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.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
La Vie En Rose
On Friday evening we went to Guildford's Odeon cinema to see the film
La Vie En Rose. This was a biopic of the legendary Edith Piaf; a sad story with some marvellous songs. Too much flashback and forth in our view.
Labels: Film
Friday, June 29, 2007
Magna Jazz Band with Dave Hewett & John Barnes
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where the
Magna Jazz Band was without Brian White. Pete Towndrow was in charge, flanked by Dave Hewett (slide trombone, baritone horn) and John Barnes (clarinet). There was a small audience again so many 'irregulars' missed a treat.
Pete was persuaded to play 'Ramona' after swearing never to play it again due to nightly performances of it at the Wimbledon Palais for many years. We gave him a standing ovation. The individual feature numbers were all great:
John Barnes playing and singing 'I Believe in miracles'
Dave Hewett playing 'I've Got it Bad'
and my request 'Skylark' played by Alan Dandy on keyboard.
We reminisced with John Barnes about the 1960s when we saw him frequently with the Alex Welsh Band at the Hermitage in Hitchin, Herts. We look forward to seeing him at the Cricks on Monday week with Dave Hewett and another Hermitage regular, Jim Douglas.
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Blue Moon Jazz Band at Hersham
On Wednesday evening we saw the Blue Moon Jazz band at the
Watermans Arms, Hersham. The base band (first picture) comprised Mike Scroxton (trumpet, vocals), Roy Stokes (trombone), Alan Matravers (alto sax), John Bryant (banjo), Pete Nevard (banjo, vocals) and Aileen May (string bass). Our favourite numbers with this line-up were 'If I had You', and 'I Ain't Gonna Give You None of my Jelly Roll', both with vocals from Pete and fine trombone from Roy. The main group of guests (second picture) comprised Peter Tallent (trombone), Mark Goodin (clarinet), Tony Pile (banjo, vocal) and Mo Kahn (ukelele). Tony Pile showed off his jazzy voice with 'Darkness on the Delta'. John Parsons (clarinet, vocal) replaced Alan in the base band for 'Indiana' and 'Smiles' then Alan Cresswell took over the clarinet spot in fine style for the best number of the evening, 'Bye and Bye' featuring Roy Stokes on trombone and human voice. Finally Tony Nutt (cornet) replaced Mike, just as we were leaving. When asked why we were not staying to hear everyone playing together as the 'Full Moon Jazz Band', I replied that it was "fear of the Full Moon".
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wind power, Ampair 100
Despite the introduction of newer models with more power, the Ampair Pacific 100 is selling faster than ever. It must be the sailing season as we are selling far more of the Pacific (white for yachts) than the Hawk (black/silver). The main selling points of the 100 are; very rugged for Atlantic crossings and quiet running at low wind speeds when every noise is an irritation.
Labels: Wind power
Tuesday, June 26, 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 Ian Parry on drums.
We particulary enjoyed the numbers where Terry played Guitar:
'Basin Street Blues' with Bert providing the vocal;
'If I Had You' with Terry on guitar and vocal, to which we danced;
Peter's feature 'Indian Summer'
Clive's feature 'Somebody Loves Me'.
We had a great time even before the music started, sharing our table with Axel, who continued to surpass every andecdote from one's past with something more extreme. Then Brian joined us, leading to a hilarious discussion concerning the difficulty recruiting female photographic models. Militant feminists would have been appalled at the lack of political correctness !
Labels: Jazz
Monday, June 25, 2007
Urban Gin House Band at the Europa
On Sunday evening we went to
The Europa in East Molesey to see the Urban Gin House Band. The line-up was full of deps., comprising John Shepherd (trumpet), Mark Aston (tenor and 'bent' soprano saxophones), Andrew Clancy (keyboard), Roger Limb (bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). Our favourite number with these musicians was 'St Louis Blues' at the end.
Guests were:
Peter Miles (vocals), Peter Clancy, Roy Stokes and Peter Tallent (trombones), Trevor Dockerill (tenor sax) and Fred Shaw (cornet and vocal).
Peter Clancy also played bass while Roger Limb played keyboard.
We sat with a group of friends of John Shepherd who do not normally come to the Europa. Amazingly, one of them had seen this weblog.
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Excelsior Vintage Jazz Band at the Farnham Memorial Hall
On Saturday evening we went to Farnham's Memorial Hall to see the Excelsior Vintage Jazz Band. This is a standard six-piece trad line-up, comprising trumpet, trombone, clarinet/sax, bass and drums. They are not bad but not very interesting. The music seems to be aimed at dancing rather than listening and there was plenty of the former. We danced to all the slow numbers, of which there were sufficient. As it was a 'bring-your-own-drink' affair, we took 88 pence worth of supermarket lager (4 cans) but Selina did not like it, leaving me to drink her share.
Labels: Jazz
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Quicksilver at the Ram Folk Club
On Friday evening we went to
The Ram Club at
The Foley Arms in Claygate, Surrey for the
first time. After some good acts from 'volunteers', the main attraction
was
Quicksilver, comprising Hilary Spencer (vocals) and Grant Baynham (guitar and vocal accompaniment). They performed a wide range of material, including folk music, music hall comedy and putting words to Frans Schubert and Django Reinhardt numbers. Grant has a versatile finger-picking style and Hilary has a powerful, melodic, voice, heard at its best singing the French songs 'La Mer' and 'La Vie en Rose'. The pub serves Youngs bitter as a bonus. A good night out !
Labels: Folk Music
Friday, June 22, 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 back to the standard line-up, the best set of musicians that we see regularly. There was a smaller audience than the previous week so Brian received more muted abuse for his vocal.
Our favourite numbers were:
'Mahogany Hall Stomp' with great cornet playing by Pete Towndrow
'Georgia On My Mind' with fine keyboard section from Alan Dandy;
'Savoy Blues' with a great trombone part;
Alan's solo 'Petite Fleur';
and best of all 'The Texas Moaner', dedicated by Brian to Jacques Gauthé, the New Orleans clarinet and soprano player who died recently after losing all his possessions in the hurricane Katrina disaster, including his musical instruments and record collection.
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Blue Moon Jazz Band at Hersham
On Wednesday evening we saw the Blue Moon Jazz band at the
Watermans Arms, Hersham. The base band comprised Mike Scroxton (trumpet, vocals), Peter Clancy alternating with Peter Tallent (trombones), Alan Matravers (alto sax), John Bryant (banjo), Pete Nevard (banjo, vocal) and Aileen May (string bass). Our favourite number with this line-up was 'Tishomingo Blues' with a vocal from Mike. Roger Dobbin joined the band on washboard for the second half, during which various guests played, with Aileen being the only permanent musician. Tony Karavis played cornet for 'Black and Blue' and then, with Tony Pile (banjo) and Mo Kahn (ukelele), 'World is Waiting for the Sunrise'. Fred Shaw (cornet) and Mark Goodin (clarinet) took over for 'Bugle Boy March' as pictured. Unusually, we stayed until the very end, at which point I was reminded why we tend to leave early. The final number was with all the musicians playing at the same time. This does not mean they played together. Mike and Alan seemed to think the result was 'awesome' but I think they must have meant 'awful'.
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Royal Ascot; horse racing nuisance
Are we the only ones who think Royal Ascot horse racing is a nuisance. Our normal route home from work is 21 miles, takes 40 minutes and has just two sets of traffic lights. Unfortunately we pass Ascot race course. For four days we have to make a major detour with traffic jams and countless traffic lights, making us late home, all so that the idle rich can enjoy themselves. We are working hard to bring manufacturing into the UK; do we not deserve some consideration ?
Obviously Ascot also brings money into the UK but only for a few days each year.
Labels: Grumpy
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Panama Cafe Orchestra with Richard White
On Monday evening we saw the Panama Cafe Orchestra at the packed
Cricketers in Horsell Birch, Woking. The band comprised Dave Lowe (cornet, one vocal), Richard White (clarinet, alto sax, vocals), Chris Lowe (trombone, vocals), Chris Houslander (sousaphone), Dave Griffiths (banjo, one vocal) and Mike Gibbons (drums). The picture shows the band with Richard White foremost. When performing with this band he plays and sings in the popular style of the late 20s and early 30s, making it all look so easy. As usual, we liked the slow numbers best; 'Cloudy' was our favourite, followed by 'Someday Sweetheart' and 'Tin Roof Blues'. We had a good crowd at our table, Axel (back from his Californian cabin) for the whole evening, Brian for the first half and short visits by Alan, Rustom and Ernie. Rustom lent us an Al Nicholls CD; we can't wait to play it.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, June 18, 2007
John Shepherd, Leslie Dyos and Andrew Clancy + 2
On Sunday evening we went to
The Europa in East Molesey to find the Urban Gin House jazz band with considerable personnel changes. The quintet comprised John Shepherd (trumpet), Les Dyos (trombone), Andrew Clancy (keyboard), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Mike Knipe (drums). I forgot to bring the camera so the pictures are all from my computer 'library', not necessarily with the same partners or even at the same venue. Our favourite number with this line-up was 'Kiss to Build a Dream On', with a vocal from John.
The guests from the audience came in four short sessions:
1) Fred Shaw (cornet, vocals), playing 'Sugar' and 'Mandy, Make Up Your Mind'.
2) Peter Miles (vocals), singing 'I Thought About You' and 'Perdido'.
3) Peter Clancy, Roy Stokes and Peter Tallent (trombones), playing 'Mood Indigo' and 'Georgia on my Mind'.
Colin Lewry (keyboard) played during the breaks as usual. It is sad that his performances compete with all the talking.
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Al Fresco Indoor 4 with Eileen Ford
On Saturday Evening we went, for the first time, to the Rutland Sports and Social Club, the home of jazz in Catford since the demise of the Rutland Arms. The band was the Al Fresco Indoor 4 with Eileen Ford, nearly all new to us. The musicians were Eileen Ford (vocals), Ernie Reid (cornet, clarinet), Steve Howlett (clarinet, alto sax), Nick Singer (G banjo, tenor banjo, guitar) and Paul Busby (sousaphone). We enjoyed Eileen's singing so much that we bought her CD, which includes her fine version of 'Hold Me' as performed yesterday. I only wish it included her equally fine 'Blue Moon'. Unlike some bad-tempered female jazz singers she seems a genuinely friendly person, sitting with us briefly during the interval. The rest of the band provided good support plus instrumental numbers and individual vocals from Ernie, Steve and Nick, who plays an interesting-looking Django Reinhart style guitar. We saw him once at the Rutland Arms last summer (2006).
The only other person we recognised from the Rutland Arms was Richard, who once danced with Selina there. Last night he only danced with Eileen !
Labels: Jazz
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Where are our Three Phase Converters manufactured ?
I continue to be asked where we manufacture
3 phase converters. The answer is we now assemble all models at Park Farm in Berkshire, using parts purchased from UK suppliers. We started with the 4kW Booster from New Zealand, then manufactured it in Bulgaria, followed by the 8, 12 and 16 kW units. Park Farm started in the manufacturing business by producing 1.1, 1.5, 2.2 and 3 kW models, then the 4 kW and 6 kW models. We have now moved production of the 8 kW, 12 kW and 16 kW models to Park Farm, changing the format, as pictured, to be more similar to the smaller models.
Labels: Phase converters
Friday, June 15, 2007
Magna Jazz Band with Ken Reece
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton to see and hear
Brian White's Magna Jazz Band. Special guest was
Ken Reece, pictured playing one of his eight cornets, with Richard Lyons and Rex Bennett in the background. After my comment yesterday on how seldom we hear today's bands play 'My Gal Sal' we heard it for the second night in succession, this time at a much faster tempo. Our favourites were:
'Apex Blues' with fine solos on clarinet, cornet and trombone;
The Bix Beiderbecke composition 'Davenport Blues', seemingly played in place of my request for 'I'm Coming Virginia', my favourite number from the Bix repertoire;
Alan's keyboard solo 'Snowy Morning Blues'.
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Blue Moon Jazz Band at Hersham
On Wednesday evening we saw the Blue Moon Jazz band at the
Watermans Arms, Hersham. There was a large audience for the jazz, although the main bar was quiet, proving that classic jazz is good for business. The base band comprised Mike Scroxton (trumpet, vocals), Roy Stokes (trombone, the odd vocal), Alan Matravers (alto sax), John Bryant (banjo), Tony Pile (banjo, vocal) and Aileen May (string bass). Our favourite numbers with this line-up were 'All of Me' with a fine vocal from Roy and 'My Gal Sal', not often played today. After the break Tony was replaced by Bill Gyford (banjo, vocals), who sang 'Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams', 'Tishomingo Blues' and 'If I had You' in a wonderfully gruff jazz voice. I tried to get this line-up in the photograph but in my efforts to show Bill and John on banjos I lost Aileen. There were then two groups of guests. Guest group 1 comprised Mark Goodin (clarinet), Peter Tallent (trombone) and Mike Bennett (string bass). Guest group 2 comprised John Parsons (clarinet) and Peter Clancy (trombone) but we missed them playing as we were leaving early; announced to everyone by Mike at the microphone. Peter Clancy commented that we were leaving as the music was about to get worse; probably untrue.
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Water power
The
Ampair UW underwater turbine continues to sell well. I am amazed at how many customers want it. However, for anyone with a stream at the bottom of the garden it is certainly a carbon-free renewable energy source.
Labels: Water power
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Matt Waites Trio at The Cricks
On Monday evening at The Cricketers in Horsell Birch we saw a young trio comprising Matt Waites (alto sax), Dave Warren (guitar) and Nick Preston (string bass). They were obviously very skilled musicians and their music was modern without being impossible for the (unusually small) audience to appreciate. Perhaps we are too stuck in the past but we still prefer the regular bands at the Cricks, even if they do draw criticism from people in the music business.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, June 11, 2007
Urban Gin House Band with Dave Alison
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), Dave Alison (tenor sax, clarinet; pictured), Roger Limb (keyboard), Mike Bennett (string bass) and Eddie Kettle (drums). Our favourite number with this line-up was 'Li'l Darlin'.
The guests from the audience came in four groups:
1) John Shepherd (pocket trumpet), playing 'Crazy Rhythm' and 'There'll be some Changes made'.
2) Trevor Dockerill (tenor sax), Roy Stokes and Peter Tallent (trombones), playing 'Georgia on my Mind' and 'All of Me'.
3) Peter Clancy (trombone) and Fred Shaw (vocal) playing 'Pennies from Heaven'
4) Peter Clancy playing 'Indiana'.
Colin Lewry (keyboard) played during the breaks, including a beautiful version of 'Willow Weep for Me'. He said afterwards that he stole some sections from Art Tatum; that's fine by us !
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Hampton Court
This morning we visited Hampton Court, using
365tickets.com to get reduced price tickets. The official web site was not functioning so I am not providing the URL. Hampton Court has been much improved in recent years so if you have not been for some time it is worth another look. The kitchens are open and give an interesting insight into the eating habits of the past. The Henry Vlll apartments are separated from the later ones so one can divide the time between them, rather than do the whole tour in one go. The Suffragettes, Soldiers and Servants exhibition shows the lives of recent Hampton Court residents. The Cardinal Wolsey / Young Henry exhibition will be open on 1 July.
Labels: Travel
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Transport damage again
We have just received more damaged goods, this time electric motors. The picture shows the most badly damaged, with a crack across the end casting. Do transport companies hire special people with a qualification in throwing heavy items into the air ? Then they have the nerve to offer a sheet, or screen, for signature that includes words such as 'received in good condition'. Cowboys is too polite a term !
Labels: Grumpy
Friday, June 08, 2007
Magna Jazz Band with Keith Brown
On Thursday evening we went to the
Berrylands Hotel in Surbiton, where
Brian White's Magna jazz band performs every week. Keith Brown (pictured) replaced Rex Bennett on drums. Unusually, a large section of the audience, all unknown to us, left before the first half was over. Some of the cruel regulars put it down to Brian's singing.
Our favourite numbers were:
'Some of these Days' with a snatch of 'Dark Eyes' from the nameless trombonist who claimed not to play it when I requested it;
'Mood Indigo', Brian noting that it was written by Barney Bigard (not Duke Ellington);
Brian's feature 'Babette';
The slow number 'Solitude';
and best of all: 'The Bugler's Lament' with Pete Towndrow playing the theme on cornet then on trumpet, supported by a fine solo from Alan Dandy on keyboard.
It was hearing Pete play this number at the Epsom Jazz Club that first led us to go to the Berrylands.
Labels: Jazz
Thursday, June 07, 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). I tried to get the full band in the photograph but in moving far left to include Aileen I lost John, seated at the back bhind Alan. Our favourite numbers with this line-up were 'CC Rider' with a fine vocal from Roy and 'Blues my Naughtie Sweetie Gave to me'. After the break there were then two groups of guests. Guest group 1 comprised Tony Nutt (cornet), Mark Goodin (clarinet), Peter Clancy (trombone), Tony Pile (banjo) and Mo Kahn (ukelele). They played 'St Louis Blues' and 'Muskat Ramble'. Guest group 2 comprised John Parsons (clarinet) and Peter Tallent (trombone) playing 'If I had You'.
There was a good turn-out for the jazz and the main bar was crowded early on with people watching England beat Estonia 3-0. We saw the first goal, conjured out of nothing by Joe Cole.
Labels: Jazz
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Suzuki Liana
Yesterday our Suzuki Ignis Sport was in
Town & Country Cars for its fifth 9000 mile service so we had a loan car; a Suzuki Liana. This is the vehicle used for many years in 'Top Gear' for
Star in a reasonably priced car. When I mentioned this I was asked not to drive it like that ! It rolled far more than our Ignis and the tyres squealed with no provocation so I think it is not best suited to the race track.
Labels: Cars
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Phil Brown at the Cricks with Al Nicholls
On Monday evening at The Cricketers in Horsell Birch we saw the Phil
Brown Swingtet with special guest Al Nicholls replacing Mark Aston on
tenor sax. Al is a full-time professional musician and it shows. He was
the clear star of the show, drawing applause for every solo. Our
favourite numbers were the slow ones, to which we danced:
'Georgia on my Mind'
'Mood Indigo'
'Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans'.
Labels: Jazz
Monday, June 04, 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 four groups:
1) John Shepherd (pocket trumpet) and Vic Sherman (drums), playing 'Cheek to Cheek', 'Tangerine' and 'Just You, Just Me'
2) Roy Stokes and Peter Tallent (trombones), playing 'Bye Bye Blackbird'
3) Andrew Clancy (keyboard) and Peter Clancy (trombone), playing 'Curse of an Aching Heart'
4) Peter Miles (vocals), singing I only Have Eyes for You' and 'Autumn in New York'.
Colin Lewry (keyboard) played during the breaks.
However, our favourite numbers were all those involving Ivor Elliott, particularly 'Don't Mean a Thing' at the begining of the evening. Ivor is still our favourite tenor sax player with a wonderful way of moving smoothly from sweet sound to 'honking' jazz.
Labels: Jazz
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Classic Cars at Old Woking
Today we went to the Classic Car Show and Fayre at the Prins Willem Alexander School in Old Woking. This featured a huge collection of cars from 1903 to the present day, as well as live music and various events. The pictures show:
Selina posing in front of Rustom Patel's 1969 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible
and
John Gilroy White's 1924 Citroen 5HP Cloverleaf.
Both the owners are known to us from pubs with jazz nights; The Cricks and the Watermans Arms respectively.
Labels: Cars
Magicians at the Ambassadors Cinema, Woking
On Saturday evening As we could see nothing of interest in Guildford we went to the Ambassadors Cinema in Woking to see
Magicians. This very British comedy received a very extreme mix of views from the amateur critics at IMDB.com so we needed to see for ourselves. We found it hilarious, laughing out loud at some of the bawdy and/or black humour. For me the funniest moments were the response by a waitress to a lewd suggestion from a lecherous magician and the description by a homosexual of the horror of a woman's approaching private parts. Use of the guillotine on a female assistant in a magician's trick features heavily throughout the film. If all this is your style of humour then go and see this film; otherwise avoid it.
Labels: Film
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Wind turbine installation
One of our colleagues at
Boost Energy helped install an
Ampair 600 wind turbine in a difficult location. It proved impossible to conduct our standard test that all is working prior to lifting the turbine to working height. Unfortunately there was then no wind so the installation had to be left with no idea if it was OK or not. Fortunately it was.
Labels: Wind power
Friday, June 01, 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 Brian singing with Rex Bennett in the background. It was a larger audience than previous weeks recently so Brian received the classic mixed response to his vocals; 'Isle of Capri' and 'Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter'.
Our favourite numbers were:
'Black Bottom Stomp' with great clarinet from Brian and every musician given a chance to shine;
'June Night' with just trombone and rhythm section;
and best of all 'Yellow Dog Blues' for which Pete Towndrow was waved a 10 card for his cornet solo; trombone and keyboard were great too.
Labels: Jazz
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