I'm too tired to think straight, darlings, but I'll try. It'll certainly save time to direct you to the lecturer's website - which was given out at the lecture, I'm not sneaking around. It was excellent, amusing, with a good balance between images, music and speech. He kept to the time (as in period, not musically speaking) of Shakespeare and explained at the start that he'd start with music at court and among the nobility, come down the social strata to the lowest, then slide to dance and go up again. And he finished with some Shakespeare.
It was interesting to be told about the various musical instruments - I knew something about it already, but a good lecturer will find another angle. He focussed on professional and amateur musicians - in those days, of course, to be a professional meant that you relied on the higher ranks to pay you, so it was further up the social scale to be a proficient amateur. And the instruments you played, too - in short, the louder the instrument, the lower-ranked you were because you played out of doors and/or to a lot of people. If you played virginals, recorder and so on, you were posh. If it was the shawm, the sackbut, the fiddle, you were lower in rank. The viol seemed to be played by everyone. Oh, and there was the tabor and pipe, which was jolly. One piece was played which was the only known Morris dance from that period, but it seemed rather too stately for today's Morrismen.
Actually, loves, I really am too tired to tell you, that was quite incoherent, I'll try to tell you more tomorrow. I came back and worked in the garden for several more hours and I'm about ready to flop. Still, we've got a lot done and I'm ready to make a new list, not that the first one is quite completed yet.
Young Hadrian Swallow's birthday is coming up. Dilly suggested a few things for presents, and I looked one Early Learning Centre item up on Amazon. And, as I was going in to Norwich, thought I'd trot along to the shop and buy it there. Darlings, it was double the price. It referred to the ELC on the website, so they sanctioned it all right, but it was £45 in the shop and I'm afraid I came back and bought it online. And if there's a problem with Amazon not paying Corporation Tax, that's easy - bring down the level of Corporation Tax and encourage businesses to take the easy way out and pay it here. Of course they'll go to the cheapest country if it's legal. Wouldn't you? I just did. Saving £22 seems to have been worth my while.
A differently busy day tomorrow, I'll be in school. For a rest. Don't think I'm complaining though, it's all going really well, as long as I don't remember that it'll all have grown back again within a fortnight.
It was interesting to be told about the various musical instruments - I knew something about it already, but a good lecturer will find another angle. He focussed on professional and amateur musicians - in those days, of course, to be a professional meant that you relied on the higher ranks to pay you, so it was further up the social scale to be a proficient amateur. And the instruments you played, too - in short, the louder the instrument, the lower-ranked you were because you played out of doors and/or to a lot of people. If you played virginals, recorder and so on, you were posh. If it was the shawm, the sackbut, the fiddle, you were lower in rank. The viol seemed to be played by everyone. Oh, and there was the tabor and pipe, which was jolly. One piece was played which was the only known Morris dance from that period, but it seemed rather too stately for today's Morrismen.
Actually, loves, I really am too tired to tell you, that was quite incoherent, I'll try to tell you more tomorrow. I came back and worked in the garden for several more hours and I'm about ready to flop. Still, we've got a lot done and I'm ready to make a new list, not that the first one is quite completed yet.
Young Hadrian Swallow's birthday is coming up. Dilly suggested a few things for presents, and I looked one Early Learning Centre item up on Amazon. And, as I was going in to Norwich, thought I'd trot along to the shop and buy it there. Darlings, it was double the price. It referred to the ELC on the website, so they sanctioned it all right, but it was £45 in the shop and I'm afraid I came back and bought it online. And if there's a problem with Amazon not paying Corporation Tax, that's easy - bring down the level of Corporation Tax and encourage businesses to take the easy way out and pay it here. Of course they'll go to the cheapest country if it's legal. Wouldn't you? I just did. Saving £22 seems to have been worth my while.
A differently busy day tomorrow, I'll be in school. For a rest. Don't think I'm complaining though, it's all going really well, as long as I don't remember that it'll all have grown back again within a fortnight.
4 comments:
Thank you Zoe. Now I'm going to have a good look round the lecturer's website.
Mmmm, going straight to that website (sans strawberry ice cream unfortunately).
Your thoughts about tax avoidance vs. pricing are intriguing, will need to think (and possibly rant-blog) about that.
"...bring down the level of Corporation Tax."
I think you'll find that has happened repeatedly over recent years...
It's a global problem, and, to be fair, these corporations are only exploiting loopholes that shouldn't be there.
But, it's so much easier for parliament to spend 2 days discussing gay marriage, which isn't necessary as there's already an equivalent alternative, than to bring forward legislation to sort out huge tax avoidance that could go along way to putting £bn into UK PLC, isn't it?
The item was down as "sold by Early Learning Centre and fulfilled by Amazon", yet it was £45 in the shop and £22.50 online, with free delivery. I'm willing to pay more (though often don't have to, or very little) to support a local shop, but I've no particular love for a chain store and I've spent the saving on another present for him.
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