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File: RachelsRamblings !! VilaniAndDusinberre _ /May,/2017/ Musings on two recently enjoyed, but rather different, books. By VilaniAndDusinberre. Of course. ---- !! A Non-Mathematician At The MathsJam Weekend _ /November,/2014/ Extracted to ANonMathematicianAtMathsJam ---- !! RememberingChristopherHogwood _ /October,/2014/ Extracted to its own page. ---- !! The Story of Bolero ! February 14, 2009 Extracted to TheStoryOfBolero ---- !! A Salutary Reminder _ September 9, 2008 We listen to so much chamber music now that I am inclined to forget - even though I played in many orchestras when I was a student - just what a difference the conductor makes. We had the final of BBC's Maestro on this evening, and it was worth sitting through all of it, even the intermediary waffles of the presenter, just to see Maxim Vengerov and Roger Norrington bring the BBC Concert Orchestra to life. That said, we were very impressed with the three finalists. Conducting is even more difficult than you may have gathered if you have been watching the series! ---- !! Our holiday Every now and again something happens that sparks a thought, or someone does something that deserves brownie points. We had a great time exploring Hadrian's Wall in August, and several people and places contributed to that. * GrindonCartshed The B&B where we stayed. We do a lot of travelling, and once upon a time I worked in a hotel. We are, therefore, the Guests From Hell: we know how things should be, and I know how easy they should be. Grindon was wonderful. Friendly, comfortable, and efficient - a combination which is really very tricky to pull off. * LakelandBirdOfPreyCentre We visited the Lakeland Bird Of Prey Centre on an impulse on the drive home. These impulses sometimes lead to disappointment, but not on this occasion. I've been to "wildlife displays" which were slicker, but none where the person giving the presentation displayed such a casual and easy mastery of their material. We just had to be careful not to be caught out by his very dry sense of humour! * Vindolanda and Housesteads Well, one expects major attractions like Housesteads and Vindolanda to "get it right" (whatever that may mean). Still, the talks that we attended at both places were much better than the average: they provided a sense of place and an idea of the current state of knowledge, and they were both perfectly pitched for the interested but knowledgeable listener. * ColinsBlog describes other places that caught our imaginations. Alnwick Gardens were fantastic, and Cragside and its builder, the Victorian entrepreneur and inventor William Armstrong, should be better known.