John F. Allen's Blog at jfallen.org

10th June 2024

Maja in new shoes

Filed under: Diary,Family — John Allen @ 12:06 pm

2nd June 2024

Dog roses with dogs

Filed under: Diary — John Allen @ 11:13 am

…and buttercups.

Olivia and Edward in Spain

Filed under: Diary — John Allen @ 11:08 am

From a photo taken by Emma. Nearly five years after our return to Bern

7th May 2024

The London Haydn Quartet at The Art Workers’ Guild

Filed under: Diary,Family,Music — John Allen @ 11:45 am

Four concerts from September 2023 to March 2024.

On an afternoon in autumn 2023 I was parked in Foyle’s bookshop while Carol and Sophie went shopping in Covent Garden. At a slightly loose end, I looked through the CDs on display, curious to see if there are recordings of string quartets played on original instruments. I’d long read about the influence of Haydn, but never been impressed by what I’d heard. That changed completely when I listened to the recording of Haydn’s Opus 33 quartets by The London Haydn Quartet. Really Impressive. Carol searched on-line and found this quartet listed for a programme of recitals at somewhere called The Art Workers’ Guild in Queen Square. The first concert was a delight. We attended all four.

What distinguished The London Haydn Quartet was their vitality and evident rapport with each other. They were listening, and enjoying each other’s playing. Plus their faultless intonation and elegant phrasing, obviously the result of shared agreement in what must have been meticulous preparation and rehearsal.

6th May 2024

Aaron and Sophie on their first bike race

Filed under: Diary,Family — John Allen @ 11:04 am

Left to right: Mariusz, Maya, Sophie, Aaron, Sophie

Left to right: Aaron, Sophie

Family members, January 3rd, London (3)

Filed under: Diary,Family — John Allen @ 10:49 am

Left to right: Sophie, Graham, Carol

Family members, January 3rd, London (2)

Filed under: Diary,Family — John Allen @ 10:47 am

Left to right: Olivia, Sophie, Maya, Graham

Family members, January 3rd, London (1)

Filed under: Diary,Family — John Allen @ 10:40 am

Left to right: Aaron, Sarah, Maya, Sophie, Olivia

3rd May 2024

Maya on her first birthday

Filed under: Diary,Family — John Allen @ 11:43 am

Neanderthal and a modern human

Filed under: Diary,Family,Not extinct — John Allen @ 11:27 am

A recent item on BBC News is headed Face of 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman revealed

“Revealed” seems to imply “for the first time”.

Not so. There is a superb Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany.

A photo from our visit on 15 October 2023.

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