TERRY'S CHRISTMAS RAMBLE 2012

Imagine, I'm on my walk along the seafront.   Exercises completed, I sit for a while, resting and taking in the scene.   The sun shines out of a bleached blue sky;  the surrounding hills blush green after autumn's first rain;  the “sea lulls, laps and idles in” (good old Dylan T.);   and street dogs loll and slumber mid-footpath, their noses no longer tormented by the Ambre Solaire sillage* of passing tourists.    But no lolling and slumbering for me:    the chill breeze carries resin-scented smoke from nearby pine-burning stoves in my direction, reminding me it is now late November and time to start on my 13^th Ramble.

*Sillage (pronounced see-yazh) describes a scented trail left by a fragrance wearer - in case you were thinking of something less sweet-smelling.   Trust the French to have a word for it.

Latest guest

Regular readers of this hardy annual will know that the land round my house has often been a menagerie for animals both domestic and wild.   The temporary guests, though usually not potty-trained, have at least had cuteness on their side, affording good photo opportunities  -  except for the wild boar, naturally.   So what am I hosting this year, you ask?  Well, the answer is in this photograph entitled JCB* at Dawn.

 (*JCB = Joseph Cyril Bamford – manufacturer of the machine)

After

Before

"Uncle" (landlord) has been persuaded by the extended family to give the ¾ acre of land a bit of a "make-over".    No, not the kind of thing you get from that nice Ground Force team.  Take a youth, barely out of nappies, give him a serious big boy's toy like a JCB and tell him to gather and break up every rock bigger than a pebble? You can imagine the result.   My oh-so-natural, unkempt and interesting wilderness – beloved of all creatures great and small including me – has been turned into a lunar landscape seemingly devoid of life.   The rock generated is being turned into the Great Wall of Geriş, encircling mine and the adjacent field.   When finished, it will rank up there with other world class walls - China's, Hadrian's and Berlin's – the difference is that this one is just meant to keep pigs out!  But these pigs are determined, I know  – stand by for news of pole-vaulting porkers in due course.

 

Actually, I think the pigs are getting to me!   In the summer I traded in my transistor radio, photo albums and Sony Walkperson for an Ipod Touch.   (Yes, I knew you would be shocked).   But there is worse to come.   Ipods can also be used for playing computer games and this is the point:   until now I've condemned computer games roundly in a grumpy old man sort of way.   Then someone showed me Angry Birds on my iPod.    Instant addiction!   Since then I've been playing Angry Birds at every available moment:  queuing somewhere, waiting for a bus, in the airport, waiting for the dinner to cook, "just 5 minutes before I go to sleep" – there's no end to it.   It's worrying, is there an ABA (Angry Birds Anonymous) I wonder?   I blame it on the pigs.  (If you don't understand that last sentence, ask a passing child, they'll explain).

Biscuits

One of my ebrus

In fairness, I am managing to fit in other activities between Angry Birds.   I am still doing Ebru in the winter and spring and in the summer we do the odd exhibition.   Following last year's success we had another exhibition in the lovely garden of one of our members.  Again it was the shortest exhibition of the summer, just four hours long, and lots of loyal friends turned out in the heat to support us.  We even managed to sell some of the work, which is encouraging.   Metin provided homemade biscuits iced with the exhibition poster which went down very well. His sisters make them – see www.kurabiyedendusler.com.   Who knows, perhaps next year, we will do an exhibition in my garden – after the land clearance and the wall construction, I've got a secure walled exhibition space and off-road parking for hundreds.  Pigs not invited!

Gümüşlük

In the summer, we had our usual medley of classical music festivals, at Gumusluk, Turgutreis and Bodrum.   In the little fishing village of Gumusluk, we had the 9^th International Classical Music Festival and summer school.   The festival, held in and around a tiny Byzantine chapel, is growing steadily in stature and musical quality.    Sadly, the rocky sloping garden still presents sight line challenges – not helped by a tendency of audience members to pick up seats and move them to a better spot.   On the opening night we had one of Turkey's finest pianists doing the Grieg Piano Concerto;   on the second night we had Bremerhaven Stadttheater Ballet Company doing Carmina Burana Ballet.   I heard every note, but only saw the tip of a bow or the head of a dancer if the audience members in front of me managed to synchronise their movements correctly. 

Turgutreis festival was an altogether grander affair.  It takes place in the dry dock of a local marina against a backdrop of outrageously expensive yachts parked there I suspect to make the audience feel poor.    About 3000 beautifully caparisoned (but still plastic) chairs, accurately numbered and all tied together for safety sit in the centre.  Obviously, the safety rules governing Turgutreis haven't yet reached Gumusluk, a few kilometres away.   The seats face a very posh portable stage reminiscent of the Hollywood Bowl.  Last year the festival attracted 17,500 people for the 7 concerts and it grows every year.

Jose Carreras & Simge Büyükedes

This year Jose Carreras was the star turn on the opening night and the Turks loved him.  As an audience, Turks work their socks off, applauding enthusiastically in all the right places, even singing along occasionally, and they are ever-ready with a standing ovation.  Here, standing ovations are given for fame rather than performance.   Of course, they hardly sat down for JC.   Sad to say, I wasn't doing much standing;  it all felt a bit perfunctory but who am I to judge? All my life I've felt it my public duty to mime Happy Birthday, for fear of scaring the guests.   Jose sang only one duet with co-starTurkish soprano Simge Büyükedes and still he all but ignored the poor girl.  The picture says it all.

Yuri Bashmet

The Moscow Soloists with Yuri Bashmet on the second night were brilliant but had their thunder stolen by the festival's artistic director who killed the applause by clumping her way on stage before they'd even straightened up from their first bow, to present them with some bauble.   We needed a good platform manager to hold her reins until the moment was right.    

The third night saw the superb Dogus Children's Orchestra performing Scheherazade; the Rodrigo Guitar Concerto was the centre piece of the all-Spanish second half.  Let's gloss over the superannuated male flamenco dancer who, after his own set, kept gate-crashing the platform every time the castanets clacked.  

 The final concert featured Fazil Say, a superbly talented Turkish composer, pianist and jazz musician.   He gave us Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 with rather a more jazzy feel than I recall it having.  Then we had the premier of his latest composition called Mesopotamia, a very clever piece which I enjoyed immensely.  It required a huge orchestra, a Thérémin, some very exotic woodwind and even more exotic percussion;  it was fascinating watching the Thérémin player as she conjured its distinctive ethereal sound apparently from thin air.   Winds whistling through the masts and rigging of Bodrum gulets came to mind.

Zorba

After last year's excitement at the Bodrum Ballet festival – with the protest directed at the American ambassador -  this year things were rather more sedate.   However, the weather was exceptionally hot this summer (we had Britain's share too I think) and the programme did not inspire much, which meant I could not stir myself to go to as many ballets as usual.   However, Zorba the Greek was very good – yes, the one with the big Theodorakis number
at the end – and the 60s/70s setting of Midsummer Night's Dream with period music was fun – but how I struggled to remember Shakespeare's original. 

 

Rapeseed

Sezoncote

This year I visited the UK twice, once in May/June and again for a week at the end of October.  In the Spring, I stayed with Carol, in the beautiful Cotswolds, touring around, past fields of dazzling rapeseed flowers and visiting exotic Sezoncote where Carol grew up.    

Kensington Palace

Then I went to Pembrokeshire to spend a super few days with Michael and Michael in their lovely new house;  I even did my bit to cheer on the Olympic Torch in Haverfordwest.
 

Olympic Torch in Haverfordwest

I spent a memorable day at Kensington Palace with Peter;   and, with Geoffrey and Tony,  enjoyed the rare delight of fish and chips.   

The Queen's Barge

My visit coincided with the culmination of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations so thanks to David and Hugh I was able to watch the jubilee river pageant from their balcony on the Albert Embankment.   

Christine and our picnic in her garden

Fiona, Dave and Teresa

 I also spent a lovely time in Sussex, the country where I grew up,  first with my friend Chris Taylor down in Brighton, then a super day with my family  in Horsham and finally with Val in Hurstpierpoint. 

my brother Colin

  Everywhere I went, I enjoyed fabulous hospitality, super conversation and wonderful food.  To everyone I want to say a huge thank you for making my trip so enjoyable.     
 
In addition, I want to say a very special thank you to Thya and Nicholas where I stayed, in Battersea, when I wasn't travelling around.   Thank you so much for all your kind hospitality, and for taking me to see Top Hat, the stage version of the classic Fred &
Ginger musical, which was truly a highlight of my visit.   
 

Fairfield on 2 November 2012

The autumn trip had a very specific purpose.   Fairfield Halls, where I worked for a long time, was celebrating its 50^th birthday and I was very privileged to be invited to the gala concert by the LMP.  

The end of the concert

Terry, Michael Davies and Peter Avis

It was a fantastic evening, attended by HRH Prince Edward, but more than the music, it was a delight to catch up with so many friends.   One running theme throughout the evening was “You haven’t changed a bit" which says something about our eyesight of course!   Whatever, it was lovely to see everyone and hope we continue to keep in touch.

Incidentally, during the trips, several friends intimated that they might come out here next year.   It would be lovely to see everyone – but if you all come at the same time, I'm going to be very busy!   As you formulate your plans, do keep me in touch with them, so that I can plan my diary to make sure we can spend time together.   Nothing is fixed yet, but I am hoping to come over there in July for 2/3 weeks, and I may also try to get over for the Cheltenham Literary Festival in mid-October, just in case that has any bearing on things.

Fountain in shape of Loggerhead turtles

Lycian Rock Tombs in Dalyan

Apart from travels abroad, I have also been up to Bursa a couple of times.  It is now possible to fly up to an airport quite close to Bursa which saves a 9 or 10 hour journey on the bus, or an equally long drive.   Metin and I also went down to Dalyan, which is 3½ hours south of here.   By comparison with the Bodrum peninsula it is remarkably unspoilt and is famous particularly for being the breeding area for the endangered loggerhead sea turtles and also well known for its Lycian rock tombs.   We went down to meet with my old friend Brian who was making a return visit to one of his favourite holiday destinations, with Graham.   We spent a delightful long weekend there in early October.
   

When not travelling, going to concerts or doing ebru, there's  the Herodotus Third Age Academy (H3A) reading groups, of which there are now four, including a new one specifically aimed at non-fiction reading.   I belong to two of them and we have been through some particularly fascinating books this year.   Books have included:  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Cem Sultan, A Captive Turkish Prince in Renaissance Europe by John Freely, Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, Salmon Fishing  in the Yemen by Paul Torday, and The Secret River by Kate Grenville.   So far, in non-fiction we have read The Super-rich Shall Inherit the Earth by Stephen Armstrong, Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson and The Decisive Moment - How the Brain Makes up its Mind by John Lehrer.   H3A is our (we believe unique in Turkey) version of the international University of the Third Age.  If you want to see what we thought of our chosen books and also to learn what else we get up to the web site is http://www.hero3a.com/ .

And finally…..  two heart-warming pictures.   The first is of a calf who thought my car was its mother;  the second shows a device which has been installed around the village.  It is a water bowl for the many street dogs and cats, it automatically fills as the animals drink and the notice says "automatic waterer - a present for street animals from Yalikavak Council".  Ahhhhh!   I'm lobbying for a similar arrangement for us humans….. preferably one that automatically fills with G&T.   

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PEACEFUL 2013