I went by bus to Cambridge (the company is called Stagecoach and comfortwise it's about as comfortable as a real stagecoach might have been) It takes me right into the town centre next to some of my favourite shops, and honestly it's so hot here that I didn't want to go traipsing about for too… Continue reading Cambridge
Category: My Diary
The Charterhouse of Pavia.
This time we had our cappuccino and croissant BEFORE buying our rail tickets so the start of the day was not stressful at all. We decided to go via Rogoredo because there are more trains and I was curious to see such an ill- famed place. No one else seemed to be going our way… Continue reading The Charterhouse of Pavia.
A tale of an abortive trip! – The End.
After the exhibition, we rounded the corner and found the big red "i" we had been looking for, so remember, in Pavia information is always just round the corner! So we set off to be tourists in earnest. Off to the castle. And his lordship was out too! Closed until 230! There were two guys… Continue reading A tale of an abortive trip! – The End.
A tale of an abortive trip! – Continued …
Well, having got over the disappointment of not finding an Info point and certainly no hop-on hop-off buses we wend our way along a rather drab little street towards (hopefully) the town centre. On the way a pit stop for water and a beautifully drawn map of Pavia on the back of a small paper… Continue reading A tale of an abortive trip! – Continued …
A tale of an abortive trip! ( but with a happy ending)
My friend and I decided to take a trip to Mantova; I'd been before, he hadn't and it sounded like a very good idea, especially the easy- going, relaxed way of beginning the trip, with an excellent coffee and croissant at the "Mignon" on the Stazione Centrale di Milano. So here am I, wonderfully relaxed,… Continue reading A tale of an abortive trip! ( but with a happy ending)
My Gardening History.
I've always loved gardening and my dream has always been to have a garden of my own. Ever since I was a little girl. When I was about 6, my adored grandfather(allotmenteer,avid reader of cowboy books which he would start at the end, and bellringer. He used to bike round to the various village churches… Continue reading My Gardening History.
Thinking about the garden
I do an awful lot ot thinking about my garden! Recentlly I've been having thoughts about what Gilles Clement calls "Les vagabondes" and everyone else calls weeds. Rather than real weeds from somewhere over the fence, although that particular exchange tends to take place but in the opposite direction, I' m thinking about plants which… Continue reading Thinking about the garden
I Masnadieri
On Monday evening I went to La Scala, to see what is the last opera for me before the summer break. It was Verdi's Masnadieri. The music was instantly attractive although I don't really like these strings of beautiful arias threaded together. What is worse, it encourages the audience to applaud after every one thus… Continue reading I Masnadieri
Lighten up!
After my last post, I really think we need to lighten up, what say you? There's lightness in the night air here in Lesmo. After maybe 3/4 years' wait, one of my Brugmanias has flowered. Champagne occasion! I bought 3 of them from Hayloft's remembering the 3 beautiful trees (then called Datura in my old… Continue reading Lighten up!
Die Tote Stadt
This is the latest opera I saw at La Scala. Although the music was not difficult to understand on a very superficial level, I had a good deal of trouble tying to unravel the meaning of the story. Based on a short novel written in 1892, Korngold has transformed it into a foray into symbolist… Continue reading Die Tote Stadt
English that grows 