Andalusia comes to Cardiff

Bright early sunlight woke me up around six and I dozed with the radio on until it was time for Thought for the Day on the radio, having heard the early bird 'Prayer for the Day' equivalent. I cooked pancakes for breakfast, Clare got up feeling worse for wear after our journey home yesterday. I spent the morning until lunchtime going through my Costa Brava photo album and annotating pictures, checking half remembered place names on Google Street view. Then I cooked a curried veg and chick pea dish for lunch and snoozed in the chair for an hour afterwards. Clare booked tickets for the latest Daniel Martinez flamenco concert at RWCMD at tea time so we took our time walking there and back through Bute Park.

The concert was amazing with Martinez on guitar, the two flamenco singers who worked with him on his last visit to Cardiff, and two flamenco dancers, one male and one female, performing a selection of songs and dances from various regions of Andalusia with their own unique performance features. Unfortunately when Martinez spoke we understood little. His accented English wasn't the problem, but rather his soft spoken voice into a microphone which muffled his words. Such a shame. The percussion and guitar sound was well balanced and amplified. The rhythm of the dancers' heels was almost overwhelming on times but the volume varied considerably, showing their mastery of sound dynamics and expressiveness. 

At this gig the electro-acoustic bassist wasn't with them, but the layout of a seat rigged with a microphone implied someone was missing and a passing mention of visa problems. Only eight of the six strong company were performing on stage, also a violinist was absent. But it was a great show. The virtuoso young male dancer is I believe a cousin or nephew of Martinez. The interaction between them all was joyous and sometimes humorous. There was a well deserved standing ovation at the end. What a treat for the day after returning from the other end of Spain where the traditional music and dance is quite different.

After supper we spend nearly a couple of hours chatting with Rachel via Whatsapp. Then it was time for bed, still tired after yesterday's travelling.

Flamenco at RWCMD

After a night of rain, lower temperature and disturbed sleep, followed by sunny autumnal morning. We had waffles for breakfast and then I slept again for over an hour. Today is the St Catherine's Autumn Fayre, but we had to miss it due to an afternoon concert at the Royal Welsh College, so Clare took the jars of crab apple and grape jelly we made a couple of weeks ago to the church hall. Fascinating to think that the grapes came from the yard of the Robin Hood pub, and the crab apples from the tree in the churchyard garden, within a hundred yards of each other. Food with a provenance, and zero food miles!

After an early lunch, I completed tomorrow's sermon, then we walked to the Royal Welsh College for  matinée performance of a show called 'Art of Believing' presented by a young Flamenco guitar virtuoso Daniel Martinez with an ensemble which of two singers, a dancer, a violinist, another guitarist and a cajón percussionist. It was an astounding performance mixing traditional forms and measures with compositions by Martinez himself, delivered with energy, embracing the joy and agony of cante jondo. 

The Dora Stutzker auditorium was almost full with a noticeably ageing audience expressing enthusiasm and delight for the music, with two standing ovations at the end. What a treat! On our way out we bought a CD of the music performed. Pleased to know they'll be returning with a new show next March. It seems the group are living and touring in Britain at the moment. This experience certainly awakened in me a sense of hiraeth - but for Spain, rather than my motherland. I do hope I get another opportunity for locum duty in Spain next year. I could do with a change of scene after such a long spell of vacancy duties here.

We returned home on the bus, and after a drink and a piece of choccy cake, I went for a walk in the park as the sun was setting. It's chilly tonight, seven degrees. So far the ambient temperature of the house hasn't dropped enough for us to need to use the central heating - thanks to the longer spell of warm weather since the end of August. 

After supper I watched another slow moving episode of 'The Fall', then printed tomorrow's sermon and headed for bed early. I've not had much of a reaction to yesterday's 'flu jab, except for feeling the need for more sleep, even though I'm not physically tired.