More snow for the week before Christmas

The snow that fell on Monday evening was perhaps even heavier than that of Thursday night. And when the sun came out on Tuesday afternoon, it provided glorious views of the fields and hills. I cannot remember such a sight the week before Christmas.

Donning my boots and warm clothing, I set off walking from the house out of the village across the fields to the canal which I followed to Halton village. Then across the churchyard to the RAF playing fields before returning via Weston Turville church, just as the sun was setting. Magical.

A snowy weekend away

Our first snow of the year fell on Thursday night, so we were a little worried on Friday morning about how the roads would be for our journey to Cheshire to see Alison's family. But once we were on the main road through the village, all the roads had been gritted and just became better and better as we headed out of Aylesbury. The heavy snow that was forecast for when we hit the Midlands turned out to be a solitary short shower.

Our two nights stay turned out to be very cold, culminating in icy conditions the last morning. The car needed a push from the hotel owner and another man to get up the hill from the hotel car park to the main road. But we made lunch on Sunday with my brothers in Dorridge where fortunately the side roads were passable. And when we woke up on Monday morning, the snow at home had frozen.

Goodbye to Wake Up to Wogan

After 37 years presenting the Radio 2 breakfast show, Terry Wogan has said goodbye. For me, it is the end of an era. I didn't hear his first programme in 1972, but later that year I started listening whilst driving from Farnsfield in Nottinghamshire to Peterborough every morning.

Since then, Terry has eased the early morning drive, particularly those long journeys every morning in 1976 from Peterborough to Leighton Buzzard and the following year to Cheshunt. Then again in 1979 from Puckeridge to High Wycombe and all those years on my journeys to building sites and regional offices around the country. Thanks Terry.

131 Songs - Number12

Number 12 - Handy Man by Jimmy Jones

When we moved to Braintree in the summer of 1959, I became friends with one of the only seven boys in my class at Braintree County High School. I didn't go to David Hume's house very often, but I can remember their big radiogram. The one single that always reminds me of those times was this song released in 1960 and written by Jones and Otis Blackwell.

Honey Ryder

Isn't it great when you hear a new singer or band that you just love. I can remember hearing Sandi Thom first in a music store on Oxford Street. And when I visited London in August, and sitting in Caffe Nero, there was a track by a band I did not know. Checking the Caffe Nero website and cross referencing on Spotify, I found Honey Ryder. And what a brilliant album is their first called Rising Up. Honey Ryder are Londoners Lindsay O'Mahoney and Martyn Stone. The stand out track for me is called Freeze, just the best song that I have heard for ages.

Wendover Choral Society

Alison only joined the Wendover Choral Society in October and here she was singing with the choir in Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio at St Mary's Church in Wendover. They were joined by The Brook Street band, a fifteen piece "critically acclaimed" orchestra playing baroque instruments, and four exceptional soloists who sang the arias.

Part One of the concert started with a Bach overture from the orchestra followed by a Cantata for the choir. An interval was followed by the Oratorio itself. I have to say that good as were the soloists and the orchestra, the best parts were when the choir joined in. The 45 members created a wonderful sound that echoed through the church. Alison's sister Anne travelled down from Cheshire and came with me. We both thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Jennifer's Body, 2012 and Glorious 39

There is nothing like a good screenplay, and Diablo Cody has done it again. She is like a young female Tarantino, but with her own hip voice. And she puts it to great effect in Jennifer's Body. A horror film without too much gore, even film critic Mark Kermode, a horror fan and expert, admitted Cody knew her stuff. Well directed by Karyn Kusama, the female dominated movie also has Megan Fox in the title role (great casting and probably the best thing she has done, although other actresses may still have done better) and Amanda Seyfried, excellent as her "best" friend. Very enjoyable. And the soundtrack is brilliant. I wish I could say that I would love the album, but the songs fit the film, but not on their own.

Although the critics have panned 2012, I think they are missing the point. This is up there with all the massive disaster movies where the plot and script hardly matter. What you get is a story of survival whilst all hell breaks loose. Our heroes (or most of them) escape death by fractions of a second or millimeters, whilst the rest of the world is destroyed. OK, there is a flimsy premise to why the earth is suddenly breaking up, but it is the staging of the carnage by way of CGI, and the resulting peril the main characters are under, that is impressive. It is a long film, two and a half hours, and the action becomes a little tiresome after a while. But it is wonderfully shot with great lighting, and the sound should get an Oscar nomination even though it wont. If only Roland Emmerich had cut it to a decent length, we could have gone home happy.

Stephen Poliakoff has always been one of my favourite writer/directors, although over the last decade he has concentrated on TV drama where all his films have been fabulous. So does his transfer back to the big screen work? Only just. As always, what you get is a slow (some say plodding) storyline but with great dialogue. And originality, there is just not enough good original drama around. Glorious 39 is beautifully filmed, lovely colours and scenery, it captures the period of the title in wonderful clarity. The one problem is that Poliakoff cannot make up his mind if it as a drama or a thriller. Unfortunately, he is no Hitchcock as he fails to ramp up the tension of his heroine in danger. So the movie works best in the dramatic sections. Romola Garai is exquisite in the lead role as Anne, the one adopted daughter of parents Bill Nighy and Jenny Seagrove. The whole cast is excellent, but it is Garai that stands out.

131 Songs - Numbers 8, 9, 10 and 11

Number 8 - Somethin' Else by Eddie Cochran

Recorded in 1959, this was one of the earliest songs that I can remember from listening to Radio Luxembourg. Eddie made some great records in his short career including Summertime Blues, C'mon Everybody andThree Steps to Heaven. Any one would have made my list, but the raw energy of Somethin' Else makes it my choice. Eddie was killed on the A4 in Wiltshire in 1960 at the young age of 21. He was in a taxi that hit a tree and Eddie went through the windscreen. The taxi driver (who went to prison), his girlfriend and Gene Vincent survived the crash. His impounded guitar was found by a young police constable who used it to learnt how to play. It was Dave Dee (see my posting of 10th January). If Eddie had survived, who knows how big a star he would have become. He was an excellent songwriter and musician. Paul McCartney taught John Lennon the chords to Eddie's Twenty Flight Rock at that famous picnic where The Quarrymen were playing.

Number 9 - Hello Mary Lou by Ricky Nelson

Although for me, this has song has not stood the test of time, Ricky Nelson was one of my favourite singers of the very early sixties. When I was 15 or 16, I listened to Radio Luxembourg whenever I could. I used to write down the playlists from shows such as Jack Jackson's Jukebox. There is not a single entry of that name when I searched on Google, but I remember it well. Other dj's included David Jacobs, Alan Freeman and Jimmy Saville. The latter campaigned heavily for Elvis to tour the UK, but failed entirely to persuade his manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Radio Luxembourg was the only place you could hear popular music programmes in the early sixties, many back to back, most sponsored by a record label. Jackson's was Decca. It was the forerunner of pirate radio that started in 1964. And Ricky was one of the big American stars that we listened to. Between 1957 and 1962 he had thirty hit records. When he toured England in 1985, I went to see him at the Albert Hall. Little did I know that later that year he would die in a plane crash. So I am glad I saw him perform when I did.

Number 10 - Runaway by Del Shannon

Also on the same bill as Ricky Nelson was Dell Shannon. His everlastingly popular number one single Runaway from 1961 was the highlight of the show and the best received. It is probably the famous organ solo that made this record stand apart. It certainly was one of my favourite songs from that year and frequently on my playlist. It stills sounds good today.

Number 11 - Sea of Heartbreak by Don Gibson

This used to be The Wanderer by Dion, but listening to the lyrics the other day, I realised that they would be fiercely derided today.
"Oh well I'm the type of guy who will never settle down
Where pretty girls are well, you know that I'm around
I kiss 'em and I love 'em 'cause to me they're all the same
I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em they don't even know my name
They call me the wanderer, yeah the wanderer
I roam around around around".
 There were other great records that nearly made the list. Bobby Vee's Rubber Ball was a big favourite, as were Freddie Canon's Palisades Park and Johnny Burnett's Dreamin. And I have missed Jimmy Jones, whose Handyman reminds me of our first year in Braintree. My friend David Hume played it on his parent's radiogram.

Whiteleaf Hill

My circular walk on Saturday from Whiteleaf Hill is the hardest of all my two hour walks. Saturday morning was chilly but with bright sunshine, perfect for a strenuous march. From the car park at the top of the hill I head downhill on the Ridgeway towards Lower Cadsden, but before the bottom there is a right turn which heads towards the valley floor. Heading through Nimms Wood, another detour and the path heads uphill until finally coming out onto fields. This is a nice open and level stretch before crossing Cadsden Road and gently up to Dirtywood Farm.

Up once again into more woods and an undulating path before reaching a minor road towards Buckmoorend. Here the paths heads downhill across a large field with views towards Chequers before crossing a main road and up into Pond Wood. The path through the Pulpit Wood rises gently before eventually reaching the top of Pulpit Hill. The views here over Aylesbury Vale are wonderful, especially on a sunny day. The Ridgeway has been joined again, this time to head first downhill and then left onto the open ridge. Here is Grangelands and Pulpit Hill Nature Reserve as the photo above. The ridge path is now open and high, so the views are good.

But it is not long before the downhill section reaches the road at The Plough at Lower Gadsden. I often think how nice it would be to stop for a pint, but lunchtime beckons and so does the steep uphill climb back up Whiteleaf Hill. Just time for the magnificent views at the top over Princes Risborough before heading back to the car park. There are so many ups and downs on the walk, but I felt good after an energetic couple of hours.

Marty's Operation

Marty had been on pills for his thyroid problem for a couple of years, but an increase to his dose was not solving the problem. So a week ago he had the operation to remove the thyroid gland that was enlarged. As the vet said, they had never seen such a huge one. After a week of looking miserable, he is thankfully on the mend. And no more pills to have to hide in his food.

Cosi Fan Tutte

A departure from our pre-Christmas treat to the ballet at Oxford (i just hate the cramped seats there), it was off to the opera at Milton Keynes Theatre and Glyndebourne on Tour. On Friday evening it was an early 7.15pm start for Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. Neither Alison or I knew the plot, such that it is, so it was interesting to see the action unfold in what the programme described as "the cruelest and most disturbing opera ever written", even though the title translates to "School for Lovers". But it was the score and the singing that attracted us, and these were excellent. Gillian Ramm was fabulous in the lead role of Fiordiligi and she was well supported by the other five members of the cast. The three hours (not including the interval) just flew by.