Sunday, 23 December 2018
An idiots guide to an Idiot: St Agnes Fountain
An idiots guide to an Idiot: St Agnes Fountain: Had our great buddies Stan, Kas & Dan to stay recently, its an annual thing, they stay with us for a few days then off to a gig at the ...
St Agnes Fountain
Had our great buddies Stan, Kas & Dan to stay recently, its an annual thing, they stay with us for a few days then off to a gig at the Hitchin Folk Club they like to keep.
A visit to The Victoria on Saturday was very nice despite the grotty weather, then a stroke of luck, for us anyway! Two people that were going to the Hitchin Folk Club gig couldn't make it so we had first refusal on the tickets!
The band they go to see is called St Agnes Fountain (its a line from the carol Good King Wenceslas) featuring Chris Leslie from Fairport Convention, Chris Whiles, Julie Matthews & David Hughes, we'd heard alot about them and couldn't turn down the chance to see them!
They only get together for an Xmas tour & most of the set is Christmassy type songs. Carols, carols put to different tunes (they put 'Hark the Herald' to the Ah-A song 'Take me on,' and yes, it does work!) with a few spoken word pieces as well. A particularly good one by David Hughes was about the inn keeper in Bethlehem who he called Barnabas Trump!
It really did kick start Christmas for us , in the past we've had the boys nativity plays etc but that was a long time ago so something else to kick start xmas has been along time coming!
It was a great evening, so much did we enjoy it that we joined Hitchin Folk Club then and there ( keep it to yourself or my rock credentials as an old headbanger get flushed down the toilet!) so we could buy tickets in our own right for next year.
We also got to meet Agnes and Gerter again which was great , we bade goodbye to our friends after the gig and made our way home. A great night.
A visit to The Victoria on Saturday was very nice despite the grotty weather, then a stroke of luck, for us anyway! Two people that were going to the Hitchin Folk Club gig couldn't make it so we had first refusal on the tickets!
The band they go to see is called St Agnes Fountain (its a line from the carol Good King Wenceslas) featuring Chris Leslie from Fairport Convention, Chris Whiles, Julie Matthews & David Hughes, we'd heard alot about them and couldn't turn down the chance to see them!
They only get together for an Xmas tour & most of the set is Christmassy type songs. Carols, carols put to different tunes (they put 'Hark the Herald' to the Ah-A song 'Take me on,' and yes, it does work!) with a few spoken word pieces as well. A particularly good one by David Hughes was about the inn keeper in Bethlehem who he called Barnabas Trump!
It really did kick start Christmas for us , in the past we've had the boys nativity plays etc but that was a long time ago so something else to kick start xmas has been along time coming!
It was a great evening, so much did we enjoy it that we joined Hitchin Folk Club then and there ( keep it to yourself or my rock credentials as an old headbanger get flushed down the toilet!) so we could buy tickets in our own right for next year.
We also got to meet Agnes and Gerter again which was great , we bade goodbye to our friends after the gig and made our way home. A great night.
Sunday, 25 November 2018
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Graduation
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Graduation: We were up in Coventry for Oliver's Graduation Ceremony on Friday & a terrific occasion it was too! I'd arranged for us to stay...
Graduation
We were up in Coventry for Oliver's Graduation Ceremony on Friday & a terrific occasion it was too! I'd arranged for us to stay up there overnight & we also took Olly & Laura out for a curry.
The Graduation ceremony was held in Coventry Cathedral, a really spectacular setting. There was a real, tangible buzz to the place right from when Oliver went to collect his gown & mortar board, the style of the gowns dates back to the 15th century, the gowns for graduates (Bachelor of Engineering) were slightly different to the doctorates etc.
We met a couple of Olly's fellow graduates outside & I took a few photos you see here. Once we were in the cathedral (only two tickets per student so Laura watched on a screen in the university building nearby with the girlfriend of one of Olly's classmates) the procession of all the lecturers and Dean & Chancellor etc walked in and up to the altar. After a couple of brief addresses they got on with the 'handshake' from the head of the engineering faculty. It was all a very slick operation, stewards got the graduates up and in line, an orator announced the names (she did particularly well as there were some very obscure foreign names to get here mouth round!), walked forward for the handshake and back to their seats. It was a very proud moment for us!
Back outside to the general hubbub of hundreds of students and their families etc, we'd asked Oliver to get a couple of official photos so it was off to another block for this. Again a very well run operation to get everyone photoed. There was about six photographers working at once. This done, including a nice group shot we'd added, Oliver got rid of his gown and we repaired to The Drapers for a much needed libation.
That was the end of the official bit, we both know Oliver only really did it for us & we're really pleased he did but he did say he enjoyed the day as well. He has worked incredibly hard to get a very good First in his degree and I think the official recognition of this ceremony is very fitting. We are very very proud of Oliver & what he has achieved.
Lounged back at the hotel for a while (Ibis, very near town centre) met in the bar for a pre curry bevy then off for a very decent meal. Made it back, not very late, I think we were all knackered! A last drink at the bar was abit farcical due to the bar maids very little grasp of English, but as they forgot to charge us I'll let them off for that!
I was up quite early and went for a walk back to the cathedral area, It was pretty well empty, you'd never have known all the congrats and mortar board flinging of the previous day had ever taken place. The burnt out remains of the medieval cathedral stand next to the modern rebuilt one of yesterdays ceremony. There is alot of history in Coventry but much was obliterated during the bombing of the Second World War particularly in 1940. I took afew photos you'll see here. We had a great time, it was a fine ceremony.
The Graduation ceremony was held in Coventry Cathedral, a really spectacular setting. There was a real, tangible buzz to the place right from when Oliver went to collect his gown & mortar board, the style of the gowns dates back to the 15th century, the gowns for graduates (Bachelor of Engineering) were slightly different to the doctorates etc.
We met a couple of Olly's fellow graduates outside & I took a few photos you see here. Once we were in the cathedral (only two tickets per student so Laura watched on a screen in the university building nearby with the girlfriend of one of Olly's classmates) the procession of all the lecturers and Dean & Chancellor etc walked in and up to the altar. After a couple of brief addresses they got on with the 'handshake' from the head of the engineering faculty. It was all a very slick operation, stewards got the graduates up and in line, an orator announced the names (she did particularly well as there were some very obscure foreign names to get here mouth round!), walked forward for the handshake and back to their seats. It was a very proud moment for us!
Back outside to the general hubbub of hundreds of students and their families etc, we'd asked Oliver to get a couple of official photos so it was off to another block for this. Again a very well run operation to get everyone photoed. There was about six photographers working at once. This done, including a nice group shot we'd added, Oliver got rid of his gown and we repaired to The Drapers for a much needed libation.
That was the end of the official bit, we both know Oliver only really did it for us & we're really pleased he did but he did say he enjoyed the day as well. He has worked incredibly hard to get a very good First in his degree and I think the official recognition of this ceremony is very fitting. We are very very proud of Oliver & what he has achieved.
Lounged back at the hotel for a while (Ibis, very near town centre) met in the bar for a pre curry bevy then off for a very decent meal. Made it back, not very late, I think we were all knackered! A last drink at the bar was abit farcical due to the bar maids very little grasp of English, but as they forgot to charge us I'll let them off for that!
I was up quite early and went for a walk back to the cathedral area, It was pretty well empty, you'd never have known all the congrats and mortar board flinging of the previous day had ever taken place. The burnt out remains of the medieval cathedral stand next to the modern rebuilt one of yesterdays ceremony. There is alot of history in Coventry but much was obliterated during the bombing of the Second World War particularly in 1940. I took afew photos you'll see here. We had a great time, it was a fine ceremony.
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| Making our way towards the cathedral. |
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| Out of sequence this is Olly & Laura going into The Drapers after the event |
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| Our first glimpse of Olly in his Graduation finery |
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| Olly & Will |
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| Procession of Lecturers etc |
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| The 'handshake.' He's in there somewhere! |
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| The procession leaves. |
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| Lady Godiva, well known Coventry resident and nude lady. |
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| An interesting memorial I walked past that I first thought was a war memorial, it actually remembers eleven people executed here in the time of Henry VIII for reasons of 'conscience.' Probably worth further investigation. |
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