see the Urban Gin House jazz band. This time it was a quintet comprising leader Richard Wilcox (valve trombone), Alan Brock (trumpet), Ken Ames (guitar), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). Guests from the audience were, Roy Stokes, Peter Clancy and Peter Talent (slide trombones) and John Shepherd (pocket trumpet). This band always gives a good evening of 'middle-of-the-road' jazz, neither modern nor hard-core trad. Ken Ames once remarked that he always enjoys playing with them; well we enjoy listening to them.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, November 20, 2006
Bosham
On Sunday morning we went to Bosham and had lunch at the Mariners Coffee Shop. It was a beautiful day for November as can be seen from the photograph.
Labels: Travel
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Casino Royale at the Guildford Odeon
On Saturday Evening we saw
Casino Royale at Guildford's Odeon cinema. At last the producers have returned to the essence of Ian Fleming's books. Believable plot and a tough-guy Bond, i.e. not a 'pretty boy'. He should really have a facial scar. We enjoyed the film and vote Daniel Craig the best Bond since Sean Connery. Perhaps he will surpass Connery if he carries on.
Labels: Film
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Magna Jazz Band with Goff Dubber
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where
Brian White's Magna jazz band performs every week. On this occasion Brian was replaced by Goff Dubber, playing Clarinet (pictured, flanked by Rex Bennett and Alan Dandy). As usual he was brilliant, including some great vocals. Once again Dave Hewett was the guest trombonist, easily handling every unusual number Pete Towndrow had selected. Our favourite, for the second gig in recent days, was Hoagy Carmichael's 'Skylark'; what a beautiful melody !
Labels: Jazz
Friday, November 17, 2006
The Alchemist at the National Theatre
On Tuesday evening we saw
The Alchemist at the National Theatre in London. This Ben Jonson play uses just two scenes, the inside and outside of a house in London. However, the plot is quite complex such that the audience is deliberately led to forget one aspect of it for some time. We thoroughly enjoyed it; more plays like this please !
Labels: Theatre
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Holbein Exhibition at Tate Britain
On Tuesday afternoon we went to the Holbein exhibition at
Tate Britain. Unlike other recent disappointing events there, this one was well worth the effort of travelling to London. It showed that portrait painting reached its peak in the 16th century and it has been downhill ever since. There is NOTHING to match Holbein's work.
Labels: Art
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
London Vintage Jazz Orchestra at the Cricks
On Monday evening we saw the London Vintage Jazz Orchestra at the Cricketers at Horsell Birch. This is the biggest jazz band we have ever seen there, creating more possibilities. To some extent this was an opportunity lost but they are still worth seeing.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, November 13, 2006
Urban Gin House Jazz Band at the Europa
On Sunday evening we went to The Europa in East Molesey to see the Urban Gin House jazz band. This time it was a quintet comprising leader Richard Wilcox (valve trombone), Alan Brock (trumpet), Alan Dandy (keyboard), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums).
As can be seen in the picture, Alan Dandy was 'trying a new position' after seeing the picture of Nigel Fox seated there in a previous weblog. Our favourite number was 'Careless love', including some great keyboard playing. We danced to this number.
Our thanks go to those who provided Indian style snacks during the evening. The bad news is that Chris, the landlord, is leaving in two weeks time and the replacement is reported to be 'no lover of jazz'.
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, November 12, 2006
'Breaking and Entering' at the Guildford Odeon cinema
On Saturday evening we saw the film
Breaking and Entering at the Guildford Odeon. We enjoyed this film, which has a good main plot and superb acting, especially from Juliette Binoche. She is completely convincing in her role as a Bosnian refugee. We work with a Bosnian and we recognised the accent. Our only criticisms are (a) the sub-plots are not fully explained, as if the film was cut before release and (b) I would have preferred the sex scene between Jude Law and Ms Binoche to be in focus.
Labels: Film
Friday, November 10, 2006
Magna Jazz Band with Dave Hewett
On Thursday evening we went to the Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton for the weekly Magna Jazz Band gig. Dave Hewett was the special guest playing great slide and valve trombone. He is well-known for not talking to the audience 'en-masse' from the microphone but he responed at length to my question "why do you adjust the trombone to the flat position (pictured) when using a plunger mute". It is apparently a matter of comfort. The other picture is of Sylvia Hewett, who reads this weblog, looking appreciative of Dave's performance.
Our favourite number was 'The Bugler's Lament' with Pete Towndrow using none of the valves on his Cornet. Also excellent were the duet between Dave and Alan Dandy (keyboard) for 'It might as well be Spring' and Pete Towndrow's vocal on 'Am I Blue'. The latter brought to mind the scene in the film 'The Cotton Club' where Richard Gere (trumpet) accompanies Diane Lane singing that very number.
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Phil Brown Swingtet with Gerry Smith
On Monday evening we saw the Phil Brown Swingtet at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. It was the full band with just one dep., the front line comprising Phil Brown (trombone), Lester Brown (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Gerry Smith (tenor sax, clarinet) with the rhythm section of Andrew Clancy (keyboard), Ken Ames (guitar), Mike Bennett (bass) and David Clancy (drums). Guests were Peter Clancy (string bass), Roy Stokes (trombone), Mark Aston (tenor sax; supposedly unavailable) and Colin Lewry (piano). When Gerry and Mark played together it was hard to say which was the best; they are both very good. However, our favourite number was palayed without the front line; 'Pennies from Heaven' featuring great solos from Andrew and Ken. The evening was all the better for the minimal modern pieces played (and I rather like Herbie Hancock's 'Water Melon Man') !
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Urban Gin House Band with Peter York
On Sunday evening we went to The Europa in East Molesey to see the Urban Gin House jazz band. This time it was a quintet comprising leader Richard Wilcox (baritone horn), Alan Brock (trumpet), Alan Dandy (keyboard), Peter York (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). Peter York played a very tuneful bass and provided some good vocals. Our favourite number was 'Skylark' with fine trumpet by Alan Brock and Keyboard from Alan Dandy. Is this the greatest of all the many numbers by Hoagy Carmichael ? I say yes; even better than 'Stardust'.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Borat at the Guildford Odeon Cinema
On Saturday we saw
Borat at the Guildford Odeon Cinema. Hilarious from begining to end, politically incorrect, offensive to everyone; the packed auditorium was filled with laughter. More films like this please !
Friday, November 03, 2006
Magna Jazz Band with Keith Brown
On Thursday evening we went to the Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton for the weekly Magna Jazz Band gig. Keith Brown (pictured) deputised on drums for the absent Rex Bennett (toothache). Our favourite number from all of the band was Babbette, not often played by jazz bands. Perhaps even more enjoyable was the solo medley from Alan Dandy on keyboard. I managed to silence most of the talkers during this number by glaring and 'shushing' at them.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Apex Jazz Band at the Cricks
On Monday night we saw the Apex Jazz Band at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. The band had two changes, comprising Tony Nutt (cornet), Peter Minett (soprano and alto sax), Ed Baker (trombone), Terry Twiss (guitar, banjo, vocals), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Ian Parry on drums. In the absence of Bert Shipp, Terry handled all the vocals in his unique jazz style. Our favourite number was Peter's feature with Terry on guitar and vocal for 'Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You'. A very enjoyable evening.
Archives
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
Site feed
Site Feed
.jpg)
