Here beginneth the Festival(s).

Palestrina, this week's composer.

Yes it's that time of year again in Auld Reekie!  Actually, the Film and Jazz Festival have been and gone but the Fringe is now with us and I'm already booked in to hear "Two Old Gits" a dialogue between Tony Benn and Richard Holloway which should be interesting.

It also means a change of musical gear in Church and this morning the choir will hit us with Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli.  The settings are advertised as "Experience mass setting in their original church context" in the Fringe brochure (a slight liberty, as the Palestrina's original context was the St Peter's in Rome but hey!) and the tag line is "Music, liturgy and Incense!"  It's also the current Rector's last Sunday with us as he's going to teach Latin and be Chaplain of a fee paying borstal for the middle classes somewhere in Surrey as of the beginning of September. (Oh joy, an interregnum - a year of the Vestry playing "Hunt the Vicar", whilst the retired and Non Stips run around madly trying to keep the show going).  Pray for us!

Sacred Concert.

We went to an excellent concert tonight in my natal Burgh at Dunfermline Abbey as part of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival -  Duke Ellington's "Sacred Concert" - one of my favourite jazz works. If you've never experienced it, then listen to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8deXgk9mAJE .
Sadly, the star attraction, great jazz pianist Stan Tracey ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Tracey ) was ill and his son conducted.

Despite that it was superb, although the unexpected sound and light effects provided by the Almighty added a bit of excitement!  The heavy rain running back to the car wasn't much fun but it was a pleasant interlude.  Our next next interlude at the week-end is a horse show - a new experience for us plebs! (I blame the missus!)  We went to Dalmeny House at the week-end and saw much Napoleonic memorabilia and were given a viewing of the Sevres porcelain by the Countess who appeared from nowhere with a Sheltie in tow.  Personally, I preferred the Sheltie, but pottery really isn't my thing.  Still it was fun and culturally broadening.  Good stuff.

A ginger Jesus and spinach day.

No, the meds ain't causing hallucinations: I took myself off to the Royal Scottish Academy this morning to look at the Turner in January exhibition and then into the National Gallery to feast my mince pies on familiar and well-loved things of beauty - a magnificent Immaculate Conception by some Spanish guy whose name begins with a 'Z', a still life with Monstrance by a Dutch artist and Poussin's "7 Sacraments" series. I hadn't noticed until today that in Poussin's "Baptism" picture (where John the Baptist is baptising Jesus in the Jordan) that Jesus was a redhead. Hence, "Ginger Jesus"! I'd got out of the habit, I realised, of refreshing my inner spirit with time spent enjoying art and beauty and I must make time in future to do this more often.

Then I went into the cafe under St John's Princes Street. In August it was taken over by Henderson's (the famed Edinburgh veggie restaurant) and I haven't been in. So I treated myself to spanokiptta (Greek spinach pie made with filo pastry) and salads, which brought back memories of wonderful holidays in Rhodes and Cyprus. I now have time to enjoy my idleness given that it's time limited and I'm going to make the most of it!

Music for pleasure today: Frankie Goes To Hollywood and "The Power of Love"



And just so nobody forgets the hoo-hah in Ireland:


Happy St Aelred's Day btw!

Sunday, Sunday

What a busy Sunday that was. Off to a later Mass than is my usual custom, with a wonderful setting of Dvorak in D. Then to the pictures to watch a big screen double bill of "Where Eagles Dare" and "The Bridge at Remagen". Hardly pacifist fare, but a real trip back in my mind to childhood Sunday afternoons watching the telly. Richard Burton's voice was incredible: "Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Broadsword calling Danny Boy" - it really was a Commando comic on film - and Clint Eastwood seemed to knock out half the German Army single handed. Quentin Tarentino has a high kill rate? Nothing on this!

Then it was an excellent folk concert with a very talented youth band called Bodega. Only one wee question: why is a Scottish folk band named in Spanish? Not awfully folky really. Still they were very good, so it is a truly minor quibble.

Meetings in hell!

2 committee meetings in a day is bad. But when one of them is in a hall where you have a 70 piece symphony orchestra rehearsing next door, a samba band practicing upstairs and grumpy historians to be evicted from the room they occupied without consultation before you can even start, then bad acquires a whole new depth of meaning! There was something faintly appropriate however in the enforced soundtrack: we started to "Jesus Christ Superstar" and at the most boring bit of the agenda were serenaded by Glinka's "Night on the Bare Mountain". Light in even the most unlikely darkness!

Yesterday had a good spot in a meeting with a godly sister who I went to talk about my prayer life with. I was surprised to be told that I know something about spiritual poverty! In a good way! I'm happier now with enough from God rather than trying to grab everything or demanding it. Progress of sorts I think.

Time to eat now. Baked tatties for supper. Yum!