Once again, decided against Bullingdon from Vauxhall, so walked, managing to get into something of a muddle over Big Ben, which I found very hard to read. From Lambeth Bridge, I thought that maybe the hands had been removed from the clock faces during refurbishment work, but when I got up close some time later, I found that the hands were all present and correct. Now I think my (corrected) vision is still more or less OK, so maybe all that black stuff on the clock face is makes it hard to pick out the hands.
Refreshment in the cellar where a print adjacent suggested that the capitals to the pillars in the nave had hollow concrete cylinders doing the work, with stone (or quite possibly plaster) trim stuck around the cylinder for appearances sake.
Upstairs the drill was for the musicians to stand for the Haydn and the Bach and to sit for the Mozart, with Rachel Podger on the violin and in the lead. I was impressed that Ms. Podger was not too proud to play with the first violins for the Haydn and the Bach. And interested to see that a lot of her leading consisted in her facing the audience and swaying in time to the music - which, to be fair, the orchestra had probably played many times before.
But while the concert was good, it did not seem as good as it had in April, partly because I was more conscious of fiddly bits on the violin, possibly cadenzas, which I was not that keen on. Maybe I prefer the Faust style to the Podger style.
At the interval, we had one very stroppy gentleman having a go as his older lady neighbour for using a pocket torch during the show. He had a point, but he did seem to be making rather a lot of it. Then another stroppy gentleman was having a go at the usher by the door about the odd noises, seemingly from a radio, which seemed to be coming from somewhere near the organ at the back. Again, he had a point, but he did not need to get quite so cross with the usher, not paid to soak up that kind of thing. We retired to the Marquis of Granby where, for the first time, I noticed the division bell installed there.
Some interesting stuff in the programme from Rabbi Neuberger about how the Freemasons, who had claimed Mozart for a member, were rather progressive in allowing Jews, who (unlike me) were deists and so qualified. And from someone else about how J.C. Bach, the great Bach's son, despite initial success, died in penury in London. From where I associate to something from another programme about how Haydn, who knew, or knew of, one or more of Bach's sons, was rather surprised when he learned that the father was a composer too.
Afterwards we strolled along to the Red Lion, a pub across the way from Big Ben which I used to use occasionally during my time at the Treasury. Bit too close to home for regular use. But oddly, the place must have been refurbished and the front bar was not what I remembered at all. All plush and monumentally high ceiling. No division bell either, despite being a good bit nearer the action than the Marquis. Quite busy this Monday night, a mixture of suits and tourists, mostly quite loud.
No aeroplanes at Wimbledon, but there was some consolation in the discourse from the taxi driver at Epsom on the failings of his new Mercedes taxi, a taxi which I first heard about after the outing noticed at reference 3. Not a Metrocab, rather a long wheel base Mercedes - possibly a Euro 6 Vito - with the catch that the cunning new steps up into the back were the one thing excluded from the warranty and the one thing that did not work. It sounded as if getting them to work involved taking a day out and driving into the wilds of the northern home counties, not good at all.
Not sure about the Euro 6 Vito, as I recall the Epsom taxi having a sliding door at the back, while the doors at the Mercedes web site look conventional. Right shape vehicle but wrong back door. Something else to be checked in due course.
PS: this picture of Ms. Podger was selected on the grounds that it exhibits her plentiful hair. Her dress, on this occasion, was I think pale, but full body cover. No Wuja. We did take some time out to discuss the matter of wigs. It was ruled that Ms. Podger was not wearing one, but alleged that both Mrs. Obama and Ms. Markle did, at least on occasion. Bing turns up little evidence for the latter, but rather more for the former, the most definite being a report about a wig lady called Leona from Baltimore.
Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/faust.html.
Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/last-trump.html. A rather different programme being offered in July.
Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/carducci.html.
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