I love this area of Brighton & Hove!

Kemptown is one of the districts in the city of Brighton & Hove.

In the 1960s, I lived there for a while and occasionally I revisit this area. It is that part of Brighton lying to the east of the Palace Pier and the Royal Pavilion and to the west of Black Rock and Brighton Marina. It is a very cosmopolitan area - historically it was known as an actors' and artists' quarter, but it also has a sizeable gay community. There are a number of specialised shops, hotels, cafés and pubs in Kemptown. The area is well-served by public transport and Volk's Railway runs between the Pier and Black Rock.
Kemptown has had many notable residents including Sir Lawrence Olivier, Vita Sackville West, Lewis Carroll (Revd Charles Dodgson) , Anna Neagle, Max Miller and Flora Robson.
Kemptown seafront is a particularly pleasant place to walk - there are three routes! Madeira Drive is the road on the seaward side; Madeira Terrace is a Victorian-built walkway built halfway up the cliff and Marine Parade is the main A259 road. St James' Street is the main shopping thoroughfare with many cafes, bars, restaurants and shops.
I love this area of Brighton & Hove!
Last visit was in September 2016. 

Kemptown seafront © Robert Bovington

Volk's Railway © Robert Bovington

The Arches Kemptown Brighton © Robert Bovington

other blogs by Robert Bovington:

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Impressions"	http://bobbovington.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

Rock of Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory occupying a narrow peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. 'The Rock' is just that - a colossal chunk of ancient limestone that was thrust up from the seabed millions of years ago to form what is now the highly visible Rock of Gibraltar.

other blogs by Robert Bovington:

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Impressions"	http://bobbovington.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

David Bowie - A hero for so much more than just one day

by Robert Bovington

Yesterday, 10 January 2016, David Bowie died. He was one of the giants of popular music in a career that lasted more than half a century. His music sold an estimated 140 million albums. He was also an accomplished actor.

On a personal note, Bowie was not one of my favourite artists but I did own a couple of his albums including "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". I did see him perform in a concert at Worthing Assembly Rooms in 1972.

His musical output was phenomenal:
 

Studio albums	27
Live albums	9
Compilation albums	46
Video albums	13
Music videos	51
EPs	5
Singles	111
Soundtrack albums	3
Other albums	66
Other video albums	14

I have just listed his studio albums below:

David Bowie (1967)
Space Oddity (1969)
The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
Hunky Dory (1971)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust... (1972)
Aladdin Sane (1973)
Pin Ups (1973)
Diamond Dogs (1974)
Young Americans (1975)
Station to Station (1976)
Low (1977)
"Heroes" (1977)
Lodger (1979)
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (1980)
Let's Dance (1983)
Tonight (1984)
Never Let Me Down (1987)
Tin Machine (1989)
Tin Machine II (1991)
Black Tie White Noise (1992)
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
Outside (1995)
Earthling (1997)
'Hours...' (1999)
Heathen (2002)
Reality (2003)
The Next Day (2013)
Blackstar (2016)

Bowie also had a successful film career that included "The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)"; "Labyrinth (1986)"; "The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)" and "The Prestige (2006)".

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Bowie has won many awards including Ivor Novello Special Award For Originality for the song "Space Oddity"; a Saturn Award for Best Actor for his performance  in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" and several Grammy and BRIT Awards.
However he declined the CBE in 2000 and turned down a knighthood in 2003.

The above information was obtained from the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie

RIP David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016),

other blogs by Robert Bovington:

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Impressions"	http://bobbovington.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

Orquesta Joven de Almería

 December 27 2015

My wife and I attended an excellent concert at the Auditorio Municipal Maestro Padilla in Almería. It featured the Orquesta Joven de Almería and the  Orquesta Infantil de Almería and was conducted by Michael Thomas.

 

The infants performed the carols “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells”. The young children were conducted by Michael Thomas and their performance was quite charming.

Then came it was the Youth Orchestra of Almeria’s turn. The youngsters treated us to an excellent concert that began with ‘Finlandia’ composed by Sibelius.

My wife and I attended this concert for three reasons:

(i)     we had attended a previous concert by the youngsters of the Almería Orchestra (OIAL & OJAL) and had thoroughly enjoyed it;

(ii)    we often attend concerts by the Almería Orchestra (OCAL) conducted by Michael Thomas;

(iii)   we wanted to support our friends Colin and John Whyman who were making a presentation at the concert

Colin & John presented a violin to young Dario Rodriguez Ventura.

This was followed by a speech in Spanish and English by Colin Whyman who, with his brother John, had donated a large collection of records, sheet music and books to the members of OCAL & OJAL.

The Youth Orchestra then performed Edward Elgar’s “Chanson de matin” with young Dario Rodriguez playing the violin.

After a break the orchestra (OJAL) continued their performance  with music by Benjamin Britten, Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadaeus Mozart and Prokofiev before finishing with Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride”.

The Youth Orchestra were then joined with the infants (OIAL) and performed “Silent Night” and the encore – another rendition of “Jingle Bells” with some of the audience joining in (well I did anyway!)

Excellent!

 


other blogs by Robert Bovington:

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Impressions"	http://bobbovington.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

Gibraltar

by Robert Bovington

Casemates Square © Robert Bovington

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory occupying a narrow peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. 'The Rock' is just that - a colossal chunk of ancient limestone that was thrust up from the seabed millions of years ago to form what is now the highly visible Rock of Gibraltar.

Its history is inextricably linked to its strategic position. Its first important military encounter was in AD 711 when Tarik-ibn-Zeyed led a huge Moorish army that was to conquer most of the Iberian Peninsula. Moors and Christians fought many battles here during the 14th and 15th centuries and the Spanish Christians finally succeeded in dispatching the Arabs back to Africa in 1462. British forces took the Rock in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession and British sovereignty over Gibraltar was subsequently recognised by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Gibraltar attractions include the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. Some 500 species of small flowering plants grow there as does wild olive and pine. As far as fauna is concerned, there are rabbits, foxes and monkeys! Yes, monkeys inhabit the Rock - the Barbary apes are the only wild monkeys in Europe. Other attractions include St Michael's Cave, the Moorish Castle and the Great Siege Tunnels.

 Down in the town centre, Main Street is unmistakably British with Marks and Spencer, BhS, pubs and bright red post boxes. Nearby Casemates Square, however, has a more continental air with many open-air cafes.

Contrary to popular belief the majority of Gibraltarians are not of English or Spanish ancestry - Genoese, Maltese, and Portuguese formed the majority of the population when the Rock was ceded to Great Britain.

English is the official language, which is used for government and business purposes but many Gibraltarians speak Llanito, a mixture of English and Andalucian Spanish.

Robert Bovington

23 Nov 2011

other blogs by Robert Bovington:

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Impressions"	http://bobbovington.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/

My Musical Journey

by Robert Bovington

My musical journey probably began when, as a young boy, I sang 'Home On The Range' at Christmas during family singsongs and, once on stage at 'Peter Pan's Children's Playground' on Brighton seafront, for which I was rewarded with a stick of rock. My journey progressed through my early years by briefly embracing Classical music when I sang in the Standford Road School Choir in a concert of Bach & Handel. 

But music became an interest and finally an obsession in the late 50's when I was given an old 'wind-up' gramophone and I played my 'collection' of 78's — about half-a-dozen records that arrived with the gramophone — the only one I remember at all had someone singing 'Mountain Greenery' but I know it wasn't Mel Torme's recording. Shortly afterwards, I saved my pocket money and purchased my first record — Woolworth's Embassy records cover version of 'Stupid Cupid' and 'Carolina Moon' — I could not afford the Connie Francis version!

Unlike Leslie Garrett's household, ours was not a particularly musical family — my mother would listen to 'Music While You Work' and sing along to the odd Dorothy Squires record or Theresa Brewer's 'Music, Music, Music'. My father's musical contribution would mostly be "Can't you turn that bloody row down?" though he did have a penchant for Charlie Kunz piano music.

My early sojourn into the world of music was, like most teenagers of the late 50's, by the way of pop music and, in particular, rock 'n' roll and skiffle — mostly via our very first 9 inch screen black & white TV. We would watch '6-5 Special' featuring Don Lang and his Frantic Five and Nancy Whisky and shortly afterwards 'Oh Boy!' where I can remember a young Cliff Richard doing his 'Elvis the Pelvis' impersonation.

I could not afford records so I would spend my evenings with my ear glued to a crackling valve-driven radio listening to the latest hits on Radio Luxembourg. In 1959, my grandma gave me an old tape recorder and I started recording all the hits — 'Apache', 'Counting Teardrops', 'Are You Lonesome Tonight'... During the next couple of years, I would record from radio programs that included 'Saturday Club' & 'Easy Beat'.  The tapes must have sounded dreadful as the recording method consisted of placing the plastic microphone near the radio's speaker — very different from modern recording methods!

Once I started earning a living, I purchased a record player and began buying 45's. Sam Cooke's 'Another Saturday Night' and Elvis Presley's 'Good Luck Charm' being the first of many.


Since those early days, my musical taste has expanded rather than changed. I still occasionally play some of my old records including artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, Santana and Dire Straits but my preference is for Classical music.

I like most types of Classical music: concertos, symphonies, baroque, sonatas, opera and chorale. My CD collection ranges from medieval music to 20th century composers ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Arvo Pärt and I have a piece of music allegedly composed by Henry VIII! 

I currently prefer music composed by the more traditional composers though, especially Mozart and Beethoven and my favourite genre are the romantic concertos, particularly violin. As I explore the world of Classical music, I frequently discover or rediscover musical gems like Vaughan Williams 'Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'. With the vast amount of superb music in existence, I would find it difficult to name my favourite piece. I particularly like Max Bruch's 'Violin Concerto' and his 'Scottish Fantasy', there is Rachmaninov's 2nd and 3rd 'Piano Concertos', Mozart's 'Clarinet Concerto' and now that I live in Spain, I have been listening more often to Rodrigo's 'Concierto de Aranjuez'. There are many more in the same category and Johan Sebastian Bach's 'St. Matthew Passion' is up there with them!

Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier

Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier was a French landscape architect whose works include the gardens of the Champ-de-Mars below the Eiffel Tower and, in Spain, the Maria Luisa Park in Seville and the gardens of La Casa del Rey Moro in Ronda.

Forestier Gardens in La Casa del Rey Moro in Ronda. © Robert Bovington

María Luisa Park Sevilla -
http://www.panoramio.com/user/2582649?with_photo_id=35687689

Champ de Mar, Paris

other blogs by Robert Bovington:

"Photographs of Spain"	http://bovingtonphotosofspain.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Impressions"	http://bobbovington.blogspot.com/
"postcards from Spain"	http://bovington-posts.blogspot.com/
"you couldn't make it up!"	http://bovingtonycmitup.blogspot.com/
"a grumpy old man in Spain"	http://grumpybobbov.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Expressions"	http://spanishsayingsbovington.blogspot.com/
"Spanish Art"	http://bovingtonspanishart.blogspot.com/
"Books About Spain"	http://bovingtonbooks.blogspot.com/