Sunday 31 July 2011

WOMAD 2011 - by Theo

Yet another year of WOMAD being blessed by perfect weather - warm, but not baking, sunny skies with clouds to offer relief - by Sunday we'd stopped bothering to carry the emergency umbrella and left all our waterproofs in the car. Yet the weather was just the beginning of our good luck....
This was Rosie's third WOMAD, and she did an excellent job of selecting acts for us from the program. We arrived at 4 on the Friday and she guided us straight into a stomping set by the wonderful Taraf de Haidouks, whom we had last seen in Madrid pre-Rosie. The quality music kept going from then on, though in keeping with our daughter's wishes (to just chill out with the paper, rather than wear her ear defenders) we never got too close to the front.Thanks to Jo, my sister's sister-in-law (with me there?), who works for Real World, we not only got discounted tickets, but also a pass for the crew parking, which was right next to the BBC Radio 3 stage. This was particularly handy for us as we were driving in each day from my parents' house in Cirencester, so it saved us quite a lot of walking. Sadly we didn't managed to catch up with Jo on site to thank her, but we did met her other brother (the one my sister isn't married to) plus, of course, my sister and her husband and my parents, my dad making his WOMAD debut with a rather stylish hat.
With extra people to obligingly entertain her, be they family or complete strangers, Rosie was on top form and generally very happy throughout the festival, only getting really grumpy when it was time to leave on Saturday. We don't think she actually noticed there was live music going on; indeed her ability to nap right through a very loud and bass-heavy set from Khaira Arby seems to suggest she barely noticed the musicians at all.Not to worry, Kate and I enjoyed the performances on her behalf. Personal favourites included Vieux Farka Toure's screamingly clean blues guitar, and Hari Sirvanesan's hypnotic and chilled collaboration with violinist Omar Puente. Meanwhile Kate was particularly taken with Susheela Raman's return to form in the arboretum and 9Bach's doom folk in the Siam tent. As usual though, we didn't hear a duff act all festival. Another wonderful WOMAD.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Bye Bye Gran - by Theo


It was my Grandmother's funeral today. Kay died peacefully, at the age of 95, surrounded by several of her daughters on July 15th. I had managed to see her just before she died, as my sister and I had driven up the Wednesday before, but sadly Kate and Rosie didn't get to say goodbye - we'd been planning to visit the following day.

Thankfully the intervening time between her death and today's ceremony meant that what sadness I had at the passing of a wonderful, kind, independent and generous lady had dissipated, so I was able to enjoy today for what she had wanted it to be - a celebration. As one generation removed it was easier for me than for some of my aunts, although two had the composure to deliver moving and, indeed, funny tributes in the church. Naturally a few tears were shed though, both at the service and at the party afterwards in the lounge where my Grandma had celebrated her 80th and 90th birthdays. Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, plus sisters, friends and neighbours, swapped stories over sherry and sandwiches - a very fitting send off for a grand lady.

Friday 22 July 2011

Kate's cooking - by Theo

Since we returned to Bristol a strange thing has happened - Kate has started cooking again.

It's not that she never cooked in Madrid, but I would say 95% I did, especially after Rosie was born when I would usually make lunch then leave something out for Kate's dinner as well. It was just our dynamic I guess, and my way of trying to make motherhood easier for Kate by allowing her to concentrate on that without feeling she needed to be in charge of feeding the two of us as well as our daughter.

However, with my new job I leave for work at 8am and get back around 5pm; our Spanish timetable, with Rosie eating at 5.30ish and ourselves at nearly 9 after she had gone down just wasn't working any more. So four times this week I've walked in to the smell of delicious cooking and a hour or so later we've been sitting down as a family to an early evening meal.

A man could get used to this!!

Sunday 17 July 2011

Domstock - by Theo

We'd been trying to make this legendary and exclusive event for years, but due to calendar clashes had never quite managed it so, despite the poor forecast, we were determined to get there this year, come rain or shine. Which it did. Both. Plus lots of wind. We weren't deterred, especially as Kate had recently purchased a fabulous red puddle suit for Rosie, which is windproof as well as waterproof.

We arrived early, at 3pm, to find that the stage (a flat bed trailer) had only just been rolled into place, Larry-the-Lamb still the unhealthy side of rare on the barbecue and guests thin on the perfectly manicured ground. Still, the sun was out, Kate had some cider and rather pleasingly, the red arrows picked that moment to do a fly-by.
My old school friend Dom's parents have a farm just outside Fairford, so every year, when the Air Tattoo is on, he invites people round for a barbecue and gets a few bands to play while they watch the display. Creative thinking at its best.

Rosie kept us on our toes, so I wasn't able to chat to Dom's folks and my old classmates as much as I would have liked, but it was good to see people. Rosie was the only non-adult there (apart from one in utero) and, with creche facilities being limited, we had to go pretty much as the first band started up, but it was a still a very enjoyable afternoon and an excellent start to what we hope will be the first of many Domstocks for us.

Friday 15 July 2011

Gig- by Theo

Here was a first. Kate and I, who met and romanced each other at various live music venues across Bristol and beyond, venturing forth to our first gig together since Rosie's birth. With Aunty Hermione (Rosie's aunt - my sister) on babysitting duties Kate and I sallied forth to The Cube for Rachael Dadd's album launch. Typically, we forgot the camera!

Luckily we'd bought tickets as it was sold out - indeed we saw our friend Obaro as he got turned away. To be honest if we hadn't had tickets we might not have made it, as we'd had a tough night the night before and were both pretty knackered. Still we're very glad we did.

Kate Stables, aka This is the Kit, opened proceedings with a flurry of new songs plus a choice selection from her latest album "Wriggle out the Restless" which has been getting lots of play on BBC 6 Music. She was as captivating and charming as ever.

Kate and Rachael's music is well known to us as I regularly used to put them on bills back in my promoting days, but what followed was a completely novel experience for us in more ways than one. Ichi, Rachael's Japanese husband, entered the stage on stilts, to which various bells and shakers were attached, while playing a harmonica through a fantastically preposterous mustache. It got sillier from there on. Playing a variety of standard and non-standard instruments - including steel drum, trumpet, a home made lyre, a typewriter, a home made banjo (one of the stilts), balloons, ping pong balls and a drum machine - he quickly had the audience in hysterics especially when he added endearing falsetto word play over the top. Quite, quite surreal.

By now it was approaching 11 and Kate and I were practically propping each other up in our seats, so after 4 beautiful songs of Rachael's set we decided to make a discreet exit clutching her latest album to try to make up for what we missed.

We're back!

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Pudding - by Theo

Here in the Berry Salisbury household we do pudding in style. No crappy ice-cream for us; oh no! Instead we veer from fabulously healthy (and symmetrical) to ridiculously indulgent. The former for Rosie, the latter for us!


We've no idea whether Kate's beautiful arrangements of fresh fruit in yoghurt actually encourage Rosie to eat them or not, but she's always delighted when they are placed in front of her and they are swiftly forked (Rosie's latest skill) into submission. We also hope she's acquiring something of her mother's aesthetic.
Meanwhile our first dinner guests in our new house, our former student Magda and her boyfriend Charlie, brought with them a sumptuous chocolate fountain and assorted goodies, some healthy some not, to dunk in. I'd completely forgotten that Magda had offered to bring a postre, so I quickly shoved the crumble I'd prepared to one side and got on with melting chocolate. It was absolutely delicious - of course, as if fresh strawberries in dark chocolate could be anything but - and it made renewing our friendship (we hadn't seen them for nearly two years) even more sweet.

Sunday 10 July 2011

You know you're back in Bristol when... By Kate

....despite living in an unfamiliar part of the city, you spot familiar faces in the local park the first morning after arrival.

We've been here just over a week now and in some respects, it's as if we never left. That's not to say there haven't been changes in Bristol in the two and a half years since we left to live in Madrid - there have been plenty of those. But they're largely superficial - new buildings, gaps where something's been demolished, newly created shops and walkways in the city centre etc. etc.

But old friends and acquaintances are already amassing on our social horizons and new connections are being made via Theo's job and our status as parents.

Take today - we decided, largely spontaneously, that we would make a trip to the St Werburghs City Farm then call in at St Andrews Park, where they were holding a community art day called Park Arts 2011. Our vague attempts to lasso a few people by text at the farm didn't work out, but after some time spent wandering past the stalls, activities and live music in the park.

After a sojourn in the play park so Rosie could go down the slide, we started bumping into people we knew. And more people we knew. And yet more. We could barely start a conversation with one, when another would appear. Theo make it his job to chase after Rosie (who especially enjoyed the Big R Big Band) while I tried to cram in a few years worth of catching up with various pals and make sure we were mutually mobiled for future appointments.

Needless to say, we all feel slightly exhausted after all the afternoon's excitement. Exhausted and happy to be in another place that already feels like home.

Thursday 7 July 2011

New house, new name - by Theo

So we've changed the name of the blog (again). Having begun life as a blog about our marriage and honeymoon (back then simply being called kateandtheo.blogspot), it then became a blog about us finding our way in Spain's capital and as thus changed to movingtomadrid.blogspot. However, as we no longer live in Madrid, clearly the blog needed a new name. Kate's original suggestion - sunshineandshowers - was already taken, which was a shame as this is a fairly accurate reflection of both our new home, Bristol, and our darling daughter Rosie. So instead we've settled on www.avonvalleypta.blogspot.com - a reference to both our professional (teaching) and domestic (parenting) life, our new home in the west country and a nod to one of Kate's favourite songs, The Harper Valley PTA.

We're also now in a lovely house in Redfield, Bristol, that we are renting from one of Kate's friends. It's an area neither of us knew that well, despite the fact I used to come here regularly for one thing or another, but one week in and we're charmed by the place. There's a couple of lovely parks nearby, some good shops and the local train line is proving to be very useful and reasonably priced. When we find the camera, we'll put some photos up.

Note: found it - here we are...

Tuesday 5 July 2011

First day at the new job - by Theo

So for the two months before my PGCE starts I have found work with an English language school here in Bristol, where I'll be teaching during the week. Yesterday was the first day, so of course I wanted everything to go smoothly. Ha. Ha. Ha.

First of all, getting there. The school is based in Clifton, very close to where I once lived, but we're now over in Redfield - nowhere near. Fortunately there is a train that runs from Lawrence Hill station to Clifton Down, with a 10 minute walk at either end. Fine. Except the first day I had to be there at 8.30am, while the train arrives at 8.25. Not to worry - I figured I'd get my bike back from the friends we had left it with and cycle both ends.

Despite having pumped up both tires the night before, the back wheel felt a little soft as I wheeled the bike out of our yard. So on arrival at the station I asked a lady cyclist if I could borrow her pump. No problem, but just as the tyre was beginning to feel more solid, I pushed a little too hard and broke her pump. This was naturally extremely embarrassing, and I immediately gave her £10 (way more than the pump was worth, but what the hell) to compensate her. However, I had also obviously broken something else, as within 2 minutes my tyre was now completely flat. I left the bike locked up at the station and, with a sinking feeling, jumped on the train. I'm not sure what impression I gave to my new colleagues when I arrived late to our first staff meeting sweating and out of breath having ran all the way from Clifton Down, but it wasn't what I'd had in mind.

Still, after that the day seemed to go OK.... let's hope that's my one disaster out of the way!