An Old Favourite

Spring. Longer days, though cold. I’ve recently attended some workout sessions to get back in shape. I also do some tai chi on Tuesdays and yoga on Thursdays.  Plus, acupressure each day

Recently, I was trawling through files on my laptop and I found an old beauty – a poem I’d written based around a Hungarian gypsy violinist. Below I present the new edited version, along with the original.

Note the move away from punctuation and the single line paragraph format.

Happy reading!

The Unseen Violinist

the unseen violinist plays late at night
drawn-out tones tremble with emotion
a Czardas set in harmonic minor
flattened sixths that speak of other worlds
longing
beauty
despair

the tempo quickens, the mood switches
the violinist’s bow dances across the strings
a wagon speeding across a country path
wheels echoing as the night sky watches

the violinist plays with ease
a lively dance

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original: written before Lockdown

The unseen violinist plays late at night.

Long drawn out tones that tremble with emotion.

A haunting Czardas set in harmonic minor,

Flattened Sixths that speak of other worlds,

Of longing and beauty and despair.

The tempo quickens, the mood switches.

The violinist’s bow dances across the strings,

Like a wagon speeding across a country path,

The sounds of the wheels echoing as the night sky watches.

The violinist plays with ease.

A lively dance.

Piano

Winter has given way to spring. British Summer Time. Longer evenings and flowers, although the weather remains unpredictable.

In the early evenings, I practise the piano, using headphones to avoid disturbing the neighbours. I’m currently reworking the Prelude in G-sharp minor by Rachmaninoff, the C-minor Arpeggio Study by Chopin (no 24), the Etude in D-sharp minor by Scriabin, and a Rhapsody by Brahms. In particular, I’ve been concentrating on the technique required, with a focus on relaxation of the neck, shoulders and arms.

I’ve kept quiet about this so far – but since the autumn of 2022, I’ve taken up a relatively unknown Acupressure-based art and have committed to the self-management aspect on a daily basis.  Inevitably, this has helped enormously with shoulder tightness and discomfort, as well as with some of  the complications caused by Lockdown.

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In closing, I share a prose-poem that I wrote about four years ago, which is based on an old novel draft concerning a group of piano students who meet at an International Summer Piano School.  The atmosphere of the place and a relationship with one of the other students has a bewildering effect on the main character, who, in the poem below, searches for the other student, having become obsessed, even though he has only known her a few days.

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I hear the pianist practising the Poeme Tragique
rapid octaves set against falling sixteenth notes
loud and furious

I search through the grounds in the clammy August air
past clusters of trees and miniature water fountains
down the grassy mound to the Remembrance Garden
sweat pouring from my forehead and face

And still the pianist plays
cascading madness
his fury and despair matching my own

And still I search
but in vain

A Few Simple Photographs

Smartphone photography has improved greatly in the last ten years and I rely on my phone camera for all photo projects now.

Earlier, I stumbled upon a couple of simple black and white photos I took locally. I feel the simplicity brings out the atmosphere and that little actual editing is needed.

Please see below:

Till next time.

An Interesting Experience – London Underground

Twenty-five years ago, I took a tube journey in the evening rush hour. The journey (on the Piccadilly Line) lasted an hour and traversed through Central London for a good while. It was a summer evening, and hot and crowded.

For most of my life, I’ve struggled with claustrophobia. As I travelled through the Central London stations, I became increasingly aware that I was trapped, especially as I have a phobia of escalators – making easy exit impossible. Patterns danced before my eyes and I feared fainting in the carriage. I felt awful. Eventually, I emerged at Arnos Grove Station in North London, shaken and overwhelmed.

After that, I only used the Tube above ground level. Until yesterday.

Yesterday morning, I had intended to get the Overground when the TFL employee announced that all trains were cancelled due to an incident at another station. I couldn’t miss the arrangement I’d made. Instead, after a brief hesitation, I decided to take the Tube, albeit the Hammersmith and City that isn’t as deep as the Piccadilly.

The journey lasted just over half an hour and much of it was spent passing through tunnels. Scarily, the train stopped between stations a couple of times for short periods before resuming. I was a bit apprehensive but not too anxious, and I believe I would use the same route again. Definitely.

Anyway, that’s about it for now.

Till next time!

Some Dramatic Scenery

February. Spring will arrive towards the end of next month. The weather here alternates between chilly sunlight and wet grey.

I have been sorting through my digital photo collection, looking at shots that capture some degree of contrast, character, or drama in their stillness.

I attach a few below. Location: North London, East London

Till next time.

The Afternoon Siesta

The festive period seems to have taken place a long time ago now. Lighter mornings have come, thankfully. I’ve started getting up earlier again and practising acupressure (a discipline I began in October 2022).

The winter can often leave people feeling tired, unwell or lethargic (or all three). Today, I share a poem in which the character longs for better days in the midst of the wintry dull and fatigue.

Till next time!

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post New Year
exhaustion
a siesta

the tension fades
drifting away

fleeting images come and go

scenes of childhood
whispers of mist
the touch of the sun
cairns and castles and rugged terrains

sea and grass
wind and rain
cliffs and meadows and ice cream vans

the afternoon siesta
a childhood remembered

© Lawrence Estrey 2024

Poetry

Sunshine – At Last

Brighter skies. January draws to an end. Christmas and New Year seem like a long time ago now.

I’ve kept busy practising piano works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Khachaturian and Scriabin.

Below I share a video of one of the works I’m preparing: Scriabin – Etude in D-sharp minor, Op 8, No. 12. Pretty demanding but enjoyable. The pianist in the video is outstanding.

Till next time.

2024, Winter

It’s strange to think that more than twenty years have passed since the Millennium and that I remember the event well.

Twenty-four years on, nothing has changed – and yet, everything has.

Another year. The weather is raw and bitingly cold. Early sunsets, late dawns. London saw a sprinkling of snow at the start of the week.

This week, I started some new piano repertoire and stayed busy studying French German, and Russian, despite the bleak weather outside

I also made a collage of photographs taken during the last twelve months.

Till next time!

New Year Greetings

from London

All the best, from Lawrence

Christmas 2023