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, May 31, 2007
Blue Moon Jazz Band with John Parsons
On Wednesday evening we saw the Blue Moon Jazz band at the
Watermans Arms, Hersham. The base band (missing Alan Matravers; unwell) comprised Mike Scroxton (trumpet, vocals), Roy Stokes (fine trombone, jokes, the odd vocal), John Parsons (clarinet), John Bryant (banjo), Pete Nevard (banjo, vocals) and Aileen May (string bass). I tried to show everyone in one picture but Aileen was hidden by her instrument at the key moment. John Parsons fitted in well with the band and produced some good solos.
Pete sang 'I Ain't Gonna Give You None of my Jelly Roll' with great conviction, looking into Aileen's eys during the title line. This song obviously leads one to thinking about the name Jelly Roll Morton; Penis Morton just does not have the same ring to it !
The band was joined by Roger Dobbin on washboard for the second half, two numbers being played with guests Peter Clancy (trombone), Mo Kahn (ukelele) and Tony Pyle (banjo, vocal). The best of these was 'Black and Blue' sung by Tony.
Wine by the glass is poor at this pub so we tried a bottle of Frascati; quite acceptable.
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Homebase for cut wood
Boost Energy Systems urgently needed 10 wooden panels so we dashed out to local suppliers. All sold standard boards that are too large to fit in the back of the car but only Homebase offered a cutting service. Three cheers for Homebase but thumbs down to the others. The picture shows the final result, with panel painted black for photogenic reasons.
Labels: Grumpy
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Apex Jazz Band at the Cricks
On Monday night we saw the Apex Jazz Band at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. The band comprised Tony Nutt (cornet), Peter Minett (soprano and alto sax), Clive Burton (trombone), Terry Twiss (guitar, banjo, vocals), Bert Shipp (bass guitar and vocals) and Dave Beale on drums. We heard the sad news that the original drummer Del Smith has just died. With Drummer Dave Gadd dying the previous week, it has not been a good month for drummers. Phil Brown (trombone) was guest for two numbers as was Aileen May on bass guitar.
We particulary enjoyed
'When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful' with Terry on guitar and vocal,
Peter's feature 'Deep Purple' and
Clive and Phil duetting on 'If I had You'.
Selina received the third female compliment on her new short hairstyle, this time from Clive's wife Jan, who thinks men don't notice that sort of thing. I responded that men are too busy looking at the legs.
One of the regulars, with whom we exchange jazz records, will be showing his old Rolls-Royce convertible at a Classic Car event at the Dutch School in Woking next Sunday. We will go if it is not raining; there is apparently no cover there.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, May 28, 2007
Urban Gin House Band with Phil Brown & Roger Limb
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 Alan Brock (trumpet), Phil Brown (trombone), Roger Limb (keyboard), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). The guests from the audience were:
Trevor Dockerill (Tenor Sax), Roy Stokes (trombone) and Tony Pyle (vocal).
Colin Lewry (keyboard) played during the breaks.
Favourite numbers: 'I can't Get Started' to which we danced, Trevor and Colin playing 'Girl from Ipanema' and Tony Pyle's 'Nobody Knows You'.
The picture shows the standard line-up for the evening with Selina's blonde head again in the front row. She received two compliments on her new short hair style, both from women.
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Gatsby Jazz Band with Malcolm Donaldson and Dave Griffiths
On Saturday evening we went to
The Wych Elm in Elm Road, Kingston Upon Thames, for the monthly performance by the Gatsby Jazz Band. Mike Adamson was back as leader after illness and played the bajo for the first half. The pictures show deps. Malcolm Donaldson (clarinet, tenor sax, vocals) and Dave Griffiths (banjo for second half) playing a banjo that he did not build himself. Both guests performed really well and we enjoyed their solo spots in various numbers. However, our favourite number was one of the band's regulars;'C'est Magnifique', with Alan Jenkins singing a Franglais version of Maurice Chevalier.
The pub was not as crowded as usual, presumably due to Bank Holiday absences of many regulars. This gave us room for a dance in the only slow number of the evening. Malcolm Donaldson asked how we both keep so slim compared with the band members, to which the answer is "by not eating and drinking to excess; well not often anyway".
Labels: Jazz
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Zodiac at the Cinema
On Friday evening we went to Guildford's Odeon cinema to see the film
Zodiac. This was a taken-from-real-life serial killer film with a rather different approach from the norm. It was so gripping that we never realised how long it was until it was over and we saw the time was 00:30. The picture shows the amateur sleuth meeting the detective in charge of the case over coffee. Very convincing performances from the cast, quite scary at times, worth watching once.
Labels: Film
Friday, May 25, 2007
Magna Jazz Band at the Berrylands
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where
Brian White's Magna jazz band performs every week. It was the standard line-up, the picture showing everybodody visible for once. The blonde in the front row is Selina.
Our favourite numbers were:
'C Jam Blues' with fine trombone and keyboard solos
'Chimes Blues'; great ensemble work
'Rag Time Nightingale'; Alan Dandy's keyboard solo feature.
During the interval we happened to say that we thought Forrest Whittaker thoroughly deserved the best actor Oscar for his potrayal of Idi Amin. Alan responded that he even got the voice just right. When I asked if he had actually met Amin, Alan said that when he was working in Uganda this evil dictator joined an evening jazz session on his accordion ! The things we pick up at jazz clubs.
We also heard the sad news that drummer and Berrylands regular Dave Gadd had died while we were away. We had just begun to talk with him during intervals since he moved a seat or two closer to us.
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Panama Cafe Orchestra with John Lawes
On Monday night we saw the Panama Cafe Orchestra at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. The band comprised Dave Lowe (cornet), John Lawes (clarinet, vocals), Chris Lowe (trombone), Chris Houslander (sousaphone), Dave Griffiths (banjo) and Mike Gibbons (drums). The picture shows the band with John Lawes foremost. He has a real feel for jazz, both as clarinettist and vocalist, our favourite number being his vocal rendering of 'Black and Blue'.
Before the band started playing, Dave Griffiths warmed up by playing 'Savoy Rag' alone, which we complimented. He went on to say that he made the G banjo he was playing. I was impressed by this, having restored two banjos in the past. I could not contemplate starting from scratch.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, May 21, 2007
Andalucian tour; Summary
The tour was a success due to superb weather, a small enough car and hotels that were all OK, despite minor grumbles. I did the whole trip on an out-of-date passport, which would have been impossible in any other country but Spain. Travel was enjoyable in the countryside but very difficult in the cities, particulary when arriving for the first time.
Booking hotels through Expedia was a success; it saves a lot of time when booking for a tour. The travel guide 'Time Out in Andalucia' was very helpful although the city maps only including the very centre caused some confusion when first entering the area. It reminded me of the joke about the Fkawi tribe; "where the Fkawi".
Would we do it again ? Not for a while and with a different itinerary. We would also practice the Spanish phrase for 'cooked right through, please'.
Labels: Travel
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Andalucian tour; Granada
We finished our tour in Granada, the expected highlight of the holiday; we were not disappointed. The most popular tourist attraction in Spain, if not Europe, is the Alhambra (pictured), the fortress-palace of the Moorish Kings. It takes about 3 hours to walk round the gardens and palaces, very tiring in the heat but fascinating. Less well-known is the superb drive up to the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, the road stopping just above the snow line in May. The simple pleasures are often the best and in this case it was stopping part way up at a small bar for two beers and being served a free taster of delicious sausages in a spicy sauce. It was so good that we returned for a full lunch the next day. There was so much meat that we could not eat it all.
The Hesperia Granada Hotel, approached via the narrowest alley our hired Toyota Aygo could negotiate, did not deserve its 4 star rating. The dining room was for breakfast only and there was no bar, the only public area being the lobby. There was no view from the smallish room but it did have a table and two chairs and the bed was actually the requested double, not two singles pushed together as in all the others. There was a parking garage but it caused us problems due to lack of headroom and, initially, difficulty in finding the lift to the hotel.
Labels: Travel
Friday, May 18, 2007
Andalucian tour; Cordoba
We continued our tour in Cordoba, temperature still 36 degrees C. This is a prettier city than Sevilla, with the tiniest street looking clean and prosperous rather than dirty and seedy. Once again we took the horse and cart tour for a quick overview and then saw the famous Mesquita (Mosque) as pictured.
Hotel Macia Alfaros was the most high class of those we used, worthy of its 4 star classification. The room was large enough and 'classically' decorated, with a view over the inside courtyard (with pool) from both bedroom and bathroom. There was a high class restaurant, proud of its cooking. The staff were most upset by Selina's justified complaint that the pork steaks were not cooked right through. The swordfish was much better. Wines were great, particularly the Vino Albali reserva, available in Tesco and Sainsbury. There was a good garage underneath the hotel for parking.
Labels: Travel
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Andalucian tour; Sevilla
After 2 nights in Jerez, our next 2 were spent in Sevilla, a large city still living off the heady days of Expo 1929 and Expo 1992. We tried the bus tour, the horse drawn carriage and the river boat and all three spent much of the time showing the expo sites. Catalonia Giralda Hotel was in a seedy part of town, hard to find and with no car parking nearer than 10 minutes walk. It did have a good restaurant with a superb house wine for just 12 Euros a bottle and our room had a good view, as pictured.
The 36 degree C heat caused us to drink too much in the middle of the day and we both fell prey to the evil alcohol.
Labels: Travel
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Andalucian tour; Ronda
From Jerez we took a 3 hour drive
over superb mountain passes to Ronda, the photograph showing the 'new
bridge'. We expected Ronda to be a small picturesque place but it was
disappointingly large and very busy. The return journey on the main roads took only 1.5 hours but was not so exciting.
Labels: Travel
Monday, May 14, 2007
Andalucian tour; Jerez
We arrived at Hotel Doña Blanca in Jerez at about 20:30 on Sunday evening. No dining room so asked for advice re. dinner. All the 3 restaurants suggested were closed so we ended up eating Chinese. The streets were quiet and the Plaza Arenal was empty. The next morning it was open for business as shown in the pictures, and very pleasant it was.
We did two sherry tours, Gonzalez Byass (very touristy) and Domecq (more serious). Unfortunately the sherry offered for tasting was, in our view, either too dry or too sweet. Our favourite in the UK is Croft's 'Particular'.
The next evening we did find some good Spanish food and fine Spanish wine, just off the plaza.
Labels: Travel
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Next, a very strange film
On Friday evening we saw the film
Next at the Guildford Odeon. This is a premonition-style story with plenty of 'is this real or imaginary' sequences. Near the end, one member of the audience shouted out "Does anyone like this film ? I want my money back !" We thought it was better than that, with performances from Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel that suspended disbelief. The ending was less than satisfactory.
Labels: Film
Friday, May 11, 2007
Magna Jazz Band at the Berrylands
On Thursday evening Selina and I met Marion and Leon at the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where
Brian White's Magna jazz band performs every week. It was the standard line-up with no changes and they played some numbers that we had heard in the last few nights played by other bands. 'Mama's Gone Goodbye' was played more delicately than by the John Maddocks Jazzmen and with a much more sophisticated keyboard solo. Leon's favourite (but not Selina's) 'I Cover the Waterfront' was also played by the Urban Gin House band on Sunday, both bands including Alan Dandy; difficult to choose between them. After a false start due to Pete Towndrow momentarily forgetting the melody, 'Nobody Knows You' went really well and 'New Orleans' included a fine trombone solo and an unusual bowed bass feature.
Unusually, Selina and I ate in the bar area before the others arrived. My curry special with glass of wine included was fantastic value, Selina's sausages on Yorkshire pudding was more than she could manage.
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Blue Moon Jazz Band at the Watermans Arms
On Wednesday evening we saw the Blue Moon Jazz band at the
Watermans Arms, Hersham. The base band was back to normal, comprising Mike Scroxton (trumpet, vocals), Roy Stokes (trombone, the odd vocal), Alan Matravers (alto sax), John Bryant (banjo), Pete Nevard (banjo, vocals) and Aileen May (string bass). Our favourite number with this line-up was 'Don't Sweetheart Me', with a fine trombone solo from Roy, pictured on the right of the band.
The band was joined by Roger Dobbin on washboard for the second half, two numbers being played with guests Peter Clancy (trombone), John Parsons (clarinet), Mo Kahn (ukelele) and Tony Pyle (banjo, vocal). The best of these was 'Darkness on the Delta' sung by Tony (pictured behind Mike). The final line-up before we left featured the twin trombones of Roy and Peter playing 'Curse of an Aching Heart' (Roy's vocal) and 'Sweet Sue'.
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Ampair 600 installation
On Tuesday we attended the installation of an
Ampair 600 wind turbine as shown in the picture. This involved the installers working at height on two sets of long extending ladders. There was also a lot of live electricity just inside the building while we were wiring. We were amazed at how many members of the public ignored the cones around the area and came into the danger zone. One couple even walked under the ladders with a small child and were about to enter the building until my shouts stopped them. The dangers are not imaginary; one heavy spanner was dropped from above.
Labels: Wind power
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
VO-DE-O-DO at the Cricks
On Monday night we saw the 10 piece
VO-DE-O-DO orchestra at
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. Good musicians but we prefer our jazz to be improvised and unplanned rather than just read from the printed score. Our favourite number was 'Varsity Drag'; not played very often these days.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, May 07, 2007
Urban Gin House band with Ivor Elliott
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 Alan Brock (trumpet), Ivor Elliott (tenor sax, pictured), Alan Dandy (keyboard), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). The guests from the audience came in three groups:
1) John Shepherd (pocket trumpet)
2) Trevor Dockerill (clarinet) with Roy Stokes and Jed Kearse (trombones)
3) Peter Miles (vocals).
Colin Lewry (keyboard) played during the breaks.
Our favourite number was 'I Cover the Waterfront' from the base band, with great solos from Ivor and the two Alans. Ivor is our favourite tenor sax player and he adds so much to the band that we wish he could play with them every Sunday. Last night was his birthday so we commented that it was we who were receiving the birthday treat by hearing him play.
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, May 06, 2007
John Maddocks Jazzmen at Cranleigh Village Hall
On Saturday evening we went to
Cranleigh Village Hall to see
John Maddocks Jazzmen for the first time. The strength of this traditional jazz band lies in the front line of John Maddocks (clarinet, vocals), Peter Wilkinson (trumpet, vocals) and Tony Farr (trombone), all fine jazz musicians. The rhythm section, comprising Peter Tamplin (keyboard), John Arthy (bass), Keith Dorey, (banjo, guitar) and Brian Barker (drums) left us feeling they are capable of more than they were giving. The exception was Keith's beautiful guitar solo during 'Mood Indigo'. Our favourite number was 'Mama's Gone Goodbye'; played as well as, or better than, any band we know.
This was our first visit to Cranleigh Village Hall and we were quite impressed. Cranleigh is certainly no village (population 16000) and it follows that its hall is very much larger than the norm. It swallowed the large audience with ease, leaving plenty of room for dancing and brolly parade as can be seen in the picture. We booked late so had to sit in the gallery with stairs down to the dance area but the view and sound were arguably better. We made our own little space up there to dance and we sat with band wives and driver plus Peter Wilkinson for two brief periods when he was not playing. In the second session we were joined by George Eatwell, who preferred to sit with us rather than his allocated seat downstairs.
Labels: Jazz
Saturday, May 05, 2007
New design of 12kW and 16kW phase converter
We have now redesigned the Booster A12 and Booster A16 for manufacture in the UK. Yes, moving manufacturing to the UK ! Compared with the models previously made in our Bulgarian factory, they are simpler, quieter and easier to produce and service. Some features have been eliminated but many customers did not want them anyway. This has reduced the parts count which must always help reliability.
Labels: Phase converters
Friday, May 04, 2007
Magna Jazz Band at the Berrylands; John Goddard
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where
Brian White's Magna jazz band performs every week. It was the standard line-up but John Goddard (trombone, pictured) sat in for two great numbers:
'Tin Roof Blues' with a fine cornet solo from Pete Towndrow, slipping in a few bars from our favourite 'The Bugler's Lament'.
'Buddy's Habit' (flatulence says John) with a fine keyboard solo from Alan Dandy.
The band also played 'Whispering' after which I commented that the hard core at the Preston Cross had objected to the number as 'not Trad'. The response was that Ken Colyer must have played it at least 5000 times !
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Excel Jazzmen with Colin Kingwell at The Cricketers, Yately
On Wednesday evening we went to
The Cricketers, Yately for a meal and to see the Excel Jazzmen again. Ken Clayton was ill so he was replaced on trombone by Colin Kingwell, who proved to be a fine player. We must see his Jazz Bandits some time.
In response to our comments here after our last visit, the band played more slow numbers and gave Terry Twiss (banjo) more vocal opportunities, singing on no less than five numbers; all great.
However, our favourite of the evening was 'Snag it' with a great trombone solo from Colin and fine clarinet and vocal from Bernie Murtha, who hardly played his alto sax last night.
Prior to the jazz I ate the 'Hunter's chicken' and Selina managed more than half her Sausages and Mash, washed down with a bottle of cheap but good Chilean Merlot. A good meal and not too expensive. We will have to miss the next fortnightly jazz session but we will almost certainly return in a month.
Labels: Eating out, Jazz
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Hamble-Le-Rice
On Sunday morning we drove through the beautiful countryside of Surrey and Hampshire to Hamble-Le-Rice, commonly known as Hamble. Major restructuring of the road in the village centre cause some problems but down the cobbled lane to the waterfront is as quaint as ever. Worth a visit in a few months time when the 'works' are finished.
Labels: Travel
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Chris Lowe quartet at the Cricks
On Monday night we went to
the Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking to see a quartet comprising Chris Lowe (trombone), Enrico Tomasso (flugle horn), Richard White (bass saxophone) and Martin Wheatley (acoustic guitar). These are four great jazz musicians, of which Enrico is by far the best-known, having his own band and performing with many others, including Acker Bilk. Chris is well-known to readers of this weblog for his performances on either trombone or drums with the Panama Cafe orchestra. Richard White handles the apparently cumbersome bass saxophone as if it is a much faster-responding instrument, using it for a solo section in every number. Martin amazed the audience with what he can produce from a small acoustic guitar. A good performance; pity that Selina had been unwell that day and was too tired to carry on past the interval.
Labels: Jazz
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