Birth Announcment!

With great delight, I announce the births of Wolfgang and Jean Baptiste Chalumeau! This past Saturday, I was out early, having breakfast on my balcony, listening to some Mozart, when to my surprise, I saw one of my dove parents, Mr. Chalumeau in this case, feeding its tiny, tiny baby bird! I grabbed my binoculars and yes, here was a tiny black creature with grey fuzzy down, eating away at its "crop milk", as they call it, a pablum of sorts (a secretion from the crop of the parent reguritated to their young). I also ran to get my camera to document the "blessed event". I named this little life "Wolfgang", the first name that came into my head as I listened to the music in the background, a beautiful piano concerto by the master of the same name! If you look VERY closely at the photo above, you will see the large dove feeding the baby.

Then yesterday evening about 6:30pm, in passing the living room window, I noticed that the parent dove was NOT in the nest. I was concerned. I'm fast becoming a doting grandparent/godparent! Ha ha! I looked into the nest, and low and behold, there were TWO baby birds, sitting, or sleeping, extremely quietly (see above!). I was even afraid they may not be alive, but held a good thought. Then they moved slightly. Relief! I named the second bird "Jean Baptiste", a name offered to me by a friend, stating, "It should have a proper French name!"

Then I saw Mrs. Chalumeau, perched on a telephone wire near by, looking around, stretching, preening, before the night's long assignment. (The female tends the nest from evening to morning; the male, from morning to evening). She flew to the nest, settled in, with her new brood.

It's an amazing, yet temporal, treat, this look into nature's never-ending ritual! They will only stay awhile outside my window, and I try to catch as much as possible. Incubation of the eggs takes about two weeks. After birth, they are fed crop milk 3-4 days; then their diet supplemented with seeds. Fledging will take place in about 11-15 days. Then, these little ones will be "kicked-out" of the nest, and made to make their way.

I know I will be a bit sad when they are gone. I've been through my own personal "empty nest" scenario. Here we go again, and yet it is the way it must be! Cest la vie! Actually, there is a greater joy in seeing a young one soar on their own! So, meanwhile, I relish the time spent with The Chalumeau family.

A Different London Underground

I'm in my Sherlock Holmes phase, having recently viewing the new SHERLOCK season finale, (a bit confusing; looking forward to another viewing). I have now begun reading the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. They're just great!

In The Sign of Four, one of the longer stories, as they hunt the perpetrator of shocking events (shocking by Victorian standards) Sherlock mentions to Watson that they must take a boat along The Thames to Millbank Penitentiary.

Well, I know the area  well, having visited a very close relative who lives not far from the site! In fact, the local Morpath Public House that he frequents is directly over the prison! On my last visit to London, he told me that the pub owner has given him a tour of the basement level of the establishment, where the cells still can be seen.

The prison is long gone, but I'm sure the ghosts still haunt. The site for the original Millbank prison was purchased in 1799, on behalf of the Crown by a man named Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher and social theorist. The prison was designed by Bentham as a "PANOPTICON", which allowed an observer to see all the inmates without them being able to see if they were being watched. Planned as a circular structure, with an inspection house in the center, from which the staff could watch inmates who were stationed around the perimeter. Bentham described the Panopticon as a "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example."

Unfortunately, the site chosen was quite marshy, and the building costly to erect, and the plan was abandoned. Eventually, though, in the early 1800's, the prison was built along the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge, and it did encounter problems from poor design, with a maze of corridors that even found the warden and guards losing their way. The prison was later downgraded, and eventually closed in the late-1800's.

Today, in this area of Pimlico, at 12 Millbank, another incredible, and secretive, building exists:         Thames House, the home of MI-5, the equivalent of the FBI ( national security). I have walked by 12 Millbank many a time, and been tempted to knock on the door if only to see if they ask for a password. I'd like to think the code would be S-H-E-R-L-O-C-K!

K450 - A Joyful Concerto!

This morning driving along for a morning coffee at Starbuck's, I heard one of my favorite, delightful Mozart Piano Concerto No. 15 in B Flat major, K450, 3rd Movement, light-hearted and joyful, this version recorded by the Berliner Philarmoniker Orchestra, with Daniel Barenboim, conductor and pianist.

I particularly love the third movement. If you have seen the movie Amadeus, this movement is played as Wolfgang jauntingly skips along one of the street of Vienna, in his wonderful, favorite red coat, and wig slightly ascue. He's a bit inebriated, from a bit of wine, but perhaps also from the joy of living. He was quite a success at the time!

This work is a CONCERTANTE piece, a symphonic work with virtuosos passages for a featured instrument, in this case the piano. In other words, it is a SUPER-CONCERTO!
Mozart composed it for a series of concerts he was to perform in Vienna in 1784. He composed No. 15 in March and played it himself when it was first performed. It is a deceptively difficult piece. Sounds easy to play, but therein, is the deception. It flows along, vibrantly, and you follow along, but the virtuousity, intricacy is there for only a master to play at its best.

The piece is categorized as K450, and represents the first of his "Grand" works, as he called them. From this point on, his works take on a tremendous maturity, complexity, though our ear hears only his pleasing and melodic approach.

Hear the third movement here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KykPLfz2xrw

Above is the wonderful statue of Mozart in the Burgarten in Vienna. Below see a close up of the work. He was Vienna's fair-haired boy!

Say Hello to Mr. and Mrs. Chalumeau!

Clarissa and Clarino Chalumeau, that is! My Mourning Doves now have a name.
I found this name when I was researching their calls, and it was stated that their mournful lament is similar to the sound made by the "Chalumeau", a woodwind intrument that preceeded the clarinet.
The chalumeau is French, and by the 18th Century it had quite a repetroire for orchestral and chamber music. The improvement of the chalumeau and the invention of the clarinet have been attributed to Johann Christoph Denner of Nuremberg.

The picture at left is Mrs. Chalumeau, taking her shift at the nest. I read that both parents watch over the eggs, ususally the male in the morning until afternoon, and the female from late afternoon through the night.

It's a delight to watch them, and I have seen the two eggs (their typical clutch) just once!                  Well worth the wait. Listen to this You Tube Chalumeau solo! Lovely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyJ3-QvZvI0

Tea Cups: Can I offer you a cup, or two, or three?

In 2737 CB, legend has it that leaves from a tree fell into Emperor Shen Nung's cup of boiling water, the boiling water having been the means by which the royal's servant cleansed the vessel. The Emperor noticed the water turned brown in color, and being an inquisitive scientist, he tasted some! And, the rest, as they say, is history.

People have been drinking tea ever since, but not always in the way we thought. Originally, tea cups did NOT have handles. They made their way to England as imports from China, and were labelled as "tea bowls" until the inspired Mr. Robert Adams, in 1750, designed them with handles! This was quite new, and inspired, and greatly appreciated as the bowls could cause burnt hands, and many a tablecloth was soiled with rings. As a matter of fact, Mr. Adams inspired the tea pot, cream and sugar set, tea spoons to match, and the veritable "waste bowl". Ask my friend at http://dressedintime.blogspot.com for information on the waste bowl! Adams made his tea sets in porcelain which is surprisingly strong, though thin-walled. Look at one in the light some time...ahhh, translucent!

As fashion goes, England had taken an interest in Chinese porcelain as trade through the East India Company brought this style to light. The city of Delft in the Netherlands was the home port for the Dutch division of the E. I. Co., and they imported the blue china which was especially like. Soon they began making their own versions (Delftware) to sell to England and Europe as a whole.

England, in turn, started manufacturing their own Chinese-inspired ware, through Royal Doulton Company, and other local factories. As I have mentioned in a previous post, in the 1700's, Thomas Minton designed blue printed earthenware, then porcelain for Royal Doulton (getting their name because they supplied the royal family with goods and services). And so, the Chinese-inspired designs became all the rage, but designed in shapes to fit the English taste.

As you can see in my photo below, there are three cup styles: The Delft cup, rather small with elegant floral pattern; an English handle-less cup that I purchased in the Buckingham Palace store in London (from their Royal Collection); and finally, a little cup with lid, with a typical Chinese scene of misty mountains and little village house by the water. It says "made in China" on the back of the saucer, in Chinese, and in English. By the way, the lid not only helps facilitate the brewing, but keeps the tea warm thereafter. I included a Delft storing jar, my Mottahedeh candlesticks, a Metropolitan Museum of Art reproduction of the candlesticks of Kang Hsi (circa 1700), and a little antique Chinese statuette from China, not an expensive treasure, but I love it nonetheless, my daughter and I having purchased it from a local antique mall on one of our happy outings.

A Truly Enlightened Man!

Today I take the liberty to talk about someone who is not of the 18th Century, though I believe constitutes the quintessential "Englightened" man.

I just love Sherlock Holmes, in all his incarnations, be it from the truly wonderful (original) stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, the 20th Century Fox/Universal Studies WWII vintage movies with Basil Rathbone, the BBC production of the mid 1980's with Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr.'s depiction in the camp Guy Ritchie films, or finally, and most recently.....the PBS contemporary take on the all-knowing/all-deducing sleuth, SHERLOCK.

I think Sherlock would have fit perfectly into that age of discovery and scientific revelations. His personality is Bohemian in lifestyle, rather unconcerned with conformity, but meticulous in his thought process, with keen eye and methods of deduction. I love his statement, "You see; but you don't OBSERVE!"
He is completely dispassionate, constantly mindful of his surroundings, and does not have an ounce of preconception about a particular situation. One might think he is a pit of a sociopath, but he is not. He is loyal, fair, doesn't even want the credit for his amazing discoveries.  He just assumes his brain is bigger than ours! And, we must admit, it probably is!

When I was last in London, I made the pilgrimage to 221b Baker Street, Sherlock's residence, a ficticious address when the stories were written, as Baker Street numbers only went 100. Now of course, the town expands further out, and so a flat in the area can now be labeled 221. The "b" designates the upstairs apartment. It now houses the Sherlock Homes Museum, and though a bit touristy, it is tastefully done, and worth the visit. You ascend many floors, on your own, and at your own pace, to see a typical flat of the Victorian day. One floor has a his library, one with a desk with his microscopes and other dubious medical paraphernalia. His violin is present in the study as well. I loved going, and wandering through. See a couple pictures below.

And so I deduce, by his inquisitive personality and his investigative skills alone, that Sherlock is a man of "Enlightenment"! And, how do I know? Elementary, my dear reader, elementary!

Early Morning Mourning Doves! Siting off the port bow!

This weekend, I was treated to a wonderful site! Two doves nest-making in the palm tree just out from my balcony, where I have recently been taking my early-morning breakfasts.

I was out there, when I spotted one sweet grey dove, a Mourning Dove to be exact, clinging to the palm bark. And then, off it flew. A little while later, there it was again, with a tiny branch in its beak, there for another moment and then gone. I ran to get my glasses so if it came back, I could really get a good look at it.

But, it did not come back, or so I thought. When I got up to clear the table, I now stood tall enough to see that a little below my balcony, in a little shelf-like spot on the tree trunk, were TWO doves sitting close together! I was blown away; absolutely, filled with glee!

I believe it is a lucky sign to have birdies want to make a nest nearby. Recently, just outside my daughter's frontdoor, is a lovely tree, and she spotted a bird nesting deep inside the leaves, hidden from view. And what kind of bird is it?! A Mourning Dove!
Love is in the air, and birdies are enjoying the courtship, and the ensuing home-making!

Birds seen by sailors at sea, is often a sign that the land is not far away! As far back as Noah of biblical times (Genesis 8:11), a bird seen a sea was a sign of salvation! When Noah saw the dove come back with an olive branch in its beak, he knew the flood was receeding from the earth, and that land was at hand.

Sailors have carried birds with them. Think on pirates and their parrots! Think of sailors and the swallow tattoo on their chest! A sign that they had completed 5,000 sea miles; a second swallow on their back for 10,000 sea miles! Sailors are superstitious, and they say that if they drown, then the swallow flies their soul up to Heaven! That's quite beautiful, actually.

And so, today I feel very lucky. I will bring updates on my two doves' progress! Now, don't you think they need a name?!

Coffee with the Founding Fathers

A blog I have been viewing recently, does these remarkable tablescapes: http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ You should see them! They are an inspiration to me, and so, I designed one herein for you to see.

I call it "The Founding Fathers' Coffee Clutch"! It is very simple, but perhaps Washington, Jefferson and Adams might have sat together one afternoon to discuss the issues of the day. They might have had at hand a copy of Common Sense or Rights of Man, both by Thomas Paine, a contemporary of theirs.

My tea/coffee silver service is by Lunt, inspired by Paul Revere, another Colonial contemporary. Revere was a silversmith, and actually designed this set. My cups are porecelain reproductions from the Mount Vernon collection.
I included the porcelain bisque magnolia in honor of the Founding Father's gardening skills. They all maintained beautiful and utilitarian gardens. I think they might have enjoyed some Sally Lunn bread with their coffee. Sally Lunn is a Colonial favorite. A simple but delicious bread, see recipe below:

1 cup milk
1/2 c butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
4 c flour
Heat milk over low heat; add yeast. Let stand.Beat butter until fluffy; add sugar, salt, eggs, and beat well. Add flour along with milk/yeast, a little at a time. Cover and let rise in a warm place til double in size. About an hour.
Spoon batter intl a lightly greased and floured 9 inch tube pan.
Bake 350o for 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove and cool on wire rack.
Makes about 12 servings

The Founding Fathers liked their coffee, you know, especially after that infamous "Tea Party".

 

I'll Take My Tea with a Little Lemon, and Some Rebellion on the Side

May 10th commemorates the Tea Act being passed by English Parliament in 1773. This act helped aid the East India Company rid its enormous supply of tea, held in a London warehouse. The massive surplus of tea was weighing down the company, and the passing of this legislature helped keep the company from collapsing.

A little background: Previously, the E.I.Co. was required to sell all its tea exclusively to London merchants, paying a duty in the process. Tea sent to American colonies was then highly marked up. So, the colonists began importing tea from the Dutch instead, which the English treated as smuggling. The tea may not have been quite as good as the English teas, but they were priced right.

This Tea Act help spur the rebellion in the colonies, culminating in the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), and from there, outright Revolution!

Bottom's Up!

Daily life on an 18th Century ship was a hard and cruel existence for the everyday sailor, not that they weren't grateful to have a job and hope of prize money. They did receive room (be it a hammock) and board (perhaps a wooden plate of old salted meat and a hardtack biscuit), but the work never stopped, in fair or foul weather. An occasional reward of an extra ration of grog was greatly appreciated, though worked very hard for.

By contrast, the Captain, though he was responsible for every soul on board and the ship's well-being, did enjoy a small but significant amount of comfort and privacy by comparison. The captain's cabin was a sanctuary, or holy-of-holies of sorts, where he might enjoy a lovely meal (the catch of the day or the gift of saddle of beef or leg of lamb, perhaps, from a friend or ally) as prepared by his steward/cook, shared with his officers or guests of his choice.

There was a great degree of formality in these dining events, including the placement of guests, not speaking unless spoken to, the courses and ordered served, china and crystal used, toasts made in certain order determined even by the day of the week. Remember, the toast for Wives and Sweethearts - May they never meet! (Saturday); Our Ships at Sea (Monday). The Captain hoped for a congenial group, where tales of glory might be regaled, battles discussed, over a glass of after-dinner brandy or other appropriate wines or spirits.

Ah! And here comes the point of today's blog! The Ship's Decanter! A thing of true beauty AND utility!
It's shape, certainly, gives it weight and stability against the rolling sea. It's function - to decant the sediment collected at the bottom of the wine bottle, the wine being poured out from its original bottle into a new, clean vessel, leaving the sediment behind. A process done carefully, and slowly, allowing only the best and clearest part of the wine to be collected for use at table. The beauty, of course, is in the wonderfully cut-crystal work that reflects and refracts the light, allowing glorious rainbows of sunlight to spill into the room.

The one at left is a classic, indeed, by Waterford (the Lismore pattern). Below are various other antique examples, and then there is the wonderful decanter box below, mahogany with two glasses included (1700's). The bottles have gold etching, too! I have also included a modern one. It's shape is interesting, but it's pitiful in comparison to the beautiful and ornate workmanship of one's from a different age.

Today, we still enjoy these wonderful decanters, but with the added knowledge and inevitable precausions taken, because Crystal contains LEAD, and alcohol tends to leach out the lead into the wine or spirits! The longer left in the decanter, the more lead is absorbed into the wine. The higher the content of alcohol with its greater acidity, the more lead!

It is recommended that wine or spirits be placed in decanters for the evening, then put back in their original glass bottle, or better yet, totally consumed, with congenial toasts, like "To Ourselves!" (appropriate for Wednesdays!)

Seriously!

I ran across an interesting naval term that I thought you might enjoy learning about! It is the DOG WATCH.

What is the DOG WATCH? It is the term for a period of work duty on shipboard, between 1600 and 2000 hours, or in civilian terms, 4pm - 8pm. It is said to derive from Sirius, the dog star, the first star to come in view in the first dog watch. Actually there are two work periods within this watch: one at 1600-1800 hours, and one at 1800 to 2000, but the first is actually when there is still day light, before the stars come out.

An alternative explanation suggests that in these 1/2 watches, the sailors are "dodging the watch", and it was later, then, shortened to dog watch. Perhaps..............

Whatever the explanation, my favorite pun regarding this watch comes from the Master and Commander books, calling this short watch "cur-tailed!"

But back to some more "serious" maritime information: Sirius, the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the nightime sky, and therefore plays an important role in navigation, which until much later was the principle way of keeping on course. Sirius is in the constellation Canis Major, and by the way, the word "sirius" comes from the Greek meaning "scorching", for the star's incredible brightness.

Interestingly enough, for those who follow the Harry Potter series, one of the principle characters, Harry's godfather, in fact, is Sirius Black (shown below), who is an unusal type of wizard, an "Animagus", or one that can shape-shift into an animal! And, what, pray tell, do you think is Sirius' animal of choice?!

We now rely on computer technology to guide us, as far as we can image, even out into space, but some of the tools shown below, were the sailor's only way to travel from "here to there" in the age of sail, including sextant, compass, and the good old telescope!

Landsport Gate

Portsmouth, England has a long history of supporting the Royal Navy. At its height, it was the largest and most important port in the world. Portsmouth, or Pompey, as it is lovingly nicknamed was founded in 1190 by an Anglo-Norman lord.

The name Pompey is most likely derived from the entry logs of incoming ships as Pom.P, refering to Portsmouth Point. Another theory attributes the name to Le Pompee, a French, 80 gun battleship, that the British captured in 1793.

Stories abound about this famous port, especially with the docking of HMS Victory (Lord Horatio Nelson's 104 gun ship-of-the-line) there in the historic dockyard. I have made the pilgrimage to see it, and it is really worth the trip. But, in today's blog I choose to highlight the LANDSPORT GATE.

In 1760 on July 3, Portsmouth suffered the effects a great thunderstorm and ensuing fire that damaged the Dockyard to the tune of £40,000, an incredible sum at the time! Thereafter, the Landsport Gate, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, was built, providing the main entrance to a fortified Portsmouth. It features a simple stone arch with an octagonal turret at the top. It was built primarily for defense, but it also served as a testimonial to civic pride. A ceremonial testament to the city....a kind of we-are-still-here!

The gate is situated on St. George's Road, and is the only one of the town's gates to survive. It is built of Portland stone, and when it was first constructed there was a moat before it with a drawbridge.

By the way, Portland stone is a limestone from the Jurassic period, quarried on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England (see quarry below). Used extensively in Britian, two of the most famous places include, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Buckingham Palace, in London. Landsport Gate is in good company!

Tablescape Time

One of my favorite blogs, http://www.dressedintime.blogspot.com recently posted an interesting blog about "Tablescapes". Dressed in Time's recent 'scape is just beautiful, with its antique serving pieces, Herend china, Waterford crystal, set for two. Who wouldn't want to sit at that table?!Whoever is her table companion is lucky, indeed! Check it out!

I decided to give it a go, and submit a couple of tablescapes for your enjoyment, and comment. Tell me what you think.
The first is a "commemorative" from last Summer. I generally take my meals out on my little balcony once the weather breaks, the cold goes away, and there are lovely, balmy evenings. In order to decorate my balcony for the season, I bought some flowers as well as a tomato plant, which yielded, in all its splendor, one perfect tomato! I felt the need to commemorate the event, and so I planned a special meal, and got out all my best china and crystal to celebrate!

For reference sake, the china is Limoge Bernadaud, the crystal waterford "Lismore", and the Silverware, Gorham "La Scala".
I served pan-fried salmon with salt, pepper and dill on a bed of arugula with olive ol and lemon. The tomato was sliced and put wtih buffalo mozzarella, fresh oregano, salt and pepper.

Needless to say, the tomato was absolutely delicious!




My next tablescape is an homage to one of my very favorite movies: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

I love the story, and the two principle characters, and as I have seen the movie myriads of times now, I can concentrate on the set design, costumes (uniforms), the musical selections, in other words, the details! (By the way, the books are excellent, too - a series of 20 of them, each better than the next).

And so, I decided to recreate a bit of Captain Aubrey's evening snack, which might include some strong coffee in a delicate English porcelain cup, a decanter of fine wine, some hard English cheese, some hard tack, and some lemons and oranges as an antiscorbutic! Some sheet music, Stephen's cello, a sextant, and a map might be present at this table. I would have included "Lucky Jack's" violin, but I do not own one.  Voila! There you have it! I'm sure Jack would approve, and be happy to jump right into to the meal as well as some musical fare! As he often say, "There's not a moment to lose!"

A New Discovery

Yesterday, on my daily early-morning walk, I was listening to some beautiful music from a composer I was not familiar with, namely Johan Agrell. He lived from 1701 to 1765, a German/Swedish baroque composer, born in Loth, Ostergotland, a province in Sweden. By 1734 he was court violinist travelling in England, France, Italy among other important places. From 1746, he was the Kapellmeister in Nuremburg, Germany.

The piece I heard, a beautiful selection, was a concerto for flute , hear it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNXa0o7W5aM&feature=related,  but he also wrote for voice, harpsicord and violin. He is credited with 22 symphonies.
He died in Nuremburg. Not a lot is known about him, but it's nice to hear the work of someone you didn't know existed.

The other day, our local public classical radio station, KCLV, was having one of their fund drives, and it was mentioned that we, now days, have the opportunity to hear any kind of music we wish, WHENEVER we wish. So true, that we mostly take that for granted.

In Johan's day, as well as for his contemporaries until hundreds of years later, with the invention of radio and phonograph, the only way to hear any music was to be present at a particular event where it was being played, often a debut, or a recital, in one of the court settings. And then, only the "glitterati" could partake! Everyone else might hear a jig or simple piece in a tavern or someone's home.

Yes, we do take the access to music for granted! Next time you listen, remember it used to be a privilege!