h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last night I dreamed I met Dmitri Shostakovich in a hotel bar. He had all his own teeth and his sense of humour was exactly the same as his music. I know his music quite well and I used to have a lot of books about his life and music - the question is, was my dream purely a product of my knowledge of him and his music, or was it a true communication with the dead? I am agnostic on the question.

Didn't do much today. Watched "The Plank", a movie from about 1967 with Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper. It was tolerably funny, but not as funny as I remember it being (it kind of passed into the family mythology as THE funny English film).

Went to town to see Bex. We had a drink in the Ship and then had a lovely peri-peri chicken at Nando's before repairing to the something and trumpet pub on the main road (can't remember the name). Friendly pub, we both enjoyed it. Bex decided she couldn't be bothered to get to the station to catch the train home, so she's staying here the night. I have a spare bed and she will be quite comfortable here. It is nice having someone to chat to about Mustardland. It's the third level of discourse, you see - first is The Archers, second is Mustardland, third is about Mustardland.

The Plank? I vaguely remember it. There was a vogue for silent slapstick comedy in the 60's - Ronnie Barker also did a couple. A lot of Laurel & Hardy, Chaplin and Keaton was being shown on TV in the 60's & 70s. Also Mack Sennet compilations - I grew up able to watch Ben Turpin, Harold Lloyd, the Keystone Cops, Fatty Arbuckle, Harry Langdon &c. The silents were cheap schedule fillers, but are nowadays so outrageously non-PC as to be practically unshowable.

However, I believe that Jacques Tati was at least every bit as much of an influence to some UK performers, and would urge you to view M Hulot's Holiday.

Douglas

Morning, Dagesh!

If Bex is still there and you see this before she leaves, do give her a RL from me!

Katy

Hi there Dagesh! So pleased that you were able to meet up with Bex, and I quite agree about your 3 (PRIMARY) levels of discourse ~ if I'd been there I'd probably have wanted to add a 4th level ~ Theology!!

I'm rather busy this morning, but later on I'm seriously considering starting my own Journal. I've already battled my way around the local supermarket ~ well, it wasn't all that busy, but the
N O I S E level from the "background" "music" was truly awful
& I tottered back home with my stress-level somewhat H I G H!! So NATURALLY I immediately switched on the computer ~ which I almost always find highly therapeutic!

'Bye for now, ~~Misty~~

Morning Dagesh. RE. Shostakovich: there was a marvellous performance of his Violin Sonata on R3 a couple of nights ago. Perhaps you re-tuned after Archers and your unconcious did the rest. Somewhat surprised to see you type the word "agnostic"!

You're almost certainly too young, but did you ever see David Pownall's play "Master Class" ? On stage: Stalin (as channelled by Timothy West) + Shostakovich + Prokofiev + I think two pianos. Engraved on the memory.

petal jam

Hi there petal. I used to possess a copy of the recording of the Violin Sonata's premiere on I think the 4th May 1968 in Moscow. Richter and Oistrakh. Their performance has never been equalled for sheer directness and excitement by anything I have heard. I picked up the CD of the original Melodya recording at a flea market in Cape Town for about R30. Unfortunately it was one of the CDs that were stolen from my house during a move - along with all my Britten (I had quite a few Decca recordings). Easy come, easy go. I tried to replace it a few times but was always told it had been deleted. But they played this performance on R3 a few months ago and they said that it was on the Chant du Monde label, so perhaps it is back in the catalogue. I suppose I should try to find it while I'm still in the UK. I have read the play, but not seen it staged. For some reason the line that sticks with me is "Prokofiev is a long time in the toilet".

Douglas, I saw M. Hulot's Holiday during a Tati season at the local indie flicks a year or so ago.

Hiya dagesh.

I just bought a copy of Britten's Abraham and Isaac today. On Naxos - a re-release of a 1990's Collins Canticles CD. Dame Judy Dench does some narration on another of the canticles. Ain't played it yet, tho'.

Regis have reissued a Melodya set including:

Shostakovich

Sonata Violin & Piano Op.134 & Sonata Viola & Piano Op. 147

Oleg Kagan, violin
Yuri Bashmet, viola
Sviatoslav Richter, piano

RRC 1128

Is this the one you had in mind? If so, pay no more than £3.99 or you're being ripped off. CD Selections is a good online mail order site.

Douglas

I remember seeing "The Plank" "way back" ~ but by far the funniest film I've ever seen was "Doctor in Clover" ~ where a canister of laughing gas was set off at a dance, and everyone ended up in various stages of hysterics! Not perhaps the most intellectual or sophisticated approach to humour ~ but I LIKED IT!!!

The Ship used to do (may still do for all I know) very good chip butties at lunchtime. Haven't been in it for years, nor the Horse and Trumpet. Hope they're still "proper" pubs - to keep the balance with all the new theme pubs. I like the pubs tucked away in the city centre down all the side alleys (Whitelocks being the definitive one!).

Er everyone else comments on music and films, I discuss the pubs....

hebe