I don't go to many sites really. And you know that I'd do those proper buttons that link to sites if only I knew how, so that these links don't disappear off the page. But here are some of my regular haunts:-

This is Neil's page, this is Dave's, this is Wood's, and this is Bruce's.

Now then. How much of that html have I messed up?

If all goes well - who knows - there might be more later

Quote of the day.....

"I can't say 'three' Miss, cos my mum's from Essex"

Well there's a thing I never knew about Essex girls!

Why do the designers and builders of primary schools use such heavy doors - with handles unreachable by small people? And why do the staff of primary schools think it's such a great joke to hide music stands in obscure and unreachable cupboards in odd corners of said schools?

Got a quartet enquiry this evening, for early August. Which is kind of when I was hoping to be on holiday, but I have promised to check it out with the others and get back to him. The money would be nice, and it's in a rather lovely hotel, and only an hour's playing, so it would be good if we can do it.

Off to Oxford tomorrow, and leaving the lodger in charge of the house. Must get around to packing my stuff in a minute, and doing a bit more work on the music.

"I forgot my violin cos I didn't know it was violins today"

"I didn't do any practice cos I didn't take my violin home all week"

"I forgot I did violin Miss. I forgot to bring it"

"I haven't done any practice for my exam and I forgot to bring the money"

"I bust my arm so I can't play violin today, but can I have a lesson anyway cos it's History"

Sometimes, Mondays are - like that. Actually - Mondays are quite often like that.

And from the other point of view....

"Nicola - why can I hear E string notes? - they should all be low notes - look at the music"

"Well - why did you fold it up like that? It won't stay on the stand now, will it?"

"But why isn't your bow in the case with your violin? What's it doing on the piano in the infant hall?"

"Please don't wipe your nose on that"

Finally got the opera music yesterday. It looks fairly playable, unless of course the speeds are silly. Due to my great dithering (sounds like a remote Cornish village - Great Dithering and Little Dithering by the Sea), though, I'm not going to have time to get my bow rehaired before the run. Ah well - that can be my excuse for a fuzzy sound now and again. Adrian and Alison are still expecting to put me up in Oxford, I just need to phone them 'after the Forsyte Saga please' to check how to get to their place from the centre of town.

Dinner party last night at B's. Sophie & Nigel came round for Carbonara, bringing peppery crisps (mmmmm) and olives (hmmm?). All the things you're not supposed to talk about over dinner were discussed. Death, religion, sex, politics etc etc. Oh - and tango. In fact, the religion / church thing was quite a feature. I keep very quiet at times like this. It takes me a while to sort out my opinions and put them in the right sort of order to say out loud.

Jon's got Bell's Palsy. He's conducting NBS rehearsals with a half paralysed face. Must be very frustrating for him. He can't pronounce any words that involve closed lip syllables, and has to manually blink his eye. All very strange. He had demanded that us section leaders meet 30 mins before today's rehearsal, to finalise bowings etc. We were there (sort of) and the gates were locked, padlocked and chained. It was only a passing teacher who was going in to do some work (on a Sunday?) who saved the day. Don't quite know what happened to the security chaps who were meant to let us in.

Rachel's daughter, Molly, has a fab multicoloured cassette player, and is very much into singing and dancing along to it. Why is it that the speech of 2 & a half / 3 (I forget) year olds is so endearing. Molly is v chatty - just like her mother, and was very busy making me all sorts of things from her Fisher Price kitchen.

All my new kids at Music Centre came back on Saturday. Glad I hadn't frightened them off too much. It's tricky though, when the one cellist there has only been learning for a term. Parts need to be simplified even more than easy cello parts usually are, and every note has to be explained. Still - her rhythm's good, so I'm sure she'll cope somehow or other. At least she'll finish at the same time as the rest. Olivia's gone straight into the seconds. She's played 'German Dance' before. They were going to do it in a concert apparently, but they couldn't 'cos the seconds were rubbish'.

I've got in a right pickle with this page haven't I? I've made a bodge job of trying to add some links, and now I can't seem to get rid of the bodgeness. Ah well...