Evo reviewed

This was quite a lump sum for me to pay out to be frank. But here’s why I did it: I had a demo against a Dali Oberon 5 and a similar Mordant-Short floorstander. Both are fabulous because I got the fizzy feeling from favourite records. These choices are, ultimately, a gut instinctive selection. One record played was a Laurie Anderson album that I have known since the late 80s, and I heard something I’ve never noticed before. There’s no going back, I knew I was going to spend some money that evening.
The guys at Preston were very attentive in the demo and gave me all the time I needed. Soon, the conversation turned to practicalities like delivery slots and cables.
Setup at home was easy. The boxes were huge but we’ll thought out. Unboxing was fun, especially when I found the curator’s cotton gloves to handle the speakers with. Unboxing is a special ritual that you never get with secondhand gear and Wharfedale played along with that. The speakers themselves were in a cloth bag tied with a bow. It just gets better.

Curator’s gloves.

Anyway, I’m working through my record collection and discovering details that I’ve never known before. In one, you can tell that studio reverb was done with a metal sheet rather than a digital effects box. Another, there are footprints across the room. It’s uncanny. More importantly, I’m enjoying the rhythms and dynamics in ways I’d not imagined possible.

(Can you tell I like my new speakers?)

50 things.

A break from the rain, 5C, SSW strong wind.
50 things I’d like to do. I am 50 later this year, so my thoughts have turned to a list of stuff I ought to do and want to do:
Cycle more than 6,000 miles this year,
Ride a carbon bike,
Gliding,
Hot air balloon,
Gocart,
Velodrome,
Scuba diving,
Climb Trifan,
Climb Suilivan,
Meet a whale,
Quad-bike?
Whiskey tasting,
Traditional Italian barber,
British Museum- see that rembrandt picture I have liked for so long.
Learn to cook Japanese food,
Oil painting, return to,

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Posted from a mobile.

iPod clone

9°C, dull grey clouds.

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I have it: a 4Gb mp3/4 player. It’s half the price of  an iPod, stores twice as much and will play wma sound files as well as video, text and photos. the downaide is the very awkward controls, changing album folders, or modes is the oddest process- it makes no sense at all.

 

Here’s a good animal story.(click the picture)

Dragon Rapide

20°C, windy

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Yesterday: Duxford- I took a short flight in a biplane. It was a twin with seats for 8 passengers and was built in the 1930s. Although there was only canvas and a wooden frame between us and the engines, the sound wasn’t very  loud, perhaps because the engines were relatively low powered and under the lower wing.

The views over Cambridgeshire was spectacular- the sunlight getting low- longer shadows and mid-summer golden colours.

 

Another bit that amused us was earlier in the day. They’d set up some demonstration tailers for rolls-royce aero engines, two merlins and a griffon. Each had small propellors to drive, and since these engines are run on open exhaust pipes – the noise was tremendous. Each trailer had an engineer controlling the engine ( see picture below)

 

I have shot some video clips which I can post to my photobucket site when they are edited together. so… that means Adobe Premier needs re-installing.

 

My mother’s cousin was there(John) which had lots of interesting stories to tell of our fmaily history, most of which I have no clue about before. Moreover- there were plenty of people to meet , some who’d crossed the atlantic to get there.

excellent and tiring day.

Airshow 2

18°C, steady South Winds

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Took my stepfather and a nephew to the Duxford airshow today. The lad got a ride on a tank careening around a muddy course also. The show smelt different this time- more parafin less petrol. Still is shorts weather, though I did feel chilly in the prop-wash of 7 spitfires preparing to take-off. A thoroughly good day .

See here

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The ladies need a haircut.

Hendon

24°C, nice very->

Visit to RAF hendon

The lighting is quite low in there, which a friend warned me about before I went. His photos were quite dark, so I used my Tripod which made all the difference. Got pictures of some very rare old birds. Some sections are closed off because they are moving planes around, sadly you could only see the Wimpy from a distance, and only small parts of the halifax. There were some real gems there though.

Upstairs was a small exhibition if paintings with battle of britain theme, many were in oil, but the lighting was so low that it was not possible to see then really. See their website-> RAF Hendon

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On the way back I called in on the de Havilland Mosquito museum near Junct 22 on the M25. What a different atmosphere there- the whole place is much more "hands-on" & there are curious bits from planes lying all around the exhibits. A good place to drop in – if you are into that kind of thing.

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On the return drive, a lorry blew out a tyre on the M1. It went off with quite a bang and the whole motorway was filled with a cloud of brown dust. I changed into the outside lane and slowed down. Amazing how loud it was over the sound of my up-turned car-sterio.

Finally- on the drive down- average 44.8 mpg! How good is that ( for a Passat)?? Oddly a bit less coming back- 41mpg & it wasn’t windy.

Duxford tomorrow

22°C.. Northwind.

 

Flying Legends tomorrow

 

Drive to airshow, make presentation, watch magnificent men, eat & drink.

Sound like a good plan?

Expect pictures soon.

IWM site

Paintings – work in progress

The umbrella man is not going anywhere,going to abandon it. The girl jumping back is complete but there still hangs a question mark over the clothing colours.

Started at least 2 other pictures today, or at least the ground layers and a bit of under-drawing